A Kiss Across Borders ✔

Thirteen: Not Wanting to Go

But the moment did eventually end. It was the afternoon again. The song was over, and my face felt like I had just opened an oven.

"Oh, my God!" Lisa beamed as she and Fabio came over to us. "You two are just adorable."

"Young love," Fabio smiled.

I wish.

Caroline's face turned rose-red. "You two looked beautiful. I am so happy for you both. It was truly an honour to be a part of your special day."

"You're a doll, hun," Lisa hugged Caroline, "you guys really helped make today go off better than I thought it would when I woke up this morning."

"Yes," Fabio said, "We cannot thank you enough."

"It was no problem at all," I replied.

"Well, you kids have a train to catch soon," Lisa said, "so let's cut the chit-chat for now and get you guys something to eat. You'll LOVE the pizza," she continued, "it's from our favourite pizzeria down by the river..."

After we returned to our table with our pizzas, the servers came by and filled our glasses with red wine.

"That's definitely Soldera," Sofia said, taking another sip.

Liam put the glass up to his mouth. "Whatever it is, it's good stuff."

Lisa was also right about the pizza; it was delicious. And not just because I was hungry. Liam scarfed his pizzas down like we were on the couch playing FIFA. Sofia didn't seem to mind though, and as usual, neither did Caroline.

But I wanted to make a good impression in a formal setting, so as much as I would have liked to match Liam's speed, I held back, remembering my manners. Mom would be so proud.

When they had finished eating, Liam and Sofia got up and said they wanted to have a quick look around the gardens before we had to go. That left Caroline and me alone with our plates, glasses and the tall floral centrepieces.

For a moment, neither of us said anything until Caroline broke the silence.

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Uh sure," I said, "let me just finish my wine."

Caroline giggled. "I'm sure it's not a crime for you to bring your glass; I'll take mine too."

And with that, we got up and walked towards the front of the villa. Liam and Sofia had disappeared into the more wooded area of gardens behind the house.

As we strolled along, I quietly admired the variety of cactus planted along the path.

"So, Caroline," began, "you never finished telling me about your plans for college."

Right. We haven't really had a moment to ourselves since right after getting off the train.

But all of a sudden, I felt nervous about telling her the truth. I was afraid of what she would think about me. Caroline was excited for university, and I wasn't sure how she'd feel about a guy who didn't want to want to go to college at all. Liam doesn't even know the whole story.

I sipped some wine and took a deep breath. "I don't want to go."

"What do you mean?" She wrinkled her brow.

Great. There goes her impression of me.

I shrugged. "I've been thinking about it all summer. And at some point, in Monaco, I realised college wasn't for me."

Caroline looked away, seemingly trying to process what I'd just said. But her silence had my heart beating like a drum. I should have lied.