Page 181 of Charming Like Us
“Hotel.”
“You have a bad trip, you tell me right away.”
“Always.”
Oscar stands up and meets my eyes.
“What are booms?” I whisper to him as we sidle to a middle window, leaving Charlie in the center of the room. On the floor.
“Mushrooms.” Oscar’s gaze intensely sweeps every entry into the marble-floored space. There are more doors and windows in this area than I think he’d probably prefer.
I’m not too surprised Charlie’s high on mushrooms right now, considering he’s experimented with hallucinogens before. He’s not always quiet about that fact.
What draws my curiosity is Oscar’s role in all of this. “Do you care that he does these kinds of drugs?”
Oscar’s eyes fall to the camera in my hands. I’m ready for him to tell me he’s not my subject, but then he says, “Not really.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “I care more aboutwhenhe does them. If I’m not around, he knows I’ll be pissed.”
He pauses for a second, considering something before he says, “The first time he took LSD, he tried to take off all his clothes and jump into a fountain.” He snorts into a laugh at the memory. “He got a toe in the water before I intervened.”
I smile. “Wish I was there.”
“Me too. We could have laughed all night together.” Oscar’s lips slowly rise and his brown eyes flit to me. “I like having you here, Highland.”
Softly, I brush my finger over an inside pocket of my blue bomber jacket, the one with patches sewn on the fabric. It should be here…
The ring…
Where’s my ring?
Shit.I don’t feel anything. Panic sets in and I stick my hand further inside the inner pocket.
Oscar frowns. “What’s wrong?”
My shoulders sag in relief when I feel the cold metal. I take out the ring, not even thinking, just glad I didn’t lose it. “I thought it fell out.”
Oscar studies me for a long beat. “You would’ve been upset about that?”
I lay the ring flat in my palm, staring at the silver band—which I later realized is actually white gold. Oscar has the exact same band, three tiny diamonds set vertically in the center like an expensive notch.
Hazily, I remember Oscar at the jewelry store, saying drunkenly, “Three diamonds to express three classic words from a couple classic gentlemen…” He teed up with a long pause. “I. Love. You.”
So I study the ring now. The tiny diamonds.
I. Love. You.
“Yeah, I would’ve been upset if I lost it.” Glancing up at him, I meet his overwhelmed expression. My heart thumps louder in my chest. Warm breeze from the gardens blows through the opened window.
Right here, inside the most beautiful palace, next to the most beautiful man, I come to a clear understanding.
I have zero regrets.
No lie, I’m so close to combusting with these thoughts and feelings, and then a high-pitched squeal swerves our heads, our attention.
A girl recognizes Charlie.
Oscar taps into a vigilant state. He touches my shoulder in thatwe’ll talk in a secondway before he leaves my side. I watch him speak German again, and after a couple minutes, the girl nods, snaps a quick photo of Charlie—who’s still just lying on the ground—and then she exits through another door.
Oscar returns to my side like he silently promised.
