What Happened at the Inn with the Neighbor Next Door

I never considered myself a woman of adventure. I'm twenty-nine, I've had a steady partner for five years, a job I like, and a life anyone would call orderly. And yet there's a weekend last summer I can't get out of my head, no matter how much I know I ought to be ashamed. I'm telling it here because I need to say it out loud, even if it's anonymously.

My partner, Tomás, and I had a habit of getting away once a month. That time we chose an inn on the outskirts of the city, one of those places with few rooms, a pool, and silence. We arrived Saturday around noon with our suitcase half-closed and our desire right at the surface. The owner greeted us, a woman of about forty-five who had kept herself very well, along with her husband, who welcomed us with a smile that lasted a little too long. I felt his gaze travel up and down my body, but I paid no attention. I'm used to being looked at.

They assigned us room eleven. As we went up the stairs, the door next to ours opened and a young couple came out: she was about twenty-five, and he was a little older. They were both in good shape, I won't deny it. We greeted each other with a nod, the courteous gesture of people sharing a wall for a couple of nights, and each went on their way.

—It's so quiet here —I said to Tomás as I closed the room door—. We've got the pool all to ourselves.

—Let's take advantage before people start arriving —he replied, already taking off his T-shirt.

We got into the shower together. The feel of his wet body against mine was enough to turn me on. We began kissing under the water, slowly, and then not so slowly. I knelt and took him into my mouth while the water poured over my back. I felt him grow, harden, until he gently pulled me away and turned me against the tiles. He entered me all at once, and we both held our breath.

We left the bathroom still wet and fell onto the bed. I sat on top of him, felt him enter me fully, and began moving in search of my own rhythm. I bit my lips. I was so focused on my own pleasure that I didn't realize how loudly I was moaning until Tomás turned me over, put me on all fours, and penetrated me again, deeper. That's when I lost control.

That's when I heard them. Moans were coming from the other side of the wall, from room ten. A woman's voice, breathless, almost synchronized with mine. I looked at Tomás and he looked at me, both of us surprised and, I confess, both of us aroused. Knowing they could hear us and we could hear them turned me on in a way I hadn't expected. We finished like that, listening to each other through the wall like two couples pretending not to know.

***

We slept for a while. When we went down to the pool, after four in the afternoon, there were more people: our neighbors and half a dozen others. We made some drinks, ate a little, and settled into the loungers. Tomás leaned back with his eyes closed, relaxed by the sun and the alcohol.

I couldn't stop thinking about the moans. Out of sheer curiosity, I looked toward our neighbors and discovered it: the guy was looking at me. He immediately looked away, as if he'd been caught stealing, but something flared up inside me. The thrill of being watched, of playing with fire while my partner was ten feet away, proved stronger than any principle.

I began provoking him without anyone noticing. An extra smile whenever he looked up. A change of position on the lounger, precisely when I knew he was watching. He returned the favor, and before long the game of glances had become mutual, brazen, a silent conversation that no one around us seemed to hear.

When I got into the pool, I looked for excuses to pass close to him. I brushed his leg as if by accident while swimming past. The second time wasn't so accidental. He followed me with his eyes underwater, and I felt that touch run up my back like an electric current.

The sun went down and people began leaving. In the end, only the four of us remained, along with an older couple who didn't stay much longer either. Someone pulled out an inflatable ball, and we started playing, tossing it to one another amid laughter; from there we moved on to chatting all together. Unimportant things: where we came from, what we did for a living, how many times we'd been to the inn. A one-day friendship, the kind born in the water and forgotten on the way home.

Her name was Daniela; his was Adrián.

—I think I'm going to go upstairs for a while —Daniela said at one point, putting a hand to her forehead—. I feel a little dizzy. I need some water and to lie down for five minutes.

—Go on, I'll come check on you in a little while —Adrián replied.

—I'll go with you —I offered immediately—. I'm going to get some water from our room too.

The truth was that Daniela looked pretty dizzy, so I accompanied her to her room, gave her a glass of water, and left her lying on the bed. As I was leaving, I saw Adrián coming up the hallway. I motioned for him not to make any noise and moved close to tell him in his ear that his girlfriend was resting, and that he should let her sleep for a while.

—All right —he murmured—. Would you give me a glass of water so I don't wake her?

At that moment I felt pressure in my chest and a wetness between my legs that gave me away to myself. I'm inviting him to my room. I knew it, and still I said yes.

***

We walked to my door. He stood in the doorway, hesitating. I went in ahead of him and bent down in front of the refrigerator to take out the bottle, more slowly than necessary, arching my back. I knew exactly what I was doing.

—Come in, I don't bite —I said, pouring him the water.

Adrián came in and pulled the door almost shut. He drank while looking at me over the rim of the glass, and when he handed it back, he dropped a line:

—It's as delicious as you are.

My whole skin prickled. I turned to put the glass away and bent over again, shamelessly, no longer pretending otherwise. I felt his hand on my waist.

—Thanks for the water —he said, almost pressed against my ear.

I straightened slowly, turned around, and kissed him. A short, decisive kiss, the kind that leaves no room for misunderstanding.

—Wait for me. I'm going to the bathroom and then we'll go downstairs —I said, as if there were still some way back to normal.

I was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, so to use the bathroom I had to take it off completely. I was pulling it down when I heard the bathroom door open behind me. My heart lurched.

—I need to use it too —Adrián said, coming closer with a calmness that undid me.

I didn't know what to say. I stepped into the shower space while he lingered for a moment, and when I saw him move toward me, I understood that his only need was me. He turned on the tap. Water fell over both of us. He handed me the soap without a word and I, my hands trembling, began soaping him: his arms, his chest, his legs. Then I dropped the soap and followed him with my mouth.

I gave him the best blowjob of my life, water streaming over my face and his gaze fixed on me from above. I felt his hand on the back of my neck, pushing just slightly, and inside I was dying to feel him another way.

I stood up. He turned me against the shower wall, squeezed my breasts from behind, and let his cock play between my legs, sliding without entering yet. The waiting drove me crazy. I arched my back, raised my hips, and at last I felt him enter with one thrust.

I bit my lips to keep from moaning. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to hear us. But then I remembered the little bathroom window, the one that looked out over the pool, and opened it just enough to look. Down below, on the lounger, Tomás was still reclining with his drink, eyes closed, only a few yards from me and yet in another world.

Seeing him there, oblivious to everything, was the signal I needed to let go. I began pushing back against him, seeking him, matching the rhythm of his thrusts. The collision of our bodies grew louder and louder under the water. I'm shameless, and I love being this way. Instead of stopping me, the thought turned me on even more.

—That's it —he whispered in my ear—, ask for more.

And I asked for more. I asked him for everything. I stopped thinking about the consequences and gave myself to him completely, with the window open and my partner within sight. Adrián held my waist with both hands, pressed one palm against my back, and began thrusting harder, deeper, until I felt him tense. He came inside me with a muffled grunt, and I collapsed against the tiles, empty and full at once, trembling.

—You're a goddess —he said, catching his breath—. Thanks for the water.

—Anytime —I replied, still not recognizing my own voice—. My water is yours.

***

I heard him get dressed and leave. A second later I heard the door to the room next door open. I washed myself, showered again, and, as I put my swimsuit back on, those moans came from the other side of the wall. The same ones that had turned me on that morning. Only now I knew exactly what they meant, and what I'd been a part of.

I went down to the pool as if nothing had happened. I kissed Tomás, got into the water with him, and we continued our quiet evening, laughing at nothing in particular. An hour later Daniela and Adrián came down, she fully recovered by then, and we went back to playing with the ball and drinking until they closed the pool. Each couple went back to their room.

That night I made love to Tomás again. And once more, from the other side of the wall, we could hear those moans that I, too, had been part of a few hours earlier.

The next morning, before we left, Daniela asked for my number.

—In case we run into each other again —she said with a smile—, we could share some drinks.

I gave it to her with my best smile. And while she saved my number in her phone, I couldn't help thinking: And we shared your boyfriend too, without you knowing.