Page 13 of Wishing for La Luna
"Luna." Adina's voice penetrates the work fog.
"What?" I ask, looking up to find we're already close to the venue.
"What the hell are you doing? I’m talking to you." Her tone is tight, tinged with annoyance.
"Oh.” I look down at the screen and hit save. “Gathering some data for work."
She groans. "Do you ever turn it off? We're going to a Chico Sparx concert, and you're here working."
I don't miss the way the driver's eyes slide to the side of his head to meet mine. I can almost hear the comment "some of us have to work for a living" hanging in the air. But Adina doesn't know better.
"Girl, I am riding in a car, doing nothing. I might as well put my brain to good use."
"We're here, and you're hanging out with us. We need your attention too,” she whines.
"I'm letting you and Thierry have your time alone," I insist. Because there’s no way I’m going to be sitting around watching them make out, even if their tongues didn’t slip out of their mouths so often.
Yuck.
"I'm obviously not doing it right because she's more worried about you than me." Thierry’s tone is testy.
"It's not that, babe. You know you're my number one, but I want my number two to chat it up with us."
More slurping sounds, and I'm ready to jump out of the still-moving vehicle. Thankfully, we arrive, and in the next two minutes, we are ushered inside the Coliseum. The interior is designed like a Roman amphitheater, with the stage situated in the center.
Thierry takes us backstage, where we get to say hello to Chico Sparx. He’s short but muscular, with a sharp sense of style. His baby face does justice to his name. He hugs Thierry and Adina, who turn away to greet someone else. Chico turns to me and despite meeting him at a few parties, I’m not famous, so I always feel like I have to introduce myself. "I'm Luna Santos."
His eyes light up. "I remember you, gorgeous Luna. We definitely need to have you in one of our videos." His gaze drifts behind me. "Rio, let me introduce you to some friends."
My back stiffens, but he's in my line of vision before I can even fix my face. Our gazes meet, and his eyes do a quick scan over me. Then, he makes that face like he just had a shot of vinegar.No, he’s not happy to see me either.
Thankfully, it’s been a while since our paths have crossed. I let my gaze slide over him, too. Is it me or does he seem a little more jacked? The black t-shirt clings to his body like honey to a jar. Yeah, those shoulders and arms have definitely filled up since the day we chatted at Niko’s party.
"Hi, Luna." The face that makes thousands of girls scream and panties rain on the stage dissolves into a half-smile. It's tight, polite, and dry.
"Rio," I say, matching his energy.
"You know each other?" Chico asks.
"Yeah," we both say but don’t elaborate.
Chico opens his mouth, but Thierry hands me a drink. I thank him and take a sip while all three men stare at me.
Chico looks at Rio. “I was telling Luna she should be in one of our videos. People would love her face and her body—no offense.”
"Hi, Rio."
He turns to Adina and smiles from ear to ear, and it’s genuine, unlike his strained expression for me. "So good to see you."
I fight the urge to roll my eyes.What a perro.
They exchange pleasantries while I chat with Chico and Thierry. I take a big sip of my drink, suddenly thirsty. It's only when Rio walks away that I can easily breathe. I hate that man so much that I'll never be comfortable around him. I just wish he wasn’t so fine.
I need to vet the places I go with Adina more carefully from now on to avoid running into him.
When we get to our seats, she leans to whisper in my ear, "Rio is such a dog. He was coming on to me with Thierry only a few feet away."
Funny, I didn’t hear any of that.He talked to her about the weather, her new energy drink campaign, and his upcoming tour. At no point did he seem to get close to her. But I wasn’t paying close attention.
