The Vacation

Chapter Sixteen

"Good night, Lindsey." The three of us called as she walked down the endless hallway of La Casa Cararra.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna see you all in like seven hours anyways." She called back.

It was after 3 in the morning; we had played Never Have I Ever long enough to go through two whole bottles of Tobasco Sauce. Our tongues were raw and our throats burned, so of course Lindsey decided she was going to bed. Whatever. The boys and I were pulling an all -

"Alessio! Where are you going? It's not dawn yet you can't go to bed!" I hear Marco say indignantly. I turn my head towards him, raising an eyebrow.

"Listen mieles, you can stay up as late as you want. But Lindsey's right. And I actually work tomorrow. You know, that thing I do sometimes to get a little extra money? Yeah. My boss is going to kick my ass if I fall asleep tomorrow. And Marco, I say pancake competition for breakfast tomorrow. You up? Or are you too chicken to take me on?" And he leaves the room with a smirk on his face.

"Ugh. Both of them are party poopers. Well, what do you want to do now, Marco? I'm staying awake all night, whether it be here, my flat, or somewhere else. You can join me or not." I shrug.

He looks at me. "How about a bar? I know a good place. And you've turned 18 right?"

I nod. "Sounds good to me. And yeah. Been 18 since June. It bothers me because I'm technically the oldest in my class, old enough to have been held back a grade, but I've never been held back. In fact, I actually graduated a semester early because of this trip. But yeah, everyone at my school is all like "Jess you've gotta be stupid to already be 18 and still a senior" and whatnot. Well. Not everyone. Just my frie...uh, ex-friend, Taylor. So enough rambling. Let's go."

We get up, me grabbing my shoes and my purse, Marco grabbing keys, a bottle of ibuprofen, and six bottles of water. I look at my phone and I see that I have missed calls and texts from my dad.

Dad: "J. Text me when you get this. Just didn't see you at home. Am worried about you. Hopefully you're with Alessio and not lying dead in an alley."

So I respond: "All's well, dad. Thanks for that. Really appreciate your humor."

I didn't expect him to reply, it being 3 hours after midnight, but I got an immediate notification.

Dad: "Okay, that's fine. Just stay there tonight and see you in the morning. Love you more than moon pie."

"More than moon pie? That's cool. Your dad seems like a typical parent, if not a little more laid back." Marco said as he read my text over his shoulder.

"What are you doing? My texts are my business. If I wanted you to know what it was about, I would have read it out loud!" I spin around and snap at him. Then I try to reign in my temper, saying, "Sorry about that. But it's true. Stay out of my business. And that's just some dumb thing my dad says. He thinks it's funny. Let's get going." Actually, I thought it was cute how my dad said that. I would never tell him that though. Or anyone else. I brush past Marco and out the front door. Then I walk back in. "Um. Don't know what your car looks like." I say.

He laughs. "It's parked across the street. Come on, I'll show you."

We walk out the door and across the street. Lo and behold, he leads me to a shiny white Ferrari.

"Name's Mila. She's a real beauty. And she doesn't like to get scratched, dented, or disrespected. So whatever goes on tonight -" he whips out a mischievous grin -"can't happen in this car. She's my baby. She's a 458 Italia. 2020. Not even on public market yet. Got it?" And with that, he stepped around me and opened the passenger door for me.

We get to the bar that he claimed to know a lot about a few minutes later.

He orders a straight whiskey shot and I get a glass of chardonnay. 

"So tell me about yourself, Jess." He says after he knocks back his entire glass in one gulp.

"Nope. You're first. I ask you a question, you ask me a question. Cool?"

He shrugs. "Sure." Throws down another shot.

"Why are you and Ali so different? He's a gentleman, gentleman. And you seem more of a...player, gentleman." There goes a third, straight down his throat.

"That's because you're right." His speech is already slurred. "He's the epitome of chivalrous. I, on the other hand, only care about others when it's convenient, because I have a life. He doesn't step out of line ever. And I haven't seen the line in four years. He's gay. I'm straight. And to be honest, some call me a tramp. If you ask people, they say I sleep around. They're not wrong. Hell, that's my favorite pastime! But yeah, um....okay, okay. I got a good one. Will you go out with me sometime? I mean like you know. A real date. And not this. Because this isn't a real date. This is a boredom excursion." He hiccups. He gestured for two more shots while he was talking and downed them both by the time he finished.

Yes, I do believe I have finally met my match. This friendship would either turn out to be much more or go down in spiralling flames. Either way, I had a feeling it would be fun.

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Thank you all so much for reading! You're all the best and I love you all! Keep reading!

This is off topic but I'm going to tell you because I think this is a valuable thing that I learned. Okay guys, I implore you, please please please don't change yourselves for anyone. Whether it be that guy you're trying to impress or a condescending adult or whomever. Don't change for them. Because screw them. Change for you. Change because you want to change to make yourself better. For you. For the person that you look in the eyes every morning through the mirror. Because no single person other than yourself is worth it. They either love you for you or they don't matter.

Okay. Well. Anyways. Don't forget to vote/comment/share if you liked this chapter.

Kisses,
Hannah