Forbidden

I only knew Beatriz because she was my wife’s friend. One night she came down to the kitchen with an unexpected proposal.

When Inés opened the door to the two men in uniform at exactly midnight, I knew the promise of a quiet night had been a delicious lie.

Carolina said she was bored of men. But when I dropped my pants beside her pool, her eyes never left me for a second.

I saw him in briefs only once and since then I can’t sleep without thinking about him. The fact that he’s my half-brother should be enough to stop me, but it isn’t.

It was six in the morning and the bar was empty. He poured me a tequila, looked at me the way he’d been looking all night, and told me he wouldn’t let me leave that fast.

That morning, when I half-opened my eyes on the mattress pushed up against the balcony, she was already there on hers, smoking, waiting for me to turn over.

I needed company. Without thinking, I asked him if he wanted to get in with me. What happened next changed everything I thought I knew about myself and my friends.

For months I’d been pretending men didn’t interest me anymore. One voice on the phone and a promise of a gift were enough to drag me back in.

We started with stupid stickers at the end of the shift. Then came the nickname. Then the fantasy. That night he texted that my place was closer, and I couldn’t say no.

When I arrived at the restaurant in my black dress with lace underneath, I already knew I wasn’t leaving there as the faithful wife I was pretending to be.

Two years had passed since the first time. When he replied to my message, I knew I was going to see him, even though something in me said I shouldn’t.

I’m married. I’m straight. That was me when I walked into the mall bathroom. What I was fifteen minutes later, I’m not so sure anymore.

When she walked into her room naked except for the blouse, those white hips swaying, I knew I would never sleep in that house again without thinking of her.

I never imagined that agreeing to partner swapping would end up revealing a secret my husband had kept since school.

From my wheelchair I watched my wife get out of the car on my boss’s arm. And I knew, without knowing how, that that night I’d be surplus in my own marriage.

That September morning I saw the shyest girl in class walk in. It took me two weeks to realize the shy one wasn’t her, it was me.

When she invited me to dinner at her place, I thought she just wanted to thank me. I had no idea what she was hiding under that pencil skirt, or how far she was willing to go.

When she quickened her pace on the trail and caught up with him with a smile too wide for that hour, Mateo knew the sunrise would not be the only thing he saw at the summit.

I texted “Want to play?” from my fitting room. Five seconds later I slipped into hers, ready to make her come in silence before the saleswoman noticed.

My sister was laughing while I told her what I’d read on my son’s WhatsApp, and I never imagined that afternoon would end with me kneeling in front of him.