Summer Nights -- Bojan Cvjetićanin

iii

Florence was grinning the whole walk back to her hotel. When she arrived back there, her parents were already waiting for her outside. "You're late." Her mother said. Florence looked at her phone and shook her head. "No I'm not. We agreed to meet up in five minutes." 

"What's going on with you? Your face is all flushed." Florences dad tried to break the awkward atmosphere, but failed miserably. "Nothing. Just made a friend." Florence shrugged. 

The three walked off towards the city, Florence wandering behind her parents, her head in the clouds.

An hour later - otherwise it would seem too desperate - Bojan texted Florence.

Bojan

17:00

Hey, it's Bojan

Hii!!

Is it okay if I pick you up tomorrow evening?
I know something we can do

Yes for sure!
What is it?

It's a surprise

Okay?

All I can say is that it's outside,
so dress appropriately

Florence smiled at her phone, happy that Bojan texted her. She bit her lip as she put it back in her bag. "What were you smiling at your phone for?" Her mother asked her in a stern tone. "Iris texted me a funny story." Florence lied. She had become pretty good at lying throughout her life, because her parents didn't approve of anything she did. So, she just told them what they wanted to hear, to keep them content.

"Well, don't text during dinner." Florences mother said. Florence nodded and didn't say anything back. Her mind was still with Bojan when the food arrived, and he didn't leave her mind the entire night.

When she arrived back at the hotel Florence said goodnight to her parents and went to her room. She laid down on her bed after changing into an oversized shirt. She was deciding if she should text Bojan, but eventually she did, asking him if he could - and wanted to - call. 

Bojan answered pretty much immediately, saying that he would love to call her. Florence smiled brightly seeing his text. She stood up, bundling her hair in a bun, which turned out more messy than she wanted it to be, and sat down on the bed, her head resting against the wall. Her phone and Florence picked up.

"Hi." She said, smiling at her screen. "Hello." Bojan said, his face lighting up Florences phone. "How was dinner?" He asked. Florence chuckled, "It was fine. The food was good." She shrugged. "Anyway, how was your evening?" 

Bojan grinned, "Good. A little boring not being with you though." Florences eyes widened, her cheeks slightly turning red. She was happy it was a little dark in her room, and the blushing wasn't really obvious. 

"Wow. Okay." Was all Florence could utter, making Bojan laugh. "Did I make you speechless?" He smirked, proud of himself. Florence laughed, shaking her head. "No. I said words." She laughed.

"Yeah and those words were very coherent." Bojan nodded. "What did you eat tonight?" He asked, changing the subject so Florence wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

"Honestly I have no clue what it was called. It was really fancy. But I prefer pizza." Florence said. "Like, homemade pizza?" Bojan asked, and Florence nodded. "Something like that. But from restaurants too." She answered. "I love homemade pizza. My mom makes the best pizza." Bojan said with a big smile.

Florence softly smiled and nodded. "That sounds great." She said. "It is." Bojan nodded. "Wait can I have a tour of your room? I'm so curious to how it looks." He said, excited. Florence chuckled. "Sure." She stood up, turning the camera around to show Bojan the room. "That's so cool." He said, looking at the room in awe. He frowned, "Why do you have such a big backpack, and a bag?" He asked. 

Florence laughed and sat down again. She turned the camera back around. "My bag is for clothes, my backpack is for books." She answered. "How many books did you bring?" Bojan asked her. "Five." Florence shrugged. Bojans mouth fell open in shock. "But you're only here for a week?" He asked. "Yeah." Florence nodded. "I read a lot." She smiled. "And in my defense, I wasn't really planning on meeting people so I was thinking of sitting in a park or cafe and reading all week."

"Okay, fair." Bojan nodded. "But then you stumbled across me and I'm obviously way more fun than those books." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. Florence burst out laughing. "What? I am." Bojan said, pretending to be offended. "You're right, you are." Florence nodded, trying to hold in her laugh.

"Do you really not want to tell me what we're going to do tomorrow night?" Florence asked, not able to wait any longer. "It's a secret, Flo. I can't tell you yet." Bojan said. Florence raised her eyebrows. "Flo?" She smirked. "What? It's not that weird of a nickname." Bojan said. "No, you're right. It isn't. No one calls me that though." Bojan looked surprised. "Really? Not even your friends?" He asked.

Florence shook her head. "I don't really have a lot of friends. And my best friend calls me Bunny." She said. Bojans eyes widened. "Bunny?" He said, his voice laced with amusement. "If you ever tell anyone I will chop off your balls." Florence said. "We both know you - and I - wouldn't. But now I see why you don't have many friends." Bojan said. Florence smiled against her will. "They all think I'm scary, and I like it that way." She said. 

"I don't think you're scary." Bojan shrugged. "No, you actually dared to talk to me for longer than a minute." Florence smiled. "Wow I am so brave, I deserve an award." Bojan said. "Sure you do." Florence nodded sarcastically. 

A notification popped up on Florences phone, and she quickly tapped on it. "Sorry, Iris - the best friend - texted me. She's trying to get us tickets for a show." She said, typing an answer and tapping back so Bojans face filled her screen again. "What show?" He asked. "Chef'Special. They're a Dutch band with great songs. The only Dutch artist I like, and one of the only current bands I like." Florence explained.

"What kind of music do they make?" Bojan asked. "It's hard to explain. Indie-pop-rock?" Florence said. "Sounds good." Bojan nodded. "Yeah. I love bands." Florence smiled. "I'm in a band." Bojan said. Florences mouth fell open, "Really?" Bojan nodded. "Yeah." 

"What's the name of your band?" Florence asked. "Joker Out." Bojan said. "That sounds so cool." Florence said, astonished. "Yeah, we won the biggest competition for students bands last month." Bojan answered, like it was the most casual thing ever. "That's huge, holy shit." Florence said. 

"A little, yeah." Bojan smiled. 

The two talked for most of the night, neither wanting to hang up and stop talking to the other.