Lesbian

“I want you to give her what my mother never had,” she said with a smile. And when I saw that mature woman, I knew I wasn’t going to say no.

I’d gone almost two years without touching anyone when I saw her step off the minibus with that smile. I promised myself that before I flew home, that mouth would be mine.

I had never felt so much from a simple brush of hips. When she settled behind me on the crowded bus, I knew that ride wouldn’t end like the others.

They went up to the second floor carrying a tray of pastries. None of them imagined they’d learn that afternoon how much desire had been sleeping between the three of them.

The hospital smelled of chlorine, but all she could breathe was the memory of calloused hands on her back—and the fear that Valeria wouldn’t open the door.

I thought the family weekend would be like any other. Until she walked through the gate and I realized the past had never really been buried.

My tutor had just fallen asleep when I discovered the half-open drawer of her bedside table. Inside, something was shining that was about to change everything between us.

I arrived in a black dress and hairpins. She was waiting in red silk, with a jeweled pendant and a question: what do you expect me to offer you?

When I opened my eyes, her arm was resting on my chest and the makeshift bed still smelled like the night before. I was going to leave soon; I’d promised my husband.

When she suggested that the loser take off a piece of clothing, I said yes without thinking. I never imagined what would come next—or that we’d end up naked.

It was the first time I saw her appear in a nightdress at three in the morning, barefoot and with that smile that asked permission without asking.

I went downstairs in the middle of the night for a glass of water. The back bedroom door was half open, and from inside came a faint light and two conspiratorial laughs.

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

When she poured the fourth shot and held my gaze a second too long, I knew that night we were going to cross the line we’d been avoiding for months.

My ad was for men, always. But that afternoon, when I read her message, I knew I was about to break my own rule and complicate my life.

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 sent my secretary home, turned up the heat, and left only my blazer over my sheer bra. I wanted Mariela to see everything I’d been craving for weeks.

When she told me the total and I counted my bills, I knew I was four thousand short. I leaned on the counter and whispered a proposition in her ear.

Marisol was sitting on the edge of the bed with the baby at her breast, completely naked, when I pushed the door open. Milk was dripping from her and she didn’t ask me to leave.

When I sat beside her in that workshop, I never imagined that quiet, sad woman would end up whispering, naked in her bed, that she had never felt anything like it.