When Kade had said ‘an early morning,’ I had no clue that had meant being woken up at four AM to pack, before taking an hour drive to the air shuttle to board a nine-hour flight.

I spent most of the flight with my nose in a book, sitting beside Kade, who was on his laptop. After what felt like an eternity, we arrived, landing at an airport in Florence. Stepping out of the airport, Kade hailed a taxi and shoved our bags into the trunk.

The entirety of the ride ...