Female Friends

The rule was simple: no falling in love. But when Rocío sent me that voice note at midnight, I knew this was going to get messier than I wanted.

When Clara saw the rusted lock on room four, she did not flinch or hesitate. She sighed, asked for their usual towel, and went in first.

The first night they heard Marcos and Lucía on the other side of the wall, Sofía knew the journey would not end as it had begun.

Rodrigo had been watching them from his towel for a while when Clara gave him the signal. The empty beach and violet sky did the rest.

We were in her room with wine when she burst out laughing. “I never told you everything about Búzios.” I knew what was coming would shake me.

The candle went out and in the dark a hand slid up my thigh. It took me too long to realize that hand wasn’t Marco’s.

The club queue smelled of weed and sweat. My flatmate squeezed my hand, not really knowing what she was doing there. I just kept thinking about finding him again.

We had a week to prepare the boldest costume. I showed up in a miniskirt and stockings. She opened her bedroom door with not a single piece of clothing on.

The commander’s voice froze them both. They’d only been alone in the ship’s infirmary for a few minutes, and the time they had left was no longer enough for anything.

She took another sip of wine, looked at me with that smile that means a confession is coming, and started telling me what really happened that night in the rented house.

I was fifteen and didn’t know what I was seeing. Now, at twenty-two, every memory of those afternoons takes on an entirely different meaning.

I’d spent twelve years waiting for Valeria to look at me like that. That night she finally did, but not in the way I’d imagined.

Ten years without seeing each other, and one champagne dinner was enough to bring everything between them to light. Some friendships hide something more.

When the candle went out, I thought it was my husband touching me. When the light came back, I realized it had all been planned long before that night.

The candle burned out. The darkness was absolute. And then I felt a hand moving up my thigh that wasn't my husband's. It was only a second, but it changed everything.

He called me a little slut the first time he saw me. The second time he begged me not to stop.

When Valeria came back to class after several days, I saw the flash of pain when she sat down. I knew the “flu” was an excuse.