Daylight [Breakable Heaven #2]

5. You're dumb!

"Why did he miss the plane?" I ask the young guy in front of me while I sneak a glance at the clock, begging time to move faster so this lesson can finally be over and I can take a short but well-deserved break.

"Because... Uhm..." the student hesitates, and I wonder why it's taking him so long to produce a sentence as simple as 'because he was too late'. Next, I wonder why I have chosen this job. I sigh and the guy stutters a little more before he says "because the plane was too fast".

I do my best not to laugh, but it's fighting a losing battle. He, too, realizes that what he said was a little insane, so he starts giggling and adds an 'I love action movies' to justify himself. I can't help but appreciate the humor and his attempt to fix the mistake, so I let it slide and ask the next question. Besides, the whole point of the exercise was for him to use 'too' in a sentence, so I guess he sort of aced that, didn't he?

Twenty minutes later, I jump off my chair, grab my lunch and cigarettes, and meet Rory halfway to the school's backyard for a well-deserved break. Today Rory and I are planning our summer holidays, and I couldn't be any more excited.

"I'd say a road trip is probably the best solution to appease both my need for sun and sea and yours for cultural fulfillment. That way, we could have some days at the beach and some days sightseeing. Any ideas on the destination?" Rory asks as she paces back and forth in the backyard with a cigarette between her fingers.

"We could go to Italy," I suggest, holding my breath while I scrutinize Rory to catch any possible reaction. Italy is where she comes from - sort of - and where her family lives, so maybe she might think I'm implying something I'm not. I just really want to visit Italy.

"Italy?" she repeats, her eyebrow arched.

"Yeah... I mean... it's a good compromise, right? It has the most beautiful historical and artistic sites, and great beaches, too. And I know your family lives there, but I'm not saying that you have to introduce me to them, because I know it's too soon," I start rambling like a total idiot. "I mean, of course you could introduce me as just your friend and colleague and not your girlfriend, but I totally get it if you don't want to... and I mean, yeah, I kinda virtually introduced you to my mom, but, you know, she's dead, so it's not like she can disapprove... not that she would... disapprove of you, that is. She would really like you. But that's not the point. The point is... I want to go to Italy because it's an amazing country, and not because I want you to come out to your family as god knows what sexuality you identify with... or tell them that I'm your girlfriend... it's too soon... I've already said that... but still..."

I finally stop blathering, and Rory is standing there with her arms folded to her chest, looking like she's about to have a stroke for trying too hard not to laugh.

"You're dumb," she says, shaking her head, but the smile on her face is full of affection.

"Yeah, I know," I lower my gaze to the ground, feeling mortified. That definitely wasn't my finest moment, I'll give her that.

"Sash..." she steps closer and takes my hand in hers. "I've already told my mom about you. I tell her everything, so I talked to her about this situation, even before we officially got together. She was the one who helped me realize that I wanted you - really wanted you."

"She was??" I am astonished. I thought she wanted to keep this thing between us as private as possible, and that her family would be the last to know. I was wrong.

She nods. "So if you really want to go to Italy, we can definitely stop by at my parents' so you can meet them, but I'm afraid the place where they live isn't exactly historically or culturally interesting, and it doesn't have beaches, which means it would be a quick stop on our way to somewhere else."

"Done!" I beam, shaking her head as if we were sealing a deal. This exceeds all my highest expectations! Not only Rory isn't ashamed of being with me and she had already told her mother about us, but she's also willing to introduce me to her family as her girlfriend. I almost cannot believe it. But then again, Rory has always been full of surprises when it comes to our relationship, so this new development shouldn't shock me as much as it does.

"We should start jotting down all the places we would like to visit, so we can plan an itinerary and book the accommodations as soon as possible. It gets crazy over there in August, and we cannot risk not finding a place to sleep. Neither of us is exactly the type of person who would enjoy spending the night in the car or - god forbid - at a camping site."

"Definitely," I agree.

"Unless..." her face darkens and her expression changes from excited to doubtful.

"What?"

"Do you really want to go away with me in August? I know we've been talking about it for a while, but now that things have changed, I'm not sure you..."

My eyes go wide. How could she possibly think I have changed my mind about our vacation just because that asshole of my ex-girlfriend has suddenly decided to reappear in my life?

"Who's being dumb now?" I tease her. "Of course I really want to go on vacation with you, Rory! I told you, Lilian being here changes nothing. Besides, chances are she's gonna give up trying to talk to me after a couple of days and she's gonna fly back to L.A. before we know it. And even if she doesn't, even if she's here to stay, I don't give a flying fuck. She doesn't get to dictate how I live my life anymore, and trust me, there is nothing - NOTHING - that could stop me from spending three amazing weeks traveling around Italy with my amazing girlfriend."

She smiles, and I can see relief washing over her face.

"Good. Then let's start planning."

Our break goes by fast, and by the end of it, we have a list of twenty-six places at least one of us wants to visit. At some point, we would have to skim them, as we can't really visit all of them, but for now, I'm just dreaming and looking forward to what I know is going to be the best vacation of my life.