Lively music came from somewhere to her left as Kala stirred awake. Kala stretched in a cold, empty bed and immediately sat up with a wave of panic. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked the time. 10:20 am on a Sunday. Kala should be play fighting to get free of her lovers’ joint effort to keep her in bed all day, reluctantly peeling the sheets off her body as she heads for the shower. If she was lucky, they’d follow her to the bathroom.
Instead, Kala was alone in their room, listening to the soft mumbling coming from the balcony and the music that muffled the details of their conversation. The language felt familiar —the shape of its vowels, its intonation, its warmth— but she knew it wasn’t her mother tongue. Lito’s, she thought, and the thought came with an image of Lito, Dani and Hernando sitting at a bar, waiting for their drinks as salsa played in the overhead speakers. If she focused, she could understand the words and follow along the passionate love stories.
She heard Wolfgang laugh and Rajan followed just a moment later, bringing her back to her body in Mumbai. A breeze blew through the curtains, allowing Kala to glimpse at her lovers swaying to the rhythm, Rajan’s eyes followed the path of his feet on the floor as he held Wolfgang’s hand —Wolfgang who was looking at him with hearts in his eyes as he smiled. They were both in their underwear only, sending a flash of heat through Kala’s body. The image was gone as quickly as it came as the wind blew the curtains closed, but it burned itself on Kala’s eyelids permanently. Her lovers. Not just getting along, actively flirting. It’d been long enough that she shouldn’t be surprised to see them together, but Kala had a feeling she would always be surprised that she got to have this. All of it.
Smiling as she got out of the bed, she grabbed a silk robe from the floor where she lost it the night before. Once she felt her body was covered from prying eyes, she walked to the balcony moving the curtain out of the way, surprising Wolfgang leaning to kiss Rajan’s cheek. Rajan turned his cheek just in time to catch their lover’s lips with his own and they kissed playfully, mumbling things at each other.
Belatedly, Kala realized that Wolfgang was translating the lyrics from Spanish into Hindi and relaying them to Rajan, voice lowered to his sexiest pitch. Kala wished she had brought a fan from inside when she felt her neck heat up just from watching them. Not all the lyrics were romantic, but Rajan was clearly enjoying the attention coming from Wolfgang and he laughed when he found lyrics particularly funny.
She watched them for a moment, absorbed in one another as they tried to dance hip to hip. Wolfgang used his hand on Rajan’s waist to pull him closer still, closing his eyes as he savored the moment.
“I didn’t know either of you danced like this,” she said, leaning on the window frame, a smile playing on her lips as she playfully fanned herself.
Her men stumbled as they turned to look at her at the same time. Kala was pleased to see surprise on both of their faces, meaning Wolfgang was fully immersed in doting Rajan with playful compliments in the way of translated lyrics just as Rajan was completely enamoured by the hot German man wooing him.
Kala couldn’t help the slight pang of guilt she felt at interrupting them, but it was quickly replaced by the warmth feeling she got whenever she saw them being happy and in love.
“My love, did we wake you?” Rajan asked, he still had his easy smile on his face. “Were we being loud?”
She shook her head and said, “you look happy.”
Kala was rewarded with the sight of both of her men blushing, a view that was as lovely as the breeze cooling her skin.
“Lito’s celebrating that his movie wrapped filming,” Wolfgang explained, gesturing to his phone playing salsa in the background still. “And Rajan had never gone salsa dancing before.”
“Well, we can’t have that, obviously.”
Wolfgang narrowed his eyes as he said, “obviously.”
Before she knew what she was doing, she threw herself at them, wrapping her arms around both of them in a fiercely protective hug. The guys took a moment to adjust to her sudden appearance, but eventually fit her between them. Happiness she didn't know she was capable of feeling threatened to make her burst at the seams, but Rajan and Wolfgang held her until she felt ready to speak.
When she found the words, she said, “I don’t think I’ve gone salsa dancing either. I wasn’t actually salsa dancing that one time, we were on our honeymoon.”
Rajan hummed against her hair. “Your birthday?” he guessed correctly.
“Lito went dancing,” added Wolfgang, connecting the dots. After a moment, he said, “I guess I haven’t gone salsa dancing myself either, in that case.”
“But—” Rajan started, confused.
“Lito dances regularly,” explained Kala. “If he knows how, we know how.”
Rajan pulled apart, far enough to glance between Kala and Wolfgang. “You’re full of hidden talents.”
Pulling Rajan closer with a hand on his ass, Wolfgang said, “you have no idea.”