Episode 1: The Vida Verde
Luna takes a deep breath as she exits the building of her real estate office in Midtown Manhattan. Stepping off the ledge of the sidewalk and realizing what this day is to her, she stops mid-step. Forty years of being on this earth, forty years of growing, learning, and cultivating this identity that is her. Forty years of childhood trauma that still plays in her mind and forty years of never outrunning them. Forty years of loss, win, and determination for forty years of… what?
What now? A slight panic overwhelms her, and her eyes swell with tears at the fear that, all this time, she took to build a career, she neglected to make a life. What has become of this life, this life that she worked so hard to be free of financially? Where is everyone to share with her this very day?
A gust of wind blows, and a strand of hair catches on her naturally pink lips. Luna pulls her coat closed, sheltering herself from the chill of this February winter. Looking for a place to catch the warmth, she enters a little cantina, the entrance adorned by a green velvet curtain that introduces her to a couple sitting at the bar. Both were captivated, curious, and intrigued by her.
Luna finds a place at the bar next to them and opens her coat to reveal a silky, naked shoulder. Her eyes glance up, catching him staring at her. He, too, saw her gaze as their gaze met and their souls began to speak. He was mesmerized by her; he couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. He was speechless, consumed, bewitched.
Dressed in black trousers and a one-shoulder lace body suit, she hangs her coat on the back of the chair as she places herself next to him. Luna leans towards the bartender, placing an order for top-shelf whiskey because a glass of wine wouldn’t do. She notices from the corner of her eye a smile from the woman sitting next to him. Luna smiles back, seductively, not realizing that this woman excites her.
Sitting back and enjoying her whiskey, Luna is caught in a daydream. The couple talking amongst themselves… but stealing a glimpse of her as they watch her sip from her glass down to the last drop. The bartender approaches and places another whiskey-filled glass in front of Luna. He waves at the couple, letting her know that it was from them. She smiles at them, knowing exactly what it is that they want from her, and at that moment, she wants that too.
Luna walks over to the couple, and before she reaches them, he holds out his hand.
“I’m Leon,” he says. “This is Celeste.”
“Call me Luna,” she says, gently squeezing Leon’s hand.
She then turns to Celeste and gives her a gentle hug, “You’re gorgeous.” Luna says.
Leon gives his seat to Luna, placing her in the middle of them. Luna, a little nervous, finds comfort in Leon’s gaze as he dives right into her, brushing his hand against her back. She feels the warmth and strength of his hands as she turns to him, letting him know she welcomes his touch.
“Why is a beautiful woman like you drinking alone?” Leon asks, genuinely wondering.
“I’m alone by choice. I didn’t realize that that’s what I was choosing,” she says.
“You’re not alone now.” Celeste gives a flirtatious grin just as Leon wraps his arm around the back of Luna’s chair.
“No, I’m not,” Luna says as she places her right hand on Celeste’s lap and her left hand on Leon’s inner thigh, her nails perfectly manicured.
Luna was a bit shocked by the connection she was feeling. Maybe she was attracted to what they had together. THEIR connection, THEIR bond, THEIR closeness. Everything seemed to be spinning; she was overwhelmed. Was it spinning from the whiskey or from their touch, their whispers, his looks? His looks seemed to have pierced her soul, and she couldn’t help but melt into her laugh from the joke Celeste just made. She felt whole in their presence, loved, looked at, and wanted. She wanted them too. The hour felt like a moment, and with each passing moment… she was falling, falling fast.
“Why are you single?” Celeste asks.
“It was unintentional. My last relationship was 5 years ago, and since then, I have been focused on my career. I suppose I did it to run from the pain.”
“Then time passed…” Celeste finished.
“Then time passed,” repeated Luna. “It’s my birthday today.”
“What?! We must celebrate tonight because today is the day the world was blessed with you.”
Celeste shoots back the last of her drink, gets up from the bar, and puts herself between Luna’s legs. Luna wraps her arms around Celeste’s neck just as their lips meet. Time stood still, the bar and its patrons were frozen in time, and nothing mattered to Luna.
Leon watched them intensely as if the beat of his heart was for all to hear. He feels it pound harder and harder against his chest, forcing him to adjust himself. So attracted and connected, Luna can hear and feel the pounding of his heart as she extends her hand to him. He reaches for her and gently places a kiss on the palm of her hand, and takes a deep breath to absorb her every being.
Celeste lifts Luna from her seat and lovingly places her down on the ground, Leon now leading Luna to the dance floor, and Celeste grins as she follows behind them. Luna is sandwiched between the two; they dance together, becoming one. Leon leans in slowly, placing his lips on top of hers, allowing her to suck his lower lip as if he were made of sugar. She lets off a moan, but the music drowns the sound, so he pulls her closer, forcing her to moan even louder, her hands sliding down his firm, rippled abs. Celeste pressed against Luna, her hands making their way inside and between Luna’s thighs, bathing in all of her wetness. Leon’s kiss gets deeper as he buries himself in her soul, wanting every sound that comes from her.
Time seemed to have passed so quickly and too quickly. Luna couldn’t get enough of them, and her moans were louder than the first. They wanted her to moan, they wanted her loud, but Celeste had to drown the sound, so she placed her hand over Luna’s mouth, forcing her silence. They knew they needed to bring her down, slowly, lovingly, just until they got home. The lights lifted, the music lowered, and they were the last people on the dance floor.
Celeste whispers into Luna’s ear, “Do you want to come home with us?”
“Yes,” replied Luna.
Out through the same green velvet curtains that concealed them in their meeting place, knowing what’s coming next, her heart starts to beat, and her hands begin to shake. Is she really doing this? Is she really going home with them? With each step she takes, there is no going back; she was in too deep, and she felt too much. Luna turns to take one last look because she knew, she knew… she found love in a hopeless place, The Vida Verde.
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