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Chapter Twenty-One
The band flew from London to Barcelona the following morning, while Vivi took a private plane so she could swing by Portugal for some sort of birthday party for another famous person or an agent or executive or something. Barcelona was a strange combination of touristy old-world Spain and bustling city—yellows and golds and creams against sleek steel and tinted car windows. Remy knew a fair amount of Spanish—he was from Florida, after all, even if it was just the panhandle—but found it was utterly useless given the speed and accent of the Spaniards who warmly smiled but bustled about their lives around him and David as they ducked out of their hotel to find something to eat.
“Never been here, right?” David said.
“Never left the United States before London.”
“You picked a hell of a way to do it,” David answered, grinning. “Street food in Barcelona is amazing, man.”
David was right. The churros they bought from a vendor were so good that Remy didn’t hold back when they passed a butcher shop selling bocadillos—strange little crusty bread sandwiches full of meats or cheese or fish—at a table by the street. They were in line to buy horchata to drink when Remy’s phone rang. Vivi’s name popped up and, likely without meaning to, David saw it.
“Boss is calling,” he said, lifting his eyebrows.
“Yeah, um—”
“Go on, I’ll get you one,” David said, waving him out of the line. Remy gave him a quick smile and answered, holding the phone tight to his ear.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she answered, and she sounded relieved. “I’m on a plane from Portugal right now. It’s the first free moment I’ve had basically all day. I’m sorry I missed you last night.”
“It’s okay,” Remy said. “I was just—I thought—”
“I missed you,” she said plainly, and Remy found his eyes wandering skyward, like she might be able to meet his from a plane window. “Sorry,” she said quickly. “Is that weird? I made it weird.”
“It’s not weird,” Remy said.
“Anyway—I found some studio space in Madrid, if you want to go put down rough cuts of that track there. Do you have time?” she asked.
“I can pencil you in,” Remy joked, wondering what else she thought he might be doing—and wondering if she even remembered that she’d told the radio station, not him, that they’d be recording the song soon.
“’K—tomorrow morning? We’re supposed to be there by ten o’clock, if the buses leave on time tonight.”
“Sounds good,” Remy said. “See you then.”
Vivi paused. “Are you with someone else? Someone that you’re trying to be all…what the hell was it—buttoned up. Yes—all buttoned-up Remy with?”
“I am,” Remy said curtly, simultaneously relieved that she didn’t think he was being cold to her and humored that she’d caught him.
Vivi made a sound that Remy knew came with a particularly sneaky sort of smile she wore sometimes, something between a sigh and a laugh. “Does this mean it’s a terrible time to say that I’m thinking about kissing you?”
“It’s not the best,” Remy said tightly.
“Because,” Vivi said, voice dropping to a low whisper, “I have to be totally honest, I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day. If we’re beingtotallyhonest, I’ve been thinking about kissing you more and more until it can hardly be described askissinganymore—”
“Okay, Vivi, sounds good,” Remy said in a choked voice.
She laughed. “I’ll see you at sound check, if nothing else?”
“Of course,” he said, swallowing hard and trying to think of particularly unsexy things—naked grandmothers and cold swimming pools and the smell of eggs cooking.
They were no match for the memory of kissing her.
***
He met Vivi in her Madrid hotel lobby—which was grandiose to the point of tackiness—the following morning. He’d raced back to the bus to get some sleep right after the show the night prior but hadn’t slept particularly well; he felt foggy and slow. Vivi, however, was bright and shiny, with a large cup of coffee in hand and a loose sweater draped around her shoulders, falling to the top of high-waisted jeans that just barely hit her belly button.
“That’s what you’re wearing to record in?” Remy asked, looking at her banana-yellow heels. They made her a few inches taller than him.
