This May Sound Crazy Read Free Page A

to find me a cool British boyfriend, one who’d get it when I was stalking them, Joel got an idea. He texted me the next morning saying that he found me a British boyfriend. SAY WHAAAAt.
    I was obviously super skeptical cuz these kinds of setups never work out, right?
    Right?
    Like ever?
    After seeing his pic I was like. Long story short, it was his friend Adam, theguy from the pub. We started talking and it turned out we had a lot in common. Adam was really nice and funny and cute and totally interesting and cool. You know when you first start liking someone and everything they say is like “Omg you’re so poetic and wise.” This was that. It was crazy how immediate it all was. We instantly started talking every single day. And Adam even asked me to be his valentine. I thought this was sweet but impossible, seeing how he was in London and I was in NYC. But he said we could have a Skype coffee date.
    I kicked my family out of the surrounding rooms and spent the next hour adjusting my light dimmer (yes, I have a light dimmer; they are brilliant!) and fixing my makeup and choosing what to wear.
    I prepared first with a group text with Summer and Joel, who coached me by saying things like:
    . . . . SUMMER:
    Â Â Â Â Â  k abba remember not to show him your creepy weird doll head collection right away.
    . . . . JOEL:
    Â Â Â Â Â  Ya, that’s serious, abigail.
    . . . . SUMMER:
    Â Â Â Â Â  don’t have skype sex right away
    ME: . . . .
    SUMMER OMG THAT’S DISGUSTING.
    I HAVE TO GO. BYE HATERZ
    . . . . SUMMER:
    Â Â Â Â Â  I love you
    . . . . JOEL:
    Â Â Â Â Â  Love you both
    THEN. THE SKYPE HAPPENED. It was weirdly awkward cuz the connection was bad. On SKYPE, I mean. On SKYPE, THE CONNECTION WAS BAD. THE LOVE CONNECTION . . . THAT WAS STRONG. Like, he was really cute and really funny and really smart and cool and—ughhhhhh—perfect, I guess.
    After that, we were basically inseparable via Skype and text. We would have “double dates” on Skype with Summer and Joel. It really felt like things were going perfectly. The only thing was, I wondered how long we could keep this up with me being all the way in New York and him being in London. I knew I had to see him. But how . . .
    This is where we delve into —
||
ABBIE’S BRILLIANT SCHEMES OF MANIPULATION.
||
    I asked my mom, “Um, so Summer’s really sad and lonely in London. Do you think I could go visit her for my birthday?”
    My mom’s initial reactions were a series of very cliché Mom questions such as:
    â€œIs this for that boy?”
    â€œI don’t think so.”
    â€œLondon is very far away.”
    â€œFor how long?”
    â€œHow are you gonna finish your book?”
    To which I was like:
    â€œMOMMMMMMMMMMM, I DON’T EVEN HAVE A PUBLISHER YET. THE BOOK IS JUST AN IDEA. IT’S AN EGG WITHOUT SPERM.”
    And then my mom said no and went to go get her nails done. (Note to self: Never fight with Mom about seeing a boyfriend by making egg-sperm arguments.)
    Summer volunteered to text my mom and beg? But nah. My mom wouldn’t go for that.
    Luckily for me, my mom is totally a cool mom. When she got back she said, “If you can convince your dad, you can go.”
    YASSSSSS.
    I knew this would be easy because if there’s one thing I know my dad can’t resist, it’s tears.
    Flash forward to me telling my dad, through sobs, that I really missed Summer and she was super homesick. After a lot of back and forth, he finally said yes.
    So I booked my flight for April 10, 2014.
    My mom, my brother Spencer, and his best friend, Trevor, came with me. My mom spent time with them while I went off with Summer, Joel, and Adam.
    From the moment I got there, I knew London was where I belonged. I loved the city. I went to dinner with Summer the first night there and then met with Joel and Adam right after. These