The day flew by with the journey, the meals, and the strolls. The pleasant weather and the nostalgia of Madrid's streets made me completely forget how tired I was. Vir dropped us off in the city center before heading home, and Erik regretted not bringing his camera. I promised him we would return so he could capture all those images he had in mind, insisting that his phone couldn't capture the essence as he wanted.

As night fell, Vir suggested meeting up for dinner and drinks, and although I felt exhausted, I accepted due to Erik's excitement to continue enjoying. But upon arriving at the place Vir indicated, I was pleasantly surprised to find some friends I hadn't seen in a while.

"Andrea! What a joy to see you!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

I instantly recognized Maria and her boyfriend Pablo, always so pleasant. Despite the tensions with Oliver, who never got along with them, we preferred to avoid encounters to avoid arguing about Maria's style, which Oliver found inappropriate for her age, although to me, she had always been a woman with an enviable style.

"At least a couple of years. How are you?" I asked, joyfully giving Maria two kisses as we met again. "Let me introduce you to Erik," I said, turning, but her eyes were already fixed on him.

"He's much more handsome than you told me, Vir," she smiled mischievously in a low voice.

"Don't worry, he doesn't speak much Spanish. You can call him ugly to his face," I joked, and Erik looked at me amused, understanding that word.

"Erik, this is Maria, a friend," I introduced, and Erik gave her two kisses following the Spanish protocol that Vir had taught him at the airport. "And this is Pablo, her boyfriend," I added, presenting them.

Pablo shook Erik's hand with a friendly smile, while Maria watched me with amusement.

"Boyfriend for a short time. We're getting married!" Maria announced joyfully, showing me the ring on her finger.

"Really? When did that happen?" I asked, happy for them but a little sorry for not having found out earlier.

"A few months ago. He finally decided," Maria commented amused.

I couldn't blame her for not informing me; after all, I hadn't been very communicative myself during the last year.

"I'm so happy for you both," I replied sincerely, while Pablo asked us what we wanted to drink, kindly taking care of ordering it from the waiter.

There we met some more friends, and everyone seemed genuinely interested and curious about Erik's presence. Those who spoke English tried to have conversations with him, while those who didn't, asked for help with translation. Erik seemed in his element, sociable, approachable, nothing like the distant Oliver who didn't enjoy going out for beers with my old friends, with whom, over time, I had grown apart.

After a long time with them, Erik approached me and enveloped me in his arms.

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"You seem tired," he said, resting his head on mine. I squeezed his forearm affectionately and shook my head, turning towards him.

"Not really. It's just been a while. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed," I smiled, perhaps a more accurate description of how I actually felt.

"Your friends are very nice," I looked at the group of men with their beers, laughing a couple of steps away from us.

"I'm glad you like them," I said, genuinely happy about it. "I think they like you too, even though some don't understand you," I looked into his eyes, and the smile he returned was so beautiful that my whole body shook again, only this time, the origin was my chest.

My heart was beating strongly, and the energy it emitted spread to the rest of my organs. Maybe the couple of beers I had already drunk helped me feel more carefree about the matter, but at that moment, I really wanted to kiss him, and I didn't care if I was in the middle of my group of friends.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to ask you to show me the darkest corner of this place," Erik said, returning a gaze full of desire.

"Don't tempt me. When I drink two beers, I loosen up a bit..." I hesitated in choosing the word, but basically, with two beers, I stopped feeling so inhibited.

Erik took a long sip from his bottle and then approached me, challenging me with his gaze. When his lips brushed mine, I knew he had beer in his mouth and that if I kissed him, I would taste it on his lips, something I didn't hesitate to do.

I grabbed his shirt, pulling him towards me until he leaned down enough to kiss me. He was taller, and I was sitting on a stool. He rested his hand on the bar behind me, enclosing me against it, and kissed me calmly as I felt the cold liquid of his lips pass onto mine before his tongue, warm and playful, found mine, more shy and elusive.

I didn't know if it was the beer that went down my throat or the fire that rose in my chest, but we had never kissed like that before, with such urgency for something more. He pulled back a bit to look into my eyes, and I could see how desire made them burn.

Erik had respected my pace, sleeping by my side without doing more than hugging or kissing me until I felt uncomfortable, but I could always see in his eyes how much he wanted to explore and enjoy me, and although I wished he would, I felt guilty about it. However, at that moment, that feeling disappeared. I didn't feel guilty. I was tired of feeling that way and just wanted to enjoy the good things life could offer me, and Erik seemed to be something very good.

"I really like you," he whispered with his nose brushing mine.

"And I like you too," I replied, feeling enveloped in a bubble that separated us from the rest of the world.

"Will your friends hate me a lot if I kidnap you?" he asked, taking my chin to give me a small, short kiss on the lips, followed by another.

"I don't think so," I smiled like a teenager.

"And Vir?" I glanced at my friend, who was busy talking to Maria and didn't seem to be paying attention to us.

"Maybe she will," I laughed.

Erik's hand slipped through my curls, gently massaging the base of my neck.

"I'll have to keep being charming so she'll let me kidnap you," He turned his lips to my neck, leaving a small kiss that made my skin burn, and then he pulled away from me as if nothing had happened, leaving me wanting more.

I swallowed, knowing what was going to happen; the fire would grow until it consumed me. Normally, I could contain it, but today I just wanted everything to catch fire.

"Erik," I called before he walked away, he turned to look at me, and I found myself lost in his eyes. "You're going to get burned," I warned him, and he smiled in such a seductive way that I felt like I had just opened the door to the beast.

"I was a firefighter, I know how to handle fire," he winked at me, unleashing a quake of desire between my legs that made me shift on the stool and cross one leg over the other. I was about to fan myself with my hand. Definitely, I wanted to feel him inside me again, giving me his best.