The Night I Lit the Fireplace for Two Strangers

The first time I lit the fireplace in my house this winter, as soon as the smoke started rising through the flue, one of the most intense nights I’ve ever lived came back to me. It happened quite a few years ago, when I was working in a set of rural apartments high up in the mountains. They were beautiful accommodations, with wooden floors, rustic furniture, and terraces overlooking a valley of pine trees. The ones on the upper floor, the most expensive ones, had something no other place offered: a wood-burning fireplace in the living room.

My job was to cover reception in the morning and again in the late afternoon and evening, check guests in and out, and, above all, deal with any unexpected problems that came up. It was a quiet job, almost monotonous, perfect for someone who likes to observe people. After a few years in hospitality, you learn to size up a guest the moment they walk through the door. Stuck-up types are easy to spot right away: they come in without saying hello, make demands, and never look you in the eye. The others, the ones who arrive smiling from ear to ear, brighten your day.

Daniela and Raquel definitely belonged to the second group.

They arrived one November morning with a reservation for just one night. Daniela was blonde, with long hair, a body that took your breath away, and a laugh that filled the reception area. Raquel wore her hair very short, brown with light highlights, and had a calmer, more restrained air, the kind that promises even more once it lets go. They handed the printed reservation and their ID cards to my coworker at the desk, and from that moment on I knew that day wasn’t going to be like the others.

They were assigned one of the upper apartments, with its huge TV, two double bedrooms, and a spacious living room with an open-plan kitchen. It was right above my own staff room. Half an hour after settling in, one of them called reception to ask whether the fireplace worked.

—Could you come up and light it? —Raquel asked over the phone—. We have no idea how.

My coworker looked at me with a helpless expression. He had never lit a fire in his life. And although I wasn’t exactly an expert either, I saw an opportunity to break the routine and offered right away. I went up to explain how to start it and what precautions to take. Once upstairs I realized they barely had any firewood.

—We want it for tonight —Daniela clarified before I even asked—. This afternoon we’re going to some presentation for some brand or other, and when we come back we want to light the fire and have a drink in front of it. We’re really looking forward to it.

—I’ll bring you more wood then —I told them—. This won’t be enough.

***

A little later, taking advantage of a quiet moment, I loaded up a few logs from the shed by the parking area and went back up. I knocked three times and nobody answered. I opened the door with the master key to leave the wood inside and saw they had gone down to the spa: they’d left two evening dresses thrown over the sofa. Both black, but different from each other. One shorter, one longer. Without meaning to, I imagined which one each of them would wear, and the image stuck in my head.

Those two women were turning me on in a way I couldn’t remember. I had never snooped around a guest’s apartment. Never. But that afternoon temptation got the better of me. I glanced toward the door, made sure it was still shut, and peeked into the first bedroom. Spread out on the bed was one of their sets of underwear: a black thong and bra. Hanging from the wardrobe was the dress Daniela had arrived in that morning, so this was her room.

My heart was beating like I was doing something forbidden, because I was. If someone comes in now, I’m getting fired on the spot. And still I couldn’t stop. I went into the second bedroom. Raquel’s underwear was laid out on the open suitcase on top of a chair: lace bras, black panties, and knee-high stockings. I already had an erection I could barely hide. I imagined the two of them wearing those clothes, and I didn’t know which one I wanted more. The truth was, I wanted them both equally.

My lack of scruples took one step further still. As I was leaving, I saw a pair of panties on the bathroom floor. They had showered before going down to the spa and had left them there. I can’t explain why, but I picked them up off the floor, brought them to my face, and found they smelled like sex. Female sex. What I didn’t know was which one of the two they belonged to. I stored that smell in my memory, put the panties back where they had been, and got out of there with my pulse racing.

***

I went back down to reception trying to look normal, even though I was a wreck inside. Around seven in the evening the two of them left the apartment, slipping into the black dresses I had seen on the sofa. I had guessed right: the short one for Daniela, the long one for Raquel. They looked spectacular, put together, elegant, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the underwear they had on beneath them or that smell that kept circling in my head.

—Can you call us a taxi to the exhibition center? —Daniela asked me, leaning on the counter.

While they waited, Raquel came over and apologized for the mess I had found in the apartment when I went up with the wood. I brushed it off and reminded them that reception closed at ten at night; if they came back later, they had to enter through the side door, which opened with the same key as their room.

I spent the rest of the afternoon unable to think about anything else. As ten o’clock got closer I started working myself up like a child. What if they don’t come back until late? Do I wait for them? What if they show up with someone? I set eleven thirty as my deadline and sat down to watch TV in the common room, even though I had a better one in my room.

They took their time. It was almost eleven thirty when I saw them open the side door. Alone, luckily. They seemed surprised to find me awake there.

—Are you on guard to keep an eye on us? —Daniela teased.

—Not at all —I said.

And just like that they walked past me on their way to the apartment, barely looking at me. I felt ridiculous. Nearly two hours waiting and not even a gesture. The whole fantasy collapsed all at once. Resigned, I got up to go into my room. And then, just as I was about to close the door, I heard footsteps in the hallway. It was Daniela.

—Lucky you’re still here —she said, almost out of breath—. We’re trying to light the fireplace the way you explained, and it’s impossible. Can you give us a hand?

—It’s almost twelve —I replied, putting on a bit of a martyr act—. I was going to get into the bath and relax.

—I know, and I’m sorry. But we’re hopeless with this. We were so looking forward to talking in front of the fire… Please.

***

I agreed as if I were doing them a huge favor, though inside I was taking the stairs two at a time. I went in determined. Raquel was sitting on the sofa. The moment I had the two of them in front of me, I felt myself starting to get hard. Daniela had her legs crossed and you could see her knee-high stockings. My eyes kept drifting to what she was hiding under the dress. I was wondering which one of them the smell I’d stored in my memory belonged to.

I knelt in front of the fireplace and started arranging the wood. Raquel came closer to watch, so close that her knees were level with my eyes. Every time I explained something about the flue or the logs, I used the chance to steal a glance at her. The fire finally caught, and the two of them were delighted with the light and warmth that began filling the living room.

—At the presentation they gave us some bottles of local wine —Daniela said, getting up—. We’re going to open one. Since you helped us, do you want a glass with us or are you in a hurry?

—I never say no to a glass of local wine.

The fire and the wine created an intimate atmosphere almost at once. We talked for a while; they told me a little about their lives and I told them about mine, and little by little the conversation heated up as much as the room. The three of us were sitting in front of the fireplace, Daniela beside me with her legs crossed, Raquel opposite us, leaning forward with her glass in her hands and a neckline I could hardly ignore.

—You must pull a lot, right? —Daniela asked.

—Actually, no. Today I did try, though.

—And did it go well?

—I don’t know yet. I don’t know how it’s going to end.

—Are you telling us you want to hook up with us? —she laughed—. And which one of us, if I may ask?

—Neither in particular —I answered, taking the risk—. Since I saw you come in this morning, I haven’t been able to think of anything else but being with both of you.

A heavy silence fell. Daniela set her glass down on the table, took mine, drank a sip, and kissed me. We started making out and touching each other without hurry. My hand disappeared under her dress and I felt that the thong was already wet. Across from us, Raquel watched us reclining on the sofa, her legs slightly apart, running one hand over her chest, first over the fabric and then directly over her skin.

Daniela was in a hurry. I wasn’t. I had been fantasizing about this all afternoon and I wanted to savor it slowly. Her hands went down to my fly, unfastened my pants, and started running over me through my underwear while she bit my ear and neck. She stood up, took off my shoes, my pants, and finally what was left. I sat on the edge of the sofa, naked from the waist down, while she knelt between my legs. Across from us, Raquel kept touching herself, putting on a show I didn’t want to miss.

Daniela took me in one hand and put me in her mouth. Seeing her looking at me with that mischievous half-smile while she licked me is an image I’ve never forgotten. I stayed like that for a while, until I had to ask her to stop or it would all be over too soon.

—Do to her what you’re doing to me —I told her, pointing at Raquel.

She obeyed. She moved over on her knees, lifted Raquel’s dress, pulled off her panties, and threw them to me. She spread Raquel’s legs and buried her face between her thighs. I picked up the panties she had tossed me and, bringing them closer, I recognized the smell from earlier that afternoon. They were Raquel’s. That detail turned me on even more. I started touching myself while she moaned with Daniela’s tongue working her over.

***

I wanted to share the pleasure around. I suggested to Raquel that we give her friend back what she was giving us, and she let me do it. I moved behind Daniela, interrupted what she was doing, and laid her down on the rug in front of the fire. I took off her panties and opened her legs. I told Raquel to take care of her breasts while I went down with my mouth. There was Daniela, lying on the floor, the firelight playing over her skin and my tongue working between her thighs. Raquel kissed her breasts, bit her nipples, traced her body with her hands. Daniela moaned nonstop, telling us not to stop.

We paused and all three of us stood up. They finished taking off their dresses and we were left naked in front of the fireplace. I lay down on the floor and asked Raquel to sit on top. She did it slowly, letting me in all the way, and started moving with a gentle rocking motion. My hands on her hips set the rhythm. She kept saying out loud how much she was enjoying it. Meanwhile, Daniela didn’t want only to give; she wanted to receive too, so without asking, she placed her sex over my face, right in front of her friend. I lost all sight of everything, but the sound of the two of them moaning at once more than made up for it.

I asked them to stop. I didn’t want it to end, I wanted to stretch it out as long as possible. I sat on the sofa watching them. Daniela lay down on the rug repeating that she wanted more, and Raquel again positioned herself over her face. They gave each other pleasure while I had Raquel’s body in front of me moving to the rhythm of her friend’s tongue. It was too great a temptation. I knelt behind her. Daniela, who had her between her legs, guided me with her hand and asked me to fuck her. I didn’t need asking twice. I started moving and Raquel let out a scream that was probably heard all over the complex.

To share it out, I shifted my attention to Daniela. I laid her on her back and, with a cushion under her hips, raised her a little to get in better. Raquel stretched out beside her with her legs open, and that way I was able to tend to one with my tongue and the other with my hand at the same time. We found a shared rhythm, their moans started to synchronize, and the three of us came almost at once. First Raquel, with an intense orgasm that shook her whole body. Then Daniela, who closed her legs with my hand trapped between them and let go with a long cry. I held on until the end, and finished outside, on the skin of the two women, lit up by the fire.

I couldn’t believe it. That night I stayed with them until dawn. We never stopped: when one rested, the other wanted more. At nine in the morning, before the shift change arrived, I slipped out of the apartment making sure no one saw me. I went back to my post as if nothing had happened, with my shirt fastened wrong and a smile that lasted for days.

Daniela and Raquel left that same afternoon, grateful and discreet, with no further explanation. I never saw them again. But every winter, when I light the fireplace and the first smoke rises through the flue, I go back to that night and that valley of pine trees. And I smile.