“We went to a hotel.” I gave her a hug and led her inside.
“I love that! Tell me everything.” Again, I kept it vague. It really was between Shane and me, but filling her in on the impromptu hotel visit brightened her up. “We needed some time alone. Our parents were pissed as hell. So damage control took some time.”
“Eh, they’ll get over it.” She appraised the spread laid out on the island and grabbed a plate, helping herself. “I’m starving. Where is everyone?”
“They’re at the Lairs.’” No doubt discussing Shane and me. “Trestan is at a friend’s. We have the place to ourselves. Serenity Spa will be here in an hour. We’re set up on the terrace for manicures and pedicures.”
“God, I love your mom.” Popping a forkful of chicken salad into her mouth, she asked midchew, “Have you heard from him?”
I scooped salad onto my plate and sat beside her with a firm shake of my head. “Not yet.”
“He’s probably crazy busy.”
“Probably.”
She offered an understanding nod before saying, “Oh, guess what? Chad mailed me a UMass care package.” Undoubtedly, the tone behind that one simple word, combined with the look on my face, was what had caused her to move onto a different subject. “I got it yesterday.”
I forced a smile. “No way. What did he send you?”
“A hat, water bottle, T-shirt, and one of those triangular banners. It was sweet. He wanted to take me to dinner tomorrow night after I moved in. My parents are staying a few days, so I asked for a rain check.”
“He really likes you, Kim.”
“I don’t know. Guys are hard to read. Once I get up there, I’ll be able to see if this is all a ploy to get some or not.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said with little enthusiasm.
“Okay, that’s it.” Kim dropped her fork with a loud clank. “I hate that I can’t help you feel better, Liv. Why don’t we get your parents to arrange that MoMA visit anyway? I don’t mind having that cutie following us around.”
“Which cutie? Alec or Ryan?”
“Either one would work,” Kim quipped before wiggling her eyebrows. I laughed at her antics, and that brought a grin to her face. “There she is. Come on, Liv. Staring at all those paintings that look like I could do the same with my toes will cheer you up.” So many times, I had dragged Kim to the Museum of Modern Art. I went to admire the masterpieces, and Kim went to make fun of them. She took my hand in hers and squeezed it. “I’m worried about you.”
I could have said the same. Without her, without Shane, the next six days held as much appeal as a root canal.
“I’ll be fine,” I lied. “I still have to pack… that’ll take at least two hours.” A manic giggle escaped out of nowhere. Suddenly, the situation seemed funny when I was far from it.
“Too bad you can’t fly to like…” She tapped a pink nail to her chin. “Where is there ugly art that you can admire? Paris? Florence?”
“I wish.”
Her blue eyes widened. “Wait… why don’t you? No one would know you or your famous boyfriend. You can go to museums and shop… eat! Shit, that sounds like a dream. I wish I could go with you.” Although the idea did sound appealing… “Oh! I’m sure NYU has a satellite campus somewhere in Europe! Transfer there!”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m serious. It would get you out of the city while he’s on tour.”
It would get me out of the city while he’s on tour.
The idea appealed much more than it should have. That was, until the realization of thirteen long weeks without Shane hit me. “But that would also mean no visits for thirteen weeks.”
“True.” And as she agreed, I pondered. Wouldn’t that help me to detach from him, create my own dreams, and find my own passions?
“Then again, there are video calls… ,” I said out loud.
“And phone sex,” she added. Sensing the shift in my attitude, Kim went on to list all the reasons this could be a great idea, and with each one she sold me more and more.
“Florence?” My dad’s eyes bugged out while my mom smiled excitedly. She understood exactly what my issue was. And in all fairness, so did my father. He completely agreed I needed to find myself, as much as any almost eighteen-year-old could. But based on the color draining from his face, no doubt he’d assumed I’d be doing said searching on the island of Manhattan.
At first, I casually brought it up as we ate dinner. As was typical, my father instantly shut the idea down. Shifting into defense mode, they had both listened as I ticked off the many reasons this could be good for me. On Kim’s suggestion, we’d actually written down that list, coming up with two dozen lines. No competition when comparing it to my cons list, which consisted of only two—missing Shane and missing my family.
“Cool… can I have her room?” Trestan asked before gnawing another chunk off his burger.
No one paid him attention as Dad continued to stare right through me, forcing me to snap my fingers near his dazed face. “Dad…”
“Florence?” he repeated more incredulously. “Last I checked there are many museums and art galleries right here.”
“Yes, but I can’t truly study them, explore like I want to with security trailing me everywhere I go. You won’t let me go anywhere without security. How embarrassing it’ll be, sitting in a lecture hall while Alec or Ryan or Joe Schmoe stand at the door like the Queen’s Guard.”
“That’s for your own safety,” Mom interjected.
“I get that, but I don’t have to like it. It’s a huge adjustment, and you can’t blame me for wanting to escape to somewhere no one knows me. I think this could be really good for me.”
“But Florence?” he repeated yet again. “Why not take this knife”—he grabbed the serrated blade near his plate—“and stab me with it?”
While prying the knife from his grip, my mom said through a sigh, “Trey, calm down.”
“Florence, Camilla… Florence.” Popping off his chair, he began to pace our dining room.
“Repeating it over and over isn’t going to change anything. You yourself said she needed something to excite her, motivate her.” My mom waved a hand toward me. “Look at that smile.” She stood to join him where he’d ended up, clear across the room. “We’ll visit often. You don’t need to be in the studio for months, and the tour isn’t until next year.” Dad’s scowl remained, while his eyes drilled into hers. “I always wanted to truly explore Italy.” The only times my family had done so were during Dad’s tours, and not for more than a few days here or there. That seemed to soften him up a bit, but to be sure, my mom wrapped her arms around his waist and flashed her pretty smile.
Bam… he was toast.
His own lips lifted enough to replace the frown. “If that’s what my girls want, then fine… Florence it is.”
“Hold on,” Trestan whined, wide eyed and annoyed. “What if I don’t want to move to stupid Italy?”