CHAPTER 31
SWEET MOMENTS WITH YOU
Lidia
I wake up feeling heavy, though it’s not exhaustion weighing me down.
It’s a sensation that begins right in the center of my chest and slowly spreads through every inch of my skin, as if everything that happened last night awakens again with every breath I take.
I don’t open my eyes right away. I don’t want to break this moment, so fragile and so perfect.
I want to savor everything I feel: the warmth clinging to my skin and the scent surrounding me—hers, mine, and the sea’s.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me…
” I think. I take a deep breath and, unable to help myself, I smile.
That fear that used to tighten around my heart is gone.
There are no more doubts, or at least not enough to overshadow what I’m feeling—this whirlwind of emotions filling me to the brim and making me feel alive in a way I had forgotten.
It all feels so real I think my heart might burst. I slowly open my eyes.
Morning light pours through the window, drawing golden lines across the bungalow’s warm white walls while the sound of the sea—steady and serene—fills the silence.
I’m alone in bed, but I don’t feel alone for a second.
I slide my hand slowly across the sheets, searching for her trace, and I find it immediately: in the scent lingering on the fabric, in the memories running over my skin, and in that warmth flooding me when I close my eyes and remember what it feels like to have her hands sliding down my waist, her mouth exploring every inch of my neck.
A shiver runs up my spine as I remember the way her fingers lost themselves between my legs and how our moans tangled together until we both touched the stars.
“Oh my God…” I murmur to myself, letting my head fall back onto the pillow as a soft, lingering sigh escapes deep from my soul.
What we’re doing is crazy, yes, but it’s the best kind of crazy I’ve ever lived through.
I sit up slightly in bed, letting the sheet slip down my body.
It’s just her and me here, and this bubble built only for us, a refuge where the outside world can’t reach us and every second feels eternal and ours.
I hear the door open, and my heart skips a beat.
“Good morning… are you awake yet?”
The moment I see her, I smile. Barbara is wearing a light T-shirt clinging to her body and shorts hugging her ass and showing off her strong, tanned legs. She looks incredible, and no matter how much time passes, she still sets me on fire.
“Where were you?” I ask, unable to hide the smile slipping onto my lips—that smile that appears on its own whenever she’s near.
She walks toward me slowly, as if this moment belongs completely to her, as if I belong to her too in a way neither of us can deny anymore. Leaning over the bed with that effortless ease I love so much, she answers calmly:
“I woke up really early and went for a run. I didn’t want to wake you; you looked so peaceful…”
I nod but don’t say anything else. Because her closeness distracts me, because her lips are too close to mine, and because the second she kisses me, the rest of the world stops making sense.
It’s a soft, warm kiss, the kind that needs no rush, the kind that says, “I’m still here, I’m still with you, don’t be afraid.
” I lose myself in it completely, giving myself to her without hesitation, letting the world shrink down to just us, to this meeting of lips filling me with warmth that rises from my stomach and settles in my chest. I feel her hand against my cheek, featherlight, and my skin tingles all over, reminding me how much I need her, how much I love her.
“You could’ve woken me up,” I murmur against her lips, my voice still rough with sleep and with the desire already stirring awake again. “We could’ve worked out together… something that would really leave us breathless.”
I leave the sentence hanging deliberately, paired with a mischievous half-smile I know she understands perfectly.
She catches it immediately, but instead of playing along like I expect, she pulls back just enough to look into my eyes and gives me one of those smiles that lately reaches straight into my soul, making me feel vulnerable and strong all at once.
“We can save the workout for another time,” she says, brushing her nose against mine in a gesture full of affection. “I have a much better idea. Something we’ll both enjoy even more.”
I furrow my brow and raise an eyebrow curiously, my heart speeding up just from being with her like this.
“Oh really? Tell me. Now I’m intrigued.”
“A walk around the island,” she replies in that voice that could convince me of absolutely anything. “No rush. No schedules. Just you and me, enjoying the day however we want, stopping wherever we feel like, and letting time pass on its own.”
My smile widens, broad and sincere, because the idea fills me with a warmth that melts me from the inside out.
“I love that idea. Seriously. And it’ll keep us busy until we meet up with my dad and Miriam.”
“You’re right. Today’s their fitting,” she reminds me.
“Yeah, but I like the idea of spending the morning with you much more.”
And it’s true. Because right now I don’t need anything else.
Because I don’t want anything else. The only thing I want is more time with her.
More time. Always more time, as if every minute by her side were a gift meant to be savored.
A rush of emotions tightens my chest, a mix of love and gratitude that makes me think about everything we’ve been through to get here, about all the nights I dreamed of this.
“Well then, let’s take a shower…”
Barbara slowly undresses in front of me, and as her clothes fall to the floor, all I can think is that I want to live this every day until I die.
· · ·
The shower water falls gently over our skin, warm and comforting, like a liquid embrace wrapping around us and pulling us even closer together.
The space is small, but it feels perfect because we’re together, because there’s no distance between us, and because every gesture, every touch, every glance is filled with the kind of love that makes me feel whole.
I lean my back against the tiled wall, letting the water slide slowly down my body while I watch her carefully.
Barbara runs her hands through her hair, closes her eyes for a second, and lets out a tired sigh that somehow doesn’t fit with these perfect days we’re living through.
Her brow is furrowed, her jaw tense, and strange as it sounds, it immediately puts me on alert.
I move closer slowly and gently rest my hand against her stomach, using the soap to draw her attention.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?”
She opens her eyes, and for a split second something flickers there. Something hovering between us like a shadow that makes the hairs on my arms rise.
“Of course,” she answers too quickly, flashing a smile that feels fake enough to make me uneasy. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
I study her silently for a few more seconds. Because I know her. Because after so many years together, I learned how to read her little by little.
“You seem different,” I insist, softening my voice so it doesn’t sound accusing, even though something inside me already feels unsettled. “More serious. Like something’s bothering you and you don’t want to tell me.”
Her expression softens a little, and she smiles again, though not completely genuinely; I can tell by the way she avoids looking directly into my eyes.
“I’m just short on sleep,” she says, moving closer until her body brushes against mine beneath the water. “And a few kisses from you would probably fix me right up.”
I raise an eyebrow playfully and answer with a smile that tries to hide my concern:
“Just a few kisses? That’s not very ambitious.”
“Well…” She shrugs gracefully. “Maybe… you could give me a lot more than kisses. Depends what you come up with and whether I’m in the mood.”
A soft laugh escapes me, echoing through the shower, and I let her kiss me again.
Because it’s easy. Because with her, it’s always easy to let go.
I feel her lips, her tongue searching for mine, and that heat pooling between my legs, making me forget everything else.
But even while her hands make me tremble, I know something isn’t right.
I don’t know exactly what it is. I don’t know if it’s real or if I’m imagining it.
But I’m afraid all of this will fall apart the way it has so many times before.
“Hey…” I murmur, pulling back slightly from her lips. “If something’s wrong, you can tell me, okay?”
Her gaze locks onto mine, intense and deep, as though she’s trying to read me while I’m trying to read her.
“I know,” she replies softly.
“Then tell me. Don’t leave me out of it.”
For a few seconds, I think she’s going to tell me what’s happening, but she doesn’t, and in that instant of hesitation I realize I’m not imagining things.
“Nothing’s wrong, Lidia. Really. I’m just a little tired. You know sleeping so little never does me any favors.”
I want to believe her. I really do. But something inside me still doesn’t feel right. Even so, I nod and decide not to push any further. Because I don’t want to ruin this. Because I don’t want to be the one dragging the past back into this beautiful place we’ve built together.
I lean close again, resting my forehead against hers and closing my eyes, letting the water keep falling over us like a curtain shielding us from the rest of the world.
“Okay, I won’t worry about it anymore,” I whisper against her skin, feeling her breath mix with mine.
And I decide to leave it there, at least for now. Because this bubble is still too beautiful to burst before its time. And because I’m afraid. Afraid that if I pull too hard at the thread, everything will unravel in my hands.
She wraps her arms around me, and I let myself go completely.
I surrender to this moment, to her warmth, to her presence, because I know that right now this is the only thing that matters.
Us. Here. On this island, in this shower, in this kiss tasting of a love that, despite everything, is still beating fiercely between us.