Seduction

Don Ernesto was twenty-seven years older than me, with rough laborer’s hands and a hungry gaze I pretended not to see. That night, I closed the curtains myself.

By the time the older brother walked through that door, it was already too late to regret anything. I was in that hotel between them, desire overpowering shame.

I was 48, in a stable marriage, and living a perfect lie. Every week I crossed that door and became another woman. One I never knew existed.

When he told me he was a virgin, I didn’t know whether to laugh or hug him. I chose the second. What came after was inevitable.

When Aiko entered the onsen naked and unhurried, I knew this business trip would end in a way that wasn’t written into any contract.

Rodrigo looked without hiding it by the hot springs. Sofía had her eyes closed and her long neck exposed to the sun. Claudia saw it and said nothing.

Ten years of widowhood and silence. Until one night I saw light under her door and went closer. What I found on the other side changed everything between us.

When I took her hands in the car, in front of the square, she already knew where I was taking her. I was still pretending I didn’t know.

When Roberto’s car disappeared around the bend, Sofía looked at Raquel. They had three hours, two men waiting, and a plan that seemed foolproof.

The air lifted my dress and I did nothing to stop it. I wanted to be seen. I needed to be seen, even if I didn’t quite know why.

When I opened the bathroom door and saw Sandra in that little skirt and red-painted lips, I knew the original plan no longer existed.

I had been fantasizing about her for weeks, but the snowstorm and that couples’ motel finally broke down the barriers between us.

He came to help me with my new television, with his defined arms and that gaze that avoided mine. He was twenty, and I already knew what was going to happen.

When I got into the truck with him that night, I knew something was going to happen. What I didn’t imagine was ending up on my knees in the dark looking at him like that.

I arrived at the bachelorette party in red heels and with a broken heart. What I didn’t imagine was that I’d end up on my knees in front of a stranger, never wanting him to stop.

When they walked into the apartment, there was no innocence left in their eyes. All that remained was deciding how we were going to end the night, and the deck stayed on the table.

When I broke the red seal on the envelope, I knew my stable life had crossed a line. What I didn’t expect was for my husband to beg me to accept that indecent proposal.

Eva asked me to meet her two hours before her flight to Boston. When she arrived, she brought a new perfume—and a very clear idea of how to say goodbye.

My best friend arrived soaked that night, her eyes red from crying so much. What happened after the third bottle of wine was not in my plans.

I only knew the bride, but by two in the morning I was someone else. Three strippers entered the bar, and my eyes fixed on just one of them.