Seduction

When he invited me up for a drink, I had no idea I was about to discover what it was really like to be with a man who knew what he was doing.

I was about to get into the jacuzzi when someone knocked on the door. It was her, with my card in hand and the smile I’d been imagining for months.

I only wanted to make my ex jealous. I never imagined that night would end with me climbing a hidden staircase with the club bouncer.

I never told anyone what I did that afternoon. I went in alone, with no names, no rules, ready to let a stranger lead me into the dark.

I arrived trembling at the barn, on my knees in the straw, waiting for a man whose face I would never get to see. I did it for my boyfriend. Or so I told myself.

While the guests toasted in the hall, she tied an apron over her white dress and plunged her hands into soapy water. Her way of saying: I’m yours.

She locked the door, hung up the “closed” sign, and led him to the back of the shop with a flimsy excuse. What came after wasn’t fully planned.

I needed to tell someone who wouldn’t judge me, and all I could think to do was knock on his door. What I didn’t expect was what would happen at dawn.

I went in to sort out some boring paperwork and came out trembling. What that man did to me with his hands behind his desk still keeps me up at night.

I signed up at the last minute for a countryside party where no one had a partner and one rule ruled everything: what happened that night stayed there. I had no idea how far it would go.

I’d never accepted an invitation from a man I’d just met. But something about his smile, and the way he looked at my cleavage, made me say yes.

She had a girlfriend and I was dragging along a relationship that was fading fast. We went to the coast as friends. What happened in that room with two beds was not in my plans.

I told them my comfort was more effective than any cold drink. I took off my clothes before going in and waited for the hot water to betray me in the steam.

For twenty years behind the desk, I've learned to read people. I knew she couldn't make rent long before she dared ask me for help.

We were coming home from the movies frozen through, but once the elevator doors closed I knew we weren’t going straight to bed that night.

When the power went out and we were trapped between two floors, I knew those dark hours were going to change everything. And I did nothing to stop it.

Daniela had spent years hiding what she felt for her best friend. That night on the terrace, one word — dare — gave her the excuse she’d never dared seek.

We’d been brushing against each other in the hallways for weeks without daring to do anything. That night I got tired of waiting, took off my sweatshirt in front of his door, and told him what I wanted.

My friend stood me up that night, but the stranger at the bar had other plans for me. And I, even if I wouldn’t admit it out loud, did too.

Marcos introduced him as a cousin’s son, visiting for a few days. But Elena didn’t take long to notice the way the boy looked at her when no one else was paying attention.