Page 44 of Out of Office

The hotel room’s old feel was a feast to the senses, or at least it would have been if I’d had the time to enjoy it. The bolt of serotonin made me high on love and lust, and I shoved Adrián inside the room, ready for him.

“Damn, woman, let me take my pants off first.” He laughed as he removed his clothes, and I did the same with mine. Adrián stood bracketed by the view of the city and the bay behind him, an image of glittering night lights and the magnificence of his burnished brown skin. With confidence usually only present in boardrooms, I stalked toward him, then it was my turn to drop to my knees.

Adrián’s deep groan filled my ears, and his salty taste flooded my buds as I explored his smooth length with gusto. I might have done mostly regular things in bed, but this was one thing I excelled at.

“Uh, mmm. Gen, bebe, no puedo...ahhh me vas a ser venirme muy rápido.” Every rumble of his traveled straight to my core until I wept in emptiness. But I could bring him back after he came for me. My single-minded goal remained to have him spill inside of me.

Whatever Spanish I understood told me he was fighting not to come too fast, but as always, I got my way.

Salty warmth poured down my throat as Adrián shouted his satisfaction.

“You did come to kill me,” he accused as he collapsed to the carpet beside me, and I giggled in happiness.

“I didn’t because I’ll need you again tonight.”

Adrián, the good man he was, delivered over and over until I had to beg for him to stop.

We fell asleep in soft white sheets, the promise of our future bright. No concerns would mar my happiness.

Nineteen

Genevieve

Brightness dislodged me from the land of dreams into reality. A reality where I had agreed to marry a man I met less than a year ago without minimal thought for the next steps.

The clock announced I had two more hours before my departure, and a pang of uncertainty hit me, leaving me paralyzed next to Adrián, who slept beside me, oblivious to my panic.

Marriage hadn’t been part of my life plan. How, when love had never been fair to my mother? All my references were of men too intimidated by her intelligence and success. When I was younger, she tried to open herself for love, but the results were never favorable. I hadn’t seen a successful marriage in anyone close to me, not anyone as successful as I aspired to be. Diligence, ambition, and drive required sacrifices... Sacrifices that seem to weigh heavier and heavier on my shoulders.

Then there were the concerns about our lifestyles. I was not high-maintenance but a creature of comfort. Adrián could fall asleep on the floor with a blanket on him. He wasn’t trapped by any need for status; his only goal: his family’s well-being and health. I envied that. There was nothing wrong with my view of life, but would it align with his? Would our everyday merge comfortably? And what would he do for work if he moved to the States? Was it wrong for me to want him to have a more solid plan?

Next to me, Adrián stirred in his sleep, his obnoxiously long lashes flickering open until his adoring gaze rested on me.

Oh yes... I could definitely see our everyday merging. I had forgotten how special he could make me feel with just one look.

“So, is this the part where you start freaking out?” He propped his head on his fist, swinging a leg out of the sheets. The ripple of strength all of that movement displayed made me study the clock again, wondering if I had time for a...

“Focus woman...no debauchery today,” he said in mock outrage.

I flushed at his admonishment, then saw the white sheets and how they rose on a particular area of his anatomy.

“I think there’ll be some debauchery today.”

“Who am I kidding? I can’t deny you a thing.” He chuckled and lay back, staring at the ceiling. The beautiful lines of his lean muscles stretched, illuminated by the early morning sun. The struggle to ignore the tent under the white sheet was becoming an epic battle. “But for real, were you freaking out on me?”

“Well, aren’t you? We have no definite plan.”

“Step by step. We can look at the visa paperwork first. Then take it from there.”

“So you are moving to Florida.” I studied the planes of his stomach and the thick arms I loved around me. He lay pensive on his bed but then turned his face to me.

“I know it’s a lot, and if you need time...”

“No!” I blurted and studied the reaction. No, I didn’t want to take time. This felt right. Every time I was with him, it felt right. I wanted this. I was tired of overthinking, analyzing, and seeing how marriage would fit in my fifty-five-year career plan. I just didn’t know how to achieve this particular goal. But oh I had never wanted something as bad as a future with Adrián. That goal deserved the same type of determination I’d put in my career, didn’t it?

“Okay, so we do the paperwork. With the visa, I can get a work permit so I can work there. I will find something to hold us over until...until I figure out my long-term plan, then we decide from there. I’ll contribute to the finances of your apartment. Don’t think I’m planning to come and wait for you to be the sole provider.”

“I never thought that.” But Mom, on the other hand...that conversation would be interesting. Having to defend maintaining Adrián while he received his work permit would be a hard conversation to have. Mom didn’t rule my life, but to be honest, some of her concerns would have mirrored mine if this was any other man. Was I jumping into this too fast? Letting the high of love take over rationality? The pendulum of my thoughts was making me dizzy.

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