Valentina

Hamilton University, New York, United States 2020 – February 6th, 2020

Matteo drops down on the chair next to me, looking exhausted. I know it's him because no one else would just sit down all up in my space like this.

He's wearing a black hoodie with the hood pulled over his forehead.

"You're not wearing sunglasses right now."

He sighs and takes them off. His pupils look that way they get after a night of partying.

"Where did you even go out on a Wednesday evening?"

I notice his hair is curlier than usual, the tips of it bending out over the edge of his hood.

His eyes fall on the phone in my hands. "No book today?"

I didn't bring my book today because he went through it last time (and made jokes about the spicier scenes he sawwhen he flipped through it), despite my protests.

I try to keep my face straight as I answer. "No."

He grins. "You're embarrassed of what you read?"

My mouth parts. I'm not ashamed – not really. I'm just uncomfortable when people read it aloud to me. What I read is like a window into my soul and there are parts of it that I'm not comfortable sharing.

"No." I huff.

He grins even wider, eyes moving to the door before his face does.

Professor Birkin enters and the first thing I see is that his pants are unzipped.

Matteo notices too because he looks back at me and motions over to the front of the room. I nod and watch as he catches Birkin's attention by waving at him. He points to his own crotch, then back at Birkin.

I don't even watch the man's reaction because my eyes are still on Matteo's hands. He's got two rings on his left one.

Once the class quiets down and Birkin starts talking, Matteo crosses his arms over the desk and goes to sleep.

***

Hamilton University, United States 2020 – February 13th, 2020

I bring my book to the seminar next week, as a sign of protest.

Not sure against what.

He doesn't show.

***

Manhattan, New York, United States – February 15th, 2020

The club is already packed when I get there - a little before midnight because Adrik took too long for once and not me (when I asked him who he was getting ready for, he told me to mind my own business).

The two girls at the entrance don't ask to see my ID this time – I guess Vinnie must've talked to them like he said he would. They wrap the VIP bracelet around our wrists and shoots us fake smiles as they tell us to have fun.

I find Isabella and Raisa at the usual table, and Adrik disappears by the time we start talking about boys.

"Isaac's here." Raisa informs me and nods over to the table adjacent to ours.

Isabella steps closer, looking intrigued. "You know Isaac?"

"We went to the same middle school in Moscow. He was a year older than me, and I used to have a crush on him." I quickly summarise.

The whole conversation seems irrelevant to me. He's replied to some of my stories on Instagram ever since we saw each other on New Year's and even tried to ask me out on a date a few weeks ago, to which I said I had to study.

"I like him. He's nice. He used to play football with Vinnie in high school."

"Ugh, he's a football player?" I ask.

"Yes, but not the typical asshole you'd expect him to be. He's more...soft."

"And hot." Raisa adds, still looking in his direction. I check him out as he's leaning over the table to talk to one of his friends. He does look good. He's got the baby face and the muscles, which is a deadly combination if done just right, wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt that shows off his biceps. If he had tattoos, I would probably be going over there right about now.

He's wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt that shows off his biceps. If he had tattoos, I would probably be going over for me right about now.

"Yes, he's hot." I agree.

"You don't seem convinced." Isabella smirks and I look away when I catch Isaac looking in my direction.

"Well, I just...when we text it's like I'm texting him because it's what I think I should be doing. Not because I want to." They both look confused, so I clarify. "Basically, I want to feel like I want to be doing those things."

They still look lost, but I don't know how to better explain it to them.

"Want how?"

"I don't know. Like, when was the last time you really wanted someone? The last time you felt desire for someone? Not in a 'I want to fuck you' way but in a 'I can't get enough of y-'"

"I feel that every day." Raisa interrupts me and I can't possibly believe that's true. Although Matteo is a nice guy to be around, I can't imagine he's that interesting.

"I don't think I've ever really felt that I desired someone. Attracted, sure, turned on, sure. But desire? I don't know. What does it even mean?" Isabella asks, understanding exactly what I mean.

"He's coming over." Raisa whispers and I look at Isaac, who hasn't moved from where he's still leaning over the table saying something to his friend.

Then I realize she's talking about Matteo, who materializes right in front of me.

"Hi." He says to me, and I can tell Raisa doesn't like it.

"Hello."

He raises his glass and I instinctively bring mine up to push them together, looking him in the eyes as I do so.

His hair is shorter, and he looks better than I remember. No rings, but the tattoo peeking out from behind his half-unbuttoned shirt is new to me.

"Anything interesting happened in class yesterday?"

Okay, so he wants me to help him with the course again and doesn't know how to ask me directly.

"Depends on what you mean by interesting. If you're asking whether Birkin's zipper was down again today, then no. But if you're asking whether I took notes, then, as usual, yes, I did. I sent them to you already."

"I know, but I don't really understand them. They're not even entire sentences. And some abbreviations don't even make sense."

"I mean, I take my notes so I can understand them."

"Yes, but I can't understand them." he says, mimicking me.

I smile because I think it's funny. "Which ones?"

"All of them."

Now I have to roll my eyes. "And what exactly do you want me to do? Do you want me to solve your problem?"

Matteo looks surprised. "No."

There's a short pause in which I just look at him, waiting for him to answer, but then Raisa tells him that she's having fun at the party and that the club night is a success. I decide it's best to leave her to do her thing and return to the conversation about Isaac with just Isabella. She feels that's my intention, so she lowers her voice.

"I think you should go for it, with Isaac."

"I don't know, it seems like so much work. How do I know it's worth it?"

"You're not marrying him, Valentina. It's just something fun you could do. Just see what the vibe is, feel him out. He's cute, and he even has an accent."

"Yes, to you. But to me, he's just a Russian speaking bad English."

She squints at me. "Good thing you both know Russian then."

"Do you want to go see the office?" Matteo interrupts us out of a sudden, and I don't even have to think about it before I down my drink and grab a bottle of water.

"Lead the way then." I say, seeing Raisa getting mad out of the corner of my eye.

Matteo takes forever to open the door but when he finally does, I go to sit down on the chair across from him.

He looks nervous, like he's overstimulated and doesn't know what to do with himself. Might have something to do with Raisa being all over him, but I'm not sure.

He pushes the plate with the credit card and bill towards me.

I notice a tattoo under his white shirt. It's new, otherwise I would've noticed it before. There's just something about tattoos on a man that makes me instantly classify them as handsome.

"What?" He asks, and I feel my neck heating up, like I've been caught doing something I shouldn't have.

"Are you nervous?" I ask, pretending like I didn't just find him attractive for a split second.

"About what?"

"You look a little on edge."

I point to the plate, changing the subject.

"Too much?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Never."

I smile at him, do the line, then watch as he does his.

"You've got cocaine in your hair." I point out and move to brush it out of the soft curls on his head. I feel the cocaine in my throat as I touch his hair and smile.

"Why are you smiling like that?" He asks, and I pull my hand back.

"I felt it down my neck."

He smiles back.

***

We end up at Matteo's apartment after the club closes at 4am, and I wouldn't have come if Isabella and Raisa hadn't insisted. I talked to Isaac in the club, but it wasn't enough to convince me he's worth the effort. I've been saying that I want a 'friend with benefits' ever since I broke up with Jamie, and yet I haven't had sex with anyone else since then.

At first it was about body image issues and my own confidence, but now I feel confident and still don't want to make the first step with Isaac.

"Who says you have to make the first step?" Isabella asks me when I tell her exactly what I'm thinking as we stand outside on the balcony, looking at the city skyline.

I love looking out into the city at night and seeing all the high-rise buildings I would see in movies as a child. Back then they seemed to be from a different world, compared to the communist style building blocks in my old neighbourhood in Moscow.

"Well, he certainly isn't."

"Maybe he didn't notice you came to the after party."

"He saw me."

And of course, as if he heard us, Isaac appears in my line of vision holding something between his fingers. When he's close enough, I can see it's a small pink pill.

"Share?" he simply asks, and Isabella and I exchange looks.

"What is it?"

"Ecstasy."

I look at the pill and the skull imprinted on it before I look it up on my phone. After checking out it's legit, Isabella and I decide to each take one quarter and have Isaac take the rest. Then Isabella pretends being called over by someone and makes herself scarce.

"That was very subtle." Isaac laughs, switching to Russian. "Where do you study?"

Ah, the classic pick-up line.

"Hamilton University near Utica."

"You're not from the city?" He asks, looking disappointed. And maybe a little cute.

"I'm from Russia."

He laughs at that, even though I didn't really mean for it to be funny, but I smile at his energy.

Okay, maybe Isabella was right. He's nice to look at and easy to be around.

"And what do you study?"

"Business Psychology."

He raises his eyebrows. "Psychology? Can you tell what I'm thinking?"

I tilt my head and look into his eyes. His pupils are already dilated, and I wonder if mine are too, but there's no way it only took five minutes for the pill to take effect.

"I think you're asking yourself if you look high."

He looks pleasantly shocked. "I was literally thinking that I swear."

"I know, I believe you." I say, feeling a small rush of warmth go through my body.

This is going to be fun.

An hour and a half later, Isaac and I are joined at the hip chatting about literally anything that comes to our minds. I know my pupils are dilated to the point where my eyes are nearly black and that I'm talking way too much, but I'm having more fun with him than I thought I would. And he is funny.

I see Isabella plopped down on a couch, so I excuse myself to go over and see if she's okay.

"Are you okay?" I ask, getting a déjà vu as I sit down. I look at the city behind her for a moment. The sun hasn't come out yet and I love how a lot of lights are still turned on throughout the city that never sleeps.

"I'm just super drunk." She whines, leaning her head on my shoulder. "I want to go back to the hotel."

"I have the room key."

"Do you want to come with?"

I look outside where Isaac is waiting for me on a loveseat. "In thirty minutes?"

She smiles, but there's sadness in her eyes. "Okay."

"What happened?" I ask, knowing better than to just stand up and leave.

"I just don't understand why he can't see it."

"Who? See what?"

She points to the place across the room at the bar where Matteo and Vinnie are talking.

"Matteo?" I ask.

She looks disgusted. "Ew, no."

"Vinnie?"

She nods.

"What? Can't see what?"

She shrugs. "That they all just want his money and attention. They don't care about him, and he just cares about all the wrong people."

I watch her looking at him as she talks, and everything makes sense. At some point I suspected that she might be in love with Matteo, because she always talked about how better off everyone was without Allison and Sofia, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

But it had been Vinnie all along.

"Does he know you like him?"

She looks up at me. "Of course not." She lowers her voice. "And he never will, okay?"

I frown. "I think that's a bad idea."

"Never telling him?"

"Yes. Maybe he feels the same." 

"If we were meant to be we would've been by now." she says and leans back into the couch. I look out at the city below us. I can see the Hudson River and I wonder how many people get to see what I'm seeing right now.

"You seem to be getting along well with Isaac." She changes the subject.

"Yes, but-"

"Stop with the excuses, Valentina! I feel like you're trying to find excuses not to enjoy the attention of a cute guy who isn't an asshole."

"I think you should listen to your own advice."

"I've never told anyone that before, you know. It feels good saying it out loud. Do you think I'm crazy?"

I look at her in awe. "What? Why would I think you're crazy? I think falling for your best friend is the most beautiful thing in the world."

"If it's reciprocated, that is."

"You won't know if it is until you tell him."

"But the friendship-"

I stand up. "I feel like you're trying to find excuses not to enjoy the being with a guy who isn't an asshole." I say, trying to mimic her Italian accent.

"He is kind of an asshole though." Isabella says, smiling. "Okay, I'll wait thirty minutes."

I kiss her on the cheek before I hurry back outside, feeling excited to talk to Isaac. I know it's probably the drugs, but I haven't had so much fun talking to a guy in a long time.

Someone starts rolling joints at some point, which makes everyone outside join into one big group therapy session as the sun slowly comes up. I look at Isaac's profile while he talks to one of the guys in our group. The balcony is more crowded than I'd like, but at least the view is pretty.

For a moment, I wonder whether Matteo even likes having people over all the time and if he doesn't sometimes wish to just go to sleep, but then I focus on Isaac again. His hand is on my thigh under my dress, just resting there, and part of me wants him to put it even higher, to kiss me, to do anything.

I pass the joint back to Isaac then head towards the door. I need to talk to Isabella.

"Finally." Isabella stands up from where she was just talking to Matteo.

"Uhh. I think I want to stay a little longer."

"It's fine, I'll just call myself an Uber." Isabella waves it off. "You decided you're interested?"

Matteo looks up at me and I shrug. "Maybe? I haven't figured it out yet."

Isabella grabs my arm. "Okay, I'm going to be direct. You need new dick. I know you're on your self-discovery journey and whatever, but it's okay to be horny and it's okay to hook up with that hot guy you've had a crush on since middle school. If I were you, I would do it."

I cross my arms. "Oh, would you really?"

Isabella flips me off before she announces she's leaving.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she yells at me and walks away.

Twenty minutes later even more people leave so I go back inside with Isaac to sit on the couch. I keep asking myself whether I want to stay, go to his place, go home, or just see where this goes. I'm in the middle of telling him about a time I missed a flight to Spain whilst being in the airport when he suddenly kisses me.

His kisses are more aggressively than I'd like them to be, but his hands are soft and slow and he's making me feel comfortable, so I go along with it.

Reality sinks in while I straddle him on the couch. I stare out at the sun coming up over the city and realize that I'm in a random apartment with a guy I've had a crush on five years ago.

I break off the kiss to look around – everyone's gone and I'm way too horny to stop now.

"What do you want to do?" he asks, lips buried into my neck.

Honestly? Have sex.

"Are there any empty rooms?" I choose to ask instead, but he understands and look like he's up for it.

"Marco isn't here today, so yes."

He keeps me from stumbling on my heels when I stand up.

It's now or never. "Let's go."

He kisses me as soon as I say the words, with a force that surprises me but also turns me on, so I let him guide me to the bedroom he was speaking of.

My dress is the first thing he pulls over my head, getting straight to the point as soon as the door closes behind me.

He doesn't bother waiting for me to take off my shoes before he turns us around and guides me towards the bed. It almost feels rehearsed, like he's done this so many times before it's become a reflex.

It doesn't last as long as I would have liked, and fifteen minutes later he's already asleep on the other side of the bed, leaving me horny and lonely.

***

Manhattan, New York, United States – February 15th, 2020

Staying up on my phone until I think it's reasonable puts me to sleep for a few hours until the sun wakes me up at 2pm. It's too hot under the covers and my throat is uncomfortably dry.

Isaac is still asleep so I get out of bed as quiet as I can, wrapping the blanket around me. I cover a naked Isaac with another blanket before I make my way towards the kitchen.

"Coffee." I say to myself and look at the coffee machine on the counter. My father uses the same one, but I can't find capsules, so coffee in a pot it is. I've never done coffee in a pot in my entire life, nor have I seen anyone but my grandmother do it.

Holding up the blanket around my body while also making coffee turns out to be harder than I'd hoped. The fact that I've only slept two hours and didn't take my makeup off makes me even more uncomfortable. I hate waking up anywhere else other than my bed, and today I am once again reminded why.

I hear someone walking down the hall in my direction and I panic because I can't recognize the steps. Matteo appears from around the corner, and before I can even explain myself (he stops in his tracks when he sees me), Isaac also makes an appearance. With a towel around his waist. Great.

We all say hello to each other, and I turn around to focus on the coffee, letting the two of them fill the silence.

"I need to go; I have an appointment today." Isaac says, looking at me. "I'll text you." He winks and walks back towards the bedrooms.

Matteo and I both watch Isaac walk away, and I pretend not to notice when he turns to look at me.

"What?" I finally ask, feeling as if he's trying to ask something without asking it.

"How was it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Isaac, I mean."

I cross my arms over my chest, gripping into my blanket. "It was okay."

He smiles. "I never thought he had it in him."

"What do you mean?"

Matteo shrugs. "I didn't think he'd be the type to sleep around."

I scoff. "I don't sleep around either."

"I didn't say you were. I was just saying that he's softer than most guys, and I didn't think he'd actually make a move."

Well, if I'm completely honest with myself, that explains the average sex - the type of sex I had with Jamie towards the end of the relationship. Sex just for the sake of having sex. For the sake of the guy having an orgasm before he can go to sleep. Boring. But still it felt good feel someone inside me after a long time of doing it myself.

But he was very sure of himself...in hindsight, it might've been the drugs. Or maybe Matteo doesn't know what he's talking about.

"Well, you seem to know him better than I do." I say, turning around to check on the coffee.

"Did you do drugs?"

"Don't I always?" I ask, not really joking.

It isn't something I am proud of, but every time I'm in the city I end up doing bad things and feeling guilty about them the next day. But then it all goes away, and I crave yet another dopamine rush because nothing else does it for me anymore. I feel like I've watched all the movies and shows there are to watch, and I haven't read since I left Italy last summer.

I realize I zoned out when Matteo walks over to the window and opens it to let some fresh air in.

"So?" he asks, leaning against the counter.

I look at him confused. "So what?"

"Did you do drugs?" he repeats.

"Haven't I already answered that question?"

"I meant with him."

"Yes."

Matteo raises his eyebrows and looks at the boiling coffee. "Hm." He pauses.

"Everybody does drugs in the city." I tell him, which is also something I've come to realize ever since I started coming to the city on weekends.

"In theory, yes, but I think 'drugs are everywhere' would be more accurate." My eyes go to the tattoo on his leg "I just always thought Isaac was judgmental about this stuff because he plays football."

"Looks like you're the judgmental one, hm?"

I turn off the stove and push the pot away from the heated circle.

"Like you didn't judge him at first for being a football player."

I try to keep a straight face. "No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did." He mocks me.

We hear a door close and footsteps echoing from down the hall, so we just look at each other until Isaac appears.

"My Uber's going to be here any minute. Thanks man." He says when he comes into the kitchen, fully dressed in his clothes from last night. He goes over to shake Matteo's hand and kisses my temple.

Just then, Raisa enters the kitchen in Matteo's shirt and nothing else, smiling from ear to ear. Her smile falters when she spots Matteo and I on the other side of the kitchen, facing each other.

"Good morning." She snaps in my direction, even though her eyes are trained on him.

I take a step back and fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Isaac says goodbye to her as well and the three of us look at each other as the front door closes shut. Raisa looks at me in a knowing way, her eyes are urging me to tell her what happened.

"Valentinaaa." She theatrically says and places a hand on her hip. "Tell me everything."

I shrug. "It was okay."

"He lasted ten minutes huh?"

I turn around and look for some coffee mugs, trying to think of a polite answer. I don't want to tell them it was average and only mildly satisfying because it had nothing to do with Isaac; there were two of us in that bed last night, and I could've made it more fun if I really wanted to, but I guess I just wasn't feeling motivated enough. I also know that she has a big mouth and would go around telling people.

Matteo is also here, and I still haven't figured out whether I trust him yet. I know he's overheard some of my conversations with Isabella and has never once said anything about it . I take out three coffee mugs and place them on the island counter, facing Raisa again.

"No, it wasn't that. It was nothing out of the ordinary, that's all. It was... nice."

"Hm." Raisa trails off, looking at Matteo. "Do you have any spare clothes? My dress is...stained."

"First door on the right is my closet." Matteo tells her.

"I'm going to go take a shower. You want to join me?"

I look down at the coffee empty mugs, feeling embarrassed for some reason. Maybe for her, maybe for being here and feeling extra, maybe for Matteo as well.

"No, I showered when I woke up." Matteo bluntly replies.

I don't look at Raisa's face as she says 'okay' and leaves.

The interaction hangs in the air until I finally decide to break the silence.

"You could be nicer to her, you know."

"Why would I be nicer than my usual self?"

I can't give him an answer (because on a foundational level, I do agree with him), so I settle for pouring the coffee into the mugs.

"You have to pour a little cold water over it, so the grounds go down." Matteo says and I understand maybe half of what he just said.

"What?"

"The coffee, when you make it in a pot. If you don't want coffee grounds in the mug, you must pour cold water over it while it's still hot."

I notice that my blanket begins to slip so I set the pot down and grab it with both hands. My phone buzzes on the table and I check to see that Isaac just texted me he got home.

"Isaac texted me."

I guess he's a part of it now. And who else is there to talk to about this anyway?

"Already?"

"Yes."

"He must live close by."

I chew on my lip as I overanalyse Isaac texting me so soon. "Do you think it's a good or a bad sign?"

Matteo takes one of the filled coffee mugs and goes to sit down on a highchair by the island counter. "A sign for what?"

I watch him take out a pack of cigarettes and an ashtray from one of the drawers.

"I don't know? A sign that's like a preview of how my relationship with him is going to develop."

He shakes his head as he lights his cigarette. "Women always think men think too much."

I raise my eyebrows. "How so?"

"You had sex and now you expect something between you to change."

"Something does change though."

"No, it doesn't."

"We've seen each other naked, and orgasm. Well, in his case." I ironically add, getting a sudden urge to defend my opinion and playing defence. "It's like a barrier to intimacy."

"For you," he tilts the hand holding the cigarette towards me, "but for us," he points back to him, "it's just a way to release an urge."

"I'm not saying we're something more because we had sex, I'm asking you if you think he thinks we're something more. I don't want him to get clingy because he'll do something to turn me off, but if he gets too distant, I'll eventually regret it when I get bored."

It sounds selfish to say it out loud, but it's how I feel and I'm not sure Matteo understands anyway.

"I think you're overthinking it. Real bad." He concludes and takes the first sip of his coffee, already halfway through his cigarette.

"Can I have a cigarette?" I ask.

He holds the pack out to me.

I walk closer until I'm standing at the table next to him, one hand holding my mug and the other holding the blanket. He places the cigarette between my lips and lights it up.

"Thanks."

The coffee is a 5 out of 10 but it's the only coffee we have in this apartment, and I can't be bothered to wait for Uber Eats right now.

"I know I overthink, but I do it less often now. I used to do it with my ex-boyfriend when I was younger."

"You should just see where it goes. Go with the flow."

Going with the flow is what all of my almost-friends-with-benefits said to me when I tried to at least make a connection with them before we had sex, which always lead to nowhere. I feel sorry for Raisa. She probably heard the line from him too, but under different circumstances.

"Well, that's what I'm trying to do, but he texted me right after he got home. I don't want to have to talk to him." I whine, and I realize I'm being childish.

It's one of those situations where you wake up after having made plans while drunk, terrified of having to follow through the next morning.

"Then don't." He says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Valentina. You always have a choice."

"I don't want to be mean."

He laughs at that.

"What?"

"Saying no doesn't make you mean. It just saves you both the time and effort."

Matteo and I smoke another cigarette in comfortable silence; me standing up and looking out the window at the city, and him on his phone. The coffee tastes like something died in it, but I choose to pull through because I need to sip on something during my morning cigarette.

Raisa eventually joins us, fully dressed in some of Matteo's clothes, saying she put her dress in his laundry basket.

I feel like it's time for me to leave. "I'm going to go."

"Do you have milk and sugar?" Raisa asks.

"The coffee sucks by the way." I warn her before I go back to my room to get dressed.

On the way to the hotel, I realize that even though the coffee was one of the worst I've ever drank, Matteo never complained.

Valentina

Chapter 16

Moscow, Russia– March 2020

Our dad tells us about the international lockdown two days before it's announced, so he gets Adrik, Raisa, Aleksi, and I on a plane back to Moscow before the entire world starts panicking.

Another couple of weeks later, our university announces that it would be switching to remote teaching.

And along with it went my freedom.

***

Moscow, Russia – May 24th, 2020

Four days before the Business Psychology exam and 2 months after the entire world went into lockdown, Matteo calls me.

"Hello?" I answer, happy to get a break from forcing myself to study.

The last couple of months at home have been bittersweet. On one hand, I had so much time to get back to what I used to love doing when I was younger. On the other hand, it's the first time since I was fourteen that the entire family has been forced to cohabit for more than a month at a time. I'm still being treated as a child, even though I was basically pushed out of their nest six years ago. They want me to behave like an adult yet they only treat me as a child.

"Come to Italy and let's take the exam together."

I stop writing. "Excuse me?"

"The exam, on Monday. It's at two."

My first exam is on May 4th, and it's for the class Matteo and I have in common.

"Why would I ever even consider doing that?"

"I can't pass this. I haven't even downloaded the app yet."

"It's an online exam. You can cheat. It's practically open book."

"I wouldn't even know where to look in the book, Valentina!"

"How is that my problem?" I provoke him, simply because I'm bored, and his desperation amuses me.

"I'll be very happy and forever grateful if I pass this exam."

"You know that's not a good enough reason for me to fly to Italy during lockdown." I stand up from my desk and start walking around the room.

"Okay, let me try again. The flight is only four hours and I'll send the best private jet I can find to pick you up at nine on Thursday."

"Try again."

"You know the weather in Moscow is shit and lockdown sucks, and it's twenty-four degrees here and my room has a sea view."

I look out my window. The sky is grey and I can't even see the sun, and everything is muddy and wet.

"Did you actually google the weather in Moscow?"

"Yes, because I knew you wouldn't agree if you didn't get something out of it."

"I haven't agreed yet."

I hear him sighing at the other end. "Don't make me beg. Leave me my dignity."

"Fine. I'll send you the address of the airport where you can pick me up."

"Okay."

"Okay."

---

Hope you enjoy this one :) this is where their story really gets moving

see you on Friday after the last exam of my life! Yay!

xoxo,

Ronnie