VI. The relationship is strengthened

The days they had left passed. Ipar drove Rosston in his car to the airport and waited there for him to check in. They said goodbye with a hug before Rosston had to go through security.

• Ipar: “I’m going to miss you so much, faggot.”

Rosston noticed his eyes were watery. It was impossible for him not to notice; he never missed details. And that reached deep inside him. In a few seconds, images of all the time they had spent together on the cruise and at his house flashed through his mind, like a film projected at high speed. It was hard for him to leave. That man was the ideal combination for him: strong, tough in bed, and interested in him, attentive, caring. He felt that the passions went in both directions.

From that day on, they did not stop communicating through WhatsApp, by text, audio, and video calls. The relationship intensified, and Rosston began to have thoughts—at first fantasies, then ideas, and in the end he started to seriously assess the possibilities of correcting that situation of distance between the two of them. He had already left his country once, and in truth it had not gone badly for him; that only ended because of a terminal illness. He worked for an international company and began searching for its offices and their locations on Google Maps. He found a couple of offices not too far from Ipar’s house. He asked, called, showed interest in job openings. At one of them they told him no, but that soon there would be an executive retiring. He now had the advantage of knowing both languages perfectly, English and Spanish, because the position involved international calls, emails, meetings, etc. Without telling him anything concrete, and acting sweet, he asked and made sure that Ipar would be willing to receive him in his house, sincerely, without reservations. Time had passed and he wanted to be sure that his attitude toward him had not changed.

Since the transfer was within his same company and it was a valued position, there was not too much risk, and he decided to take the step. They granted it to him and he decided not to tell Ipar anything, to surprise him. He was taking a gamble, but he did not care; that macho deserved the risk. With the ticket already bought and the suitcases packed, he asked Ipar what plans he had. It turned out that that day, which was a weekend, he planned to stay home, without much else to do. He traveled, and when he had already landed, waiting for the suitcases, he called him:

• Rosston: “Hi, how are you? What are you doing?”

• Ipar: “Well, fine, at home, wanting you.”

• Rosston: “Ah… I have a surprise for you, can you go to the airport right now? You’ll have it there.”

• Ipar: “Something you’re sending me with someone?”

• Rosston: “Don’t ask. When you’re there, send me a WhatsApp, but instead of talking, leave now.”

• Ipar: “Okay, okay, you’ve got me intrigued.”

• Rosston: “Hurry up, Daddy, they’re...