6. Hayden #2
While Río hashes it out with his manager, I dump the rest of the alcoholic contents from the fridge into the garbage, leaving sodas and water. Plus the nuts and candy. He can get high off chocolate.
Off his phone, Río marches over to me. His gaze searches the bin in my hands, which I move behind my back. “I’m not letting you drink something you shouldn’t.”
“If I can’t have anything in here, I’m going out.” He turns and stomps over into the bathroom.
Great. My body needs rest, especially if I’m expected to handle him. Seems like this will be a test for both of us.
I enter my own room, opening my luggage.
My usual routine is to spend fifteen minutes putting all of my clothes and toiletries away.
For tonight, though, I select a pair of dark pants with a cute top and do a fast change.
I have no idea how quick a dresser Río is, but I can’t leave anything up to chance.
I’m changing my shoes when I hear Río’s bedroom door shut.
Standing up, I grab my purse, phone, and room key and scramble to the living room. The damn drummer is over in the kitchen, so I relocate next to him at the fridge, where he’s reaching for a beer. “I wouldn’t if I were you.”
Note to self. Do a sweep of the room before he gets here. Better yet, ask the hotel not to stock alcohol in his rooms. Yes. I’ll make this request of Luke tomorrow.
“It’s only a beer. Barely any alcoholic content in it at all.”
“Sober.”
“Fuck you.” Río lets the bottle go. “I’m going out. I seriously doubt you can keep up with me.” He turns and walks to the door.
“Be ready to be surprised.” I follow him, hard on his heels.
After a quick elevator ride down, during which we don’t say a word to each other, Río walks through the lobby and exits into the crowded street. My watch says it’s nearly eleven o’clock. The Spanish must never sleep.
We walk through the bustling streets for about a block before he turns into a club.
Great. How am I going to keep him on the right path when he has absolutely no desire to be there?
Well, he’s literally my job. Plus, Bennett’s ten grand rides on me keeping him sober is all the extra incentive I need, and I follow him to the bar.
The bartender approaches Río. “I’d like a Gold Rush.”
The bartender’s head tilts. At least he doesn’t know English—and I took Spanish for several years in school.
“Hola, él quiere una cerveza sin alcohol.” I point at Río.
“No bebe.” Let’s hope a nonalcoholic beer tricks him.
“Y quiero una coca cola dietética.” I’ll need all the caffeine I can get.
Even though I’d love to have a red wine, a diet soda is the smarter choice for me. This is shaping up to be a long night.
Our drinks are handed to us, and we maneuver our way to the side. Río quirks his eyebrow at his brew. He sniffs it like it’s poison, then takes a quick sip. And another. “Nice try, Babysitter. I don’t do this nonalcoholic shit.” He slams the drink onto a nearby table and walks away from me.
My eyelids shut. Give me strength.
This time, instead of returning to the bar, he heads for the dance floor.
His not causing a scene might be even more difficult than not letting him drink.
He raises both hands into the air and I suck in a breath.
He’s wearing one of the new shirts we bought in Rome and I mutter, “Please don’t take it off.
” For the moment, I’m safe. He doesn’t try to unbutton anything.
He dances around to a few different groups.
Of course, he gathers women like the Pied Piper, and soon is the center of attention of a group of at least eight.
Since he’s on the dance floor, I sway in the outer perimeter.
Not part of his harem, but close enough I can swoop in and stop any bad behavior.
Such as drinking from the ladies’ cups. Seriously? And they’re letting him? Should I step in? Bennett’s bet on the plane makes me take a couple of steps toward him. He has the gall to point at me with a glass, and the group of women surrounding him all look at me.
I’m only here to do a job. Knowing I have to get the upper hand, I approach the nearest girl glaring at me. How fun is this? “Do you speak English?”
“Sí.”
Praying she really can understand me, I point. “He’s my brother. He just had a bad accident. I’m thrilled he feels well enough to come out here, but the doctors warned against any alcohol for at least the next six months. He doesn’t like listening to the doctors though. It makes me worried.”
“Oh. How awful. I will talk with my friends and we won’t give him any more drinks. Is dancing alright?”
I lean forward. “I know he would love to let loose, but really only for a couple of songs.”
She nods and goes to talk with her friends. Plus others in the club. I step back and watch as glasses are not offered to him. Río dances with a bunch of Spanish ladies, who smile and flirt with him, but don’t do anything extra. Seems my ruse worked.
When the fifth song comes on, the ladies huddle around him, then leave the dance floor. Río walks over to me. “They had to use the ladies’ room.”
“Ah.” Smart way to handle the recovering patient. “Are you ready to go back to the hotel?”
He looks around the club, but nothing makes him puff up. “I guess. This place blows.”
He leaves me and walks toward the front door. I trail behind him in case he takes any detours. I wave to the bartender and exit onto the street. Río’s hands drum a beat on his leg and his entire body gets into whatever song’s inside his mind.
When he takes a break, I ask, “New song?”
His head swivels toward mine. “Working on one. It’s called, ‘Ditching the Babysitter’.”
I bite my lip to prevent myself from smiling, but his grumbling is funny. “I bet it’s destined to be a huge hit.”
“We’ll see.”
We re-enter the hotel’s lobby. “Why don’t you go up to the room? I’ll hang out down here for a little bit.”
“I don’t think so.” There has to be a bar around here somewhere. “Good try, though.”
He blows up. “Seriously! You’re getting on my last nerve.”
I take in the patrons milling around the lobby as well as the staff. He needs to keep it down, but I can’t tell him that. I tip my chin upward and match his volume. “You’re no walk in the park either.”
Río looks stunned I called him out. Guess he’s not used to that. Good to know.
His brows pull together. “I saw you dancing in the club. Looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
“It was a cool place.” I’m interested in seeing how he responds.
“The chicks were alright, but I couldn’t get into them. They treated me like a freaking piece of glass or something.”
I keep my mouth closed. Have to remember to reuse this story.
“Are you seriously following me to the bar?”
“It’s my job.” Please say you’re done and want to go to the room. The caffeine helped give me a second wind, but I’m fading fast.
“This is wack. Come on.” He stomps through the lobby toward the elevators.
As I trail behind him, I realize I’m going to have to set up some sort of booby trap on his bedroom door. If he tries to escape, I need to be on full alert. We ascend to our floor, and this time I take the lead and unlock the door to the suite.
“Back so soon,” Río says to the empty suite. He opens the fridge and curses. “What happened to all the good stuff?”
“I made a call to the hotel when we were at the club. Only trying to make things easier for you. Remove temptation.”
He walks over to the beverage bar, now only stocked with coffees and teas. “This whole thing sucks.”
“Listen, it’s late. Why don’t you go to bed and sleep. I bet everything will look better in the morning.” Once I get the door to his room set up.
“I doubt it.” Leaving me in the kitchen, he storms into his bedroom and slams the door.
I collapse against the quartz countertop, relieved he didn’t bring one of the women from the club back here with him. I set about looking for something that will make a noise if he leaves his room during the middle of the night. I seriously wouldn’t put anything past him.
After grabbing some string and a pair of metal tongs, I stretch the string across his door in a large X and hook the tongs onto it. If he tries to leave, they’ll clatter so loud they’ll wake the dead.
Satisfied, I slip into my own room and collapse onto the bed. My eyes slam shut. This leg of the tour can’t end soon enough.