Eden looked at Alex with shock. Did he just ask me to pay him to keep a secret?Alex noticed that Eden had taken him seriously, and started laughing loudly. Eden realized that he was joking and started laughing along with him. In a minute they were hysterically laughing about it. Leo turned around to look at them, and his gaze lingered on Eden as he watched her emotionlessly. He turned back around and removed his hand from Georgia’s shoulder, who was too busy talking to Marina to notice.Eden looked at Alex and noticed that he seemed very American in his ways. Eden asked him, “So when did you come to Italy to study?”“My session started just a month ago. I got to know these people through college only. They seem to have a liking for Americans,” Alex laughed. “What about Leo? Doesn’t he live in Florence?” Eden asked.“Oh he was in our college but he’s going to be a foreign exchange student in some college in America, I don’t really remember the name,” Alex replied. “What about you? Y
“What are you talking about?” asked Leo, genuinely confused.“Uh, aren’t bars banned from serving alcohol to minors? I’m just 18,” said Eden.Alex chuckled and said, “The legal age for drinking here is 18, don’t worry, get whatever you want.” It made sense to Eden why they did not ask for an ID at the restaurant when Bennett and she downed almost an entire bottle of red wine. Also at the hotel, there was a bottle of champagne in the room, meaning they kept it there knowing their guest was only 18.Leo looked even more confused. “Wait, you’re 18? I thought you were older. Also, what is wrong with the USA, they allow you to get married at 18 but not drink? At what age are you allowed to drink?”“Twenty-one,” Eden answered.“NO! Tell me that’s not true, signora!” Leo exclaimed, his eyes widened. His reaction was comic. “I’m only 20, will I have to wait a whole year to be able to drink again?” “I mean I have been drinking since I was 16, I just made sure no one who could get me in troubl
Grace’s Point of View:Grace locked the door behind her, feeling satisfied with her job. She walked down to the reception and double-checked that the check-out was for early morning. She didn’t want Theo to be in there too long for it to become an act of vengeance. It was an act of vengeance, but Grace wanted Theo to think that it was nothing but a silly prank. She knew that since Eden was married to Bennett, Theo can’t blackmail her into taking the kidnapping to the police, if she gets caught, so would Eden, and that would not be good for his brother.Grace smirked, as she walked outside, hailed a cab, and went back home, to pack for her trip the next day. She would be in Italy and Theo would have no way to contact her for at least a few days. When she reached home, she stripped out of her clothes and went to the bathroom to take a nice warm bath, rewarding herself with a glass of champagne, that she sneaked from her father’s minibar. After her bath, Grace walked out to her bedroom
Eden's Point of View:After hanging out in the bar for some time, Eden, Leo, Alex, Dante, Jimmy, Charlotte, Marina, and Georgia decided to go to Charlotte’s house to pass time and get ready for the night. She had a big bungalow and parents who were almost always out on business trips, leaving the house for Charlotte. Eden was unsure if she was really welcome, so she told Georgia and she told Charlotte how Eden felt. Charlotte walked to Eden and lightly tapped her head and laughed and said something in Italian. Georgia translated it for her and said that Charlotte called her silly for thinking that. Eden smiled at her and said ‘Gracias’. She was somewhat surprised at how friendly they were to a stranger, she felt grateful to meet them and have them accept her. None of them were pretentious or rude, she liked being in their company. Though she got a sour vibe from Marina, then again she didn’t expect any of them to be nice to her. She smiled at Marina a few times, to which she didn’t re
Eden had never gone thrift shopping, but she was willing to give it a try. She agreed to go to the place with Alex. They walked a few blocks, chatting about colleges and studying. Eden liked Alex, the way he was so decent and casual with her. He never tried to hit on her once or say something inappropriate, he was just plain friendly. Alex and Eden walked for about 15 minutes before they reached their destination. They were talking and hitting it off so well that they didn’t realize it took them to reach the thrift store.“Ah, here it is,” said Alex, as they got to the doorstep.The store was nothing fancy, it didn’t even have a name on the outside. It was in a crummy street, and clothes were piling on each other. Eden was not sure if she wanted to go in.“I know what it looks like, but come on in, you might get surprised,” said Alex, as he walked ahead, gesturing for her to come in.Een reluctantly walked inside. And looked around. It was a lot bigger on the inside and it only had
Eden and Alex walked back to Charlotte’s home, talking and laughing. They were almost at the door when Eden got a phone call, it was from the hotel that Bennett’s mom had booked in Milan.Eden looked confusedly at the number, wondering why they were calling after she already checked out. She had given her number at the reception during the check-in but she didn’t understand why they were calling her now.Eden picked up the phone, and she gestured for Alex to go ahead and get the door opened. “Hello?”“Mrs. Mason, our bellboy has been at your door with the champagne you ordered, but you didn’t answer the door. We tried the hotel landline too but you didn’t pick up,” said a man with an intense Italian accent.“Um, I think you’re mistaken. Do you mean Mr. Mason ordered it?” asked Eden.“No, signora, Mr. Mason just left somewhere, our bellboy said that the lady in the suite for Masons asked for it,” said the man, his voice slightly agitated.Eden suddenly felt weak in the knees. “Sir, are
Leo looked at Eden, confused. He got up from the floor and walked towards her. “What are you talking about, Signora?”Eden pointed toward the bong that was kept on the table. “That.”“But you said that you don’t want to do it?” Leo asked, as he walked towards the bong and picked it up.Alex walked up to Eden, and slowly said, “Eden, do you think this is a good idea?”“Hey man back off,” Leo said. “Let her have some fun for once, she is so tense all the time anyway.” He walked over to Eden and asked her to sit down on the couch, and so she did, ignoring Alex’s question. Leo sat down next to her, lighting the lighter under the glass where the weed was stored.“Now suck from the top, don’t do it too much, just a little okay? This is very strong,” said Leo.Eden took a deep breath. Not wanting her brain to overthink this decision too, she leaned in, took the glass top in her face, and sucked in the steam. She ignored Leo’s advice and made sure she pulled until she felt herself go light-he
The music played loudly on the speakers and all of them had another round at the bong, except Alex and Eden, she thought one time was enough. Eden hung out with everyone, mostly talking to Leo, Alex, and Georgia since they were the only English speakers. Leo couldn’t stop gushing over how beautiful Eden’s voice is, and Georgia kept trying to flirt with her, to which Eden was more open now. She entertained the idea of hooking up with Georgia in her mind. Since nothing held her back from experiencing anything anymore, she was more open to some ideas now. She owed no loyalty to Bennett since he clearly had already moved on. But before she did anything, she wanted to make sure herself. She excused herself from the living room and walked out the sliding door towards the pool. It was already 6:30 PM, so the sunlight had almost vanished. She could hear crickets chirping from the bushes on the side of the pavement. There was a lawn chair where Eden sat and pulled out her phone from her pocke