by Holly Jaymes
“Bas?”
“Yes, I would much prefer that.”
“So you don’t insist on courtesies?”
That made him laugh.
“Please don’t. I would be thoroughly embarrassed.”
It amazed me how ‘normal’ he seemed, and how down to Earth his demeanor was. He appeared to be more in touch with being ordinary than most regular actors I came across, even the ones who’d barely even made it in Hollywood.
“I promise, I won’t drop a courtesy.”
“And I promise I won’t make another reference to your film, which I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about.”
I was glad he said that even though I was pleasantly surprised that he even watched it as a child.
His steak arrived, and so did my salad, and we began to eat and drink our wines. There were long pauses of comfortable silences between us. Neither of us were scrambling to fill up those silences with inane small talk, which was refreshing. Maybe because we weren’t on a ‘date.’
What was the purpose then?
Bas chewed the meat noiselessly and washed it down with some more wine.
“Are you retired?” he asked me eventually.
Even though we just met and I didn’t really know much about him, I felt comfortable sharing information with him.
“I think I am. I’m not sure. Does that sound strange? I just don’t know what to do with my life.”
He sliced through some more of that steak, while I popped a cherry tomato in my mouth. He glanced down at my lips, just for a moment, and I was self-conscious of my mouth moving. What was he thinking? Did he think the same thing when he looked at my mouth? Because all I could think about was kissing him.
“Is that why you’re here? To get some peace and quiet and figure it all out?” he asked. I licked my lips, and he looked away.
“I just wanted to get away from everything. I wanted some time to myself and away from all the pressures of trying to figure it out and make a decision. I might have let too much time pass, and now it could be too late.”
“Too late for what?” he asked. Our eyes met again. He was focused on me, fixed like there was nobody else in this whole building but me.
“To return to Hollywood, or even try and make a career elsewhere.”
“It’s never too late for anything, not for you. Do you know how many people adore you? You should take your time, and do the right thing.”
Maybe it was just because he was so handsome and grounded and charming. Or, perhaps it was because he was British royalty. I did not know for sure what it was, but I knew I felt a sizzle on the tips of my fingers while he watched me.
I nodded gently as he began arranging his cutlery neatly on his plate so that it could be taken away.
Our meal together had come to an end, and now for some reason, I was feeling slightly worried that we would now part ways.
“Stay for another drink?” Bas asked me, as I shifted in my chair, looking for clues. I didn’t want him to get up to leave first but, I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.
“I could do with another glass,” I said with a smile. I watched as he poured me some more and then helped himself to some red.
This had to be one of the most relaxed dinners I had with another person, even though he was who he was. It was almost impossible to believe that things were this easy between us. It was like we knew each other forever like we had always been friends.
Bas sat back in his chair, tasting his wine and then looked away.
“Have you been reading the tabloids?” he asked, out of the blue. I had forgotten about that, and I was surprised that he would bring it up.
“I’ve seen it, but I usually don’t pay any attention to what they have to say.”
He looked at me again, there was some relief in his eyes.
“So you don’t believe the story?” he asked, and I shrugged.
“I don’t think about it when I talk to you.”
“Of course, as you might have figured, there is some truth to it. I did date her.
He was watching me intently like he was trying to figure out my reaction.
“Sure, that doesn’t mean anything. Besides, it’s your private life.” I didn’t need to know more, but he continued.
“But I never promised her marriage. I haven’t thought about marriage in my life.”
It was more like he was speaking to himself now, while I just gently nodded.
“In fact, I made it very clear to her from the beginning that I was not looking for anything serious. I always say that to every woman I get involved with. I want to give them a choice to walk away if they want to.”
Bas was speaking firmly, glaring at me now. I could sense he was angry about the scandal.
“It must be difficult for your family to tide over this now,” I said. He nodded and took a large sip of his wine.
“As you probably know, people believe what they read in the papers. They’re not looking for proof, they’re looking for gossip,” he said sourly and banged his glass down on the table.
I wished I could just reach out to him, hug him, place my head on his shoulder and stroke his chest. I had my hands clasped together on my lap instead. No matter how comfortable I was talking to him, the truth was there were miles and miles of distance and propriety between us. He was part of an entirely different social status and belonged to a different world.
Bas’ eyes roamed over me now. I felt scrutinized and exposed under his steady gaze, but strangely, I kind of liked it.
“Do you ever feel like you can’t trust anyone around you because they all just want something from you?”
There was a darkness in his eyes now. He was thinking hard about this.
“All the time, sadly enough, that is how I feel about my own father.”
My throat had gone dry. I couldn’t believe I admitted that to a complete stranger technically. I had never spoken about my father like this before. Everyone who thought they knew me, thought my father was my mentor and my guiding light.
Bas was watching me with that same intensity as before.
“Is he the one pushing you to return to films?” he asked. It surprised me that he would have guessed that. I hadn’t given him any clues as such, but now I nodded. He drew in a deep breath.
“You’ve gotta do what makes you happy. I don’t want to sound self-righteous, but you’re lucky, you don’t have an entire nation looking up to you. You don’t feel like you’ve disappointed an entire country with one mistake.”
Even though he was a strong man, and a Prince that was handsome and powerful, I wished I could do more for him now than just sit here and listen to him talk.
“As far as I know and I’ve heard, people love you.”
“They are forgiving of me. They’ve indulged me in the past, but I’m too old to keep pulling these stunts. They expect more from me which I don’t know how to deliver.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing either, but I’m sure our situations are vastly different.”
I tried to smile, but he didn’t. I could sense he wanted to be alone. Before I could add anything else, he quickly stood up from his chair.
“I should leave you to it. I’ve already taken up too much of your time.”
I didn’t know what to do. Should I have stood up? Should I have given him my hand? I had no idea of how to behave, and Bas just gave me a nod.
“Goodnight, Ava. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.”
“Umm…goodnight, Bas…”
I couldn’t think of anything else, and he had already whipped away from me, and he was marching out of the room with his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his pants. His shirt was neatly tucked in, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I couldn’t stop watching him.
Was it wrong to stare at a Prince’s butt so blatantly?
I looked away.
The waiter appeared again with a dessert menu, and I looked at it out of politeness. I knew I didn’t want anything. But, I was
too distracted to think straight.
All I could think about was that for the first time in a long time, I wanted to get to know someone. But, of course, he was someone I couldn’t possibly try to get to know better because he was a Prince!
Chapter 8
Sebastian
I sat down on my bed and took a deep breath. All I could think about was how I had just opened up to someone that I barely knew.
In my relationships previously, whether with women or in friendships with other men, I was guarded. I was always trying to watch out for clues about what people could possibly want from me.
I've been walking on eggshells all my life, which made me not trust anybody. So why did I trust this stranger? Was it just because I shared a connection with her from my childhood? Whatever the reason, it suddenly felt like I had always known her.
It wasn’t just the fact that she was beautiful, or that she was sexy and made my cock throb in my pants, it was something more.
So I had to leave before I regretted telling her too much. I knew I said too much already. In reality, I had no idea if she was the kind of person who would sell a story about me to the tabloids. I liked to believe she wouldn’t. I wanted to trust her, but could I really?
I spent the rest of the night in my room, looking her up on the internet. I found information on the kind of things she had been involved in since her last film. She made waves in the news for standing up for equal rights and pay for women in Hollywood. I watched the interviews and speeches she gave. I could see that she had a huge fan following, not only because of her films but because of her involvement in the empowerment of women in the entertainment industry.
She was so much more than just a pretty Hollywood face, and I knew that about her from my first glance.
I didn’t sleep well, and when I saw her again the next morning in the dining room for breakfast, I knew I wanted her. I probably wouldn't have gone to the dining room for every meal, but I went because I was hoping she would be there.
“Morning,” she greeted me softly when I walked past her table and sat down at the one beside her.
“Morning to you too. I thought I should let you enjoy one meal in peace,” I told her. She laughed. There was barely any distance between our tables. It was funny more than anything else.
I was served tea and poached eggs, sausages, a baked tomato, and toast, while Ava seemed to be happy with her bowl of cereal and a plate of cut fruit. This was only one of the many cultural differences between us, no doubt. Even though we were both easily recognizable in public, we were not the same person of course.
“I don’t want you to think I’ve been stalking you, but I did look you up on the internet last night,” I said. Her eyes widened with curiosity.
“I haven’t done that in a very long time. What darkness did you find there? Do I even want to know?” She was blushing again. I loved it when she did that. Her cheeks turned a dark red. Her breasts were heaving and falling underneath the white cotton blouse she was wearing too. I could just about see the outline of a bra underneath.
“Just your adoring fans, talking about your inspiring and powerful speeches. You do very well at interviews, so calm and composed and graceful.”
I realized I loved complimenting her because her cheeks got even darker now and she looked lovely.
“It’s just some work I did on the side.”
“Is it what you really want to do?”
She fell silent as she pierced a piece of pineapple with her fork.
“Maybe, yes, I think. I would like to put the little influence I have to good use.”
“And that isn’t what your father wants?”
She looked at me nervously. Maybe she regretted telling me about her father last night.
“No, he wants me to focus on films and Hollywood while I still can,” she replied with a bitter smirk and made a circular motion around her face with her finger. I wanted to tell her she was so much more than her face, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. I didn’t want her thinking I was open to taking liberties.
Before I could say anything more, she sighed, smiled and gulped down the last spoon of her cereal.
“It’s so beautiful outside. I'm headed out for another walk, and I better get going while it's still nice outside” she said. I nodded and watched her go, even though a part of me wished she didn’t leave. I could have spent the rest of the morning sitting here with her, talking.
Ava seemed to float around the tables and chairs as she left the room. Her long brown skirt flowing around her as she walked out of the room like she was dancing on clouds. She glanced at me over her shoulder at the door and caught me looking. I held her gaze and didn’t look away. Even though our conversations had been nothing more than strictly friendly, she had to have sensed that I wanted her.
I was just holding back out of courtesy.
I respected her too much to make a move.
Ava was gone, probably walking along some woodland path outside by herself and I continued to eat. I couldn’t wait to see her again, but I didn’t know what I would do if I did. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be able to hold myself back from her.
It started out with an attraction, and the more I got to know her the more that my fascination grew. She overwhelmed me with desire, and even though she was gone from the room, she was the only thing on my mind.
Chapter 9
Ava
I needed to get away from him before I did or said something stupid. As much as I wanted to be around him all the time and wanted to hear him speak, I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. Which was precisely what I would be doing if I remained in his presence any longer.
All night, after sharing dinner and drinks with him, I stayed up in my room, dreaming about him. I kept dreaming about his striking blue eyes, and his smooth, confident voice. I loved the way he looked at me when I spoke like he was really listening. From time to time, his gaze would drop down to my breasts. In those moments he could see me as a woman, and more than just someone friendly to talk to.
It was in those moments that I wanted him most. I spent the nights imagining what our lives would be like if we were trapped in Salthill Peak forever if neither of us had to leave this place and there were never any cameras or expectations or phone calls.
And now I was walking hurriedly away from the building, leaving him alone in the dining room. I needed to get away from him because the more I talked to him, the more I couldn’t help but think how perfect he was for me.
But I knew this was just a blip in the story of my life. At some point, several years from now, I would get to tell people that I once stayed at the same ski resort in Aspen as Prince Sebastian. It was the summer, and there were no other guests, so we spent some time together, talking. I would comment on how grounded and normal he was. I knew now that the tabloids always exaggerated everything about him.
That was all this experience was going to be.
I would never reveal to anybody how magical it felt being in this beautiful place with him. I felt at peace every time he entered the room, and our eyes met. It felt like I had known him forever. I knew that would sound crazy!
I was crazy to think there was any real connection between us, other than two bored people meeting at a deserted resort. Everything else was just a fantasy.
This man could have any woman he wanted. He probably did have any and every woman he wanted, like supermodels and other beautiful women, royalty.
I was daydreaming so hard and long about him, that I wasn’t even paying attention to where I was going. I was in the woods again and, none of this seemed familiar. Also this time, I forgot to bring those trail maps. So I truly had no idea where I was.
But that didn’t bother me. There was the smell of fresh pine cones in the air, and I didn’t care where I was. I felt free. I kept walking. I was in my sandals again today, and that didn’t matter either.
I knew very soon there were going to be scratches on my legs from twigs
and tears in my skirt, but I still had a firm smile on my face. I felt free.
I read in the information brochures about how the snow melted from the hills around this time and caused little rivulets and brooks to form. As I continued on my path, I thought I heard the sound of trickling water, and it excited me.
I followed that sound, stepping over fallen branches and bushes till I found myself in a beautiful clearing on the bank of a brook. It was in no way a river, and probably just deep enough to reach the middle of my thighs. The water made lovely trinket sounds as it splashed and rode over the rocks and pebbles. The water was crystal clear and clean. This untouched untamed natural beauty had stirred something in me.
I found myself just wanting to strip off all my clothes and walk into that brook. I wanted to feel the coolness and freshness of the water against my skin. I didn’t know how long I was standing there, staring at the flowing stream before I decided I was going to do it.
I was going to strip!
I was far from the resort, and these woods were completely private and empty. Nobody would find me here.
Quickly, I started to take off all my clothes like I had a train to catch. I took off the blouse, the skirt, and my lingerie. I rolled all of them up in a hurry and placed them on a rock on the bank.
I was completely naked now, my hair spread out around my shoulders. I still had that smile on my face like I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be able to experience this.
I entered the cool, clean water one step at a time, carefully and slowly, just savoring every moment. My toes submerged first and then my feet, and then slowly I started to walk down towards the middle of the stream. I hadn’t estimated the depth correctly. The water actually rose up to my hips. I threw my head back and stared up at the blue sky.
It was cloudless, it was just a calm, clear sky with some birds flying overhead.
I lunged down, washing the rest of me in the water and then I ducked my head under water too, dampening the bottom half of my hair. I had never been this free of regard before. I felt empowered all of a sudden like I could do anything.