“God, it’s good to see you,” I said, inhaling the floral fragrance of her shampoo. “You look great!”
She really did. Instead of her usual ripped jeans and button-down, Lizzy was wearing a cute navy blue sundress and flat tan sandals, and she looked more European than I’d ever seen her. Her hair was in a messy fishtail braid, and I caught myself admiring it from all angles. I was going to have to get her to teach me how to do that. Lizzy and I could have been twins, except she had lighter brown hair compared to my dark shade, and she was slightly shorter and thinner. Locks and height aside, we had the same pert nose, the same cheekbones, and the same green eyes.
She stepped back and gestured down. “I went shopping,” she said.
“Well, you look amazing,” I said, more modestly this time. “So, what are we doing once we get my luggage? Lunch?”
Lizzy grinned. “Not exactly. But you’re gonna love it,” she said, taking my hand and swinging me around in a circle. I felt slightly dizzy; my body clock was still set to American time and it felt like it should be the middle of the night. But instead, Manchester was sunny and bright.
“What do you mean by ‘not exactly’?” I asked, arching a suspicious brow.
“We’re going to a football match!”
I wrinkled my nose. “I haven’t seen you in a month and you’re dragging me to a soccer game?”
Lizzy grinned. “It’ll be fun, I promise. You can drink some wine there. And sis, it’s football here. Not soccer. You sound like a Yank.”
“I am a Yank!” I said. “And so are you, missy.”
“Whatever. But I know you’ll like this one,” Lizzy said, her voice packed with enthusiasm. “I won a contest and we get to go meet and greet the team in the locker room after the match.”
“Oh, really?” I said, wondering how that was actually a contest prize. “Isn’t that kinda gross? It probably smells like sweaty dude in there, Liz.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Where’s your sense of adventure? They’re like, the hottest guys on the planet.”
I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut. At least I could use this as leverage for the rest of my trip whenever I wanted to do something. I grinned at the thought; Lizzy owed me at least three shopping trips for dragging me straight from the airport to a sweaty soccer game even though she knew I didn’t like sports.
“Oh, we’re going home first,” she said, as if reading my mind. “That way you can change and shower.”
I looked down at my boyfriend jeans and artfully-wrinkled linen tunic. “I think this is fine for a game.”
Lizzy rolled her eyes. “For someone who has a stylist for her own TV show, you should know better,” she said. Linking her arm through mine, she led me out to the parking lot and to her tiny little rental car.
We zoomed through the countryside and I gripped my door with blind fear. Lizzy laughed when she saw my expression.
“I know, it’s scary suddenly being on this side of the road,” she said, her voice softening. “But it’s nothing compared to driving. You should try shifting with your left hand!”
I had to keep my eyes closed for the rest of the drive, and when we pulled up at Lizzy’s apartment, she helped me lug my bags inside.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “I made a room in the living room for you.”
“Cool, thanks!”
Lizzy’s apartment was tiny but comfortable. She’d dragged a screen over to the corner and made a little private area with a camp bed and a nightstand for me.
“I know it’s not ideal,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “But I figured you’d rather have your own space.”
I grinned. “This is great,” I said. “Honestly, it’s perfect. I love it.”
And I did. Lizzy’s apartment was about as far away from mine as possible. My apartment was rather large, elegantly bare, with high ceilings and everything painted white. Lizzy’s looked like it was part of a building from another time, with a smooth tiled floor and dark appliances. It already felt like I was a million miles away from NYC, and I was even starting to feel better about going to the soccer match.
This trip was exactly what I needed.
I took a shower and got dressed in the same boyfriend jeans with a different top. The weather was humid, so I braided my hair in a lazy crown and pinned the ends up, and after a touch of lipstick and mascara, I was ready to go. Happily, I noticed that my reflection was a lot different than the Kate of ‘Keeping Current With Kate’. I actually looked relaxed.
“Let’s go,” Lizzy said. She was bouncing up and down excitedly. “This is gonna be so great!”