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  I shake hands before the situation gets even more embarrassing. "Ciao! Nice to meet you. I'm Caterina," I say, my voice faltering.

  "Cat-er-ina," he purrs, his voice mellow. Charming little shit! He pronounces my name like it's some Latin pop song. "I'm going to write a song about you, 'Cat-er-ina'."

  I don't know whether to laugh or simply melt. In the end I laugh. The bare-chested guy says something in a low voice but I can’t make it out. I lift my head just in time to catch his smirk. Perfect. He takes his cap off and runs a hand through his hair, which needs cutting. He pulls a black t-shirt out of nowhere and slips it on.

  Show's over, folks!

  His hair is the same color as Mark's, but his eyes are bigger and even greener. He looks at me for a fraction of a second and raises his eyebrows in greeting.

  "Cat-er-ina, this is my brother, Benjamin. Ben, where are your manners? Do you always have to show me up in front of pretty girls?" Mark sits down beside me and slides an arm around my shoulders.

  "Don't start, Mark! You know how it will end," Benjamin warns him, his voice deep and intense.

  I love him already, after only three minutes.

  What was that?!

  The heat must be having a strange effect on me. I sit up straight, feeling embarrassed, not knowing quite what to do.

  "Mark, leave her alone!" Erika scolds. "She only just got here, so don't start."

  Grinning, Mark turns to look at me, then winks cheekily.

  I don't usually like it when guys come on too strong, and I really don't like it when they get in my personal space like this. But I like Mark, he’s funny. Behind that cheeky smile, those hypnotic eyes and the bravado, I can sense he's harmless. All talk and no action, as they say.

  Ben makes his way over to the refrigerator and pulls out a carton of orange juice. He takes a glass from one of the cupboards and fills it with juice.

  "Caterina, these are our neighbors. So, don't worry if you find them constantly hanging out at the refrigerator." Jessica nudges Mark. "Leave her alone!"

  "Okay, okay, I'll be a good boy. For now." He reaches out and takes a cookie from the tray.

  Ben is behind me now and I hear him leaning up against the sink. We still haven't been introduced, I think, as I wipe my sweaty palms down my white pants..

  "Where are you from, Caterina?" asks Mark, behaving a little more naturally.

  "Rome," I answer firmly, then fall silent.

  "How old are you?" he continues.

  I glance over at Jessica, then at Erika but they don't intervene. "Nineteen."

  "You're at UCF, right? What are you studying?"

  "Second year of economics, but I'll only be here for a year." If I make it through this interrogation.

  Ben comes back into my line of sight as he stands behind Jessica and places his hands on her shoulders. Stupidly, I feel a twinge of disappointment when my brain instantly labels them as a couple. He leans forward and takes the last cookie then strokes Jessica's hair in a quick, intimate gesture.

  I force myself to breathe and focus on Mark. "What are you studying?" I ask, my voice faltering.

  "I'm studying economics, too, so we'll have a few classes together." The cheeky grin is back. I smile, too, and look down at my nails, which I've been picking.

  "Yeah, sure, but you'd have to actually show up for that," teases Jessica, making Ben, who’s still standing behind her, laugh. His mouth opens wide and his eyes are slits as he nods his head.

  "I have a good reason now." Mark's talking to Jessica but he's looking at me. Does he really think that seduction tactics worthy of a South American soap opera are going to work?

  "Ben's studying aerospace engineering, he's our resident nerd." He's barely finished speaking before a piece of cookie flies past me, hitting him in the face.

  "Watch it, Mark, don’t push it..."

  I can tell from Ben's tone that he's not kidding, but Mark's still looking at me, giggling.

  He leans in close and whispers in my ear. "Don't worry about him. He likes to play the hard man, he thinks it earns him more points with the girls." He squeezes my thigh and I giggle stupidly.

  Ben springs forward but Jessica holds him back. "Ben, we've got a new roommate, try not to scare her off on her first day, okay?" she warns.

  Jessica's words seem to have a soothing effect on him and he calms down.

  Mark leans in close again until he's about two inches away from my face, so close that I can smell his wonderful scent. "You've got real freaky eyes," he says. He blinks and moves in even closer for a better look.

  I'm startled and automatically start blinking myself. "They're...green," I say defensively.

  His eyes open wide in embarrassment. "I mean, freaky in a good way. Freaky beautiful, like, really beautiful. They're not just green, they're almost yellow. Big yellow eyes!"

  I've heard it all before, but, believe me, they're green.

  "Like a wildcat!"

  My eyes dart over to Ben, who seems to stiffen in embarrassment, probably regretting saying the words out loud.

  "Right. Mark agrees. "A wildcat...a cat...Cat! It suits you. Cat - er - ina's way too long anyway." He winks and wraps an arm around my shoulders again.

  Ben shrugs and without saying another word, walks over to the couch. He leaps over the back, flops down, and grabs the remote. As the TV comes to life, I start breathing again.

  "Mark, you’re incorrigible!" Jessica stands up and joins Ben on the couch.

  That twinge of disappointment again.

  Mark makes a face and Erika giggles behind her coffee cup.

  "They're always like this, Caterina," she whispers so only Mark and I can hear. "You'll get used to it."

  "Now what have I done?" Mark asks sarcastically, smirking comically, which makes us both laugh. "So, Cat. You got a boyfriend?"

  "Yes, in Rome." I smile as the corners of his mouth turn down in a fake frown of disappointment.

  "Ouch! You hear that? It's the sound of my heart breaking!"

  "Your heart? Sorry, I thought it was your ego!" Feeling brave, I lean in closer and nudge him.

  A huge, bright smile lights up Mark's eyes. "Cat, me and you are going to get along."

  Cat.

  Cat. I like it. It’s better than Cat - er - ina, anyway.

  My new nickname catches on immediately and ten minutes later it seems like they’ve already forgotten my full name.

  "Cat, do you need a hand unpacking?" Erika asks sweetly. "We ordered a pizza, but it won't be here till 7 p.m., so we still have time."

  "Do you always eat so early?" I ask, a little surprised. I can tell by Erika's face that the answer is 'yes'.

  Mark walks toward my room and Erika follows him. Where are they going?

  Without asking for permission, they both walk in and Erika starts pulling the sheets off the bed they made up for my dad. "Her dad's staying in a hotel," she explains, folding the covers.

  "I'll take this back then," says Mark, nodding at the inflatable mattress and beginning to deflate it.

  My new neighbor has quite the wise guy act and I'm pleased to see I wasn't wrong about him. He's a smart kid, and his manners are much better than his brother's.

  The brother who took my breath away with just one look.

  The brother who's going out with my roommate.

  I start unpacking and Mark and Erika give me a hand to fold my shirts and hang my dresses in the closet.

  I pull out my docking station and set it up on the desk, then slip in my iPhone and press play. Tiziano Ferro's voice fills the room and Mark turns to look at me. I'd forgotten I'd listened to this album all the way here.

  "What the hell is that noise?" Mark asks, amused.

  "Tiziano Ferro," I reply, determined not to back down. I hear the notes of “L’amore è una cosa semplice” and I remember how I listened to it on repeat on the plane, thinking only of Leonardo.

  "What kind of music do they make you listen to back home?" Mark shakes his head and pulls
a pair of Prada ankle boots from my case. He looks at them curiously, then tosses them into the closet.

  My face turns white.

  My God! They cost three hundred euros!

  Mark must have noticed my face because his eyes open wide and, looking like a wounded pup, he mumbles, "Oops, sorry!"

  "I like it!" Erika announces. "It's got a good rhythm and the guy has a nice voice. I don't understand a word of what he's singing, but, yeah, I like it.”

  "Tiziano Ferro is the number one," I agree, serious.

  "You're in the States now, Babe. Tonight, you’ll hear some real music."

  Babe? Really? Babe?!

  "You coming with us tonight, Cat?" Erika asks, carefully appraising a short, black-silk dress which I've never had the courage to wear.

  I frown in confusion and she reads my mind. "The guys are playing at a bar near here. They're really good."

  "You can say that again!" says Mark, examining a brightly-colored thong that I immediately snatch out of his hands.

  "I'll put my underwear away myself, thank you!" I clutch the thong behind my back and turn Mark back toward my case.

  "Yeah, like I've never seen one before," he teases, grinning sexily.

  Standing behind him, Erika laughs. "Believe me, for a nineteen year old, you've seen far too many!"

  "It's not my fault if girls throw themselves at my feet. It's the allure of the musician. I try to be a good boy, but they won't leave me alone."

  Erika taps her foot and tosses him a purse which, thank God, he catches with both hands. He has no idea that it's vintage Louis Vuitton.

  I rush over and take it from him, placing it carefully on one of the shelves in the closet.

  "Wow, Cat! You have a whole load of fancy pants gear in there, don’t you?" It's not so much a question as a statement and it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

  "It was my mom’s," I say. I don't want them to think I'm a snob. I know I spend way too much on shoes and purses. And clothes. And makeup. I blame my grandmother. She's the one who always dressed me in designer clothes. For her, appearance is everything.

  "Sorry, we'll be more careful." Mark winks again, his beautiful green eyes shining.

  Shit! He's gorgeous.

  "Do you play in a band, Mark?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

  Mark throws himself on my bed. "You mean we’re not famous in Italy?"

  I smile and put my underwear away in the top drawer of the dresser. "Maybe, what’s the name?"

  "Matching Scars."

  I pretend to think for a couple of seconds, my index finger on my lips, then shake my head. "No, sorry."

  "Too bad. We're good."

  "You mean, good like, I don't know, One Direction? Or better?" I ask, joking.

  Mark jumps up from my bed and clasps his hands over my mouth, pretending to hold back a scream. "You must never, and I mean, never say that name in front of us, Cat. Never!" He points a finger at me. He's deadly serious, but it only makes me want to laugh.

  "Why not? They're awesome."

  Mark shudders and pretends to throw up. "Don't let the others hear you, Cat. You must never say that name in this house, not unless you want to see Ben sobbing hysterically."

  I can't stop laughing and I say it again. "What? One Direction?"

  Mark puts his fingers in his ears and shouts, "Blah-blah-blah!"

  Erika can't stop laughing either and aims a pillow at his head to make him shut up. "No, honestly, they're very good. Matching Scars, I mean, not One Direction." She winks at me and we laugh as Mark plugs his ears again.

  "Ben's the lead singer and guitarist and I usually do backup vocals and guitar and sometimes bass. Then we've got Kris on drums and Ryan, Jessica's boyfriend, on keyboards."

  The only part of that sentence that interests me is, 'Ryan, Jessica's boyfriend', which, for some stupid reason, makes my stomach do a somersault.

  "You should come with us tonight. If you’re bored or you get too tired, we'll bring you home." Erika tries to persuade me while folding the t-shirts I use for running.

  Go out on my first night in Orlando? I've a six-hour time difference on my back and for me it's past midnight. And what am I going to tell my dad? "Hey, Dad, I'm going out to a bar with a group of guys I've never met before to see my musician neighbors play..."

  Yeah, sure! In less than ten minutes flat, he'd drag me out of the door and onto the first plane back to Italy.

  "I am a little tired, actually."

  Erika knows it’s an excuse because she says, "Why don't you call your dad and invite him along? He'd have a great time, I know he would." Mark glares at her and spreads his arms wide. "He's a great guy, Mark, so don't look like that!"

  I guess I could ask him to come. He's pretty cool, I don't see why not…

  I grab my iPhone and send him a quick text.

  We finish unpacking in record time. With Erika folding my clothes meticulously and Mark holding my bras up to his chest and wiggling sexily every time he finds one, time flies.

  The doorbell rings at exactly 7 p.m. and Erika and Mark race out of the room. I'm about to join them when Mark comes back.

  "It was only Ryan," he announces. "I'm dying of hunger here, where's the pizza guy?"

  He sits down on my bed and watches me in silence. I feel his eyes on me and pretend to concentrate on putting my swimsuits away in the third drawer of the dresser.

  "What made you decide to come to Orlando for a year?"

  "I want to improve my English and a year abroad on my CV will be a great help when it comes to job interviews." And because studying abroad was my mom’s dream, I think to myself.

  "I don't know if I could do it, leave everything behind like that. Me and Ben are from Daytona Beach, just an hour away. Even then it was real hard for me. I only came because my brother, Jessica, Ryan, and Kris were already here. We all come from the same place, we grew up together."

  I turn and look at him. When his guard is down he's like a little kid. Those muscles straining to burst out of his shirt may say one thing, but his face gives him away.

  "It wasn't easy for me, either. I must have changed my mind at least thirty times since Christmas. Yesterday, at the airport, I thought I’d go crazy." I smile, thinking of my body wrapped crazily around Leonardo's at passport control. He was trying to get away, pulling in one direction, while my dad had hold of one of my arms, pulling me in the other.

  There's a knock at the door and I turn to see a tall guy, at least 6'2", whose eyes and hair are so black they look fake. His skin is so pale it's almost transparent, and his lips are thin. He's not so muscly as the other guys, and not so good-looking. His thin hair hangs limply down to his chin and it's so straight he must have used a straightening iron.

  Without moving from the doorway, he holds his hand out. "Ryan, hi."

  I rush over and shake hands.

  We stand looking at each other for a few seconds, not knowing quite what to do.

  Finally, I pull my hand away and he says, "Welcome to Florida, Cat. The pizza guy just got here so we can eat." And he disappears again.

  "Come on, Cat," says Mark. "Let’s get moving, the show starts at 9:30." He takes my hand and leads me out of my room toward the family room.

  Someone’s laid a table cloth over the island and on the counter there are three pizza boxes and bottles of Coca Cola and something they call root beer. Ben is still on the couch and asks Ryan to pass him the 'pepperoni' pizza, which turns out to be spicy salami and not peppers like I thought. I pull out a stool, sit down next to Erika, and ask in a low voice how much I owe her for the pizza.

  "Nothing! Call it another welcome gift. We wanted to order in Chinese but thought you might prefer pizza." She winks, and I feel myself blushing.

  Mark sits down next to me and puts a slice of pizza on my plate. It's at least an inch thick and loaded with onions, peppers, mushrooms, spicy salami, and hot dog sausage. I mentally turn my nose up. This is pizza?

  I smile and tak
e a bite, forcing myself not to be my usual, fussy self, because it really isn't all that bad. Just a bit rubbery, and way too much onion, which I take off, but it's good.

  "When did you get here, Cat?" Ryan asks.

  "A couple of hours ago." Was it really only a few hours ago?

  "Hey, Jessica. Could you tell your boyfriend not to hit on my girl, here?" Mark sputters, grinning cheekily.

  "She's your girl, huh?" Ryan asks, opening a root beer and turning to look at Jessica, who is still curled up on the sofa with Ben.

  I turn my attention back to Mark and try to make a joke. "I guess my boyfriend will be happy to know I found someone else so quickly. I didn't even have time to unpack..."

  "I told you already, it's the allure of the musician!"

  The way he says it makes me laugh, but a soft roar comes from the sofa and I notice Ben shaking his head. He may be gorgeous but he's also the most annoying guy I have ever met. What's wrong with him?

  "So, are you coming with us tonight?" Jessica asks, getting up from the sofa and standing behind her boyfriend. She wraps a hand around his waist and lightly squeezes his non-existent belly. He's so thin you can see his collarbones protruding from the neck of his t-shirt.

  "I'm a little tired, I wouldn't be much fun." My father still hasn't answered my text and I'm not sure I want to go out. Then again, the idea of spending the evening alone in a strange house hardly makes me jump for joy. Ben gets up from the sofa and makes his way over to the table. I'm looking down at my plate but out of the corner of my eye I see him grab a slice of pizza then look at me for the first time.

  "We're doing three songs tonight, all covers. It'll be fun. Next Friday though, we're playing at the pub on campus and we'll be doing our own stuff." Ryan looks at me so intensely I lower my gaze.

  "Come on, guys. Don't pressure her, she’s tired. She only just got here. If she wants to come, she will."

  I smile a little awkwardly at Erika, grateful she came to my rescue. I finish my pizza and try to keep up with the conversation, even if I miss a good half of what they're saying. I never look Ben straight in the eye but, without meaning to, I realize I can’t take my eyes off him.