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When Dolores said, 'slow down', it was in response to - and only in response to - marriage getting brought up on one of the first occasions she and Mariano had shared a proper conversation. It was beyond flattering that he saw her that way, of course, but was definitely poor timing.
Going on two months of getting to know each other, of 'taking it slow', Dolores was dumbfounded at how an off-hand comment had become such an issue. It seemed like Mariano was really interested, but he was hesitant to get too serious. That was fine, albeit, patience testing at times. After waiting for so many years for the man of her dreams, a few more weeks didn't seem like it would hurt, at first.
But now?
Always just being a 'friend', just 'hanging out', just being the one Mariano was 'talking to' had got on her last nerve. Dolores didn't want to hurry him either, if he found this pace comfortable. She liked what they had, and it felt like things were escalating - slowly - whenever they spent time together. The wait, the chase, that was tolerable, but the lack of solid, defined lines in their relationship meant that somebody on the outside could threaten to alter its shape, which Dolores came to find out the hard way.
On this particular evening, she found herself on the way to a house party, invited by one of their old classmates, Lupe. This particular guy was Señor Popular (and kind of peaked) during their school years, but had been extremely adamant about the two Madrigal girls from the grade making it, as if nobody else was coming.
Isabela was no longer trying to be perfect and was open to trying her hand with alcohol for once. However, she was entirely over social events like this. A room filled with people that really didn't know her and that she didn't feel comfortable being herself around was an easy pass for her.
Dolores, on the other hand, was more than happy to take advantage of her gift's absence. Talking with Mariano, who was planning on going too, was all it took for her to lose any doubts of attending.
She was late, the last to arrive, in fact. After ringing the doorbell, Dolores was surprised how quickly the host came to the door.
"Dolores!" Lupe exclaimed, giving her a hug, "I'm so glad you made it. I was worried you changed your mind last minute."
"Hm, yeah, sorry I'm late. Did I miss much?"
The man chuckled as they entered the house, "It wasn't a party until you showed up, Lolo. You look very pretty, by the way."
"Oh... thank you," a grin lifted her lips.
With most of her things being destroyed along with her house, she had been nervous about how well she could glam up for for a little occasion like this, which was why she had been late. Already having received a compliment at the door instilled her with confidence, which was much appreciated, considering she was going to run into Mariano not too long after.
Lupe's (parent's) house was one of the bigger ones in the Encanto. It was no Casita, but, at the same time, all the space wasn't going towards twelve bedrooms, so it felt especially spacious. There was music coming from the gramophone set up out back, where people were dancing on the veranda, but, after she put her things upstairs, Dolores was directed to the living room instead. There, most of the guests were sitting on the floor playing truth or dare. It was childish, really, but all in good fun.
Dolores' entrance was met with half-teasing cheers and applause which made her smile bashfully.
"Geez! My girl's looking sexy and all, okayyyy!" one of the other women, who was already drunk, shouted in greeting.
Lupe hollered at the people outside to come in, as if Dolores was the guest of honour. He rapped his fingers against the doorframe, once he had paced back to the living room and jumped to sit beside her enthusiastically.
"Let's play Paranoia, when you guys are done with this," he suggested, and most murmured in agreement, whilst some planned to opt out and retreat to the kitchen. Then, Lupe turned to his right, "Lolo, I know you could never play this with your gift, so I thought it would be fun."
Although she wanted to reply, Dolores' train of thought was brought to a halt by the sound of Mariano's loud laughter, followed by a feminine voice.
"No, I'm serious, you're such a good dancer. You know what they say about dancers..."
Anita, Mariano's ex.
Dolores' mind jumped to the worst conclusion straight away. Had they been dancing together? It was a party, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. More improbable things had happened in her time. It's not like Dolores and Mariano's relationship status was common-knowledge... but why would he be dancing with that girl of all people? And had they danced with room for Dolores between them? Maybe not...
They entered together - which had Dolores' fingers balling into fists. She got up to get a shot, where Mariano was quick to accost her.
"Dolores, hi! I'm so happy you came."
She backed the shot and scrunched up her nose a little before smiling at him, "Hm, me too."
In the corner of her eye, she saw his ex strutting over, and decided to make an out of character choice. Dolores extended her arms to Mariano, asking for a hug, which he gladly accepted after a small pause of shock. She didn't want to let go, not helped by the intoxicating scent of the cologne on his neck.
"Mmm, you smell good."
"Thanks, you too..."
No super-hearing was needed for Dolores to feel his heart pump that much harder. It egged her on to give him a kiss on the cheek. A satisfied grin spread across her features at the sight of Mariano's flushed complexion, now adorned with a faint lipgloss mark. Her's, even.
She was so caught up with him that she barely noticed Anita pouring herself a couple shots, right beside them.
Well, Dolores thought they were both for herself but frowned when she offered one to Mariano. Innocently, he pulled away from the embrace to take it whilst his ex was getting stabbed by Dolores' glare.
"Oh, sorry-" Anita faked, "You two aren't... novios, are you?"
"We're not..." Mariano answered, backing his shot and sighing, "not novios."
"Oh okay, good."
Good? Dolores hissed in her brain.
"I don't think I've met you before, actually, hm," Dolores lied, a streak of pettiness zipping through her body, "I'm Dolores."
Anita raised a brow, "I know, you're Madrigal. Everyone knows, but I'm Anita. Me and Mariano go way back. We used to be... well, you couldn't separate us, let's just say that."
"Umm-" Mariano was about to jump in but was cut off with all haste.
"Hm, used to be."
"That's what I said," Anita said, giving a sickly-sweet smile in response.
"Oje, you three, come sit, we're starting the game now!" Lupe yelled, interrupting the passive-aggressive exchange.
Since people had reconfigured when those that didn't want to play had left, Dolores, Mariano and Anita had to slot in the circle where they could, sort of making a triangle formation between them, with Dolores sitting beside the host.
The game got started with Lupe, who had decided to whisper the first question in Dolores' ear. It was nothing noteworthy, but the person that Dolores announced as her answer was overcome by 'paranoia' and took a sip of the bottle that had been opened to hear the question.
The questions kept going around, with a decent variety of people succumbing to their nosiness, being burned or flattered by the questions that their name was the answer to, and people who would rather not know what was said. Dolores really was enjoying herself, for once able to really feel the full force of curiosity, and not always knowing what everyone had to say. At that point, her name had been called a couple of times and she happily drank on both occasions.
"Who is the most likely to window peep?"
"Let me explain! Let me explain; your gift let you spy on anyone without them ever knowing. Old habits die hard, no?"
Dolores gasped in mock-offence but soon exchanged it for a guilty shrug and giggle whilst everyone else cracked up.
But then, it came Anita's turn to answer a question and she hummed in amusement. She bit her lip and looked across the circle.
"Mariano."
"Well, damn!" someone shout-whispered, voicing everyone's internal reaction to Anita practically undressing the man with her eyes. In front of everyone.
Mariano rubbed his neck, "I'm good, next question,"
"Boo, that one was definitely spicy," someone else heckled.
"Yeah, it was," Anita said, focus moving to Dolores, "but it's probably the kind of thing you want to be sober for. Maybe you should talk to me later."
This perra...
And when Mariano's turn came around, he gave an answer that Dolores didn't want to hear.
"Anita."
The guy that had asked him looked surprised out of his mind and began to chuckle, "Oh, for real? I didn't know it was like that."
Nobody noticed but Dolores was shooting Anita the most venomous look she had ever given.
Drink, puta. Drink.
"I'll pass too. Some things are better left to the imagination," she answered, again, sending a smug look to the Madrigal.
The game went on, and progressively got less fun for Dolores as terrible scenarios spiralled in her mind. She wasn't Mariano's girlfriend, that was true, so... maybe they weren't exclusive. It wasn't something they had discussed but, after so long, she thought it would be obvious, and that Mariano would know whether he wanted to take her seriously or not. What happened to 'let's get married'?
"Bottle's empty!"
Lupe drummed the floor, "Aye, you know what that means? Spin the bottleeee!"
A buzzed chorus of excitement came from the group, but Dolores really couldn't stick around and bare witness to Anita and Mariano making out in front of everyone. Though it was an off-chance, that was just her luck, Dolores was sure.
She got up and headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. Her appetite escaped her, however, so, instead, she picked at the bowl of candy.
The sound of someone dashing after her followed. She flipped around, hoping it was Mariano but-
"Lupe?"
"You're really not going to play? Which ugly bastard do I need to kick out of the circle to get you back?" he joked.
"No, no, everyone looks nice it's just..."
As she tried to think a way around admitting her jealousy, another idea sprang to mind. Maybe if she could spoon-feed Mariano a taste of his own green medicine, it might be a catalyst for whatever direction their relationship was headed in.
"I just wanted a piece of candy, hm. I'm coming back."
Upon their return, Lupe and Dolores sat side by side - again. Though Mariano didn't say anything, it became difficult to swallow and the urge to intervene was making his arms tense. They weren't doing anything to provoke such feelings, he reasoned with himself, but the logic didn't calm his emotions in the slightest.
And that was simply the beginning.
Lupe started, and it spun back around to himself. Someone suggested he kiss one of the people beside him, which was the choice between his brother and Dolores.
Fuck my life, Mariano complained in silence.
With every inch of his body riddled with uncertainty, Lupe gave Dolores the briefest of pecks and was about to pass the bottle to his left until his brother shook his head.
"Ay, come on, properly, what's the point otherwise?"
"Hm, I don't mind."
Mariano's eyes almost fell out at how casually Dolores had said it. Why did she not mind? Had she forgotten who was in the room? That her boyfr-... well, her boyfriend was not in the room...
So the two did share a slightly deeper kiss, and were met with praise, which made Mariano's skin crawl.
When it was Mariano's turn, he ended up lipsing Lupe's brother, which the group laughed about. He didn't find it an especially big deal, as long as it wasn't his ex, as he had stated to the person next to him during the game of Paranoia.
But when Anita spun the bottle, and the neck had the gall to point at Mariano, everyone welcomed the pairing with teasing noises and slick comments. Mariano braced himself but was shocked to see Dolores crawl to the bottle and turn it a few degrees away from him.
"Are you drunk? It's a fucking game." Anita scoffed.
"Oooh..."
Dolores furrowed her brow, "Yeah, it's supposed to be a game."
Anita kissed her teeth and pushed the obstacle out of her way, "Move."
Before she had to see anything, Dolores got to her feet and darted upstairs.
"Please don't go up-" Lupe started, just before Mariano shot up to follow, "stairs..."
"Are you drunk?" Dolores mumbled to herself in a high pitch, "bitch, you're drunk."
"Dolores!" Mariano called, heavy breathing from running up the stairs so quick, "are you okay?"
Her eyes flickered between her bag and him.
"I'm not okay, obviously. I'm going home. Have fun with Anita, hm."
"With Anita?"
Dolores tried to leave but was unintentionally blocked by Mariano standing in front of the door.
She groaned, "Yeah, your ex that you love dancing with when I'm not around. Ahora, perdón,"
Mariano held her by the arms, "No, let's talk about it because I need you to know I want nothing to do with Anita anymore, not like that."
She rolled her eyes and turned around, realising she wasn't getting out of this conversation. They sat on the floor, with Dolores leaning on the side of the bed and Mariano opposite her. He stared at her pleadingly for a few moments.
"Well, if you want to talk, talk then."
"Why are you so upset right now? Is it the game?"
"Mariano, please. I barely spoke to Anita all night but every time I heard her speak, she was hitting on you. That's why I'm upset."
"Hitting on me? No, that's in the past. She's just a friend, now, I promise."
"So what am I then, if not tu novia? If she's your friend, what does that make me?"
Mariano sighed and ran a stressed hand through his hair, which made Dolores' eyes glaze with tears. Did she really mean that little to him?
"Do you want to hear the truth?"
That made her tear ducts start leaking, "Why would I ask you to lie to me?!"
She stared down at her lap, where his hands moved to hold hers. Out of fragility, she let him, but knew she was better off keeping herself to herself if he was just going to break her heart.
"Sorry," he whispered, massaging her fingers with his, "it's just... you told me to slow down when we started talking. I didn't want to spring anything on you if you weren't ready."
"I wasn't ready to be your wife but I want to be your girlfriend, Mariano! Is that so hard to understand? I don't like seeing you with other girls, especially not your ex. I want..."
Dolores's crying turned off the faucet of confessions pouring from her mouth, which Mariano responded to by drawing her into a consoling cuddle.
"I... didn't realise that."
She squeezed him tighter, "You're so stupid."
"You're right. I'm sorry, Dolores... And I feel similar but not the same."
That just made her tears fall faster and soak his guaybera.
"I still want to marry you. You're all I think about and I can't imagine my future without you, so... I don't know. This 'taking things slow' thing is hard for me. I just want to hold you and... kiss you sometimes but I don't want to upset you."
Dolores pulled back and looked in his eyes with an amused sparkle in hers.
"You can do that."
"Are you sure?"
To Mariano's surprise, she brought her lips to his. So, that was the answer.
"But you only want to do that stuff with me, right?"
"Of course, Dolores, only you. Nobody else makes me feel this way. But when you kissed Lupe earlier. Twice...? That doesn't sit right with me that you say you don't like seeing me with other girls but you're happy to be with other guys. That's not fair. How do you think I felt? I get jealous too, all I wanted to do was..."
"Hm, was what?"
With a shameful huff, Mariano stared down, "Like, grab you and hide you away somewhere, if I'm being honest. Not saying you're mine or anything, you can do what you want but... I don't know."
"I guess me dragging myself to play spin the bottle worked."
"You wanted me to get jealous?"
"Maybe... yes, hm."
"So, you knew exactly what it would do to me?"
Mariano smirked at her sudden shyness and pulled her flush against him, with the intention of whispering something flirty in her ear, but instead, lost his balance and brought them toppling in a pile to the floor. Still, his grip on Dolores' waist was just as tight.
"Ah, fuck-" he hissed at the pain of his head connecting with the ground.
Dolores snickered, "Are you okay? Or do you want me to kiss it better?"
"Hmm," he smiled at her but didn't move, quite satisfied with this position of her body on top of his, "well, I'd rather you kiss me on the lips than on the back of my head. But any kisses from you would be nice."
"Nicer than kisses from Lupe's little brother? Hm! No way...."
"Ugh, stop teasing me. You know I only played that stupid game for you, right?"
She raised a brow, "If you wanted to kiss me so bad, why didn't you ever ask?"
"I really didn't want to lose you by being too pushy. You're worth waiting for."
That made Dolores' cheeks even hotter than they already were due to their compromising position. She set aside her coyness to kiss him again. Mariano let out a low sigh as he revelled in the cherry-sweet thickness of her lips, a sound which got Dolores feeling especially wet between the legs. She slightly repositioned herself, so she could feel as much of him as possible through the nuisance of clothing. It wasn't enough. Without the express goal of inciting anything, Dolores continued to writhe and press herself against him, further spurred on by the hardness of his crotch that had made itself apparent.
"Ay, ay, Dolores," Mariano strained, "don't"
She was confused by his rejection contradicting his tightening latch of her waist. For a moment she stopped moving but grew impatient staying still with how pushed up against she was. If the matter of their bodies could vibrate even the slightest bit more, they'd practically merge.
"Maybe it's worth waiting for but I don't want to wait."
"Me either but..." Mariano shut his eyes and dropped his voice, "I can't keep it together when I think about you like this."
Impishly, Dolores shifted her hips back and forth, very slow, "You don't need to keep it together. Let's just have fun."
"No, I mean," his breath hitched, "if you don't stop, I'm not gonna... last"
She increased the intensity a little, delighted to feel the bulge in his relatively thin trousers so intimately, "You'll be alright, I'm not that pretty."
Oh, she had to be a demon, fishing for compliments like that, knowing that Mariano could never do anything other than disagree with all vim and passion.
"No, you are," he opened his eyes to gaze into hers (a fatal error), "you're gorgeous and- ah, I can feel so much of you. I didn't think you wear panties like this, fuck."
Dolores purred as she continued to grind, now met with the movement of his hips, "What did you think I wear?"
In the haze of lust, the truth just fell out of Mariano's mouth without caution, "Before, I imagined you in bloomers. Even then, when I started thinking of your body on me, I came really-"
He hugged her tighter and cut off his own confession with a subdued moan. Dolores felt herself soak further, but realised that she wasn't solely responsible for the damp sensation.
"Sorry, I know you were excited too... I could feel you..."
Dolores kissed him comfortingly, "Don't be, cariño."
He finally let go of Dolores. She dismounted him and they both sat back against the bed. Despite having enjoyed herself, she was still achingly turned on by the evidence of how into her Mariano which had spilled through his trousers. She knew that he wasn't the only one to blame for the patch, though, since she had been dripping in anticipation the whole time and, he was right - her choice of underwear was much less conservative than the norm. The material stretching against her slick didn't leave much to the imagination, especially when as drenched as it was.
"You deserve better than this."
"Hm, if I deserve better," Dolores started. She crawled over to sit between his legs, parted hers invitingly and guided his hand - which was so much bigger - beneath her skirt to her barely clothed slit, "then, do better."
Mariano crumbled as she leaned her head back on his shoulder. With her neck exposed to him like that, he couldn't help but be drawn in for a taste. His act of impulse was met with a pleased moan, encouraging him to press his fingers into Dolores and gently stroke circles into her clit.
Yearning the warmth of interlocking fingers, she reached out for his free hand and melted at the reciprocation. Dolores turned her head to put her parted lips against his, their tongues eventually meeting for the first time as Mariano got a little quicker.
"Do it faster," Dolores pleaded on one break for air, before diving back into the make-out.
He obeyed, first running his fingers down to gather her arousal and transfer it back to her clit. That was the prep. Then, he swapped his soft approach to feverishly rubbing. It seemed certain that his fingers would cramp up at this pace, but Dolores' secure grasp of his other hand, paired with the whined chorus of 'Marianos' that flowed into his ear was addictive gratification. It wasn't long before she got loud, moaning and buckling her hips through her climax.
Mariano removed his exhausted fingers and flattened her skirt, covering the scene of their perfect crime. Not wanting to get up and deal with his own clothing dilemma, let alone go to the bathroom, he licked his middle and index fingers to clean off what little remained of Dolores.
"I guess I don't last too long either, hm," she whispered, kissing Mariano's cheek.
At that moment, the thuds of someone running up the stairs came hurtling at them.
"The door's open?" a buzzed Lupe poked his head around the slightly opened door, "Oh, you two really are just talking. I thought you were having... well, that's a relief. Anyways, come back downstairs, lovebirds, having exceptions to rules sets a precedent."
As he started to leave, Mariano wrapped a possessive arm around Dolores and called out to him, "We are lovebirds, actually. I'm her boyfriend."
"Umm... okay? Good for you?"