Ella and Wilson

3

Fashion week went off amazingly. I attended almost all the shows, after parties, and brunches with other celebrity friends I had made over the years. I found myself plastered all over social media from different appearances, sitting front row at certain shows, and just traipsing around New York like I'm Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City.

"Matcha latte, please, with almond milk." I handed the barista my card. I walked over to a table next to a large Pothos plant that trailed from the ceiling to the floor and pulled out my latest read from my tote bag. Today was the last day of Fashion Week and all I had to attend was the final show in the evening. After tonight, my summer break would begin until it was time to begin filming again.

"The kids and I are leaving tomorrow for the summer." A woman at the table next to me said with a thick New York accent. She was talking so loud I had to pause with my book.

"Where are you going?" Her friend asked. They both sipped their cappuccinos.

"St. Petersburg, Florida. Gary's parents just moved down there and won't shut up about how amazing it is." The first woman waved her arms at the annoyance of the in-laws talking nonstop about this place.

"Oh, honey, Tampa?" The other woman made a disgusted face.

"See, that's what I thought too but then I looked it up. It's separate from Tampa and looks absolutely darling. The beaches are amazing. I'll have to report back when we get back in September."

"I'm curious, then, to hear."

St. Petersburg, Florida. I had never heard of it before. I pulled out my phone and began to look up this place. I had heard somewhat negative things about Tampa so my expectations were not high as Google loaded images of St. Pete. The first images to pop up showed clear, turquoise water and bright, white beaches. I double checked that google was showing me Florida and not the Bahamas.

I scrolled further down and saw a small city along the water surrounded by marinas. A huge pink hotel started popping up in the images called the Don Cesar. It looked like something from a Wes Anderson movie.

I Googled St. Petersburg's population and saw it was in the 200,000's. Not too bad. I spent a few more minutes looking at pictures and reading articles on the town. It seemed extremely low key with good restaurants and great beaches. This definitely could be a low key place for someone like me to spend the summer. How easy would it be to fly into Miami or Orlando and drive to this place? Flying into Tampa would be too obvious and I could easily be found out. No one would recognize me on the beaches. I could rent a house in a random neighborhood and just spend all day paddle boarding or kayaking, too. I took this information back to Amelia.

"Are you crazy? That's right next to Tampa. You think you won't get recognized there?" Amelia stammered. We both were getting ready for the last show. I was bringing Amelia as a plus one. She loves Versace and they were closing the week.

"I don't think so! There are so many beaches, and this one at Fort Desoto is huge. I could go to the very end of the beach, where I'm sure no one would be, and no one would even know who I am."

"It has a satellite campus of USF. There are going to be so many people there that know who you are."

"The number of students on campus is significantly lower. It's summer. They aren't there." I countered. I puckered my lips and smeared dark red lipstick on them.

"And are you wanting to go tomorrow?"

"No, I need to run home first and get my things together."

"Okay, fine, but if it backfires on you I told you so." Amelia turned on her curling wand. "Give me like a day to look up security companies just in case shit hits the fan. Do you want me to book a house for you to stay in?"

"That would be amazing. You do the best job finding places to stay." At this, Amelia smirked.

"Yeah, yeah."