Translation of Love (19 page)

“Listen, Ellie, don’t let our overbearing mother get to you. She’s too focused on Victor’s career to care about anything else. No matter what happens though, we’ve got your back.”

Oh my God, he’s just as sweet as his brother. “Thanks, Alex.”

“You’re welcome.” He pats his hands down on his thighs and looks at Victor. “Alright, Bro, you ready to get this song done?”

“Let’s do it.”

Once Victor gets behind the glass, separating the sound booth from the rest of the studio, time seems to fly by. I’m amazed by how they break down the songs line by line singing them over and over until they get the right take. He and Alex work well together, bouncing ideas off of one another, experimenting with different beats and lyrics. Alex spends a good portion of the time translating the songs for me as Victor sings them. He tells me that because Spanish is a romance language, it’s hard to capture the essence of the song when it’s translated. He also lets me look on as he navigates his equipment. I can see why the two of them love being here so much. I love being here with them.

Once they’re satisfied with the progress they’ve made, Victor steps out of the booth and plops down on a chair.

“So what’d you think, Babe?”

“I can see why you love recording so much. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Cool, you hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“How bout some Cuban food?”

“Sure,” I turn to Alex, “How bout you, you want Cuban?”

“You two go ahead. I don’t wanna intrude.”

“It’s alright, Lex, we don’t mind.”

He looks between Victor and me, trying to decide whether he wants to be a third wheel or not. “Alright, if you guys insist.”

Victor texts Rob to bring the car around. I hadn’t noticed he left. He really is good at being invisible.

“Rob’s in the lobby. Let’s roll,” Victor says, linking his fingers through mine and pulling me from my chair. The three of us board the elevator, taking it down to the lobby, where Rob is waiting. Together we walk to the car. Alex takes the front seat, leaving Victor and I in the back. He snuggles me into his side and whispers in my ear, “Told ya he’d love you.” The comment makes me smile. I bring up my left hand to grab his hand. “I really like him too, and you two together are adorable.”

“Adorable?” He looks down at me looking almost disgusted, like a child that’s just tasted a dreaded dose of medicine. “Babe! I’m sexy, never adorable.”

“Okay calm down, sexy. I meant it in the best possible way.”

He brings his mouth back to my ear. “I can’t wait to get you home. I’ll make sure you never mistake me for adorable again.”

The tone of his voice, tells me he means it. It’s a promise and I’m looking forward to being on the receiving end of. I lick my lips. “Oh, is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” he says, licking my earlobe.

My heart rate increases. “I’m looking forward to it.” Lately, I feel like someone’s taken over my body. The me that I created two years ago would never say or do the things I’ve done in the last few days. That girl wouldn’t even be here, she’d be locked away in her house, alone on a Saturday night. I can’t say that I miss her. What I do miss is the protection she affords to my heart. Without that protection, I’m vulnerable, and I hate that I’ve given Victor enough power to hurt me. It’s too late now. He has all the tools to do me in. My only option is to try to keep what’s left of my defenses intact.

Once at the restaurant, we get seated immediately at a secluded table in the rear. What a sight we must be, me surrounded by three hot men. The thought of it makes me smile. The waitress eyes me suspiciously as she takes our drink order.

“Three Coronas… What do you want, Babe?” Victor asks.

“I’ll have a Mango Mojito, please.”

“Sure,” the waitress says. “Do you all know what you’d like to order, or would you like a few more minutes?”

“Do you need help with the menu?”

I look up at Victor and shake my head. Turning my head toward the waitress and sounding super confident, I place my order. “I’d like the Churrasco a la Cubana with a side of white rice and black beans, please.”

When I turn back to my group, they’re all staring at me, mouths wide open like I’ve just cracked an impossible code. “What? Just cause I’m white I can’t like Cuban food?” The boys erupt in laughter. Victor puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in and placing a kiss on my head.

I’m stunned at how comfortable I am around the three of them. The conversation flows easily throughout dinner as we trade stories about any and everything. Alex is quick to tell me as many embarrassing stories about Victor as he can remember. I’ve heard stories of crazy girls ripping his clothes off of him to stories of him forgetting lyrics and falling on stage. The drinks are flowing and I know I need to stop. I’m finishing up my third Mojito and I’m starting to get the swimmy feeling in my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Victor straighten his spine. He murmurs a curse under his breath.

Alex is less discreet. “Oh, hell no!” he says. I look around the table and see that everyone is on high alert. Before I can ask anyone what’s wrong, a tall, leggy blonde approaches our table. I recognize her from the article I read this morning. This is Christina, Victor’s ex. I let out a sigh and do my best to get my emotions in check.

“Victor,” she says coming over to him, she bends and places a kiss on his cheek.

“Hello, Christina,” he replies icily.

She stands again taking in the rest of us. She barely looks at Rob, but pays particular attention to me and Alex. “Alex, nice to see you again. Who’s your friend?” she asks, referring to me.

“Actually, Christina,” Alex begins but is quickly interrupted.

“This is Ellie, she’s
my
girlfriend,” Victor finishes, putting his arm around my shoulder possessively but never taking his eyes off of her. Her eyes go wide. She looks like someone’s just smacked her in her pretty little face. I can see her emotions run from hurt to angry in the span of ten seconds. Victor tenses and I can tell he’s prepared for a battle.

Christina recovers quickly. She squares her shoulders and plasters a fake smile on her lips. “Well, Ellie, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m Christina, Victor’s…”

“I know who you are,” I interrupt. I don’t need the reminder of who she is or was.

“Yes, I suppose you do.” She turns her head slightly, looking down on Victor. “Let me know when you get tired of your poor replacement.”

Victor moves to stand. He looks furious, but Alex is out of his chair in seconds, crossing around the table and grabbing her by the elbow. I find my voice before he can drag her out of there. “Excuse me?” I ask with pure venom in my voice. “I’m no ones replacement. I’m the upgrade. You’ll do well to remember that. I don’t know who the hell you think you are but I will rip you to shreds if you get in my face or come near Victor again.”

Victor’s jaw drops as I stare her down. I can tell he’s holding back laughter. Rob’s head bows down and Alex just beams at me. Christina glares at me. “Little bitch!” she spits out.

Victor strengthens his hold on me so that he can keep me in my chair, and Alex quickly ushers her away from our table. “What a fucking bitch!” I say to no one in particular.

Rob stands. “I’m going to make sure she leaves,” he says, walking toward the exit, leaving Victor and I alone. I wish he wouldn’t have left because now I’m pissed even though I know I shouldn’t be. I know it’s not Victor’s fault but that woman brought out the claws in me and I’m having a hard time retracting them.

“Babe, I’m so sorry.” His tension is visible.

“Don’t, I really don’t wanna hear it.” He looks stunned at my response but is careful controlling his emotions before we cause a scene. “I’m tired. Can you just get me out of here, please?”

I can’t read the look on his face. I know I’m acting like a brat but I need sufficient time to cool off. “I can get you out of here.” He stands, pulls his wallet from his back pocket, throws down enough money to cover the bill and tip and pulls me up. Walking in front of me, he leads me swiftly out of the restaurant.

Outside, Rob is standing by the car, holding the door open for us. Alex pulls me away from Victor and envelops me in a hug. He leans in close so that only I can hear and says, “Don’t let her ruin a good thing. He doesn’t love her, he wants you.”

I nod my head. “I know,” I whisper back, not sure if I mean it.

“Don’t be so hard on him, okay?” Alex releases me. “I’m taking a cab,” he says to Victor. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Victor nods, grabbing my hand again and helping me into the car. He gets in beside me. Moments later, we’re on our way back to his place. Victor’s looking out the window. I’m pretty sure he’s mad now too. I decide that I’m ready to discuss the incident now.

“Victor.”

He cuts me off. “Not here.”

I sink into the seat and nod. He’s right. We shouldn’t do this in front of poor Rob. I know that this isn’t Victor’s fault. I do, but my brain is not listening. All I can hear is the jealousy raging throughout every pore of my body. I spend the remainder of the ride trying to calm down my crazy insecurities, but I fail. I was okay when Christina was just a picture in a paper that his mom left behind, but having met her in the flesh is just too much. I’m mounting my defenses and my instinct to flee is kicking in. Irrational or not, I don’t care. Suddenly, all of the progress I’ve made has disintegrated into dust.

We make it into the apartment and immediately I run upstairs to Victor’s bedroom. I can’t have this confrontation with him, because if anyone can pacify me he can. He follows me into his room. Doing my best to ignore him, I grab my bag. Luckily, the only thing I need to repack is my toothbrush and makeup. I keep hold of my bag as I walk into his bathroom. Quickly, I grab my things and toss them in my bag. I exit the bathroom and he’s standing there looking completely dumbfounded.

“What the hell are you doing, Ellie?” Victor questions, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving!” I say, raising my voice. I walk around him and head back downstairs. Victor’s right on my heels.

“I know that, but why? I mean what the fuck? I didn’t do anything wrong. You must know that, right?” Of course I know that, but I’m already too deep into the tantrum and now I have to commit to it.

“I didn’t come here to get insulted by the women in your life,” I spit out, turning to face him. “I think this is more than I bargained for and I’m certainly more than you bargained for.”

“Oh, I see,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. “You just couldn’t fucking wait to find something that you could twist and turn on me so that you could end this.”

I square my shoulders and stand a little straighter. “Or maybe I just realized it wasn’t worth it.” There she is, the girl I created to protect my heart. I can’t explain why I’m doing this. I guess old habits are hard to break. I want to stay with him. I want to tell him that I was wrong, that my fear grabs hold of me so tightly that it makes it hard for me to breathe, but I can’t. So I let him stare at me with obvious pain in his eyes, doing nothing to remedy the hurt.

Finally, he speaks. “If this is how you wanna act, when something happens between us, go, Ellie. I’ll make sure Rob gets you home.”

“I don’t need Rob to get me home. I’ll get myself home.” I throw his generosity in his face.

“Right, cause you don’t need anyone!” he says, having a hard time controlling his anger.