those milk chocolate brown eyes that I’ve become oh so familiar with. Alex is bulkier than Victor. His nose is more pronounced and his hair is a little shorter but I know immediately by looking at him that he is Victor’s brother. I’m engulfed in Alex’s big, strong arms as he gives me an unexpected hug.
“Ellie, it’s so good to finally meet you.”
I can’t help but giggle. “Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too,” I say, hugging him back.
Victor clears his throat. “Umm, hello? You wanna let go of my girl?”
“I’m sorry. I had to hug her to make sure she was real and not just a figment of your imagination.” He looks down at me. “Ellie, you should know that this man has done nothing but talk about you for two weeks now.”
I feel the crimson rising in my cheeks as Alex releases his hold on me. Victor snakes his arm around my waist and pulls me backwards until my back is to his front. “Stop embarrassing her, Lex. She’s been through enough today.”
Alex walks over to some kind of mixing console and sits down in an empty chair. “Why? What happened?”
Victor leads me over to an available chair and sits me down, leaving his hands on my shoulders. “Ellie met mom today.”
Alex’s eyes go wide. He looks me in the eyes and shakes his head. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.” Instinctively I laugh, I can’t help it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh.”
Alex smiles. “No, that’s good, she makes most people cry.” I laugh again, coming to realize that Alex has the same charismatic attitude as Victor. I like him already.
“Oh God, it wasn’t that bad,” I say, trying to make light of the situation.
Victor squeezes my shoulders. “Yes, it was. She was horrible.”
I hear a deep voice coming from the doorway. “What did she say to you?” I turn to see Rob standing there, legs wide, arms across his chest, looking like stone. I’d forgotten that he was even there.
“Um, she basically said I was a hussy for spending the night at Victor’s and that it didn’t matter because he’d move on soon enough.”
“What?” I turn back to face Alex. “How did she know you spent the night?”
I bow my head and cover my eyes with my hands, shaking my head. Memories of her walking in on us come flooding back, making me blush with embarrassment all over again.
Victor chuckles, and then responds to his brother. “She walked in on us, just after… ya know.” There’s a moment of silence in the room, then all of a sudden I hear laughter. I uncover my eyes to see all three of them laughing hysterically. This goes on for a while until I finally interject.
“It’s not funny!”
“You’re right, Babe. It’s not funny.” Victor chuckles.
“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