Dev steps back to let me pass, but I can feel the judgment pouring off him. He’s managed to pack for a five-day trip with nothing but his book bag. Boys.
I duck back into the room. “See you soon,” I call to Sage.
“Have a safe trip!”
“You do know that you aren’t moving to Venice, right?” Huan asks as I lug my suitcase into the hall.
“I couldn’t decide what to bring. Will’s taking me to a nice restaurant one night so I had to pack some fancier stuff, plus I wanted layers. I read that Venice will be colder because it’s on the water.”
“Pretty excited, then?” he asks.
I take a deep breath, trying to put my mood into words. My feelings are a jumble inside me. Iamexcited. A break from schoolwork, traveling in Europe, spending time with one of the most gorgeous guys in the world. This could end up being one of the best times of my life. But what if Will’s upset when I tell him our interests aren’t as similar as he believes? What if he doesn’t like the “new” me? Between the viral video and my age, I’ve already kept way too much from him.
“I can’t wait for the food,” Dev says. “Followed closely by the art.”
“Forget all that,” Huan replies. “I’m grabbing the first slice of pizza I see and waiting in St. Mark’s Square until pigeons sit on my head.”
“That’s disgusting,” I reply.
“It’s not a real visit without the pigeons. I don’t make the rules.”
Heathrow is alive with controlled chaos. From a distance I can make out Frank and Will waiting for us near the check-in kiosks. I draw in a quick breath. All around us are passengers in every shape, size, and type, but Will and Frank stand apart, like two movie stars in a sea of extras.
Frank sees us first, and he whoops and waves us over. Will strides to my side and kisses me before shouldering my carry-on. “Now I can relax,” he whispers.
My smile is tight. If only I could relax too.
It takes a while for all of us to get checked in and through security. At one point Frank thinks he lost his passport and we allgo into panic overload, searching his bags and trying to find phone numbers for lost and found, before he realizes it was in the outside pocket of his bag the whole time. It’s a miracle when all five of us finally make it to our gate.
“I need coffee,” Frank says, looking around. “Anyone else?”
“Yes,” Will says.
“Should we all go?” I ask.
Dev shakes his head and drops his bag at the end of a row of seats. “You guys go. I’ll watch the bags.” His voice is different—dejected. Looking at our group, it’s clear why. Dev’s the odd man out, at least until Sage meets us in a few days.
“I’ll bring you back a coffee,” I tell him. “Extra sugar, no milk, right?”
He holds my gaze a moment. “Thanks, Elle.”
I bite my lip at the name. Will’s already heading to the nearest coffee shop so I give Dev a brief smile and run to catch up. Will’s phone rings then. He pulls it out, curses, then shoves it back in his pocket.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“It’s my father. I’m ignoring him until after the trip.”
His phone rings again while we’re waiting to pay for the coffees and a third time when Huan makes us stop to buy a Milka chocolate bar. The fourth time it rings, Will jerks it out and takes the call. A moment later he ducks his head and says, “No.Absolutely not.”
I scurry over to Frank and Huan. “Will’s father keeps calling him,” I whisper, gesturing over to him. Will is pacing in the terminal with a mutinous expression on his face.
Frank frowns and slowly puts down the Queen Elizabethbobblehead he was inspecting. “Something’s wrong.”
We inch closer and the second Will finishes the call, I move to his side.
“Are you okay? We were getting worried.”
“Elle...”
