The Morning My Sister-in-Law Came to Clean the House

That Thursday I didn’t have any meetings out of the office, so I decided to stay home and get ahead on work from the study. Mariela, my wife, had left early for the office and wouldn’t be back until the afternoon. The apartment was silent, with that strange stillness weekday mornings have, and I had poured myself a coffee to finish a heavy letter I owed the clients.

I’d been wrestling with the second paragraph for half an hour when I heard the key turn in the lock. I froze for a second, my heart in my throat, until the door opened and a sing-song voice filled the foyer.

—Hello! Is anyone there?

—Who’s there? —I blurted out, jumping to my feet.

—Oh, what a scare, brother-in-law! —It was Daniela, Mariela’s older sister—. I wasn’t expecting you to be home. Your wife asked me to come by and clean this morning; she said there wouldn’t be anyone here.

—Yes, a visit fell through at the last minute, so I came here to work —I explained, still with my pulse racing.

—Well then, handsome, let me put on something more comfortable and I won’t bother you —she said, already taking off her jacket.

—Don’t worry, whatever you need, I’m in the study.

Daniela gave me a smile and headed toward the bedroom. I watched her for longer than I should have. She had that figure I’d always found hard to ignore at family lunches: tall, long legs, with a red miniskirt to match a pair of heels in the same color, clicking against the parquet floor. When she turned her head and realized I was looking at her, she didn’t seem embarrassed. On the contrary, she curved her lips and smiled again before closing the door.

Focus, Andrés. She’s your wife’s sister.

I sat back down in front of the computer and tried to pick up the letter again. Useless. The words kept slipping away from me. A few minutes later I heard her come out of the room and start fussing with a feather duster on the little entryway table.

I leaned out without thinking, using the excuse that I was going for more coffee, and I nearly stopped breathing. She had put on one of Mariela’s summer nightgowns, a sheer garment that barely covered her past her thighs and that, in the light coming through the large window, let me make out everything underneath. Daniela was two years older than my wife, around thirty, and she took care of herself: she had the body of someone who goes to the gym without becoming obsessive. Married, like me. No children, like me.

—Coffee? —I asked, trying to sound as steady as possible.

—No, thanks, you carry on with what you’re doing —she replied without stopping the duster, arching her back a little.

I went back to the study defeated. It was impossible to write knowing that woman was wandering around my house half-naked. I reread the same sentence three times and understood none of it. I could hear her humming in the hallway, opening cabinets, moving chairs, and every sound forced me to imagine her in a different position. At Sunday lunches there had always been something between us, one joke too many, a look that held a second too long, but both of us knew where the line was. That morning, for the first time, the line seemed to be made of smoke.

I tried to distract myself by answering overdue emails, but the cursor blinked on the screen without me typing a thing. Another long, endless half hour passed until her voice rescued me from the bedroom.

—Andrés! Can you give me a hand turning the mattress over?

I got to my feet so fast I nearly knocked over the chair. Of course I wanted to. I would have done anything just to have her close.

—I’m coming right now.

I found her bent over the bed, folded at the waist, holding one corner of the mattress while she waited. From the doorway, the nightgown had ridden up so high it exposed far more than was decent. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath. I felt my blood rush to a very specific place that was very hard to hide.

Daniela turned her head to look at me and her eyes fixed for a couple of seconds on the bulge in my trousers. She didn’t look away right away. When she did, she was smiling.

—Are you all right? Is something wrong? —she asked with an innocence neither of us believed.

—No, no, everything’s fine —I lied—. Stand on one side and we’ll pull it this way together.

—Okay. Stand next to me.

We grabbed the mattress at the same time. I was so focused on her I barely put any strength into it, and the whole weight came down on us. We both fell onto the bed, face to face, her body against mine, separated only by the fabric of that nightgown.

—Look what you’ve caused! —she said, laughing, making no effort at all to get up.

—You can’t go around wearing outfits like that, sister-in-law... —I murmured—. How is anyone supposed to concentrate?

—Do you like what you see, Andrés? —She lowered her voice until it became a whisper.

I didn’t know what to say. She was a handspan away, her breathing mingling with mine, and every second of silence was a confession.

—You’re gorgeous —I said at last—. Since you walked through that door I haven’t been able to get anything done. I can only think about you.

Daniela looked at me hard, as if deciding.

—Then I’m going to confess something to you, but it doesn’t leave this room. Neither your wife nor my husband can find out. Deal?

—You have my word.

—Since I saw you alone in the house... —She brought her lips to my ear—. I can’t get you out of my head. I’m wet just imagining what we could do.

***

There were no more questions. I threw myself onto that mouth and kissed her with all the hunger I’d been holding back since the kitchen, since the duster, since years ago really. She answered with the same urgency, biting my lip, sliding a hand under my clothes until she found me and squeezed.

—I’ve been dying to taste you... —she gasped against my mouth.

I undid the buttons of her nightgown one by one, slowly, until I bared her chest. I lowered my head to her neck, to her collarbone, and heard her sigh when I started tracing her nipples with my tongue. Her skin was hot and she had a sweet perfume that clung to my memory for days.

—Like that, baby... —She buried her fingers in my hair—. You’re the one who got me like this. Don’t stop.

Her voice rose and fell, broken, as she pushed my head against her chest and begged for more with words that got less and less decent by the second. I stroked her thighs, worked my way up slowly, and felt her whole body shiver when I reached where she had nothing on.

—I need you inside me —she said suddenly, bluntly—. Now.

I pushed the mattress back into place and put her on her knees on the bed, with her back to me. I fumbled with my trousers, staring at the image I had been chasing all morning. She guided me herself, impatient, and one firm thrust was enough for the rest of the world to disappear.

—God! —she moaned, clutching the sheets—. My husband isn’t like this... I’m not used to it. But don’t stop, please.

I held her by the hips and set a slow rhythm at first, letting her get used to it, until she started pushing back for more. The room filled with her quickened breathing and words I know I’d never repeat in front of anyone.

—You don’t know how much I needed this —she panted—. Come here, now it’s my turn.

She laid me back on the bed and sat astride me. She lowered herself slowly, eyes closed and mouth half-open, and began to move in circles with her hips. At times she rose with such force she had to settle herself again, and she laughed, and started over.

—My sister is so lucky —she murmured between sighs, resting her hands on my chest—. If she only knew...

—You’re incredible, Daniela —I told her, and it was true—. No one has ever gotten me this turned on.

I held one hip with one hand, setting the pace, and with the other I ran over her back, her breasts, everything I could reach. She threw her head back, hair falling over her shoulders, and every time she opened her eyes she pinned me with a look that was pure shamelessness.

—Andrés... —Her voice changed, becoming faster, higher—. I’m almost there. I can’t hold on.

—Me neither... wait, let me...

—No —she cut in, pressing herself closer to me—. Stay. No one needs to know.

I wasn’t able to think clearly. She moved faster and faster, digging her nails into me, repeating my name, and I let myself be swept away without resisting. I felt her whole body tense for an instant before dissolving into a long shudder, and that was the shove I needed to finish too, holding her tight against me.

We stayed still, she collapsed on my chest, both of us gasping for the air that had escaped us. I caressed her back while her breathing gradually returned to normal.

—Thank you —she said at last, lifting her head with a tired smile—. And don’t worry. Nothing leaves this room. Neither my sister nor my husband will know.

She gave me a slow kiss on the lips and got up to pick her nightgown off the floor.

—I loved it —I admitted—. I hope this doesn’t end in just one morning.

Daniela looked at me over her shoulder, bit her lip, and winked before disappearing into the bathroom. There was no need for her to say anything else. When she left half an hour later, with the apartment spotless and her jacket on as if nothing had happened, I knew that Thursday would not be the last.