Secret Italian Prince's Baby

“Look at the way she’s licking the spoon,” one guy said, nudging the other.

“Fuck off,” Jessica said, looking at her nails. “Go home, little boys.”

They walked off like offended cats.

I snorted even though I was still trying to plow through my gelato. “Oh my goodness, you’re so ballsy.”

Jessica sniffed. “Whatever. Where I come from, we don’t take shit.”

I smiled. “Bronx born and bred.”

She waved her hand at me. “This gel manicure is supposed to last forever but seriously, I’m going to have to get a touch-up.”

“Yeah,” I said, although I couldn’t see anything wrong with her nails.

“I swear, being a girl is so expensive.”

I just nodded and focused on the last layer of my gelato. I was full at the end of the second scoop, but I was still eating like a champ.

“I want to walk all the way up to the Botanic Gardens,” she told me.

“Let’s do it,” I said, giving up the ghost and tossing the rest of my gelato into the light blue trash can next to our table. “I can’t eat anymore.”

We got up and walked down the Esplanade. It felt different to walk with a girl than it did to walk there with Massimo. I wondered if I could exorcize his ghost with Jessica. If anybody could do it, she could.

She talked about mud crabs and crocodiles as we walked. I focused on not running into anybody. By the time we’d made it all the way to the Botanic Gardens, I’d seen more wildlife in an hour that I normally saw in a week.

“Do you actually want to go into the gardens?” I asked her.

“Nah,” she said.

So we turned around and walked back downtown, to Parramatta Park. By the time that we got there, I was parched.

“I need water,” I said. There were technically water stations along the Esplanade, but there was a strong taste of chlorine that I really didn’t like. I got out a bottle of lemon cordial and a whole bunch of ice. I’d never had lemon cordial before seeing it in the supermarket and impulsively buying it. Back in Florida, we drank sweet tea. But I mixed some lemon cordial for the two of us. We sat down on our couch and Jessica put on Netflix. Australian Netflix had a different selection from the one back home, but we found an old romantic comedy and called it good.

By the end of the movie, our lemon cordial was gone and my eyelids were feeling heavy.

“I’m going to shower and sleep,” I told her.

Jessica checked her phone. “It’s only 5.”

“I’m exhausted and it’ll be dark in an hour.”

She shrugged. “Whatever.”

I trudged up the stairs to my room and turned on the shower for a 2-minute scrub and rinse. I didn’t bother to dry my hair or anything. I just flopped belly-down like a starfish onto my bed and passed out.

Very Sick

I woke up in the morning and checked my phone. There was another text message.

I want to see you.

My heart started beating faster. Did he want a repeat? Did he want to explain himself? I thought about it for a few more minutes before I replied at all.

Aren't you too busy?

Not for you.