Page 47 of Something Like Fate

I pat it down, embarrassed. “How bad is it?”

“Oh, terrible. You’ll need all the help you can get.”

I hold back a snort, body seizing under his adorable gaze. I wish I could read his mind. “Oh yeah?”

“Yup.” He leans forward to smooth stray hairs away from my face, gently placing them behind my ear. I shiver at his touch and he smiles, eyes fixed on me. He slowly closes the gap between us, tilting my chin up to bring his lips to mine. They’re soft, yet firm, demanding in a way that strikes me like a match. One spark and my body whirs, forever altered in the best way.

I think about fate and how much had to line up for me to be here, right now. Teller coming home after his breakup, Bianca injuring her foot, Teller choosing the hostel in Venice, next to the hotel with the runaway trolley.

My fingers curl into his thick hair as he pulls me closer. My back is pressed into the cool grass. I burrow my face into his neck, memorizing the feeling of his pulse thrumming against my skin, all that nervous energy coursing through me. I inhale his espresso scent one last time, freezing that moment in my mind.

He kisses me again and again, and I’m overcome with a bubbling from deep within. It feels like I could float up and away. I don’t ever want to come back down. I imagine this is how Mom felt when she met Dad. How all the women in my family felt when they just knew they’d met their soulmates. It’s nothing short of magic.

I squeeze him tighter, delighting in the weight of him, as though holding on to him will prolong the moment. We find a rhythm, him leading the way, me following in sync. He brands me with each kiss, each caress.

I could do this forever.In fact, I have no idea how I’ve gone so long without him.

He finally stops to take a breath, resting his nose against mine. “All right. We better go before we get too carried away.”

I run my hand over his T-shirt, tempted to pull him back to me. The separation feels unnatural. “That wouldn’t be the worst.”

“Same time tomorrow night?” he asks, almost teasing, eyes sparkling.

It’s the easiest yes of my life.

14

So, tell me about these late-night rendezvous,” Dad says pointedly on FaceTime.

“You heard?” Damn, news travels fast.

I just got back twenty minutes ago. It’s the third night Caleb has taken me on an adventure. Each night, we’ve wandered and gotten lost, winding up in a completely different part of Rome than we expected.

These adventures are Caleb’s compromise for following Teller and Jenny’s strict itineraries during the day. And I have to say, there’s something thrilling about not having a destination. About discovering hidden gems, going with the flow, and embracing the unknown.

Tonight resulted in taking the wrong subway and getting stranded at the station for over an hour. But Caleb took it all with a smile, despite how hungry and tired we both were. By the time we found ourselves in Testaccio at a huge late-night food market, it felt like we were destined to wind up there. After trying our weights’ worth of street foods that required me to pop multiple Lactaids, like panzerottis, suppli, zeppole, and meat skewers, we wandered into a karaoke bar and passionately (and terribly) performed a duet to “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. We got a standing ovation.

With each night, I fall harder and harder for Caleb. He’s so present when we’re together. Maybe it’s that he’s not distracted by his phone. He doesn’t have the urge to constantly check his texts or notifications. His thumb isn’t itching to scroll mindlessly through his feed. He looksat me like I’m the only object in his field of vision. Listens to me like I’m the only sound for miles.

Being around him makes me want so much more out of life than I thought possible. With him, I’m not stressing over obligations or money. I don’t have Dad or Teller making sure every decision is measured and thought through. Caleb lives his life without fear or stress about what tomorrow might bring. He takes risks and is always searching for ways to push himself. He even signed up for a one-hundred-kilometer bike ride in Spain. I wish I could bottle Caleb’s spontaneity and sense of adventure and douse myself with it every day. I’ve never had a guy make me feel so alive.

“Aunt Mei told me. I also heard you’ve been going out on a motorcycle.” I can tell he isn’t pleased about this detail.

“I did. And it’s a Vespa. Everyone drives them here.”

“Remember Mr. Talbot across the street?”

“How could I forget?” Whenever we so much as see a motorcycle, Dad reminds me of Mr. Talbot, the nice man in our old neighborhood who got clipped while driving his Harley. “It doesn’t take much to knock you right off,” Dad used to warn.

“Are you at least wearing a helmet?”

“Of course. And don’t worry. Caleb is super safe.”

He goes a little quiet. “How are things going with him, anyway?”

I’m giddy at the question. Caleb feels like a first crush, when you’re wild for each other and can’t stand the thought of being apart for a single second.

“Do you think he’s The One?” Dad asks.

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