All I've Never Wanted(145)

“That’s absolutely disgusting,” Adriana declared, sauntering onto the scene with her signature long, confident strides.

She looked flawless as usual, her blond hair gleaming under the sun and her custom dress hugging every curve. Adriana, being Adriana, had long ago ditched her graduation robe. Beside her, Parker looked pretty flawless himself, in a button-down Thomas Pink shirt and Hugo Boss pants. His signature Rolex shone almost as much as Adriana’s hair.

“They really need to stop.” Adriana wrinkled her nose at Venice and Zack, who were still making out, except they were now standing up and kind of dancing at the same time.

Don’t even ask.

“Ok, that’s it,” Parker announced. “There’s no way I’m letting freakin’ Zack outshine me in the girl category.” He immediately followed up his declaration by laying a kiss on Adriana, who pushed him away and pretended to be uninterested, but finally acquiesced and kissed him back.

I sighed, linking my arm through Roman’s and resting my head on his shoulder as I stared at the scene before me. Everyone was happily coupled up. Well, maybe not everyone. At least, not yet.

“Hey, where’s Carlo?” I suddenly asked, looking around to catch a glimpse of the towering Colombian.

“Maybe he’s on his way to Australia right now,” Venice suggested. She’d finally broken out of her makeout session.

Roman and I exchanged a look. “Do you really think so?” I asked cautiously. I found it hard to believe Carlo would make such a huge decision without telling one of us first, but then again, he hadn’t exactly been acting like himself lately. Love did strange things to people. Trust me, I would know.

“You never know with that boy. He’s been in all kinds of torment lately. Go, don’t go. Tell her, don’t tell her.” Parker sounded bored. “I told him to just pick the answer out of a hat but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“I wonder why,” Roman said sarcastically.

“I can’t believe Daria’s going to Australia for a year,” Venice mused. “I’m so jealous.” She pouted. “I wish we didn’t have to split up and go to college.”

“We’re not going to really be spitting up,” I pointed out. “I mean, we’re all within train ride distance. Short train ride distance, at that.”

It was true.

When college decisions finally came out in late March and early April, I was ecstatic to learn I’d been accepted to every school I applied to, including Stanford and Columbia. I was even more ecstatic to learn Roman had also gotten into Columbia, and even though I’ve always wanted to go to Stanford, I finally decided to go to school in New York with him. It wasn’t just for him though. Columbia had a great writing program, and I was definitely happy to be so close to home. I wouldn’t even have to buy a plane ticket every time I wanted to come back for the holidays and whatnot.

After much debate, crying, pleading, and negotiating, my parents finally relented and decided I could live with Roman in the Soho loft his parents got him as a graduation present, instead of staying in a dorm. They’re still not fully comfortable with the idea of their eighteen-year-old daughter living in the big, bad city with her boyfriend, but they trusted me and (sort of) trusted Roman too.

Before we move into our apartment and start classes, though, Roman and I are going a tour of Europe over the summer. I insisted on paying for half of the trip myself, and to my surprise, Roman didn’t put up much of a fight. I think he understands that I’m not the type of girl who can keep freeloading off others, even if their families did make billions more than her own.

Speaking of the others, they’re all going to college nearby too. Zack was going to be at Berklee, which is one of the best music schools in the country. He’d gotten into Juilliard too, but decided it was too stuffy for him. I didn’t have a single doubt he was going to rule Berklee. Meanwhile, Venice was going to be at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, which meant she and Zack would still be living in the same city. I’m positive they were going to be highly entertained. I heard Boston has a lot of puppies.


Adriana, who never settled for less than the best, got into as many schools as I did, but her choice was instantaneous: Yale. Parker, on the other hand, followed in his ancestors’ footsteps and registered at Princeton, where his great-great-something grandfather had been part of the very first graduating class. Those Princeton girls had no idea what was coming their way, even though the renowned playboy has (gasp) renounced his ways. Part of it was because he actually loves Adriana. The other part? I’m pretty sure he was slightly terrified Adri would cut his balls off if he ever cheated on her.

And what about Carlo, you ask? Well…that was up in the air. Literally.

He was supposed to be going to Middlebury, but after everything that happened with Daria, he might take a gap year and spend it in Australia with her. If they still had a thing. I don’t even know. They had a very…complicated relationship, to say the least.

I really did like Daria, though, so I hope they can figure it out. Even though we didn’t meet her until the second semester, she had become part of our highly dysfunctional family.

“Maya!”

I immediately tensed, and the exact same expression crossed everyone’s face: mild fear.

Taking a deep breath, I turned around and gave my grandmother a big smile. “Hi, grandma! I’m so glad you could make it!”