“So you’ll be in New York?” Olivia was so excited she almost kicked her pedicurist in the face. “Oh my god, duibuqi!” Sorry!
The pedicurist waved it off. “Mei shir.” It’s ok/don’t worry.
“You, me, and Sammy in New York together.” Olivia sighed. “It’ll be the best summer ever.”
“I haven’t won yet.” Farrah vacillated between excitement and nerves. She didn’t want to jinx it, but she could picture it already: shopping in Soho, picnics in Central Park, cocktails in the Meatpacking District. Blake will visit and they’ll go on romantic double dates in the city and take fun hikes upstate on the weekend. “Even if I do, I’m not guaranteed my first-choice location.”
“Pssh.” Olivia waved off her concern. “Of course you’ll win.”
“We’ll see.” Anticipation bubbled in Farrah’s stomach. Olivia was right. If everything worked out, it’d be an amazing summer.
“Ugh, major FOMO.” Courtney pouted. “You guys will be living it up with your awesome internships, and I’ll be stuck babysitting middle schoolers at camp.”
“You love being a camp counselor,” Kris said. “You can do arts and crafts and boss people around all day.”
“Hmm. That is true.”
Everyone laughed.
Farrah sank deeper into her chair. Her chest glowed with warmth. It had been too long since the girls hung out, just the four of them. It reminded her of the early days of FEA.
“What are your summer plans?” she asked Kris.
“My father says I have to get a job.” Kris said “job” like it was a Prada bag from last season. “Which is totally unfair and my evil stepmonster’s doing. I’ve never had a job and I don’t intend to start now. Jobs are for plebeians. No offense.”
“Eh.”
“None taken.”
“Whatever.”
“Anyway, he’ll cave like he did with my credit card.” Kris brandished her Amex Platinum in the air. “I have a $2,000 monthly limit, but I just have to give him the cold shoulder for a while longer. I am his only daughter. I’m irreplaceable.”
Sometimes, Farrah marveled at the world Kris lived in. It must be nice.
“Never change.” Olivia patted Kris on the arm.
“I love you guys. I wish we could stay in Shanghai forever,” Courtney sighed.
If only. Farrah dreaded the day they had to leave. She’d have to say goodbye to Blake, her friends, her favorite cafe and jianbing spot and bubble tea place…
Don’t think about it. You have two months left. Enjoy it.
“Wait.” Courtney shot up in her chair, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Let’s make a pact.”
“I’m not making another blood pact. Don’t ask,” Kris said when Farrah’s and Olivia’s jaws dropped.
“I’m not.” Olivia grimaced. “Some things are better left unsaid.”
“It’s not a blood pact. It’s a wedding pact!”
Farrah wasn’t sure she heard right. “Excuse me?”
“We all have to invite each other to our weddings. Because that means we have to stay in touch. For years and years.”
“What if I don’t want a wedding? What if I elope?” Olivia asked.
The other three stared at her.
“Kidding! I would never elope. I already have my wedding Pinterest board.” Olivia laughed. “God, me eloping. Can you imagine?”
“No,” Kris said. “I can’t.”
Weddings were the Olympics of planning, organization, and seating charts. It was basically Olivia’s wet dream.
“So, ladies? Are we in?” Courtney held out her hand.
“Despite my foresight when it comes to Pinterest boards, I don’t plan on getting married until I’m in my thirties with a senior executive position on Wall Street and a weekend cottage in the Hamptons,” Olivia warned. “But I’m in.” She placed her hand atop Courtney’s.
Farrah followed suit. “Me too.” She was so not ready to think about marriage, although she and Blake would make the cutest babies. One day. She loved the idea of the pact, though. It’d keep their Shanghai legacy alive.
“Kris?” Courtney prompted.
The Filipina shrugged. “Sure. Whatever.” She put her hand on top of Farrah’s, completing the pact.
“Repeat after me: I swear I’ll invite you all to my wedding, no matter what.”
“Seriously?”
“Just do it, Kris.”
“I swear I’ll invite you all to my wedding, no matter what,” they recited dutifully.
“That’s it. The pact is unbreakable.” Courtney grinned. “You’re all stuck with me at your weddings, bitches.”
A wicked glint entered Kris’s eyes. “Anyone wanna bet on who gets married first and when?”
“Not against you,” Farrah laughed. “Too rich for my blood.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll reunite before the first wedding,” Olivia said. “Maybe even before we graduate!”
“Duh,” Courtney said with the confidence of someone who’s seen the future. “Of course we will.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Thanks for your help, man.” Blake fist-bumped Sammy. “Appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Sammy unwrapped his scarf. The heat in the dorm was on full blast, turning the lobby into a scorching desert compared to the chill outdoors. “I’m sure Farrah will love it.”
“Yeah.” Blake peeked inside his shopping bag to double-check the gift was still there. It’d taken forever to figure out what to buy Farrah for her birthday and longer to track it down. If it weren’t for Sammy, he’d be stuck deciding between cliché jewelry options. “I hope so.”
“I’m never wrong.”
It was a wildly un-Sammy-like thing to say.
The boys took the stairs two at a time until they reached the second-floor landing. “Olivia’s rubbing off on you.”
“There’s a ninety-nine percent chance you’re right.”
“Don’t tell her what I got Farrah,” Blake warned.
Sammy clutched his heart. “I can’t believe you think I’d spill the beans. I—”
“You were going to tell her, weren’t you?”
“Well, she already knows.”
Blake opened the door to his room and shoved the shopping bag under his bed. “Unbelievable.”
“What, you think I came up with that gift idea on my own? Don’t worry. Liv won’t tell.”
“If Farrah finds out before her birthday, I will kill you in the most painful way possible.”
Sammy didn’t seem concerned. “You are so gone. It’s adorable. Really.”
“Get out of my room.”
“Maybe you should’ve bought her a diamond instead.”
Blake shoved the other boy into the hall and slammed the door in his face.
“You’re welcome!” Sammy shouted through the door.
“The most painful way possible!” Blake reminded him. He waited until Sammy’s laughter and footsteps faded before he flopped onto his bed and opened his laptop. He had a movie date with Farrah in a few hours, but first things first: email.