Tell Me What You Want—Or Leave Me

by Maxwell, Megan

  “Seriously?”

  “He has a new girl, and, apparently, it’s serious. And, taking advantage of the hurry he’s in, I mentioned the express divorce.”

  “Wow, that’s great. You’ll be a single woman for your wild little tryst.” I laugh. But when I see her face, I know something’s not right.

  “How’s it going with your wild little fling?”

  “Very badly.”

  “Very badly?”

  “He wants us to go live in Mexico with him.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “That’s right, Cuchu . . . and I said no. First, because I don’t want to be away from Papá and you so much. Second, because Jesús won’t agree to letting me take the girls so far, and, third, because if it were the other way around, I wouldn’t want Jesús to take the girls so far away from me. And before you say anything, Jesús may have been an ass with me, but with the girls he’s always tried to be a good father, and I’m not going to make him look like a fool. I know he loves them, and they, especially Luz, love him. It’s one thing to get a divorce and another to take the girls from his side.”

  I consider what she’s saying and understand completely.

  “So, the guy—as Luz says—feels rejected and hasn’t called me in ten long and stormy days.”

  “So, you call him.”

  “No way.”

  “Did you tell him about your divorce?”

  “Not yet.”

  “You have to explain things to him the way you explained them to me.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because Juan Alberto has not given me an option. When I said no to Mexico, he got very stubborn after getting angry and didn’t let me explain. He literally said, ‘Very well, my queen; you go have a beautiful life.’”

  “He said that?”

  Raquel nods.

  “What did you say?”

  “Well, look, girl, he’s not going to do me like that! I wanted to say something terrible. You know how I get when I turn into a viper, but I thought to myself: restraint!”

  I laugh and hug her.

  “Then your wild little fling is over?”

  “I think so but, girl . . . I still think about him.”

  “Raquel, if you love him and he loves you, why don’t you explain everything to him and suggest that—”

  “What? That he come live in Spain?” She snorts. “No . . . no . . . And then his company crashes, and he blames me. No way!”

  We talk for a long time, but nothing comes of it. Raquel closes off, and it’s impossible to reason with her. Everybody says the stubborn one in the family is me, but they just don’t know my sister!

  In a while, Eric comes back with Björn and my little one. Björn brings me a beautiful bouquet of roses. He says hello to my sister, then to me.

  “Congratulations, Mom.”

  “Thanks, handsome.”

  My love puts our child in the crib.

  “Everything OK?” I ask.

  Eric nods.

  “And my father?”

  “He stayed with my mother and the children in the cafeteria. They’ll be up in a bit.”

  “What do you think of our precious boy?” I ask Björn.

  “He’s beautiful, Judith. You two made a beautiful child.”

  “Do you want to hold him?”

  Björn quickly steps back with a frightened look.

  “No, I don’t like little ones. I prefer them when they’re Flyn’s age, and I can communicate with them.”

  We all laugh.

  “I hope he has Judith’s personality because if he gets yours, my friend, we’re in trouble,” Björn says.

  “Well, you’re not exactly in the clear with my sister,” Raquel says.

  We’re laughing when a knock on the door draws our attention. It’s Mel, the girl from the elevator.

  “May I come in?” she asks.

  “Come in, Mel. Come in,” I say, happy to see her.

  I see she’s pushing a stroller with a precious sleeping baby. She’s also brought flowers, which she hands to me.

  “She just fell asleep. I hope you can wait awhile!”

  Eric greets her with two kisses.

  “This baby’s so handsome and chubby,” she says looking at little Eric in the crib. “So, is Medusa a boy or a girl?”

  “A lovely boy,” I answer proudly.

  She gives me a very affectionate hug.

  “Congratulations, Judith.”

  When she separates from me, she collides with Björn.

  “Ah . . . James Bond is here,” she says, recognizing him.

  Björn doesn’t smile. He looks her up and down before responding.

  “Man, the bossy Superwoman. What are you doing here?”

  Eric and I look at each other, and, before we can say anything, she takes care of herself.

  “So, how long did it take you to get here in your Aston Martin yesterday? Eight little minutes?”

  As a rule, Björn is a born ladies’ man, but not now. Instead of smiling and entering the game, he just wrinkles his brow.

  “A little longer than that, smarty-pants.”

  Whoa, what is going on with Björn?

  Does this woman baffle him because she doesn’t fall at his feet?

  Amazed, I watch as he stops acting like Don Juan.

  “I’ll be in the cafeteria with Manuel and Sonia,” he tells Eric. “I’ll come back later, when there are fewer people up here.”

  “I’ll go with you,” replies Eric.

  When the two men leave, my sister looks at me, I look at Mel, and she shrugs, amused.

  “Funny guy, Mr. Handsome, right?”

  I don’t answer and just laugh. It’s clear my new friend and Björn are not going to get along.

  When it’s just the three of us, we talk about children, pregnancies, and deliveries. Suddenly, I realize I’ve joined the moms’ club, and I talk about my delivery as something unique and amazing. Raquel and Mel do the same. I had never understood that commitment to talk about your delivery, but now that I’ve had my son, I like to talk about it and remember it.

  Samantha wakes up, and, when Mel pulls her out of the stroller, my sister and I fall in love with her. She is a blonde doll with blue eyes like her mother. The girl smiles and makes all kinds of faces at us.

  After an hour or so, Mel and the girl leave, but the room is full of people again.

  Sonia and my father, little Eric’s proud grandparents, want to be with him. Raquel goes down for a bite to eat with Lucía and the children and to hang with Björn and Eric. Shortly after, Marta, Arthur, and some friends from Guantanamera come by. When Sonia sees Máximo, they greet each other, and I can’t help but smile. But I bust out laughing when Eric comes and sees the Argentine talking to his mother. He doesn’t say a word and just pretends he doesn’t know anything.

  That night, after everyone leaves and the room is calm, I watch as Eric changes our son’s diaper.

  “Are you happy?”

  He looks at me and puts our sleepy little boy in the crib.

  “Like never before in my life, sweetheart.”

  The next day we are discharged from the hospital, and the whole family, plus one more, goes home.

  32

  Eric Junior is almost two months old.

  He’s a good boy, charming, with big blue eyes as captivating as his father’s. He has us all drooling like fools over him.

  After the first days, when everything is chaos, we acclimate to the new schedules. The little one is king of the house. He has total command, and we’re all at his service.

  He feeds every two hours, whether day or night. It’s exhausting because, in addition to being an eating machine, he doesn’t sleep much.

  Eric takes care of him. He wants me to rest, but I see how drained he is. One day, after a whole night dealing with the baby’s gas, he didn’t get up until eleven o’clock in the morning. Even he was surprised by that!

  Two nights later,
I woke up startled and found Eric sitting on the side of the bed, swaying all by himself. He didn’t have the baby in his arms, but they were still forming a cradle. I saw the baby asleep in his crib.

  “Honey, lie down and go to sleep,” I told him, suppressing a laugh.

  He did, and he was asleep in seconds. When he curled up in my arms, I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

  Flyn is a wonderful brother. There’s no jealousy, and he’s more affectionate than ever. In the afternoon, after doing his homework, he wants to be with the little one. He’s proud to be a big brother, and you can see it on his face.

  We all talk baby gibberish!

  Even Norbert!

  I’m myself again. I’m back to being Judith, although I’m struggling with the last ten pounds of my baby weight. So much ice cream and plum cake. But it doesn’t matter. The important thing is my baby’s healthy.

  The hormones have settled down, and I’m happy. I don’t cry anymore, I no longer growl, and I don’t have postpartum depression.

  My father and sister have come a couple of times to see us in these two months. He’s bursting with pride every time he sees his big boy, and Raquel is too. I do notice, though, that she’s down because of the end of her wild little fling.

  I try to talk to her, but she doesn’t want to discuss it. I give up. When she wants to talk, she’ll come to me. I know.

  Little Eric is the most beautiful and wonderful thing that has ever happened to me, and now when I look at him, I’m sure I’d get pregnant a thousand times just to have him near me.

  Like a fool, I’m watching him sleep when Eric comes in and kisses me.

  “Let’s go, sweetheart. We have to go.”

  Dressed in a wonderful evening gown and wearing the kind of heels that can cause a heart attack, I mutter, “I feel bad about leaving him.”

  Eric smiles and kisses me on the neck.

  “It’s our first night out. You and me alone.”

  His voice reanimates me. We’ve been planning this outing since the gynecologist told us we could resume our sex life. After Eric convinces me that life goes on and I have to get back to my routines, I get up. I give my precious baby a kiss and walk away, hand in hand with my love.

  In the living room, Sonia is playing Monopoly on the Wii with Flyn. “Look how handsome you two look!” she exclaims.

  “Ah, Jude, you’re beautiful!” Flyn echoes.

  I love hearing stuff like that. It’s the first time I’ve managed to get dressed up since I gave birth. I take my usual little turn, and Flyn smiles and hugs me.

  “You’re in charge tonight; you’re the big brother,” I say.

  Flyn nods and Sonia winks at me.

  “No worries. I’ll take care of both of them,” she says.

  I smile and kiss her.

  “You have our cell phone numbers, right?”

  “Yes, darling. Since forever. Go . . . Go and have a good time.”

  Eric kisses her.

  “Thanks, Mamá.” He hands her a note. “We’ll be at this hotel, in case of anything. No matter what time it is, call us!”

  “For God’s sake, what’s going to happen? Please leave!”

  Laughing, we take off. Susto and Calamar come quickly, and we wave at them. Then we get into Eric’s car, ready for fun.

  When we arrive at the hotel and close the door to our room, we look at each other. It’s our night. Tonight we’ll finally be able to make love like we want and without interruptions. I see a bucket of champagne on the table.

  “Well . . . and a pink label,” I murmur and Eric smiles.

  We look at each other . . .

  We come close together . . .

  I drop my bag on the floor.

  Then my love grabs me by the waist and does what I like so much. He sucks my upper lip, then the lower one, and gives me a little nip.

  “Do you want to have dinner?” he asks.

  But I already know what I want.

  “Let’s go straight to dessert.”

  Eric smiles and whispers hoarsely, “Undress.”

  I turn around so he can unzip me. When my dress falls to the floor, he takes me in his arms and to bed.

  After he drops me on the bed, I get to see how my man gets naked. Off with his shirt. Off with his pants. Off with his boxers.

  Oh yes . . . what a wonderful view.

  He makes my mouth water!

  I have before me the sexiest man in the world, with a dangerous and provocative smile. He lies on top of me and kisses me. I taste his lips; I savor his ardent kiss. It’s the first time we’re going to do it after the birth of our son, and we know we have to be careful.

  He runs his fingers down my thighs, which drives me crazy.

  He whispers hot words in my ear that get me all worked up.

  And when he pulls my thong and rips it to pieces, I go mad, and I’m glad I brought spares. The night will be long.

  “I want to be inside you,” he says.

  “Do it,” I whisper, my breath hot. “But ask me another way.”

  Eric smiles. He knows what I want.

  “I want to fuck you.”

  I’m excited but scared.

  Will sex hurt after having a baby?

  Eric introduces himself to me a little at a time. His eyes search for the slightest sign of pain. I arch up, close my eyes, and take him in.

  “Look at me,” he demands.

  I do. I look at him, and I get warmer, hotter.

  Our breaths accelerate, and with all the care and caution in the world, my love, my Eric, my husband, touches my sex with his cock.

  “Does it hurt?”

  Oh no . . . it doesn’t hurt. I like the feeling and bite my lower lip.

  “No, sweetie . . . go on . . . go on.”

  “Yes, yes . . . yes.”

  Carefully, Eric moves the tip of his penis into my wet vagina. Mother of God . . . what a sensation.

  He tempts me . . .

  He drives me crazy . . .

  “If I hurt you, tell me to stop, OK?”

  I’m excited but scared.

  “No, sweetie . . . go on . . . go on.”

  A little more . . .

  A little more . . .

  I feel my vagina opening completely, moistening, trembling.

  I’m so horny, nothing at all hurts. I just feel pleasure. An intense pleasure, and, when I can’t take it anymore, and my desire overflows, I grab his ass cheeks and squeeze him hard. We’re both panting.

  “I’m not pregnant anymore, so it doesn’t hurt,” I tell him. “Give me what I need, Zimmerman.”

  Eric’s eyes shine. He grins. He gets goose bumps.

  This is passion in its purest state.

  Madness surrounds us, and we forget the world’s existence—we only feel the touch of our own bodies while we kiss and make love our own way.

  Five minutes later, we’re both breathless on the bed.

  “Wow!”

  “Yes!”

  “Amazing!”

  Eric’s breathing hard and lays a hand on my now almost-flat belly.

  “As you would say, sweetheart, freaking amazing!”

  We laugh and hug each other, and then we go right back to kisses.

  “Shall we do it again?” I ask when I think we’re both ready.

  He’s more than up for it. He gets out of bed and carries me with him.

  “I’m not going to stop all night, sweetheart. Are you ready?” he asks.

  I’ve been ready for months, and I bite his earlobe.

  “I’m going to do something we both want,” he murmurs.

  I smile. I know what he’s going to do, and then he pushes me up against the wall.

  “You like it like that?” he asks.

  Against the wall? Oh yeah! How I’ve wanted this moment.

  “Yes.”

  Eric grinds and presses his hips against mine.

  “Now, yes, sweetheart, now, yes.”

  And, without preamble, he sends h
is huge, hard, solid cock into me while we look into each other’s eyes, and I moan, receive him, and gasp.

  One, two . . .

  A hundred times he comes and goes from inside me while wilder instincts take over us completely. We love it.

  Everything between us is hot, scalding. I bite his shoulder. I savor the taste of his skin as he penetrates me. But suddenly he stops.

  “Look at me,” he says.

  I do what he asks. His look is feline, and, pressing his hips against me to give me more depth, he asks in a choked voice when he feels how my vagina sucks him in, “Do you like it this way, sweetheart?”

  I nod, and he gives me a pat on the ass.

  “Yes . . . oh yes . . . don’t stop.”

  He doesn’t. He makes me crazy.

  My wonderful and sweet love impales me again and again while we both go out of our minds until we climax and have no choice but to stop.

  Our breaths are out of sync, and I suddenly start laughing.

  “Honey, I missed you so much!”

  Eric nods, sweaty from his efforts.

  “Surely not as much as I missed you.”

  Without separating, we walk to the shower, where we make love again like two savages. The night is long, and we want to enjoy what we like most. What we like most about us.

  At three in the morning, exhausted after five fiery assaults, we call room service. We’re hungry. They bring us sandwiches and more drinks with pink stickers. We eat naked on the bed.

  “Everything OK?” Eric asks.

  I smile. I love when he asks me that.

  We fill our glasses and toast while gazing into each other’s eyes.

  “Björn called yesterday. He says there’s a little party at Sensations in two weeks. What do you think?”

  Wow . . . Yes, our life is definitely back.

  I raise an eyebrow and smile.

  “A bit of a supplement never hurts, right?”

  Eric laughs, leaves his sandwich on the tray, and embraces me.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  Excited by that phrase that means so much to us, I also abandon my sandwich and open my legs for him.

  “Give me pleasure.”

  We kiss. Eric begins to lower his mouth. Oh yeah. He kisses my navel, and I gasp, but then suddenly a buzzing sound interrupts us. My cell phone!

  We look at each other. It’s past three in the morning. A phone ringing at that time can’t be good at all. We both immediately think of our baby. We jump out of bed, and Eric grabs the phone before I can.