Hotel

The receptionist handed me a package with no return address. Inside, a metal plug and a note in his handwriting: “For our date, I want you to wear it.”

I agreed to accompany him, knowing I would be his woman for a few days. What I didn’t know was that my body was already part of the deal.

She had never touched a belly like that without gloves and a gown in between. This time it was Marisol’s, her sister-in-law’s, and she couldn’t pretend she was only there to feel for the twins’ kicks.

I had imagined it in silence for years, telling no one. That night, at the bar of a hotel that wasn’t mine, a stranger made the choice for me.

I walked into the room blindfolded, nearly naked under my coat, not knowing who was waiting for me on the other side of the music. Only my husband’s voice guided me.

When we got back to the room, we couldn’t wait any longer. Then there was a knock: the gift I’d prepared for her had just arrived, and you knew nothing.

When I opened the backpack he handed me in the lobby of that run-down hotel, I understood the meeting was nothing like I’d imagined. And it was already too late to turn back.

He left me on the sofa blindfolded, my hands sweating. When a hand climbed my leg and the music started, I knew I’d never forget that night.

I’m shy with almost everyone, except my husband. That’s why I was so surprised to want that stranger who sat down in front of me, as if she’d been waiting for months.

“I was expecting you today,” she said, and Tomás realized their chance reunion was anything but accidental.

Sitting in the armchair, the key dangling between her breasts, I knew that night I’d finally watch her give herself to another man while I stayed locked up.

I crossed the threshold without underwear, just as she had ordered. What I didn’t know was that on the other side of the door, a face I knew far too well was waiting for me.

I don’t know your name, but I know what’s waiting for you. I also thought it was love before I learned to obey every one of his orders.

She kept telling herself she was a decent woman, but that night, in the hotel room, she discovered how badly she wanted to obey every one of my orders.

I opened my eyes and didn’t recognize the room: only the weight of hands on my skin and the certainty that that morning belonged to others.

I arrived trembling at the room, closed the curtains, and undressed following his instructions. I only wanted to be a usable mouth. I had no idea what would come out of it.

I left that store trembling with desire, never imagining that by that same week I’d be on my knees, begging to be used with not a shred of tenderness.

I agreed to go have coffee with my friend's boyfriend. When he opened the door to that room, I realized there was no coffee waiting for me.

I thought he was coming in for an ordinary problem. Instead, he sat across from me, lowered his gaze, and began to tell me something he’d hidden from everyone for years.

When he came out of the shower and found him waiting in black lace, Bianca smiled: she knew exactly what was going to happen that night.