Gotcha! by Ray Bradbury

Honey, do you want to play a game?

I think it is time to take a break from Ray Bradbury and mix it up with some different authors. I have been binge reading his short-stories lately, revisiting old favorites and discovering many hidden gems along the way. Unfortunately, there are plenty of duds in between and others like this Gotcha! that fall somewhere in the middle. My hyper-fixation tends to get the better of me and I would like to avoid burning out. 

Gotcha! is all about metaphors over story. A couple is in the honeymoon phase of their romantic relationship. Check out this sexually implicit opening sentence:

"They were incredibly in love. They said it. They knew it. They lived it. When they weren't staring at each other they were hugging. When they weren't hugging they were kissing. When they weren't kissing they were a dozen scrambled eggs in bed. When they were finished with the amazing omelette they went back to staring and making noises."

Oh Mr. Bradbury, how scandalous! Essentially, this couple can't keep their hands off each other and during another erotic evening, the woman Beth asks the man if he would like to play a game. Of course, he thinks this will inevitably lead to more sexy times but she has a different type of game in mind--one that is a little more sinister in nature. Real or imagined, the story delves into horror and the fantastic. The woman takes the game too far, scaring the man out of his wits. For the first time in this relationship, the blood rushes back to his brain and he begins to wonder if he actually wants to be with this woman. The game itself becomes a poetic metaphor for an unhealthy relationship: breaking trust, disrespecting boundaries and not having open communication. A quick read but often feels contrived and lacks that Bradbury spark.