Canela y Clavo Ch. 13-15

"Hey," the boy says hesitantly, looking from Reyna to Tessa then back again. "I didn't mean anything by that when I asked for her number." (He asked for her number.) "I get it if you two are...uh..."

"Don't worry about me," Reyna chuckles. "What's your name?"

"Sydney." He smiles at Tessa. "Sydney Sanchez."

"Well, Sydney Sánchez, this is Tessa," Reyna smiles, gesturing to the flushing blonde and her empty cocktail glass. (The only thing left of her cocktail is a lime.) "Why don't you teach her how to...surf?"

"It's easier when you're sober," he chuckles.

In five minutes, he has led tipsy-Tessa to the shore. (It will be her first time in the water since they have arrived at the beach.) Reyna is continually distracted from the second chapter of her book by Tessa's happy exclamations from over the rolling tide. She and Sydney-the-surfer seem to be having the time of their lives. Her mistress looks completely windswept, her legs covered in sand up to her knees and her hair blowing in the wind. She would not look out of place on a Sports Illustrated cover.

Grinning, Sydney puts his hands on Tessa's waist and thighs to help her onto the board. Reyna rolls her eyes as Tessa bats her lashes and touches Sydney's muscular arms. If she didn't know better, she would think that Tessa and Sydney came to Aruba together. The sight before her eyes is not at all reminiscent of Tessa's behavior the morning before. (This thought makes Reyna laugh to herself.)

"Rey!" Tessa yells, happy.

"Hmm?" Reyna hums, clearly distracted.

"Did you see that?" the girl exclaims loudly, stomping closer and closer to Reyna through the sand. It is like watching a character break free of the television screen and into the living room. (It is like watching the footage of the moon landing.) Sydney is right behind Tessa, his perfect, dark-yellow hair plastered to his face.

"I did it, Rey!" Tessa gloats, soaking wet and smiling wide. "I surfed!"

"Hell yeah, you did," Sydney-the-surfer smiles. (The perfect smile is entirely directed at Tessa. In fact, he is beaming.)

"I'm sorry I missed it," Reyna chuckles. "You'll have to try again."

"Hmm..." Tessa laughs. "I honestly don't think I can do it again. But can you take a picture of us, pretty-please?"

"Only if you try again," Reyna smiles. "I wanted to see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After dinner, where Tessa is engrossed in her phone (probably checking her Instagram comments and evading the question of who Sydney-the-surfer is), Reyna leads Tessa back to their hotel room to share a bottle of whatever Tessa wants.

"Are you going to be able to focus on drinking, Tessa?" Reyna smiles. "Or are you too busy texting your boyfriend?"

Tessa rolls her eyes, giggling. She buries her head in Reyna's neck before a text distracts her. Her face lights up at the screen. (The screen lights up at her face.)

"Rey," Tessa grins. "Sydney invited me out to the bars tonight with his friends for my birthday. Is it cool if I go?"

"Absolutely," Reyna smiles. "You never told me it was your birthday. I would have done something for you."

"It's not. It's tomorrow," Tessa smiles. "And I'm pretty sure taking me to Aruba counts as doing something, baby," Tessa whispers, kissing Reyna soundly.

"Usually, but twenty is a big deal. I'll see what I can do. You can start by partying with Sydney."

After helping Tessa choose a dress and helping Tessa strap her high-heels, Reyna is left alone in the hotel room with a thin layer of Tessa's lip-gloss on her lips. She takes her seldom-used phone into her fingers to read the time. It is only ten p.m., and the same at home in Michigan. Subconsciously, her fingers travel from her homepage to Angie's contact to call her children. It is past their bedtime, but Reyna figures that she can give it a try. It's unlikely that Angie has remembered bedtime anyway.

One ring, two rings, five, and then Reyna's screen is alight with the round face of one of her toddlers. Her ears fill with the baby's loud breaths.

"Hola, mi amor," Reyna smiles into the screen of her telephone. Evidently and unsurprisingly, the twins' bedtime has gone by unnoticed. (And with no shame, given that the twins are calling from Angie's phone.)

"¡Hola, Mamá!" the visible twin exclaims. The other runs into frame shortly thereafter.

"¿Como están, mis pollitos? It's past your bedtime," Reyna comments, in English. There is no response from their mother, so she must have left the children alone with her phone once she saw the caller ID.

"No," one of the babies giggles.

"Sí," Reyna smiles. "¿Como están?" she asks again. "¿Dónde están Mommy y Nana?"

"No sé," they chorus, fighting to be in frame and see Mama.

"¿Dónde 'tá Mamá?" the seated twin asks, pulling the other down to sit.

"¡Estoy a la playa!" Reyna smiles, enjoying her children's wide-open mouths and very-high brows.

"¡Mamá, yo quiero la playa!" one of the twins frowns...the frown is too big not to be time-sensitive. And when it is accompanied by pink, pouting lips and watery eyes, Reyna sighs.

"No te preocupes, mi vida," Reyna soothes. "¿Recuerdan las playas en Colombia?"

The baby nods, lip wobbling. (The other twin watches indifferently.)

"Well, we can go back there very soon, my loves. Okay?" Reyna continues, in English. "You know what? Can you go find Mommy for me, por favor? I think that you two need to go to sleep."

"No quiero," the calmer twin frowns.

"Yes, quieres, okay?" Reyna smiles, receiving giggles from both toddlers. "Go find Mommy and give her the phone, por favor."

Soon, baby voices are replaced with the sound of bare baby feet against a hardwood floor. Reyna's view is of the bottom of one of her children's chins, the image shaking back and forth with the pattering of feet. Reyna feels suddenly homesick. Tessa was right. She has been spending too much time away from her children.

"Mommy!"

"Hey, sweetie," Angie coos to her child from out of frame. "Where's your shadow? Oh, babydoll, why's your nose running? Did y'all get in a fight?"

"Mama," the baby says succinctly, holding out the phone. (Reyna infers this; all she can see is the moving ceiling.)

"Oh. Hey, honey," Angie frowns, clearly less concerned. "I can't talk long. Momma's in the bathroom."

Reyna frowns. It is very unlikely that Angie's mother will be offended that Angie is on the phone with her wife in her wife's kitchen.

"Hi, Angie. I'm just reminding you that the children need to go to sleep. I encountered tears in less than five minutes on the phone with them."

"What?" Angie frowns, checking the time in the corner of her phone screen. "Shit. You're right, Reyna. You're always the one who reminds me it's bedtime."

"I know," Reyna chuckles. "I'm just letting you know that they're tired. They will be grumpy tomorrow if they go to bed too late. You know that they wake up at six-thirty now."

"I know," Angie rolls her eyes, hoisting the child into her arms. "I miss when they were newborns and slept all morning."

Reyna chuckles at the memory. That was a good time for everyone involved.

"Your room looks nice, wherever you are. Ooh, I'd love to be in that room. Do you like Mama's hotel room, honey?" she coos to the twin's ear, placing kisses all over it and the adjacent soft cheek and lips.

"Yes." The baby is watching Reyna with sleepy, brown eyes. "Mama coming home?"

"At the end of the week. Saturday. Okay?"

A nodded head and fluttering lashes. And then a little ear on Mommy's shoulder. Reyna sighs, smiling.

"Okay, Angie. I'll call tomorrow, alright?"

The thump of heavy footsteps sounds in the distance. The sound is vaguely familiar to Reyna, like a bad dream.

"Oh! That's Momma. 'Course, hon. Bye."

Reyna is faced with her home screen.

Placing her phone on the table, Reyna saunters to the kitchenette to boil a kettle of water. She checks two dark cabinets, three, before she finds the black kettle. It is thirty minutes before she can get it to boil. (Despite its quality, the stove proves to be user-aggressive.) By the time Reyna has found her canela y clavo in her suitcase and steeped it, she is almost too tired to drink it. It is good that Tessa has gone out with a boy and without Reyna. It's good that she has fun before what awaits her back home in Michigan. Folding her hands around the steaming mug, Reyna makes her way to the couch and the tv across from it. Tonight, she will watch a movie.

Two hours later, Tessa stumbles into the hotel room with a drunken smile from ear to ear. A masculine voice cackles at her from the door, and Tessa's arms are hugged around its owner before the door is closed behind him.

"Rey?" Tessa whispers loudly. (If she is trying not to make any noise, she has failed miserably.) "Are you up?"

"Yes, birthday girl, I am," Reyna's voice husks from the couch. In her intoxicated state, Reyna's voice rumbles right to Tessa's core.

"Did I wake you up?" she asks, waddling closer to Reyna.

"No. But I wasn't expecting you back tonight."

Tessa's eyebrows crochet themselves into a fine yellow scarf. "What?" she asks.

Reyna tilts her head and smiles. She reaches up to caress Tessa's cheek, and the girl nuzzles her palm like a cat. "Sydney-the-surfer didn't want you to spend the night with him?"

"Um...I don't know. I'm tired."

"Okay, okay," Reyna smiles up at her mistress. She rests her palms on the backs of Tessa's thighs and regrets it when they become sticky with sweat. "Go brush your teeth, then come to bed. I'll be waiting for you."

"Okay," Tessa leans down for a kiss, and Reyna's fingertips intercept her.

"No. Brush your teeth, then come to bed."

"Fine," Tessa rolls her eyes.

When Tessa is suitably hygienic, Reyna allows her to join her in bed. Tessa snuggles up to Reyna's soft hair, enjoying the cool silk of Reyna's pillowcase on her neck. She presses kisses to Reyna's face until Reyna raises her brow. 'Sleep,' she is saying, Tessa is sure.

And so, Tessa closes her eyes. She listens to the sound of Reyna's breathing and the distant waves. Finally, the waves sweep Tessa away to sleep. And in the morning, Reyna is still holding her.

"Hi," Tessa smiles groggily. Her fingers rise to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"Happy birthday, Tessa baby," Reyna smiles back. She has been awake for longer than Tessa and places her phone beside Tessa's head to focus her attention on her.

"Thank you, Rey," Tessa smiles, pecking Reyna's lips before her eyes rest on Reyna's phone. "Emails?" she asks.

"No. Checking on the twins," Reyna says. "So, tell me about your night. How good of a dancer is Sydney-the-surfer?"

"Not nearly as good as he is at surfing," Tessa laughs. "We danced together all night, though. And we might have kissed...I don't remember."

Reyna chuckles, kissing Tessa's lips. "Well, if you don't remember, he must not have been good at that either," she teases. "We're getting couple's massages today," she adds.

After a shared shower, and after Reyna has congratulated Tessa on twenty years with her tongue and fingers, Reyna takes Tessa out to breakfast. The restaurant proves more expensive and extravagant than palatable, and after a few bites, Reyna suggests the resort's breakfast bar. Tessa smiles her approval. The resort breakfast is tasty and filling, and after it, Reyna announces that their next destination is the spa.

For some reason, the sight of Reyna bundled in her white robe makes Tessa want to laugh. She is so harmless in the cozy robe that Tessa wants nothing more than to caress her. Reyna has been so wonderful to her, so giving, that Tessa cannot think of anything but her appreciation for her. She cannot wait for their massages to end so that she can thank Reyna over and over.

After waiting all of three minutes, two massage therapists enter the room to escort Reyna and Tessa to their tables. Tessa's is a tall man with a wide chest and narrow hips; Reyna's masseuse is just as broad. Her smiling, calm eyes serve as the only contrast to her hulking frame. (If Tessa and Reyna have elected for intensity, they will surely receive it.)

All of Tessa's obtrusive thoughts vanish from her mind as soon as she has laid on the massage table. The tension is excavated from Tessa's body by the skilled masseur's fingers, dug deep into her back. She moans and sighs as the man works her muscles over with a lifetime of skill. The heat of his thick fingers contrasts dynamically with the cool white (tan) of Tessa's shoulder blades. At first touch, he has deflated all of Tessa's anxieties, all of her stress. At the second, Tessa has melted into the table and entered REM. The massage marks the beginning of a vacation within Tessa's vacation. With every contraction of the fingers on her back, Tessa falls deeper into her trance. (The massage is so good that Tessa has a fleeting thought that the masseur deserves a happy ending.)

And it is over too soon. The man's hands vanish from Tessa's back and he dismisses himself.

Moaning, Tessa lifts her leaden body from the cushioned table. She is stiff, so the massage must have lasted longer than it felt. Across from her, Reyna does the same. Once they are both dressed, Reyna leads Tessa to the elevator and requests their floor. There is a mutual agreement that no words need to be spoken.

Loosened and reflective, Tessa is finally able to appreciate the beautiful resort. The halls are lit by floating chandeliers and as pristine as the day they were constructed. Every outward-facing wall is arrayed with clear windows. Tessa can see the two, blue pools and the distant ocean, all adorned with tan, floating bodies. For the trip not to have been a birthday present, it certainly surpasses any of Tessa's others.

Back in the room, Reyna turns to her mistress. "Can I run you a bath?" she queries.

Tessa nods her head and explores the suite while Reyna disappears to the bathroom. Dark, polished woods make up every wall, with accents of black and burnt orange. It is a stark contrast from the blue-white beach outside of the window. The room is exorbitant with amenities that rich people do not need. There is a sitting room that she has yet to sit in (she is at the beach), a kitchen that neither she nor Reyna will cook in. But under the extravagance lies its intention. This room, this hotel, is Reyna's love language. These things are what Tessa means to her (and only partly, what Reyna thinks of her marriage). Tessa is overcome again by the need to thank Reyna for her kindness. And she should be able to. It is her birthday.

When Tessa enters the bathroom, Reyna has just stood to retrieve her. She smiles and helps Tessa out of her clothes, before helping Tessa into the bath. She is doting and gallant in her Bermuda shorts.

"Are you going to get in with me?" Tessa pouts, batting her eyelashes prettily. She moves her legs seductively under the bubbles, shrugging her shoulders to display more of her chest, of her collarbone to Reyna. Reyna's eyes drag down Tessa's body, from her eyes to the fold of her knees protruding from the water. Tessa presses her knees together, then spreads them apart lewdly. Tension has taken the bathroom into its claws.

Reyna's clothes descend to the floor of the bathroom, to expose a black lingerie set that Tessa recognizes. Biting her lip coyly, Tessa watches as the bra and then the panties join the pile of Reyna's other clothing. Then, Reyna has sunk down to her knees on the smooth floor of the bathtub to lift Tessa to its edge; she has buried her tongue into Tessa's center. Tessa cannot tell if she is more aroused by what Reyna is doing or by Reyna herself, her hair tucked behind her ears and her dripping eyelashes fluttering as she gazes into Tessa's eyes.

Reyna brings her to one orgasm with her tongue and one immediately after with her fingers. (Between the water and Tessa's pussy, Reyna's fingers have no resistance while bringing Tessa to a forceful orgasm.) Per usual, Reyna only stops when the side of Tessa's face is pressed so firmly into the granite wall, her thighs convulsing around Reyna's face, that it is seconds before she will lose consciousness.

Helping Tessa down into the tub, Reyna sucks Tessa's lips and tongue into a feverish kiss, delecting of her mouth like it is her prey.

"Are you enjoying your birthday?" Reyna asks, finally pulling away.

Tessa blushes bright against her freckles until her appearance resembles a good party joke. (What's red with brown spots?)

She smiles into Reyna's dark eyes. "I will be if you let me thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A repetitive buzzing noise stirs Tessa's dormant body. With each vibration, her eyes open a blink more, until they are groggily searching for the combatant to their rest. Tessa frowns. She muted her text messages the night before in preparation for her birthday. Whoever it is is calling her. Tessa takes her phone from the nightstand, and she is met with an image of her face and Angie's name, a video call. Tessa looks up to Reyna beside her in bed, dozing off her post-orgasmic haze. Tessa sighs before slipping out from under the sheet and onto the balcony. (She has placed a loose t-shirt over her body on the way.)

"Hey, Tessa Mae," Angie smiles through the phone. "Happy birthday, sugar cookie."

Tessa frowns. There are fifty birthday messages in her texts and more in her social media comments. She wonders why Angie needed to call her. But, after all, Angie has always known Tessa's birthday. Standing at the door of seventeen-year-old Tessa's house with her big apple pie, one of the first things Angie asked Tessa was her birthday. At the time, it seemed innocent. Now, it seems less so.

Angie's voice stirs Tessa from her reflection.

"I know we hadn't been talking much recently, babydoll, but I want you to know you're still my girlfriend, okay?" Angie reassures. (Thanks, Angie.) "And I miss you, Tess. You having fun at the beach?"

"Yeah."

Angie smiles at the sound of Tessa's voice. Her head crooks to the side, seemingly to hear Tessa better. "So, who's that boy you tagged on your Instagram? That's not Daniel, is it?"

"No." Tessa shakes her head back and forth. "That's Sydney. We met here."

"Oh, well..." Angie says. "How's Daniel feel about that?"

On cue, the sliding door opens to reveal Angie's wife. Instinctively, Tessa raises her eyes to see her. Reyna's hair is black and wild in the afternoon breeze, and she watches from the door with an unreadable expression. She is still nude.

"He's cool with it. He actually introduced us," Tessa says, watching Reyna.

"Really?" Angie frowns. "Does he know about me?"

Tessa looks back down at her phone. Angie sounds and looks nervous, but somehow is maintaining a smile. It must be the pageantry.

"No, he doesn't. I better hang up before he wakes up. He took me to get a massage today and then we took a nap," Tessa explains. "Sorry," she adds.

"Alrighty, Tess. I love you, apple pie."

"Bye, Ang."

As she approaches Reyna from the railing, Tessa extends her arm and her phone to Reyna's hand. She has had enough birthday calls for one day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How is Sydney today?" Reyna asks, a cigar between her fingers. Today, she is wearing new, large sunglasses and a new bikini. One that is olive green and shows off all it can of her chest. (This is her fourth swimsuit, for her fourth day on the beach.)

Tessa shrugs from her own beach chair. "He went home last night."

"Really?" Reyna frowns. "Why am I just hearing of this now? Aren't you sad?"