My Life In Ruins

4. Bring It On, Oxford Boy. Bring. It. On.

Chapter 4

Bring It On, Oxford Boy.  Bring. It. On

At dinner, Brielle, Dad, and I pretty much grilled Max about everything: where he grew up, his schooling up until he went to college, life at Oxford, and why he was majoring in history.

“Well, I’m more into the archeology branch of it,” he said, and then grinned.  That smile of his…Stop staring like a creep, Callie!  “Hence why I wanted to get an internship with you.  I didn’t even realize that my parents knew you until I told them about the opportunity.”

Dad laughed.  “Well, your parents are good friends of mine, so of course I’d take you on,” he said. 

“So has Dad told you where we’re going?” I asked.  Maybe I could weasel some information from him.  Come on, Callie, dazzle him with your eyes or something!  Flirt a little with him somehow!  You can do it!

He just looked at me for a moment, like he was deep in thought about something.  Hey!  Maybe it was because he could see just what I was trying to do…

“No,” he said.

What, what…? 

“I don’t know where we’re going or what we’re doing,” he said.  “I’ve got no information besides we’re going to your home in Boston for two days before leaving again.”

Dang it!  Dad was really keeping this one under the radar.  Maybe I could somehow get a hold of Brielle’s laptop and see what she was looking at yesterday…

“So are you in school?” he asked, changing the subject.

I shook my head.  “No, I graduated two years ago from Boston University.  I double majored in history and international studies,” I said, smiling.  Ha, take that!

His eyes widened just the slightest bit.  I seriously thought he was thinking that I was older than him now.  I bit the inside of my lip to keep from laughing. 

“How old are you?” he asked.

My grin widened.  “Eighteen.”

His jaw dropped.  “Really?” he asked.  He sounded like he didn’t believe me one bit.  “You seem…older.”

Both Dad and Brielle laughed.  Oh, God, please don’t say anything embarrassing!

“Just wait,” Brielle said.  “She can get crazy.”

I sighed, rolling my eyes and knowing just what she was talking about.  “One time – one time – I had a little too much to drink in Italy and decided to take a swim in the Trevi Fountain…”  I shook my head and pointed at the bad influence in the seat across from me.  “And you should blame Dad!  He’s the one who let me!”  I made an attempt at mimicking Dad’s voice.    “‘It’s perfectly legal, Callie.  Just don’t go too crazy.  This wine is strong!’”

Dad laughed at my attempt.  I thought I did a pretty tremendous job.  “I thought it was funny, too,” he said.  “And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Brielle laughed with him and took his hand.  “You two are so alike sometimes, it’s scary.”

The three of us laughed again, knowing it was true, and then looked back at Max.  He was still staring at me with his mouth open. 

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head slightly.  “It’s just…When did you graduate high school?” he asked.

I sighed, preparing to tell my life story. 

“I graduated high school at thirteen and started college that fall.  That’s when I met Brielle,” I said, smiling over at her.  “She was working on her masters and we had a couple of the same classes.  She met my dad after a few weeks of knowing each other and bada bang!  They started dating, got engaged, and got married within my first year of college.  And like I said before, I graduated - summa cum laude actually – with a double major in history and international studies.”