GaelAt the hotel, we go to the door that gives access to the stage, and as soon as I enter the hall I am shocked by the decoration, the floor is with a carpet that looks like sand, the walls are with curtains that simulate a fence like the rodeo arena, on the tables there are decorations that look like shadows of cowboys riding bulls and on the chairs a cape like a cowboy vest and to complete in a corner a mini rodeo arena with a mechanical bull.The stage is even more decorated, with lots of straw on the floor and some plush oxen, instead of the table, there are some wooden barrels, the middle one with a three-story cake and on top a mini arena with a candle that looks like Adam riding a bull, the other barrels are with cupcakes.“My mom really went all out this time.”It was a lot of effort, I would never have thought of even half of this decoration, I can't answer him, Adam struggles to get off my lap, I go down the stairs of the stage and release him, who ran out of the hall. I t
Rayka They say that there is no better place in the world than home, and every time I come to Amarillo, I feel that this saying is true, here will always be my home, my refuge, my safe haven. I take advantage of being here and go for a ride around the city on Poseidon, my Shire horse, it's nice to be able to ride again and feel the wind on my face. This is the first time I've been home since I decided to stay in Boston after college. It's where I will be opening a law office, along with Vanessa, who prefers to be called just Ness, Anelise, who we call just Liz, and Sarah, who like me, prefers not to shorten her name. Ness and I have been friends since we were kids and grew up together in Amarillo, when we got to Harvard, we couldn't be roommates and that's how we became friends with Sarah and Liz, our roommates respectively, and since then, our quartet has been inseparable. At first it was strange to live in Boston, because the weather is cooler there than in Texas, not to mention
Rayka“Now let's talk about something else, Rayka what are your plans for these days?”“My father is preparing a delicious barbecue by the pool for today.”Like any good Texan, my dad loves a barbecue, so he built a gourmet area in the basement of our house, with a heated pool for us to use in the winter.“And I thought we'd go out to the farm early tomorrow, drive around, and come back at the end of the day for the party.”“Oh, no Rayka, you know I want to take these days to be with Bryan.” Liz says.Of course, she wants to, I look at Ness and shrug, we both know that Liz will insist on it.“As for that Liz, Bryan is not coming to Amarillo, he decided to spend the holiday in Arlington.” Ness speaks up.“I can't believe he did that.” Liz speaks up, I look through the rearview mirror just in time to see her wiping away a tear.“Don't cry Liz, he doesn't deserve your tears, if he was worthy of them, he wouldn't make you cry, come on, hold your head up, you are a strong woman and you des
RaykaThe girls and I hang out by the pool, the argument in the car is forgotten as we laugh and joke, when the meat is ready, we get out of the pool and put on our robes to sit by the table.My dad went all out with the meal consisting of Beef Brisket and Pulled Pork accompanied by macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and pickles. For dessert we have a Banana Pudding and vanilla ice cream.After dinner we go back to my room and after taking a hot shower and putting on a comfortable outfit, we lay down on the bed to watch a movie, I put on the movie Wolves with Jason Momoa as the villain, I love this actor and I haven't had a chance to watch this movie yet“Oh, back home.” I speak at the end of the movie. “Of this bad wolf, I certainly want to be the little hat.”“We already know what kind of man to look for to be Rayka's boyfriend, an older guy, who is very tall, with long hair and a brave face.” Sarah says.“Perfect description, if you find one like that, you can deliver my address
RaykaJames is not very happy about having to travel on New Year's Eve, but I explain that he just needs to drop us off at Arlington and go home, I don't see why he should have to stay there waiting for us and thus be away from his family during New Year's Eve.Luckily the suites at the hotel were easy to get, without even using my last name and soon I have all four rooms booked, as well as all the services we will need for the time of stay, even though I am sure that one will not be used since Liz will probably stay with Bryan.I see that the girls are still trying on clothes and boots as well as some hats and jewelry that I have available for these events, but there is no way to carry the hats in the bag, easier to buy there, Dallas has great options. I realize that I need to pack my suitcase as well and for that reason I go to the closet to choose the clothes I will wear tomorrow, in addition to the brown boot, I choose black riding pants, a 3⁄4 sleeve red wet velvet bodysuit and a
GaelSitting at the table of one of the tents that have been set up around the stadium, I am watching how beautiful the Texan landscape is. Although Allan has been living in Texas for a few years, this is the first time I've come to visit him, I hardly have any time off from the hospital and when I do I prefer to visit my parents. Because of this, although we are very close, we usually hardly see each other, since he makes a living traveling the country to compete in rodeos, so we see each other more in Atlanta, where our parents still live, or when he is near Miami and goes to visit me.Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to live in a coastal city, and after graduating, I chose Miami to be my home, I managed to buy a nice house in Allapattah, with three bedrooms, one of them en suite, and even with a pool in the back. For a long time, I lived alone, and since I spend more time at the hospital than at home, it never bothered me.It's a bit strange not being with my family on the h
GaelAfter the waiter walks away, I turn to Rayka, still not understanding that question she asked me earlier.“Rayka, why did you ask me if I had another cousin?”“Because it is not common for a PBR champion to compete inside rodeos, especially when the new season starts in a few days” Rayka explains to me and turns to Allan. “One question, was it you who applied for this challenge or the man who challenged you?”“He challenged me after knowing that I was watching yesterday's ride.” Allan speaks and from the look on her face it was the wrong answer.“And did you even remember that the Major in New York is next week?”“Yes, I do, I'm the best, and I will win here and there.” Allan replies angrily, he hates to be doubted.“I'm sorry to inform you, but you are not as good as you think, you were only champion this year because of the Iron Cowboy score, and yet, you almost lost to the Brazilian who won the Last Cowboy. So instead of bragging and accepting dangerous challenges, you should
GaelI see that Rayka is already at the end of the eating area, and as she is walking slowly, I run to catch up with her.“Rayka, wait.” I call out as soon as I'm close, so she can hear me.She stops and turns to me; from her expression I imagine she is surprised that I have come after her.“Gael, what do you want?” She looks suspicious.“Accompanying her, in Scouts, we are taught that we should always stand next to our partner in a system of partnerships.”“I thought my partner would be Liz.”Only then I realize that I decided to be her partner, thinking it would be the best, but I didn't think about what she wants, it may be that she prefers to be with her friend and not with me.“I asked to be your partner, but if you don't want my company, it's okay.” I say leaving the final decision to her.“It's not that, I was just surprised, and I don't mind us being a couple.”“Good, so where are we going?”“Here at the stadium, there is a Cowboys store, I need to buy some accessories before
GaelAt the hotel, we go to the door that gives access to the stage, and as soon as I enter the hall I am shocked by the decoration, the floor is with a carpet that looks like sand, the walls are with curtains that simulate a fence like the rodeo arena, on the tables there are decorations that look like shadows of cowboys riding bulls and on the chairs a cape like a cowboy vest and to complete in a corner a mini rodeo arena with a mechanical bull.The stage is even more decorated, with lots of straw on the floor and some plush oxen, instead of the table, there are some wooden barrels, the middle one with a three-story cake and on top a mini arena with a candle that looks like Adam riding a bull, the other barrels are with cupcakes.“My mom really went all out this time.”It was a lot of effort, I would never have thought of even half of this decoration, I can't answer him, Adam struggles to get off my lap, I go down the stairs of the stage and release him, who ran out of the hall. I t
One year on...GaelLying on our bed, I watch Rayka, who has a beautiful smile on her face, in fact she is beautiful all over, no matter if she is lying here after we make love, or after being in labor for 5 hours to bring our son Adam into the world, or when she was all produced at our wedding.I look at the clock and see that our rest time is running out, Rayka looks too and after giving me a kiss, gets up to take her shower, I lie there watching her, in a mixture of lust and zeal. Her wonderful body that always makes me want her, even more now with the curves of pregnancy, she is already in the 27th week of pregnancy of our second child, a boy who will be named Kyle.I still remember the day I made the request for us to have another child. What struck me most that day was Rayka's firm stance, and especially how we loved each other the rest of the day and night.I feel Rayka's touch on my face, I turn and see her sitting next to me, with a towel wrapped around her body.“Gael, is ev
GaelI feel a shadow over me and think it's Rayka who has returned, but as I lift my face, I see a blonde girl, she has slowly lifted her sunglasses and put them in her hair.What does she want here? “Hello.” She spoke in a honeyed voice.I realize she speaks in my language, so she should know I'm not from around here.“Hi.” I answered automatically.I'm not one to judge people before I meet them, and although Rayka is not the jealous type, I don't think it's right to chat with another woman in her absence.“My name is Darlete.” Seeing that I didn't answer, she continued. “The sun is hot, and I forgot my sunscreen, would you mind putting yours on me?”I would have to be very naïve to believe that it was an innocent request, and not to mention that I have seen this too many times in Miami to know her true intention.“I do mind, I'm married and the only woman I pass protection on is my wife.”I was hoping that hearing I'm married would be enough for her to back off, but apparently I'm
Two and a half years on...GaelWe finally decided to have our honeymoon, and our destination is Carmel Cumbuco resort in Ceará in Brazil.Our wedding was a perfect event and just the way we wanted, we chose the 20th of February because it was a special date for us, which gave us a year after the proposal to organize everything. Rayka wore a wedding dress made especially for her, it was inspired by Bela's, but white instead of yellow, and to be in agreement, my tuxedo was navy blue with gold details. Her maids of honor were Hillary, Ness, and Sarah, while Liz was her bridesmaid, my groomsmen Bryan, David, and Allan.As Adam was only four months old, there was no possibility of him walking in alone and carrying the rings for us, so we called Kaleb to walk in with him on his lap, Adam looked cute in a suit just like mine. Wanting something different, Rayka opted for the rings to enter the finger in the Beast I gave her years ago, but our surprise was when it came time to pick them up an
Rayka“I think we can talk calmly now.”I know we have a lot of topics to talk about, but his way of asking is cute, so I decide to let him choose the first topic.“And what do you want to talk about?”“Before you said you would marry me, you said you only didn't say yes during the first proposal because you needed to tell me about the baby first.” I didn't think that would be the topic. “The point is, if you knew since Sunday that you were pregnant, why didn't you tell me before?”I can feel in his voice that although he is happy about the baby, he is upset, and I know that the only way to solve this is by telling the truth, I lift my body more and look into his eyes.“Because I was scared, I spent the last three days thinking about it, blaming myself for being careless, for not telling him that day about the medicine, since as a doctor I would have known there was danger, and I would have done the right thing.” I feel my eyes fill with tears again, but I need to say everything. “I w
RaykaI can't help but smile at Gael being so kind to me.“Getting nervous is not good for you, for either of you.” I am surprised at the calm way he refers to it. “I would never have thought you did something like that on purpose, is that why you were so nervous, afraid I would blame you?”It's amazing how he knows me so well, to the point of realizing the reason for my crisis, I wish I could say I know him like that too, and deep down I know I do. However, the pregnancy shook me up to the level that I feared he would blame me, after all a baby was not part of our plans, that's why I was on medication.“It was my fault; I should have been more careful.” I can see he's going to try to deny it, but I'm quicker. “There's no point in denying it, it was, and we both know it.”I need to talk about what I'm feeling.“I am scared of everything, of being pregnant, of you blaming me or not being ready to be a father and with that I lose you.” I see a little pain in your eyes. “I know how much
RaykaIt doesn't take long, and Gael has stopped walking and I hear the whistle of an elevator, which means we must be in a building, has he brought me to a hotel? But if we are in a hotel, why didn't anyone say anything, every Boston hotel I know has an elevator attendant in the elevator, but here it is complete silence.I feel the elevator stop and Gael again starts walking, it may be crazy in my head, but it feels like there is more than one person walking. I hear what sounds like the beep of a door lock and then Gael stops walking and I hear a door slam.Gael walks a few more steps and stops again, this time kissing me intensely. Then he puts me on the floor and slowly moves his hands up my body until he reaches my face, kissing me again, before moving away a little and taking off my blindfold.I can't believe what I'm seeing, we are in a hotel room, the lamps are off, the light comes from hundreds of flashing lights on the wall, the floor is covered with red rose petals, on the c
RaykaMy father left a little over an hour ago, so I took a relaxing bath and put on the outfit I chose for today, a red dress, although we left the story of the evil wolf a long time ago, I know how much he loves it when I wear a red outfit. My dress tonight is woolen with long sleeves that goes up to the knee, tights, and long boots, complete the look, and to protect me from the cold, a white fur coat.I'm finishing my makeup when I hear the message ringing on my cell phone, it's Gael saying he arrived and is waiting for me, I finish quickly, grab my coat, and go down to meet him. Gael looks gorgeous wearing black jeans, a navy-blue sweater, and a leather overcoat. I walk over to him, who steps away from the car and hugs me around the waist, we kiss affectionately.“How can you get even more beautiful?”I love his compliments, and he knows how to bend me over with them when necessary, just as I also know that teasing him can earn me a lot of good things later.“It must be easy since
Two years onRaykaSitting in my office, I try my best to concentrate on the documents in my hand, but it is impossible, I get up and go to the window, leaning my forehead against the glass, I stare at the Charles River while I let my mind wander.How could I have been so careless, so soon I was always careful with the smallest details, and in such an important matter I did this. I haven't slept for three nights now, and I know that tiredness isn't helping me, but every time I lie down, I keep thinking about it and I can't sleep. I won't be able to rest until I resolve this situation, however, I am scared of what will happen, but I need to do this, and I need to relax until the end of the night.Today is such a special day, because it's been 2 years since Gael asked me to marry him, I will never forget that night and what came after, our relationship has been wonderful. Since he moved to Boston, we have never been far from each other, and we have never had a fight, not even a disagree