"I'm sure people will want to eat now that they're coming down from their hangovers.”
She spoke in a slow, enunciated fashion as though he were a child. Zhi felt like he was. He swore he'd need a translation guide to keep up with this conversation. But blessedly, Parker ended his misery when she turned to greet her rising employees.
"All right, I'm gonna go check on my people,” she said, turning away from Zhi. “Be PLUR."
Zhi looked to the DJ for translation, but Spin only quirked a brow at him and then sauntered off in the opposite direction, leaving him hanging. It didn’t matter. No one was left to see his floundering.
"That was extraordinary," said Omar. “I’ve never seen you bomb before.”
Zhi turned back to his friend. He’d completely forgotten the man was there. He hadn’t said a word the whole time. Likely because the producer had been far too entertained to stop the show.
“I said come and let your hair down,” said Omar. “Not get it tangled up in knots trying to be someone you aren’t.”
“Was it just me? Or did you only understand about a quarter of that conversation?”
“It’s just you.” Omar downed the last of his tea. “I live in this world of slang and double entendres. If you want to stay in this magical land for any length of time, maybe you’ll want to get yourself a translator.”
Omar snorted at the recommendation. He didn’t notice that Zhi’s look turned thoughtful at the suggestion.
Chapter Ten
“You want to do some shopping here before we head back across the sea tonight?” Lark slung her day bag over her shoulder as they left the room they had shared last night. They had each been given their own room. But Lark had wandered in behind Spin at three in the morning. The two had gabbed all night and then fallen asleep in their clothes.
/>
Spin wheeled her carry-on sized suitcase out the door behind Lark. Everything she cared about was stuffed in its belly. She was the queen of minimalism and the diva of thrifting, which was how her wardrobe always looked so varied and plentiful. Her Bohemian sense of style allowed her to mix and match the essentials and layer on a vintage shirt that only costs a few Euros.
All her music was on a hard drive backed up to the cloud. She could plug into any turntable anywhere in the world and play. By this time tomorrow, she would be somewhere else in the world, and that place wasn’t Nice.
She still hadn't told Lark she wasn't coming back. She would. She wouldn’t chicken out and slip away without a word. Even if she and Lark couldn’t do any more sleepovers, she still wanted access to sliding into her DM whenever she wanted to. Spin knew she’d only get a response if she didn’t disappear into the night like a one-night stand.
Since Spin’s mother’s death, Lark had been the closest thing to family. Spin hadn’t attached herself to many things. As she followed behind a chattering Lark, Spin realized she wasn’t quite ready to let her friend go.
A day of shopping wouldn’t hurt anything. She was certain that Crepe Man wouldn’t be searching for her here on the island nation of Cordoba. It had no connection to her father or his family. Spin’s hand went to the necklace resting on her chest.
"Why don’t we hang out in Cordoba for the weekend?” she said to Lark. “You don't have a show until next Thursday. I don't have anything lined up for a minute."
"We can't just take an impromptu vacation."
"Why not?"
“We can’t afford it for one.”
“We can grab a cheap hotel for a few days with the money I just made from Parker.”
“And then what?”
Spin shrugged. She’d find a way. She always did.
"Excuse me, Miss …? I’m sorry, I don’t actually know your name.”
Spin turned to find his grace himself hurrying up after. She looked left and right and was surprised that Parker was nowhere to be found. The man was clearly into the tech mogul. Though Spin couldn’t fathom why. They clearly had nothing in common.
"Can I talk to you for a second in private?" The duke, Zhi he’d called himself, asked.
"You can try," Spin smirked. "But it's clear we don't speak the same language."
"That's what I want to talk to you about,” he said.