Lingerie

The shop was empty at three in the afternoon. When he pulled the shutter down and led me to the fitting room, I knew that siesta wouldn’t be like any other.

The beds squeaked in sync. If she moaned, my girlfriend got louder. It was a silent competition between four people separated by a few inches of drywall.

The proposal came with the third drink: each night, one of the four would be in charge in the other couple’s room. They said we’d start that very night.

Under my button-down there’s lace. Under my dress pants, fishnet stockings and garters. My coworkers see Matías. I know who I really am.

When we got to Pablo and Vera’s place, the champagne was already cold. I tried to act calm. My body had been betraying me for weeks every time he brought it up.

I had been preparing that day for months: the wig, the dress, the lubricant. I thought I was alone at the abandoned lookout. The guard disagreed.

The August heat crushed the block’s courtyard and Adrián couldn’t tear his eyes from the window across the way. Mrs. Valverde didn’t know she was being watched.

To the world we were two friends at the bar. Only I knew I had a black thong under my joggers, and that he knew it too.

A few seconds of video were enough to make my knees shake. Since then, I’ve been rehearsing every detail in my mind: the room, him, and what comes next.

Rodrigo held her hips during their workouts and she pretended not to notice his erection. When she found her panties in his room, she could no longer ignore what was happening.

That morning Rodrigo closed his office door and pulled out a small gold bag. Inside was something that would change the office mornings forever.

Lorena had a reputation for liking women. I never paid it any mind until that spring morning when we ended up trapped together.

Twenty years old, zero experience, and a cousin who looked at him like she knew exactly what was on his mind. The summer was going to be long.

When I told him I could call someone to keep him company, he went out to buy cigarettes. Thirty minutes later, Sofía came down the stairs in heels.

The shop was empty and the boy was young. I’d been imagining that exact moment for days, and I had no intention of wasting it.

We sat facing each other with a martini each. One rule: see, talk to, smell each other. Touching was forbidden. And she had an ice cube in her hand.

I took the elevator in heels and a wig, praying I wouldn’t run into anyone. He opened the door in a robe and called me a slut before I even said hello.

I’d wanted to do it for a long time: pick up a man in a public place and take him to bed. That afternoon in the café, I finally dared.

When she told me she was into me, I didn’t believe her. Then came the message with the hotel name and the exact time. I knew it was real.

I had a secret room behind my lingerie shop. That afternoon, Andrés was already naked when I got there. We weren’t expecting anyone else.