Just Pretending

by Leah Rooper, Kate Rooper

Eva

  I wave through the window. Daniel and Madison are strolling by hand in hand, heading straight for the restaurant. I’m sure Daniel thought he got out of seeing the Prince of Perienza, but as long as he’s here, he might as well commit to his princely duties. When I called my big brother this morning to say I had made my own plans for today, he didn’t even apologize for not showing up yesterday. He just said he had “handled it”. I told him that I, in fact, had handled it and hung up, admittedly in a bit of a huff.

  Well now, he can apologize to the prince in person.

  But Daniel and Madison don’t seem to see me through the window—they’re too busy staring into each other’s eyes. Daniel pulls Madison toward him, and she bats her eyelashes. Ugh, gross.

  “I’m going to go get them,” I say, turning to Ty. His face has drained of color and one eye is twitching. His body is as stiff as a cadaver’s. I grab his rigid arm. “Are you ill?” Even Millie is looking slightly squeamish.

  “Um,” he says, barely a squeak. “L-Let’s not bother your brother. We don’t want to interrupt him—”

  “Nonsense,” I say, putting my hands on my hips. “He owes you an apology! Let me fetch him—”

  Ty makes a funny sound in the back of his throat, then grabs his menu and flings it in front of his face.

  “What are you doing?” It almost seems like he doesn’t want to see my brother. Did something happen between them three years ago, when Daniel visited Perienza? I take a deep breath. Whatever it is, it’s nothing a nice luncheon can’t fix, especially with an excellent ambassador like me. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Daniel is on his best behavior.” I see a waiter holding a large pizza and wave him over. “Why don’t you order us some drinks, and I’ll invite Daniel and Madison to join us?”

  Ty drops his menu. His face is as white as the tablecloth, and beads of sweat are dripping down his forehead. Millie’s lip curls, and her face is flushed. Oh dear, I don’t think they like this restaurant.

  Then Ty’s face relaxes, like a sense of calm has washed over him.

  “Uh-oh,” Millie whispers.

  Even the waiter is giving Ty a funny look as he nears…

  Suddenly, Ty spins on his heels and sidesteps. The waiter slams right into him, the pizza flying through the air…and landing straight on Tiberius’s chest.

  The pizza sticks there for a second, then slides down his shirt to the floor, leaving a streak of gooey red sauce.

  I leap to my feet. “Oh my goodness!”

  The waiter’s face is nearly as pale as Ty’s. “I-I’m so sorry…”

  “Look what you’ve done!” Millie says, jumping up beside me. “This is the Prince of Perienza’s nicest shirt.”

  “I’m sorry—” the waiter says again. “I thought I went around you…”

  “Queen Evangeline, you should help the prince get cleaned up,” Millie urges. “I’ll go distract—I mean, entertain—Prince Daniel.”

  I nod. “Thank you, Millie. Tell my brother we’ll be out soon.” I take Tiberius’s arm. “Come on, let’s see what we can do.”

  I turn to the waiter and say in my most regal voice, “The Prince of Perienza requires club soda. Bring it to us in the washroom.”

  The waiter nods and scurries off. I push Ty into the family washroom, and the door closes behind us. I grab some paper towel and shove it down the drain, then start running cold water into the sink basin. “Are you all right?”

  The color has returned to Ty’s face, and he seems to be breathing normally again. “Listen, Eva, the thing is—”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Why is your shirt still on?”

  “W-what?” he stammers.

  “Tomato stains wait for no man…or prince,” I tell him. “Hurry up.”

  Tiberius just stands still, staring at me. His face has turned the same color as the stain on his shirt.

  “Doesn’t Perienza have the most nude beaches in the world?” I ask, moving toward him. “You can’t seriously be embarrassed to take off your shirt.”

  “I-I’m not,” he says, and clumsily fumbles with his tie.

  I roll my eyes, then move his hands away, easily untying the knot and sliding the fabric off. “If you say…”

  He slides off his shirt, and I can see the hard lines of muscles along his chest.

  “…so.” Awkwardly, I take the shirt from him and shove it under the tap. My face feels hot, and I’m grateful for the coolness of the water.

  “You know, I’m quite adept at getting out tomato stains,” I say. I don’t know why I’m telling him this, but I know I’m talking too fast. Maybe it’s because I feel flustered, and I don’t often get that way. Maybe if I just keep talking, this flustered feeling will go away. “You see, ruling a country where the national food is tomatoes—as well as having a brother who loves spaghetti—well, I’ve seen a lot of spills.” Tiberius moves closer now. I can feel his shirtless presence right behind me. It’s no big deal… I just didn’t expect my heart to go into overdrive the moment he took off his shirt.

  Pull yourself together. “So, I learned very early that club soda—”

  “Eva?”

  My hands are still in the water, the only sound, the running of the tap. “Yes?”

  He laughs, and it’s a low rumble in his throat. “I’m not seriously making you nervous right now, am I?”

  I sigh and turn around, a witty retort on the cusp of my lips. But I freeze when I see him. He’s only inches away from me. If I breathed, I might brush against him. I could tell he was fit yesterday from the subtle hints of muscle under his shirt, but oh my God. I start at the bottom, eyeing the hard lines of his hipbones, the ridges of muscles. My gaze travels up, over his broad shoulders, along his neck to meet his eyes. “Only a little,” I breathe.

  He smiles and tilts his head, blond curls spilling to the side of his face. “Do you want to know what I did last night?”

  “It depends,” I say, trying to grasp some control over my voice, “who it involves.”

  “You,” he says, stepping closer to me.

  But there’s no extra space, and now we’re chest to chest. The breath catches in my throat, and I throw my hands behind me to grasp the sink basin. I can feel the water at the top, about to spill over.

  I don’t even care.

  “I couldn’t get you out of my head. I just kept seeing your face, your eyes, and the way you smile.” Slowly, he touches my face, letting his fingers skim over my lips.

  Water spills from the sink, flowing onto the floor and around our feet. Tiberius looks at it, but I quickly snatch his face in my hands. “Don’t stop.”

  He stares down at me for a moment, his gaze hard. “I just kept picturing you in my mind. You were a thousand paintings, a million colors.” His hand trails down my neck as he speaks, along my shoulders, brushing my arm. Then he grips the overflowing sink, one hand on either side of me. My body backs into the basin as water soaks my skirt.

  I can’t break his gaze.

  “Kiss me, Tiberius,” I command.

  His breath is heavy in his throat, and those blue eyes widen. Then he leans down, his arms braced on the sink. His chest presses against mine—

  He gives a sharp yell and lurches forward, wrapping his arms around me and quickly pulling me up as the sink cracks off the wall and falls to the ground.

  Our weight against it, combined with the absolute decrepitness of this place, must have been enough to do it in.

  The white basin lies cracked on the concrete floor, and the remaining pipe sticks out from the floor, spouting water. It showers over us like a rainstorm. My hair flattens, and my dress sticks to my skin. Water pools around our feet.

  “Oh my God!” I laugh. “What have we done?”

  I’m still in Tiberius’s arms, and my hands are around his neck. He blinks the water out of his brilliant eyes. Slowly, I straighten, letting my hands slide down his arms, slick with water.

  The way he’s looking at me…I don’t think anyone has ever looked
at me like that before.

  His hands glide over my soaking face, pushing back my hair. “Eva,” he murmurs. I watch the way the water slides off his face, along his jaw, leaving droplets on his lips. My fingers dig into his arms as I pull our bodies closer together…

  The door bursts open. “I got your—” The waiter flies in. His eyes widen as he takes in the flooded bathroom, the exploding spout of water. “Soda?”

  My shoes slosh on the tile floor of the restaurant, and my hair is limp over my shoulders. I glance at Tiberius on my left, who hasn’t fared much better. He’d hastily thrown his sopping shirt back on, with all the buttons done incorrectly. And the shirt still has a giant red stain on the front.

  Only Millie sits at the table, staring at us wide-eyed.

  “Where’s Daniel and Madison?” I ask.

  Millie shrugs and smiles. “They took off before I got to them. I heard something about them going to make out.”

  I wrinkle my nose. From behind, I can hear the shouts of the staff as they try to fix the tsunami in their bathroom.

  “Come on,” Ty says. “We better get out of here.”

  I leave a note for the management, promising to cover the damages, on the table, then sling my arm through Ty’s as we walk outside.

  The bright autumn sun is warm. I spread my arms out and tilt my face toward the sun. When I open my eyes, Tiberius is looking at me, shifting from foot to foot, hands in his pockets.

  “I better get back home,” he says. “I mean, to the Grand Ritz. To change.”

  “Same.” I look down at my limp dress.

  “Evangeline…”

  “Tomorrow’s my last full day in Chicago,” I say quickly. “I’d like to see you.”

  “Your last day?” His face falls. “I’d like to see you, too…but—”

  “In the afternoon, I’m going to my brother’s hockey game,” I tell him. “He plays for the Chicago Falcons. Would you like to come with me?”

  “The Falcons…” Tiberius looks down at Millie, who gives him a nod. Then he looks back at me. “Eva, I’ll see you at that game.”

  Chapter Five

  Tyler

  I walk into the locker room with a newfound swagger. I know I should be getting my head in the game, ready to face off against our rivals, the Ice Wolves, but I keep drifting back to the bathroom in El Pasto. I don’t know what came over me. But when I saw her standing there, red and flustered…I wanted to touch her. And I did. If that had been me, Tyler, in there with her, I’d have been a blustering fool, not even able to look at her.

  But I was Tiberius. And he was unafraid.

  Today is Eva’s last day in Chicago, and if I don’t do anything, she’ll be gone. Back to Eldonia. I’ll never see her again.

  The thought makes me feel empty. I can’t not see her again. Not after knowing how amazing we can be together.

  And that means it’s time to tell her the truth.

  I walk over to my hook, waving hello to Hayden and Alice. Al’s in her full-gear as always. Even though her secret is out—that she’s actually a girl named Alice and not a boy named Al—she still continues to show up in her gear. I can’t help but notice the shiny new equipment Hayden and Al got for this season. Figuring Hayden’s the little brother of an NHL captain, and Al’s mom is some high-up executive at a big non-profit, it’s no wonder they always have the best stuff. I let my gaze roll over the tears in my pads and the scuffs on my skates. I get all my gear from the returns at my dad’s sports shop, and I’m grateful for that. If Dad didn’t own the store, I wouldn’t be able to play at all.

  “Hey Ty,” Hayden says. “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

  I can feel the smile on my face. “I’m just excited about the game.”

  “Glad to see you’re feeling better.” Suddenly, Daniel’s right in front of my face, with his signature pre-game slicked-back hair. “We ran into Millie outside of El Pasto. She told us the food was not sitting right with you. I was going to go in to check on you, but Millie said it was bad.”

  I swallow in a dry throat. Millie told me she’d made up a story to get rid of Daniel and Madison yesterday. Of course, it had to involve me in the bathroom. Oh well, at least this embarrassment is better than what could have happened. “Yeah, good choice to steer clear.”

  “Anyways,” Daniel says, “sorry I put all of that stupid Prince of Perienza stuff on you. I heard Eva took care of it anyway.”

  Guilt worse than any El Pasto food poisoning roils in my gut. I should tell him the truth now. He’s my best friend.

  But how can I admit what a failure I am?

  “Uh, yeah,” I say, avoiding eye contact. “Eva arrived when I was there, so I just let her deal with the Prince. It all worked out.” The lie sits heavy in the air.

  “Great.” Daniel slings an arm over my shoulder. “Glad to know nothing went haywire. I can always count on you.”

  I wish I could sink into the floor. Lying to my best friend…lying to Eva… I hate this. I’ve got to come clean to them.

  “Daniel,” I say, “I’ve got to talk to you. About Eva.”

  Daniel’s arm stiffens around me. “What about Eva?”

  “I know she only has one more day here,” I say, my voice barely a whisper, “so I have to tell you this now. From the moment I met her—”

  Daniel drops his arm from my shoulder and steps into my path. His eyes glare, and his jaw clenches. “Don’t even think about it.”

  I step back, but Daniel steps with me. “Think about what?”

  “You and every other ass on this team has the hots for her.” His face contorts with barely controlled fury. “Forget about it. Keep your eyes on the ice, because Eva’s too good for you or anyone else.”

  A part of me knows he’s only saying that because he loves his little sister, but still, I think I’d rather him have hit me. I turn away and start unpacking my gear. “Seriously. Eva doesn’t even know who I am.”

  “Good.”

  I turn away and look down at my beat-up runners and my too-short jeans. How could a queen look beyond this and see who I am?

  Even my best friend doesn’t think I’m worth anything.

  I grit my teeth and grab my jersey. Maybe I could be something more than just another guy on the team. Maybe during the game, I could show her exactly what I’m made of.

  And after that…

  I’ll tell Eva the truth.

  The roar of the crowd is deafening. My team races toward me, embracing me in a giant dog pile. Even Daniel hoots and hollers, pounding me on the back. It’s the beginning of the third, and I just scored my third goal of the night.

  I beam, letting the adrenaline course through me. This is my first hat trick! As a defenseman, I never end up getting deep enough in the zone to grab the dirty goals. But I played my ass off tonight. Checking, dodging, weaving, shooting. I think I even gave Alice a run for her money.

  I drink in the feeling of, for once, being the star. I don’t know what got into me. I guess…I guess I just wanted to show Eva that Tyler Evans could do something.

  I look up into the stands and find her, sitting beside Dwayne Boulder. She’s not cheering like the rest of the crowd. Instead, she’s looking around, her beautiful ivory neck craning to check the doors. I wonder if she’s looking for Tiberius.

  Tonight, I tell her the truth.

  The rest of the game zips by in a flash, 5–1 for the Falcons. The crowd is a sea of blue, roiling like waves through the stands. My team skates off and shuffles into the locker room. The fans start to file out, but two people stay sitting.

  Eva’s still waiting, looking around.

  My heart beats heavily in my chest. Now. I have to do this now, or I’ll never have the nerve.

  It’s time for the Queen of Eldonia to meet Tyler Evans.

  …

  Eva

  The crowd slowly empties from the stands, and the ice clears of players. The Chicago Falcons have won. I suppose I should be happy for my brother. And I a
m. But I can’t help but stare at the empty seat beside me.

  “I really thought he’d come,” I mutter to Dwayne, who sits on my other side. This whole game, I’ve been looking behind me, hoping to see Tiberius walk in. He said he’d be here. But as the game counted down, I knew it was less and less of a possibility. And now the game’s over, and I have to accept the truth. Tiberius isn’t coming.

  I look down at Daniel’s teammates gathered on the bench. Their smiles are contagious, their energy filling the whole stadium. It’s not just excitement for being in the lead, but pride in one another, the collective joy of many becoming one. It’s like once they don their blue and white jerseys, they’re not alone in the world anymore.

  I wonder what that’s like.

  But then I catch sight of Gervase. I remember the things he said, and a sharp pain twists inside me. Last summer, when the Falcons came to Eldonia, I played street hockey with them on the castle grounds. I had felt so free. I guess a part of me hoped that coming to Chicago would mean I could experience that feeling again, that I’d magically be accepted as one of the team. That I’d be just one of the Falcons.

  But Gervase showed me how wrong I was. I’ll never be anything but an outsider to these people.

  But…then Tiberius came along, with his sweet smile and his kind eyes. Suddenly, it seemed okay that I can never please Mother or that I’ll never experience love like the Falcons have for each other. Because Tiberius understood me. And maybe our friendship could extend beyond Chicago. Maybe he could visit me in Eldonia…

  But Tiberius couldn’t even make it to a hockey game.

  And I’m alone.

  As always.

  Tears spring to my eyes, and I brush them away.

  Dwayne gathers up his popcorn and water bottle. “We should head to the car and get ready for Prince Daniel.”

  I gather my skirt in my hands and stand up. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Wait!” a gasping voice calls from below. “Queen Evangeline!”

  I turn. One of the Chicago Falcons is hobbling awkwardly up the steps, his skates still on.

  “Yes?” I look down the steps toward him. He’s far enough away, I can’t get a good look at who it is. “What do you want?” My face feels hot and heavy. All I want to do is leave this arena and sit in the back of the car where no one can see me.