CHAPTER 30
MAY LOVE BEGIN AND END WITH YOU
Barbara
It’s been an hour since we left Miriam and Pablo at the restaurant, with the warm lights of the place still glowing in the distance and their cheerful voices fading little by little behind us.
The laughter, the cocktails, and that easy conversation that seemed endless have slowly dissolved as Lidia and I walk barefoot across the fine white sand, our shoes dangling from our fingers while the constant murmur of the sea follows us.
The alcohol has left a soft, pleasant warmth in our chests, nothing excessive, just enough to make everything feel more magical, more unreal, more idyllic.
My hand brushes against hers every now and then, teasing, letting her know I’m there beside her under this endless sea and this huge round moon that bathes everything in silver, making the sand sparkle as though dusted with stardust.
Lidia walks a step ahead of me, the floral dress she chose for tonight fluttering around her legs.
The thin fabric moves with the breeze, tracing the curve of her hips in a way I find hypnotic.
Suddenly she stops in her tracks, turns gracefully on her heels, and looks me straight in the eyes with that mischievous smile that has always driven me crazy, that smile capable of making me feel like a teenager all over again.
“Barbara… what if we do something a little crazy?” she asks, her voice slightly husky from the alcohol and from the same fire burning inside me too.
I raise an eyebrow, unable to stop the smile slipping onto my lips as my heart beats a little faster inside my chest.
“What kind of crazy thing?” I ask, my tone halfway between amusement and anticipation, wanting to tease her a little too.
This time she doesn’t answer with words.
She brings her hands to the straps of her dress and, without taking her eyes off mine for even a second, slowly slides them down, painfully slowly, as if savoring my reaction.
The fabric glides down her body like water and pools softly at her feet, leaving her completely naked beneath the silver moonlight.
Her skin glows. Her breasts, the soft curve of her waist, the dark triangle between her thighs…
“Let’s go into the ocean,” she says simply, her voice thick with desire and urgency, awakening something fierce inside me.
“I should remind you we’re not in the Mediterranean. There could be sharks out there.”
I don’t even know why I try to resist. My heart pounds against my ribs as though it wants to break free.
I know I should stop this, that until I talk to Ingrid and end things between us, I shouldn’t be doing any of this—that this is betrayal, a lie that keeps growing heavier and heavier on my soul…
but the moment Lidia reaches out her hand to me, her eyes shining and her hair tousled by the sea breeze, everything else turns blurry and distant, almost unreal, as if the world were nothing but the two of us sharing this moment.
“Don’t be a coward. Come on,” she teases, stepping backward toward the water with that defiant spark in her eyes that has always made me lose all control.
I don’t hesitate another second. I strip off my clothes, letting them fall beside hers on the sand, and walk toward her without taking my eyes off her body.
The first waves brush against my ankles, sending a shiver through me that has nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with the desire running from the nape of my neck all the way to my toes.
Lidia is already farther out, laughing softly as the water laps against her hips.
“Come here. Don’t stay over there,” she whispers when I finally reach her.
Our bodies find each other naturally beneath the water.
Her hands settle firmly on my waist while mine slide slowly up to her shoulders, feeling the warmth of her skin despite the ocean around us.
We kiss slowly at first, as though we want to savor every second, every brush of our lips, every shared breath tasting of night and of us.
But the kiss quickly turns hungry, almost desperate.
Her lips taste of salt, white wine, and fresh fruit, and her tongue seeks mine with the same passion that has always belonged to us: raw, direct, stripped bare, nothing but pure need and love tangled together.
“Do you remember the first time…?” she murmurs against my mouth while her hand slides down my back, pulling me tightly against her as though she’s afraid this moment might slip away.
“How could I forget? We went back to the hotel with sand in places sand definitely shouldn’t be.”
Lidia laughs, and I can’t stop staring into her eyes.
The water reaches just beneath our chests, and the waves rock us gently, making our bodies brush together with every movement, skin against skin, creating delicious friction.
My nipples harden at the feel of her wet skin.
Slowly, she lowers her head and takes one into her mouth, sucking hard while her other hand slips between my legs without hesitation.
Her fingers find me open, slick, and ready for her, and she wastes no time.
Two fingers slide inside me at once, curling exactly where she knows it drives me crazy, where pleasure gathers and bursts in waves.
A muffled moan escapes me, swallowed by the breeze, and I grip her shoulders tightly, digging my nails into her without even realizing it.
The pleasure is immediate, intense, almost overwhelming, as though my entire body has been waiting years for this touch, even though it’s only been days since I last felt her inside me.
The water makes everything slicker, easier, more intimate, as though the sea itself wants to help us lose ourselves in each other.
My hips move instinctively against her hand, searching for more depth, more friction, more of her, more of everything she gives me.
“Like that… yes…” I gasp, my voice breaking with pleasure. “Lidia…”
She keeps moving without hesitation, her eyes locked on mine.
Her fingers slide in and out with a perfect, relentless rhythm while her thumb circles my clit fast enough to make me tremble.
Her other hand grips my ass possessively, pulling me tighter against her and controlling every movement to make the pleasure even sharper.
I slide my own hand between us, urgently searching for her.
She’s soaked, not just from the sea but from the heat pulsing between her swollen folds.
My fingers slip between her lips and find her clit hard and throbbing.
I rub her with the same intensity she’s using on me, wanting to give her everything she’s giving me, wanting her to feel exactly what I feel.
We kiss between moans, biting softly at each other’s lips while breathing in the salty air around us.
Water splashes gently against our bodies.
Lidia is so turned on her legs tremble slightly against mine.
I feel her tighten around my fingers, feel her clit swell beneath my touch, feel her breathing grow ragged and uneven.
“I want you to come with me, Lidia…” I whisper against her ear, biting her earlobe gently before licking it slowly.
“Fuck… yes…” she breathes, quickening the rhythm of her hand as though she can’t wait another second.
The orgasm crashes over us almost at the same time, like a giant wave dragging us both toward shore.
Heat explodes low in my belly and spreads through my body like liquid fire.
My muscles tighten around her fingers, and I cry out her name against her neck, muffling the sound against her wet, salty skin.
Lidia comes a second later, letting out a long, hoarse moan that sends chills across my skin while she presses her hips harder against my hand, trembling in my arms.
We stay wrapped around each other for a long time afterward, breathing heavily while the water continues rocking us gently.
My forehead rests against hers, our hearts pounding together as though we’re one person instead of two.
The world seems to have stopped for us alone, as though nothing else exists beyond this beach and this sea.
And then, without thinking, unable to hold it inside for another second, the words spill from my mouth, heavy with all the emotion building inside me ever since we found each other again:
“I love you, Lidia.”
She freezes in my arms. Her eyes search mine beneath the moonlight, shining brightly. I swallow hard as the lump in my throat grows bigger, harder to ignore, but at the same time strangely freeing.
“I love you like I’ve never loved anyone else in my life. After all these years apart, after that divorce that destroyed us… here, on these damn islands, everything has fallen back into place in a way I can’t even explain. It’s you. It’s always been you, damn it. From the very first day.”
My voice cracks slightly, and I feel a warm tear mix with the saltwater running down my cheeks, proof of everything I’m feeling right now.
“When I’m with you, everything makes sense.
You make me laugh, you make me furious like nobody else can, and you make me feel alive.
It’s like you wake up parts of me that have been asleep for years, parts only you know how to reach.
And I know this is complicated, that we both have entire lives waiting for us out there…
but when I look into your eyes, when you touch me like this, when you kiss me this way…
everything else disappears. I love you so much it hurts, Lidia.
So much that sometimes I think I’d rather shatter into a thousand pieces than lose you again. ”
For several seconds that feel endless, Lidia says nothing, as though she’s trying to absorb every single word.
She only looks at me intensely, her eyes full of tears and that expression blending fear, happiness, and love—that love that has patiently waited for us to find our way back to each other somewhere in the world.
Then she gently presses her forehead against mine and closes her eyes as though she wants to keep this moment forever before whispering:
“My Barbara…”
And the instant I hear those words, I realize nothing else matters.
Even if everything is about to explode, even if I’ll have to pay an impossibly high price for this happiness, I know every second is worth it.
Because she is my home, the place I’ve always wanted to return to.
And after years apart, I have no intention of letting her go. No intention of losing her again.
The water keeps rocking us gently, as though the sea itself wants to protect our secret a little longer, as though it understands how important this moment is to us. I close my eyes and hold her tighter, feeling her heartbeat against mine, fast and strong, perfectly in sync with my own.
“I love you, Lidia. And even if tomorrow everything becomes complicated, tonight you are mine and I am yours, with everything that means.”