Page 14 of Rio

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RIO

My eyes snap open, and I stare at the ceiling.It’s a different ceiling.Then I remember where I am.

In São Paulo.Then I rememberwhereI am.In Raquel’s hotel room.I bolt upright in bed and look around.My phone is beside me, and my earbuds in their case.The space next to me is untouched.

No sign of Raquel.

“Raquel?”I leap out of bed, and walk around.

The room looks tidy.Tootidy.The balcony doors are closed.There’s nothing on the desk.No laptop, no legal yellow pad, no pens.Just a few sheets of scrap.The clock blinks 12:00, and my stomach twists, not with dread, but with sharp, rising anger.

“Raquel?”I quickly check the bathroom.

Empty.

I open the closets.

Empty.

There’s not even her makeup, lotions and perfume on the countertop in the bathroom.I swipe a hand through my hair.So, she upped and left without waking me, huh?I check my phone, but there are no messages.She slipped away quietly, but how the hell did I not hear a thing?

Then I notice the time.

Fuck.

It’s noon.I’m supposed to be at Dani’s parents’ house for a breakfast brunch, but I’m already late.Maybe that’s where Raquel is?Surely she wouldn’t go without me?She would’ve woken me up.

I walk over to the desk again, and look at the papers scattered on it.It’s her itinerary.She’s already on a plane out of São Paulo.There’s a sheet ripped in two.I piece it together and read the letterhead.Tovey & Roth.A law company in Miami.I assume this is who she works for.

Oh, well.

I flop back onto the bed, a wave of disappointment washing over me.What a night it would have been.The sizzling chemistry, the strip poker game, the kiss we shared on the balcony.We were supposed to carry on from that but it’s over.

She missed out.Poor princesa.

She feels something for me.She knows I feel something for her.She’s different.Not shy.Not in awe of me.She’s defiant and headstrong, and special.

I don’t gush about women, and I don’t dwell on them either.Never have.But Raquel.Hell.She’s been in my head since that first drink we shared as strangers.One evening.One conversation, and she’s still there, taking up space I never meant to give.

Maybe I’m lonely and in need of company, and that’s why she’s consuming so much of my head space.I don’t do hookups like Dex.I don’t want just sex.I want something deeper.Something meaningful.Something real.

I’m not talking long-term, particularly, and while I don’t have one-night stands, I want something more.Something fulfilling.I’ve never yet gotten too close or too attached to form anything real.

Or lasting.

And lately, I’ve been more closed off than usual when it comes to relationships.I’m not the type of guy to flit from woman to woman.I prefer to take my time and I like to choose my partners carefully.

We need to fit.It’s not just about sex.There has to be trust, honesty, and understanding.The things that are important, for her, for me, forus, these things take time.I wasn’t looking for anyone when Raquel swept into my life like the hurricane that she is, wild and free, ripping through my indifference and rearranging my carefully guarded persona.Now she’s left me, all twisted up and standing in the wreckage, wondering how I ever lived in calmer weather.

Even Dex knows something is off, but I’ve not talked about Raquel before, and I sure as hell won’t be saying anything now.

What is there to say?That dude is busy with Dani.Good luck to him and that marriage of convenience.No idea how he’s going to pull that off.He likes sex, loves his hookups, and I can’t see how he’s going to survive a month, let alone a year, living like a monk with Dani floating around his apartment.

Dani caught my eye that night the old man lured my brothers and I into a soiree.I’m ashamed of myself when I think back to how awe-struck I was.Even before that, when I sneaked Dani’s photograph out of the old man’s apartment, and had it in my place.

Only for Dex to find it.