Three
“Another round, my lovely bird!” Charlie excitedly swished his arm around the table, showing the server we were scarily close to having half-empty glasses.
“Of course.” She smiled, her cheeks turning a deep shade of plum, and headed for the bar.
She was a cute, twenty-something girl from Poland.
Thomas put her on us whenever we were here, but as good as she was, she didn’t seem to get used to the notion that the Prince of Victoria was sitting in her section.
Not that I blamed her. I still felt like this was some alternative universe I didn’t belong in, and I grew up more in this world than she had.
The bar was full and bustling with Friday night cheer. Thomas reserved the table hidden in the dining room for us, and away from the front door, toilets, and main bar area. It was around a wall, in a dark corner. If you just came into the pub to grab a drink, you’d never know the prince was there.
Dalton, one of Theo’s lead bodyguards, sat at a table by an emergency exit near us, trying to blend in with the local patrons.
If you weren’t really paying attention, you’d think he was a guy relaxing after a long week.
But I could see the tension in his shoulders, his darting gaze assessing every little movement or sound, ready to act.
I had only seen him in action twice, when the paparazzi started pushing the boundaries with Theo.
He was quick to respond and was scary as hell when he perceived you getting too close to the prince.
I never talked to him much; he was on the periphery when we were at school, but he didn’t seem like the chatty type.
He was intimidating, but I couldn’t deny he was extremely good looking.
Only in his early thirties, he was tall, fit beyond belief with dark chocolate skin, short hair, and had a perfectly trimmed beard lightly covering his jaw.
Dalton held himself with refinement and discipline that only came from years of training with the military.
“Toast!” Charlie stood, holding up his glass, his normally neat brown hair ruffled, his blue eyes glazed over.
“To finally leaving the horrid place that kept me away from my real aspiration: becoming a complete and utter wanker. Laying on a raft in my pool, surrounded by models at my private estate in Nice, while getting trolled off my arse with you twats!” He held up his glass to his friends. “Cheers!”
“Cheers!” Hazel and Ben jubilantly joined in, already well on their way to being pissed arse drunk.
“He stole my dream,” Landen said into my ear, pouting.
“Sorry.” I patted his hand. “But his is reality… yours is actually a dream.”
“Damn. Harsh.” He slugged one of the many shots our table was loaded with, encouraging Mina on his other side to do the same.
Landen was loud and over the top in real life, but when he drank, he got reserved and moody, where Mina in a blink went from dancing queen to sappy, sloppy drunk, puking in the toilets.
I just got louder, and every old ’80s song made me want to dance on the bar.
“But true.” I winked, leaning into Theo on my other side, feeling the alcohol swimming in my head, heating my cheeks. My pale skin was like a neon sign when I drank or got embarrassed.
Theo’s arm went around me as he snuggled closer to me, his hand going to my thigh under the table. Nerves fluttered in my stomach.
“Don’t be bitter, our sweet prince,” Charlie slurred, directing my attention back to him. Charlie wobbled on his feet, holding out another full shot, his focus on Theo. “When we come up from shagging so many gorgeous people, we’ll send postcards saying ‘wish you were here.’”
Hazel burst out laughing, brushing back her long wavy blonde hair. “You are such a wanker!”
“And?” Charlie shrugged.
“Fair enough.” Hazel shook her head.
A sensation itched at my consciousness, a warning shifting my spine up.
“I wouldn’t do that.” Ben sat across from Theo, a smirk on his face. “I’ll send a video to rub it in.”
“Ohhhh.” Hazel laughed louder, covering her mouth with her small, delicate hands. “Leave Theo alone. He’s the only one doing something respectable.”
“Not because he wants to.” Ben snorted, waving at Theo, who sat stiffly next to me, his hand no longer on my leg. “But what Daddy says…”
“His Majesty gets. He could order you to go as well.” Hazel lifted her eyebrows at Ben, defying him to keep uttering nonsense. “Don’t be an arse.”
“I feel I’m missing something…” I glanced at his friends and back to Theo. His jaw twitched. “What’s going on?”
“Didn’t your boy tell you?” Ben’s brows darted up with surprise.
“Ben, shut up,” Theo rumbled.
Anxiety spiked up my back, clenching my lungs. “Tell me?” I twisted to fully face Theo, my stomach pitching.
“Can we just have a good night? Have fun. Enjoy the fact we are out of school.” His eyes pleaded with mine, his hand running through his dark hair. “We can talk later.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“You will have to eventually, mate. Or were you hoping she wouldn’t notice?” Ben took a sip of his beer, sitting back in his chair, arms folded. “Disappear with a shag in the alleyway.”
“Feck off,” Theo barked out. “Don’t give me your bitter, poor-rich-boy shite tonight. Did you take something? You turn into a fuckin’ wanker when you do both.”
Ben shifted in his seat, a wall coming down, hiding his emotions. “Just want to have a good time tonight.” He opened his arms.
“We were.” Theo shoved back his chair, grabbing my hand, urging me to follow. “Thanks, arsehole.”
Theo pulled his hood over his head, keeping his chin down as he moved us through the crowd.
Dalton was at my heels, huffing with irritation, following us out the door.
The night was cool, summer still not ready to fully kick in, but tangs of warmth sat on my tongue like I could taste it on the horizon.
The night sky was dim under the streetlamps as he led me to a quieter area away from the pub.
He turned to face me, scratching the back of his neck.
Dalton scowled, his head swiveling around, stopping a few yards from us. Another thing about dating royalty… we were never alone. The prince probably didn’t know what it was like to be by himself.
“I wasn’t hiding anything from you.” His eye twitched, and he looked over to watch people enter the pub, laughing and joking, oblivious to us.
“Why do I feel like something is about to drop on me?” I touched my stomach, anxiety flapping in there like startled birds.
“I was planning to tell you for a while. But… it never seemed the right time.” He shifted on his feet.
“Just say it, Theo.” I folded my arms over my torso, needing a barrier, a wall to protect me from being gutted.
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine.” He lifted his head, staring at me. “You know how I told you I’d be going into the Royal Air Force?”
My lids lowered, perplexed as to why this was a big deal. “You’re the Prince of Victoria. A future king. I figured you’d have to go into the military for training when you turned nineteen.”
It was custom in our country that no one under nineteen could start training in the military. Theo was eighteen until January.
“Normal people aren’t allowed in until nineteen. Not the prince.” He sighed, but his expression stayed even.
“But… but it’s a law.”
“Spencer.” He shook his head. “My family is the law. And if my father dictates I’m to enroll in the academy, there is no question. I go. It is my duty.”
My lungs started to draw in bigger gulps of air, feeling the summer we planned together slipping through my fingers.
“I’m sorry. You know I’d rather be here with you. Spend the summer together.”
Realization backed me away from him. “When?”
“When what?”
“Theo,” I warned, my lip hitching. “When are you leaving?”
He reached for me, worry creasing his brow.
“No.” I moved away. “Tell me.”
His lips pinned together, letting out air slowly. “To-morrow.”
“Tomorrow?” My mouth parted. “Like tomorrow, tomorrow?”
“The very one.” The side of his mouth arched in his famous prince-panty-dropper smile.
“Don’t.” I glowered. “That doesn’t work on me.”
“I know.” He scoffed, his head shaking under his hood. “That’s why I like you. You never take my bullshite.”
“Theo.” I played with my necklace, disappointment heavy on my shoulders. “I can’t believe you are leaving tomorrow.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“Almost four months.” He twisted the expensive watch on his wrist, a reminder time was ticking by. “I’ll be back mid-September. Gone just for the summer, really. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Wow—if this was your way of breaking up with me, you didn’t have to go to such lengths.” I snorted, rubbing my arms from the slight chill.
“No.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to break up with you. Not at all.”
“Then why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because.” He grabbed my arms, sidling up to my frame, lowering himself to even out our height difference. “I didn’t want to see this look on your face.”
“What utter bullshite.” I rolled my eyes.
He barked out a laugh, pulling me tighter into his warm, familiar frame. We had yet to fully cross the line, but we had gotten close. I had hoped more alone time this summer would change that.
“You know how many people outside my immediate family have called me out? Have stood up to me?” His mouth skimmed my forehead.
“One. You. That’s it.” His warm breath tickled my neck, sliding down my tank top, between my very average-size breasts, making them feel like they grew two sizes, heating my body.
“I had noticed you before, but that day in class felt like someone punched me. Instead of being mad at you for totally embarrassing me and putting me in my place, I was infatuated. Completely taken by you. Wanted you.” His lips skimmed down my temple to my ear, nipping at my neck.
My breath skimmed my lungs, my head tipping back. “You are trying to distract me.”