Living in a Telenovela

Esteban was on his back letting the water push him around. I didn't see any harm in taking off my sundress to do some sunbathing. I specifically wore my two-piece suit to get a tan going. The weather up north was nowhere near this hot and I had to take advantage of it. I shut the book and lied on my back, taking my sunglasses off. The sun made my skin glow. I could feel the first layer of my tan forming. I would need to apply sunscreen soon. I could feel myself sinking deeper into the ground. My bones began to feel like lead and my muscles became relaxed. A small nap wouldn't hurt. But in the distance I heard splashing. I tried to ignore it, who cares if he's jumping into the water again?

I felt my eyes flutter open only to see him standing over me. The water dripped off the ends of his beautiful hair and perfect nose. His skin glowed and twinkled with every ray of the sun that kissed his skin. His eyes hungrily looked at my body and he sank to his knees. I wanted to move away but my body disobeyed. He leaned over and grabbed the sunscreen.

I watched in amazement as he poured some on this palm and rubbed his hands together. He lightly ran his hands on the top of my feet up to my thighs. The water felt cool against my skin but flames in his palms made my cheeks burn. My eyes widened, unsure of what to do. I looked around, my grandfather was still napping, and Juana was probably off to the bathroom since she wasn't anywhere near by. My heart accelerated when his large rough hands went up higher and higher until they were at my hips. He squirted more sunscreen on his fingers and got to apply some right on the edge of my bottom piece.

"Too bad this isn't a nudist beach." His tone was calm, but his breathing was rough.

I felt myself getting wet. My pussy pulsed and clenched every time he got near it. His hands eventually moved up and around my waist. They traveled up my stomach, digging deeper into the tissue when he got near the ribs. His thumbs brushed the underside of my breasts and I moaned. I couldn't help it. He was just so erotic, I was already hot and bothered by the sun, and then his hands made me so horny I was delirious. His arrogant smile should have made me push him off but I saw the effect I was having on him too. His boxers looked painfully tight on him.

He finished off by rubbing some more sunscreen over my collarbone, neck and face. His fingers lingered on my lips. I was panting by then ready to give myself up to him. Then the bastard got up and threw the sunscreen next to me. "Don't want you getting sunburned." And with a happy-go-lucky smile he went jumped back into the lake, waking my grandfather up with his stupid laughter.

I toss and turn trying to burn these images out of my head.

******

I woke up the next morning covered in sweat.

Esteban was in my dreams. We were back at the lake but instead of coming over to put sunscreen on me he came and sat next to me. I leaned back against him as I picked up my book and he gave me a kiss on my temple as I read one of my favorite poems out loud. I almost wanted to cry when I woke up. That scene alone was the most intimate I have ever been with a guy. I feel this ache in the pit of my stomach all throughout breakfast. I am grateful Esteban is out feeding the pigs. I can't bear to look at him.

"So what would my granddaughter like to do today?" My grandpa hands Juana his finished plate.

My mother is reading one of those superficial magazines again, drinking her hot tea. God, she is obnoxious. Everyone here drinks coffee but she is too good for that. My father is on his phone playing some game but pretending to do business. I almost chuckle.

"I would really like to go horseback riding." The excitement in my voice is hard to contain. I haven't been riding in years. I decided to wear my boots and tight jeans to avoid any chafing. The baby blue button up shirt is one of my favorites and completes my cowgirl look.

My grandfather grins.

"I can take her." I hear Esteban say behind me. He must have just walked in. I don't turn back to look at him.

"I want to go with you, Papa." I grab my grandfather's hand, which feels rough under my own.

I see my mother looking between Esteban and myself. I want to scowl. She's always getting ideas.

"Let Esteban take you, I have to go to a town meeting this morning. Then I promise we will spend some more time together when I get back." There is a glint in his eye, now I really chuckle. I can see where my mom gets her intuition from.

"She will not go alone with him." My mother announces. She turns to my father. "Why don't you take her?"

My father laughs and gets up to clear his dish. Juana shoos him away.

"Why can't I go alone with him?" I challenge her.

"Because people will talk." Her eyes narrow. She's wearing a yellow sundress that makes her hair pop. I don't get why she tries to look nice when she never actually leaves the house.

"Esteban," I finally turn around to look at him. My mouth dries when I see him standing there with his arms crossed. His white tank top is drenched in sweat and his jeans are covered in mud. He looks good enough to eat. "Can you please get the horses ready for us?"

He doesn't look too thrilled to have me boss him around but he nods. My excitement doubles and I give my grandpa a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the kitchen. I hear my mom complain but I ignore her. I give Esteban a couple of minutes before heading out.

He puts a saddle on one of the horses, the tamest one and only a blanked on the other. "I hope you're riding Lucia." I point to the docile brown horse.

He laughs and pulls my hand to stand next to her. "No way in Hell you're going to ride Midnight." I feel my hand heat up wrapped around his. I look over at the black horse. He looks anxious, ready to be taken out. I would much rather ride him but it has been a while. Maybe I should start off slow.

Esteban grabs my shoulders and forces me to face him. He leans in close and I take a step back. Lucia traps me from behind. He leans in closer and his hands travel down each side of my body. His hands linger next to my breast but continue to make their way down until they land on my hips. My breathing is labored. I feel the flames getting bigger and brighter deep in my gut. I press by legs together. I look up at his dark eyes. His hands tighten around my waist.

"Can't wait to see how well you ride." Without warning he lifts me up and sets me down on the saddle. The friction between my legs is almost unbearable. This is going to be brutal. I feel my cheeks flush and try to find a more comfortable position.

I hear his low chuckle. "Are you okay, Natalia?" He caresses my name and I whimper. Asshole.

He climbs up on Midnight with no trouble and leads the way.

We take the back trail that leads to a wooded area. I feel the sun beating down on us, making the heat between my legs more prominent. The movement of the horse under me begins to feel familiar. I use my thighs to guide it. The slight wind rustles a couple of stands of hair out of my ponytail. Esteban slows so that we're riding next to each other. I see his eyes land on my thighs a couple of times. The ache I feel reflects off his eyes.

He begins to ask me questions. At first they are mostly about my job and my life in New York. Then they move on to my childhood and growing up here. He touches on my relationship with my mom and I cut it short. Then he talks about my grandpa and how he is grateful to work for him. My smile is hard to hide. I adore my grandpa so much. I tell him stories of things I would get away with because he always came to my defense. It feels like we go on and on for hours without running out of things to talk about. I find myself opening up to him easily, which is unnerving. I'm not supposed to like this guy. Then again, I won't ever have to see him unless I came back here.

He talks about his wishes to go to college and how he is saving up to go within the next year or so. It hits me then that Esteban is a lot younger than I. I bite my lip at the thought. This is probably why I don't remember him. What would people say if they saw us together? I would probably be called a cougar. I chuckle under my breath.

He picks up the pace and I follow him. We settle into a comfortable silence. I take in the beautiful scenery surrounding us. There are flowers lying on the bright green grass, begging to be admired. We pass the lake and I have to look away before I think about yesterday. Everything is going prefect. That is, until my horse malfunctions.

I spot the snake before Lucia does. I try and guide her away from it but I'm too late. The tan snake gets closer and Lucia begins to freak. I try to hold on to the reigns but her constant movement makes it hard. She gets on her two back legs and I fall back landing hard on my butt. I feel winded but nothing more.

"Natalia!"

I try and move away from Lucia before she kicks me on accident. I feel the scrapes on my palms burn as I scoot back.

Esteban is by my side in seconds. He does a thorough checkup, moving my arms and legs. I try to push his hands away, unable to take any more physical contact from him.

"I'm okay." I try pushing his hands away again but they take each side of my face. I finally see the fear in his eyes. His skin is pale. When he finally sees that I am okay he breathes a sigh of relief. Then he leans in and kisses me, hard.

I immediately start to push at his chest. He leans into me and I fall back against the grass. His teeth sink into my bottom lip and I moan. I pull him tighter against me. His broad chest rubs against my sensitive breasts. He groans and pulls back.

"Don Luis would kill me if anything happened to you." His harsh breathing lands on my cheeks. He leans his forehead against mine.

I close my eyes and try to focus on my own breathing. The ache in my groin area is almost painful. I just want him to take me already but I am too much of a coward to ask.

He gives me two final kisses and gets up. He pulls my hand and lets go once he sees that I can stand straight. Lucia and Midnight are not too far away, both eating some grass, minding their business.

Esteban tries to help me get back on Lucia but I shift away. "I don't need your help." I feel the tears forming. I don't know why but I feel irrationally vulnerable. A small part of me feels like he rejected me. I was willing to put myself out there for him, let him have me as he wanted and he stopped himself. I am an idiot. He probably wants nothing like that between us. I hop onto Lucia and make my way back to my grandpa's in high speed.

******

I hear Esteban calling my name behind me. I hop off Lucia and hand her off to the stable boy, Carlos.

My mother and grandpa walk out the back entrance to see what the commotion is about. I hear Esteban's steps getting closer.

"Natalia," I hear the anger in Esteban's voice. I continue to ignore him.

"Natalie, Patrick is here." My mother says loudly.

My ears start ringing. I stop walking immediately. Esteban bumps into me. He grabs my shoulders and turns me to face him. "Don't ever run away from me like that again."

My eyes meet his but I don't see anything, not clearly at least. It takes me a second to realize what he said. There is still a hint of fear in his eyes. I blink a couple of times. Then I hear Pat's voice.

"Nat." I pull away from Esteban and turn to see him making his way to us.

He's wearing a business suit, which is getting covered in soot. Patrick is tall, not as tall as Esteban but still pretty tall. He is lean, his fingers elegant not rough. His skin is ivory, never kissed by the sun. He has high cheekbones and icy blue eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I can't contain the anger in my voice.

He looks over at Esteban and sizes him up. "I came to make sure you were okay of course. Seems like you're staying down here longer than anyone anticipated."

"Who the Hell are you?" I hear Esteban grunt behind me. Esteban's accent is hard to hide. It is more prominent when I compare it to Patrick's perfect enunciation. It makes me want to lick every inch of Esteban's body. But it is his rich voice that makes me want to bend over backwards.

"I am her boyfriend and you are?"

I stand in between them and turn to look at Esteban. "He's my ex boyfriend and he is leaving." I put an emphasis in ex. I don't know why I feel like I have to explain myself but the murderous look in Esteban's brown eyes send warning signals down my spine.

Patrick takes my hand and I feel my skin crawl. "Nat, can we please talk."

I can barely contain the disgust in my face.

"Esteban, please come help me bring some supplies in." My grandpa, always the saint, comes to my rescue.

Patrick guides me towards the stables, Esteban storms off.

I pull my hand away when we are finally out of view. "What are you doing here Pat?" I cross my arms.

He digs his hands into his pockets. "I came here to apologize. Nat, I need you back."

I frown. "That is not how you felt a month ago. You said you wanted to focus on your company."

He kicks a nearby rock. "I know, I know. But I am an idiot. I didn't realize what I had until it was gone." He comes to stand closer to me. "I am just asking for a second chance, Nat. This is one of this biggest mistakes I have ever made."

I take a good look at his face. I remember when we first met I would have swoon if he ever looked at me like this. But right now I didn't care much for it. I want dark brown eyes to look at me like this. I want strong arms to wrap around me.

"I can't, Patrick. Now please go home and forget about us."

"Nat, I'm begging you." His eyes get brighter. I have never seen him cry before. Patrick and I had a perfect relationship for two workaholics. We never expected too much from each other, never really opened up to each other, and had sex when we had the urge. I knew it would eventually end but it still stung when he called it quits after a couple of months.

"So what? We go back to the same old routine? Work, fuck, and go out once and awhile?" My tone is dry.

He shakes his head. "No, I want us to be serious. To think about our future together."

I bite my lip; worried it will one day fall off from all the gnawing.

******

My mother invites Patrick to stay for dinner. She also asks him to stay the night but he is staying at a nearby hotel and has an early videoconference in the morning.

I watch in silence as Patrick talks to everyone around me. My grandfather is friendly enough but I know he senses how uncomfortable I am. My dad talks to Patrick about the stock market and other boring things like they have done before. My mind keeps going back to Esteban. He has eaten dinner with us the last couple of nights but he's not here now. My grandfather said something about him going to Chuy's Bar.

"Well, thank you for this lovely dinner." Patrick turns to my grandfather. "And thank you for having me unannounced, I will be back tomorrow so we can have lunch together." He looks at me, his light blue eyes having no effect on me.

"Bye Pat." I wave and continue to push my dessert around.

My mother walks him to the door and my dad calls it a night. Juana is in the background picking up the dishes, lightly humming along to some old song I haven't heard in years. I look up to see my grandpa looking at me.

"Estas bien, mija?" He reaches over and pats my hand.

I nod. "Yes, I am fine." I bite my lip and put my fork down. "I think I am going to go to sleep too." I kiss his cheek and hug him tight.

I take a quick shower, letting the steaming water cascade down my back. I try to stop thinking about Esteban but the kiss from this afternoon keeps replaying in my mind. I was very turned on by it because his lips were so demanding but there was more to it. It was like he couldn't contain himself and he had to kiss me. As soon as the rush of fear passed through him he kissed me like it was something that we both had done before. I have never been kissed like that. It was intimate for two people who just met a couple of days ago.

I shut the water off and change into my silky nightgown. I lay in bed quietly, counting each breath hoping that sleep takes over soon. I just want it to be tomorrow. I quickly pull out my phone and begin looking for flights for tomorrow. I have been here long enough. I know now my grandpa is just fine and I have spent enough time with him.

I hear the front door open. My ears perk. Esteban's heavy steps pass by my room. Something hits the painting on the wall and then I hear giggling. It is a light giggle, which definitely belongs to a girl. My eyes widen and I lay still, phone still in hand. There is murmuring going on then moaning. Esteban's door closes.

I lay there for a couple of more minutes until I hear the moaning getting louder. My heart sinks and I feel like a bucket of ice has been dropped down my back. I throw the blanket off me and open my door. In three seconds I am banging on Esteban's door.

He opens it slightly. "Sorry, we'll keep the noise down." I can see he's only in his jeans. His breath smells like whiskey.

I push the door open and move past him. The girl squeaks when she sees me. She hides under the blanket. It's the same girl from the grocery store.

I turn to look at Esteban, ready to kill him.

"Get out!" I turn back to the girl who is peeking from under the blanket.

She turns to look at Esteban, and then begins to rearrange her clothing. Her short red dress barely hides her ass cheeks. She's also not wearing a bra. I am disgusted by his taste in women. I should consider myself lucky from dodging this bullet.

"Now!" I say a little louder. Her movements speed up and she picks up her shoes rushing out of the room without another glance.

I turn to look at Esteban and push against his bare chest. "You are not going to disrespect my grandfather's house while you live here."

His hand takes both of mine and he pulls me closer.

"You don't get to tell me when to fuck." His breathing is controlled, his eyes looking intently into mine. He drops my hands and moves away, towards his bed.

"I will tell you not to fuck under this roof while my grandfather sleeps two doors down!" I turn and rush out of his room slamming the door.

My grandfather and mother are both outside of their doors when I turn around. My mother looks angry but my grandfather is smiling.

"I'm sorry if they woke you up." I grumble.

******

I drop both of my bags on the floor the next morning.

Everyone looks up from the kitchen table.

"I'm leaving. The earliest flight I could get is a couple of hours from now. I'm going to pass by picking up a couple of things then leaving from the store."

My grandpa immediately stands from the table and comes to hug me. "Oh Natalia, so soon?" His beard scratches my cheek.

"I have to get back to work, Papa. Business is starting to take off."

My mother is the next to speak. "They can handle it for a couple of more days. Natalie you cannot leave yet."

I turn to look at her, suspicious. I would think she was ready to head back to the city too. She can only do a couple of days in the country before driving herself insane.

"Plus, Patrick is coming back for lunch today, you guys can both head back together in a couple of days." She takes a sip of her tea. Oh right, Patrick.

"I am leaving today, and that is the end of it. I'll give Patrick a call and let him know he's free to leave, I'm sure he wants to head back just as much as I do."

My father clears his throat. "I think we should head back too, sweetie. There is only so much time I can be away."

My mother slams her hand against the table. "We are staying, damn it."

"I'll drive her to the airport." Esteban, with impeccable timing, cuts in. He is freshly shaven, with a new tank top and clean jeans. He just came from his bedroom. Guess he didn't have an early start today.