It was just beginning to get dark when Eduardo, Kylie and two other women came bursting out of a tapas bar, laughing. They walked down the street a few steps, then made their way into another tapas bar and sat down at an empty table.

'Okay,' said one of the women, in an Australian accent, 'who's got the scoring sheet?'

'Here it is, Steph,' said Kylie, producing a large piece of card from her bag. On one side was a lot of scribble in ballpoint pen, and on the other the famous green, red and yellow rooster logo and the words Keloc's CON FLEIS. 'What did everyone think of the dessert tapas?'

'Really weird,' said Steph. 'Not nice, but not exactly unpleasant. Four.'

'It was an abomination on tapas,' said Eduardo. 'One!'

'I thought it was all right,' said the other woman, also Australian. 'Six.'

'Caroline, you weirdo!' said Kylie, as she scribbled the numbers onto the cereal box fragment. 'The rest of us thought it was ridiculous. I'm giving it three. So that puts it one place from the bottom, just above oyster and lemon.'

'What's the specialist flavour in this place?' asked Steph.

'Oh, I know!' said Caroline, lunging at a menu and pointing to one of the words. 'Chorizo!'

'Uh-oh,' said Kylie.

'What?' said Steph, giggling stupidly.

'Caroline said "chorittso"!' Kylie crowed. 'Now Eduardo's gonna hulk out!'

'I am not gonna hulk out!' Eduardo laughed.

'What have I done wrong?' said Caroline.

'You mispronounced chorizo,' said Kylie.

'That's right, Caroline, you did,' said Eduardo. 'You hear the way Kylie said it?'

'Chorrrrr-eeth-o!' said Kylie, putting her face uncomfortably close to Caroline's. Caroline laughed and shoved her away.

'Good girl, Ky,' said Eduardo, catching Kylie as she almost fell off her chair. 'It's a Spanish word – why do so many people pronounce it like it's Italian? That's one thing I like about this country: they know how to say chorizo.'

'Ooh, Eduardo, say it again,' said Steph, leaning towards him with her chin on her hand.

'Hey, back off,' Kylie giggled, giving Steph a kick under the table.

'Ow!' said Steph, laughing raucously, just as a young waitress approached their table with her pencil and notebook poised and an enquiring smile on her face.

'Buenas tardes,' she said. 'Desea pedier?'

'Sí, gracias, señorita,' said Eduardo. 'Tapas de chorizo para cuatro, por favor, y algunas salsas para mojar. Tu elección. Y una botella de agua.'

'Sí, señor.'

'You were so flirting with her,' said Caroline, as the waitress walked off.

'I was not!' Eduardo said indignantly.

'You told her to elect the dipping sauces,' said Caroline.

'I've been saying that to all the wait staff,' said Eduardo. 'Just 'cause she's the only one we've had who's a pretty girl doesn't make it flirting.'

'So you think she's pretty!' Steph joined in.

'I'm allowed to think people are pretty,' said Eduardo. 'It doesn't mean I'm thinking anything else about them.'

'Of course it doesn't,' said Kylie, cuddling up to him. 'I know I have nothing to worry about.'

'Anyway,' said Eduardo, 'if you can understand what I'm saying, why am I doing all the talking?'

'I can't understand every word,' said Caroline, 'and when I do, I'm just figuring it out as I go. I never would've thought of actually saying any of that. Except maybe tapas and chori... choreeeetho.'

'What were you gonna do if you couldn't find someone who spoke English and Spanish?' asked Eduardo.

'Hey, there's other English-and-Spanish-speakers in the hostel,' said Caroline. 'If it wasn't you, it would've been one of them.'

'Yeah,' said Steph, laughing. 'You're not so special.'

'Okay,' said Kylie, 'if that's how you feel, we'll ditch you after the tapas contest. But you have to stay for this last one so the results aren't corrupted.'

'Who's winning so far?' asked Caroline.

'Um,' said Kylie, running her eye down the score sheet. 'Scrambled egg.'

'Scrambled egg!' said Eduardo. 'That was so stupid! How is it winning?'

'The rest of us loved it,' said Steph.

'You only like the boring tapas, sweetie,' said Kylie.

'If you mean the traditional tapas...' said Eduardo.

'Like I said,' Kylie grinned at him, 'the boring tapas.'

'Oh yeah?' said Eduardo. 'Well, let's see how cocky you are when you've tried the chorizo. Think it'll be as hot as the stuff I use?'

'Sweetie,' said Kylie, 'there's nothing hotter than your hot Mexican sausage.'

Caroline and Steph started giggling.

'I honestly didn't see that coming,' said Eduardo.

'And I can handle it too, babe, can't I?' said Kylie.

'Just about,' said Eduardo, 'if you have a nice big puddle of dipping sauce to temper it.'

Caroline and Steph's giggles exploded into cackles of laughter.

'What?' Eduardo said innocently.

'Anyone'd think we were drunk,' said Kylie, giggling a little herself.

'Well,' said Eduardo, 'you and I did have a little. And these two've had quite a lot, really.'

'We have not had a lot!' said Steph. 'Australians need beer – we've had exactly the right amount.'

They went on laughing and being silly together until their tapas, dipping sauces and water arrived. The waitress spoke to Eduardo about the sauces, sweeping her hand over the crescent-shaped arrangement, then left with a smile when he nodded and said, 'Gracias.'

'What did she say?' demanded Caroline.

'She said they're arranged in order from the mildest to the spiciest,' said Eduardo. 'But we'll all have some tapas neat first, okay?'

'Okay,' the three women agreed, and they each took a piece of tapas, bracing themselves before they ate it while Eduardo started on his with a deliberately casual air.

'What the hell is that?' he said, after he'd swallowed a mouthful.

'It has a pleasant tang to it,' said Caroline.

'Not exactly what you might call hot, though,' said Steph.

'It has nothing on your hot Mexican sausage, sweetie,' said Kylie.

'How can they call this chorizo?' said Eduardo, looking around for the waitress. When he saw her, he waved to her, and she came smilingly over to him. 'Qué hay en este chorizo, por favor?' he asked.

The waitress answered in a stream of Spanish, then asked, 'Hay algo mal?'

Eduardo shook his head. 'Está bien, gracias.'

The waitress smiled in satisfaction, and walked off again.

'You wouldn't say it was bien if she wasn't a pretty girl,' said Steph.

'Sure I would,' said Eduardo, dipping a piece of tapas into the last sauce at the spicy end of the crescent. 'It is fine – just not what I'm used to. She said they use paprika, which is made from regular peppers. You know, those big, boring sweet ones.'

'Bell peppers,' said Caroline.

'As opposed to...?' said Steph.

'Chilli peppers, of course,' said Eduardo. 'And we don't put wine in ours either. That's instead of the vinegar, maybe?'

'Vino blanco,' said Kylie. 'I heard that. Why do these Europeans have to put booze in everything?'

'So what do you think, Kylie?' said Steph. 'This stuff's not a patch on Eduardo's hot Mexican sausage, right?'

'Wouldn't you like to know,' said Kylie, then she dipped her piece of tapas in the middle of the sauce crescent and took another bite. 'Seriously though, it's different from Eduardo's, but it's not bad.'

'It's chorizo for wimps,' said Eduardo. 'And that's dipping sauce for wimps.'

'It's nice,' said Kylie.

'C'mon, babe, you're no wuss,' said Eduardo, and he dipped yet another piece of tapas into the hottest sauce. 'Try some of this.'

'I don't know,' said Kylie, leaning away as he waved the tapas playfully in front of her face.

'It's not that hot,' said Eduardo.

Kylie looked sceptical. 'Are you sure about that?'

'Just try it,' said Eduardo. 'Here comes the choo-choo train!'

'That won't work,' said Kylie, laughing and slapping his hand away. 'I'm not that much into trains.'

'The bus from Paris, then,' said Eduardo, 'going through the Pyrenees. Open up the Somport Road Tunnel, Ky!'

Kylie giggled, opened her mouth and allowed Eduardo to feed her. As they went through this little performance, Caroline and Steph exchanged looks of mock disgust. Kylie chewed for several seconds, then suddenly said, 'Oh my God!' and lunged for the bottle of water. Caroline and Steph started laughing.

'You knew that'd be too hot for me!' said Kylie, once she had recovered the power of speech, dribbling water down her chin, laughing and smacking Eduardo on the arm all at once.

'It's not that hot!' Eduardo said defensively.

'Let's see, shall we?' said Caroline, taking a piece of tapas and dipping it into the hottest sauce. She chewed it experimentally, then gave a little cough and took a sip of water.

'It's pretty hot, mate,' she said.

'You can handle it, though,' said Eduardo.

'But can Steph?' said Kylie. 'Come on, Steph – the rest of us have tried it.'

'I don't really like hot stuff,' said Steph.

Caroline laughed. 'You don't, huh?'

'You know I don't,' said Steph.

'Oh, come on,' said Caroline, dipping some more tapas into the hot sauce, then holding it in front of Steph's firmly closed mouth. 'Open up the Melba Tunnel, Steph!'

'I said I don't want any!' snapped Steph, so sharply that it dispelled the mood completely. Caroline looked stricken, and her hand dropped limply onto the table.

'I'm sorry, Steph,' she said meekly.

'I have to go to the bathroom,' said Steph, and went.

There was an awkward silence. Then Caroline gave a forced laugh, and said, 'Guess I shouldn't try to copy you guys, huh?'

'I didn't even really think Kylie'd go for it,' said Eduardo. 'We don't normally... y'know... feed each other.'

'It's the kind of thing that's really annoying when other couples do it,' said Kylie. 'I guess we just got caught up in all the silliness.'

'Of course,' said Caroline, 'it's a couple thing, isn't it?'

'Usually,' said Kylie. 'But it could be a friend thing too, I guess. Anyway, shall we start scoring this tapas? I like it okay, but the chorizo Eduardo cooks with is better.'

'Yeah?' said Caroline. 'Sure it's not too hot to handle?'

'He makes it just how I like it,' said Kylie, stroking Eduardo's cheek with her left hand and adding to the score sheet with her right. 'I've given this one six. What's your score, sweetie?'

'I'll say six as well,' said Eduardo. 'It's not what I was expecting, but it's okay.'

'I'll give it seven,' said Caroline, just as Steph came shuffling back from the bathroom. 'Hey, Steph, how do you score this chorizo tapas?'

'Eight,' said Steph, sliding into her seat.

'In that case,' said Kylie, 'it just beats the scrambled egg. But only because Eduardo was so mean about that one.'

'Hey, so I didn't like it,' said Eduardo. 'I don't have to like it.'

'Scrambled egg has a higher median and mode,' said Kylie.

'But wimp's chorizo wins with the highest mean,' said Eduardo. 'Them's the rules, Ky.'

'Are we done, then?' said Steph.

'This is the last place on the list,' said Kylie. 'I mean, there are other tapas bars, but they're not so specialist.'

'Better call it a day, then,' said Steph. 'I don't feel like going on anywhere else.'

'Me neither,' said Kylie, stroking Eduardo's knee under the table. 'Sweetie, you'd better get your girlfriend back over here and we'll settle the bill.'

The next morning, Eduardo was woken by Kylie nibbling on his ear. He turned over and wrapped his arms around her, but didn't open his eyes.

'Don't go back to sleep,' said Kylie, pinching him playfully on the chest. 'I want to make love again.'

'I'll have to go to the bathroom first,' he murmured.

'Go on then.'

'In a minute.'

'Oh!'

Kylie gave him a shove, and he rolled onto his back. She climbed over him to get out of bed, picked his T-shirt up from the floor and put it on, then picked up his jeans and threw them at him.

'I have to go too,' she said. 'Don't keep me waiting when I come back.'

She left Eduardo crawling out of bed, and went to the women's shower room and toilets at the end of the corridor. As she was coming out, she met Steph in the doorway.

'Oh, hi,' said Kylie. 'Do you guys want to hang out again today?'

'I don't know,' said Steph. 'I was thinking of just hanging out here for a while.'

'Really? Weird thing to do when you've come all the way from Australia.'

'Yeah, well, that's up to me, isn't it?'

'Of course,' said Kylie. She sidled past Steph in the doorway, then made her way back to her room, looking puzzled.

Eduardo was walking down the corridor from the men's room at the other end. When he reached their bedroom door, he walked past it to take Kylie into his arms and kiss her deeply.

'I'm all ready for you now, querida,' he said.

'Oh yes?' said Kylie. 'I might've changed my mind.'

'I don't think so,' he said, and began to kiss her neck, which caused her to close her eyes and make small sounds of approval.

A few seconds later, a door slammed loudly, and they broke apart to see Caroline holding a towel and a sponge bag, looking at them with deep disapproval.

'Did you guys pay for a room or not?' she said.

'Good point,' said Kylie, pushing Eduardo gently away from her. 'Shall we spend the day together again, Caroline? I mean, it was fun yesterday, wasn't it?'

'Yeah, it was,' said Caroline. 'But that was yesterday.'

'I just saw Steph,' said Kylie. 'She said she was thinking of just hanging out here today.'

'Maybe she's sick or something,' said Caroline. 'I'd better leave her alone... maybe hang out with you guys, if you really don't mind. Was she going to the bathroom down the corridor?'

'Yes,' said Kylie.

'Right,' said Caroline, and promptly made her way to the staircase opposite the men's showers.

'What is with them?' asked Kylie, watching as Caroline began to ascend the stairs.

'Who cares?' said Eduardo, taking both her hands in his and pulling her towards their door.

A short while later, they were lying in the spooning position, Kylie facing the wall with Eduardo's left arm draped over her.

'We should go get some breakfast,' he said. 'We're already in danger of facing the limp sausage problem again.'

'Oh yes?' said Kylie, twisting round to give him a facetious look.

'Behave,' he said, as he slid out of bed. 'Is this you not ever becoming like your mother?'

Kylie threw a pillow at him. It hit him square in the face and made him fall over his jeans as he was putting them on.

'Are you okay?' she said, laughing.

'You shouldn't laugh until you know I am okay,' said Eduardo, getting up to finish dressing. 'I could've broken my neck.'

'Sorry, sweetie,' said Kylie, as she began to put her own clothes on. 'I wonder if Caroline and Steph have had breakfast yet. Or just one of them. They won't be having it together because they're clearly not okay.'

'Whatever it is, it's their problem,' said Eduardo.

'They're our friends.'

'They're not. Once we're on the bus to Barcelona, we'll never see them again.'

'Oh, you're all heart.'

'It's none of our business,' said Eduardo. 'They don't want a couple of random Americans they just met sticking their noses in.'

'Are we going to just take them at their word, then?' said Kylie. 'Go somewhere with Caroline and leave Steph here to stew?'

'Maybe she's not stewing. Maybe she has a headache or period cramps or something.'

'And what does Caroline have?'

'I don't know. PMS?'

'Right,' said Kylie, 'because obviously that's the only reason a woman can be in a bad mood.'

'I'm not the one looking for a reason,' said Eduardo. 'It's none of my business, Ky. Or yours.'

'Yeah, I guess not. Still, if it was the other way around and they woke up this morning to find us all sullen and avoiding each other, they'd wonder about it. I don't think I'm being unduly nosy.'

'You are if you ask them about it.'

'I'm not going to ask them about it,' said Kylie. 'Let's go get those limp sausages now, shall we?'