My heartbeat slowed down when the train started pulling out of the Monte Carlo Station. As Monaco flew by, Caroline was admiring the rugged Mediterranean Coast, and I was admiring her.
My Ray-Ban aviators helped me steal glances at her while I pretended to look out the window. I wished I could see those blue eyes hiding behind her sunglasses. What's she thinking about as the world flies by?
That thought seemed to make her look away from the window and towards me. It was almost like she heard it somehow. But I kept my head against the window, pretending like I wasn't just looking at her.
"What are you thinking about?" she smiled.
I was about to reply when Liam spoke up.
"My money's on food," he said, "or at least it should be."
No, but it's better than telling her: I was just thinking about how much I love when you smile at me.
"Is that all you think about?" Sofia asked, "we literally just ate."
"What can I say?" Liam shrugged, "I'm a growing boy. And no, it's not the only thing I think about," he smirked.
She blushed and shook her head. Sorry, Sofia, but you kinda walked into that one.
"Well," I sat up, "I was actually thinking about our food plans-"
"You mean how we don't have any besides, eat something in Italy," Liam interrupted, elbowing me in the shoulder.
"Yes, that," I rubbed the back of my head, "so what we should do is look up some restaurants in Ventimiglia, and we can decide which one sounds best and go with that one. Does that work for everyone?"
The collective nods were quickly followed by all of us intently looking at our phones. But hindsight's twenty-twenty and looking back, I probably should have just picked a place and left it at that.
"No," Sofia said to Liam, "I didn't like that one."
"What's wrong with it, babe?" he asked.
She blushed before giving her reason. "I don't know, I saw it when I was looking before, and it gave me a weird vibe-look at this one," she set her phone on the table, "the food looks amazing."
"I saw that one too," Caroline said, "but I don't think it had seating outside."
"Oh," Sofia reached for her phone to have a closer look.
"I'm with Caroline," Liam nodded, "we don't wanna be inside on a day like this. Plus I need to work on my tan."
"What about this one?" I said, setting my phone on the table, "it has a nice sitting area outside with a view of the sea."
"Their menu didn't look good, though," Sofia frowned.
This went on for another five minutes before I realised we weren't getting anywhere.
"Okay," I held up my hand, "new plan. Everybody just pick the restaurant you like best. Liam," I turned to him.
"Yes, sir."
"You still have that notebook in your backpack?"
"Coming right up," he said, unzipping his bag before handing me the notebook and a pen.
"So," I began, "I'll write the restaurants down on strips of paper," I grabbed Liam's hat off his head, "and we'll draw one out of the hat. Whichever one comes out, that's the one we're going with. Deal?"
"I'm game," Liam said.
"That works for me," Caroline nodded.
Sofia rested her chin in her hand, but didn't say anything.
"Belle," Caroline poked Sofia's arm, "we're waiting."
"One second," she replied, "just weighing my odds."
Liam smiled. "It's fifty per cent."
"No, it's not," Sofia looked up at him. "There's a twenty-five per cent chance the restaurant I pick will come out of the hat because there's four of us and-"
"Not if two people pick the same restaurant," he interrupted.
A blush-filled smile started to creep across Sofia's face. She was about to say something to Liam when he turned to me and said, "I'm going with the same one as you, bro."
Caroline immediately started giggling as Sofia's face went from pleased to shocked in less than two seconds. I couldn't help smiling.
"That's not fair," Sofia crossed her arms.
Caroline laughed as she talked. "It's...technically...not...against the rule."
I shrugged. "I didn't say that wasn't allowed."
Sofia narrowed her eyes and glared at Liam.
"I'll make it up to you later," he winked at her.
But she looked away and tried not to smile.
Liam reached over the table and rubbed her arm. "Come on, Belle," he said, imitating Caroline's voice.
Caroline lost it again, and Sofia couldn't fight off smiling anymore.
"Fine," Sofia turned to face Liam.
Liam grinned. "You're really cute when you pout."
Sofia reached over the table and ruffled Liam's hair.
"What was that for?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Just wanted to do that."
"Alright," I said, "shall we?"
Caroline nodded and tried to compose herself.
I went ahead and wrote down the restaurants. Sofia took them and said she'd fold them because she didn't trust Liam or me not to cheat.
"Suit yourself," I smiled, "and just so you don't think we're cheating, Caroline should pick the name out of the hat."
Caroline's sunglasses were on her head, and so were mine. But when our eyes met, it seemed like maybe she didn't want to do it, so I added, "I mean, you can pick if you want."
"Yeah, it's okay. I'll do it. Especially if it'll put Sofia's mind at ease."
Sofia shook her head. "Let's just get it over with."
"Okay," Caroline put one hand over her eyes before reaching into the hat with the other. She pulled out a strip of paper, unfolded it, then said, "And the winner is, Ristorante Marco Polo."
Sofia put one hand over her mouth, pretending to be surprised. "Oh my goodness, how did that happen? It's almost like that restaurant was on two different pieces of paper," she shot a disapproving stare at Liam.
He tried to contain a satisfied smile as he reached for his hat. But Sofia grabbed it and put it on her head, turning it backwards.
"No," she smirked, "as penance for what you did, I'll be wearing this until we get to Italy."
Liam shrugged. "Fine by me, babe. It's not like I like seeing you in my hat or anything." He leaned back in his seat, "But Canuck colours do look good on you."
Sofia's olive cheeks turned red as she looked away.
With the food situation sorted out, Caroline started talking about going to university in the fall; Liam and Sofia quickly joined in. All of them were discussing what classes they were going to take and where they were going.
Sofia was excited about going to the London School of Economics, and Caroline was headed to Sorbonne University in Paris to study Philosophy.
But I was quiet the whole time they were talking. I smiled and nodded, praying nobody would ask me about college.
*~~Author's Notes~~*
Hola again kind Reader,
Do you like romances set in cities? What about dancing, specifically tango? If any of that vibes with you, I'd recommend checking out a story I was honoured to co-author: Telltale Tango.
Desperate to end her relationship drought, Giselle Landry shows up to her first date in years only to find she's been catfished again. Thankfully, a handsome bartender, Feliciano Arias, swoops in to save the evening from being a complete waste. Sparks fly as Giselle and Feliciano go for a night on the town, but she can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something from her. To silence her doubts, Giselle has to get to know the real Feliciano, even if it leads to their last dance.
Read the story over on Camila's profile: Camila_Ferrera