by M J Dees
“The buses to the coast are through there.” he pointed.
“My bus is that way,” said Teresa pointing in the opposite direction.
Felipe bent down to kiss her on the cheek, but as his face reached hers, he paused and kissed her on the lips. A long kiss, a kiss that she reciprocated and which continued as he held her arms and her his.
Teresa didn’t know how long the kiss lasted, but it ended after a passer-by shouted: “Get a room”.
She pulled her head away and looked at Felipe, the pair of them in a post-kiss daze, then they kissed again, this time more certain than the first. As they kissed, Felipe passed his hands over her back feeling the contours under her blouse and she, in turn, felt the muscles in his arms.
After a few moments, they pulled away again and their eyes connected like the opposite poles of two magnets.
“Would you like to stay at mine tonight?” Teresa asked so softly that Felipe wasn’t confident that she’d said what he’d thought he heard amongst the noise of the station entrance.
“Yes please,” he said assuming that what he’d thought he’d heard was what he wanted to be true.
“Come on then,” she said, taking his hand and confirming his hopes.
She led him through a corridor and then up another. They followed a long strip of bumpy blue plastic on the floor, designed for the visually impaired. Past a row of closed food stalls. There was a spring in Teresa’s step as she now pulled him with enthusiasm up a flight of concrete steps and onto a platform at the other end of which a large electric bendy bus sat with its doors open. At the ticket barrier, Felipe paused and looked around.
“I don’t have a ticket,” he said.
“Don’t worry,” Teresa said, producing a card from her wallet and ushering Felipe towards one of the barriers. She placed her card on the reader, and the barrier swung open. Felipe walked through, and it swung closed behind him. She placed her card on the reader a second time and walked through to join him on the platform where he took her hand as if they had been parted for an age.
Teresa took up the lead again and led Felipe onto the bus where they sat in the back row of seats and resumed their kissing. Felipe was caressing the belly which lay under her blouse just under her breasts and Teresa allowing her hand to pass over his thigh higher and higher.
The kissing continued until Teresa realised it was time to get off and pressed the bell so late that momentum carried them down the bus to the door as the driver slammed on the brakes.
“Obrigada!” Teresa shouted as they leapt from the bus.
Felipe looked around. This looked nothing like the place they’d got off the bus the night before.
“Come on,” said Teresa grabbing his hand.
She pulled him across a dual carriageway and up a side street which climbed a steep hill. They were both panting when they reached the top, but Teresa pulled Felipe with a vigour alien to her daily activities. Businesses lined the street, a wide variety of graffiti decorating their closed shutters. The only business open was a petrol station where a man was refilling a tatty old blue Volkswagen Beetle.
“Blue Beetle!” Teresa exclaimed and slapped Felipe on the arm.
“Ow, what was that for?” he complained, rubbing his sore arm.
“Have you never played that game,” Teresa asked, surprised.
“What game?” He asked, a little bit grumpy at being beaten.
“We used to play it all the time when we were little,” Teresa explained. “Every time you see a blue Volkswagen Beetle, you have to slap the other person and say ‘blue beetle’ before they slap you.”
“Huh, nice game.” laughed Felipe.
The street began to descend now towards a junction on the corner of which stood a large construction site where mud and water spewed from under its wooden fences. Felipe and Teresa had to take a detour into the road to avoid the filth. They followed the bend of the road which led them under a bridge, over which cars and trucks trundled.
“Anchieta,” Teresa explained, meaning the highway which started in São Paulo and finished near Santos on the coast. They walked underneath the twin bridges supporting the southbound and then the northbound carriageways negotiating the slip roads on either side. There was a little more life on the road now. Another petrol station with a shop which had a few cars refilling.
“Hospital Assuncão,” said Teresa pointing to the large building on the opposite side of the road which itself had turned into a dual carriageway without Felipe noticing. The hospital car park seemed busy with cars queuing to get in and out. Outside a police station, sat a wreck of what used to be a car, crumpled in every possible direction. Teresa shuddered at the thought that during the event which had transformed the car into its current state, there would have been someone inside.
“This police station must handle the accidents on Anchieta,” Teresa explained. “There’s always a wreck outside.”
As they walked past, Teresa noticed several people hanging around the waiting area. It was always busy.
On the corner of the next junction, a small army of motorcyclists waited outside a pizza delivery company, ready to take the next orders at breakneck speed through the backstreets to the waiting customers.
“Fancy a pizza?” asked Teresa.
“I’m fine thanks,” said Felipe. “But would you like one?”
“No I’m OK,” she said.
“Are you sure,” he asked. “I’ll get you one if you want one.”
“No, I’m OK,” she answered. “I’ve got other things I want to do when we get home.”
They exchanged smiles and Teresa led him quicker, up to a side street, around a corner, into another side street, around another corner. Each time they turned a corner the street would get smaller and quieter and, in the opinion of Felipe, a little bit filthier. As they walked, cockroaches scurried down drains.
“They come out to escape the heat,” Teresa explained.
“Nice,” commented Felipe.
The street turned again, and it looked like a dead end, but right at the end, there appeared a hidden exit which Teresa led them around. The sounds of funky music could now be heard emanating from around the corner, and when they emerged from the alleyway into the next street, Felipe could see the same group of youths they had seen the night before, and he realised they were close.
“It’s quite a mission to get to your house isn’t it?” Felipe commented.
“We’re here now,” said Teresa, taking her keys from her bag and leading Felipe to a gate he recognised.
He followed her through the gate and door and into her flat where she herded the cats inside and locked the door behind them. Once inside, she dropped her bag and he his. She put her arms around his neck and, pulling him close, they kissed. A long, long kiss in which their tongues began to explore.
She led him through to the bedroom and pulled off her shirt giving Felipe the opportunity to observe how well her bra contained her breasts.
“I’m going to have a shower,” she said, kicking off her shoes.
“Let’s have one together,” he suggested, touching her bare arms.
“OK.” she agreed and began to undress Felipe, pulling off his T-shirt and unbuckling his belt.
He pushed her onto the bed and pulled off her trousers. As he removed his own Teresa could see that beneath his boxer shorts his penis was already erect and then, following the descent of his trousers to the floor, she noticed that one leg stopped just below the knee where an artificial leg took over.
She froze in a stare that Felipe appeared to have been anticipating.
“Is everything OK?” he said with a cheeky grin.
“When were you going to tell me you had one leg?” she asked.
“Now?” he answered. “Anyway, I’ve got more than one leg. I’ve got at least one and a half. Look, this one goes down below the knee. Is it a problem?”
Teresa looked at the artificial leg. Then at the rest of Felipe’s body which otherwise seem
ed OK. In fact, it seemed more than OK.
“No, it’s not a problem,” she said, pulling him down on top of her. “As long as there’s nothing else missing.”
“I can assure you that that is in perfect working order,” he said.
He got on top of her and as they kissed he ran his hands over the exposed areas of her body.
“What about that shower?” She managed to ask.
“Let’s go,” he said, getting up and removing his boxer shorts so that he now, except his artificial leg, stood naked before her.
Teresa got up and removed her bra, but before the bra could hit the floor, Felipe was on her.
“The shower.” she tried to say, pushing him away and removing her knickers.
Now they both stood naked. They embraced and kissed again. She felt his artificial leg against her’s and tried not to think about it. He ran his hand down her back and grabbed a handful of buttock.
“Come on,” she said, barely able to catch a breath and dragged him into the shower where she observed as he detached the artificial part of his leg.
Under the running water, they kissed and caressed their wet skin tight to the touch. Felipe wanted to fuck her right there, but she fended him off. He pressed Teresa against the wall of the shower, and she was impressed by how well he could balance with one leg. She managed to grab the bar of soap and began washing him.
“I wanna fuck you,” she whispered in his ear, and he kissed her neck, supporting her as she almost collapsed in his arms.
“I want to fuck you,” he said.
“Wash me,” she asked and handed him the soap. He lathered his palms and rubbed soap lather all over her body, paying special attention to her breasts and vagina. Then he grabbed her buttocks and pulled her soapy body towards him, rubbing his body against hers. She gasped feeling his chest against her breasts and his penis against the base of her stomach. She tried not to flinch when his stump touched her leg. She wanted him inside her.
She pushed his body away, conscious that she did not want to push him off balance, and rinsed them both. He kissed her on the lips, and their tongues met. She reached for one of the towels hung over the shower box and thrust it into his face. He took the towel with a smile. Teresa grabbed another, and they both made a poor attempt at drying themselves before he dragged her hopping to the bed. Felipe threw her down on the bed and climbed on top of her. He kissed his way down to her navel and lower to the hair she wished she’d waxed. She pulled on his hair, and he climbed back on top of her, kissing her.
He rolled off her and reached over the side of the bed to pull his wallet out of his trousers. She propped herself up on her elbows and lay there catching her breath as she watched him fishing about in his wallet until he produced a single wrapped condom.
“Come prepared?” she commented as he tore the plastic wrapping off with his teeth and lifted out what looked like a small rubber nipple and observed it in the light. He flipped it upside down, observed it for a moment and then turned it the other way again. Satisfied, he placed the condom on the end of his penis like a tiny hat and then unrolled it until he was happy that it wasn’t going to come off. Then he climbed on top of her again, and she lay back in anticipation. As they fucked, he kissed her on the lips; she ran her hands over his back, he grabbed her arms and pulled them over her head, holding them there. He releases her arms, but she left them above her head as he ran his hand down her body to grab her buttock and pull it to the side. The sensation was more intense now, and Teresa pushed her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes. His rhythm became more frantic and his breathing heavier and more rapid, his breath whistled around her earlobe. She moved her pelvis in time to his in a crescendo of flesh and rhythm and sensation.
“I’m coming,” she said and, as she came, her body tingled all over. She felt light-headed, and her vision became blurred. She felt an incredible lightness in her body, and Felipe’s movements became frantic. Her head was spinning, her body shaking. She felt like she might black out.
Felipe let out a scream so loud that her heart almost leapt out of her body.
“Jesus Christ!” he yelled, pulling out of her and examining his genitals.
“What is it?” she cried in a panic seeing a black flash shoot into the kitchen followed by the sound of empty plastic bottles scattering across the kitchen tiles.
“The little shit!” Felipe cursed, rubbing his sore testicles.
When Teresa realised what had happened she couldn’t stop herself from laughing much to the annoyance of the wounded Felipe.
“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to stifle her giggles. “He wanted to play.”
Teresa lost control and burst into hysterics.
“It’s not funny,” he protested, but her laughter was so addictive that he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.
She fell back on the pillow and sighed as the laughter began to subside. Soon her tight muscles began to relax, and she noticed now that she was sweating and she felt both peckish and sleepy. She lay there like a wet noodle, and when she felt enough energy return, she grabbed Felipe and held him. He kissed her again, small pecks on her neck and face and mouth. She let him go, and he lay on his side facing her. She turned to him, and they embraced. She wrapped her legs around his, and his stump felt strange against her skin.
Felipe checked the condom was still there, removed it, tied it in a knot and dropped it on the tile floor beside the bed, before turning back to her to embrace and kiss her once more.
“Are you hungry?” Teresa asked.
“I’m a bit peckish,” Felipe admitted.
“Would you like some popcorn?”
“Sure,” he said. “I could do with a drink.”
“Some water?”
“OK.”
“Or something stronger?”
“Now you’re talking.”
Teresa rolled over him and out of bed. Slung over the back of her chair was her dressing gown. She grabbed it and put it on, found her crocks and slipped them on, taking a last look at the man in her bed before she shuffled into the kitchen.
The naked male in her bed got up hopped after her. Grabbing her from behind, Felipe wrapped his arms around her middle as she reached up into the cupboard get the corn.
“Would you like to borrow a robe?” she asked.
“I’m OK,” he said and hugged her closer.
With an extra appendage on her back, she tipped the corn and oil in the pan, waited for the small symphony of popping to subside and then transferred the popped corn into a bowl.
“Have you ever had it with vinegar?” she asked. It was a taste she had picked up from her time in England.
“No, but I’ll give it a go,” he replied with a smile which Teresa couldn’t see because he was nibbling her neck.
They sat on the makeshift pallet sofa, sipping on Gin and tonics, picking popcorn out of the bowl and crunching it as they watched Fantastico on Teresa’s old TV.
“Do you like it?” Teresa asked about the popcorn.
“It’s OK, but I prefer CQC,” Felipe said, misunderstanding on purpose.
“Not Fantastico. The popcorn,” she said, chiding his deliberate awkwardness. Then she noticed it, under his hair. She’d always assumed he just had messy hair, but now she saw it there just behind his hairline. An enormous scar.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked. “How did you lose your leg?”
“Car accident.”
“And the scar?”
“Oh, this,” he said, reaching up to touch it. “Yes, same thing.”
“My God it’s huge. I don’t feel so bad about mine now.”
“Mine is hidden,” he said reaching over and kissing her dressing. “Have you been using that bio oil?”
Teresa looked sheepish.
The last of the edible popcorn was gone, all that was left was salty smears and a selection of corn that had refused to pop. Felipe took the bowl from her, and as he hopped into the kitchen, Teresa took the opportunity
to get a good look at the tightness of his naked bum.
Felipe opened the filter on the tap, and just the sound of rushing air came out.
“There’s water in the fridge,” Teresa shouted.
He turned off the hissing tap and, opening the fridge, found a plastic bottle that Teresa had filled the day before.
The adaptations Teresa had to make with regards her water usage seemed strange to Felipe who lived in Praia Grande which, though just 40km away, had an abundance of water.
Fantastico finished. Teresa pushed the button on the remote and the picture compressed into a dot, then vanished. She led Felipe into the bedroom, flicking off the light switch as she passed.
“Would you mind locking the cats in the living room?” Felipe asked.
Teresa chuckled but agreed and ushered Ramsey and Oliver into the room, closing the door on their confused faces.
Teresa and Felipe collapsed onto the bed and embraced. They made love again, but this time, when Teresa came, Felipe did not stop until she came a second time. Then he ejaculated into another condom he had thought to bring with him.
He let a moment pass before he pulled out, removed and knotted the condom. They lay in an embrace and soon fell asleep. Teresa dropped off first, and Felipe noticed how she snored. He found it a beautiful snore as lovers, sleeping together for the first time, might.
Chapter Twenty-Three - The investigation – 30th January 2016
It was a Saturday morning when Selma knocked on the door. Teresa noticed how much Selma relied on her stick as she hobbled through to the living room and sat on the sofa, looking at the patch on the floor which, despite being cleaned was still a different tone to the rest of the floor.
“Can I get you a coffee?” Teresa shouted from the kitchen.
“No thanks,” said Selma. “Come and sit down. I need to talk to you.”