Roxana

We danced a bit longer arm in arm and with every dance I felt closer to him, more used to his scent and his touch.

People were cheering happily, dancing, drinking, and flirting. Everything felt so beautiful and stress-free, so normal and so delightful that it brought a tear to my eyes.

"Are you ok?" Thiago brushes a loose strand behind my ear.

"Yes, I am feeling actually... Really good," I whisper like a confession. "I missed dancing and you are a really good teacher. You made me figure out how this goes without saying a word."

"You noticed?" The smile illuminates his whole face.

"That all your moves were strategical and no hand placement was whatsoever a coincidence? Yeah, I did, but you weren't at all obvious, you are actually very smooth."

"Do you regret coming to this party?"

"Not so far. These last fifteen minutes were the most fun I had in a long while. Can we maybe talk a bit in private?"

"Sure." He takes my hand and leads me to a table further away from the dancing people.

"Do you want another drink?"

"No. One is enough. I didn't drink in a while."

"Oh, you are so sweet. A good girl through and through."

"Yeah. Until I'm not anymore," I answer a bit distracted, looking for Dani in the crowd.

"If the tone would be different I would accuse you of flirting with me. What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, just eyeing my brother. Can I trust you with something? But you have to swear to not tell anybody. I mean it and it's not a joke."

His eyes darken a little.

"Sure. You can trust me with anything. I was waiting for you to trust me."

"So... Uh, my brother seems to really have gotten attached to that boy Zeca. How are his parents?"

"What do you mean, how are his parents? Alive? Or so?" He looks genuinely confused by the question.

Oh, man. Common.

"No, more like, religios? Dunno'? Politically... Conservative?"

Thiago's mouth gaps open for a second and then he starts laughing wholeheartedly.

"Oh, meu deus. They like each other? As... Oh."

"Yeah. Don't tell anybody I told you, least of all to that boy or his parents or you will regret it."

"You are actually adorable when you are so deadly serious. What are you going to do if I misbehave, kill me?"

I feel literal death washing over my body for a few seconds before I manage to compose myself. Roxi, for fuck sake.

"Now tell me, are they?"

"No. They actually know Carlinhos is gay and don't mind, so relax."

"Who? I am talking about that boy over there that my brother looks at like at a movie star. I thought his name is Zeca."

"Yup. Zeca is a nickname. His full name is Jose Carlos but it's a bit old fashioned so he goes by Ze-Ca."

"Oh. I would never have guessed that."

He laughs again and it's sweet. I think I like him after all; I like talking to him, I like having a friend.

"Is Thiago short for something?"

"In a way."

"In a way?" I raise a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes, meaning there is San-Tiago as in Saint Tiago and Tiago originates in Yago which is the Spanish slash Portuguese version of Jacob. So the name can be short for something or not."

I think these trivial things never seemed so appealing to me, these delights of a normal existence, of dancing at a party or listening to this really good-looking guy telling where his quite pretty name comes from.

"You are staring at me. If it were someone else I would take it as a cue to make out, but since it's you..."

Our discussion is interrupted by two of the guy friends, Davi and Bruno. Davi takes nonchalantly a chair and joins us while Bruno is still standing at Thiago's right.

"We came to get to know the girl that made Thiago ask Henrique a favor he will have to pay for handsomely with a lot of beers and paid lapdances. I hope Carla didn't hear me," says Davi laughing brightly. He seems to have a relaxed demeanor, like most Brazilians I met so far but his eyes show sharpness and I bet he is witty as hell. "So Caterina, nossa loirinha favorita, tell us about yourself. How was it growing up in beautiful Italy?"

"Cara, o que você está fazendo?/Dude, what are you doing?" asks Thiago in Portuguese, frowning.

"Ajudando você,/ Helping you," answers Davi. He is smiling but his eyes remain sharp with a flicker of something in them that looks like the resolution of sorts, maybe curiosity maybe mistrust.

Roxi, you are freaking paranoid.

"Você não está ajudando. Vá embora./You are not helping. Go away."

"Nu-uh. Caso contrário, leva uma eternidade... eu não vou a lugar nenhum/ Nu-uh. It takes forever otherwise... I am not going anywhere."

I feel weird, not sure why. They seem to have fun and banter as friends do, yet I feel weird. I used to love being around people.

Henrique is also walking over and I feel most literally cornered.

He bows and whispers something to Thiago that I cannot hear or understand.

"Aqui? Agora? Diga a ele para ir embora/Here? Now? Tell him to go away." Annoyance and distress stretch suddenly over his face. I have never seen this expression on him.

"Você sabe que eu não posso fazer isso,/You know I cannot do that."

"Foda-se. Ok, eu venho agora./ Fuck. OK, I am coming now." He sounds mortified. He turns to me and whispers,"Stay with they boys, we will be right back."

"Is something wrong?" Alarm bells ring all over my head.

"No. It's just... My dad's here and wants to talk to me. I will be right back."

He leaves with Henrique but on the way out he whispers something to Carla, looking at me.

"Bruno, go fetch Caterina a drink, will you?" says Davi.

"Now?" asks Bruno confused.

"No, I am good. I have a low alcohol tolerance these days and I already had one."

"Only one. Common. Bruno... Yes, now." Bruno complies in the end and I am left alone with this very good-looking guy that makes me feel damn threatened.

"Where did you and Thiago meet?" He smiles and I notice his perfect white teeth. People in this country have great smiles. Yet this question...

"On the beach." Not a lie and is pretty believable.

"And what were you doing on the beach?" What questions is that? Maybe it just sounds weird in English.

"Well... swimming and stuff." I try to make a joke, that probably isn't very funny but Bruno saves me when he arrives with a tray full of cocktails.

I take a random one and they take the other two.

"Cheers," says Davi and we click our drinks.

"Where did you guys meet?" I ask to deflect from myself and sip nervously from the cocktail.

"In school many years ago," answers Bruno. That's actually quite... Normal. "We stayed friends ever since even if we come from different backgrounds."

"That's nice." It really is. I miss Kary. What might she been doing? I guess she hates me now. With reason.

"Yeah, Bruno is half-Japanese and fits in the cliche of the preppy Asian child, Henrique is a good boy through and through, Thiago is our golden boy born with a bit of a silver spoon in his... mouth, and I am of course the most handsome and charming one."

I laugh at it. It was kind of funny or the alcohol got slowly to my head.

"You are harassing her, aren't you?" says Carla who just walked over and gave me a bright smile. "I know you want to be wingman or whatever but it's not how it works. Wanna come dancing, Cata?"

I nod, stand up, and follow her under Davi's disapproving looks. We dance for a little while and it's nice.

"They are preoccupied otherwise now. We can take a break," says Carla and nods towards Davi making out with a girl.

I laugh. It is a fucking normal party with normal people and it's delightful.

"Nice dress," whispers a girl passing by. It makes me frown because I know damn well it's not

"That wasn't really a compliment, was it?"

"Nope," answers Carla sheepishly. But don't mind Teresa. She is just a bit jealous because she hooked up with Thiago a few times but it never got deeper than that. Your dress is..."

"Not very pretty. I know." I laugh. The alcohol seems to kick in because I feel very relaxed.

"You are cool with it?"

"Why not? I get her context now and words are just words; I have bigger problems in life than a jealous girl."

"That's pretty amazing. I would have given a mean answer."

Carla seems also very sweet and I am actually having a good time. Everything is actually awesome. This party is awesome.

"What do you do for a living?" I ask a normal question at a normal party.

"I own a hair and nail salon."

"That's really cool."

"Thank you. I really like what I'm doing and I also get to have free time for family and for Henrique."  Her pretty face is shining on the background of a lot of pretty lights that I didn't notice so far. Maybe we can be friends. Me and Thiago are friends too. Maybe with benefits. Why did I say no the benefits? He is really hot and he is nice to me.

"You look good together."

Her smile is very bright and I am maybe a bit drunk. I shouldn't have gotten the second drink.

"Thanks. We have been dating for a year now already. At first, I wanted to get together with Davi because he's in the special forces and that gives him like these dangerous sexy vibes but Henrique and I are a way better fit."

"S-special forces as in masked police guys with guns?" I stutter.

"Yeah, I think the one he is in deals with drug lords and the sort."

Fuck. I need to get out of here right now. Why did I come here in the first place? Oh yeah, Dani.

"Sorry, I need to find my brother, excuse me."

I storm away and look around. Dani is not here. Where? Ah, there he is. Lord. He is at the end of a hallway kissing that boy on the mouth. He will be upset if we go now. And they disappear into a room?! Dani, I am not ready for this.

"Where are you going?" The voice is familiar. I turn to look at Thiago.

"We need to go home."

"Already?" He has a cigarette in his mouth. I have not seen him smoke before. But his lips wrap so sensually around it.

"You smoke?"

"Not really. Or not cigarettes but I had a fight with my dad just now and needed to relax so Henrique made a joint. I haven't smoked in a while so now I am kind of really high."

"You are hot," I blur out.

"I take that." He laughs.

"My brother just entered a room to make out with his boyfriend, I guess, and I feel weird."

He steps closed and grabs my chin.

"Want me to distract you?"

"I wanted to leave..." I am not sure why. "Yeah," I answer. Somehow I cannot filter my thoughts.

Thiago crashes his lips on mine. I taste the smoke. It's interesting and he is a good kisser. Now he isn't holding back like the previous times. He lifts me up with one arm and I wrap my legs around his waist.

We enter a room in that hallway and he presses me against the door, licking down the right side of my neck. I am not sure how I feel. It's good but...

"Is it ok if we have sex now?"

"I think so..."  One of his hands goes under my skirt along my thigh and I gasp, while the other is coiling tight around my waist. It does feel good being touched.

"Do you want to?"

"I think so..." 

"You think?" He smiles into the kiss and he lifts the band of my underwear to dip his fingers between my legs. "It does feel like a yes so why not?"

"I don't know... I..." Don't recall.

"Relax, you are going to enjoy it. I will make you feel good. Let me take this very ugly dress off."

He spins me around and lays me down on a bed in that room, then locks the door and returns to kiss me again on the lips.

I move my hands to his waistline and lift the shirt over his head.

"Oh and I thought you are not into me but now it seems you are quite enjoying yourself." He presses two fingers into my mouth and starts unbuttoning my shirt-dress. After the fourth button, he loses patience and rips the rest of them off.

And now I am only wearing underwear in front of him and somehow this feels wrong; it feels like I shouldn't but...

There is something in his eyes as he looks at me in the dimly lit room. I look up and bring my hands to his belt.

Something, something is not right but he kisses me again and presses me against the mattress while he unbuttons his pants with the other hand and I am successfully distracted.

I look at the ceiling while he is peeling the bra off my breasts and underwear off my legs.

Everything is kind of fuzzy but it feels good.

"What's your name?" I hear between moans.

And then... I don't really remember.

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Unlike the previous chapter, this was pretty damn eventful 😂

I am curious about opinions. She was a bit dumb but really that dumb or was it something more?