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The previous night had been a blur to Agustín.
It wasn’t like he was drinking or any of the sorts, but it all happened so fast. One heated confession leads to another thing and all of a sudden, he’s in Julieta’s bed completely nude. He doesn’t regret it though, having her in his arms was truly a blessing after years of hidden feelings. The number of rounds they went through in that one night exhausted him with no doubt that he had to sleep in.
Luckily, her mother hasn’t even bothered to check their room, keeping him safe. But the early morning sun shone on his face, forcing him to wake up. Julieta, however, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. Her sleeping peacefully was truly a sight to see and as much as he wanted to stay longer, he knew his luck was going to run out per usual.
Agustín didn’t have the heart to do so, but he gently rubs her arm to wake her up.
“Hmm? Morning, amor…” She says, rubbing her eyes. It felt good she was calling him that. “Did you have fun last night?”
“Oh, definitely. It’s you, so why wouldn’t I enjoy it?” Agustín just smiles at her, kissing her on the lips. “I love you so much… you’re all I thought about last night, even after our little sessions.”
Julieta just giggled and booped his nose. “Well, why don’t we start our morning with another round? I feel pretty much energized and already missing you inside me…”
That sparks a fire inside Agustín as he was already trapped under her spell. “W-Well, I’d love to, really… and I’d be an insane man to refuse you, but… I have to go. It’s Saturday and I have the usual chores with my uncle, not to mention your mother might come in any second now. I don’t want her first impression of me as your boyfriend that I already slept with you.”
She just gave him an understanding smile, stroking his cheek. “Hey, no pressure. We don’t have to fuck all the time. I’m already content with just you existing. Please, go before your uncle gets mad. I wouldn’t want your family already more worried than they already are.”
He just nods and gives her a peck on the lips before going for the clothes he dropped on the floor. As he buttoned his polo, he could feel Julieta’s arms around his waist.
“Can we meet again today? I already miss you,” she says, nuzzling at the crook of his neck. “Maybe lunchtime? I want to introduce you to my mother properly, so you don’t have to keep sneaking in.”
He just chuckles at that. “Oh, believe me, knowing you… I’d have to sneak into your room at night either way.”
Once Agustín finishes putting on all his clothes, he starts to descend the ladders at Julieta’s window. The tailor takes one last look at her, still fully nude on her bed with that seductive grin she always gives him.
“I can’t wait the next time you come into my room, amor. I love you.”
“Te amo, mi princesa. Let’s hope we can be this intimate together tonight.”
Thankfully, he didn’t fall on his way down and runs into town, pretending everything was normal like he didn’t just deflower the eldest Madrigal triplet.
The entire town was busy, doing work. The old priest doing his usual masses, people farming crops, and the construction workers making a new house. Speaking of making new houses, he spots Felix and his uncle by one of them. Both men wearing tanktop and his uncle with a cigarette in his mouth as usual.
Felix takes immediate notice and waves for Agustín. “GUS! OVER HERE!”
He runs towards them, excited to start the work.
Sebastian turns to face his nephew, lighting his cigarette. “Gus, why are you late today? I thought I told you to come back as soon as the sun rose.”
“S-Sorry, Tio, Bruno’s production stage took longer to assemble than I thought,” Agustín half-lied. He did help Bruno with a play but was immediately sidetracked when Julieta invited him to her room. “But I’m here now. Give me the axe, and I’ll start chopping!”
“It’s okay, Sebastian, we have this under control,” Felix cuts in as he hands Agustín an axe. “He’s not that late compared to some other men on the job.”
The old man chuckles at the comment. “Well, I can’t be too mad. I don’t want to be too strict like my brother. Just chop the log and put them on the cart at the back. There’s a high demand for wood today.”
“Yes, sir!” Felix and Agustín responded in unison.
Then, under the hot morning sun, the two started chopping down trees and cutting the log into pieces. Afterward, they load it all onto the cart to be sent to the construction workers. It was a rinse-and-repeat process, and it definitely exhausted Agustín. Chores like this always took a big time of his week, only being able to rest fully on Sundays. They had breaks in-between, of course, and the two would interact with the other lumberjacks of the town.
“Oh god, I can’t feel my arms…” Agustín groaned, trying to stretch them out. “I think I’m gonna break a bone, and I’d rather not go to Julieta’s stand with a dislocated shoulder.”
Felix laughed, wiping the sweat off his face and chest with a towel. “Speaking of Julieta, we heard you went to her house last night. Were you really just helping out Bruno?”
The other men turned their attention to Agustín, intrigued if he managed to get the heart of one of the Madrigal triplets. It always felt odd to Agustín that getting their attention was a status symbol, he just loved her as she was and never saw her as a prize being won. He decides to not entertain them and just simply says that Julieta was too exhausted to talk to him that night.
More like she exhausted me to death, but I’m not telling them that…
One of the older workers just facepalmed. “You should’ve smoked, man! That’s how you get a lady’s attention!”
That catches Agustín off-guard. “H-How does smoking help at all?”
“Are you serious right now?! Every lady in the Encanto loves it when a man rolls up his sleeve and takes a long drag. It arouses them whether they realize it or not.”
“Uhh…”
“Easy, guys, you know Gus never smoked in his entire life and never plans to do so,” Felix tells them. “I don’t think smoking is how you get Julieta Madrigal of all people.”
“You never know, Felix. She is a woman, after all.”
“I’m sure she has better tastes in men,” Agustín said through gritted teeth, trying to keep his composure. “Plus, this whole thing of smoking to attract people sounds like bullshit. I think I’d choke to death before I can get a taste of a woman’s lips.”
“Come on, Gus, Sebastian smokes all the time and he’s attracted every woman and their mothers, yet he never seems to want to settle down.”
“Well, my Tio never sees himself having a family, so hopefully that answers your question.”
“Hey look, I never smoke and I still managed to be with Pepa,” Felix offers. “It’s not a guarantee. And just like you said, Sebastian doesn’t have a wife.”
“That’s because everyone loves you!” The worker said. “You’re everyone’s first choice. Gus, on the other hand, …no offense, man, but I doubt her mother even likes you.”
That sets Agustín right off, but before he could start fighting with his co-workers, he takes a deep breath to collect himself and then stands up.
“Perdon, but I need to continue doing my work,” he simply says before turning to leave. “There are more trees I need to cut down.”
Felix soon follows him. “Hey man, don’t mind what they said, you’re a great guy, and I’m sure Julieta likes you-”
“I slept with her last night.”
And then, there was silence.
Felix was taken a step back. “H-Hold on, backtrack here… you did what?!”
“I-Is it bad?”
“Heavens, no! Gus, you sly boy!” He hits his friend playfully on the arm. “You heartthrob, you actually got her! Why didn’t you say anything?!”
Agustín scratched the back of his head. “I just didn’t want to give those men the satisfaction that I won her heart like how I won a prize. I just simply love her and she loves me.”
“Clearly, she loves you a lot, and those hickeys are the proof of it,” Felix points at his neck. “Can’t believe I didn’t notice it the first time.”
“Wh- wait! I have hickeys?! Holy shit, why didn’t no one say anything?!”
“Relax, relax, it’s barely noticeable… wow, there’s a few of them though. Must’ve been quite the night, huh?”
His face reddens as he tries to cover his neck and face. “Oh god, I should’ve checked the mirror before I left her room.”
“You are so going to tell me the details later, my man!” Felix proceeds to headlock Agustín, ruffling his hair. “I need some tips, so I can use them on Pepa later.”
“I-I’d rather not have that image of you fucking her burned in my brain-”
He just laughs, letting him go. “Still though… it’s great you two are together now, but why did you seem so worked up earlier?”
“I don’t know… it’s just… if I don’t smoke at least once, will it really affect our relationship? I mean we’re starting out great, but my dad always tells me the honeymoon phase ends, and our relationship will go ups and downs, and I don’t know…”
“You really think a nicotine-filled stick is gonna save your relationship in the future?”
“No? I don’t know. Every guy I see does it. Remember Mateo?”
“The guy you had a crush on that one time?” Felix asked. “The guy who’s dating Maria? Never understood what you saw in him, honestly.”
“Yeah, but he’s been smoking for years, and his girlfriend seems to find it very attractive. Remember that one time she took a drag and blew it on his face? She loves it!”
“Well, be grateful Mateo is straight-”
“The point is… what if I bore Julieta quickly? What if I’m not as hard and tough as those other men?”
“Hey, come on now… you know Julieta would never find you boring that quickly. I mean, what’s boring about a guy who gets chased by bees?”
“That feels like an insult rather than a compliment.”
“You’re overthinking this, man. Let’s just get the task done and you can go see her again. Trust me, if Julieta chose you, then she surely chose the right guy. You won’t bore her, quite the opposite in fact if she’s given you that many bite marks.”
“Hah, well, can’t argue with it. Thanks, Felix…”
“Hey, don’t worry about it! Everything will be okay.”
Agustín just smiles and when they resumed their work, he catches sight of his uncle being hit on by a couple of women. Sebastian wasn’t interested obviously but with the cigarette in his hand, he couldn’t help but still feel unease about the whole thing.
Later, when it was during lunchtime, Agustín quickly finishes his food to go find his uncle. Sebastian was just having his siesta under a tree shade, his black hair messy and mustache looking like it needs a trim. He was the typical tough guy a lot of women fell for and part of Agustín wanted to strive to have that kind of image.
He didn’t have to say anything as Sebastian waved at his nephew.
“Ah, Agustín… care to join me for a bit? It’s rare you do this. Any special requests from the one and only?” He points at himself, smiling with pride. “Have you come forth to get some wisdom from me?”
He takes a seat next to his uncle. “Actually, I could use one. Could you teach me how to smoke?”
Sebastian blinked twice, unsure if he heard him right. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I-I’m asking if you can teach me how to smoke, Tio…”
“Well uh, this just… so new, but… why the sudden interest? You’re almost twenty, and you’re asking now how to smoke?!”
“I mean, I’m not gonna make it a regular thing. Just occasionally-”
“Absolutely not. End of discussion,” Sebastian cuts him off. “This conversation never happened.”
“But Tio-”
“Hey, your parents will kill me, your father especially if you turn out like me or inherit something from me. Looks don’t count since your father and I look identical. And maybe my charm too, but absolutely not my smoking habits.”
“Why are you allowed to smoke and I can’t? I’m an adult!”
“Listen, Gus, smoking kills you,” Sebastian tells him. “I used to be a heavy smoker, but I dialed it down by a lot. It’s just a thing I sometimes do, but I’m different now. I was actually on my way to getting rid of that habit. Also, for your information, you are not even in your twenties yet. You’re still my little rascal!” He teasingly pinches Agustín’s cheeks. “Why on earth do you want to smoke anyways?! Don’t tell me the boys are pressuring you or don’t tell me… it’s because of a special someone, isn’t it?!”
“I-It’s someone, Tio…” Agustín sheepishly replied. “And maybe a bit of peer pressure…”
“Boy or girl?”
“It’s Julieta.”
“Julieta? As in Julieta Madrigal? Wow, you have insane confidence to go after a Madrigal- hold on, are those hickeys?!” He checks Agustín’s neck, jaw dropped. “These are from her?! You are insane! Not even your father is that fast in taking your mother’s virgini-”
“Okay, okay! Do not put that mental image in me, Tio! Por favor! I don’t think I wanna hear that…”
“Sorry, sobrino. But… wow, then… why the hell are you so worried about looking attractive?! You got her… you really got her… I gotta applaud you for that.”
If Agustín’s face wasn’t completely red, it was now. “Enough about how I got these hickeys, I’m really worried that I’d bore Julieta quickly. She’s great, and I’m just some guy.”
He was simply too stunned to speak by Agustín’s words. “Are you kidding me right now?! You deflowered Julieta out of mutual love, and you’re worried she might not love you because you don’t inhale nicotine?! Unbelievable!”
“W-Well, when you put it like that-”
“You are
not
just some guy, okay?! You are Agustín Rojas, my nephew!” Sebastian reassures him by yelling. “A talented musician and tailor,
and
a great lumberjack! You don’t need tobacco or whatever to look cool. You dance like you own the Town Plaza, and you make everyone smile with your weird sense of humor!”
“But dad likes those jokes…”
“Yeah, of course, dads only like dad jokes, and you got that dad energy in you. Look, you don’t have to be me to keep her entertained. Actually, it’s rare for women to go after someone like you. She’s a treasure, and you better not screw it up.”
“I don’t know… you’re just saying that-”
Sebastian cuts him off once more. “I am your uncle, alright?! I’ve known you and semi-raised you for as long as I could remember. You are a good man, and you two are perfect for each other. Besides, it’s already bad enough you have a bee problem, the last thing we all want is for you to have a lung problem!”
“I guess you do have a point…”
“The notion that mature men smoke can die in hell,” he says before throwing away his pack of cigarettes. “Don’t tell your father, alright?”
“Uhm, okay then…”
“Besides, you two just started out. Every relationship will have some problems, but you two will work toward it. Smoking may feel good at first, but it will haunt you for the rest of your life. While smoking can be the cause of attraction according to some idiots, it's also the same reason why marriages don’t last long or wives turn into widows. You wouldn’t want to leave Julieta alone like that, would you?”
That seemed to be a good point.
Agustín looked down, pondering on what his uncle just said, feeling utterly stupid that he even had the idea to do something that would ultimately kill him. The idea of leaving her alone to grieve was an image he never wanted to imagine again. He just looks and shook his head in response.
“I guess not… god, that was stupid of me to ask, huh?” He asked, letting out a weak chuckle.
“Definitely,” Sebastian answered with no hesitation. He faces Agustín and flicks his forehead. “It’s okay to be stupid, but don’t be that stupid next time.”
“Ow! …n-noted, Tio.” Agustín lays his back on the tree, just staring into nothing. “I still have one question though…”
“And what’s that?”
“Why did you decide to start smoking in the first place? You once said you never saw yourself have a family like my dad. So, what’s the reason?”
He just smiled with that bitter look in his green eyes. “You really think the Madrigal family was the only one severely affected when we had to run away?”
“I…”
“It was hard… leaving your grandparents behind with Emilia and Lorenzo. Smoking was the only way I could feel… any sort of relief. Your dad begged me to stop when your mom got pregnant with you, and at first, I thought that was bullshit. I should smoke all I want, it’s my life! Then… you were born, and you were like a gift from the heavens. So, I decided to stop for you. It wasn’t easy, I always relapse, but I keep trying again and again all for you.”
“For… me?”
“Mhm, and I don’t regret the decision to stop one bit,” he said, his eyes starting to gleam with pride and hope. “And that’s why I don’t want you to smoke, do drugs or go into fights. Between me and Lorenzo, you should be more like your dad–sophisticated, kind, and well-meaning.”
“I think I get it now. Sorry, I even asked… I feel confused about what I should and shouldn’t do,” Agustín admitted, hugging his knees. “I feel like I know what I’m supposed to do, but everyone around me is always different.”
“Just follow your gut. I know you’d do the right thing. Actually, I got an idea! Let’s do something more widely accepted.” Sebastian stood and stretched his legs before gesturing for his nephew to come along with him. “Come on, come on… I think your girlfriend might like this.”
“I- okay…”
Agustín soon followed reluctantly, unsure of what was going to happen. Sebastian points towards a stump that had an axe on it.
“Now, take off that polo of yours! You’re practically sweating all over!”
He does so and drops his shirt on the grass, leaving him with his tank top on. “Okay, then?”
“Pick up the axe and chop the logs over there!” He points at a bunch of long logs that have yet to be cut. “Make sure you put your whole body into it! Don’t forget to hit the same spot every time!”
“Okay!”
And just as he was exactly taught hundred times before, he swung the axe down several times, cutting them evenly. He wasn’t sure what this was for, feeling like this is going to impress nobody. But from the look of his uncle’s smirk, facing towards a different direction, Agustín sees Julieta staring from afar. The axe almost dropped on his foot at the sight of her.
She had her curls tied up into a bun as usual, but her cheeks were flushed. Her hands gripping the ends of her apron, she tried to hide it, but Agustín knew what was going through her mind.
“Well, what are you waiting for, chico? Go talk to your girl!”
He practically shoves Agustín to Julieta and when the two meet face to face, they smiled at each other like idiots.
“H-Hey…” He tries to wave, feeling just as flustered as she was. “Fancy seeing you here while I work. Like the view?”
“Oh, you look very handsome when you’re on the job…” Julieta says as she placed her hands on his forearm, having a feel of it. “Oh, what a lucky woman I am. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“Oh trust me, I have been as well. You want me right now, Juli?”
Julieta just looked at Sebastian, trying to get some sort of approval and he just gave them a thumbs up.
“Just be back before lunch break ends, oh, and use protection.”
Both lovers’ cheeks went really red. Agustín turned to face him and said, “Seriously?!”
“Hey, you both initiated it. Ugh, you’re just as worse as your parents. Just don’t do it here.”
He soon leaves them alone and Agustín just continues to be a flustered mess and he lays his head on his girlfriend’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that…”
“Could’ve been worse. My mother or my siblings would’ve said that. Come on, let’s not waste any more time, hm?”
“I’ll treat you like a queen.” He whispers into her ear as he gently nibbles her neck. “But don’t keep me waiting.”
She only lets out a whimper and frantically nods, taking Agustín’s hand and leading him back to her house, not minding the thousands of eyes watching them.