Anywhere by Jinsey Reese, J. Meyers Page A

We’ve got to stick with tacky souvenirs.”
    “We are so NOT going to top David ’s twig and berries on those boxers.”
    “I’m sorry,” Shayne said. “What?”
    Asher, his hands held out in a picture-this sort of way, said, “Michelangelo’s David . His junk is placed in an anatomically appropriate position on the front of a pair of boxers.” He pulled out his phone to show them the pictures.
    “Dude. You bought a pair, right? Because THAT’s a conversation piece if ever there was one,” Tommy said.
    Asher shook his head as he passed his phone around.
    “But I need to get a pair for my brother,” I said. The thought of my mother’s face at getting a glimpse of those boxers made me giddy. I had to do it. And I had no doubt Justin would wear them.
    “That is AWESOME,” said Julia. “And possibly the worst souvenir I’ve ever seen.”
    “Right?” Asher said, then turned to me. “See?”
    I leaned forward so the others would hear me in the crowded piazza. “Where are you guys going next because I may just have to follow Shayne around.” I took another lick. “This is delicious.”
    “We’re off to Spain tomorrow. You two want to come?”
    I actually hadn’t planned to go to Spain. I wanted to see a little more of Italy first, then Austria or Switzerland, and then Germany, England, and Ireland, before going back to France for several weeks. That had been my vague plan. And it occurred to me, all of a sudden, that Asher and I hadn’t talked about travel plans at all. I had no idea where he planned to go next and I suddenly really wanted to know.
    Like today.
    And I was hit with how much I wanted to travel with him. We were well matched—we got up and out early, and seemed to like a lot of the same things so far. And in just a few days I’d gotten completely spoiled by having someone to hang out with.
    I really didn’t want to go back to being alone.
    And yes, I was attracted to him and that presented a problem, but I was an adult. I could control myself.
    But of course, I realized Asher may have had other plans. And my stomach clenched at that. He probably wanted to spend some time on his own. What if he wanted to go to Spain next? I didn’t want to miss out on countries I’d always dreamed of visiting, that I may never get a chance to visit again, but I didn’t really want to go off on my own either.
    The gelato turned to tasteless mush in my mouth as worries flooded me. I didn’t want to travel alone. I could do it, sure, if I needed to, but it was so much better when you had someone to share and talk about it with, and exclaim over it like an idiot as I sometimes did. (Okay, I may have done that a lot.)
    “Hey,” Asher said quietly. “Let’s go check out those souvenirs over there. Find your brother those shorts.” To Julia, Shayne, and Tommy he said, “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    I got up, my feet feeling heavy as we made our way through all the people to the edge of the square. This was it. He was going to tell me it’s been fun, and then go on his merry way. My stomach started to hurt and I had to force myself to smile. I dropped the rest of my gelato into a garbage can.
    He stopped at a little souvenir shop and started looking around. Tiny replicas of the fountain were piled next to Colosseums and Pietàs . Baseball hats with famous landmarks embroidered onto them hung next to photo books of Rome in almost every language. “I don’t think they’re going to have them here,” he said. “This stuff is not nearly tacky enough.”
    When I didn’t say anything, he turned to look at me. I stared morosely at the table of trinkets.
    “You okay?” he said. “You’re looking totally stressed out. What’s up?”
    I looked at him for a moment and then glanced around. There were so many people. Too many. I didn’t want to have a conversation in the middle of this jostling crowd. The side streets looked pretty quiet, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the nearest