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•"Are you texting her?""No.""You're hilarious.""Shut up." Théo hunched closer to the table and checked his phone. The smirk on his best friend's face wasn't because of the alcohol, he knew.Tomek quit grinning and shifted in his seat to glance over the well-lit stage below them. "She looks great," Tomek said after spending a while watching tonight's performers.Théo let his gaze drift to the right half of the curved platform, where the tall bassist and the only female vocalist onstage were positioned. Midway on the stage stood Veronica. She stood behind a microphone stand. The black pantsuit she had on made her look like a young company executive, as opposed to a frequently touring musician."That's Ed, right?" asked Tomek.Théo put his beer glass back on the table and answered with a small nod. He took another quick look at the band in performance; the Brooklyn-based indie-rock quartet were the last performers for tonight.Ed, the band's vocalist, was now belting the song's verse.
•"How's Harriet?""Working on her book.""Her third, right?"Kyle looked up from the score papers he'd been looking at for the past half-hour. "Her novel's still in progress. The third one's non-fiction, I think," he muttered while he slumped on the hotel bed. "Pretty busy.""And still single?" Veronica asked, her voice a bit hushed. She was busy combing her hair in the bathroom. The door was ajar, and her black skirt's frills looked as wavy as her brown locks."Doesn't want distractions," he replied shortly after ignoring the suggestive manner of her question."'Course. Writing's intricate, time-consuming, and..."Kyle continued to stare at the papers he held. It had notes that she'd composed over the last two nights. He could use them in the bridge of their new song, with some vocal layers fo
•It was his latest text. No— The one before that...Or maybe it was the voice message he sent this morning?There was just something in his voice that triggered a memory she'd rather not dwell on tonight. Veronica tossed her phone onto the bed, opting to ignore another text from the guy. Because if she replied to let him know she was still up, Théo would definitely call and keep her awake for another hour.She just wasn't in the mood to talk. Chat. Ask how his day was. If he was in New York already, so on...Maybe tomorrow. Or next week. And besides, he had lots of other momentary diversions he could call up. She wasn't jealous, though. Well...maybe just a little. For tonight, though, she'd sleep the stress off. Veronica scanned the room for a fat, black furball with a lazy crooked tail. She sighed and remembered her cat was at her mom's again. She wouldn't be able to spoil and cuddle him for another couple of months; the band still had several more shows to play to promote the
•"Where were you?"Théo stepped out of the rental car after he saw Anastasia's death glare as she approached the driver's side. He slammed the door shut and locked the car. A thin coat of dust had overlain the black roof and hood."Where have you been?""Go back inside; it's gonna rain," he muttered in response. The sky just got darker. Like his mood."Do I look like I give a shit?"He placed his fist over his mouth to try to obscure the sight of him gritting his teeth. He expected this reaction from her, but did she really have to swear at him?He looked in the direction of the hotel's main entrance.It was another pricey five-star hotel near Sunset Boulevard, and he knew she would be paying for a week-long stay using her credit card—paid for by her parents, of course—just so she could join
•"Tomorrow night?" "Yeah. Why? Are you supposed to..." Anastasia frowned slightly. "You have another meeting tomorrow?"Théo held back a sigh of frustration and pocketed his phone. Gillaume just texted him coordinates again. He was expecting another dropped call, but the coordinates meant Gillaume was ready to meet up any minute now.Meaning, she was already in the States. In New York, maybe? The agency also had headquarters in the East Coast."I can call the...we can do the morning after. Or the day after that," Ana said when he kept hesitating. "You're gonna be busy all day tomorrow?""Yeah. I need to be back in New York tomorrow afternoon." "What?" Ana pulled a face. "You just arrived.""Gotta meet up with someone from the agency. I have to clear up my schedule before we go to Rome. Let them know I'll be unavailable." "Okay," she replied with a faint nod that indicated some uncertainty. "Booked a flight yet?""No. I just got the text. Meeting with them tomorrow evening." He had
• Columbia •"Are you sleeping there? At the hospital?""No. I'm heading back to the hotel in a bit.""Alright," he said, pausing to heave another sigh. "You okay, babe?""Yeah." Veronica couldn't help smiling again, appreciating the genuine concern in his voice. They hadn't been texting or talking on the phone lately. She had been avoiding him for more than a week now, actually.But of course she missed him a lot...and she couldn't just say no to his invitation. No matter how busy her schedule was, she would make time for him. They had a lot to talk over. She didn't even know how to begin."Had dinner yet?" Théo asked next."Sandwich. What about you? Why're you leaving so soon? Tomorrow night?""I gotta...flight to catch. To Italy. Gotta stay there a while for a job.""Oh. Okay." She pulled a face. "Like a week?""Possibly longer. Want me to pick you up?""No. I'll drive," she insisted. "Text me which hotel.""Okay. Thanks. You feelin' okay?" "Why?""You sound sick.""Just allergies.
•Veronica shut the bathroom door and let go of the cold doorknob. The drawn curtains dimmed the room to an extent, but not enough to hide her face from his scrutinizing gaze.Her legs felt like they'd regained full mobility after a moment of her just sitting motionless on the bathroom floor, so she took quiet steps towards the hotel bed. It would be dawn in a couple of hours, and neither of them seemed eager to call it a night. She forced her feet to keep moving as her eyes centered on the guy hunched over on the bed.His dark clothing emphasized the yellowish covers. Théo's left arm was bent because he was nail biting—a habit she thought he had grown out of. Crumpled in his other hand was the small paper bag from the drugstore.She stood still by the foot of the bed and watched, feigning calmness and apathy to obscure the fact that she was having trouble getting a word