there, isn’t it?”
So it was. He was becoming accustomed to Kelsey’s altered schedule.
“I’m a light sleeper,” I answered.
“Good. Where are you now?”
“Belgrade, sir.”
“Where the hell is that?”
“Serbia, sir.”
“Why in the world is she in Serbia? What do you even do in Serbia?”
I really didn’t think he wanted to know. “Sightseeing. The usual.”
“That stupid girl is going to wind up kidnapped or something, and I’m not paying the ransom just because she decided to go off gallivanting in Third World countries.”
I winced. Serbia might have been a little rough around the edges, but it was far from Third World. I knew that from experience. And though I didn’t think Mr. Summers was serious about not paying a ransom, it didn’t make me any more inclined to spill Kelsey’s secrets to the guy.
“She’s not going to get kidnapped. Serbia is much safer now than it was a few decades ago. Belgrade especially is as safe as most other European capitals. And I’m watching out for her. She’s fine.”
“When’s she coming home? That’s what I want to know.”
“I don’t know, sir. I don’t really get close enough to her to have a conversation.”
Ignoring that moment tonight when I’d wanted to.
I added, “You could always call her. Let her know you’re worried. Maybe she’ll come home sooner or choose a more familiar destination.”
She clearly missed home.
Mr. Summers only gave a low grunt in response.
“Just don’t let her pull any stupid stunts.”
“Stunts, sir?”
He sighed, exasperated. “She’s dramatic, like her mother. She does something stupid, and then always finds someone else to take the blame. She’ll come home pregnant or gay and it will be my fault.”
“How would that be your fault, sir?”
“It wouldn’t be. It would be yours.”
Now I was holding back a sigh.
“Of course, sir.”
“Good. Good night.”
He didn’t wait for my reply before he hung up, and maybe I was still looking for a fight, but I really didn’t like him either.
I wanted to be relieved when Kelsey left the club a few minutes later without VIP guy, but that deflated look was back, and that didn’t make me feel any better.
I followed her as she walked home alone, actively fighting the urge to jog up to her side and say hello.
There were a lot of things I didn’t know about Kelsey Summers. But I did know that I was getting really tired of living on the sidelines.
8
K ELSEY SPENT TWO more days in Belgrade, but I only saw her once. I’m not sure whether it was the phone call or the interaction with the VIP asshole, or something else, but she barely left her hostel.
At first, I thought maybe the GPS app was broken or that she’d left without her phone. I decided to head over and check just in case. Just as I was approaching the front desk to ask about her, she walked past in a pair of cotton shorts and a T-shirt.
If I hadn’t spent so much time staring at her, I don’t think I would have recognized her. Her hair was pulled up and wound into a knot on the top of her head. And she wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her normally dramatic eyes were clean and bare. Her long eyelashes a dark blond.
She was still pretty, of course. But a different kind of beauty. It made me imagine lazy days in bed or movie nights on my couch. I thought of how it would feel to be with a girl like Kelsey, to have her comfortable enough with me that she didn’t need the clothes and the makeup and the hair.
To have her be mine .
Somehow, I wanted this version of Kelsey even more, because she felt more real than every other version of her I’d seen so far.
I followed her to the grocery store. She didn’t leave her hostel again until the day she checked out and headed for the train station once more.
In Budapest, it was like she hit the reset button. She was back to that vibrant character that drew everyone’s gaze like a magnet. If possible, she seemed to have turned the volume
So it was. He was becoming accustomed to Kelsey’s altered schedule.
“I’m a light sleeper,” I answered.
“Good. Where are you now?”
“Belgrade, sir.”
“Where the hell is that?”
“Serbia, sir.”
“Why in the world is she in Serbia? What do you even do in Serbia?”
I really didn’t think he wanted to know. “Sightseeing. The usual.”
“That stupid girl is going to wind up kidnapped or something, and I’m not paying the ransom just because she decided to go off gallivanting in Third World countries.”
I winced. Serbia might have been a little rough around the edges, but it was far from Third World. I knew that from experience. And though I didn’t think Mr. Summers was serious about not paying a ransom, it didn’t make me any more inclined to spill Kelsey’s secrets to the guy.
“She’s not going to get kidnapped. Serbia is much safer now than it was a few decades ago. Belgrade especially is as safe as most other European capitals. And I’m watching out for her. She’s fine.”
“When’s she coming home? That’s what I want to know.”
“I don’t know, sir. I don’t really get close enough to her to have a conversation.”
Ignoring that moment tonight when I’d wanted to.
I added, “You could always call her. Let her know you’re worried. Maybe she’ll come home sooner or choose a more familiar destination.”
She clearly missed home.
Mr. Summers only gave a low grunt in response.
“Just don’t let her pull any stupid stunts.”
“Stunts, sir?”
He sighed, exasperated. “She’s dramatic, like her mother. She does something stupid, and then always finds someone else to take the blame. She’ll come home pregnant or gay and it will be my fault.”
“How would that be your fault, sir?”
“It wouldn’t be. It would be yours.”
Now I was holding back a sigh.
“Of course, sir.”
“Good. Good night.”
He didn’t wait for my reply before he hung up, and maybe I was still looking for a fight, but I really didn’t like him either.
I wanted to be relieved when Kelsey left the club a few minutes later without VIP guy, but that deflated look was back, and that didn’t make me feel any better.
I followed her as she walked home alone, actively fighting the urge to jog up to her side and say hello.
There were a lot of things I didn’t know about Kelsey Summers. But I did know that I was getting really tired of living on the sidelines.
8
K ELSEY SPENT TWO more days in Belgrade, but I only saw her once. I’m not sure whether it was the phone call or the interaction with the VIP asshole, or something else, but she barely left her hostel.
At first, I thought maybe the GPS app was broken or that she’d left without her phone. I decided to head over and check just in case. Just as I was approaching the front desk to ask about her, she walked past in a pair of cotton shorts and a T-shirt.
If I hadn’t spent so much time staring at her, I don’t think I would have recognized her. Her hair was pulled up and wound into a knot on the top of her head. And she wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her normally dramatic eyes were clean and bare. Her long eyelashes a dark blond.
She was still pretty, of course. But a different kind of beauty. It made me imagine lazy days in bed or movie nights on my couch. I thought of how it would feel to be with a girl like Kelsey, to have her comfortable enough with me that she didn’t need the clothes and the makeup and the hair.
To have her be mine .
Somehow, I wanted this version of Kelsey even more, because she felt more real than every other version of her I’d seen so far.
I followed her to the grocery store. She didn’t leave her hostel again until the day she checked out and headed for the train station once more.
In Budapest, it was like she hit the reset button. She was back to that vibrant character that drew everyone’s gaze like a magnet. If possible, she seemed to have turned the volume
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