“Can’t wait.” Zack smiles.

“Goodbye,” Christopher snaps as he grabs my hand. “We have to go, Hayden.”

I frown. That’s the first time I can remember that he’s ever said my name.

“Who is he?” Christopher snaps as we walk away.

“I met him last night. We talked for hours.”

“When?” He scoffs. “I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

“While you were entertaining your harem.” I smile. I turn my head to watch Zack walk away in the other direction. “Cute, huh?”

“I don’t like him,” he snaps.

“You don’t even know him.”

“Well, what does he do for a job?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? This is need-to-know information, Hayden.”

“Why are you calling me Hayden all of a sudden? Are you Grumps now?”

“Shut up,” he scoffs as we walk along. “Where does he come from?”

“Hawaii.”

“Hawaii,” he snaps. “Why would he be here? Isn’t he on vacation all year round?”

“What is wrong with you?” I frown.

“Nothing.” He stomps along, clearly annoyed. “You told me you weren’t dating, that’s all.”

“I never said I wasn’t dating; I said I had no interest in sharing body fluids with someone I don’t know.”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be crass.”

“What?” I huff. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black. Every second thing you say is sexual. Your name is Christopher Crass.”

“Don’t try and be cute,” he snaps as he walks in front of me. “Save it for Zack.”

“Okay.” I walk along. “I will . . . and besides—”

He cuts me off. “Don’t talk to me.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Are you jealous?”

“No. I’m not fucking jealous. I don’t get jealous.”

“Whatever.” I roll my eyes.

He turns back again. “Does he know that I sleep with you and we spoon in bed?”

I frown. What the fuck is going on here? “Umm . . . for your information, lover boy, you crashed in my bed after you had an orgy with two girls. It wasn’t exactly a romantic moment.”

“There was no orgy,” he barks as he keeps marching along. “There were only two of them.”

“Oh.” I throw my hands up. “Can you listen to yourself? It’s okay for you to sleep with every woman in town. I’m meeting a guy in a club, and you’re carrying on like a pork chop.”

“I don’t care what you do,” he snaps.

“Good,” I snap back.

We walk home in silence. How did such a wonderful day end with a childish tantrum? He’s stomping along like the Hulk.

“You know, you’re cute when you’re angry,” I tease.

“Shut up.” He turns back to me like the devil himself. “Walk faster. You need to get ready for your date.”

I dig out my razor from a shopping bag and hold it up. “You’re right, I do.” I smile as I wiggle my eyebrows.

His eyes bulge from their sockets. “You’re not sleeping with him, Hayden. Get that out of your head right fucking now. You are staying at fucking one.”

“What is your problem?” I ask.

“Nothing.” He keeps walking.

“You have a harem, Christopher. Why would you care about me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he snaps. “I don’t.”

“Okay, fine.” We arrive at our hostel and walk up the steps.

“Fine,” he says. “Go shave your pussy.”

I begin to fume. Is he fucking serious?

“I will.”

CHRISTOPHER

I sit at the bar of the hostel. I got ready and came straight down here. Don’t want to be anywhere near that annoying woman. I lift a beer to my lips and tip my head back. I mean, if she wants to fuck around . . . then it’s on her. But she can’t come crying to me when her knight in shining armor turns out to be a cockhead.

I’ll be busy.

I see a small person coming through the front doors, and I smile. Here he comes.

“Hey,” he says happily.

“Hi.”

He puts on an apron.

“How did you go getting your phone fixed?” I ask.

He shrugs as he begins to pick up the glasses and load them into the dishwasher. “I didn’t go to the store yet.”

“Oh . . .” I watch him for a moment. “I went into one today and asked how much it is going to cost to get it repaired.”

“What did they say?”

A man comes and stands at the bar. “One minute,” Eduardo says to me. He walks over to the man. “Was wird es sein?” (Translation: What will it be?)

“Pilsner.”

“Drei Euro.” He gets a beer and opens it and passes it over.

The guy pays him and walks off. Eduardo comes back to me and begins loading the glasses again.

“How many languages do you speak?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “A few. Only what I pick up in here.”

“So anyway, about your phone.”

He keeps loading the cups, seemingly uninterested.

“The guy told me that it’s too old to get fixed. They can’t get the parts.”

His eyes flick up. “I knew it.” His shoulders slump in defeat.

I slide the box over. “I got you something.”

He frowns. His eyes rise to meet mine. “Why?”

“I just”—I shrug—“felt bad that I distracted you and you dropped your phone.”

He keeps loading glasses. “You didn’t distract me.”

I tap the box. “Open it.”

“I’m good.”

“Open it,” I demand.

He exhales heavily and opens the box. A brand-spanking-new iPhone stares back at him.

His mouth falls open, and his eyes flick up.

I smile broadly. “Surprise.”

His face falls, and he slams it back at me. “I’m not like that, okay?”

“Like what?” I frown.

What’s he talking about?

“Stick your phone up your fucking ass.”

“What?” I stand, offended.

He storms past me and out into the kitchen.

What did I do? I thought he’d be excited . . . oh. Then it dawns on me.

He thinks I want favors for it.

Sadness falls over me. This poor fucking kid. What must he see here?

I close my eyes in disgust.

He walks back out and begins slamming the glasses around.

“I don’t want anything in return. This isn’t a bribe. I was just being nice, that’s it. I’m not like that either.”

He wipes the bench down so hard that I’m surprised he doesn’t break it in half. He walks around to the tables and puts out drink coasters as I watch him.

Fuck.

How can I fix this?

“Okay, if you won’t accept it, you can work it off.”

His ears prick up, but he still won’t look at me.

“I have jobs that I need help with, and I can pay you an hourly rate.”

“Like what?”

Fuck . . .

“I need a Spanish translator.”

He frowns, his interest piqued.

“I have to find a job, and I need someone . . . to translate for me.” I can tell he’s interested. “All my roommates need help too. You could help us find jobs or something?” I shrug. I’m totally flying by the seat of my pants here.

“How many roommates?” he asks.

“There are six of us, boys and girls.” I hold my two hands up in surrender. “I swear this is not what you think. We just need a translator. That’s it, nothing else. We will set an hourly rate, and you can work it off. Completely professional.”

He twists his lips, and I can see he’s interested in the offer.

“Anyway, think about it.” I slide the phone back toward me and put it away. His eyes follow it as I put it back in the bag.

I hear a low whistle from the German table, and I glance up. Hayden has just walked into the bar.