What Happens Abroad (6 page)

My brain searched for the name, but I didn't think I'd heard it before. Then it dawned on me; the girl Joelle had told us about. “Yeah?” I asked, trying to keep my voice carefully neutral.

“Yeah. I met her at the bachelor party.”

I waited for her to go on, but she didn't say anything. “What'd she look like?”

Joelle grinned. “She's got wild hair, and her eyes are the most beautiful electric blue you've ever seen.” Her face lit up, and I realized Joelle really wanted to talk about the girl.

“What did you guys do?”

Joelle flushed. “Well—”

“I didn't mean that!” I took a fast gulp of my coffee, burning the roof of my mouth.

Joelle relaxed. “We didn't, if that's what you're wondering.”

“I wasn't!” I assured her.

“Although,” Joelle mused, “I don't even know how we would have, if it had come to that.”

I cleared my throat, embarrassed. “So you haven't dated any girls before?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I don't know what to say to my parents, so I haven't really put myself out there. It's weird, you know? Until college, I always just assumed I only liked guys.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I know what you mean. I mean, I've never questioned it.”

“Right? Girl meets boy is so easy . . .” Joelle trailed off, staring vacantly around the kitchen. “At least, I bet it would be easier to explain to my folks.”

“No one's asked you to get married yet, right?”

She laughed. “No. I guess not.”

“So why worry?”

Joelle eyed me. “The same way you aren't worrying about the guy you left in Paris?”

I was startled into honesty. “He's not the only thing I'm worrying about.” I told her about the e-mail from Jim, and Joelle's eyes clouded over.

“He sounds like a jerk! Why is he bothering you now?”

I shrugged helplessly. “I don't know. I don't know what to do.”

“Would you get back together with him? When you get home, I mean?”

I took another sip of the nasty coffee. “I don't know. I thought I loved him when we were together; he was my first real boyfriend.”

“But now?” Joelle's eyes searched my face.

“Now,” I sighed, “I don't know.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “We should start a club.”

“What kind of club?” Sarah asked from the doorway. I hadn't heard her come in; how long had she been standing there?

“A loser club for girls who can't figure out what they want,” I offered.

Sarah tossed her red hair over her shoulder. “Oh, that's silly. Besides, I know what I want.”

Joelle and I exchanged a surprised glance. “You do?”

“Yup. I want to forget Carson and fall in love for real.”

Huh. Maybe she wasn't as hung up on him as I'd thought. “You're sure that isn't kind of fast?”

She shrugged, making herself a cup of coffee. “I already lost my virginity. What is there to slow down for?”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and Joelle reached across the table and squeezed my hand silently. Sarah turned around and noticed my expression, and her face turned blotchy.

“Oh, shoot, I'm sorry, Camie.”

I waved her comment away with my hand, sniffling. “I'm okay.”

Sarah bit her lip. “Was it . . . was it at least good?”

I hesitated. “I don't really know.”

They stared at me expectantly.

I took a deep breath and went on. “I, um, was drunk. I don't remember a lot about that night.”

“Is that why you miss him so much? Because he's still sort of a fantasy, not a reality?”

The poignancy of Sarah's comment surprised me, and I nodded.

“Maybe something like that.” I paused, considering the time I did remember that I'd spent with Hunter. “Mostly, I just miss him because I feel like we could have been more than a stupid vacation fling.”

“Vacation flings are overrated,” Joelle said, tossing her hair with a grin. “Vacations, however, are totally worthwhile.”

~

We spent the morning doing laundry (Sarah was still in love with the washing machine, even if we did have to hang our clothes out the windows to dry), and just lounging around the apartment. I worked on some sketches, and I think Joelle read a book. When the hottest part of the day had passed, we decided to actually go out for a real Italian meal.

“But no partying tonight,” Joelle said as we walked along the cobblestones. “My liver needs a day to recover.”

We found a cute little restaurant with red-and-white-checked tablecloths like something out of an old movie, and we sat outside, watching people walk by while we waited for our food.

“So, what's your favorite place so far?” I gestured to the street. “I'm really starting to love Florence.”

Sarah thought about it. “I gotta say Amsterdam.”

Joelle raised an eyebrow. “Really? You couldn't wait to leave.”

Sarah shrugged. “Despite everything that happened with Carson, it was a really cool city.” She sighed. “I'd like to go back there sometime; I feel like I missed a lot.”

Joelle thought for a moment. “I don't know. Berlin was fun, but that was mostly because of the wedding. I guess I really liked London.”

I nodded, taking a sip of my water. “I don't know how I'm going to go back home after all this.”

“No one says you have to,” Sarah spoke suddenly. “I'm not.”

I looked at her in surprise. I mean, she'd mentioned problems with her dad, but I hadn't realized she really didn't plan to go home after the summer. “What're you going to do?”

She shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe I'll stay in Italy and let some hottie be my sugar daddy.”

Joelle and I laughed. “Well,” Joelle said, “I know I'm going home. I'm transferring to State in the fall, and I'm ready to move out of my parents' house.”

I thought about school. “I'm an art major,” I finally said, “but I lost my scholarship just before I came to Europe.”

“Oh, that sucks!”

I nodded. “Yeah. But I mean, I could always get loans. That's how I'm paying for this trip, actually,” I admitted.

Joelle nodded. “Loans are worth it, if you really want your degree.”

I turned to Sarah. “What about going to school? Is that something you've thought about?”

She shrugged, looking down. “Not really. My dad”—she paused—“he always said I was too stupid.” Sarah swallowed nervously.

“You're not stupid. Look, I know I haven't known you that long, but you're great, Sarah. You could totally do anything you want.”

Joelle nodded, leaning forward. “Camie's right. You've got a chance to reinvent yourself without your dad around to stop you. Take it!”

Sarah looked at us curiously. “What do you mean?”

Joelle spread her arms wide, almost knocking over her glass of water. “You're young, you're vibrant, and you're here in Europe with the money you saved up from babysitting. Daddy isn't here to tell you what to do, and that's something you should take advantage of.”

Sarah sat up a little taller. “You think I should go to school?”

“If that's what you want. But you could do other things too . . . even nanny again!” I offered.

Sarah looked thoughtful. “I did enjoy it . . . most of the time.”

The waiter appeared with our food, cutting the conversation short. After he'd gone, I smiled. “I guess none of us have to figure it out right now!”

Joelle nodded. “Right now, we just need to figure out where we're going to put all this food.”

Sarah stared at the heaping plate in front of her and groaned. “God, I'm going to be so fat by the end of this trip.”

“You aren't fat,” Joelle and I spoke in unison, and all three of us burst out laughing. Joelle lifted her water glass, and Sarah and I followed suit.

“Here's to travel!”

We clinked, laughing, and I pushed aside my worries about what I'd do when this trip was over. It wasn't over yet, I reminded myself as I dug into my food. I didn't have to make any decisions just yet.

Walking back to the apartment with our arms linked, we started singing “That's amore!” The people we passed probably thought we were drunk, but for once, I didn't care. It was fun to forget about everything for a little while, and I really was having a good time with Joelle and Sarah.

A couple of blocks before we got home, Sarah hopped up onto the smooth white marble surrounding a fountain decorated with leaping fish and swirling carvings. She tugged on our hands, and after a minute, Joelle followed her up. Laughing, I stayed on the ground.

“What are you doing?”

Sarah twirled carefully on the wet stone. “Enjoying myself. What are
you
doing, Camie?”

“Come on, Camie, the water's fine!” Joelle laughed.

“I don't want to find out how the water is!”

Sarah leaned forward. “It won't kill you to have a little fun.”

She was right. Trying to ignore the stares of the people on the street around us, I scrambled up onto the fountain beside the girls. Sarah flung her arm across my shoulders, and I giggled self-consciously. “Everyone's staring.”

“So what?” Sarah dropped her hands and did a little shimmy with her hips. “When will you ever have the chance to dance on a fountain in Italy?”

“To dance
sober
on a fountain in Italy?” Joelle added with a laugh, shaking her short hair to an invisible beat.

I laughed. “Fair point.” I moved my hips carefully, trying to keep my balance. “I just don't want to go for a late-night swim.”

“We're way too cool for that,” Sarah said, stepping away from me and flinging her arms wide. “Watch!” She started to twirl, and Joelle and I ducked out of the way of her spinning arms, laughing. We were still laughing when Sarah's foot slipped and she sailed backward, her hands grasping at the empty air before we had a chance to react.

She landed in the shallow water with a splash, and for a minute, Joelle and I froze. “Oh my God, are you okay?” I leaned in, reaching my hand toward her to fish her out, but Sarah just started to laugh. Tears were streaming down her face as she pushed herself to her feet, rubbing her tailbone ruefully, but she didn't stop laughing. Joelle reached for her other arm, and a wicked glint flashed across Sarah's eyes. Before I could react, she'd tugged us both into the fountain with her.

Water shot up my nose as we landed in a heap on top of Sarah, but instead of being angry, I started to giggle. Flicking water at the girls, I struggled to stand up, but my feet slipped out from under me and I crashed into the water again.

“This is ridiculous,” Joelle managed to squeeze out between laughs. “You two are crazy, you know that?”

Nearly hysterical, the three of us finally made it to our feet and climbed out of the fountain. Sarah hiccupped. “Now that,” she said in between gulps for air, “was fun!”

The next night, back in the apartment, I was leaning out the kitchen window, looking at the city. I was nearly horizontal, my stomach pressed against the window frame, my hair falling around my face as I stared down at the street below. The breeze was almost cool that night, and I shook my head, enjoying the movement of the night air against my skin.

“Hey.” A male voice startlingly close to me spoke, and I straightened up, surprised.

Leaning out the next window a few feet away from me was the curly haired guy who'd broken into our apartment the other night. He was staring at me. Nervously, I pulled my hair away from my face.

“Hey,” I began, not sure what to say.

“Look, we're really sorry about all that. My mates and I were a bit pissed, and I think we made a poor show of ourselves.”

His accent was thicker than I'd realized, and I struggled to understand him. “No worries, I guess.” I gestured to the window. “Looks like you made it home okay, after all.”

He laughed. “It was an honest mistake! At least we were on the right floor of the building.”

Someone next door called out something unintelligible, and his head disappeared for a moment. I was just about to go back inside when he reappeared with a grin.

“Good, you're still here. Can we make it up to you girls?”

“You don't need to do that.”

He smiled, and a dimple appeared in his cheek. God, he was pretty cute. “Yes, we do. My mates and I need to show you that we can be proper gentlemen when we aren't too pissed to see straight.”

I laughed despite myself. “What did you have in mind?”

“Meet us down at the little park around the corner. We can all have a chat and a drink.”

I thought about it. “I have to ask the girls.”

He grinned at me. “So ask away; I'll be out here waiting for your answer!”

I giggled as I pulled my head back inside, then headed down the hall to Joelle's room.

She was propped up in bed, reading, and Sarah was staring vacantly at her phone. They both looked up when I came in.

“What's up?”

“Do you remember those guys from the other night?”

Joelle snorted. “I don't think I'll forget them anytime soon.”

“Well,” I hesitated, realizing how dumb it sounded, “they want to hang out with us.”

Sarah stared at me. “What do you mean?”

“I was in the kitchen, and one of them started talking to me.”

“What, they came back?”

I shook my head. “No. Their hostel actually
is
next door, and I had my head out the kitchen window.”

Joelle laughed. “Why were you doing that?”

I shrugged. “I like to look at the city at night.”

Sarah shook her head impatiently. “Back to the guys.”