Chapter 15: Natalia

ALEJANDRA’S MOTHER seduced me a week later.

I’d put two and two together a long time ago. It was only a matter of time as she circled about closer, then further, not unlike the waves of a calm sea but in front of an incoming tide, one that inexorably washes higher and higher.

For the record, I was not the doughty sand castle determined to resist her onslaught. Not on your life. I had her husband’s green light, at least that’s the way I interpreted his remarks about treating her right and the fact that she more or less led her own life.

Alejandra had gone on an overnight visit to the country house of a friend that weekend. She was not expected back before Sunday afternoon. Monsieur M had been called to the second-most important city in the republic, an industrial powerhouse where he had significant interests beyond the energy sector. Mme Natalia invited me for a swim and a light meal Friday afternoon.

We swam and we ate and we were sitting comfortably in the garden, when she turned to me with a smile.

“Michael, I’m alone this weekend. How about coming over tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, for an easy doubles match with my friends Alberto Luís and his wife. I think you might have met them at the club.”

I had. They were friendly and good tennis players as well. Better than I am, in fact.

“Sure, Natalia.”

I must not have looked happy enough, because she made a face.

“It can’t be that bad, Michael, can it? Really?”

She wanted more enthusiasm. I could do that and I did. She was laughing and breathing fast when I put her back down and kissed her on the mouth. I didn’t try to keep a respectable distance between us, either.

“Good! My regular partner, Ernesto, can’t make it. He’s got a sick kid at home and his wife is off visiting her sister. So it’s just the four of us. We’ll play tennis and eat later, sound good?”

It was good, although after two sets that afternoon in heat that was relentless I was ready to give up. Natalia seemed as though she was just getting started, and Alberto Luís and his wife were playing steadily. We’d each won a set. There was no help for it, we had one more to play.

The maid had brought out lemonade when we finished the second set and we all sat in the shade for a bit to catch up. Natalia had an evil smile.

“This is it, you two. Young Michael and I are going to clean up for sure this time.”

I wasn’t nearly as confident as she was, but I smiled what I hoped was a confident and even slightly predatory smile. I don’t think it worked, because Alberto Luís’s wife burst out laughing when she saw me.

As it turned out, though, Natalia was right. We beat them, barely, 6-4, and it was a struggle the whole way. We shook hands all around, the four of us leaving wet spots on the red clay.

“Showers in the pool house and there are swimsuits on the hangers. Grab one, all of you, and let’s swim. The meat won’t be ready for another hour at least.”

Alberto Luís and I headed for one side of the pool house, Natalia and his wife to the other. We stripped and soaped and scrubbed. There wasn’t any shaving gear.

The ladies emerged some minutes after us and after we finished off several bottles of mineral water we moved on to wine. It and the tray of munchies disappeared very quickly. They were followed by empanadas to serve as appetizers, and the aroma of roasting meat kept us very attentive. It was a low fire, I noted, and while I could see the red coals and see the rising heat waves, there were no open flames. The chef’s assistant tended the meat, his pincers moving and turning the sausage and steaks as needed.

Afterwards we had coffee and a liqueur and Jose Maria and his wife regaled us with their last trip to Disney World. In their view it was an even better place to go without kids, although I wasn’t quite sure why that was. Eventually their yawns and ours signaled the evening’s end.

I started to gather my things after they left until Natalia put her hand on my arm.

“Stay, Michael, for a little while, will you?”

I saw hunger in her eyes and not a little mischief. I was game for whatever she had in mind. We settled on the plush chaise lounges. When the kitchen staff and the maid approached to ask Natalia if she required their services, she dismissed them for the evening. Their quarters were on the other side of the compound. We would not be disturbed.

It was easy to predict what was coming and I welcomed it. Natalia was not hard on the eyes, and the firm body I’d held on the dance floor and observed on the court and seen in a swimsuit promised a vigorous encounter.

When she moved over to my chaise lounge and stretched out and kissed me, I did not hesitate. Her hair was a little smokey from the fire, her skin soft with the faintest hint of renewed sweat from the fire and the remaining heat of the day. I kissed along her jaw line and savored the salty taste. When I moved to capture her lips, their softness echoed mine.

“Let’s swim, first, Michael.”

She levered herself up and stripped and with a short run and a shout she threw herself into the pool. Despite her rather petite frame her cannonball produced a respectable splash. I followed her with an even bigger splash.

It was a short frolic. From the pool with a quick detour to towel ourselves dry from the stack outside the pool house we made our way to a cropped portion of grass not far from the lounges. She was supple, she was lithe and acrobatic and knowledgeable, smooth of skin on the outside and hot and wet on the inside, and she was not hesitant in the least. She came first, I saw to that, and I followed her in a rush unusually strong for me as I filled the condom I wore.