“Bad Sirens,” Rubén responded.
“Any albums we can check out?” Lucas inquired.
“I wish. For now, there’s just a demo with five songs we recorded last summer. You can find that on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and so on. It’s doing OK, to tell the truth. So maybe we’ll record an album soon. We’re writing songs now.”
Lucas’s phone started ringing while Rubén was speaking, and he pulled it out and looked at it, then begged our pardon, stood, and walked away. I followed him with my eyes while remarking that it sounded cool. Then I squeezed Rubén’s hand and thanked him for inviting us.
“No worries,” he said. “I hope you like it, but if not, you can always do like Matías and wear earplugs.”
“That’s a lie!” Matías responded. “I love you guys’ music. I’ve never put in earplugs in my life!”
“Liar,” Rubén said. Then he bent over as if to tell me a secret, “Last time, he forgot to take them out, and I thought he’d gone deaf because of the speakers. I was actually scared!”
I laughed as Matías pretended to feel embarrassed, and just then, the waiter laid out our dishes and Lucas returned. I asked him if everything was all right.
“It was my mom,” he responded. “She wasn’t sure which medicine my dad takes before he goes to sleep.”
Throughout the meal, Lucas’s phone rang every ten minutes, making me more and more uncomfortable, for Matías and Rubén especially. I could see them shooting glances at each other across the table, and then they’d look quickly back at me. When there was half an hour left before the show, we asked for the check, then walked to the concert hall, which was just five minutes away. It was packed likea sardine can inside, and there were still dozens of people waiting in line at the door. Rubén walked us to the bar and said something to the bartender before vanishing into the multitude, heading for the stage where the rest of the band was tuning their instruments. The bartender wiped the bar with a rag and served us drinks.
A DJ was playing music as we waited for the show to start, and it was almost impossible to talk with the noise and all those people around. Lucas wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the temple. I leaned back into him. I loved smelling him there, I loved tasting him when I kissed him, I loved feeling his pulse.
I felt him pull away and watched him reach into his pants pocket. He brought out his phone, and on the screen I saw the wordMom.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
“Is everything OK?” Matías asked when Lucas walked off.
“It’s his mom.”
“Jesus! How many fucking times has his phone rung tonight?”
I shook my head. I’d lost count.
I could hear the singer roaring through the speakers and the public quieted down long enough to hear, “How are you guys tonight? We’re Bad Sirens and we hope you have one hell of a good time with us!”
The first chords rang out, and Matías grabbed my hand and guided me toward the stage. All around us, people were drinking and dancing. A group of girls yelled the chorus, and Matías rolled his eyes when one of them shouted Rubén’s name. I couldn’t help but laugh.
After a few minutes, a pair of hands wrapped around my waist and I felt lips on my cheek. I leaned back into Lucas and we swayed to the rhythm of a slower song. Then I turned. He smiled at me and pressed his forehead into mine and we kept dancing. His mouth was close to mine.
One second. Two. Three…
He kissed me.
His tongue tickled mine and I quivered. He slid his fingers under my sweater and touched my skin. He was gripping me so tight, I thought our bodies would melt together. And in that instant everything ceased to matter apart from us and the feelings making us turn and turn…
But of course, his fucking phone had to start vibrating again. I could feel it under his clothes.
One time. Two. Three…
He grunted and took a look at the screen.Claudia.He put it away.
Four. Five. Six…
“Goddammit,” he grumbled, taking it out again.
Why wouldn’t he just turn the damned thing off? It was just one stupid button. All he had to do was flick it and be done with it.
Our eyes met: mine angry, his pleading, and I told him, “Turn it off.”
