Couple

A yellow Post-it on the little box said a single word: “Play me.” It was two in the morning, and curiosity won out over exhaustion.

I turned on the system from the office just to keep an eye on the tools. What came up on the screen was my wife taking off her bikini in front of him.

—Marina, you won’t believe this: I went in to clean the room and there was a couple in the bed. And I just stood there watching from the doorway, unable to move.

I took my time handing her coat over, enjoying the way men looked at her. I never imagined one would dare that much in front of me.

My husband had spent two decades waiting for me to cross that line. I never imagined I’d do it on an ordinary afternoon, against the wall of my own office.

When I felt his gaze pinned to my back from the window across the way, I knew that afternoon I wasn’t going to buy bread—I was going to give him something much better.

I never thought that seeing another man look at my naked girlfriend, legs spread open on the sand, would be the most arousing thing I’d ever feel.

I let the dress fall on the balcony knowing he was watching from the other side of the glass. And I knew my husband had planned it all.

When the zipper on the dress came undone, I knew that night in the dressing room would change everything between us — and I didn’t want it to stop.

We had spent months fantasizing about it. That night, as she followed the waitress up the stairs, I knew I’d be watching everything from the next room.

We woke up naked, all three of us, and laughing, I remembered the exact moment everything changed: when I learned what Mariela was hiding under her skirt.

The hospital smelled of bleach, but all she could breathe was the memory of callused hands on her back and the suspicion that tonight, too, she wouldn’t open the door.

I smelled fresh coffee and knew the night before hadn’t been a dream. Yamila was still there, in my kitchen, her skin still warm with desire.

When she walked into the bar, my boyfriend raised his glass and smiled as if he knew everything. And, in fact, he’d known for months. That night, the secret was over.

When Lucía started staying over at our house, I still didn’t know how far she was willing to go. That night, in front of everyone, she took off her dress without anyone asking.

I had told her about my fixation on trans women, but I never thought she’d agree to sit there on that sofa and watch another woman put me on my knees.

I went out to get some air while he slept. The lights in the apartment across the way were still on, and then I heard a moan that wasn’t mine and knew I was going to keep watching.

The first time I aimed my sons’ old telescope toward the window across the street, I knew I had become something my husband would never imagine.

All it took was for her to make an insinuating move for me to get on all fours. That night I discovered she had two surprises hidden away, and only one was for me.

In primary school she loved me more than I could love her back. Twenty years later, her voice on the phone sounded the same, and my hands shook.