Emily and River meet in Miami, where they have the time of their lives, but it isn't meant to be: the next morning, Emily leaves for San Francisco, leaving both their hearts broken. They don't think they'll ever see each other again.
Emily goes back...
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Her questions left him thinking a lot and without realizing it, he'd fallen silent. What was the last time he and Talia had been away? It seemed they hadn't left Miami in years. When had his world gotten so small? He couldn't live his life like this, he thought; his adventurous spirit was calling for more than just this city.
And Italy... All his life, he had wanted to go there. He had been there before, actually, because it was where his family lived. His parents had moved here, but his grandparents and his aunt with four children were living in a small town in Italy, but he hadn't seen them since his parents' accident.
He wondered if he could ever go there again and see his cousins all grown up, but doubted it would happen anytime soon; he and Talia were having a hard time getting by already and traveling was expensive. He couldn't just hop on a plane because he wanted to, like Emily had.
And like that, he was reminded of that girl walking next to him and was brought back to reality. "I'm sorry," he said. He couldn't remember when he'd stopped talking. Had she asked him something? It would've been so rude if she had and he hadn't answered her.
"For what?" she asked instead. She didn't seem offended at all.
"Just..." He pressed his lips together. "Never mind. I'm a little off today."
She chuckled, probably thinking of the moment in The Hot Spot. He'd humiliated himself and even got fired, and she'd been there to witness it all. She must have loved that.
But she spoke in a serious tone when she said, "Are you sure you're okay?" She played nervously with her hands. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
He noticed she was very empathetic. She could tell by just looking at him that he'd rather be home and take a break, before scouring the internet once again for job openings. But he couldn't help but think that as he was walking through Miami with this beautiful girl, he couldn't just go home to spend the rest of the day by himself. How depressing would that be?
"I'm okay, really," he said. "I want to show you Miami." Which was true. He started walking faster when he thought about all the things he could show her and how little time he had. He took a turn to the left and saw a big bridge appear before them.
"Wait, are we walking all the way there?" she asked. There was a slight pause in her stride and he turned around to look at her. So far, he hadn't had an excuse to really look her in the eyes, and it was even more dazzling than the first time he'd seen those brown irises.
He was thrown off for a second, but quickly managed to collect himself again. "Yes, we are," he said. "That's how you get to experience the real Miami!"
She raised an eyebrow, as if she wanted to say, 'People actually walk here?'. He suspected that she was from a big city.
"You won't have the same experience when you see Miami out of the bus window," he explained while continuing to walk. "This neighborhood is Miami at its best and driving past it will leave you with a hollow feeling, like you're missing out on something. To experience it, you have to be there and feel it."
