Seasons of Love || Richard Camacho

21

May 3rd

I turn around and my face tries to split in two halves by smiling like a child who really wanted a dollhouse and got an entire dollvillage. 'If you really want to, I could do that later. For now, a hug is fine as well.' I jump into Richard's arms and he spins me around. When he finally lets me go, I hug the other boys and I feel all happy and giddy on the inside and I don't really know how to stand or breathe anymore. 'Surprise!' Kat says while doing a little jazz hands dance. 'You little bitch, you knew all the time?' 'Of course, this was planned by all of us.' I wipe a small tear from my cheek. 'I hate you all.' Richard pulls me in for another hug. I see Kat hugging Erick and Isa gives Chris a kiss on the lips. 'You guys wanna go and see other things than this unfinished church?' We decide to go for a walk through Park Güell. I link arms with Kat and I can hear Christopher and Richard whispering behind us. 'Are you really going to fuck her sideways?' 'Oh shut up Christopher.' I just shake my head and grin.

'Honestly, I am proud of you. Kat told me how difficult it was for you.' 'Sounds quite crazy if you say it like that. It's like I was addicted to drugs or something.' I chuckle. 'Well, maybe you were. Addicted. Not to drugs but... You know.' I shrug while looking at people waiting in line to get to all the Gaudi stuff. 'It never really was about the sex, you know.' 'I don't know, explain it to me. I want to know what went on and what's going on in your head.' 'Oh Ricardo, I am not going to explain myself here in a touristic park.' He laughs. 'But you will eventually tell me, right?' 'Soon Ricardo, soon.' I see Erick climbing on a rock and Zabdiel is trying to keep him safe. Honestly, our group is a mess. Everywhere I look, something strange is happening. Isa is sitting on Chris' neck, trying to pick a flower from a tree, Joel is trying to catch a pigeon and Kat looks like she's drowning herself under a water-tap. 'Katarina, what are you doing?' She throws her head back, splashing water in the faces of the old couple standing behind her in the process. With a crazy look on her face, she pulls me away from Richard and whispers in my ear. 'Listen up, I am sweating so much, it's way too hot.' 'So you're washing your hair without shampoo to stop the sweat?' 'No you stupid, I am trying to hide the sweaty look. If Erick sees me like this, he might think I have sweat problems.' 'Which you don't.' She shakes her head. I walk up to the water-tap and put my head under it. After wetting my hair, Kat looks at me in a grateful way. 'Thank you.' 'Leave me alone, you smell like sweat.' I stick my tongue out and she does the same.

'WHAT'S THE TIME?' 'WELL IT'S GOTTA BE CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT.' We're not singing the "Rent" song, we're screaming. 'They're here!' Isa opens the door and the boys walk in. They are staying in the same hotel. Now I understand why we're staying at this fancy place. 'Hola guapa, you ready to dance?' Richard places his hands on my hips and I grin. 'Oh yes, I miss going out so much. I miss dancing. Let's go!' It doesn't take long for us to get to the club. We're seated in a VIP booth and are welcomed by a tray full of shots. 'OH YAAAS!' We say cheers and the tray is empty within seconds. After a few more drinks, we decide it's our time to take over the dance floor. Chris and Isa are dancing together and Kat and Erick are dancing together. I see Richard approaching me, but I feel a pair of arms sneaking around my waist. 'Sorry man, I was just about to ask her to dance with me.' Richard kindly says to the guy. 'Why don't we let the lady decide which dance partner she prefers?' The arms disappear and I turn around. Oh fuck. Familiar face. 'Autumn, wow! What are you doing here?' He hugs me and I push him away slowly. 'Autumn? Sorry man, wrong girl.' Richard says while pulling me towards him. 'No amigo, I am pretty sure this is Autumn. I don't think I could ever forget her. That night was magical. Amazing, really. The things she can do with her mouth, wow.' I can see that Richard is about to hit this guy in the face. 'Fuck off, this is Summer. You don't know her and one does not talk about a lady like that.' The other guy just laughs. 'Nothing ladylike about her in bed. Filthy, dirty...' My hand connects with his face and I run away. I can barely breath and I don't know what to do. I sit down on a bench and start hyperventilating. This has never happened before. That was the great thing about tourists. They never came back. And the locals know when they are allowed to approach me. I never thought about being recognised in a foreign country. I pull my hair and tears stream down my face. Besides the fact that my cover is blown, the words he said about me hurt like hell. And Richard was not supposed to hear those things about me, I don't want him to know about that side of me. 'Summer?' Speaking of the devil. He sits down next to me and helps me steadying my breathing. I press my face against his chest and feel one of his hands caressing my back. The other one stays still on the back of my head. Soon enough, the others are standing next to us. I take a deep breath. There's no escaping this situation. Fuck.