“Are you all right?” he asks.
“Yes ... Relax. I just need some hydrogen peroxide to clean my knuckles, and some ice for the swelling.”
“God, sweetness ...,” he whispers, leaning his forehead on mine. “Something could have happened to you.”
“Eric ... nothing happened. Besides, you should see the other guys.” As Frida and Andrés step inside the house, I whisper, “I beat them to a pulp.”
He hugs me. He presses me to him and buries his face in my neck. We stay that way for several moments.
“Remember what my father told you: I’m a karate champ.”
I smile and his muscles relax. Finally, he gives me a kiss on the lips.
“Oh, sweetness, what am I going to do with you?”
43
Our marvelous days continue, and what happened that night becomes just one more story we tell. We spend our days lying in the sun, talking and enjoying each other’s company. Betta’s messages continue coming in, and I keep trying not to think about them. I can’t. Fernando sends messages too, and Eric has stopped asking about them as well.
One morning, the four of us go on an excursion to Tarifa to see the Roman ruins at Baelo Claudia in Bolonia. We eat lunch at a wonderful restaurant, and when we go to pay, we run into Björn and a friend of his.
They greet us warmly, and we all go for coffee out on a little terrace. It’s then I learn Björn is a German lawyer on vacation in the south. The other friend, a French guy named Fred, owns a vineyard. For a while, we talk about whatever, but I’m well aware of the looks I’m getting from Björn. So is Eric.
“Björn is dying to be with you once more,” he whispers in my ear.
“Does that bother you?”
Eric smiles and kisses my neck.
“No, he’s a good friend. I know he’d never do anything without my permission. In any case, I was thinking of offering you to him again, if you’d like.”
Feeling the heat on my face, I pull out my fan. Eric can’t stop smiling.
“Are you hot, sweetness?”
“Yes.”
He runs his hands over my thighs possessively, and I notice Björn watching.
“Do you want us to go to a hotel and fuck you?” Eric asks.
“Eric!”
“Or better yet ... what if we just go to the beach, and we can do it in the water ...?”
“Eric!”
“Just thinking about how your mouth looks when you’re panting makes me hard.”
Having fun now, he takes his hands from my thighs. He loves to provoke me, and I just blush.
“Björn, Fred, would you like to come to our house for dinner tonight?” I hear Andrés ask as we’re all saying goodbye.
They accept immediately, and I blush a deep red. As soon as we agree on nine o’clock to meet again, Frida sidles up to me as we walk to the car.
“Ooooooh ... we’re having a little private party tonight!”
During the ride back, Eric just stares at me and grins. And when we get home and take a shower, he tries to turn me on while whispering in my ear that he’s going to offer me. After the shower, he suggests I wear a green dress and a pair of heels he likes, and he asks me not to wear any underwear.