Bang, crash, boom!
“Sorry.” Bernadette laughs. She’s tripped over someone’s shoes.
Basil walks headfirst into the bunk bed and bounces onto the floor. The room is in a fit of giggles. Everyone has just arrived home, and they are rolling blind drunk.
Christopher’s arm is around me from behind, our bodies spooned up against each other.
“Hey.” Bernadette gasps loudly. “No hanky-panky between roommates, remember?”
“Go to bed, Bernadette,” Christopher snaps impatiently.
Basil goes to climb the ladder into his bed and falls spectacularly on the floor to the sound of everyone hysterically laughing.
Bodie tries to shush everyone. “Shh.”
I open my sleepy eyes to see that it’s daylight. “What time is it?”
Christopher picks up his phone. “Nine a. m.”
“Where have you guys been all night?” I frown.
“Beach party.”
“I fucked in the ocean,” Bodie slurs.
“With a sea monster,” Basil adds. They all burst out laughing again.
I focus enough to realize I have something hard in my back, and I frown.
“Dick. Out. Of. Back,” I grumble. “Now.”
“Sorry.” Christopher moves back from me. “It’s morning.”
We lie for a while. “I’m hungry,” I say. “If we don’t eat now, we will miss the free breakfast.”
“Hmm.” Christopher moans.
“Come on.” I get out of bed and put my hair up. I walk out the door to get my clothes from my locker, and Eduardo is standing patiently in the corridor.
He smiles. “Hello.”
“Hi.” I frown. “What . . .” I look around. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to help Mr. Christo.”
“Oh.” I smile. My god, he’s so cute. “I’ll get him. Wait here.”
I walk back in the room and drop to my knees on the bed. “You have a little friend waiting out there for you.”
Christopher frowns. “Huh?”
“Eduardo is out there waiting to help Mr. Christo.”
He screws up his face. “He is not.”
“He is. Get up.”
Christopher climbs out of bed and walks into the corridor. His hair is all disheveled, and he’s wearing only boxer shorts. “Hey, buddy.” He frowns. “What’s going on?”
“I’m here to help you,” Eduardo replies eagerly. “What would you like me to do today?”
I smile as I watch. Cuteness overload.
“Oh,” Christopher replies as he scratches his head. “Umm . . . okay.” He looks over to me as if confused what to say next.
“Why don’t you give us ten minutes to get ready, and then we can talk about it?” I reply.
“All right.”
“Meet you in the restaurant?” I ask him.
He nods and happily trots off.
Christopher watches him disappear. “I’ve got no fucking jobs for this kid to do,” he whispers.
“Then you better make some up.”
An hour later, we walk down the street, in search of coffee.
Just the three of us.
“So we go to San Sebastián tomorrow until Thursday,” Christopher tells Eduardo. “We will be back then for four days. It would be great if you could try and find us a job for weekends. I mean, no pressure or anything.”
“Okay.” He listens intently as he walks along. “Can you do waiter?”
“No,” I interrupt. “He’s a terrible waiter.”
Christopher rolls his eyes. “Admitted, I’m not a great waiter.”
The boy smiles.
“And Hayden,” Christopher says.
“Hayz . . .” Eduardo frowns as he tries to say it. “Hayzzz.”
“Call me Hazy. Everyone does at home,” I tell him.
“Lazy Hazy,” Christopher replies. “Sounds about right.”
“Shut up.” I sigh.
“She needs a job, like . . . fishing or something,” Christopher continues.
I giggle. “No fish.”
The boy smiles too. “Call me Eddie.”
“All right, that’s easier.”
We get to a café, and Christopher hands him some money. “Can you go and get two cappuccinos, please, and one hot chocolate.”
Eddie nods and takes the money and walks inside. Christopher smirks as he watches him.
“Are we going to talk about last night?” I ask him.
“Nope,” he replies, his eyes still fixed on Eddie.
“I mean, I had some very good points.”
“That we are not discussing. Drop it.”
“I didn’t even kiss him.”
“Don’t care.”
“Really . . . don’t care even a little bit?”
“Shut up, Grumps.”
I smile. He called me Grumps. I know that I’m forgiven.
Eduardo returns with a tray, and he passes it over. Christopher takes out the hot chocolate and passes it back to him. “For you.”
Eddie’s face falls, and he looks up at Christopher as if he has just given him a sports car.
My heart constricts in my chest . . . oh.
“But I . . . ,” he stammers. “I’ve never . . .”
“Drink it,” Christopher orders. “Be careful, it’s hot.”
We turn and walk back to the hostel, and I’m filled with emotion at the look on Eddie’s face. He’s so proud to be drinking his hot chocolate.
I can’t make eye contact with Christopher, or I may just burst into tears.
I know he’s a player and he’s not the kind of guy that would ever fall for me or vice versa, but maybe there’s more to him underneath the surface than I initially thought.
Maybe he’s the kind of person that could actually help me loosen up.
No . . . he’s a heartbreak waiting to happen.
Forget it.
I watch Christopher watch Eddie as he smiles proudly with his hot chocolate, and my heart somersaults in my chest.
Out of all the things that I’ve done on this trip, or perhaps even ever, being here for Eddie’s first hot chocolate tops the list.