Alivia was supposed to be in her dorm tonight. My return had her staying at her apartment instead. I made sure she told her parents I was coming, and when Trey answered the door with a frown, I gave no shits.
“Hey, Unk.” I unapologetically pushed past him. “Where’s—”
“I’m here,” she said, appearing from the den. Again, not giving a shit, I rushed for her, scooping her up and burying my face in her neck.
“Yeah… I’ll give you two some privacy,” I heard Trey grumble from behind us. Again… didn’t care.
Putting her down, I gripped her face and kissed her passionately. Once we broke apart, I stared at her long and hard. “Shit, I missed you so much.”
“Me too.” Her gaze raked over my face. “You look so tired.”
“I just caught my second wind. You look gorgeous.” While in her silly Hello Kitty pajamas, she was still sexy as fuck and good enough to eat.
“Are you hungry?”
“Not for food,” I said with a smirk. Voicing my desires while her parents and brother were at home didn’t bode well for my dick. “But if it’ll distract me from eating you,” I whispered, “then yes. I can eat.”
She rolled her eyes up and smirked. “Come on.” Taking my hand, she led me to the island before pulling open the fridge door. “Pizza, roast beef, leftover lo mein—”
“Pizza. I’ll eat it cold.” She placed a soda before me, and as she unwrapped the foil-covered slice, I asked, “What time is your class tomorrow morning?”
Her eyes met mine and held. “I have to tell you something.”
The way she said it while pushing the plate toward me had me asking, “Did something happen?”
“Yes… but not in a bad way.” Her expression said otherwise, and I held off on taking a bite until she sat beside me. “A lot has happened this week. I waited to tell you until it was confirmed, and that happened today.”
“Until what was confirmed?” She fiddled with the drawstring on her pajama bottoms. “Liv.”
“I, um… I decided to study abroad this semester.”
“Where abroad?”
“Florence.”
What the serious fuck? “What? Why?”
A pucker appeared on her forehead in response to my scowl. “I want you to hear me out, and not speak until I say what I need to.”
“Okay.” Bile rising in my throat forced me to push away the untouched pizza as I folded my arms in wait.
“My parents had to pull some strings to make it happen, and I’ll be behind a bit once I get there and start. But the gist of it is I’ll be transferring to NYU’s campus in Florence. I’ll be able to visit museums and truly explore the culture unnoticed. And because no one will give a crap who I am, or even know who I am, I will be able to truly immerse myself in something I love so much… and…” The shimmer in her eyes made them an even paler shade of blue. “I’ll have something to distract me from the pain slicing me open while you’re gone.” With that comment came her tears, and she merely shrugged instead of wiping them away.
Despite the pain in my chest because she needed to be across an ocean to deal with my absence, how could I deny her this? Despite her tears, the excitement she felt was evident in the way she bit down on the corner of her lip. Despite how much I hated everything about this plan she’d concocted, how could I ignore that the reason she had was to avoid having her own regrets?
“I know this is out of the blue, but it really makes so much sense. We’ll talk every day, and if I have a few days where I can swing it, maybe I’ll fly out to see you at one point during the tour.”
Maybe? One point?
Forcing a smile, I nodded. “This is…”
“I know. It’s impulsive.”
The hopeful tone in her voice was unmistakable. “It’s really something you want to do?”
“It’s something I need to, Shane… for me. It’s just one semester.”
Even though I felt as though she had now sliced me open, how could I deny her this? “Okay. I support you if this is what you really want to do.” Her smile began hesitantly, until I cupped her face and faked one of my own. “Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy.”
With that, her lips spread, lighting up her entire face. “I love you so much.”
“I know. I love you too.”
It was just one semester.
We could handle this.
All these weeks I’d spent dreading the day I’d be leaving, counting down to a date on a calendar, only to be forced to say goodbye way sooner than my heart was prepared for. And for the last eight days, I’d plastered a smile on my face while my insides burned no differently than if I had drank acid.
I tried not to harp on all the things that didn’t come to fruition—starting classes together, moving into our dorms, establishing a new routine and life. So much had changed, and neither of us could’ve predicted it.
On her end, she frantically got herself ready to make the move to Italy. Finding an apartment near campus, packing up the dorm she had moved into only a week earlier, shipping her things over. On my end, the grueling schedule stole time that we could’ve spent together.
During it all, besides putting on such a spectacular act, I needed to keep repeating over and over it was just a blip of time. It was the same claim she’d made after Cannon’s offer. Just a blip of time.
Come tomorrow, Alivia would be boarding a flight, and I wouldn’t be seeing her off. On her insistence, our goodbye would happen tonight and not curbside at JFK Airport. In hindsight, I now agreed with her reasoning. But I wasn’t sure I’d still feel the same in the morning.
Pushing all that out of my head, I gave the suite one more glance before checking the time. I knew that Alec had already picked her up, and she was due to arrive any second. Unlike our last time in a subpar hotel, we would be spending our last night at the Plaza. After a romantic dinner, I’d be making love to her all night long. We wouldn’t check out until we absolutely had to the next day. After hearing my plan, Trey hadn’t dared cockblock me.
The candles were lit. The rose petals were scattered. The table was set for a dinner that would be delivered later. The tub was filled. There was only one thing left to do… wait. Back and forth, I paced the room until a knock sounded.
“Hey,” I said as I yanked open the door. She always made shorts and a T-shirt look fucking amazing. Her tanned legs called to me, and her wildly wavy hair begged for my hands. I refrained… tonight wasn’t just about sex.
“Hey,” she repeated with a smile. “The Plaza, huh?” I had refused to give her a clue as to where we were going.
“Yeah… I want to erase our last hotel experience.” For many reasons.
When I moved aside to let her in, she swirled in a circle, appreciating what I had done. “It’s all so pretty. Reminds me of prom night.” That night seemed an eternity ago. “You’re so romantic.”
I stepped closer with open arms, and when she moved right into them, I kissed the top of her head. “I can be. I wanted to make this special. Being apart will be pure torture for me.”