Charli looked out over the glittering Miami skyline, lit like fairy lights against the night sky. She breathed deeply, drinking in the warm air laced with salt breeze, savouring the taste of freedom and possibility.
Amalfi had been an awakening, in Miami she was ready for abandonment.
Those few weeks with Luca had been a revelation. He’d taken her on a whirlwind tour of Italy sailing, eating, drinking, soaking up the sun and the most insanely good sex of her life – the kind of sex she hadn’t even known was possible, certainly not for formerly straight laced Charli.
He’d gone out of his way to persuade her to stay, mostly through champagne and shuddering orgasms which made a very convincing case, but Charli felt like she’d just come alive, she wasn’t ready to become someone’s something again just yet. She wanted to explore other places… and other people.
The only question was, where next? And the answer had come squealing into her Instagram feed one evening in the form of a comment on her photo from her old friend Juliana. ‘Hey pretty lady, travel looks like it suits you very well, next stop Miami? I have a spare room ’.
They’d met when Charli was at uni and Juliana was taking a gap year travelling, which as far as Charli could tell involved spending a lot of time in skimpy bikinis chasing the sun, meeting beautiful bronzed men and having wild sex. Charli had found herself in awe of her spark and spontaneity back then, her ability to find excitement and adventure everywhere and anywhere, to just GO and see where it took her. Who better to lead her into the unknown?! In true Juliana style she’d landed on her feet with a job back in Miami, and with a simple one word reply to her comment ‘IN!’, Charli had found her next destination.
A week later here she was, bathing in the atmosphere as the heat of day evaporated into evening and a hustle took over the city where party goers replaced beach bums on the streets. A playful slap across her backside brought her back to the moment, Juliana stood grinning, ‘drink up party girl the night is young and so are we, the Magic City awaits!’. Charli laughed, clinked her glass against Juliana’s then threw her head back and drank, the fresh Cuban bite of mojito setting the flavour for the night ahead.
Several hours later, the pair had bar-hopped their way across town to arrive at The Faena, where of course Jules knew someone, who knew someone who’d scored them a golden ticket through the line at the door. They entered to see a heaving mass of bodies on the dancefloor where the DJ had the crowd in the palm of his hand, bringing them up with the beat to a tantalising peak before pulling them back for more, a feeling Charli knew all too well after her Italian adventures.
Jules waved across the room then tugged her hand and shouted in her ear, ‘come on, I want you to meet my friends, especially Mateo, you’ll love him I promise’ she added with a wink. They pushed their way into the centre of the crowd, with hot flesh brushing against her bare skin and the music surging through her body along with a liberating mix of cocktails and champagne, Charli was ready to lose herself in the heady throng of movement and sweat tonight.
Juliana squealed, air kissed and hugged her greetings around the group before pulling Charli in to introduce her with a flourish. It was too loud to take in names, so she smiled, kissed and mouthed hello around the circle until her gaze met a pair of intensely dark eyes that stopped her in her tracks. Smooth dark skin, close cropped curly hair, that delicious a hint of five o’clock shadow that suggested just enough ruggedness she was such a sucker for.
She realised she was staring (and Christ, probably drooling!) and shook her head in embarrassment.
‘Sorry, I missed your name?’ She said asked.
He laughed and leaned in to speak in her ear ‘I’m Mateo, Juliana has told me about you’
‘All good I hope?’ asked Charli, wide eyed in mock horror.
‘All very interesting, I’m looking forward to getting to know you…’ he replied, his eyes and words loaded with a level of suggestiveness that sent goosebumps travelling down Charli’s torso, her nipples stiffening under her barely there dress despite the heat.
‘Oh, I see you’ve met Mateo’ Juliana grinned ‘didn’t I tell you you’d like him?’ she whispered mischievously in her ear.
Charli laughed, she couldn’t fault Juliana’s perception – or her taste in men!
‘You stay here, I’ll get some drinks’ she told Charli. ‘Mateo!’ she shouted in the charmingly bossy way only Jules could get away with, ‘look after my beautiful friend while I go to the bar, show her how we dance in Miami!’
Mateo obligingly slipped his arm around Charli’s waist and pulled her close, ‘So, can I teach you how to dance like a Latino?’ his hot breath on her neck combined with the salty scent of his skin hit hard, triggering a delicious response in her groin that felt equal parts wicked and wonderful. ‘When in Miami…!’ she replied, willingly submitting to the gentle force of his hands on her hips as he started to move her to the rhythm.
Between the temperature of the room and their bodies moving in unison it didn’t take long before Charli could feel perspiration dripping down her back in a tantalising trickle. She's thinking about how she should be dancing and let her body move with Mateo’s, the two of them locked in an erotic cadence that Charli was already yearning to take another level far from the dancefloor.
As their rhythmic movement became closer, more in sync, felt her inhibitions falling away. Mateo’s hand pressed firmly into the small of her back, his leg between her bare thighs where Charli found herself grinding harder against him, the friction irresistible, the sensation building in her groin unmistakable. She wondered briefly if she should pull away but the tension was too exquisite to extract herself from. His fingers crept enticingly up her spine, kneading her bare back along the way then entwined firmly in the hair at the nape of her neck, drawing her head back just firmly enough to expose her throat which he kissed greedily, working his way up her neck, behind her ear. As he tugged her lobe between his teeth, she gasped, her nails digging involuntarily into his back.
Mateo’s dark eyes locked onto hers, holding her gaze as fingers trailed languidly, torturously between her breasts, down her belly, making his way lower. He knew exactly what he was doing and at this point she was loosened enough by champagne and sexual yearning to know she wasn’t going to put up a fight. He slipped his hand down her thigh and deftly under her dress, all the while their dancing continued, Charli feeling increasingly like she was in a sexy 90s movie and loving every minute of it.
The pulsating between her legs was demanding his attention, she pulled at his elbow to bring his hand closer to where she wanted it, he responded with a raised eyebrow and a laugh before obliging, his fingers finding their way into her underwear to discover her aching wetness. He stroked gently, teasing her, she responded by writhing with greedy impatience shifting her hips to find the pressure and position she was craving. As he explored deeper and faster Charli’s sense of urgency increased with his touch, her breathing quickened as she felt a fever of delicious ecstasy rising. Mateo, sensing she was reaching a peak covered her open mouth with his, exploring deep with his tongue as well as his hand, finally ending her frustration and sending her over the edge into a climax. She bit into his shoulder to smother her cries as shudders racked her body, suddenly oblivious to everything, and everyone around her.
Charli buried her face in the arch of his neck tasting the pheromones and passion, her breathing slowing as the aftershocks of pleasure washed over her. A satisfied sigh escaped her lips as she felt herself re-joining reality and laughing at the audaciousness of what had just happened with all these people around her completely oblivious to her scandalous behaviour, or so she thought…
She gasped at a shock of cold on her back and turned to see Jules pressing an icy beer bottle against her, smirking ‘look at you, moving just like a local already!’. Jules took a sip then put the bottle to Charli’s mouth, her lips parting to welcome the cool, bitter refreshment slipping down her throat before she felt it spilling down her cheek. Juliana wiped it away softly, before licking the last drip mischievously.
Did she know…?
‘Welcome to Miami baby!’ She shouted, and threw her head back laughing as she pressed her body into Charli and stroked her waist ‘and that was just a taster, we’ve got all the flavours of the Magic City to show you later…’
