“Technically, any country except the U.S. is ‘strange,’” Blake quipped. He was the first in his family to travel outside the U.S. and Western Europe, so he understood their concern, but they acted like he was studying in a war zone instead of a major international city.
“You know what I mean.” Helen twisted her bracelet around her wrist. “I’m sure the people are lovely, but couldn’t you have gone somewhere more…familiar? London, for example. They speak English there. It might not be too late to switch programs for the spring.”
“Going somewhere unfamiliar is the point.” Not to mention Shanghai was way farther from home than London. “Besides, Chinese is a useful language to learn.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Helen sighed. “I’m worried about you, Blake. You’ve been acting strange all year.”
“I have a few things I need to figure out.” Like what the hell he was going to do with his life now that football was out of the picture. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“All right.” His mom didn’t appear convinced, but she dropped the issue. “Do you want to talk to your father? He’s around here somewhere.” She turned toward the living room. “Joe!”
“No!” Blake cleared his throat. “I mean, another time. I have an orientation thing soon.”
“This late at night?”
“Uh, yeah. We’re going to a…night market,” Blake fudged.
“Oh, ok.” Helen looked disappointed. “Have fun. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you.”
“I love you too, mom.”
Blake signed off. That was a close call. He didn’t need to speak with his father when Joe Ryan’s voice already echoed in his head like a bad dream.
Are you STUPID? Did you get hit too hard in the head during the game...Can’t quit football, it’s the only thing you’re good at…Quitters are losers…
A dull ache blossomed behind Blake’s temple. The mere thought of his father drove him crazy.
A loud slam caused him to jump. Blake thought the sound was an alarming escalation of his headache until he saw his roommate in the doorway.
“Sorry.” Luke Peterson grimaced. Standing at 6’2” and north of 250 pounds, he looked every inch the rugby player he was. “Had a few too many drinks.”
“It’s cool.” Blake eyed his roommate’s flushed face and short brown hair, which stuck up all over the place. “Where did you have drinks? A wind tunnel?”
“Har-har.” Luke smoothed a self-conscious hand over his hair. “I was pregaming the pregame in Courtney’s room. They’re at Gino’s now, but I forgot my wallet.”
Gino’s, a dive bar near campus, was fast becoming FEA’s favorite pregame spot. The food was crappy, but the drinks were cheap, which was all a college student could ask for.
Blake didn’t care about the food or drinks, really. He went to bars for the energy and solidarity. There, strangers could bond over the simplest things, from mutual love for a song to a goal scored by their favorite team on TV. Everyone was welcome, regardless of whether they were there to hang out, hook up, or drown their sorrows.
“Perfect timing.” Blake stood up and pulled his sweatshirt over his head. It got crazy hot in Gino’s. “I was about to head over there myself.”
Forget his father. He wasn’t going to let the old man ruin his time in Shanghai.
The great thing about being more than 7,000 miles from home? You can do whatever the hell you want.
Chapter Three
“We have to decide.” Olivia Tang fished a pen out of her purse and scribbled on a cocktail napkin. “I’ll make pro/con lists. The holiday is coming up, and if we don’t book soon, everything will be full.”
“The holiday is in more than a month,” Sammy Yu pointed out. “We have time.”
“This is China. Do you know how many people will be traveling t
hen? A lot,” Olivia said before anyone could answer. “I’d prefer to get our ducks in a row before we’re stuck camping in the woods instead of sunbathing on a beach.”
“Camping sounds good to me,” Sammy said. Olivia frowned. “Or we could go sunbathing. Sunbathing sounds good too.”
Farrah, Courtney Taylor, and Kris Carrera exchanged amused glances. Despite Olivia’s denials, it was obvious Sammy had a thing for her. Farrah didn’t know why Olivia bothered denying it. Sammy was good-looking, sweet, funny, and a math major at Harvey Mudd, one of the most elite liberal arts colleges in the country. He was every girl’s (and every Asian mother’s) dream.