You have a few glasses of wine at your office Christmas party. You miss the feeling of being on vacation . You text them: "Remember that night?" They do. You flirt for a week. You almost book a flight. But rent is due.

But will you? Almost certainly not.

The drunk international summer relationship is a coming-of-age ritual. It is the first time we realize that love can be real and temporary at the same time. It teaches us that intimacy does not require a lease agreement. It lets us perform a version of ourselves—the mysterious traveler, the free spirit, the heartbreaker—that we rarely get to be at home.

You return to your dorm room or your parents' basement. You scroll through 4,000 photos. You send a text: "I miss the sea." They reply: "The air is cold here." You FaceTime once. The lag ruins the magic.

There is a specific shade of gold that only exists in the European sunset between 8:30 and 9:15 PM in July. It is the color of cheap rosé in a plastic cup, the glint off a stranger’s earring as they lean in to hear you over a DJ playing Mr. Brightside, and the filter through which we view every "I love you" spoken after three vodka-sodas on a hostel rooftop.

Years later, a specific song comes on (likely "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals or "We Are Young" by Fun.). You smell coconut sunscreen or cheap lager. You smile. Not because you miss them , but because you miss the version of yourself who was brave enough to get drunk and fall in love with a stranger under a foreign sky. Part IV: How to Write Your Own (Without Ruining Your Life) If you are about to embark on a summer abroad, or if you are currently in the thick of a tipsy romance by the Trevi Fountain, here is the narrative advice:

So, raise your glass (plastic, rimmed with salt, slightly warm).