I.
Enrique walked tiredly out to the back of the rum bar and sat against a stack of bottle-filled boxes. It was a hot night and he'd been performing for three hours for very little money. In fact, there was more money in the jar that he kept at his feet than he was receiving from the bar owner for a night's work.
He had almost enough money saved to make the trip to Miami. If all went according to plan, he'd be out of Havana within a month. He had thought about staying just a bit longer, only because when he had told his mother of his plan, she was distraught that he'd be away from her on his birthday. But as much as he empathized with her and loved her, he was resolved to leaving, so there would be many birthdays without him to come. There was no use delaying the inevitable, he thought.
He stood up slowly, preparing himself to go back inside. He had two more hours of performance to go before he was through. By then, the men inside would be good and drunk…and broke.
Enrique walked back into the bar. It was very small and filled with the collective smoke of every cigar in the room. But the scent of Cuban cigars was better than the smell of stale rum and gin which also permeated the place. The patrons of the bar, mostly farm workers and laborers of other types, sat at small dirty tables playing dominoes and cards. Small groups of local women sat near the front door, where they waited on offers from the men.
Enrique sang and played his conga for two more hours. By the end of it, he was exhausted, his voice hoarse from the smoky room. He slung his conga over his shoulder and made his way out to the dirt road in the dark, just after midnight. Now, he had a mile to walk back to the house he shared with his mother and siblings. He paused, looking up at the sky and giving himself strength, telling himself that he would soon be on a plane in that sky, and that plane would leave him in a place full of opportunity and a better life.
As he contemplated, he absently leaned against a nearby tree. He hadn't noticed that one of the local girls had followed him out of the bar and she approached him silently. He was startled when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned his head to see the young woman very close to him. She had dark eyes and long, brown hair. She smelled of the cigar smoke they had just left behind. "Te ves cansado, deja que te ayude a relajarse…"
Enrique smirked. He had nearly nightly run-ins with these girls and he always turned them down. He knew them all too well and only God knew what illnesses they gave to the men, who then gave them to their wives and back again. Not to mention the number of 'procedimientos' they had endured in the dark clinics at the hands of so-called doctors. Some nights, he was so drained, he was tempted by them. Only a blind man would deny their beauty and Enrique was, after all, a young man with peaking sexual desires. But so much stronger was his desire for a new life and the pursuit of his music, that he relegated his sexual needs to be relieved by himself, often times with the assistance of the considerably more benign magazines he got at the newsstand in town. They were full of 'Americanas' and he loved them and their creamy white skin, light hair and sparkling eyes.
He started to walk away from the girl. "Voy a estar bien, gracias."
Normally, this would deter the girls from pursuing him further. They needed to keep moving on to keep making money. But this girl was persistent. She stepped in front of him and surprised him by running her hands down his chest and purring like an alley cat. "No quiero tu dinero. Tu sabe que todas las chicas de la ciudad que quiere. Te quiero de forma gratuita."
Enrique blinked. He'd never heard that come out of one of their mouths before. In a basic, physical way, his body leapt at her touch and it shocked him. He pushed her hands away from him. "Creo que eres muy atractiva. Pero no puedo."
He kept walking, leaving her stunned on the dirt path. He laughed to himself that it would be another lonely night in his bed with well-worn pictures of beautiful Americanas.
II.
It had been a long night and after the crowd had left and Ricky said good night to the orchestra, he made his way to the door, pulling the tuxedo tie from around his neck and undoing the buttons from his collar. He smiled when he saw Lucy waiting for him. Throughout their courtship, she'd been to every show and since they'd been married, she continued to be in the audience as often as possible. As he approached, he admired her in a pale pink, full gown. When he reached her, he stopped and sighed, exhausted.
Lucy quietly ran her hand down his arm and slipped it into his grasp. "You look tired. Let's go home."
Ricky nodded and they walked outside into the fresh air. He hailed a passing tax and they slipped into it as he gave their address to the driver.
As the taxi carried them through the city streets, Ricky looked at his wife, the passing lights illuminating her face. The gown she wore left her shoulders bare and his eyes fell on her smooth skin; it always looked and felt like fresh buttermilk.
Lucy turned and smiled, catching him staring at her. She rested her head against his shoulder, her hand landing softly on his chest. He put an arm around her, bringing her closer, welcoming her touch.
When they reached the old brownstone where they lived, Ricky paid the driver and slid out of the taxi, reaching out to take Lucy's hand as she stepped out after him. They walked together up the stairs to their apartment, eventually ending up in their bedroom, where Ricky sat on the edge of the bed and started to undress.
Lucy pulled off her earrings and dropped them gently on the vanity before sitting next to her husband with her back to him. "Honey, will you unzip me, please?"
He smiled and lowered the zipper down her back, leaving a soft kiss on the back of her shoulder. The touch of his lips against her skin caused a shiver that reverberated throughout her body. She stood up and walked to the closet. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Ricky went into the bathroom and removed the last of his clothing, slipping into a pair of soft pajama pants and washing his face, smoothing some of the water back into his wavy jet black hair.
When he walked into the bedroom again, the room was dark except for the soft, ambient light coming in through the window. He looked down at the bed that he shared with his wife and saw her lying there peacefully with a light blanket draped over her figure. Her curly red hair cascaded across the pillow and she looked up at him quietly; even in the dark, Ricky could see the light in her eyes.
He climbed into bed next to her and she moved close to him. When Ricky reached out to circle his arms around her, he smiled, feeling only the silken smoothness of her fully nude body under the blanket.
Lucy's hands grazed his chest, passed over his stomach and slipped silently under the waistband of his pants. "Ricky, I want you," she whispered.
Ricky smiled and turned onto his back, allowing her to lay on top of him. "You're so beautiful, I can't resist."
She giggled and kissed his chest, her lips following her hands down to his stomach. Her fingers released his erection from beneath the pajama bottoms and Ricky arched his back slightly as she took it into her mouth. It quivered in reaction to the movement of her tongue amid his pleasured moans.
After several moments, Lucy's kisses moved up his body again, eventually finding his neck. She positioned herself above him, teasing him with the closeness of her warm, wet center.
Ricky's hands cradled her breasts gently and she sighed happily at their sensitivity to his caress. She gripped the sheet beneath him as she lowered herself onto his long, hard shaft. It filled her completely and she pushed into him, desperately wanting more.
He thrust into her slowly, allowing Lucy to control him. The tight warmth of her womanhood enveloped him and his hands roamed freely up and down her body. "Yo te queria en me cama mas de lo que sabes…aye, Dios, si…"
She rode him for several more minutes, her pace escalating with her passion. Ricky groaned in ecstasy, gripping her hips and trying valiantly to hold himself back until he had brought her to climax. When finally she screamed out his name breathlessly, he thrust into her with one final, strong push and released himself into her.
Laughing softly, she collapsed next to him, her arm across his chest , her lips next to his ear. "Ricky, you're wonderful."
Ricky caressed her arm and smiled. "Aw, honey, if I'm wonderful, it's because I love you very much."