Litz woke up because of the heat. It was noon and both Marissa and she didn’t want to turn air conditioning on to avoid getting sick. She looked at her friend’s perfect body lying next to her. Marissa was still sleeping. “The man who will make her fall in love will be very lucky” she thought.
They had rent a tiny luxurious studio apartment in between Copacabana and Ipanema, the best place to be in Rio de Janeiro during holidays season. They had to share the bed, but it was King size and they were close and respectful friends. They lazily started their morning routine, ending to their favourite cafè for brunch at 2 pm. It was called Apetite cafè and it was only a few blocks from their building. They ordered two full breakfast menus, including coffee, juice, ham, scrumbled eggs, white cheese and the specialty of the cafè: fresh homemade bread.
Marissa would leave early the day after for a short visit to Jericoacoara, a dreamy seaside village a few hours flying North from Rio. She was a nature enthousiast and wanted to take some serious surf classes in one of the most untouched beaches in the World. Litz was more of a city girl and Rio was huge to explore, so she had decided to stay.
They opted for a quick but intense shopping session at Ipanema, as Marissa had arranged a date with a local guy that night. She wouldn’t have gone alone of course, so the plan was to meet him and his friends at a cool bar along the beach. The guy was a fan of rock music, which was incredibly hard to find in the city of funk, so the club he had chosen for the meeting was a really cool place in the wealthiest neighborhood of Rio: Leblon.
Marissa bought a short red and white floral dress and wore it with flat sandals, as she was quite tall. Litz bought a short skirt (she realized she hadn’t worn one for years) and wore it with a silk blouse and sober heels. Dress code in Brazil was very loose. Even wealthy girls used to wear sexy clothes, so they were perfectly camouflaged that night. Wearing European clothes was one of the easiest ways to become a target for pickpockets. European fabrics and patterns were largely more upscale than those available for most Brazilian people, as well as any branded technological device.
Leblon was not that far from their place, but after walking a few meters they decided to stop next to a police car and call a Uber. It was not uncommon to get whisteled by all kinds of men from the street (and even from the windows!). Marissa had blond hair and blue eyes, she was kind of a lighthouse there.
When they arrived to the party, they were a bit surprised and embarrassed to find the guy with three female friends. Litz was actually relieved (she hated blind dates – last time, because of an insane friend, she had found herself having dinner with an eccentric guy covered by tattoos, who was clearly a drug dealer trying in vain to convince her to be a honest person – but this is another story).
Marissa’s guy was handsome and pleasant. He had brought only his female friends to the date to make the two girls more at ease (and avoid competition with his friends!), a smart move of a real gentleman. Litz spent a couple of hours getting to know the girls. She asked them many questions about feminism and relationships in Brazil. She discovered that the wave of feminism had started to empower girls, who would act more aggressively to fight the same historical Brazilian male aggressiveness.
After a couple of beers and lots of laughs, Litz looked at her friend Marissa, who was quietly listening to the guy. She catched her eyes, smiled and went to the toilet. Gabriel, this was the name of the guy, got closer to Litz and asked:
– I find her so beautiful. I like her so much, oh my God! I’m sorry to be that fool and passionate and straightforward, because I know that in Europe you have a different culture. Could you please tell me if I can kiss her here?
Litz replied: – If I were you, I would take it slowly. She will leave for a trip in a few hours. Try and build an emotional connection with her first. A kiss has a deeper meaning in our culture than in yours. It’s even deeper than sex somehow. By your first kiss she will understand if she will ever be able to fall in love with you. Make it special.
Marissa came back, Litz smiled to her and left her alone with him. It was their “It’s fine, I’m safe” sign. She took a Uber back home, still smiling inside. Love made her happy even when she was not involved. She went to sleep after setting the alarm on time to wish Marissa safe travel to Jeri.
When she woke up, Marissa was not next to her, but she saw her mobile phone on the table and heard water flowing from the toilet. She stood up, knocked the door and asked:
– Hey dear, are you alright? Ready to fly?
– Yeah.
Marissa mumbled. Then she got out of the toilet and started collecting her stuff nervously.
Litz went to the toilet. It was a matter of seconds. She opened the door, instinctively headed toward the WC and:
– Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
She screamed and closed the door behind her. Marissa laughed folded in two.
Gabriel was quietly sitting on the WC, patiently waiting for Marissa to collect her stuff to bring her to the airport. She was too ashamed to tell Litz, because they had always kept the “No guys at home” rule. But that time, it was worth the exception.
