The Afternoon the Neighbor Stopped Being Shy

Adrián was twenty-two years old and had the habit of looking more than was proper. He was tall, slender, with the still-unfinished body of a boy who spent too many hours studying. He went to the university downtown and always came back at the same time, along the same street, past the same house.

That house belonged to Marina. A forty-one-year-old woman, petite but with curves that loose clothing couldn’t hide. She lived alone and had the stillness of someone who no longer expected anything from anyone. People in the neighborhood barely greeted her.

Every afternoon, as he passed by, Adrián looked for her with his eyes. Sometimes she was in the garden, watering a few plants that seemed to be her only company. Other times she was on the porch with a book she never finished reading. He slowed his pace without noticing, pretended to check his phone, and watched her for a few seconds before moving on.

Marina had noticed for weeks. She said nothing. Deep down, that clumsy attention from someone who still believed himself invisible amused her. Some days she deliberately lingered in the garden just to see whether he would pass at the usual hour.

He’s just a kid, she thought when she saw him walk away. Curious as a cat.

And yet that borrowed curiosity gave her back something she thought she’d lost. Since the divorce, several years earlier, she had learned to live without anyone looking at her twice. A boy watching her with that shy insistence made her feel, once again, like a woman and not just another piece of furniture on the street. Sometimes at night, alone in bed, she slid her hand between her thighs and thought of him, that hungry little-boy face, and came biting the pillow like a teenager.

One October afternoon, Adrián arrived earlier than usual. Class had been canceled and the street was empty, gilded by the sun as it began to sink. Without thinking too much about it, he stopped in front of Marina’s door. He raised his hand to ring the bell.

And then he regretted it.

His heart was pounding in his throat. He turned around, ready to go home and forget that ridiculous idea. He hadn’t managed three steps.

—Adrián? —the voice came from the garden—. What did you want? Why are you leaving?

She had seen everything from the side of the house, crouched beside the flowerpots. He froze, his back to her, feeling sweat run down the nape of his neck.

He turned slowly. Marina was looking at him, her hands stained with dirt and a half-smile that he couldn’t tell was mockery or curiosity.

—I just… I just wanted to say hi —he said, and his voice came out higher than he would have liked—. But I thought it might make you uncomfortable. I’d better go. Sorry.

Marina straightened up, wiped her hands on her pants, and studied him from head to toe. Something about that awkwardness softened her. And something else, something she didn’t want to name right away, warmed her skin and soaked her panties at once.

He’s just a boy, she told herself. What can a boy do to you? Behave, Marina.

—You don’t make me uncomfortable —she answered at last, surprising herself—. Do you want to come in for a bit? It’s hot out there.

He hesitated for just a second. Then he nodded, like someone agreeing to jump into the void.

***

The house inside was warm, tidy, full of small details that betrayed years of well-managed solitude. Adrián looked around and, without weighing his words, blurted out:

—Wow. Your house is as pretty as you are.

Marina laughed softly. He felt his face burn and silently cursed his own mouth.

—Thank you, honey —she said, still smiling—. Do you want water or lemonade?

—Water, please.

She went to the kitchen and came back with a glass. As she handed it to him, she looked at him again, this time more slowly. The long arms, the big hands, that Adam’s apple bobbing every time he swallowed. Her gaze drifted, against her will, to the noticeable bulge under his jeans.

That boy isn’t bad at all, she thought, and immediately chastised herself. He’s the neighbor, don’t be stupid. Still, looks like he’s got something to work with.

As for Adrián, he couldn’t stop looking at her. The curve of her hips beneath the fabric, the discreet neckline, the way a strand of hair fell over her cheek, and above all those breasts that seemed heavy, braless, moving freely under her blouse. Calm down, he ordered himself. She’s a woman, not one of your fantasies. Breathe. But his blood was boiling and his cock was starting to harden against his fly.

—What are you thinking about? —she asked, setting the empty glass on the table.

He met her eyes. For once, he didn’t calculate his words.

—That I’d like to really get to know you —he said—. I like you too much, Marina. You’re beautiful, you’re interesting, and I can’t stop thinking about you when I pass by here.

She stepped closer and placed a finger over his lips, silencing him.

—I like you too —she murmured—. More than I should admit.

And she kissed him. At first slowly, then with a hunger that left him breathless. Marina’s tongue slipped into his mouth without asking permission, searching for his, tangling around it, while one hand went straight to the boy’s crotch and squeezed over the fabric. Adrián stood motionless, arms hanging at his sides, not knowing what to do with his hands or his body.

—You’re rock hard —she whispered against his lips, still massaging his cock over his pants—. All this for me, huh?

Marina felt that clumsy stiffness and smiled against his mouth. She took him by the hand.

—Come —she said quietly—. Come with me.

***

She led him down the hallway to the bedroom. Afternoon light came filtered through a thin curtain and tinted everything orange. Adrián was still paralyzed, at her mercy.

Marina came close and began undressing him with the calm of someone who had time. She took the backpack off his shoulder, then the sweater, then the shirt, button by button. He was trembling. When she lowered his fly, his cock jumped hard, thick, pushing against the boxer fabric, and a greedy smile slipped onto her face.

—Easy —she said, laughing softly, taking it out with two fingers and weighing it in her palm—. Relax. I don’t bite… yet. What a cock you’ve got, honey. What a waste, having you walk past my house every day.

She ran her thumb over the glans, collected the bead of liquid that had surfaced, and brought it to her mouth, sucking her finger slowly while looking him in the eye. And then something changed in him. It was a heat that rose from his stomach, a current that wiped out his shame all at once. Suddenly he remembered all the images he had kept in his head, all the things he had imagined doing to a woman like her. He looked up and saw her differently.

He grabbed her wrists. With a firmness he hadn’t known he possessed, he forced her down to her knees in front of him. He unfastened his pants all the way and let them drop, along with his boxers. He was hard, ready, his cock pointed at her face, and Marina, who as a young woman had thought herself an expert at these things, knew immediately what was expected of her. She licked her lips and leaned in. But when she opened her mouth, he stopped her with a hand on her forehead.

—No —he said, and his voice came out deep, different—. You’ll do it when I say, not when you want. First take your clothes off. Slowly. I want to see you all. I want to see those tits and that pussy you’ve been parading in front of me for weeks.

Marina looked at him in surprise. This was not the shy boy who had walked into her house with a trembling glass of water in his hand. And that difference, far from frightening her, lit her up in a way she hadn’t felt in years. She felt a hot stream slipping between her thighs. She obeyed.

She stood up and began taking off her clothes piece by piece, unhurried, letting him watch. The blouse fell away and her breasts were left loose, heavy, with the nipples already hard and dark like ripe grapes. Then the pants, sliding them down over her wide hips. The panties, soaked at the crotch, she saved for last; she lowered them little by little, bending over, showing him her ass and then the trimmed patch of hair covering her swollen pussy. When she was naked, he stepped forward and grabbed one breast, pinching the nipple between his fingers until she let out a moan.

—Get down on your knees again —he ordered—. And now yes, suck me. Deep. Like you’d suck a man’s cock, not a kid’s.

She knelt, already panting, her cheeks flushed. She took his cock in both hands, stroked it up and down a couple of times, and put it in her mouth. She began slowly, licking the tip, circling the glans with her tongue, tasting the salty flavor of pre-cum. Then she opened wider and swallowed it whole, until she felt it bump against her throat and had to breathe through her nose so she wouldn’t choke. She felt mischievous, shameless, exposed in a way that surprised her. She rose and fell again, setting a steady rhythm, sucking hard, letting a thread of saliva run down her chin and drip between her breasts.

—Look at me —Adrián demanded, holding her chin—. I want you to look at me while you suck me off. That’s it. Very good. What a slut you are, Marina. You’re so good at this.

Marina closed her eyes for a moment, carried away by the pleasure of obeying, and he gently tugged her hair to remind her who was in charge. She let out a moan with her mouth full and slid one hand between her legs, rubbing her clit to the rhythm of the blow job. The cock went in and out slick with spit, throbbing against her tongue. Adrián watched her masturbate while she sucked him and nearly came right there. When he thought enough was enough, he lifted her up, ran two fingers through her soaked pussy, showed them to her dripping wet, and shoved her onto the bed.

—Look how wet you are —he said, smearing his fingers across her lips—. Suck them. Taste how wet I’ve got you.

She took them in without taking her eyes off him, closing her mouth around them and cleaning them with her tongue.

***

He climbed on top of her without looking away, with that new, almost feral expression. He took her hands and tied them above her head with his own belt, pulling the leather tight around her wrists. Then he covered her eyes with his shirt.

—I’m going to fuck you like you’ve never been fucked before —he whispered in her ear, biting her earlobe—. And you won’t be able to do a thing. Just take it.

She let out a long breath. Without sight, everything was skin and breathing. She felt his tongue trace her neck, travel down her chest, close over one nipple and then the other, sucking them until they were hard and sore. His teeth bit carefully, and she arched her back, offering him more. Adrián’s mouth kept moving lower, lingering on every inch of her stomach, leaving a wet trail in her navel, descending farther and farther until it stopped between her legs. He spread her thighs with his hands, unhurried, and blew first over her open pussy before touching her.

—Please —she panted, tugging at the restraints—. Please, eat me out.

Adrián laughed softly and ran his whole tongue over her, from bottom to top, savoring the thick flow running down her slit. Marina let out a sharp moan. He stayed there, patient, attentive to every tremor: he sucked her lips, plunged his tongue inside, pulled it out and circled it over the swollen clit, alternating slow licks with hard sucks. He slid two fingers into her and began curling them inside, searching for that spot that made her jerk. When he found it, he didn’t let up. He kept licking her clit while his fingers went in and out, setting a rhythm that grew deeper, faster, until he made her come with a moan she didn’t even recognize as her own. Marina’s hips jolted against his face, her thighs closed around his head, and he kept sucking even as she came, spilling over his chin.

—Do you like it? —he asked, prying her knees apart again, his mouth shining—. You thought I was just a kid?

—Don’t stop —was all she could say, trembling—. Put it in already. Put it all the way in.

He positioned himself at her entrance, ran the glans up and down her soaked slit, rubbing it against her clit to make her moan again, and entered her slowly, enjoying every centimeter. He felt her tight, burning, closing around his cock like a hot fist. He stayed still for a second, buried to the hilt, and then he started moving. He watched her arch, watched her tug at the bound wrists looking for a hold she couldn’t find, watched her breasts bounce with every thrust. Each thrust made her bite her lip, and he learned quickly to read her body: when to go deeper, when to stop at the edge and leave her waiting, when to pull out completely and drive back in hard. Marina’s sighs turned into gasps, and the gasps into cries.

—Like that, like that —she begged through clenched teeth—. Harder. Fuck me harder, don’t stop.

Adrián gripped her hip with one hand and squeezed her neck with the other, not choking her, just marking her. He drove into her hard, making skin slap against skin, her pussy splashing around his cock. He pulled out, flipped her onto her stomach in one swift motion —still tied, still blindfolded— and lifted her ass. He slapped one cheek, making her jolt. He shoved back in from behind, gripping her hair, setting a brutal, savage pace while the bed slammed against the wall.

—Tell me you like it —he demanded, never stopping—. Tell me how you like it.

—I love your cock —she moaned, her cheek flattened against the mattress—. Don’t stop, for God’s sake, don’t stop. Break me.

He felt her clench around him again and again, a second orgasm running through her whole body and making her scream into the pillow. He held on as long as he could, grinding his teeth, until he couldn’t anymore. He flipped her back onto her back, climbed on top of her, drove into her to the hilt three, four more times, and came inside her with a rough groan, spilling stream after hot stream into her womb. He finished buried in her, forehead resting on her shoulder, breathing raggedly, exhausted and satisfied in a way he hadn’t thought possible. He felt his semen start sliding down Marina’s thighs when he finally pulled his cock out.

Then he removed the blindfold carefully. Marina blinked, still trembling, and looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. No one had touched her like that. No one had known how to wake her up that way.

They both laughed, wordlessly, still tangled in the sheets. He untied her wrists and kissed the red marks left by the belt.

—You surprise me —she said at last, catching her breath, one hand between her legs gathering the semen that was still leaking out.

—You surprise me too —Adrián replied, and for a second he was shy again, the boy from the garden.

Marina got up, put a robe over her naked body without bothering to close it all the way, and went to the bedroom door. Before leaving, she turned with a smile that no longer had anything innocent about it.

—Do you want to stay for coffee? —she asked—. And after that, if you’ve got the energy, I want a repeat.

He nodded. That afternoon, he didn’t go home early.