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After breakfast with Zack, where Emily received a full report on his very enjoyable date with Mr. Darcy, who, according to Zack, had adored her, Emily devoted herself to her work. She finished the book she’d started the night before and wrote reviews for the last five books she’d read, before starting editing a manuscript.

She kept busy and barely saw the day go by. It was night when Jody called inviting her to dinner at Old Joe’s. Needing a break from words, Emily quickly changed her stay at home ensemble and crossed the street.

Despite how incredibly enjoyable their dinner was, on the way walk back to her apartment, Emily realized that Taylor never left her mind.

China was beautiful.

By the fifth day of their trip, Taylor had filled his memory card twice with countless pictures of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and every other beautiful monument they visited. Being with his family was also incredible. As was to be expected, Penelope and Gabriel fought most of the time, but with his parents present the fighting felt like home.

He made an extra effort to keep his mind where it was supposed to be, but keeping his thoughts away from New Haven was proving to be an impossible task—as was keeping his foul mood at bay. With the “desperate times call for desperate measures” saying as a motto, Taylor found himself doing something his father had taught him never to do.

Emily spent most of her week reading, writing reviews and enjoying the sun and warmth of summer in her bikini top and Daisy Duke’s on the edge of the Webbers’ pool. For the most part, her new tan and the good company of Jody and Johanna kept her in a good mood, but for some reason she was growing increasingly restless and impatient. She avoided talking about her mood swings, and for the most part, her loved ones respected her privacy.

Most of her impatience was self-directed; not understanding what was making her so restless was making her skin crawl. That was until Friday afternoon when, sitting under the poolside umbrella, she opened her computer to post the new reviews she’d been working on and checked her email.

She scrolled through various spam messages, deleting them all. Once that was over with, she read and answered the few work-related emails and even one from her sister. Only then did her eyes see a message that arrived earlier that day. The address was one she’d never seen in her life, but all it took was one glimpse at the “
Greetings from China”
subject title to know exactly who the sender was. Her reaction to it was ridiculous, and she silently begged every force of the universe that the two women resting on colorful noodles in the water wouldn’t be able to hear the frantic tattoo her heart was beating on her chest.

With pathetic, trembling fingers, she moved the cursor to open the message. The seconds it took for the email to open felt like hours.

Ems,

Saw this yesterday and couldn’t help but to think of you. How’s your week so far?

Taylor

What got Emily’s lips curling almost to her ears were the two pictures attached. The first was a striking image of a row of Terracotta Warriors. The photograph was so beautiful it looked like something you would see in a travel book. The next photo didn’t have the same sharpness and quality, making it obvious that it was taken by someone whose knowledge of photography didn’t go beyond point and shoot. However, she adored it, simply because it was a close-up shot featuring of one of the sculptures and a smiling Taylor.

She had no idea how he’d gotten her email address, but the fact that he took time out of his vacation to get it and write her the message made her heart beat even faster. In that moment, as she tried to calm her heart, she realized her restlessness of the past few days had in fact been anxiety.

Her fingers quickly hit the reply button.

Tay,

You weren’t kidding when you said I’d see you soon. LOL. Loved the pictures! You have no idea how green I am right now. My week’s been great, lots of tanning and swimming. Am I right to assume that Penelope gave you my email?

Emily :)

As soon as she hit the send button, her muscles relaxed and her spirits lifted, but she wasn’t willing to discuss it with Johanna or Jody at that moment, so she tried to keep her facial expression neutral and dove in to the pool.

The next email arrived a few minutes after she’d sent her message, but Emily only saw it back at her apartment while she got ready for her usual Friday night at OJ’s. Her reaction to it was basically the same.

Ems,

I’m glad you liked the pics and I promise to send you some more.

Sorry for making you green, but don’t worry, I’ll think of ways to make it up. Pool and sun sounds great, and I must admit to being greenish right now as well.

Assuming my sister gave me your address is absolutely incorrect. I stole it from her phone while she was in the shower.

Have a great time at Old Joe’s with your friends tonight.

Tay.

Tay,

Sneaky! Didn’t your parents warn you about going through your sibling’s stuff? I know some people that might get sick and violent over that, be careful! I’m about ready to go Old Joe’s. It sucks that I won’t be able to beat you on the boards again.

Have a great night or day—I don’t really know what the time difference is.

Ems.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to avoid checking her email for news of Taylor, Emily considered heading to Old Joe’s phoneless but decided against it, certain that her mind would be on her inbox anyways. She would just have to find a way to focus on enjoying her time with Zack and Jody regardless.

Emily, Zack and Jody enjoyed their burgers and the country band performing, and talked about various subjects, including Zack and Toby’s many dates. Emily repeatedly checked her phone for new emails. She tried her best to be inconspicuous, but nothing passed Jody’s hawk eyes unnoticed.

Emily tried to dismiss her friend’s question with a giggle and wave of her hand, but when Jody reached for the device sitting atop of the table, she had to fess up. The raised eyebrows and smiles had her regretting sharing the information within seconds.

“Quit staring.”

“We’re not staring, Cheesecake.”

“Fuck that, of course we are,” Jody interjected, rolling her eyes at both her friends. “The man is hot as a tamale and he steals your address from his sister’s phone to send you pictures and emails from goddamned China. You bet your skinny butt we’ll stare.”

As much as Jody’s reaction was to be expected, it didn’t make the situation any less aggravating. “We’re friends, Jody. If you were in China, wouldn’t you send me photos?”

“Sure I would. But answer this, am I a tamale?”

The whole situation had Zack choking on his wine and roaring with laughter. “Jody, darling, that’s a stupid question,” he teased. “Fire is one thing you have plenty of. That, and boobs. Now leave Cheesecake alone. Tamale or not, Taylor’s proving to be the really nice guy she told us he is, and that’s all we care about.” Nobody knew how to deal with those two women better than Zack. He turned his conciliatory gaze at Emily. “Now, will you please tell us about the emails?”

“There’s not much to tell,” Emily said, stubbornly. “It’s just conversation and playful teasing. He wished us a great night and I wished him a great day. The normal friends mumbo-jumbo.” Emily’s words and glare were directed at the redhead who poked her tongue out at her.

Running her fingers over the screen of her phone, Emily found his email to show her friends the photographs he sent. Displaying the photo of the line of warriors first, Emily turned the phone over to Zack and Jody. “I think he took this one. Isn’t it gorgeous?”

The two friends scrutinized the image for a few seconds. Wide eyes, ohs and ahs followed.

“If he took this, he’s a gifted photographer. The lighting is pretty bad in there, and look how great the photo turned out,” Zack said.

With the phone back in her hands, Emily changed to the second picture and handed it back to her friends. As expected, the commenter this time was Jody, noting that the second photograph was much more interesting than the first. She continued making a few points to Emily at the benefits of having that picture as the background image on her phone and laptop, earning her a few snickers from both her friends.

“I know you two will look at me with those ‘is she crazy’ eyes, but since he sent Cheesecake a picture, I think she should send him one back,” Jody finished.

Emily looked at Jody with said described glare. Zack, however, went in the opposite direction, surprising both women. “Oh, that’s not crazy, J. I like that!”

Emily shifted her incredulous eyes back and forth between her two friends. She knew that Zack’s excitement meant she was outvoted and that picture time would happen, whether she liked it or not. Already regretting the inevitable, Emily mumbled about how adolescent her friends were.

“Fine, but you two will be in it as well,” she said sternly. “Otherwise, it’s just ridiculous. And if we’re doing this we should go play darts and take a pic of it as well, since I told him I’d miss beating him at it.”

Ems,

Thanks for the photos. Waking up and seeing not only two emails from you, but also the pictures, was great. Saying that they aren’t as good as mine is nonsense, they are great and are now forever stored in my computer. The one of the dartboard is now my wallpaper, hope you don’t mind. I’m happy you had fun with Zack and Jody, they seem great and I really hope I get to hang out with them once I’m back.

Right now I’m enjoying a great hotel breakfast with the family and dodging Poppy’s questions about who I’m writing to. I think her odds of knocking me out with her tiny fist are slim, but I’m not taking chances. I hear she comes from a hot-tempered family.

Today, we’re visiting a temple that was sculpted on a wall of rock. I can’t start to tell you how excited I am to take those pictures. I’m attaching a few shots from the last few days, hope you like them.