Chapter 3

Andrew

 

The next morning, I got up at five. It was entirely too early to be awake, especially when I was on vacation, but if I was going to enjoy this trip without feeling guilty, it needed to be done.

Eric was still asleep, so I tried to make as little noise as possible while I showered, dressed, and set up my laptop on the tiny desk across the room. I even managed to slip out to the continental breakfast down the hall, procure a cup of strong Italian coffee, and sneak back into the room without waking him up.

Coffee in hand, I dutifully perused job listings back in Des Moines. Dad and Eric had both given me the same advice—even if I don’t completely meet the qualifications for the job, apply anyway. There were a lot of MBA jobs out there that had other requirements—forty-seven years’ experience in a field that had only existed for twelve, fluency in eight different languages including three dead ones, at least two Olympic medals in different sports—so it wasn’t hard to find jobs I didn’t qualify for. Guess we’d see what happened.

By the fifth application, I was getting annoyed. Why was I going through all these motions for jobs I probably wouldn’t get? And seriously why the fuck did I have to upload my résumé and then go through and enter every piece of information into the application? We could fling people into space, ask our cell phones questions we were too lazy to Google, and manufacture organs in petri dishes or whatever, and somehow humanity lacked the technology to pull data from an uploaded file and fill in the stupid blanks. Maybe that meant the robot uprising was farther off than we thought.

And if I was musing about robot uprisings while I was entering my work history into a form for the eighty-seventh time, maybe it was time for some more coffee.

I finished filling the stupid thing out, and after I’d hit Send, I closed my laptop and stood.

“You up already?” Eric mumbled.

“Yeah, I wanted to send out some résumés. I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“Nah.” He yawned, rubbing his eyes. I smiled to myself; he was so adorable when he was half awake. “We should probably get moving anyway.” He sat up with some grumbled cursing and added, “Like I said, the buses start running at nine-fifteen.”

“And you wanted to get on one of the first ones before they start filling up, right?”

Eric nodded and covered a yawn.

“I was just about to get some more coffee from down the hall,” I said. “You want some?”

He met my gaze with sleepy puppy dog eyes. “Yes please?”

I smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

When I returned, Eric had stepped into the shower. He wasn’t one for long showers unless we were taking one together, so I wasn’t too worried his coffee would get cold. Sure enough, he was coming out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist right about the time my coffee had cooled enough to drink.

As per usual, he was ready to go and caffeinated in no time, and we were on our way out. We left our key at the front desk—that was apparently a thing in Italy—and stepped outside and headed up to the roundabout a block or so away. It was a multi-lane roundabout with a huge fountain in the middle, a big building that looked like a bank or something—especially with the heavily armed Carabinieri looking menacing out front—and a hotel and restaurants on the other side. There was also an old church and, off to the right, a pavilion with what looked like flea market booths. At the far end of that pavilion, tour buses from several hop-on hop-off companies were lined up along the curb, and we found the one from the company that had given us the pamphlet yesterday. It wasn’t hard to find—it was bright red and covered in wild Rome-themed murals.

We bought tickets and boarded, and after we’d grabbed some earbuds from the bin on the lower level, we went to the upper deck and took seats at the back. The top was open, so we had the warm Italian sun on our shoulders as we settled in with cameras in our laps.

We plugged our headphones into the boxes beside our seats, but we each left one earbud out so we could still hear each other. Once we’d set the dials to English and finished fussing with the volume, we sat back to enjoy the ride. Or, well, so we could enjoy the ride when we finally got moving; the bus wasn’t due to leave for another fifteen minutes or so. Fine by me. I spent the time perusing the map and seeing where the route went. It was mind-blowing to realize we’d been sleeping—among other things—just blocks away from the Colosseum and the Forum. I definitely wasn’t in Iowa anymore.

It turned out Eric was right about getting an early start, too. By the time the bus left, most of the seats were full.

The bus took us into the roundabout, which gave us a nice view of the elaborate fountain in the middle. Then it continued down the street past our hotel and on toward a church I’d never heard of. I got the feeling from the map that we’d be seeing a lot of churches on this tour. More people got on, filling up the seats, and the bus lumbered on through the narrow roads.

Then it turned a corner, and my jaw fell open.

The Colosseum.

There it was.

It was unmistakable with its distinctive shape and arches. I was surprised it was right in the middle of town, right there at the end of the street, but there it was, pale orange against a backdrop of trees with throngs of people milling around below it.

The bus went most of the way around the enormous structure, giving us a great view of the whole thing before stopping on the curb. A lot of passengers filed off the bus, but we stayed on, instead taking pictures from the bus, which was easy enough because we had almost an unobstructed view. The road had actually taken us around nearly two-thirds of it, so we were able to see it from all different angles. From where our bus idled now, waiting for more people to get on or off, there were only a few trees and a couple of military vehicles and armed guards between us and the structure.

After I’d taken a few pictures, I just stared at it, marveling at the realization that I was here. That I was really looking at the Colosseum.

It was a little smaller than I’d anticipated, but it was still impressive as fuck. Hell, it was amazing. Still, disappointment tugged at my gut. I’d always wanted to go into the Colosseum, but the mob of people outside was a blow to my enthusiasm. It wasn’t that I was surprised the place was crowded; I just hadn’t imagined how crowded it would be. At the foot of the incredible structure, people were packed in at least a hundred deep, with tour buses pouring more in and tour groups coming from all directions. Inside the Colosseum, every single archway was packed with a dozen or more people. I was claustrophobic just watching the swarm of tourists clamoring for selfies and group photos in between parents struggling to corral kids and guides trying to keep their groups together.

“I have to wonder,” Eric mused beside me, “how often they have to bring in an ambulance for a selfie stick-related injury.”

Nodding, I grunted. With the number of selfie sticks jutting up from the throngs of people, I would’ve been genuinely shocked if no one had ever lost an eye.

“I gotta wonder how many of those injuries are accidental,” I grumbled.

Eric snickered. “Damn it, this is the fifth selfie stick I’ve removed from someone’s rectum this week.”

I laughed. A woman three seats in front of us twisted around and shot us a glare, which only made me laugh harder. We were so getting booted out of this country, I just knew it.

Still chuckling, Eric nodded toward the Colosseum. “So do you think we should get tickets and check it out? Or is this enough?”

“You tell me.”

Eric smiled, sliding a hand over my leg. “I’m asking you.”

“Well…” I glanced back at the Colosseum and the mob of people swelling around it. “I really do want to go inside, but I don’t know if I want to swim through that many people.”

“Same.” Eric’s lips quirked. “I’ve heard if you get here early, though, it’s not as bad.”

“Like, how early? It’s not even ten o’clock, and…” I gestured at the crowd.

“It opens at eight thirty. Someone told me to get here at seven.”

“Ugh. But hey, worth it.” I lifted my eyebrows. “Maybe tomorrow?”

Eric smiled. “Sounds like a plan. In fact, I’ll set my alarm so I don’t forget.” He took out his phone and fiddled with the alarm clock settings.

I glanced back at the Colosseum, then at him. If there was anything more surreal than being here, it was being here with him. I was supposed to be back in Iowa by now. Aside from some jobhunting this morning, though, I was still a million miles from home. With Eric. A man I’d just met but felt like I’d known forever.

A man who was supposed to be here with another man. On their honeymoon.

Which means I really shouldn’t be reading too much into anything about this.

Eric had invited me along because exploring a new city with someone else was more fun than doing it alone, and doing it alone would probably remind him of the man who wasn’t with him anymore. I conveniently filled in for his ex-fiancé so he didn’t have to spend his would-be honeymoon thinking about his would-be husband.

My stomach soured a bit at the thought. I wasn’t so cynical that I thought Eric only wanted me here as a convenient stand-in, but it was hard not to believe that had at least something to do with why I was here. Didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy being with him, of course. Just… meant I should try to stay realistic about where things would be two weeks from now.

The roar of the bus’s diesel engine brought me back out of my brain’s endless cycle of don’t get your hopes up. As the bus continued, I shook myself and tried to stay here in the moment. Regardless of what happened in two weeks, I was with Eric now, and we had a city to explore. The dark clouds above my head could wait their turn.

Eric was right about getting the lay of the land from the bus route. Things that seemed close on the map were a lot farther apart than we’d thought, and others were close together. I was actually kind of surprised to see how close the Colosseum was to Palatine Hill, Circus Maximus, and Altare della Patria—that big white monument I’d seen from our hotel.

We took the bus all the way around once but stayed on after it came back to the first stop so we could get off and check out the Colosseum and Forum.

At least, that was the idea. By the time we got back to the Colosseum, the crowd had swelled. It was impossible to tell where the lines to get in ended and the rest of the crowd began; the plaza between the Colosseum and Palatine Hill was absolutely choked with people.

Since there was no point in trying to get near the Colosseum, we stayed on for another stop and got off the bus by Circus Maximus instead.

There wasn’t much left of Circus Maximus—just an oval-shaped dirt path around a field and ringed by a banked grassy slope that had probably been spectator stands at one time. It looked like there were some tunnels where we could go down and check out the underground ruins, but they were closed for restoration. Or something—the signs were in Italian, and the entrance was blocked off. Message received.

We walked along the ring that I assumed had been the chariot track at one time. After being on the bus for a while, it was nice to get out and move, and the Italian sun felt nice. It was still early in the day, so it wasn’t super hot yet. I suspected we’d be hiding from the heat in a few hours.

Along one side of Circus Maximus was Palatine Hill, and on top of the hill were red stone ruins—partially intact walls, columns, and archways that had probably been a huge complex at one time or another. I thought our bus tour narration had said that those were what was left of a palace, but I hadn’t been paying close attention right then, and the details were fuzzy. Maybe if we did the walking tour of the Forum, we could walk up to the palace and check it out up close.

As we walked, Eric took out his phone and grinned. “Want to be tourists and get a selfie?”

I arched an eyebrow. “You don’t have a selfie stick, do you?”

Eric sniffed indignantly. “I beg your pardon?”

“What?”

“I would never be caught dead with one of those tourist monstrosities.”

“Ah, so you do your selfies old school.”

“I do them only school,” he said, still indignant. “Now get over here.”

I chuckled and leaned in. Eric held out his phone and angled it so the ruins on Palatine Hill were visible in the background, but of course our faces and sunglasses occupied most of the frame.

After he’d snapped the picture, I asked, “Could you send me a copy of that?”

Eric smiled. “Of course. I’ll email it to you as soon as I have Wi-Fi again.”

“Great.” I smiled back, and tried like hell to ignore the cynical side of my brain that wanted every picture I could get of the two of us. After all, once this trip was over—

No. No. I’m not going to think about that. Not for another two weeks. I can dwell on it on my return flight.

“Hey.” He nudged me with his elbow, and his eyebrows pinched above his sunglasses. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” I smiled, hoping it didn’t look forced. “Just a little tired from getting up at the crack of dawn.”

“Oh right. I forgot about that. Masochist.”

I chuckled, relieved he was going along with it. “Hey, I’m not doing it for fun. I’m doing it so we can go out and have fun afterward without my conscience nagging at me.”

“Fair point.” He studied me. “You are having fun, right?”

You mean aside from worrying about how I’ll feel afterward?

“Definitely, yeah! And it’s kind of nice to unplug for a little while so I don’t sit and refresh my inbox every thirty seconds.”

Eric laughed. “Yeah, I know how that goes. This is the longest I’ve gone without being online every other minute. It’s kind of weird.”

“It is, but it’s weird in a good way.”

The laugh turned to one of those gorgeous smiles that made my heart do crazy things. “Yeah. In a really good way.” Our eyes locked through our dark lenses, and I couldn’t decide if my earlier cynicism was ebbing or revving up. The way he looked at me couldn’t be just some guy enjoying a stand-in for the man he’d almost married, right? Or maybe he was just eating me alive with his gaze because he had dirty plans for us later.

Yes, please?

I cleared my throat and broke eye contact. “So, should we catch the bus again? Or walk up to the Forum?”

Eric shrugged, then gestured at the far end of Circus Maximus. “I think if we keep going that way, there’s an old temple. Want to check it out?”

“Lead the way.”

He didn’t move. “You’re not just tagging along, right? I mean, if you don’t want to see it, we—”

“Relax.” I chanced a hand on the small of his back and a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m not going to say no to an ancient Roman temple. I promise—I’m not just tagging along.”

“Okay.” He still eyed me skeptically. “I just don’t want to drag you all over the place.” The backs of his knuckles brushed mine. “This is our trip, not mine.”

The fluttery feeling in my chest almost chased away the dark clouds of pessimism. Even if I was here as a stand-in for his ex, he was going out of his way to make sure it didn’t feel like it. And it was working. Regardless of our prospects for any long-term thing, it was impossible to feel—right here, right now—like Eric wanted to be here with anyone but me.

So cynicism be damned—for the next two weeks, I was going to run with this and enjoy it while it lasted.

I cleared my throat and gestured at the other end of Circus Maximus. “So this temple. It’s that way?”

“Yeah. If I remember right from the bus, it’s a couple of blocks past the end of the track.”

“Let’s go.”