Female Friends

When the canvas opened in the middle of the night, we knew what had begun between us was turning into something much bigger.

Daniela was twenty, lived on the fourth floor, and had never been with a woman. That day, all of that changed at once.

I had never thought about it until my new friends mentioned it. That night, alone in my room, curiosity won out over fear.

They had been friends for years. All coupled, all jealous, convinced it was just another dinner. Then Daniela brought out the cards.

We had planned Saturday, but she called on Friday: come tonight, I’m anxious. When she opened the door, I could no longer pretend this wasn’t serious.

We were both completely naked, legs crossed, cups in hand, and that was when Sofía asked if I wanted to move in with her.

The couples' game began as an innocent bet by the pool. By nightfall, none of them could quite remember where one body ended and the next began.

There were six of us at Rosa’s bar. By three in the morning, the same six of us were still at Valeria’s place, but nobody had any clothes on.

I met Andrés, with that smile that undid me. Sofía wasn’t home. I hadn’t come for her anyway.

Sofía weighed two hundred pounds of pure authority. Renata understood that the night an old folder changed the balance of power between them forever.

Natalia and I shared a room. That was all. But when we turned out the light and our bodies were inches apart, the plan changed.

When Beatriz locked the office door, neither man yet understood that the meeting had become something else.

I was alone on the sofa when the door opened. It was Marina, my sister’s friend, and what she saw made her smile. What happened next took me by surprise.

When I saw them getting close at the bar, I knew the night wouldn’t end the way they imagined. I’d already touched both of them before they even brushed against each other.

I thought I was home alone. The key in the lock came too late, and when I lifted my head from the sofa, she’d already seen me.

Lucía went upstairs with four women and closed the door. I stayed at the bar with their men. No one imagined what was about to happen in that booth.

The bet was simple: the boldest costume wins. What Sonia didn’t expect was for Vera to walk out of her room wearing nothing but a bow and a smile.

We’d been stealing looks for weeks in the corridor. She was married, I knew I shouldn’t. But the night we were left alone to close, everything we’d held back no longer fit.

We were the kind of people who never broke the rules. Until we turned forty and decided that one night, we could allow ourselves anything.

Nadia squeezed my hand before we went in. I thought: either we get fired or we get married. We came out with a wedding date and an urgent desire to celebrate.