Page 93 of Kissing is the Easy Part
“Oh, for sure. Trying my best to cope,” I joke. “But in all seriousness, Flora is the best thing to happen to me in high school.”
Jeremy smirks, clearly unconvinced, and gives me ayou don’t have to liegrin. “I’ve got to warn you—there’re no hot girls at MIT. But they do build some impressive robotic cheetahs, if you’re into that.”
“Keep it up and I’m feeding you to the robotic cheetahs,” Flora says.
“But don’t fret, there are plenty of choices at BU and Wellesley. I’ll email you the details later.Just in case.” He winks at me to irritate Flora.
“Sounds like you’ve done extensive research,” I say.
Jeremy shrugs. “Gotta be thorough. That’s part of what I did when I was applying for college. It’s all about planning ahead, right?”
Taylor chuckles, finally chiming in. “College applicationsaredaunting. Easily one of the top two most stressful times of my life.”
“What was the other one?” Flora asks.
He gestures to Alice, who simply swirls her wine with an amused smile. “Marriage.”
“Hey!” Alice says. “Want to try again?”
“That extended business trip to Shanghai.” Taylor pauses to take a measured sip of his white wine. “Incredibly impactful, lots of key takeaways and growth opportunities, but it was a challenge being away from you all. I was fortunate to have such a strong support system.” He places a hand over Alice’s.
“My dad had to stay there by himself for a year,” Flora explains. “My mom had just started a new role, so she stayed behind to take care of us.”
“Stepping into that role meant transitioning from an individual contributor to a leadership position.” Alice shakes her head, and her straight dark hair shines. “It was a learning curve for all of us. There’s no such thing as work-life balance. You learn to prioritize and make trade-offs.”
Jeremy shrugs good-naturedly. “We have more than enough. No complaints.”
“And look, we turned out all right,” Flora adds.
Alice leaves the table to take a call, and when she sits back down again, she apologizes profusely. “I’m so sorry. That was one of the investigators from our phase three trial, but it’s all taken care of now.” She sets her phone on Silent and tucks it into her bag. “I did clear my schedule this evening, because I really want to get to know you, Sean. Flora told us you designed an app?”
Taylor leans in. “Tell us all about it!”
“It’s nothing groundbreaking, but we use it for some of our physics projects. It organizes thermophysical properties of fluid systems. It has built-in formulas, unit conversions, calculations for specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Flora can’t believe how nerdy it is.”
Taylor doesn’t let me off the hook, and Alice jumps in with more questions—how I came up with it, why I chose the interface, what the biggest challenge was, and how I’d refine it with unlimited time and resources. I do my best to answer.
When I finish, Taylor raises his glass to me. “Sounds like you’ve got your dream school in the bag. Make sure you highlight this in your application. Schools don’t just want to see what you built; they want to understand how it’s being used and who benefits from it.”
I nod, taking mental notes. He’s right. I’ve been so focused on the technical side that I hadn’t thought much about how to frame the app’s impact. Their questions make me rethink my approach to my essays.
Before I can say more, Flora turns to her parents. “Hey, you didn’t ask aboutmySAT scores and where I want to apply.”
“It’s not going to ruin my appetite, is it?” Taylor chuckles, setting down his fork. “I’m looking forward to dessert.”
“You don’t need a good score,” says Jeremy. “Just send the admissions office your best feature, your photos.”
“Maybe I should pick my twelve greatest shots and make a calendar.” Flora doesn’t even sound sarcastic.
Jeremy nods. “Solid strategy. No surprises beyond the surface, anyway.”
Everyone laughs, including Flora. Maybe it’s an inside joke, and I should go along with it. But it doesn’t sit right. At the risk of sounding overly serious, I say, “I don’t know, I feel like I keep discovering new layers. It’s like dating an onion. But, like, in a good way. I find something new and amazing about Flora all the time.”
Dating an onion? Not my best moment.
Alice smiles. “That’s a lovely way to put it. She’s full of surprises.”
“For example, this new Bulgari bracelet I’m wearing. So pretty, right?” Flora lifts her wrist, tilting the serpent’s head. “Anyway, I’ve been thinking about college. My grades aren’t that bad, and if I retake the SAT, I might have a shot at fashion school?” She swallows, and her voice becomes quieter. “I’m not sure yet, but I want to be in the industry. I was looking into fashion buying—curating collections, selecting pieces that consumers will want to purchase—”
