Once she’d had a long few moments to recover, Bel smiled, a lazy smile, and said quietly, “You’ve definitely learned a few things since last time.”
“I had an excellent first teacher,” replied Luisa, smiling back. “She made me want to learn more.” Her journey over the three years since Tulum summed up in one sentence, really.
Bel laughed. “Let’s see what else you learned… but first, your turn.”
She moved suddenly, gracefully, rolling Luisa onto her back, Bel’s weight settling above her in a reversal of position. Bel kissed Luisa, slower than before, more considered and morepassionate, a deep and long kiss that simply served to stoke the fire that was already burning inside Luisa.
Eventually, Bel started to kiss down Luisa’s body, her neck, her shoulder, her breast, and by the time she reached Luisa’s stomach Luisa was so aroused she could barely think, the only thought going through her head again and again was that Bel was going to go down on her. The Bel. The one she’d thought about, fantasised about so much. Going down on her.
When Bel glanced up, seeking permission to go lower, Luisa nodded… entirely unnecessary given how obviously she wanted it, but further establishing their equality rather than the old dynamic from Tulum.
The first touch of Bel’s tongue between her legs drew a sound from Luisa that she didn’t realise she could make… raw, low, guttural, an expression of three years of pent up desire. Bel had the same delicate skill that Luisa remembered from before, the technique that had, in all honesty, ruined many other lovers for Luisa until Gabriela. But by then it had become more, because Bel remembered what Luisa had liked back in Tulum but was also being attentive to how three years had changed her.
Luisa’s hands reached for Bel’s hair, not to guide her but simply to connect, maintaining physical contact with where Bel’s mouth met Luisa’s core. The pleasure was building with exquisite, excruciating slowness, a build that took Luisa back to Tulum where Bel had done the same, keeping her suspended in a place just short of climax, nearly there, so very close, but not quite.
"Bel,” Luisa moaned, part plea and part praise. “Please let me…” trailing off to be replaced by a long, shuddering moan.
Bel responded by sliding two fingers inside Luisa, all while her tongue did its work, the extra sensation almost overwhelming in its intensity. Luisa’s hips started to buck against Bel’s face, seeking that final something to take her over the edge, and then she peaked…
The orgasm was soul shattering, earth shaking, waves of pleasure radiating through her whole body while she screamed incoherently in pleasure, Spanish mixed with English, back arching, head thrown back, hands tugging on Bel’s hair, leaving Luisa stunned, shaking and breathless.
Better than Tulumwas her first conscious thought. She hadn’t thought that could be possible, but it was.
Before Luisa could even take a moment to recover, Bel moved up her body, kissing her deeply on the lips, Luisa tasting herself on Bel, while Bel’s hand went back to where her mouth had just been, finding Luisa still sensitive but, surprisingly, wanting.
“Again,” she whispered into Luisa’s ear, not a question but not quite a command either, more an invitation.
Luisa nodded, knowing that she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t, and Bel’s fingers found a new rhythm and a new angle, unlocking pleasure that Luisa hadn’t known could be there so soon after her orgasm.
The second time was faster, more urgent, Luisa’s body already primed it seemed and responsive. When Bel curled her fingers in just the right way Luisa’s second orgasm hit her like a freight train, making her vision blur and her cry out uncontrollably, her arms and legs holding onto Bel for dear life as she rode it out.
Afterwards, they lay tangled comfortably together, neither talking for some time, just smiling and kissing and stroking each other, before inevitably they made love to each other again, more gently, more mutual, experimenting with different positions and different ways… a long, long night that just seemed to get better and better as it went on.
Luisa hadn’t thought it possible, had thought that Tulum would be the peak of her life sexual experience, but she was wrong… Montana was ten times better than Tulum, for the equality, for the electric connection, for the sheer joy.
And it was at that point that Luisa knew, unequivocally, that she would never be able to say no to Bel ever again.
Los Angeles
The next morning Luisa crept out of Bel’s room early without waking her. She didn’t see Bel again before she left. She couldn't quite say why, given how great their chemistry had been throughout the shoot, but it just didn't feel like her and Bel were the type to wake up together, get breakfast together, do anything approaching romance. They were friends, they were colleagues, and they fucked with an insane connection and chemistry... she felt like that was the limit of it, and it turned out over the years to follow that she was right, that Bel thought the same.
Getting back to Mexico City a few days later, Luisa felt content. She had purpose, she understood herself, and she knew that Bel hadn't been a one-off... she was in a good place.
Luisa didn't have to wait anywhere near as long to encounter Bel again, four months later finding herself working with her on a swimwear shoot in the Bahamas. The warm, relaxed tropical nights were the perfect backdrop to their reunion, andthey didn't wait until the last night like they had in Tulum or Montana... the shoot was due to last three nights, and they made the most of every single one of them, the fateful words, "Come to bed..." uttered by one or the other with a faint smile each night, a smile knowingly reciprocated by the other, and they crept back to one or other of their rooms to enjoy their time together.
That was the pattern that established itself for the next five years, right up until Luisa met Amy, Luisa living a life that was packaged into discrete bundles, each kept apart from the other.
On the one hand Bel... the thrill of seeing her name on the call sheet, maybe two or three times a year, knowing now with certainty that when they were together they would be inseparable, knowing that she'd say yes to Bel every time even though the question was never asked, and that Bel would always say yes to her.
Then on the other hand, back home in Mexico City, was Carlos. Her patient, understanding source of stability, keeping her grounded between her escapades elsewhere, explicitly understanding of the demands of her profession and her dalliances with others, and she of his. She was as much his rock during that time as he was hers, although they didn't last long after she moved to LA when she was twenty-four.
And then, also, her professional entanglements. The men and women with power in the industry... the people where she made a cool headed appraisal of the benefits versus the costs, and got involved with them either as one night stands or as something more when she, and she alone, determined that the net benefits were good and also, crucially, that the chemistry was there to make it enjoyable.
Each bundle she kept separate from the others, never letting them overlap... if the contract to be the summer face of a particular brand or take part in a particular campaign was contingent on Luisa going for dinner with the wealthy owner or creative director, and if it so happened that he or she was also charming, charismatic and good looking, well... it worked for her, and the other parts of her life didn't need to know, none of them were exclusive.
When Luisa had realised that she needed to move to LA to take the next step in her career, it had continued.
It was in LA that she met Julian. Not a photographer or agent or anyone else directly involved in booking her for jobs, but a production company executive who specialized in high-end commercial shoots. They'd met at an industry event, introduced by mutual connections, and something about his straightforward approach had attracted Luisa at once.
