Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Looking back on your relationship, you can count the number of actual arguments that you and your wife have had on your hands. You’ve always been incredibly communicative with each other, and you’re usually able to discuss things maturely before a boiling point is reached. It’s something that you appreciate about your relationship, a sign of the care and respect that you’ve had for one another from the beginning. Over the years issues usually tend to stem from one main point, time together, and you’ve had to learn to prioritize scheduling time alone with how busy certain seasons of life can be.

xxx Dating -

You were putting earrings in your ears in front of your full length mirror, talking with your girlfriend, Vera. You were meeting her friends and their girlfriends for dinner, a regular occurrence. You all spent a lot of time together, and you always enjoyed their presence. You were glad that Vera’s friend group was so inclusive of partners, and you’d grown close to everyone in a way that you really appreciate.

“Oh, hey, I mentioned our idea for the trip to Maria and Manuel today in the studio, they both think that it sounds great”.

You look at her through the mirror as you adjust your hair, saying “You did what?... The idea was for us to go on a trip alone for once, that was literally the entire point. It’s been a long time since we have.”

Vera freezes, her body unmoving as her eyes grow wide. “Oh mierda, cariño, I completely forgot. I’m sorry.”

Sighing, you murmur, “Hopefully they’ll forget. If they bring it up over dinner tonight, will you please explain that it’s supposed to be just us this trip?”

Pulling you into her arms, she smiles at the reflection of you together, kissing your cheek and reassuring you, “Of course, don’t worry.”

Shortly after that you ride together to the restaurant, Vera driving as she tells you about what she worked on today. She’s a musician, and she’s excited about a new track that she and Manuel have been putting together, says that she finished writing the verses today and was able to record a few bars. Manuel cooked up something really unique to go behind it, it still needs tweaking but she’s happy with where it’s going. She raps some of it from memory, giving you a taste of what the song feels like, talking about where she wants it to go. Listening to her creative process has always been interesting, you enjoy hearing how her mind works and seeing the way that her ideas unfold.

You’re there quickly, finding everyone else already seated at a table and looking over menus. Hugs and greetings are exchanged briefly, but you all see each other so regularly that you’re sitting and discussing meal options shortly thereafter. Food is ordered and drinks appear, conversation flowing naturally as chips and salsa are passed around.

The margarita that you’ve chosen is a tart strawberry, and you’re taking a big sip from it as Manuel’s girlfriend excitedly says, “Tell me more about this trip, I’m really excited. Did Manuel say we’re going in the fall?”

You swallow wrong, coughing and reaching for your glass of water, and Vera pats your back soothingly. Taking deep breaths, you listen as the conversation continues, Maia joining in excitedly with, “I spent half the day planning it while these two were working, I found a nice house we can rent.”

Pulling out her phone, Maria finds what she’s looking for and passes it over. It’s sent your way next, and you swipe through pictures as Maria mentions interesting things to do and see in the area. The house is gorgeous and has plenty of space for everyone, a large private backyard with a hot tub and grill. If you were interested in planning a group trip it would be lovely, a perfect space for all of you, but you feel yourself growing frustrated when you think about the trip that you wanted to take alone with Vera. Some of the things that Maria mentions are ideas you’d already stumbled upon, you’d meant to share them with Vera but hadn’t gotten there yet.

You’re quiet, listening to the conversation as it goes on around you, processing the realization that this may already be out of your control. Vera gives you a few awkward looks, eventually falls into contributing to the discussion as though she can’t help herself. You sigh as you finish your first margarita, ordering a second one when the waitress comes by, increasingly annoyed with your girlfriend each time she speaks. She doesn’t even try to mention that this was meant to be a trip for just the two of you, and the firm way that she rubs your shoulders seems like an acknowledgement of your irritation. It feels patronizing, like a parent soothing a small child in public, and you shrug away from her touch. Not realizing it was intentional, she moves her hand back to your shoulder and you shrug more obviously, giving her a look that tells her to stop.

Maria directs a question at you, and you pause before answering, saying, “Honestly, I was just hoping to spend some time alone with Vera on this trip. We’ve been so busy lately that we haven’t had much time to ourselves.”

Maria knows you pretty well by this point, her expression thoughtful as she looks at Vera. You can see the gears turning in her head as she looks back at you, as if she’s piecing together that something is wrong but isn’t sure what it is. She finally says, “You’ll have time alone, we were talking about going for two weeks.”

Your gaze jerks to Vera, eyes locking with hers as you flatly ask, “Oh, two weeks? We’re planning a two-week group trip? How delightful.”, taking another sip of your drink to stop yourself from saying more.

Only Vera and Maria pick up the tension behind your words, Vera looking sheepish while Maria appears puzzled. Maria reaches for her phone, typing something out and giving you a pointed look. Reaching for your purse, you locate your phone and open a message from her.

Maria: “Is everything okay?”

You: “Maria, you know I love everyone. I love spending time together. But this trip was supposed to be just Vera and me; it’s been a long time since we took a trip alone.”

Maria’s face flinches as she reads your text, and she shifts the conversation suddenly, a smooth transition that goes unnoticed by the group. You’ve talked with her a lot in downtime on tours and work related trips, she understands how little time you get alone with Vera. Food arrives as you finish your second margarita, likely good timing considering how much alcohol you’ve had on a mostly empty stomach, and you make a mental note to text Maria more about this later.

The rest of dinner moves by comfortably, the conversation about the vacation thankfully not coming up again. You work to lower your level of irritation, eventually warm up enough to join the discussion, feeling a bit loose and warm once the alcohol settles over you. Vera tries to put her hand on your thigh under the table and you bat it away, quick frustration rising in you for a brief moment, and she doesn’t try to touch you again during dinner.

Everyone hugs again as they part, and you whisper to Maria that you’ll text her later. You’re quiet as you walk to the car with Vera, side by side but inches apart, enough distance that you don’t brush against her as you move. When the doors close she looks at you, silent for a moment before saying, “This trip seems more important to you than I thought, I’m sorry.”

Sighing, you fix your gaze forward into the parking lot as you say, “We’ve already talked about this, Vera. I understand that you’re busy. I’m not complaining and I accept the time that I have with you, I know what I signed up for. But somewhere in there, I need you to find time to get away, just us. I need that to be a priority, please.” Your voice cracks somewhere towards the end, emotion peeking though. It drives you crazy that you break like this when you’re mad, the corners of your eyes prickle with tears.

“Cariño, lo siento, I’m sorry… We talked about it but I got excited, I guess I forgot the alone part? I understand that it’s important now though, I’ll talk to Manuel and Maria. Everything will be fine, it’ll be just us”, her voice is gentle, sweet.

Her hand reaches for you and you flinch away, she pauses it in the air and then drops it, moving it back to her lap. When you’re this level of upset touch pushes you over the edge, she knows this but struggles with it. You groan, holding your eyes unblinkingly wide and trying not to cry. “You can’t do that. They sounded so excited. It’s fine. We’ll have a great time and it’ll be OK”, taking tissues from your purse, you hold them to the corners of your eyes, determined that your eye makeup is staying intact.

“Sweetheart, I don’t like making you feel this way. What can I do?”

You focus on your breathing as your mind continues to run in the background, so Vera speaks again in your silence, “Mi vida, what- “

Turning your head suddenly, your wide eyes meet hers, silencing her before she finishes her sentence. “You can listen to me when I tell you that I need time with you… God, Vera, you’re so fucking good at remembering every little detail of things that I like or want, but this is the one thing you never listen to. I love spending time with other people, I love our friends, but when was the last time we were alone for more than like a day and a half? You told me before we left that you’d fix this, and then you just fell right into talking about a group trip. It feels like you lied to me earlier, like you didn’t plan to fix it at all. I don’t like being lied to”, inevitably tears start slowly falling midway through what you’ve said. You give up on stopping it, your makeup a lost cause at this point.

Wincing, she says “OK, OK, you’re right. I know this keeps coming up, I’m sorry mami. I’ll call Manuel as soon as we get home and… “

“No you won’t, you’re still not fucking listening to me. It’s too late, people are excited. Please don’t say anything at this point, Vera, I’m telling you.”, you feel how wet your cheeks are, know your eyes are bright red, and just want to be back home. “Just please promise me that the next trip is only us, no one else. Understand that I need that. And please mean what you say, I don’t like feeling like I’m being lied to.”

Her face is conflicted, but she agrees, and you ask to go home. When she starts driving you try to shift your mind to choosing music, selecting something that you can try to get lost in, closing your eyes and softly following along, fixating your thoughts on every word until your head falls silent. She’s quiet for the rest of the ride, the music and your soft singing the only sounds in the car.

It’s dark when you get home, and you ask for some space, taking your dog out back with you after grabbing what you want from inside. The night air is cool, a soft breeze fluttering through the leaves nearby, and the sky is clear enough that you see stars overhead. You sigh, lighting the blunt that you grabbed from inside and leaning against the wall of your shed, taking deep inhales until it’s burning evenly. Watching the smoke curl around you as you exhale, you appreciate the stillness of the pretty night. Moments tick by without your notice as you smoke, the shrinking joint your only evidence that time is moving. A familiar haze finally rolls over you, your body literally loosening as it hits you. It’s a comfortable sensation, you enjoy the way it calms your constant buzzing thoughts and makes you more aware of the present. When you’ve smoked down to the filter you toss it in a nearby drink can, which is filled with dozens more of them.

Looking up at the stars, you process the night. You’re calm but still sad, and a few more tears escape down your cheek. Collecting your thoughts for a moment beforehand, you compose a text to Maria before you convince yourself not to, long winded and overly explanatory. You reread your message a few times before sending it because this situation has felt awkward. You’re not sure how much time has passed when you hear the door to the house, footsteps softly headed in your direction, the jingle of your dog’s collar.

“Is it okay if I sit outside with you, baby?” she asks, her voice soft.

Glancing at her briefly, you nod, wiping your cheeks. She leans against the wall near you but doesn’t touch you, and you feel her gaze on you.

“I need to be honest... Please don’t get mad, but I called Maria.”

You close your eyes, anger snapping up suddenly within you at her words. Sensing this she quickly adds, “I just told her that I fucked up, that the trip was supposed to be just you and I. She said that she understood and that you’d already texted her your side of things, and-”

Interrupting her, anger slightly audible in your tone, you snap “You promised not to say anything”

“I know, but-”

“So you didn’t listen, again.”

Groaning, her voice is frustrated as she quickly says, “Really? You really expected me to just leave it be, not say anything? Mami, that’s a lie. I know you’re angry. I know you still want us to be alone on the trip. Dios, eres imposible. You talk about lying but what is this shit? You’re saying one thing but you mean something else.”

You’re sassy without thinking, words falling out before you process what you’re saying, “If you had just listened from the beginning we wouldn’t be here! To be alone was literally the whole point! And I tried to tell you again today before we left. Just fucking listen to me, god.”

“How many times do I have to apologize? Maldita sea, cariño, lo siento,” the frustration in her tone feels especially loud in the quiet darkness.

You pull a second blunt from your pocket and light it, conversation halting as you inhale deeply. Taking the moment to organize your thoughts, you try to think of anything constructive to say, brain overridden with emotion and reactions. Vera eventually holds two fingers out in a V, and you wordlessly pass it between you for several minutes in silence.

“Can you just tell me what you want me to do here?”, she asks almost timidly.

“I don’t know.”

“If it makes you feel better Maria said she understood. Manuel seemed a little bummed but he’ll get over it and-”

“You didn’t tell me that you called Manuel too!”, your head dropping back into the wall as you speak. A few seconds later she taps your arm, passing you the blunt. You take it with a groan, inhaling deeply again.

“I really don’t understand what the big deal is here. Manuel will be fine.”

Rubbing your fingers into your temples, you try to explain, “I don’t like letting people down. Everyone was excited about a trip, even just for the day that they’ve known about it, I don’t want to be the reason for ruining that.”

She exhales slowly, face pointing upwards and watching the smoke in the night sky, looking over to you as she says, “You won’t be ruining anything, I’m the one who invited people when I shouldn’t have, and that’s what I told them. You’ve literally spent years following me around the world, but we’re never alone in whatever city we happen to be in. Manuel and Maria know that because they’re the ones who are always with us.They get it, it’s ok.”

Taking the blunt back when she passes it, you inhale and think, Vera continuing in your silence, “What else can I do here? You’re getting your week with me, I handled telling everyone, it’s done and over with.”

The corner of your lip quirks slightly upward, betraying the sassiness in your voice as you finally say, “A week? Didn’t I hear it was two weeks?”

Her hands fly up in mock exasperation as she laughs, “Okay, okay, two weeks. Mi reina gets her full trip, my full attention.”

You laugh in return, unable to resist when she’s as cute as she is, “That sounds perfect... I love you. I’m sorry for getting so upset,” your voice softening towards the end.

“I love you too. And hey, we all get mad… We good, mami?”

Nodding, you smile lightly as you say “We’re good.”

“Anything else you want to say here?” she asks, her tone genuine.

“Just that I’ll try to communicate better next time. What about you?”, passing the blunt back that you’d forgotten you were holding.

Features growing contemplative, she takes a few inhales, eyes lock onto yours as she says,

“Can I be honest here? Respectfully, you’re so sexy when you’re mad. If we’re done arguing I’m going to need you to take me inside.”

Laughing, you ask, “Seriously?”

She nods, “Your eyes go all wide and you get so sassy. And your voice when you’re mad? God mami, it turns me on even as I’m getting yelled at, I’m so wet. Hearing you like that makes me want you to bend me over, give it to me as hard as you want, let all that anger out.”

Moving towards her without words, your hand reaches for her chin as you lean in to kiss her. It’s immediately dirty, what she said echoing through your head, the heightened emotion of this evening shifting into something else. Needing to confirm her words, you press her into the wall as your hand slides down her body, past the waistband of her pants and boxers. There isn’t any foreplay or teasing here, your fingers parting her quickly, immediately finding wetness there. Rubbing a small circle against her coats them in moisture, and she moans into the kiss.

Pulling back you murmur, “Honey you weren’t kidding, you’re so wet”, fingers continuing in a slow pattern on her clit.

She laughs, a low sexy tone to it that only comes out when she’s turned on, “I told you. You’ve got me so worked up, I need you so bad right now.”

“Mmmm, maybe we should fight more if it gets you this needy.”

Grinding into your fingertips, her voice a little whiny, “Baby please.”

“How quiet can you be, love? I want to see you come right here on my fingers and the neighbors don’t need to hear that.”

Looking towards your neighbor’s backyard, her eyes are a bit frantic as she says, “Please just take me inside. I want you so bad. I don’t know if I can be that quiet.”

“You’re gonna have to be sweetheart. I want to see you come before we go inside, watch you struggle to keep it down.”

“I want you to fuck me.”

“I’m going to, but you’re going to be good and shut that pretty mouth first. Are you really trying to argue again? Now be quiet and take it”, your fingers quickening on her during your last words.

Biting her lip, she leans her head back against the wall as your fingers work on her. You kiss her cheek, the soft space before her ear, and nip her earlobe with your teeth. She makes a sound in her throat as you continue, kissing her jaw and down her neck. When the neckline of her t-shirt blocks your pathway, you gently bite the skin just above it, kissing it again afterwards. Pulling back, you watch her face as your free hand works its way under her sports bra to cup her breast. Her eyes close when you roll her nipple between your fingertips, her bottom lip still held between her teeth as another sound escapes.

Over time you’ve learned the things that get her there quickly, your fingers following a rhythm that you know always pushes her limits slightly. She doesn’t always like this, usually is too sensitive for this much stimulation so early on, but you know that she can take it when she’s this worked up beforehand. You also know that it makes her noisy, she seems unaware of the sounds falling out of her as sensation dips into overstimulation. Mouth falling open on a somewhat loud moan, you press your lips into hers to muffle it.

Blue eyes meeting yours when you pull back, you murmur, “Shhh, love, you gotta keep it quiet.”

She groans, “Dios mío,I can’t when you do that.”

Laugh hushed, your voice is almost a whisper, “Yes, you can. So hurry up and come, but quietly. And then I’ll take you inside and bend you over, you can be loud when you’re taking it.”

You speed your fingers, moving as quickly as you can while maintaining rhythm, eyes holding hers as you pinch her nipple. Her hips twitch, trapped between the wall and your hand, as she grinds into your fingers. Gaze wandering, you take in her expression, the way her body arches from where she leans against the wall, her fingers pressed into the siding as her hips roll helplessly into your hand, and how openly needy she looks makes you press your legs together with a groan. She’s unbearably sexy, you’re so turned on that it feels overwhelming.

Releasing her nipple, you flick it with your fingers, intentionally firm after pinching it long enough to make it sensitive. The sound that she makes is loud enough that you cover her mouth with yours, the noise muffled as your tongue slides against hers. As you kiss her you hear a familiar creak, soft sounds of movement in the distance, and the slam of your neighbor’s door. Your dog’s collar jingles off in the direction of the sound, likely greeting their dog at the fence. The kiss was good timing, your neighbor may now be outside and Vera isn’t keeping it down, but you can tell that she’s close and you want to see her face. Biting her lip softly, you pull back from the kiss and cover her mouth with your hand. Her eyes widen slightly and she makes a muffled sound into your palm, and you hold your breath to stop the hushed laugh that escapes you.

“Baby I’m sorry, but did you hear the neighbor’s door? You’re not exactly being quiet, and I know you’re close.”

She groans low in her throat, her eyes falling closed, and you murmur “Eyes on me darling, keep them on mine when you come.”

Fluttering open, her eyes look desperate when they find yours. “That’s it, look at you. You’re so sexy right now, I want to fuck you so bad. Come on sweetheart, give it up for me.”

Hips frantic, her eyes flutter again as she moans into your hand. Seconds later her body jerks, her eyes intense on yours as they fight to stay open, and you watch as her orgasm rolls over her. The rhythm of her hips is lost in her release, she grinds into your fingers deeply but without any sort of pattern. You bite your lip and hold your breath, keeping back the sound that you feel rising up at the sight of her. Watching her eyes as her body moves against you, you see the wildness in them gradually soften before her body does. Blinking at you slowly as the tension in her body fades, she leans back against the wall and gently bites your palm.

Laughing, you remove your hand from her mouth, kissing her tenderly and murmuring, “That was so pretty mami, let me take you inside now?”, as your other hand gently slides back out past the waistband of her pants.

She nods, groaning as you hold her eyes and suck your fingers clean. Taking her hand, you tiptoe quietly through the backyard, glancing to your neighbors yard. Your dog joins you as you approach the door of the house, slipping inside past you before you’ve fully opened it. You press Vera into the door, your lips finding hers and wordlessly explaining how turned on you are. The kiss is hungry but short, your impatience to do more surging now that you have her inside. Breaking the kiss with an impatient sound, you reach for her wrist and lead her the short distance to your living room. When you reach the couch you drop her wrist, quickly pull her shirt and sports bra over her head.

Your eyes briefly appreciate the way she looks topless, scanning over her gorgeously inked skin and perky breasts, before spinning her and saying “bend over, love”.

Making a small sound, she bends over the arm of the couch, elbows settling into the cushions as she shimmies her hips. Sliding in behind her, you run your fingers up her back as you assess the angle of your hips against her. The couch was a fairly new purchase, you’d chosen one with thickly padded, high arms that would be comfortable to nap on, but had found that they worked well for this purpose also. Reaching for a pillow, you adjust her body to slide it underneath her, raising her just enough higher to meet your body at the angle that you want. Your hands reach for her hips, grinding into her through the layers of clothing still in place. Satisfied, you lift her hips to pull her pants and boxers down, leaving them at her ankles as your eyes get distracted.

She looks irresistible bent over like this, her ass up high as her back slopes downward, shoulderblade muscles flexed to keep her upright on her elbows. Palming her ass, your eyes follow her curves, greedily taking in the perfect figure that she hides away under baggy clothes. Gaze drifting further, you take in how truly pretty her folds look from this angle, glistening with wetness and openly on display. Swollen and a pretty shade of pinkish red, she’s so wet that you see moisture gleaming on the nearby skin of her thighs. Your fingers drift there without thought, eyes mesmerized by the way your fingertips look moving against her delicate skin, quickly coated and shiny with her wetness. They trace circles around her opening, finally dipping in, her skin slightly stretching as they slide knuckle deep into her warmth. You curl them a few times as her hips arch backwards into it, eventually moving them in and out of her body in a soft rhythm. A sound falls from you as you watch, eyes focused on the way that her skin clings to your invading fingers as they slide.

Watching becomes too much, you’re quickly reminded of your own arousal, the ache between your legs growing at the sight in front of you. Vera makes a sound when you pull your fingers free without warning, smacking her ass as you say “Don’t move”, before leaving the room. Walking quickly, you remove your clothes piece by piece as you locate the items that you need. Less than a minute has passed when you return to the living room, finding your girlfriend right where you left her. Leaning down, you kiss her softly, eyes gentle on hers when you pull back.

Lips barely brushing hers, you whisper, “Te amo mucho, you know that right?”

You feel her smile on your lips as she answers, “Sí. Yo también te amo.”

Kissing her once more before you stand, you laugh softly as you say, “Good, just making sure. Even when I’m bending you over and burning up with how much I want to fuck you, it comes from a place of love.”

She laughs in return, saying “You can get to lovingly fucking me now, please”, as you’re stepping into the harness.

Smacking her ass, you say “Impatient. These things take time”, while you put the strap into the center hole of the harness.

Finally, you tuck a small vibrator into the inner pocket of the harness, lining it up with your clit and turning it on. Eyes closing briefly at the sensation, they quickly return to where she lays open in front of you. Unable to resist, you fall to your knees for a moment, licking into her folds with your hands on her ass. She makes a surprised noise that turns into a low moan, rolling back into your tongue as it works over her. You linger there for a few moments, flicking into her sweetness until her sounds grow impatient, pulling back when she whines “babyyyyy” at you.

Standing, you smooth a small amount of lube onto the strap before lining it up with her. Your hips stay in place as your hands fan over her ass, and she shifts impatiently back towards the tip of the strap. Laughing, you push it into her forcefully, sound shifting to a moan as you grind it in at the end. It takes your breath away for a moment after that, the pressure on the vibrator at your clit feels fantastic after focusing on Vera for so long. She moans as you grind in, aching back into you and looking over her shoulder. Your fingers clench against her hips as you settle into a rhythm, hard from the start, knowing that it’s what you both need right now. The expression on her face shifts before you, pleasure overtaking her features as you thrust into her.

After a few moments she looks away, head dropping between her shoulders as you rail into her, the force of your hips making her body bob upwards with each thrust. Your eyes follow the tattoo on her neck downward, watching the way the blackwork on her skin shifts with her curves as she rolls back into you. They linger on the way that her ass bounces into you as she moves, your eyes trapped on the movement, staying there long enough to sear it into memory for later. Releasing her hip with one hand, you smack her ass twice in the same spot, soothing over the pinkening skin afterwards.

Closing your eyes for a moment to focus on the sensation that builds inside of you, you become more aware of the sound of your hips against her ass, loud in the otherwise quiet room. It’s hot in a way that you can’t put words to, the rhythmic sound of your bodies colliding as you fuck into her. It eventually lures you into opening your eyes again, watching the way that the strap moves in and out of her.

You feel yourself getting closer, know that you won’t last much longer, it feels too good and you were so worked up for it from the start. Leaning forward slightly as your hips continue to roll into her, you slide one hand under her hip, moving downward until your fingers meet her wetness. She moans when your fingertips find her clit, making a few gentle circles before progressing to meet the rhythm of your bodies. The angle has changed slightly now that you lean into her, and your eyes flutter when you grind in, the pressure on your clit suddenly exquisite. Your hand on her hip moves to her ribs, a better handhold to pull her towards you from this angle.

Attempting to distract yourself from how close you are, you focus on the pattern of your fingers, working to get her closer to her own peak. You take in the way that she sounds, her breathing irregular and moans that fall more frequently from her lips. Your fingers clench into her ribs as you thrust into her, eyes drifting there to find pink blooms on her skin, places that your fingers rested that will likely progress into small bruises. Your brain processes the way she’ll look on stage later this week in her little sports bra, your fingertip bruises decorating her ribs. It’s that thought that makes you lean in further, plant little kisses on her back until you bite down softly, afterwards applying suction to the spot. She moans as you continue, eventually releasing the skin with a soft pop, kissing it before pulling back to admire the reddening area you’d left behind. It’s mid back, obvious, claiming, and you can’t stop yourself from leaning in to repeat the process a few inches away. When you pull back again you groan, these will either be obvious marks that will tease you as you watch her dance around on stage, or the reason why her fans won’t talk her into pulling her shirt off.

Your gaze catches when her body grows tense, sees the slight shaking of her arms as she holds herself up, and your hips speed slightly. Fingers on her clit matching the movement of your body, she cries out at the added sensation, and the way that she rolls into you loses rhythm as it grows desperate. You hold yourself at bay, on the drink of orgasm but focused on seeing her get there again before you do. A few thrusts later her hips falter, muscles in her back visibly tense as she arches deeply into you, a loud moan running long as she comes undone. It breaks your control, shifts your attention to your own need, the pressure as you grind into her now overwhelming. You crash into orgasm moments after her, holding your breath as you process the intense sensation. It feels like it pulses through you in waves, almost too much at times as you continue to rail into her. You’re lost in it long enough that you can’t hold your breath any longer, inhaling deeply and moaning softly as you start to come down. Hips slowing into deep grinds, the vibrator on your clit now pleasantly overstimulating in a way that you can’t resist rolling into. Knowing that she tends to be more sensitive afterwards, you pull your fingers away from her core gently, leaning in to kiss her shoulder as your movement into her continues to soften.

You lay pressed against her back for a moment after your hips still completely, breathing with her and planting soft kisses on her back. Eventually you stand, and she groans as the angle changes and you pull the strap out of her. Legs softly shaking, she drops down from her arms, face turned sideways against the couch cushion. Her gaze finds yours and she gives you a soft smile, her eyes heavy, she looks comfortably fucked out in a way that makes you laugh gently at her.

“Oh sweetheart, look at you. Come here, let’s go snuggle up in bed”

Whining adorably as she moves to standing, you pull her into a kiss. She leans into you as the kiss lingers, your body eventually supporting hers. Pulling back, you keep an arm around her waist as you move her towards your bedroom, laughing softly again at how cute she is like this. When you reach the bed you lift the covers for her, crawling in after her and tangling your bodies together. Her head snuggles into your chest and she sighs, your fingers scratch into her scalp and drift through her hair. Skin to skin like this, with her held in your arms, you feel the last bit of tension from today leave you. You’re content that after everything, the two of you were able to come together and communicate. Drifting off as your fingers continue in her hair, you sleepily hope that you never have to argue about time together again.

xxx Married-

Life has felt busy lately in a way that has been overwhelming. Vera has been especially consumed with work, your daughter has been going through a stressful stage, and you feel like you’re struggling to keep everything together. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day for you to get adequate sleep and it has felt like a lot.

You understand that your wife is wildly busy right now. Her new album has been doing incredibly well and she’s working on deluxe tracks that she hasn’t announced yet, finalizing details for summer events that will take her to more cities than she’s ever been in one tour. You’re more proud of her than you can express and try to tell her that daily. These phases in her career come with expected and unexpected stress, and you know that there will be seasons like this that are busier than others.

It isn’t annoying that Vera is busy with work right now, you understand and expect that her schedule gets like this. However, a new pattern of falling through on commitments and promises has emerged over the last couple of months. This is the first album release since you’ve become parents, something that has added new challenges to the expected stress of this time in Vera’s career. It isn’t that your wife isn’t home as much, it’s that she isn’t doing things that she says she will at home and with your daughter.

Some of the things have felt small the first few times, but have grown more frustrating with repetition. Prior to the new album you and Vera had a great overnight schedule with the baby, one person would wake up each time that night when Mía cried so that the other person could get a full night of rest, and the following night you’d switch. This ensured that everyone was sleeping well every other night. When things got busy, you’d suggested changing it because she understandably needed more rest for work, and now Vera only wakes up with Mía one scheduled night a week. You plan this out early in the week, and she chooses the day. Over time she has stopped waking up consistently on those nights when the baby cries, halfway through the night she’d be in such a deep sleep that she simply didn’t hear the baby monitor. Your daughter would cry louder as the unanswered moments passed, and eventually you’d just get up because it had fully woken you at that point. It didn’t bother you the first few times, but with repetition you’ve grown annoyed. You now expect to get up on the night that she promises you sleep. Each of these nights when you go to bed Vera earnestly vows that she will get up all night, and each morning she seems apologetic when she realizes that you’d gotten up overnight instead. She’s always very sweet and genuine, tries to do something helpful or kind to make up for it, but that sweetness afterwards has now become part of the routine as well.

There have also been plans on the calendar that Vera has committed to going to, and then later backed out on, sometimes moments before. You understand that things will come up some times, but again, it’s the repeated behavior. She has missed pediatrician appointments for Mía that she said she planned to go to, hasn’t once made it to baby swim lessons despite saying she’d make it week after week, and has rescheduled plans with your best friend’s family twice now.

You’ve tried to be patient, worked to empathize, but it all just keeps adding up. Smaller things start to feel bigger than they normally would. If Vera didn’t say that she’d grab dinner on the way home, you wouldn’t be upset when you found yourself cooking after she stayed in the studio late. If she didn’t offer to do the dishes when she got home, you wouldn’t be annoyed to find your coffee mug dirty in the morning. If she didn’t promise to make time for a date night, you wouldn’t be frustrated that you hadn’t had that sort of quality time with her in over two months. If she didn’t whisper sweet nothings about letting you sleep, you wouldn’t give into her touch when you’re exhausted at the end of a busy day, only to be woken up repeatedly overnight afterwards.

All of this combined is what has you to this point, more frustrated with your wife than you’ve ever felt, growing resentful in a way that you don’t like. There have been a few conversations about it and you know that she feels badly, but the behavior hasn’t changed. You’re to a point that you just wish she’d stop saying that she’d do things, because every time she falls through you feel even more resentful.

You notice that you carry that resentment in your body now, and when you’re annoyed you are unintentionally less affectionate with her. You’ve always had a physically expressive dynamic that’s flowed both ways, time together is peppered with little kisses here and there, pulling one another into little embraces throughout the day, dancing with your bodies pressed close during household chores, small sweet touches and moments that have flowed naturally because of how deeply you care for each other. You find yourself reaching out for her less now, and sometimes when she pulls you into her arms you feel yourself wanting to move away from her more quickly. When you think about it you realize that you text her less throughout the day when she’s gone, notice that you haven’t been joking around and flirting as much as you normally do, and are significantly less interested in sex. You feel bad when you think about it all, you love her so much, but in the moment how you feel and how your body reacts is instinctive.

This had all led up to today. It started overnight, when Vera had sworn she’d get up with your daughter, even taking the baby monitor into the living room to sleep on the couch so that you wouldn’t be disturbed at all. At two in the morning you wake up to the sound of your daughter crying incredibly loud, audible through the house and not the monitor. You wait to hear footsteps or movement, but hear nothing other than your daughter’s cries. You sigh, get up, and walk by your sleeping wife on the couch, headed towards your daughter’s room. Noticing the sound of Mía crying on the monitor next to Vera, you catch that the volume must be on a low setting, her cry soft compared to the sound in the house itself. You enter your daughter’s room to find her chubby little face red and moist, her curls damp with sweat and tears. She cries harder when her blue eyes find your face, her little arms reaching for you and her body arching in her sleep sack. You scoop her into your arms, her cries subsiding into little whimpers and the kind of erratic loud breathing that tells you that she’s been crying for a while.

You murmur sweet things at her, rubbing her back while you sway and kiss her soft hair. When her breathing calms she begins to smack her lips together, her hands grasping your shirt in her tiny fingers and pulling at the fabric. Quickly taking her to the changing table first, then moving to the rocking chair and sitting down with her, you arrange yourself into a comfortable position as she starts eating. You can’t help but think of the milk that you’d left in a bottle on the counter for Vera to use. It’d be good there for about two more hours, but now that your daughter is eating it’s unlikely to get used within that timeframe. You’ll put it in the fridge on your way to bed so that it doesn’t get wasted. Head pounding slightly and a tight feeling in your chest, you physically feel how frustrated you are, but as you rock your daughter it subsides slightly. It’s hard to stay mad when her blue eyes look up at you with love, her little fingers holding one of yours while she eats.

You don’t notice when you start singing to her, you spend so much time doing it that it comes out of you without thinking now. You’re halfway through one of the Spanish lullabies that Vera grew up on, a song you’ve sung daily for months now, when you suddenly hear footsteps. Vera appears at the door, hair messy from sleep and eyes wide. Your eyes meet hers and the feeling in your chest returns in a snap. She murmurs quick apologies in sleepy, half broken Spanish that runs together as she walks towards you. You continue rocking, quietly hearing her words but not responding, your mind processing your anger before you speak. When she reaches you she kisses you softly, one of her hands falling to Mía’s hair. Pulling back and turning your gaze back to Mía, you keep your thoughts to yourself, worried about the tone that you might use if you spoke now.

She offers to finish feeding her and you laugh. “It doesn’t make sense at this point, she’ll be done eating in a few minutes. I’d appreciate it if you’d put the bottle in the fridge and get her back to sleep though.” Your tone is flat, concealing the emotions at play inside of you, and you don’t think your wife notices.

“Of course, yeah. I’ll go put the bottle in the fridge now, I’ll be back”, she says, kissing you on the head and leaving the room.

Taking a few deep breaths beforehand, you resume your quiet singing, switching to a song that your mom sang to you. Minutes drift by, Mía’s eyes growing heavy as she eats. She tries to hold eye contact with you, but her eyelids droop, her blinks growing longer. Eventually she stops eating, her mouth falling open, and you pull her to your shoulder to gently burp her. She surprisingly sleeps through this, and you rock her for a few more moments before you start the tricky process of moving her back to her crib. You lift her up and over the side, softly place her in the center of the mattress, and leave your hands on her for a moment before you try to slide them away. You continue singing until your hands are free and you’ve turned on her white noise machine, then gradually quiet your voice until you’ve gone silent, backing out of the room quietly. You watch for a moment to make sure she stays still, then walk towards the living room, pleased that she actually stayed asleep when you moved her.

Vera is asleep on the couch again, the monitor next to her. You can tell that she’s turned the volume off because you can’t hear the white noise that you just turned on in Mía’s room. The feeling in your chest rises again, sharper this time. She said that she’d get your daughter back to sleep, but then turned the volume off on the monitor while you sang and fell back to sleep. You walk towards her, take the monitor and turn the volume back on in its highest setting, and thunk it down on the couch next to her face. She doesn’t move. You return to bed, trying to think of how you’re going to bring this up tomorrow. Mía had fallen asleep eating and stayed asleep, but that wasn’t usually the case, it was normally a fifteen or twenty minute process to get her successfully transferred to her crib without waking.

xxx

You wake up to the soft sounds of Mía cooing and babbling in her bed, reach for the monitor to see her happily waving her little arms while laying on her back in her crib. You smile and sit up, noticing the note from Vera on your bedside table. You knew she had to leave early this morning, weren’t surprised by the monitor at your bedside. She was usually home for the first few hours of the day, but was collaborating with another artist today and had to be in the studio first thing.

In the note she apologized for the night, asked if you’d try to find a babysitter for a few hours tonight, saying that she’d take you to your favorite restaurant if you found one. If not, she says she still wants to go out, and you can decide on a more baby friendly place. You read it over a few times as you listen to Mía’s happy morning sounds, trying to let your annoyance wash away. It’s a new day, your daughter is happy and healthy, and your wife is finally offering to make time for a date. You take a deep breath and get up, willing yourself to let your frustration go and focus on those things.

xxx

The day is a good one, Mía is sweet and happy, and even gracing you with a long morning nap. You hadn’t had luck on a babysitter, but when you talk with a friend during baby swim lessons she offers without you thinking to ask, just as you were venting about last night and mentioning Vera’s note. She and her partner have three kids, and she says she’d be glad to take one more overnight. She understands needing kid-free time with your partner, and she’s glad to make it so that you and Vera can have a whole night together. She thinks that her ten year old twins will be thrilled, and is going to pitch it to them as a baby sleepover. She makes a joke that she’s used to two babies at night, and says that she’s glad to do it again on occasion to help you out. Her eyes are sincere, and you decide to take her up on it.

When you’re home from lunch you text Vera that you have a babysitter, leaving out the overnight detail to surprise her. She responds quickly that she’ll be home by four and asks if you can make a reservation for 4:30. You say that you will, and knowing your wife, plan to make the reservation for five.

Mía happily plays with toys in a round bouncer seat while you navigate the restaurant website. It’s part of a little bed and breakfast, and when you start the dinner reservation process a promotion for an overnight stay with dinner pops up. For a reasonable price you’d stay in one of the little cottages on site, with a dinner package included and breakfast in the morning. Every time you go to dinner there, one of you says that you should spend a night some time, passing by the cottages as you walk the grounds. You quickly look through pictures of them, each one has a theme and some of them are already reserved, pausing when you see the bathroom in one of the available choices. Seconds later you find yourself with a reservation for a cute little cottage and dinner, excited to be able to surprise your wife.

You spend the next couple of hours packing overnight bags in between tasks, finishing the one for your daughter first. It’s when you’re packing the bag for Vera and yourself that your mind starts to wander. The last time you’d gotten away since the baby had been wonderful, it was a month before Vera’s album came out, an intentional trip away before things got busy. You’d had really quality time together and ended the night in bed, up much later than you’d planned for all of the best reasons. You feel yourself blush at the memory, and your mind drifts to where tonight could go. It’s the first time you’ve thought this way in what feels like a while, a harsh comparison to the usual frequency with which you want her. Lately she has been the only one initiating things, and sometimes you find that you just don’t feel like being touched. On those days you find yourself complaining about a headache or say that you think you’re coming down with a cold, just to avoid the possibility of her starting something before bed. It’s sad when you think about it, and you feel guilty. It hits you that you miss connecting with her like that, and that tonight you should put effort into making it special.

You set aside a dress that you know Vera always eyes you in, pairing it with a new set of lingerie that you’d tucked away and forgotten. Pausing to think about what things you might want, you pack bath supplies, scented tea light candles and a lighter, your favorite toys, and the harness. Eyeing the bondage straps, you stick them in just in case, not knowing where the night could take you.

The rest of the early afternoon goes by quickly with a reason to be excited, and before you know it you’re taking your daughter to your friend’s house. Dropping her off somewhere overnight always feels a little hard, but your friend’s older kids are so excited, and you know she’ll have a good night. As you’re driving away excitement creeps back in, and you turn music on to set the mood. When you arrive back home you shower and put lotion on, fixing your hair and makeup while your skin dries.

It takes a moment to figure out how to slide yourself into the lingerie, a black bodysuit with attached garters. It’s mostly see-through, dips low in the front between your breasts and is crotchless, a wide enough opening between the legs that you can still scissor comfortably. You connect the garter straps to the O rings on your strappy garters, opting against thigh high stockings to leave your legs open. The garters will peek out when you sit, hopefully putting a few ideas on Vera’s mind during dinner. Glancing at yourself in the mirror, you adjust the straps that run over your shoulders and along the front and back of your thighs, turning to make sure it fits snugly from all angles. Satisfied, you shimmy into your little dress. It’s a pretty deep purple that cuts low in the front, shape clinging to your curves perfectly until it ends on your upper thighs. It hasn’t been worn frequently because of its tendency to ride up when you move, which is why your wife loves it.

At four your phone buzzes with a text from Vera, who is running late as anticipated. It says that she and Manuel are working through a piece of a track and are close to being done, but she wonders if you could push the reservation back until six and meet her there. Again, knowing your wife, you actually change it to 6:30. Since you’re already around and now meeting here there, you decide to head over to check out the little cottage you’ll be staying in.

It’s about a twenty minute drive, the parking lot already slightly busy when you arrive. You check in and the worker at the desk tells you that it’s a short paved walk to the cottage, giving you a key and directions. The pathway that he mentioned is gorgeous, surrounded by beautiful florals and well maintained shrubbery. It passes through a garden that is used for weddings, and you pause for a moment to appreciate the variety of colorful blooms.

Following the florals along the pathway you find a series of small cottages, locating the one that will be yours for the evening. You unlock the door and step into the entryway, leading into a pretty bedroom with a fireplace. Over the years with Vera you’ve seen a lot of rentals, the bedroom is nice enough but the pictures of the bathroom here were what caught your eye, and you’re curious as you open the door.

You’re greeted with a large jacuzzi surrounded by floor to ceiling bright white tile, contrasting with the brilliant shades of greenery that fill the room. Large, stunning plants surround the jacuzzi, happily growing upwards towards an enormous skylight. Among them you recognize several ferns, a mature monstera deliciosa with wide fenestrations, a few varieties of long vining pothos, and the happiest fiddle leaf fig you’ve ever seen. The wall shared with the bedroom is the one with the fireplace, and you imagine how lovely it will be in here with a fire lit and the stars above you.

With time to kill before Vera arrives, you settle into bed with your book. Since becoming a mother you’ve developed a habit of falling asleep the moment you’re in comfortable silence, and you set an alarm for 6:15 just to be safe. You’re glad that you did, because as anticipated a few pages deep the possibility of a short nap becomes tempting, and you quickly drift off.

Your alarm wakes you, and your stomach drops when you read the text that you find from Vera.

Vera: 'Cariño I'm sorry, we haven't finished yet. I think we're going to be late. Can your friend take care of Mia for a few hours tomorrow?'

You: 'No, no, it was just something she offered up tonight.'

Vera: 'Then we can take Mia to dinner tomorrow. I'm sorry about tonight.'

Dropping your phone to the pillow next to you, you stare up at the ceiling for a moment. At first you feel deflated, sad that the idea that you had has fallen through without Vera even being aware of it, but it rapidly shifts into anger. She suggested dinner and asked that you find a sitter, the evening itself was her idea. Why even put the idea in your head? Impulsively, you call her without thinking, then call a second time when it goes to voicemail.

Her voice is light when she answers, “Lo siento, tenía los auriculares puestos. Are you calling about dinner? Manuel asked if I could stay late tonight, I’m sorry baby. We can do dinner another night when we can get a babysitter, let’s take Mía somewhere tomorrow night”

“You can stay up all night with Manuel, I won’t be home”, you snap, your voice angrier than you’d heard it in years.

Silence lasts for several seconds before she asks, “What? What do you mean?”

Sarcastically polite, you hear yourself say, “Never mind. I had a surprise for you, but you’re too busy. I’ll enjoy it alone. Have a good night with Manuel,” hanging up and tossing your phone back on the pillows.

Your phone rings twice, the screen lighting up with each call, but you ignore it until the third. Sitting up, you answer it and start putting on your heels, “Yes? I’m going to dinner, I only have a minute.”

“Are you going to dinner alone? Where will you go afterward?” her voice confused and a touch worried.

Checking that door locked behind you, you walk towards the restaurant, heels clicking on the pavement as you say, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine. I rented one of the cute little cottages, the ones that we said we should check out? You’re too busy, but when you texted me I had already checked in.”

“Your friend is watching Mía overnight? Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”

The restaurant is in your line of sight quickly with how fast you walk, anger fueling your steps. You pause for a moment to finish this conversation before you’re too close to other people, not wanting anyone else to hear your tone, “I wanted to surprise you… Vera I don’t want to do this. You’re busy, this stuff is important, I get it. But I’m not wasting an overnight babysitter and reservations because you’re stuck in the studio again. Genuinely, I hope you and Manuel have a lovely night together. I’ll be enjoying a nice dinner, and afterwards I’ll have a jacuzzi with a view. I have alllllll sorts of things packed to keep the night entertaining, and then I’m going to sleep all night for once. I’ll enjoy a breakfast that I don’t have to cook or do the dishes for, and then I’ll go pick up Mía. Tell Manuel hello for me, won’t you?”

You hang up again, zipping your phone inside of your purse and taking slow steps forward as you approach the restaurant. Taking a few deep breaths to clear your head, you ignore your vibrating phone as you open the door. Giving your name, you’re taken to a small table in a dimly lit dining room. You’re given a menu and the waitress explains how the dining package you’d purchased works, also suggesting a seasonal cranberry wine. Ordering a whole bottle, you ask if one of the meals that is part of your package can be taken to go. The waitress gives you a sad look and says that it can, leaving to get your wine as you look over the menu. Phone vibrating in your purse once more, you scan the familiar menu and read the attachment that lists seasonal offerings.

When the waitress arrives, you order what you’ve decided on, sipping the wine that she pours for you and saying that you like it. It’s good, boldly cranberry flavored with a light hint of citrus, fruity enough to go down easily. Finishing your glass quickly, you pour yourself another and ignore your many notifications to take a picture of the label. The bottle won’t survive your bath tonight and you know you’ll want to look for it again. Putting your phone aside, you pull your book from your purse and start reading, sipping wine as the pages go by.

The baked brie that you ordered arrives with an assortment of brightly colored berries and crackers surrounding it, and when the waitress walks away you pour your third glass of wine as you start eating. You continue to read as you graze, the soft feeling of the wine creeping over you as you get lost in your book. The quiet hum of conversation around you fades as you read, time drifting without your notice, and the waitress startles you when she reappears with your meal.

You’d ordered a seasonal choice that was a twist on what you usually got here, and were unable to stop yourself from choosing Vera’s usual as your to go meal. Her selection was good, and would reheat well later. However, staring at your plate now, you feel a little sad as you think of the previous times that you’ve eaten here. This was always a place that you went with Vera, sometimes when you were celebrating something and other times just because, but she was always across from you. Glancing at the empty chair in front of you, you put your book next to your plate to read as you take your first few bites.

Partway through your meal a voice interrupts you, and when you look up it’s to find a friend that you haven’t seen in months. Standing, you hug her and quietly talk. After a few moments you gesture for her to sit down, she looks to another table, holds up one finger, and sits across from you. Several minutes into catching up she asks if the brie is good, so you offer her some of your appetizer, and she tops a cracker with brie and a raspberry. You settle back into eating, listening to her tell a story about her kids, her arms animated as she talks. Laughing along, you take a sip of your wine, finding yourself thankful for the unexpected company.

Your friend’s focus shifts over your shoulder a second before you hear, “Mi amor?”.

Your shoulders tense, those words in that voice are normally a sound that brings you comfort, but your body remembers your anger quickly. The expression on your friend’s features shifts from cheerful to confused as she watches you, and you realize that your face feels as tense as your shoulders. Taking a deep breath and trying to relax your eyebrows, you watch as your friend looks between your face and the area over your shoulder.

Eventually your friend murmurs, “I should go. Thank you for spending time with me, I enjoyed it. I hope you have a good night,” awkwardly leaving the table.

Unmoving, you watch as Vera slides into the chair across from you, dressed casually in the comfortable clothes that she preferred to wear for long recording days. Her expression is unreadable, perhaps slightly worried as she says your name. Your eyes hold hers as you sift through your mind, struggling to join words together, processing that you’d like to avoid making a scene in your favorite restaurant.

Her eyes hold yours for a moment before she speaks, her voice small, “Baby, who was that woman?”

Anger spiking, your voice is louder than you mean it to be, “Seriously, Vera? Are you jealous right now? A friend. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Yeah that certainly looked pretty friendly, over here eating your food and getting you laughing like that. She was here for a long time, I saw, I waited a little before I came over.”

Eyes rolling, you quip, “Oh my god I was just being polite, we were catching up. Laughing while we talk about our kids. She’s literally over there with her husband”, your arm swings wide in the direction of her table. “Do you really think I’m out here picking girls up that fast? You bail on me and I have someone else within the hour?”

Enough time passes in silence that Vera says, “Sweetheart I’m sorry. I just saw you with someone else, and after our argument it made me feel some sort of way I guess… Look, I know I fucked up today, in more way than one. I should’ve left the studio when I said I would.”

Maintaining eye contact, you reach for your wine and take a long sip, and Vera takes that as her cue to continue, “You’ve always been so understanding of my schedule, but now that we have a baby I need to be home when I say that I will. I told Manuel no more unexpected late nights in the studio.”

Focusing on maintaining a calm voice you say, “I really appreciate that Vera, but that’s like a third of the issue here.”

“... And I want to start planning nights away so that we can have time to ourselves?”

“Which I’ll be completely exhausted for unless?”, your voice rising towards the end.

Groaning, she says “I need to start waking up with the baby when it’s my turn so that you can sleep.”

“Exactamente”, you murmur, taking another sip of wine.

“Mi vida, really, it’s sad that we have to talk about this. It’s one night a week. I need to do better, you deserve that. From now on I’m going to give you two nights a week, I promise I will,” her voice sincere.

Everything in you wants to believe her, but you don’t. In the months since Mía’s arrival her word has become unreliable. “If I got a dollar for every promise you’ve made to me lately, we’d buy a vacation home somewhere in Europe.”

Vera winces, “This time I really mean it.”

You normally wouldn’t challenge her, but the wine emboldens your words, “Didn’t you mean it before?”

“I meant it, but I didn’t keep my promise. I’ve been too distracted with new songs, I’m sorry… This time I mean it. Please, let me show you that I can do better.”

Temper cooling slightly, your voice sounds worn down as you say, “Vera, I want to believe you. I really do, but I’m tired of getting let down. You’ll have to prove it to me.”

Her voice is quiet as she replies, “I understand, that’s fair.”

You sigh, “You’ve always been the person that I can count on, the perfect partner, an amazing mom. You follow through on what you say, show up, make time, but lately not so much. Your promises lately have felt like ‘nos’ and ‘maybes’ to my ears, I don’t trust them, they’re uncertain. It’s become a pattern since Mía was born.”

“Let me fix it, please. You and Mía mean everything to me, you are my whole world, my everything. Let me be the person who never says ‘no’ nor ‘maybe’. Let me show you that my promises always mean yes.”

Reaching across the table, you grab her glass and fill it with wine, a small smile when you say “Do you remember our last fight about going on a trip alone?”

She takes the glass, relief on her face as she laughs, “I remember it vividly. You smoked outside for a while, and then I found you crying. You called me a liar, oooof,” her hand clutching her chest dramatically.

You laugh, “I did. Here we are, years later. Same restaurant, slightly more mature version of the same argument. I’m still trying to get you to myself, it went a bit sideways again.”

She winces, “Do I need to promise you another two week vacation alone?”, she asks as she takes a sip of wine.

“Maybe not completely alone, I don’t think I can handle two weeks apart from Mía yet. But I was thinking, what if for Christmas we take your parents with us somewhere? They think they’re getting a Christmas gift, but we’re really getting vacation babysitters. Maybe even overnight a few times?”

“Wow, brilliant. Mami have you always been this sneaky? What other schemes have you been cooking?”, her expression is amused.

The waitress appears, looking slightly confused at Vera’s arrival. She asks if Vera would like to order something, and you speak up, clarifying that the to go order is hers. Face softening, the waitress asks if you’d like to order dessert. Vera orders your usual favorite, a pair of chocolate lava cakes with fresh berries and ice cream, two boxes of their house made macarons to go, and another bottle of the cranberry wine.

When the waitress leaves Vera asks, “How did you know I would be here, but late? You ordered my food to go.”

You laugh, “Oh, I didn't think you would be here. The dinner package came with two meals, and I felt bad for not ordering your food, the one we always order. I planned to eat it later in the bathtub.”

She looks surprised and then laughs, “Wow, alright, you weren't even going to bring it home?”

You shake your head, “No, I wasn’t bringing you anything home. I was so mad. I was enjoying every bit of this without you to spite you, I was going to eat that in the jacuzzi later… But you’re here, so why don’t you have what’s left of mine and the brie, and we’ll still have yours later. We always share anyway”, your face softens at the end.

Smirking, she lowers her voice when she says, “I’ve said it before mami, so respectfully, you’re so sexy when you’re mad”, reaching towards the plates.

Eventually dessert arrives, and you share it while Vera continues flirting relentlessly in the way that she knows you find cute. The last of the wine is polished off and you wait for the items that she’d requested to go. Your mind wanders back to that fight all those years ago, now recalling how you’d spent the night getting over it. Thoughts rapidly shifting, you recall the items that you packed, thankful for random intuition.

Keeping your voice innocent, you ask your wife, “Do you remember how we made up after that fight?”

Nibbling at a piece of leftover brie, clearly missing your point, she says “Yeah, the two week vacation, we took it alone. It was really nice.”

“Yes, but before that. That night, how did we get over it?”

You watch her think, only a few seconds passing before you watch the memory hit her. She looks around, voice almost a whisper, “You tortured me in our backyard, made me beg to go inside, then fucked me over the side of the couch so hard that I felt it the next day.”

Pausing, you bite your lip and tap your finger on your chin, looking contemplative as you say, “I’m not sure if begging is really enough tonight.”

She lets out a breath, a sly smile appearing as she asks “What would be enough tonight babygirl?”

Smirking, you tell her “I think you’d be interested to know that the bed has a sturdy headboard, lovely craftsmanship. It has gaps between the posts of it though, anything could slip through and get tangled up, we’ll have to keep an eye on that.”

In perfect timing, the waitress returns just as Vera groans at your words, and she stops herself from whatever she was about to say, her eyes wild. You can’t help but laugh, the waitress pausing and briefly looking confused, handing you a bag and telling you to enjoy your night. When you stand from the table you clock Vera’s eyes wandering your body, your eyes rolling as she says “¿Qué? Oh, en serio, you knew what you were doing when you wore that dress. You wore it on purpose, you know what you’re doing mami.”

She holds out her arm, and you take it as you walk down the floral pathway. Sky darkening, Vera pulls you towards the cottages quickly, the sound of your heels echoing in the quiet night. Pointing towards it, you take the lead when your little home for the night comes into view. Unlocking the door with clumsy fingers in the dark, you find yourself glad to have Vera entering behind you, despite how you’d felt when you left.

Turning, you smoothly press her into the doorframe before it clicks closed. She makes a small sound of surprise as her body meets the door, your lips on hers before the sound finishes, silencing it. Finding her wrists, you pin them to the door with your hands, tongue sliding into her mouth as your leg falls between hers. You hold her like that for several long moments, your thigh against her core but unmoving, hands tightly held above her head.

Pulling back from the kiss with a smirk, your eyes glance to where you hold her hands in place, “Put your hands above your head. Like that, pretty thing. Keep them there and don’t move them.”

Laughing, she says, “Oh, she’s using my own words against me. Naughty”, catching your reference, a reuse of a line she once dropped on you before teasing you with her mouth under a table.

Shooting her a look, one hand falls to your hip as you say, “Hmmm, that doesn’t sound like begging. Do you hear any begging here?”

She laughs again before clearing her throat, “Por favor, mi reina, tie me up. Do whatever you want with me, I deserve it.”

Dropping your other hand and shaking your head, you toe out of your heels before walking to your bag. Placing the toys on the bed, your eyes find Vera for a moment with the straps in your hands, smirking before you turn to crawl into bed. An idea comes to mind as you’re moving towards the headboard, and you tie both straps to the same post, the one in the center. When you crawl back off the bed and turn to your wife, you find that her expression has shifted, her eyes no longer laughing.

“Are you done being sassy?”, traces of it in your own voice now.

Laugh pitched a bit lower now, she says “I can be whatever you want me to be”

“Do you want to stay against the door all night or do you want me to tie you up?”, you ask with crossed arms.

“Oh she’s feisty, qué sexy.”

You slide your dress over your head, standing in your lingerie and holding her gaze for a moment before sitting on the edge of the bed. Glancing to the clock and sighing, mock impatience in your voice as you say, “I can certainly take care of myself if you like it over there.”

Groaning, her voice low as she whines “mi amorrr”

“I hear a lot of words, but none are the ones I want to hear”, one of your hands teases your collarbone as you talk, fingers whispering downward against your skin until they meet lace.

“Por favor”, her voice quiet as she watches your fingers.

“¿Qué? I didn’t catch that?”, finger circling one of your nipple piercings, visible through the thin material.

“Diosa mío, could you please just tie me up to the bed already and fuck me? Whenever we argue you make me stay standing while you mess with me.”

Smirking, you stand to walk towards her slowly, “Are those your best manners?”

“Please. I want you. Will you please tie me up and fuck me?”

“There we go, that’s better. Come here”, the words have barely left your mouth, Vera crosses the space between you quickly, kissing you forcefully when she reaches you. Your hands move down her body teasingly, but they have a goal, following her shoulders down her arms. Finding their destination, your hands grasp her wrists, intentionally a bit firm. Pulling back from the kiss, you walk backwards towards the bed, releasing her and saying “strip”.

She pulls her t-shirt and bra off in one smooth motion, and your eyes take her in, following the tattoo on her abdomen down to the top of where her red boxers peek out above her pants. Putting out a hand, you stop her as she moves to push them down. “You can keep those cute little red boxers on though”

Groaning, she pushes her pants down, leaving the boxers in place. “That’s better baby, turn around”, you say as your hands start to move her anyway.

Pulling her against you, you run your hands down her sides to the elastic at the top of her boxers. Snapping it on one side, your hand slides down the fabric to the space between her legs, cupping her through the fabric. “Let’s get you tied up sweetheart? We’re going to keep these on until I can see how wet you are. Then I’m going to rail you so hard that you feel it tomorrow.”

You push her softly to the bed, saying “On your back baby, arms up”. She does as you tell her, eyes holding yours for a moment before your gaze drifts down her body, groaning as you take her in. Long hair tumbles over her shoulders, recently dyed red again, a pretty contrast against her bare skin. Cherry blossom tree stretched long with her body, branches crossing between her breasts, perky nipples tempting between the blackwork of the tattoo. Boxers low with her legs spread slightly, hipbones peeking out at you above the elastic band.

Straddling her abdomen, you lean over her to secure her wrists in the restraints, sliding your fingers under the strap on each wrist and asking, “Do these feel ok?”

Her smile is soft, “They feel fine”.

Your eyes search her expression, needing to ask, “Is this alright?”

She laughs, “Yes, this is great. It’d be better if we were doing something.”

Gently smacking her shoulder, you lean in and kiss her sweetly, pulling back to murmur “I love you, even if you somehow manage to be sassy when you’re tied down.”

Smirking, she says “You like it”

“Hmmm, I’m thinking I’d like it better if you were quiet”, smirking in return as you move your body up above her shoulders, fingers reaching for the headboard as you hover above her.

Face shifting as she processes where this is going, you slide one hand down your body to open yourself up as you lower onto her mouth. You position your legs to support your weight, aware that her hands usually do some of that, not wanting to put too much pressure on her. She groans as her tongue flicks out against you, eyes watching yours as it starts to work a slow pattern into your clit. Keeping your expression open, you let her see how good she’s making you feel from the beginning, biting your lip and making a low sound in your throat.

Gaze drifting up her arms for a moment, you briefly focus on her wrists before tracing her tattoos back down to her eyes, “You look gorgeous with your face between my legs, wrists all tied up above you”

She groans into you, your hips lightly grind down against her mouth as you say, “You’re doing so good for me honey, god, just like that.”

Her eyes hold yours with intensity, she quickens her mouth on you despite your words, maintaining the same rhythm but working into you hungrily now. You moan, your eyes falling closed for a moment as you say “Are you trying to make me come fast or something?”, a muffled laugh answering you between your legs.

Your words are only partially joking, you’re not sure you’ll last long with her working into you like this, in combination with how she looks under you. The fingers that hold you open move to slide up your abdomen, cupping one breast and rolling your nipple into your fingers. You watch as her eyes shift to your fingers, groaning into you again, the sound softly vibrating against you. Voice a bit breathless, you say, “God that’s hot, you laying there untouched moaning into me. Are you getting all wet, making it so I can see it?”

Words leave you after that, too focused on the masterful rhythm of her tongue against you to form sentences. She’s always been good at this, but years have refined her skill, and it’s been awhile since you’ve had her mouth on you. It’s incredible, but perhaps faster than you’d like it to be, the feeling in your stomach telling you that you’re getting close already. Your hips seem uninterested in drawing it out, grinding into her regularly now of their own accord, as though chasing the edge even if you’d rather slow down and enjoy it.

Arching into her, you tilt your head back on a moan, eyes closing briefly as you focus on the sensations that she’s crafting with her tongue. When you look down into her blue eyes again it feels like you’re having a conversation without words, her eyes holding yours unblinkingly, like she sees in yours how close you are. You keep your gaze fixed on her even as your legs start to softly tremble, your breath catching in your throat as you descend into orgasm, hips grinding into her more forcefully than you mean to. Both hands grasping the headboard now, you clench it for support as your body arches, waves of pleasure making it harder to stay upright. Your mind goes blank, every mental process lost to feeling each second in its entirety.

Her mouth slows as your body calms above her, tension fading and soft moans falling from you, your hands releasing the headboard to drift to her hair. You close your eyes for a moment, enjoying the gentle way that she licks into you as you come down. Eventually they open to find hers and you groan, legs sliding down until you settle on her abdomen again, kissing her firmly and moaning at your own taste. You rest your forehead on hers afterwards, your smell on her breath as you try to catch yours, and you murmur “Cariño, eso fue tan bueno, eres increíble”.

Once you can breathe again, you kiss a pathway from her lips down her neck, pausing to apply suction just above her collarbone. She moans, arching in the straps, saying “Baby, that’ll show above a t-shirt”

Laughing in your throat, a few seconds tick by before you release her skin, pulling back to hold her eyes when you say, “You’re married, Vera. Let them see. How many obvious hickies have you left on me?”. Your eyes fall to see the reddening area, noticeable between her neck tattoo and collarbone.

Her eyes roll, laughing in return as she says, “I mean, they’re hot on you.”

Lowering back to resume your trail of kisses down her body, you murmur “And they’re hot on you too” into her skin, kissing down into the skin above her breast. A thin line runs across the skin there, lighter below it where her sports bra covers her from the sun. You repeat the process from her neck just above her tanline, another mark that will be visible when she’s down to her bra on sunny days outside or on stage. Kissing it as you release the skin, your eyes catch hers as you say “You’re mine. Who cares if people see that?”, gaze unmoving as you kiss lower.

Your hips slide downward, moving past hers to rest on her thighs as you draw her nipple into your mouth. Teasing her there until she squirms, you kiss across her chest to repeat the process with her other breast. She arches her hips upwards against nothing, your body intentionally lower than she would need it to find any friction. Biting her nipple softly, she makes a sound that shoots sparks of arousal though you, and you roll down into her thighs for relief.

Following the pathway of her tattoo, you kiss down her abdomen until you meet her boxers, continuing along the top of them. Ending with a kiss on her hipbone, you can’t resist leaving one more mark there, her hips rolling into nothing again at the sensation. You kiss it afterwards, sitting up to look at her. She already looks wrecked, three blooming areas of redness on her and you haven’t even fucked her yet. Eyes drifting downwards, you find the fabric between her legs has darkened slightly, her wetness seeping through the thin material.

Groaning, you find her eyes again as you press three flattened fingers between her legs, rubbing a broad circle there as you say, “Baby, you’re so wet. You’re so sexy.”

She moans softly, licking her lower lip before saying “You know how turned on eating you out gets me."

Laughing softly, you murmur, "I know. That's why I climbed on top on you like that."

Her breathing is uneven, your fingers working more pressure into her as she says, “Mi linda diabla”. You continue the motion, slightly faster now, waiting for her to ask for you to go further. She grinds into your fingers, moaning and biting her lip, eyes needy on yours. It isn’t long before she tells you what you want to hear, voice whining just above a whisper as she says “baby, please.”

“Please what, my love?”

Making a frustrated sound, she says “Please fuck me.”

Smirking but remaining in place, you ask “How much do you want it?”, fingers continuing against her.

She groans, “Lo necesito, por favor. I need something inside me.”

You move both hands to the elastic, pulling her boxers down at the same time that you slide your position to the area above her knees. Leaving her boxers just above where you straddle her, your eyes fall to the space between her thighs. She’s so wet that you see it without spreading her open, fingers following your gaze to do just that, finding her swollen and pink. Leaning forward, you lick a wide but light strip up her center, eyes watching the face that she makes. Your second pass is more firm, still teasingly going over her most sensitive area without focusing on it. A few more repetitions of this and her hips shift impatiently, little sounds falling from her that tell you that it’s good but not enough. Finally focusing where she wants you, you work slowly into her clit in a pattern that she arches into after a few passes.

Pulling back without warning, you move off of her towards the side of the bed. She makes a sound of protest as you slide the harness over your lingerie, and you laugh, saying “Didn’t you just ask me to fuck you?”

She groans, watching you put the strap into the center hole and a vibrator in the inner pocket against your clit, “I did, but then you started doing that.”

Smoothing lube onto the strap, you smirk at her and say “I got distracted along the way, how could I not? You were all pretty and wet right in front of me like that. But then I remembered what I was supposed to be doing.”

"I like it when you're distracted, mami."

Climbing back onto the bed, your eyes take her in as you say, "I think you'll like this, too."

She spreads her legs further apart as you position yourself between them, taking a moment to position a pillow under her hips. Lining your body up with hers and supporting yourself on both arms, you kiss her softly once before looking downward. One of your hands falls to the strap, slightly vibrating from the toy along your clit, and teases it along her folds. You don’t look upward when she makes impatient sounds after a few passes, eyes watching as you use it to circle her opening instead, dipping in a bit and moving back out to make another circle. When you move it upwards again she groans, and you continue in this pattern until she asks, eyes locking onto hers when you finally slide the strap in fully.

Hers flutter closed when you bottom out, grinding into her deeply, both of you moaning at the same time. When they open to find yours again her pupils have widened slightly, bolder against her crisp blue. You see pleasure in her expression, relief that you’re moving inside of her, but also need. Mouth slightly open, eyes wide, eyebrows a bit tense, neediness always suits her well. The look elevates that same feeling within you, and you lift yourself to your knees, your hips chasing that need into a forceful rhythm.

She makes a sound that makes you ask, “Is this ok sweetheart?”, watching her face as you continue.

Nodding, she says “Es perfecto, don’t stop.”

Finding only pleasure and further need in her features, you smile before looking down, the expression vanishing in a small moan. Once again lost in where your eyes are, you find two fingers sliding into her wetness. Your gaze flickers between the pattern that your fingers start and where the strap enters her, both visuals too good to lose sight of for long, sparks shooting to your core at what your eyes take in. You came minutes ago, but she has you worked up enough again that you sense that another orgasm is already building, each grind into her another step towards it.

Pulling your eyes upward to shift your focus away, you’re just as taken back by the rest of her. Years deep, she’s still always stunning when she’s in front of you in this context. Especially so with her arms above her head, every inch of her laid out for you to do what you want with. She’s biting her lip and arching into you as she follows your hips, her body moving beautifully, the way that you want her burns through you even as you’re taking her. When you look at her like this, you don’t think that any number of thrusts forward, any amount of repetition or time will satisfy that want.

Your hips and fingers speed without thought, watching her face briefly flash overstimulation as she moans, her face afterwards showing only pleasure again as she adapts to the increased stimulation. It takes her closer to the edge, you can see it in her features, but it also brings you closer as well. The feeling in your stomach intensifies, the sensation not far from a bursting point. Moaning and focusing on your breathing afterwards, your eyes hold hers instead of getting lost somewhere along her body.

You’re able to hold yourself off until her back arches deeply, her hips losing rhythm with yours as they spasm, and you see it in her eyes when she falls into orgasm. Your eyes hold hers for the first few seconds of her release, watching her expression as she moans up at you, and your control snaps. Eyes shifting downwards again, you hungrily take in the sight of what you’re doing to her, your hips snapping upward now at the end of each grind into her. The sensation is incredible, and you feel the fringes of your own peak approaching closer with each thrust. Your eyes make it back to hers as it rolls over you, moaning and grinding into it with twitching hips, maintaining the same level of pressure even when it starts to overstimulate you in orgasm.

Her body starts to relax as you crash through it, her eyes watching you with increasing clarity as she comes down. You’re lost in her eyes as your hips naturally start to slow, and you become aware of how firmly you’re grasping her hips. Glancing down, your fingers release them as you softly rock forward, finding small marks already forming where you pressed into her. Your eyes land on the nearby mark from your mouth, tracing to its copies above her breasts and on her neck, before finding her eyes again.

You lean down to kiss her, hips grinding in place as your lips find hers. Forehead on hers when you pull back, you ask, “One more and then I take you to the bathtub to relax? Can you keep going?”

She groans, “Yes, god, I want one more after all that you put me through today.”

Laughing, you kiss her gently before biting her lip, holding it for a second before releasing it to say, “After all that I put you through, baby? Ohhh, I’m not done with you. Roll over.”

Blinking at you, she laughs “How am I rolling over?”, moaning softly as you remove the strap.

“I tied both straps to the same bed rail, and left enough length for them to cross over when you turn. So, roll over”, your hands move to one side of her and lift under her hips, moving her regardless of how much help she is in the process.

Once flat on her stomach, you move upwards to look at her face, turned sideways against the pillow. It seems a bit awkward, and you adjust the pillow until it seems more comfortable. Asking, “Is this alright?”

She smiles, head nodding but barely, “I’m comfortable. This is a surprise, but it’s hot.”

You kiss her once more, moving downward to position two pillows under her hips, tilting them into the angle that you want her. Your eyes trace her body, moving slowly and finally groaning when you say, “Ohhhh love, the way that you look like this.”

Laughing, she says “I’m glad you’re enjoying the view, but remember how angry you are and how you’re railing it out of me?”. Her last word ends on a moan as you move her slightly to slide a vibrator under her, lining it up with her core, the sound telling you when you’ve settled it into the right place. It’s on its second setting and it might be a bit much for her at first, but you’re hoping to knock the sass from her, you’d like her incoherently making noise instead. This cottage doesn’t share walls with anyone, and you want to see how loud you can get her.

Not wasting further time, you position yourself behind her and use one hand to slide the strap back into her. You resume your previous pace, hard from the start, grinding in firmly. Your eyes fall to where you fuck into her, watching the way the movement shakes her ass and thighs, the visual of the strap moving in and out of her. Another sight that you’ve seen countless times over the years with her, still mesmerizing every time. Normally you switch pretty regularly, but it’s been a while since you’ve topped her, and each grind in makes you question why. The angle that you have her at feels exquisite from the start, your hands holding her hips in place as you roll into her, the pressure on the vibrator on your clit is perfect.

Eyes following her back tattoo up to her hair, you reach out and grasp it between your fingers, gentle on her scalp as your hand arrives there. Your other hand smacks her ass before returning to its place on her hip, and she moans loud and long as you work into her. As you continue in this rhythm her sounds become more frequent, almost one sound punctuated by breathing in between, resuming again moments later. It’s almost as if she’s competing with the sound of your hips slapping into hers, her sound level gradually rising to almost drown it out. You do wonder if someone could hear her outside, but quickly put it out of your mind, the sensations moving through you taking priority.

It feels impossibly good already, and you lean down to reach under her. She moans at the increased pressure as you locate the button on the vibrator, your search moving it on her. Pressing it, your hand stays in place for a moment as her hips arch suddenly, the sound she makes somehow louder than before. Her hips settle as you continue fucking into her, and you move your hand to her hip, groaning as you watch your fingers line up with the red marks you’ve already pressed into the skin there. Although her hips follow your rhythm, her back grows tense, her shoulders flexing as her body moves upwards with the force of your body. Above the straps, her hands rest on the sheets facing downwards, fingers clenching the sheets under them. You can tell that she’s getting close again, read it in the way that her body responds, her shoulders and clenched fingers speaking words that her moans can’t form.

Speeding your hips, your arousal intensifies by the second, amplified by the combination of how she looks and sounds. Railing into her like this feels incredible beyond words, you find yourself struggling not to falter in your rhythm, getting lost in the pressure on your clit every time you grind in. You keep it up despite that, eyes fluttering closed every few thrusts when it feels too much, desperately trying to stay open to watch her body for the first signs of orgasm. Time stops as your hips continue, each thrust feeling slower than it is in reality as you hold yourself back, suddenly almost as loud as Vera is under you. You finally see it, her hips freeze for a moment, fall back into rhythm with yours, freezing again moments later. This happens a few more times before she arches firmly into you, pushing back as hard as she can in this position, you feel her legs softly shaking against yours as you watch her body give in to orgasm again.

For the briefest of moments your mind gets caught on how beautiful she looks like this, tied up and arching against the straps you’ve put her in, riding out the peak of sensation that you’ve brought her to. She’s truly stunning, and the thought lasts as long as it can given the pleasure running through your own body, which snaps suddenly back into insistence. Fingers harsh on her hip, you repeat your motion into her twice more, your breathing stopping suddenly as orgasm boils over you. Your body exists only in sensation, waves of it crashing through you as your hips try to keep thrusting into it, grinding more pressure into your clit on purpose to explore the pleasant too muchness that it sparks. It feels long, your breath coming back with a loud sound, and you find yourself a bit dizzy as you watch your hips.

Your mind comes back slowly, your hips calming as you return to thought processes, and you release your grip on her hair. Eyes on her entrance, you moan again as your motion becomes more of a grind, watching how it looks as you dig into the sensation. Mind clearing further, you catch when she twitches away from the vibrator under her, her sound changing slightly. You reach under her to remove it, your hips slowing to a halt as you slide it free.

The tension leaves her body quickly afterwards, her shoulders and back relaxing as you watch. You grind into her one more time, both of you moaning softly at it, your hips digging in firmly as you chase the tiniest bit more before you pull the strap out. You lean down to kiss her back between her shoulders, moving to take the harness off before straddling her back. Leaning again to kiss her wrists, you undo the straps gently, kissing each wrist again when it’s free. You roll off of her, and she smiles at you from her place on the pillow, moving her arms down and rolling her wrists. She groans when she finally turns to her side, and you tangle in with her, kissing her softly.

The kiss is sweet, tender, but shortened by the need to breathe. Once you catch your breath you murmur, “I love you so much. Was that alright? Can I do anything for you?”

She smiles softly, her expression as relaxed as her body, “I love you too. That was amazing, fuck, I’m incredible… I heard something about a bath?”

You laugh, “You did. Give me a second here, I’ll get it going when I can move again.”

Laughing with you, she says “I’ll allow it”, kissing you again.

Your bodies come down together slowly, heartbeats lowering as your hands softly trace each other. Eventually you pull away with another kiss, grabbing bath supplies on the way to the jacuzzi. You get it ready, making a fire while the tub fills and peeking at your wife through the opening in the fireplace. Lighting tea light candles and placing them around the room, you walk back out and past the bed, grabbing the food where you’d left it by the door. You put Vera’s meal in the microwave, taking the wine and macarons to the bathroom. Putting them on a small stool that you found, you leave once more to grab cups and collect the food from the microwave.

Smiling at your wife and saying “Come on love, let’s go take a bath,” you turn towards the bathroom again. You put down the things in your hands, sliding your lingerie off before slipping down into the water and groaning at it’s warmth.

Vera joins you moments later, gasping as her eyes follow the vining plants up to the skylight. You laugh, more focused on how adorable she looks as she takes in the room. Her eyes find yours and she quickly climbs in after you, settling against you in the warm water. Your arms fall around her, and you lean in to kiss her head. Looking up at the same time, you both take in the stars above you, glowing proudly in the crystal clear night. A feeling settles in your chest, the absolute perfection of this moment. Your wife is in your arms under the stars in a hot bath, both of your bodies still coming down from the pleasure you’d built to bursting.

You relax together for long moments, eventually shifting in the jacuzzi as you both start nibbling on the meal you’d reheated. Once the food is gone, you fill two cups with wine and lay back again together, sipping it slowly and eating macarons. Conversation with her in your arms feels wonderful after the day you’ve had, and you discuss it more calmly now. Everything feels resolved for the time being as you enjoy this stillness together, unrushed for the moment. The water is drained slightly and reheated twice, and some time later your wife’s yawns prompt you to get around for bed. You brush your teeth together sleepily, falling into bed together naked, pleasantly exhausted. Falling quickly into sleep tangled together, not a single interruption all night, you get the best night of rest you’ve had in months.