“And you?” she laughed before catching herself at her presumption that he’d fit into their little foursome.
But it was a game, a silly fantasy to joke about as the bright sun and blue sky and endless ocean made her giddy with the thrill of so much to take in. Blake thought for a moment and then declared that he’d be the one writing the screenplay about their perfect existence. “Or else some reality show where we all move to paradise and then drive each other crazy.”
Julia laughed. “That’s probably more realistic.” She paused, then decided to go for it. What did she have to lose? “You don’t think there’s something, I don’t know, weird between Jamie and Chris?”
They were standing leaning over a railing under the statue, looking out over the view. Blake gave her a puzzled frown. “What do you mean, weird?”
Julia shrugged, not sure if she should have brought it up. She hardly knew them and it seemed like Blake and Jamie had become pretty good friends. She didn’t want to say anything wrong or step on any toes. “I don’t know, it’s probably nothing,” she backpedaled, trying to be conciliatory.
“No, no, I’m not offended. Tell me what you mean.”
“It just seemed like… I mean, even with the way Chris was joking about moving to Brazil, or wanting to keep traveling forever. Like on some level, she really meant it.”
Blake shook his head. “I don’t think so. She and Jamie have been talking about how they’re going back to Melbourne and getting married.”
Somehow, the news that they were preparing to seal the deal made Julia all the more certain that something was up. Who joked about running away before getting married…unless some part of them was itching to go?
“And yet she’s talking about opening an inn with Lukas, while Jamie is talking about how he’s ready to go home. To me it seemed a little off.”
“She’s definitely joking. They have such a good thing going on.”
“I guess,” Julia said reluctantly. “I don’t know if it’s something I’d joke about, but I suppose everyone’s different. Anyway, where do you want to go next?”
They let the conversation slide, moving on to more discussions about the city they were in and the cities they lived in as they walked down from the mountain, winding through the steaming rainforest before they emerged on the street below. It was a surprise to be back on concrete, like they’d passed through a portal from a completely different world. It wasn’t long before they were swept up again in the surge and swell of the moving city, hopping a cab to a restaurant in Julia’s guidebook for a late lunch.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation. She wasn’t as certain about Chris and Jamie as Blake seemed to be. Or at least as he wanted to be. Had he really believed what he’d said? Or did he want to believe that their relationship—or any relationship—could last?
She couldn’t tell, but there was no way she’d ask. It wasn’t like they were in the relationship business themselves. Besides, it was no use dwelling on things that didn’t concern her when she had such a perfect travel companion. They rested when they wanted to rest, walked when they wanted to walk, and poked in and out of little stores along the avenues. They tried to guess all the different fruits for sale and bought roasted corn and grilled meats and cheese on the streets to try everything they could. When was the last time she’d laughed this hard? When was the last time she’d had this much fun? Not thinking about work, free of any obligations, not feeling like she had to worry about anyone else. She felt as liberated as the ocean, its one obligation to keep exploring the endless shore.
If only, she thought to herself as they strolled hand in hand along the avenues. If only it didn’t all have to end.
Chapter Thirteen
It was late afternoon by the time they walked back in the direction of Copacabana Beach. When they passed a small internet café, Julia paused. “I know there’s no talking about home,” she said, “but it’d be nice to let some people know I’m still alive.”
Blake reassured her that they were allowed to break the rules for good things—like rubbing it in everyone’s faces that they were in eighty-five degree weather with a constant ocean breeze, alternating between the rainforest and the beach.
He didn’t mind stopping by the café, either. It was probably a good idea to check in with Jed Anderson, the top writer working for him, about new material for the show and anything that might have come up in his absence. He was supposed to be shaping the arc of the next season, ramping up the dramatic tension between Celia and Reese. But thinking about them made him think about the actors that played them, and focusing on Kelley and Liam certainly wasn’t how he wanted to spend his time away. Psychological torture was more like it. He’d been trying to limit his computer access as a result, checking in with his mom and a few friends when he had the chance but keeping his distance from work. With Julia now at the forefront at his thoughts, it seemed a little less awful to open up his email and see what was going on with the show.
The café was small, an entryway on the first floor of a larger building, and there was only one computer open in the line of units with dividers separating each cube. Blake paid for an hour and motioned for Julia to get started. He’d take whatever time was left. It didn’t look like any of the boys engaged in a series of shoot ’em up computer games at the terminals were leaving anytime soon.
Julia settled into her kiosk, a frown of concentration stealing over her face as soon as the mouse was in her hand. Blake decided to wait outside to escape the dark confines of the café and watch the street life go by. He bought a cafezinho, a little cup of coffee from a street vendor so small it was just a few cents for even fewer sips, and strolled around the block admiring how even from the street, down in the belly of the city, he still felt nestled in the mountains as flashes of green peeked between the buildings every time he turned.
Would Julia tell her friends about him? He had no idea what to expect. Not that he’d ever know what she said in her emails, but he couldn’t help feeling curious. Would she say that she was alone? Had met a friend? Was with someone?
That strange and ambiguous preposition could cover all the bases from thoughtless fuck to friend with benefits to actual relationship material.
So which one was he?
Blake sipped the scalding coffee, savoring the bitter bite on his tongue. It wasn’t exactly pleasant to imagine Julia tossing him off to the side with a few quick strokes of the keyboard, either by gossiping about him with her friends or else neglecting to mention him altogether.
But she’d given no sign that this was anything more than the most casual of flings. It wasn’t a one-night stand, but it wasn’t much more than that, either. Just a few days in each other’s company before the real world called and they went back to their regular lives. She was giving him exactly what he’d said he wanted: everything, and with no strings attached.
He’d already shown that his plans could be changed. If she wasn’t going to reveal what she thought about what would happen on January first when she boarded that plane for Chicago, then he wouldn’t get into it, either.
Wasn’t that the whole point of the prohibition against speaking about home? Neither of them wanted to think about the weather, the work, the demands pressing on them. Right now they were supposed to be having fun.
And they were—the most Blake could remember having in ages. A few days with Julia had already sent his mind into overdrive. He wasn’t thinking about The Everlastings like he should have been, but about new show ideas, new characters, new possibilities for the future and his career. The ideas were little wispy things, no more substantial than the clouds streaking over the bay. But if he watched them, worked on them, reached for them long enough, they would eventually turn solid in his mind. That’s when he’d be able to grab hold.