Chapter 1
Rafe
It was a truth universally acknowledged that Rafe would fuck any guy with a British accent. It didn’t matter if the guy was short, fat, pasty, or forty. There was something about the British accent that overrode normal conventions of beauty. Maybe it was a lingering evolutionary thread leftover from the British imperial era, and it helped explain how such a little country could’ve dominated most of the world. Who would’ve been able to resist a guy who sounded like he was forever reciting Shakespeare? Even a stuttering Colin Firth inThe King’s Speechwas eminentlyfuckable.
Rafe’s ears perked up in the airport as he listened to the dignified-sounding chatter around him. A British man in a suit (double sexy!) talked on his cell phone about work files. He had the dirty blonde hair and big eyes that reminded Rafe of Jude Law, theTalented Mr. Ripleyera.Excuse me, would you mind escorting me to the men’s room and shagging my brainsout?
“Rafe, do you have your passport?” his dad asked him. Rafe looked up, and the British guy in a suit wasgone.
“Yes.” Rafe patted the front pocket of his backpack. “I am ready to get stamped!” He silently congratulated himself on the unintentional doubleentendre.
“Why is it in your backpack, sweetheart?” His mom looked at his dad in shock. The three of them all had the same lean figure and wild brown curls. It would be adorable if it weren’t soembarrassing.
“Please don’t keep it in your backpack.” His dad half-closed his eyes and exhaled a breath. “Rafe, your passport is the most important document you have in your possession. You need to keep it in your front pants pocket. When it’s in your backpack like that, it can easily bestolen.”
“Sorry.”
“Just be careful,okay?”
“I will.” He put his passport in the special carrier his parents had gotten him and nestled it deep inside his pantspocket.
The three of them sat at a table outside a coffee stand before the security gate. Rafe saw other kids with their parents, and he wondered which ones would be in his study abroad program. It was rare for a sophomore to be going abroad for fall semester, but Rafe was compelled not to wait. He was in desperate need ofadventure.
“You’re going to have a wonderful time.” His mom rubbed his hand. He wondered if she was going to tear up like when they finished unpacking his dorm room freshman year. “I loved studying abroad. I studied in Paris. You can go into any hole-in-the-wall place and have the best meal of your life.” She stared wistfully at the table for a second. “Just be careful if you go to Paris. In any major European city, pick-pocketing is bigthere.”
“I know you like to wear your wallet in your back pocket, but I think you should wear it in front,” his dadsaid.
Rafe stood up and made a small production of putting his wallet in his front pocket for his parents, cramming it next to his passport. His dad winked at him and rubbed his head. Kids in college loved to complain about their parents, but Rafe stayed silent in those conversations. They loved him and meant well. He believed his coming out in eighth grade, and their instant acceptance and support, gelled them into a tightunit.
“And you checked with Verizon, and you’ll have international service on your phone?” his momasked.
“Yep!”
“And you have your creditcard?”
“Yep again.” Rafe patted his wallet, in his frontpocket.
“So when you land, how will you get to the school?” His dad stood up to throw out his coffeecup.
“The study abroad program arranged it. The bus will takeme.”
“And what’s this school’s meal planlike?”
“Good. Dining hall food. There’ll be lots of fish and chips.” Rafe hoped his smile satisfiedthem.
“I’m just checking,” his dad said, defensiveness in hisvoice.
“Rafe, you wanted to be in charge of arranging your study abroad trip, which we respect,” his mom said. She and his dad seemed to be forever in sync. They’ve finished each other sentences, usually when those sentences were asking Rafe about his life. “You’re an adult. It’s your right. But we want to make sure we have all the details, so that we know you’re safe and taken care of over there. It’s not the same as you being in Pennsylvania at college. You will be an oceanaway.”
“I know. It’s fine. I took care of everything. I adulted real hard when I planned this semester abroad. Don’tworry!”
“We’re your parents. It’s our job to worry about you, Rafey.” His dad rubbed his hair again. “We’re going to missyou.”
“You,too.”
They sat there a few more minutes, until it was time for Rafe to go. His parents each hugged him twice. They walked with him to the security checkpoint, basically handing him off to the TSA agent, who could careless.
“I know it’s a foreign country, but don’t be scared. You’re going to have the best time,” his mom said as she pulled him into herchest.
