by A. C. Meyer
“But . . .” I start, unable to put my feelings into words.
“I want you. I want your pretty smile and your delicious curves. Look at me and see just how much pleasure you give me. No restraints. No shame for who you are, because you won me over. Just the way you are. I want to give you pleasure. I want to make you sigh and groan. I want you to see exactly how you make me feel,” he says, looking in my eyes, his body over mine. He lowers his head, his mouth taking mine in an overwhelming kiss. It’s enough to push away any embarrassment I still feel. My arms circle his neck and my hands twist his dark hair.
I’m completely lost in his touch, and my hands grab his soft hair tighter as my body twitches in pleasure.
He steals a deep kiss while our bodies move frantically against each other. He puts his arms around me and pulls me to him. His eyes are darker now. Slowly, he pulls away and admires my body with a look of lust on his face.
“Beautiful. You’re beautiful, Mari,” he says, studying me. “I’m crazy for you.”
“I’m crazy for you too, Cadu” I answer, anxious to feel him inside me.
The way he looks at me brings out all the desire in me and I push away any shadow of embarrassment I might still have. I circle his hips with my legs, and turn us over, placing him under me.
“Wow,” he laughs, showing off his dimples. “I knew there was a tigress in there somewhere.” I laugh, getting closer to kiss him.
His hands explore my breasts while we kiss, and I rub against him just enough so that the pleasure takes over my body. He holds my hips firmly, intensifying my moves, even though we’re still in our underwear.
We moan louder and louder, until the first wave of pleasure hits me and makes my heart beat faster. I’m ready to take him inside my body when he turns us over, getting on top of me again.
“Open your eyes, Mari. I want to watch you taking pleasure in me,” he says, and I oblige. The touching gets more intense, our kisses grow more urgent, and when he touches me intimately, I hit the edge of passion once more, moaning his name.
We discard the rest of our clothes leaving ourselves bare to the other’s hungry eyes. There’s no shame or embarrassment in our nakedness.
While I’m still pulling myself together, he reaches out to the nightstand and takes a condom from the drawer. He opens it and kisses me deeply again. I feel his erection growing against my body and he pulls away just enough to sheath himself.
He knows I’m ready and he slowly lowers himself against my body, more excited than ever.
“Mari?” he calls as he enters me. I open my eyes, unable to speak, too dazzled with the pleasure he’s giving me. “You’re beautiful,” he repeats. “You complete me. You turn me on,” he continues, intensifying his movements. “I love you, Mariana. Like I never loved anyone,” he says, right when we’re reaching the peak of pleasure, his words maximizing every feeling. “I love you, Mari,” he moans again, taking us to the top. Tears escape my eyes, touched with the intensity of the moment. He faces me, his expressive face showing a mix of pleasure and love. Searching for strength inside myself, I answer him.
“I love you too, Cadu. Very much,” I say, moaning, and he picks up the pace of his movements until we’re both in ecstasy while I scream his name.
Slowly, we return to the real world. His body is on mine, both of us sweaty from the moment. Slowly, he raises his head, his eyes looking for mine as if he’s searching for the truth in what I said while we were making love. I smile at him, pushing away the shadow I see in his eyes. He kisses me slowly, and when he pulls away, there’s still a hint of doubt on his face, until he asks quietly, “Are you sure?” These three words make me see the strong and powerful man I know becoming an insecure little boy, and I love him even more for it.
“I’m absolutely sure. I love you.”
He smiles wide and pulls me into a tight hug.
“And I love you, pretty,” His smile grows, he kisses my lips and gets up. “I’ll be right back,” he says, going to the bathroom.
He returns a few minutes later without the condom, then lies again by my side. Cadu pulls me to him, and I lay my head on his body, listening to his heart beating as fast as mine.
“You have no idea how happy you’ve made me,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head and pulling me tighter. In a few minutes, we fall deeply asleep in each other’s arms.
Mari
I wake up feeling scared. I blink a few times to figure out where I am, since this is most definitely not my bed. I try to move, but a weight over my waist keeps me still. It must still be night out there, because it’s dark.
“It’s too early, pretty. Go back to sleep. Your alarms won’t ring for another three hours,” a husky voice says in my ear, making me remember the night before, of where I was and who I was with. My body warms at the memory. I try to move again, feeling a little sore from the escapades of the evening, and then he pulls me closer. “If you keep moving like that, I’ll spend the next three hours before the alarm doing something other than sleeping,” Cadu says with a laugh.
I inch closer to him, enjoying his hold on me, his heat. The memory returns full strength. The wonderful day, the thrill of getting to know Itaipava’s Castle, the romantic dinner, the passionate night of love . . . the precise moment when he said, “I love you.” I know it is going too fast. We’ve been together for only a few weeks, but we are in love. Totally and hopelessly in love. I could see how true his feelings were, and they reflected mine. Keeping this in mind, I close my eyes and allow myself to relax in the warmth of his body, falling asleep with a smile on my face.
It is almost eight o’clock when I wake up to the sunshine coming through the curtains in the bedroom. I open my eyes and the first thing I see is her lying in my bed, her head on my chest, her soft face looking like she’s having a good dream.
I keep still for a few minutes just looking at her, thinking of how much she means to me in so little an amount of time. She’s beautiful and delicate, with a pretty smile. I’ve been with many women. After all, when you’re twenty-six and you work with models, it’s only natural you might date a few of them. Okay, many of them. But despite the fact that those women were the “beauty standard,” to me they meant nothing. Most of them were only worried about their diets, the presents I would give them, and if they would look good enough in their photo shoots. Mari was different . . . she was real.
I never tired of finding differences between her and every other woman who had crossed my path. And yesterday, while we made love, telling her how I felt seemed like the right thing to do. I couldn’t imagine keeping my feelings from her. Not after everything she told me over dinner, about what her stupid ex-boyfriend did to her.
Thinking of that jackass made me feel like making it up to her somehow, for all the things she has been through. I couldn’t think of a good way to do that other than to show her just how desirable, beautiful, and lovely she is. I pull her hair away from her neck and kiss it until I reach her ear. She is still asleep, but I can see her body reacting, shivering with every peck.
“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty,” I say quietly in her ear, and she lazily opens her eyes.
“Oh . . . good morning.” She smiles and I smile back, feeling my body reacting to her loving look.
“Good morning, pretty,” I answer, pulling her to me and holding her tight in my arms. “What a nice way to wake up, with you in my arms.” She smiles and I roll us over, getting on top of her. I lean down to kiss her but she stops me.
“I didn’t even brush my teeth yet,” she says, flushing.
I put my lips on hers. We kiss passionately and when we pull away, I look in her eyes and simply say. “I don’t mind.” She smiles and I kiss her again, touching her deeper. I will never get enough of her. Ever.
Sunday was a special day. Being woken up with so much love by Cadu gave me the strength I needed to face the day. It wasn’
t a dream. I didn’t imagine what had happened the day before. He was mine, truly mine, just as I was his. And he made sure to show me that from the moment we opened our eyes. After the romantic and lazy morning in bed, we drove to Petropolis, walked around the Crystal Palace and the gardens in the Imperial Museum, and stopped for a delicious and fun lunch, during which we spent a long time laughing and talking.
Then it was time to leave. We went back to Rio listening to music and singing along together, talking about life and laughing. Laughing a lot. I don’t remember ever feeling as happy as I do right now, with him. He makes me completely happy.
Cadu drove me home and went upstairs with me to take my luggage, and when it was time to go, a melancholic atmosphere seemed to cover us.
“Thank you for the weekend,” I say, trying to smile away the sadness.
“Thank you for coming.” He pulls me into a soft kiss. “It was great.”
“It was,” I answer, my heart aching knowing he’d soon leave.
“Well, I’m going to go home. I need a shower and then some rest. Tomorrow we go back to normal,” he says, smiling, and I nod.
Cadu puts his arms around my waist, pulling my body against his, and kisses me passionately. Slowly, our lips grow apart and he leans his forehead on mine.
“I meant it, you know?” he looks seriously at me. “I’m in love with you, Mari. Very much. Very much indeed,” he says, and we both laugh.
“And I’m in love with you.”
He steals another kiss, then steps back.
“Well, I’m going to go before I give up leaving altogether. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Drive safe.”
“I will,” he answers, smiling, and then goes, taking my heart with him.
I close the door to her apartment and go downstairs. My heart is racing, as if I ran a marathon. I get to the front door, say goodbye to the doorman, and get in the car which is parked in front of her building. As soon as I close the door, her perfume engulfs me and I smile, feeling her sweet presence all around me. I start the car and drive through the streets in her neighborhood to the main avenue, which leads me home.
A few minutes later, I turn the stereo on and the romantic playlist we listened to over the weekend starts playing again. While I listen to the music, memories start playing in my mind.
Memories of the two of us together, the places we visited, her thrilled expression when she saw the books in the castle, her eyes shining over dinner. And the most perfect night of love I’ve ever had. I remembered every kiss, every touch, every whisper. The moment we said, “I love you.” I look around and I see I’m halfway back to the south part of the city.
Longing takes over my heart and I wonder why I’m going home if all I wanted was to stay with her. Yes! I want to be with her as much as possible. Feel her kisses, her body on mine, hearing her laugh, and watching her fall asleep again. Determined, I turn on my directional and make a turn to take me right back to her. Smiling, I realize this is the best decision I’ve ever made!
When Cadu leaves, I spend at least five minutes sitting on the couch, completely still, remembering everything that happened over the weekend. I am looking at nothing in particular with a silly smile on my face, when the text alert on my cell phone pulls me out of my trance.
I put my cell phone on the table and go to my room. I take off the jeans and the white T-shirt I was wearing, throw them in the laundry basket, and go in my underwear to the bathroom. I take a clean towel, take off my underwear, and then tie my hair in a messy bun. I am about to turn on the shower when I hear the doorbell. Three or four times, as if the world is ending. Lais.
“Giiirl,” I shout, putting the towel around my body while I go to the door. “You have terrible timing. I told you I was going to—” I open the door and, to my surprise, it isn’t her. “Shower.” I say, astonished.
“Can I shower with you?” Cadu asks, his eyes shining when he sees me wearing nothing but a towel, his huge smile made complete by his dimples.
“Oh . . . hey,” I babble, still surprised. “I thought you were going home.” His smile grows bigger, if that’s even possible. As he speaks, he comes closer, pressing me against the wall in the hall and closing the door behind us.
“I did. I changed my mind halfway there.”
“Really?” I ask, shocked.
“Really. I’m not ready to go, Mari.” He pecks my lips, his eyes on my eyes and on my mouth. “I’m not ready to leave you alone. I want to be with you for as long as I can. Can I?” he asks, kissing me again, putting his arms around my body and making me sigh. “Can I, pretty?” he insists and I smile in agreement.
“Of course you can.” I find strength within me to answer, and his smile grows.
“Come, let’s take a shower.” He hugs me, biting my shoulder and then taking me to the bathroom. I let out a low moan and he smiles, his eyes shining with desire. “After the shower, I’ll show you how much in love with you I am.” He grins, and all I can think of is licking those dimples and enjoying the gift that is having him in my home.
Cadu
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!
“Jesus! What’s that noise, this early in the morning?” I jump off the bed when an annoying and insisting alarm wakes me up. I’m used to waking up early, but not this early and not to such an insistent alarm. I look at the bed and Mari is sitting there, laughing while she grabs her phone to stop the alarm. Her hair is messy and her face is sleepy, but she’s the most perfect picture I could ever have in the morning.
I am very tired, but with good reason. After I went back to her house, we showered together and spent the rest of the night curled up in bed, making love until we both fell asleep. It’s been a while since I felt this light.
“This is my third alarm. See how important it is to set several alarms? We didn’t wake up to the first two,” she says, laughing while she gets up and stops beside me. I hold her tight and kiss her.
“Good morning, pretty.”
“Good morning.” She smiles, running her fingers through my hair. “Go on and shower while I make the bed. You still need to go to your house to change.”
“Will you come with me?”
“No way.” Her laugh makes the hair on my arms rise. “We both need to get to work and my boss is really demanding.” I make a face and she laughs even more. I can’t be serious for long. I go to the bathroom and while I’m under the shower, I think of my plans for the day and make a mental note to tell her to pack a bag. She’ll be staying at my place tonight. Yeah, once again, I’m not ready to stay away from her.
Three weeks after our weekend together in the mountains, we’ve already settled into a very organized routine. During the day, at work, we keep a low profile so no one will know we’re together. I thought it would be easier—that way my relationship with my coworkers wouldn’t get any worse. Not that I told Cadu about the way people treated me. I didn’t want him to treat me different just because we were dating.
But at night . . . oh . . . the nights were the best part of our day. We spent every night together, alternating between our apartments. We were living our honeymoon, as Lais would say. We’d do the house stuff together, and then we’d watch our favorite shows on Netflix or listen to music and slow dance. And then we would go to bed, where we would make love until we fell asleep, exhausted and satisfied.
Last weekend, specifically on Sunday, I had a lunch to go to at my parents’ house and I had no idea what to do. I thought it was too early to invite him for lunch at the Costa’s household, I thought that he might get scared off. Most guys dread that moment of meeting the family. But I knew he wasn’t like most guys. He’s my Cadu, one of a kind, who would take your wishes and what makes you happy into account. How many times we would be sleepless in the middle of the night and go out for a walk on the shore, to watch the sea and be in each other’s arms feel
ing the breeze of the ocean?
When I told him that I’d have to go to my parents’ house on Sunday, he automatically asked, “What time should we get there? Should we take something?” I stood there, looking at him, probably with my mouth half open, until he looked at me questioning what was wrong. “What? Don’t you want me to go?”
“No, that’s not it,” I said quickly. “I’m just surprised you already want to meet my family,” I explained, feeling weird.
“Pretty, I don’t want to stay away from you.” He gave me his hand and intertwined his fingers in mine. “If you’re going to visit your family, that’s where I want to be.” He gave me that dimpled smile and pulled me to his chest. “Unless you don’t want me to.”
“Are you ready to face the Inquisition?” I asked, laughing.
“Of course. I’ll bring my armor. I’ll be ready,” he answered and I laughed at his joke.
“Nerd,” I teased him, and he took it humorously.
“Pretty.” He kissed me.
That Sunday at my parents’ house was a lot of fun. We met Lais when we got there, and the mixture of smells, the excited voices, and music playing in the background brought that sense of comfort that only our parents’ house can provide. Though I was worried at first, the day was a success. Cadu was Cadu: nice, sweet, funny. He played Xbox with the boys from the village, talked to my mom and to my aunt, watched soccer with my dad on TV.
When it was time to leave, my mom took me to the kitchen and, wearing a big smile, said she had loved Cadu and that we looked very happy. I told her how happy and in love I was and she hugged me and wished us the best. In the car, he thanked me for bringing him to a fun day.
And here we are today. Saturday night, we have a dinner, our first social event together apart from visiting my parents. He is taking me to dinner with his parents in Barra da Tijuca. I wanted to feel as calm and confident as he always seemed to feel, but all I could do was shake like a leaf, not knowing what to wear and feeling my stomach cramping hard.
