Seduction

Every morning I spied on him from the window without admitting it. That rainy afternoon he showed up at my door soaked, and I knew there was no way to keep pretending nothing was happening.

I went down to the kitchen to make coffee and felt his gaze fixed on my back. I knew what was going to happen, and for the first time in months I didn’t want to stop him.

The apartment walls were paper-thin, and my girlfriend’s best friend slept just on the other side. That first morning, we pretended not to remember she was there.

I came out of the water shivering and saw her adjusting her bikini in the sun. Neither of us knew that morning would change everything between us.

I paid a fortune to find the perfect wife. The app gave me one profile: Daniela. What I discovered at the hotel wasn’t in any photo.

I took off my bikini in the jacuzzi, knowing he was watching me from the roof. What I came to forget became the only thing I remember about the trip.

That night, while I was correcting his exercises in the hotel room, I felt his gaze fixed on me and knew I could no longer be just his teacher.

Renata always hid behind Camila and Marisol. That night, on warm sand and far from home, she decided she was done watching from the shore.

We had never gone beyond a polite greeting, but that soaked afternoon, trapped by the rain in his shop, everything changed with a single message on my phone.

I barely knew him, but when that stranger grabbed me in front of everyone, the driver set down his drink at the bar and walked over with a calm that was scarier than any shout.

He didn’t do much for me physically, but the idea of being wanted was intoxicating. When he climbed onto the stool to fix the fan, I knew exactly how I’d pay him back.

I went up to that flat for a haircut. She opened the door with the promise that she’d stay in a thong in front of a complete stranger.

When Sara came out of Don Aurelio’s winery her legs were shaking and she wouldn’t look me in the eye. I knew exactly what had just happened inside.

I walked behind my son with Bruno pressed against my back, holding my breath. I knew it was wrong—and that was exactly why I couldn’t stop.

When I opened the front door, I knew that woman was going to ruin my night. I had no idea how far she’d take it, or where she’d end up kneeling in front of me.

The request came from a shy boy, my nephew’s friend. I took weeks to answer him and a month to admit I wanted him in my bed.

That Friday he got into the car with a suitcase and some boxes I didn’t understand. Inside wasn’t work: it was the gift that would finally let me be who I’d always been.

We weren’t planning anything that afternoon. But when he dropped his pants in front of me, I knew I was about to try something I’d never tried before.

She knew that every Thursday she hung the laundry at the same time. That morning I decided to step out wearing nothing at all, just to see her face. I didn’t expect her to smile like that.

When she told him she was “hanging in there,” Tino understood that word weighed the same as his own: years of cold sheets. And in the middle of the street, they decided to fix it.