"Come with me to Rio de Janeiro," Suzana whispers before taking Bruno's lips, pressing his body against the bed where they recently made love. She continues to shower his face with kisses until she reaches his ear, where she seductively nibbles his lobe before whispering again, "Come with me... You won't regret it."
"You know I can't," Bruno replies, caressing Suzana's short hair and guiding his fingers behind her ear. "We've already talked about this, my parents need me here in Parati. You know about my mother's situation... and my father..."
"But it's only a few hours from here... It's only six hours... You can come on the weekend..." Suzana suggests, interspersing her words with light kisses on Bruno's lips. "Spend the weekend with them..."
"Just as it's only six hours for you to come from Rio and spend the weekend with me here in Parati," Bruno retorts, observing dissatisfaction taking over Suzana's face. "It's not that simple, is it?"
"I didn't say that, but if that's what you want, I'll do it," Suzana replies, holding his face. "If you ask me to, I'll stay. Just ask..."
Bruno holds Suzana's hands, moving them away from his face, and then gently pushes her body aside, taking a deep breath. She tries to snuggle in his arms, but he delicately pushes her away and then gets up to go to the bathroom. Suzana listens to the sound of the shower being turned on and then decides to join him, thinking they could take a shower together. She approaches, kissing Bruno's back as he turns away, keeping her at bay. She huffs and then says, "What's the problem?"
"What do you mean? Problem? I'm taking a shower..." Bruno says, turning towards the shower.
"I don't know if you noticed, but there's a naked woman in the shower with you..."
"Yes, I noticed..."
"And then? Aren't you going to do anything?"
"Suzana, we just made love..." Bruno argues, turning off the shower.
"And that has never stopped you from having another round with me..."
"I'm tired," Bruno says, limiting his response before returning to the bedroom.
"Are you tired, or am I already out of the picture?" Suzana asks, walking behind him.
"What? What's this story now?" Bruno asks, raising an eyebrow.
"That's right. I haven't even left, and you're already replacing me with someone else."
"What place? Suzana, we have nothing," Bruno says, putting on his shorts.
"How is that? We've been in this for over a year, and you're telling me we have nothing?" Suzana questions, irritated, getting dressed.
"Suzana, I've always made it clear that our relationship is purely casual and won't progress beyond that. Nothing more than that..." Bruno reinforces, seriously. "I'm sorry if you had expectations about us."
"You know, here I was thinking you'd feel bad about me choosing my job over staying here with you... What a fool I am!"
"I wish you the best, Suzana. You know I care about you, but that's all it is... Believe me, I won't feel bad because I have nothing to offer you or anyone else," Bruno explains. "You deserve someone better than me. You deserve someone free of any obligations and who will walk the same path as you. But that person isn't me... I can't move to Rio de Janeiro. I can't offer you more than this here," he concludes, pointing to his tiny room.
"Ask, Bruno. Ask me to stay, and I will," Suzana says, getting closer to him. "I'll stay here with you."
"I won't ask, Suzana," Bruno refuses. "In fact, I ask that you leave. Go, take the job, and be happy."
"Bruno, I love you," Suzana declares. "Don't push me away."
"It's precisely because of that, Suzana, that you should go. You're in love with me, but I'm not... I don't feel the same way."
"You're being so cruel right now," Suzana says, grabbing her things. She looks at him and says, "One day, you'll regret what you're doing..."
"Maybe, but it's better this way," Bruno says, looking at Suzana as he opens the door. "Believe me."
She approaches Bruno and kisses him, and he doesn't resist. Suzana steps back and then leaves through the door of Bruno's room, which he closes with force before lying back on his bed, breathing, relieved... That was a close call.
***
The curtains of the room abruptly open, letting the sunlight invade every corner of the room and touch Bruno's face like a warm punch. He blinks rapidly, not understanding what was happening until he associates the silhouette standing next to his bed with his elderly father.
"Good morning, my son," Nilton says, smiling at Bruno. "Are you going to stay in bed all day? It's already past eight o'clock, and soon the store will be full of tourists."
"Good morning to you too, Dad," Bruno says, stretching.
"Dad? Did you sleep with jeans on?" Nilton asks, staring at his son. "Didn't the girl come over last night?"
"Suzana came..." Bruno says, getting up and heading to the wardrobe to look for his uniform. He puts on the shirt and then takes the pants, throwing them over his shoulder before heading to the bathroom. "We broke up."
"Another one? Just wait until your mother hears this..." Nilton says, with a disapproving look on his face.
"If she even remembers Suzana," Bruno says from inside the bathroom.
He takes a deep breath and counts to three, expecting his father to appear at the bathroom door looking unhappy. Bruno knew he touched on a delicate subject: Loreta's early Alzheimer's. She was diagnosed about two years ago when the first symptoms started to appear. Today, despite having no cure, Loreta undergoes treatment to slow down the progression of the disease. Well, Nilton swears the treatment is even reversing Loreta's mental state, but for Bruno, his mother is becoming increasingly lost in her mind.
"Well, today your mother perfectly remembered the route of our morning walk," Nilton argues, standing at the door confidently. "I let her lead, and she did it perfectly."
"I'm very happy, Dad," Bruno says before sticking the toothbrush in his mouth.
"Don't lose faith in your mother," Nilton requests. "I'll be waiting for you in the kitchen."
***
***
In a matter of minutes, Bruno came downstairs and found his mother in the pantry having coffee, while his father was arranging something in the kitchen. He sits next to his mother, who calmly eats a banana cut by Nilton:
"Good morning, Mom," Bruno says to Loreta before attempting to kiss her on the cheek, but she pulls back in alarm.
"You can't kiss me, Niltinho..." Loreta whispers to her son. "My father is right there in the kitchen, he can see us... I don't know how he let you stay here tonight."
"It's because it rained a lot yesterday, Loreta," Bruno lies, entering his mother's narrative. "I promise I won't try it again in front of Aroldo."
"What is it, son?" Nilton asks. He observes his wife and then his son. He extends the thermal bag toward Bruno and asks, "Did something happen?"
"Nothing, I'm just telling your daughter, Mr. Aroldo, that I have the best intentions with her," Bruno says, looking at his father.
"That's right, Daddy," Loreta affirms, staring at her husband. "Niltinho is really good to me."
"Thank you for the compliment, Loreta," Bruno says, holding his mother's hand and caressing it gently while observing her expression change.
"You're not Niltinho, are you?" Loreta asks, holding the young man's face.
"No, I'm Bruno, your son," Bruno corrects before kissing his mother's forehead. He takes the bag from the table and says to his father, "Well, I have to go to the store. Good morning to you both."
Bruno takes big steps towards the garage, where he grabs his bike and cycles through the streets of Parati to his family's store. The store is a bicycle and pedal boat rental shop located in the city's historic center. The idea of bike rentals was Nilton's, which rents them by the hour, day, or package with multiple days and progressive discounts.
However, Bruno has always had the desire to expand the business into tourism, offering personalized experiences for tourists, including himself as a guide for a few hours or a more comprehensive itinerary over several days. Bruno guides visitors to beaches, waterfalls, or other preferred locations, while Loreta prepares snacks, drinks, and isotonic beverages. However, with his mother's new condition, this responsibility has fallen to Nilton. To compensate for his father's absence, Bruno invited his friends Gabriel, Lucas, and Jonathan. Jonathan is in charge of managing the packages and accounting, while the other three handle the tourism and customer service aspect. It was in one of these personalized packages that he got involved with Suzana, but not just with her, as he felt attracted to all the female tourists. However, with Suzana, he went further, and in the face of how everything happened, this is the only thing he regrets: he shouldn't have mixed business with pleasure.
"But I understand," Lucas says, finishing arranging the bicycles outside with Bruno. "Suzana was so hot! Impossible not to resist and not want to have some fun."
"Yeah, I thought she was enjoying it too, but apparently, she wanted something more serious," Bruno says, finishing securing the last bike. He turns to Lucas and says, "But you know what, this is a lesson for me..."
"It's like my late grandma used to say, God rest her soul: don't dip your pen in the company ink," Lucas says after making the sign of the cross.
"Yeah, from now on, I'll never mix business with pleasure again," Bruno says, seriously.
"Really?" Lucas raises his eyebrows.
"I swear," Bruno confirms.
"That's good news for me," Lucas comments, excitedly looking over Bruno's shoulder. "Because that hot girl coming this way is all mine."
Bruno looks at his friend and then turns around slowly, only to come face to face with Helena walking on the sidewalk.
Helena approaches the guys standing on the sidewalk right where she had reserved the bike rental and two-wheeled tour. She was distracted when she notices one of the guys turning towards her, and to her surprise, it was Bruno's face she comes face to face with. The blonde feels her face flush, and she was sure her face had turned into a tomato at that moment. "Compose yourself, Helena," she thinks as she gets closer to them. The situation only worsens when Bruno smiles at her and says, "Hey, girlfriend." "Girlfriend?" Lucas questions, not understanding anything. "Hello, Bruno," Helena responds awkwardly, tucking her hair behind her ear to disguise her shyness. "How are you?" "Girlfriend?" Lucas repeats, emphasizing the word, being ignored. "I'm fine, and you? How are you after your twenty-second birthday?" Helena replies. "Girlfriend?" Lucas repeats once more, being ignored again. "I also turned... I mean, I'm also twenty-two," Bruno stammers. "Cool..." Helena says, feeling unc
Bruno's request makes Helena close her eyes, allowing herself to go back to the moment that brought her there. "Open your eyes, Lena," Helena's mother asks, making her daughter open her eyes in front of the mirror. Regina sighs as she sees her daughter beautifully dressed in that princess-style white dress, filled with lace, just the way the mother of the bride had imagined. Helena could even say she was surprised, but she would be lying, because knowing her mother, she knew the dress would be nothing less than perfect. In fact, perfection was Helena's motto ever since she was a child, as she was certain about how her life would be. Or rather, the life imposed by Regina on Helena from the night Augusto, the young woman's father, ended his marriage with Regina, right in front of the children. Marcelo was younger and understood very little, but the girl understood very well the argument between her parents, which at a certain point culminated in the conversation that would forever cha
"The bachelor party that you and Mom forced me to end at ten o'clock in the evening, without any alcoholic drinks? If you're talking about that, don't worry, I left your fiancé safe and sound at home. No need to worry," Marcelo replies. "Okay, he needs to be at Sala São Paulo by 6 p.m. We still have the photos in thirty minutes," Regina says, looking at her notebook of notes. "Great," Helena says, looking at the mirror while making some faces. "What's this?" Marcelo asks, annoyed by his sister's expressions. "What are you doing?" "Your sister is practicing expressions for the wedding," Regina replies in place of her daughter. "She can't appear horrible in the wedding photos. The photographer's service is extremely expensive." "Why not hire a cheaper guy? Besides, this wedding could have been much cheaper..." Marcelo comments, flopping down on the sofa. "It's such a waste of money, all of this. And for what? People will eat, drink, and still gossip about everything! I don't know, t
Bruno gazes at Helena, deep in thought. In a million years, he wouldn't have imagined that this sweet girl had gone through all that. She turns towards him and offers her best smile amidst the pain in her eyes. Helena looks back at the ocean and then feels Bruno's hand holding hers in the sand. She continues staring at the sea because if she looks at Bruno, she feels the tears will take over her face, and Lena isn't willing to allow that. Cry in front of a stranger? Not in a million years! Gradually, Bruno's fingers move away from hers, and he turns back to face the sea, in silence. They remain like that for a few long minutes until Bruno takes a deep breath and asks: "So, you decided to come on this trip to try to convince him that you're not the person he accused you of being?" "No," Helena denies, shaking her head, smiling. "Actually, that would be an obvious reason, but no..." "Did you come because the tickets were non-refundable, and you decided not to waste that money?" Bruno
Helena opens her eyes and for a matter of seconds, she had the feeling that she was awakening elsewhere, at another time in her life. A moment a few days ago, to be more exact. Perhaps because it was exactly the day, I would be returning from this trip. She holds up her left hand, making sure it was just a feeling to feel the weight of her perfectly chosen 18-carat gold wedding rings for her wedding day. Close your eyes by smoothing your finger as you let go of your mother’s words. It was true that Helena did not want to have the fate of her mother, and that she had agreed to go to Parati just to rub the email in the face of the daring attendant. And of course, also reflect on how to reverse the situation, but now... Now that didn’t make any sense. It would reverse the situation, and w "Bruno, this way I might have to hire you as my employee." Bruno and Helena turn towards the direction of that calm voice and come face to face with a woman with long gray hair in a generous braid, sit
Bruno and Helena dismount their bikes, panting. They gave it their all, pedaling as fast as possible to get back to Parati before the sunset was over. Some stars were already appearing when they finally stopped in front of the inn where Helena was staying. She takes off her helmet, hands it to him, and receives in return her bag with the cachaças she bought. "Thank you for today," the young woman says, adjusting her blonde hair behind her ear. "Always at your service," Bruno replies, looking at the girl with a daring smile. "What's up?" she asks, smiling, feeling awkward. "And so?" "And so what?" "Did you feel the passion? Are you in love?" Bruno asks nervously. Helena's face turns as red as a tomato, forcing Bruno to continue quickly: "I mean, with the place... Maria Izabel's story." "Oh... Yes, it was all incredible and captivating," Helena replies, relieved. She then raises an eyebrow, saying, "Of course, that doesn't change our deal." "Of course not. I hadn't even thought a
Bruno arrives at the closed store where his friends have already put the bicycles outside. He stores the bikes and takes the helmets to the locker. He puts away his helmet and then takes the one used by Helena, caressing it carefully as his mind wanders through the day's memories. Bruno focuses mainly on the moments when she smiles at him or looked at him, enigmatic. He smiled, recalling how happy Helena was on Corumbê Beach. "Glad we'll see each other tomorrow, Helena," Bruno thinks, putting away the helmet. Just thinking about the next day makes him anxious, leaving butterflies in his stomach as he counts the minutes to see the young woman with blonde hair once again. He arrives home, and his parents are already in their room, which is better for Bruno, who also goes to his own room. He takes a shower and then lies down, falling asleep while thinking about Helena. The next day, Bruno gets up before his father, who is surprised by his son's enthusiasm as he has already prepared break
Helena opens her eyes and, for a few seconds, feels like she's waking up somewhere else, at another moment in her life. It's a moment from a few days ago, to be exact. Perhaps because it was the day she would be returning from this trip. She raises her left hand, making sure it's just a sensation to feel the weight of her 18-carat gold ring, perfectly chosen by her for her wedding day. She closes her eyes, caressing her finger while letting her mother's words sink in. Indeed, Helena didn't want to end up like her mother, and she had agreed to go to Parati just to rub the email in the face of the audacious clerk. Of course, she also wanted to reflect on how to reverse the situation, but now... Now, it didn't make any sense. She would change the situation, and then what? Marry Leandro and pretend that nothing he said affected her? Ignore that this trip had affected her? Conceal that Bruno was stirring something in her in two days that her fiancé couldn't do in years? "What?" Helena excl