What We Said to Each Other Naked Before the Wedding

We got to the apartment after midday, after a whole morning of running errands. We’d stopped by the office to give them the date, the bosses congratulated us, we went to Human Resources and explained the situation. Everyone was surprised how close the wedding was. That’s what happens when you don’t give months of advance notice.

As soon as I opened the door, the first thing I did was take off my clothes. First the shoes, then the pants, the blouse, the bra. A habit that started in our first month living together and that by now was part of our life: getting home and staying naked, free, without the weight of everything the world demands outside.

—Okay, I’m putting the water on for the mates —I shouted toward the bathroom, while I looked something up on my phone.

—I’m coming out now! —her voice answered from inside.

When did this become so natural?, I thought while I waited. A year earlier I wouldn’t even have dared stay in my underwear in front of someone else. Now I walked around the apartment naked like it was the most normal thing in the world. For us, it was.

I settled onto the couch with the kettle and the mate and opened my phone. I was looking for clothes to wear at home when the cold started to bite: something light, above the knee, that we could put on with nothing underneath. Because I wasn’t willing to give up our habit just because the temperatures dropped.

—Damn it —I muttered, frustrated.

Valeria came out of the bedroom, also naked, frowning.

—What happened?

—I can’t find what I’m looking for. I want some comfy fabric, like a light sweatshirt, for wearing around here. But everything I see is either awful or costs a fortune.

—Give me a mate and come to the bedroom —she said, nodding—. Bring the kitchen chair.

***

Vale’s closet was its own universe. She had things stored on the top shelf I had never even seen. She climbed onto the chair and started rummaging through bags with the concentration of someone who knows something is in there but can’t quite remember where.

—Here they are —she said—. They’re two light sweatshirt-fabric dresses, thin, above the knee. They’re a few years old, but for the apartment they’re perfect. And we wear the same size, so you choose.

She handed me both. One dark gray, one cream.

—Which one do you want? —I asked.

—I don’t care. They’re yours too.

—I’ll take the dark gray.

—They need to be washed first.

I put it on anyway, just to try it. Valeria looked at me from atop the chair and smiled slowly.

—It looks amazing on you —she said—. Your nipples show through. I love it. And it makes your ass look great.

—Always with that —I laughed, holding out my hand to help her climb down.

I hugged her before her feet touched the floor. We kissed. Just like that, no more than that, no special occasion. Just because.

—When you get mad you scare me, Luci —she said between laughs, shaking me a little—. You’re crazy.

—Sorry, baby. I’d been looking for ages and nothing worked. I got desperate.

—Relax. That’s it. We found something.

I took the dresses to the washing machine, went back to the couch, and lay down with my head in Vale’s lap. Her hand found my hair almost without thinking. It’s another one of our rituals: me lying down, her sitting, her hand running through my hair and over my face while we talk about everything and nothing.

—Let’s go over everything —I said—. For the wedding.

—Sure. But if you get distracted by my tits, it’s not my fault —she said, leaning forward to bring them closer to my face.

—You’re such a brat —I laughed, and kissed them anyway.

***

We spent a good while making an inventory. The nail polish, the lipstick, the eyelashes, the strapless bra, the Lycra top, the stockings, the skirt, and the blazer.

—The sandals —Vale said.

—Right, the sandals. And the perfume. We didn’t talk about the perfume.

—I have mine, you have yours. Later we’ll see which one we use. And if you don’t have the one you like, you use mine.

I lifted my head to look at her.

—That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about —she said, with a more serious voice but without losing her calm—. There’s no more “can I borrow it.” Do you understand? What’s mine is yours. When we want to be together we don’t say “can I borrow your body,” do we?

—No.

—Then enough. You’re not a guest, Luci. You’re my partner. You’re going to be my wife. Wear whatever you want, whenever you want. No asking.

My eyes filled up. Just like that, all at once, without warning.

—When you talk like that you make me emotional, idiot —I said, my voice breaking a little.

She took my face in both hands and kissed me slowly.

—There’s something else I want to tell you —she continued—. In all this time living together, I didn’t regret choosing you even for a second. We complement each other in a way I never expected. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.

The tears fell on their own. I couldn’t stop them.

—I love you too, stupid —I told her, and both of us laughed at my very particular way of saying sweet things.

***

After the emotional moment we went back to practical matters, and there were several still pending.

—What do we do after the civil ceremony? —I asked—. Your family and mine will be there. It ends around midday. Do we come back here?

—We could order food. A lunch, empanadas, maybe a cake. We come back, change, and then we go to the hotel. We also need to pack a bag.

—How many of us are there in total?

—From my family, four. The two of us, six. From your family, I think five. Eleven or twelve people. And we have six chairs.

—We’ll borrow the missing ones from your sister.

—Deal, I’ll ask her. —Pause—. And we need to give the apartment a once-over. It’s not messy, but if everyone’s coming...

—Fuck —I said, setting down the mate.

—Exactly. Fuck —Vale repeated, laughing.

There’s something very particular about being able to laugh at problems when you’re naked on the couch with your favorite person. The problems are still problems, but they feel more manageable.

—Anyway, I don’t give a damn about all this —I said after a while—. I’m marrying you. The rest can be figured out.

—Yes, but stop thinking so much or you’ll drive me crazy.

—Then give me a kiss.

She did. A long one, unhurried.

***

There was a moment of silence. Vale was stroking my arm. I stared at the ceiling and thought of nothing in particular, which is the most honest way to be present.

—There’s something that sometimes scares me —Vale said suddenly, in a different voice. Softer.

—Tell me.

—I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like a shapeless fear. That something will change. That you’ll leave. I know it doesn’t make sense, but sometimes I feel it and I can’t handle it.

—Listen —I told her, sitting up to look her straight in the eyes—. Where am I supposed to go? My life is here. With you. The only place I could go is with my family, in the village, and I have no intention of ever going back there, except to visit. And if I go anywhere, it’s with you.

A brief silence. She nodded slowly.

—I know —she said—. But sometimes the mind doesn’t listen to what the heart knows.

—If you ever want to talk to someone, a professional, anything, I’ll go with you. No questions, no judgment. I’ll always be here.

—Thanks. —She looked at me—. I just talked about it and I didn’t turn into someone else.

—I noticed. And I’m really glad.

—Maybe it’s because I’m getting married —she said, with a small smile.

—Maybe it’s because you know I’m not going anywhere.

We stayed quiet for another moment, but it was a comfortable silence. The kind of silence that only exists between people who no longer need to fill every space with words.

—I don’t want to cry anymore —Vale said suddenly—. I want something else.

—I propose a game —I said.

—Let’s hear it.

—No penetration until the day of the wedding. From that night on, we go at it like crazy.

She smiled slowly. First with her eyes, then with her whole face.

—I love it. Deal.

—Then now we shower together.

—Yes!

***

The water took a minute to heat up. We got in together and the steam filled the bathroom almost immediately. We kissed under the spray while the water soaked our hair, our shoulders, our backs.

I took the sponge with soap and started running it over Vale’s body. Slowly. Over her neck, shoulders, ribs, belly. I lingered over her breasts longer than necessary because I always linger over her breasts and she knows it and lets me. I rubbed her nipples with my palm, feeling them harden under my fingers, and I loved watching her breathe deeper, part her lips just a little, and look down to follow every movement. I moved down her belly button, over the soft curve of her hip, over the warm skin of her thighs, opening her with my hands with the same natural ease with which you open a door you know by heart. The water ran between her legs and I slid two fingers into her cunt slowly, just to feel her get wetter, to feel her knees soften while she rested one hand on my shoulder. I turned her to get a better look at her wet ass, firm, and gave her a quick smack before going back to kissing her neck. She let out a low gasp, one of those sounds that set me on fire inside.

I turned her around. I pressed her gently against the cold tiles, lifted one leg, and rested it on my shoulder. I knelt on the wet ceramic and licked her slowly, with my tongue flat, without hurrying. First on the outside, tracing the lips of her cunt, parting them with the tip of my tongue to taste her better, to swallow her salty, hot flavor. Then I slid my tongue deeper, slowly, sinking in as far as she let me, while with my free hand I spread her ass open so everything was visible, unashamed, face to face. Vale braced one hand on the wall and the other on my head, not to guide me but to keep me close, to press me against her when the first shiver ran through her body. I loved seeing her lose control like that, with water running down her belly, with my lips stuck to her flesh, with that face of brutal pleasure she only ever showed me.

I took as long as I wanted. I licked her clit until she started moving her hips, looking for more friction, more pressure, more tongue. I slid two fingers into her while I kept sucking her cunt, slowly at first and then faster, opening her with a rhythm that made her let out sounds that were less and less restrained. Vale came silently at first, then with a low sound I know by heart, and finally with her whole body tightening and then giving way in my hands. She came hard, completely, hanging onto my shoulder, her legs shaking and her breathing broken. I held her until the final wave passed, and when she opened her eyes her face was soaked and she had a surrendering smile that left my chest burning.

I stood up. We kissed again, with the water falling over both of us, and I slid my tongue into her mouth, still tasting what I’d just pulled out of her body.

Then it was my turn.

Vale soaped me up all over, very slowly, with that concentration she gets when she wants me to feel every second. She turned me around and kissed my spine from top to bottom. Her nails slid down my sides and gave me goosebumps. She knelt, took my hips in both hands, and ran her tongue over everything between my ass cheeks, without hurry, without shame, because between us neither exists. She spread my ass wide with her fingers and kept licking me, first over the wet cleft, then searching for my hole with a slow insistence that made me moan softly. Water ran down my legs while she ate me like she was hungry for me, like she couldn’t wait for the day of the wedding to tear everything from me again.

One of her hands circled my hip and found my clit. She worked it slowly at first, then more insistently, rubbing me with two fingers while her tongue kept going below, alternating pressure and suction, taking me from one point to another without giving me any rest. I pressed my forehead to the cold tiles and let everything happen. I could feel my body heating up, my thighs tensing, my cunt pulsing harder and harder around her fingers. I asked for more with a choked gasp and she gave it to me, sliding one more finger inside while she kept touching my clit with cruel precision. When I came, I came all the way. My legs shook, my back arched, and I let out a moan that must have echoed through the whole bathroom. Vale didn’t pull away until the spasm had completely unraveled inside me and I was left undone, with my breathing in tatters and my body dripping water and heat.

We got out of the shower tangled together, still laughing at something neither of us was able to explain afterward. We dried off, ate something light standing in the kitchen, and went to bed without saying much more.

A few days before getting married, we slept in each other’s arms as if we already had been for years.