“Tell me why.”
“Alejandro regresa,” the brunette said angrily.
“Olivia, look at me,” he pleaded. I opened my eyes slightly as the tears spilled. “Tell me why. Why was it so hard for you to watch?”
“I’m not interested in watching you fuck someone else,” I replied through grit teeth.
“Dime por qué,” he said.
The brunette angrily approached us and grabbed Alejo by his arm and tried to pull him back toward the bed, but he shoved her away dismissively.
She swore loudly and angrily as she grabbed her dress and put it on. I couldn’t quite make out what she said to him on the way out. I would imagine that the slamming of every door she went through on the way out was a way of telling him that she didn’t want to see him again any time soon.
“If this is what you had in mind for tonight, you could have told me and saved us both the trouble,” I said with fresh tears spilling over.
I wasn’t sure if I was crying because I was more hurt emotionally or physically.
“I had to know,” he replied quietly.
“Know what? If I wanted to be hung on a rack bruised internally and barely able to breathe while you fucked someone else? No thank you!” I spat angrily.
“Is it because you care about me?” he asked searching my eyes.
My heart raced slightly. I didn’t expect that question because I didn’t expect that feeling so quickly.
Yes.
“No. It’s because I don’t like to be borderline sexually assaulted, then made to witness you tenderly fuck someone else. I wouldn’t want to watch anyone do that. Now let me down Alejo. I want to go back to my room.”
Three emotions quickly passed over his face. Anger, disappointment, and then acceptance.
I waited impatiently while he undid my wrists and ankles. He helped me step down from where I was hanging and looked at me with a peculiar look on his face.
As I began to
walk past him, he gripped me by the shoulder to stop me.
“We’re not done yet,” he said quietly.
“Oh yes we are. Beyond done. I don’t want to be with you anymore. That was completely unnecessary; you could have just asked me if I felt something for you. Not subject me to all of the brutality then ...” my voice trailed off in disgust.
I looked around for my clothes and started to gather them as Alejo watched me in silence. It was strange how quickly his moods could change. But I tried not to think about it while I placed my belongings on the bed. As soon as I started to put my panties on, he came up behind me and grabbed me by the throat again. I gasped in shock as he pushed my head back against his chest and pushed gently on my chin to look up at him.
“I said we aren’t done,” he repeated softly.
“Please ... I can’t ... breathe,” I said as small bursts of lights filled the corners of my vision.
“I will let go if you swear to me that we will finish what we started here tonight,” he bargained.
I gurgled as he tightened his grip and nodded as best as I could.
Alejandro let me go and turned me to face him.
“Is this not everything I promised?” he whispered. “Is this not pleasurable for you? I’ve always had these desires but I’ve never found someone who I wanted to express them with. Not until I saw you in the airport in Chicago. Not until I saw what true beauty was. You bring this desire out of me so strongly; so desperately. I need us to finish. Even if I never see you again after this night, even if you don’t want this anymore, I have to finish this,” he said as he breathed heavily and ran his hands through my hair.
My mother and father always told me once when I was a child that if you get knocked down, get back up and keep fighting. The only person that can keep you down is you. I wholly believed that because there hadn’t been a time yet where I had been knocked down and stayed there.
I took a deep breath and looked Alejandro in the eyes.