What Happened at the Inn with the Neighbor Next Door

I never considered myself an adventurous woman. 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 one weekend from last summer I can’t get out of my head, no matter how much I know I should be ashamed. I’m telling it here because I need to say it out loud, even if only anonymously.

My partner, Tomás, and I had a habit of sneaking away once a month. That time we chose an inn on the outskirts of the city, the kind with only a few rooms, a pool, and silence. We arrived on a Saturday at noon with a half-closed suitcase and desire buzzing through our skin. We were greeted by the owner, a woman of about forty-five who took good care of herself, and her husband, who welcomed us with a smile that was far too long. I felt his gaze travel over me from head to toe, but I didn’t give it any importance. I’m used to being looked at.

They assigned us room eleven. As we climbed the stairs, the door next to ours opened and out came a young couple: she looked about twenty-five, he was a little older. They both had great bodies, I won’t deny it. We exchanged a nod, that polite nod of people sharing a wall for a couple of nights, and each went on their way.

—Everything’s so quiet —I told Tomás as I closed the room door—. We’ve got the pool to ourselves.

—Let’s take advantage of it before more people get here —he replied, already pulling off his T-shirt.

We got into the shower together. The brush of his wet body against mine was enough to light me up. We started kissing under the water, slowly, and then not so slowly. I knelt and took him in my mouth while the water ran down my back. I felt him grow, harden, until he gently pulled away and turned me against the tiles. He came into me in one thrust and we both held our breath.

We came out of the bathroom still wet and fell onto the bed. I sat on top of him, felt him slide all the way inside me, and started moving, searching for 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 entered me again, deeper. That was when I really lost control.

That was when I heard them. On the other side of the wall, from room ten, there were moans. A woman’s voice, breathless, almost synchronized with mine. I looked at Tomás and he looked at me, both of us surprised and, I admit it, both of us turned on. Knowing that they were hearing us and we were hearing them lit me up 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 fell asleep for a while. When we went down to the pool, a little after four in the afternoon, there were more people there: our room neighbors and half a dozen others. We made ourselves some drinks, ate a little, and settled into the loungers. Tomás reclined with his eyes closed, relaxed by the sun and the alcohol.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the moans. Out of pure curiosity I looked over at the neighbors and discovered it: the guy was looking at me. He looked away immediately, as if he’d been caught stealing, but something ignited in me. The kink of being watched, of playing with fire with my partner three meters away, felt stronger than any principle.

I started teasing him without anyone noticing. One extra smile when he lifted his eyes. A change of position on the lounger, just when I knew he was looking. He answered in kind, and before long the game of glances was mutual, shameless, a silent conversation no one around us seemed to hear.

When I got into the pool, I found excuses to pass close to him. I brushed his leg as if by accident when I swam by. The second time wasn’t so accidental. He followed me with his eyes under the water and I felt that touch travel up my back like a current.

The sun began to go down and people started leaving. In the end it was just the four of us and an older couple who didn’t stay much longer either. Someone brought out an inflatable ball and we started playing, tossing it around while laughing, and from there we moved on to chatting all together. Things that didn’t matter: where we’d come from, what we did for a living, how many times we’d been to the inn. A one-day friendship, the kind that’s born in the water and forgotten once you get home.

Her name was Daniela; his was Adrián.

—I think I’m going to head upstairs for a bit —Daniela said at some point, pressing a hand to her forehead—. I got a little dizzy. I need water and to lie down for five minutes.

—Go on up спокойно, I’ll check on you in a bit —Adrián answered.

—I’ll come with you —I offered right away—. I’m going to get some water from the room too.

The truth was Daniela looked pretty dizzy, so I walked her to her room, gave her a glass of water, and left her lying on the bed. When I was heading out, I saw Adrián coming down the hall. I motioned for him to keep quiet and leaned in to tell him his girlfriend was resting, that he should let her sleep for a while.

—Okay —he murmured—. Will you spare 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 betrayed me to myself. I’m inviting him to my room. I knew it, and even so I said yes.

***

We walked to my door. He stayed standing in the doorway, hesitating. I went in first and bent down in front of the fridge to take out the bottle, slower 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 to me he let a sentence drop:

—It’s as hot as you are.

My whole skin prickled. I turned to put the glass away and bent down again, shameless, not even trying to hide it anymore. I felt his hand on my waist.

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

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

—Wait for me, I’m going to the bathroom and then we’ll go down —I told him, as if there were still any way back to normal.

I was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, so to go to 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 get in too —Adrián said, approaching with a calm that undid me.

I didn’t know what to say. I stepped into the shower area while he stayed there 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, with trembling hands, started soaping him: his arms, chest, legs. Then I dropped the soap and followed it with my mouth.

I gave him the best blowjob of my life, with water running down my face and his gaze pinned on me from above. I felt his hand in my hair, pushing just a little, 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 there without entering yet. The wait was driving me insane. I arched my back, lifted my hips, and finally felt him drive into me in one hard thrust.

I bit my lips so I wouldn’t moan. The last thing I wanted was for someone to hear us. But then I remembered the little bathroom window, the one that faced the pool, and opened it just enough to look out. Down below, on the lounger, Tomás was still stretched out with his drink, eyes closed, meters from me and yet in another world.

Seeing him there, oblivious to everything, was the signal I needed to let go. I started pushing back against Adrián, seeking him, matching the rhythm of his thrusts. The collision of our bodies sounded louder and louder beneath the water. I’m shameless and I love being shameless. The thought, instead of stopping me, turned me on even more.

—Like that —he whispered in my ear—, ask for more.

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

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

—Anytime —I answered, 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 up, showered again, and while I put the 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 had been part of.

I went down to the pool like nothing had happened. I kissed Tomás, got into the water with him, and we spent the rest of the night peacefully, laughing at anything and everything. An hour later Daniela and Adrián came down, with her recovered now, and we went back to playing with the ball and drinking until the pool closed. Each couple went to their room.

That night I made love to Tomás again. And once more, on the other side of the wall, those moans could be heard, moans I had also 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 a few drinks.

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