"Baby, if we keep going like this, I'm going to be able to go all night when we finally get down. You make me so horny I can't think."
I turn beet-red.
He's so… so him. I rest my head on his chest and feel him all over, sliding my hands under his shirt to touch his soft skin and feel his muscles moving as he breathes. I pull him tight against me, trying to pull myself into him.
"We need to get back."
"I don't want to go back," I sigh heavily.
"There's tomorrow, you know."
"Yes, there is tomorrow."
Tomorrow is another day, isn't it?
"Come on, I'll walk you home. As far as I can, anyway."
I sigh again. "Okay."
Chapter Eleven
"Princess? There is a leaf in your hair."
I blink when Mavra tells me this as I step down to the kitchen for breakfast. I pluck it loose and sigh. I will have to wash it, and all that entails. At least I have my lighter class load today.
Yawning, I walk to the toaster and reach for some slices of bread. As usual, Mavra rushes to do even such a simple task for me, and I sigh and step back, allowing her to do it.
She smears both pieces of toast with pickled fish, and I sit down to eat them while the eggs poach. I never had a taste for eggs before I came here, but they are so ubiquitous I cannot resist them. Mavra toasts two more pieces of bread and serves my eggs on them as I finish up my fish toast.
No matter how I try, I cannot stop fingering my phone in my pocket. When will he text me? Should I text him? I can't do it in front of Mavra; she'll notice and say something, probably to Bjorn. Then she'll tell Mother and they'll strap me into an airplane and ship me home. Away from Jason.
I'm so caught up in him, just thinking about him makes me bounce up and down in my seat. I want to hear his stories and listen to his voice, and I want to give myself to him. When I try to sleep, all I can do is imagine all the ways he can take me, all the things he can do to me.
"Princess?" Mavra says. "You're turning red."
"I'm fine."
"You haven't touched your eggs."
"Oh, right."
I poke them with my fork and let the toast soak up the yolks. That is my favorite part. I eat the poached eggs off the top and then eat up the yolk-soaked bread, pushing the last few pieces around the plate to make sure I get the last of it, and savor it.
Yawning, I trudge back upstairs. I woke early, planning to shower before class. I ignore the shower cap hanging by the bath and undo my braid before stepping inside.
Several more leaves fall on the floor, and I pluck them into the garbage can. Where did they all come from? I shake my head to see if there are any more, and then step under the water.
I could soak for hours. In fact, I would like to draw a bath, but there is no time. I can only give my hair a quick wash and don’t even bother with conditioner. After I dry it, I step out and run across the hall wrapped in a towel to finish drying and dress.
As I have every morning since this began, I check The Royal Exposé website. The lead story is another about Prince Liam and his antics with his new wife. I dismiss it and finish readying myself for my day.
I can no longer contain myself.
Anastasia: Jason?
Jason: Wat.
He omits the h purposely, I think.
Jason: I was asleep sorry you wore me out.
I giggle.
Anastasia: If that tires you out, I am going to exhaust you later
Jason: Tonight?
Anastasia: Take me somewhere I don't care where.
Jason: I'll take you where they treat you like royalty.
I quirk my eye at that and stuff my phone back in my pocket before Bjorn gives me the evil eye. He and Thorlief wait patiently for me in the foyer.
Yawning, I walk to my first class. Today it is easier to pay attention, though I am still so excited I want to bounce at my seat.
There is a spring in my step in the halls after class. The other students stare at me, exchange looks with each other, gossip. I feel a sense of foreboding as I realize they may be talking about me and Jason. I force myself still, make my expression neutral, and approach the rest of the day like a battle. I must keep my emotions in check.
If Bjorn suspects, he says nothing. Thorlief knows, and it only seems to set his jaw harder. The poor man is going to eat his own teeth if he doesn't stop.
Jason's cryptic text burns on my phone every time I look at it. I must glance at it quickly, hiding the action from Bjorn without looking like I'm hiding something.
The day begins to drag. When I am finally released, I send a text to Jason.
At practice. Text when I'm done. Slip away?
I frown. I can probably slip out even before dark, but if I do, I will most likely be spotted leaving the house. Unless someone can distract the others for me. I glance at Thorlief, mulling over asking him. For the rest of the day I hold my tongue.
When my last class ends, I head straight home, just like any other day, but my heart is swelling in my chest. I think of Jason with every step, imagine him walking with me, think of his voice and touch.
I'm smitten. Just the idea of him makes me grin like a fool, and I wish I didn’t have to care who sees me. Why can't I just be in love?
As I enter the house, singing an old tune I remember Mother singing when I was a little girl, I feel like I'm floating, lighter than air.
Thorlief knocks on my door while I'm studying.
"You're up to something," he declares quietly as he enters.
"I have to see him tonight. I need you to make sure no one knows I am gone. I will be leaving before dark, I think."
"You ask me to aid you in this now."
I stand up and look at him, hard.
"I have made my choice. It is only a week."
"It won't only be a week. I already know. I can see it in your eyes, little princess."
I sigh.
"Whatever it is, to stop now would be to tear my heart from my chest. Do you not see?"
"I see, and that is what I fear most."
I look down. "So you won't help."
"Of course I will help. Princess, I would give my life to protect you, you know that. You may be drawing yourself now into something no one can protect you from."
I nod. "I understand, but if I don't, I will regret it forever. I would rather have this time than never know."
"Very well. I will keep my idiot comrade busy. Go when you like."
I smile. "Thank you, Thorlief."
"Don't thank me yet."
He turns and heads downstairs.
I scurry to finish my homework so I will have more time with Jason. Ultimately, I must force myself to go slower, pay attention, and make sure I avoid any mistakes with the mathematics. When it is finished, I tuck it in the folders and pace my bedroom.
Jason: Done practice. Head to house. See you there. Big plans tonight. Stay in with me? Movie?
Anastasia: Yes!
I dress simply and clamber out the window and down the porch roof. I peer over the edge to make sure no one is watching before I run across the yard, leap the fence, land on my feet and hands, and sprint for Jason's house. I run full tilt, until I'm winded and grinning.
His housemate opens the door.
"Forgive me, which one are you?" I ask him.
"Akele. You'll learn to tell us apart, pretty princess. Come on in before somebody sees you."
I rush inside and pull my hood down. Akele's enormous brother is on the couch in the living room, watching television.
Jason descends the stairs and rushes to take me in his arms and kiss me.
"Yuck," Aheahe says.
Jason scowls at him. "You all ready?"
"Ready for what?" I ask.
"We gotta eat," Akele booms.
"We're going to hang out. All of us. We have something really important we need to show you."
"You do?"
He grins. "Yes. Come on, let's
go."
Jason takes my hand and leads us out through the back door. There is a large building at the end of a dirt track in the backyard. Akele rolls up the front door and reveals the car.
It's… big, and very old.
"This is the Alohamobile," Akele declares, proudly. "Nineteen seventy-eight Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Only three more payments and she's ours."
As I look over the vehicle, I wonder how much the payments could be. Jason opens one of the back doors, and I slip inside. He scoots in alongside me, and tucks himself against me on the big bench seat.
Akele—I think—gets in the driver's seat, and the car rocks ponderously to the side. His brother gets in the other front seat and balances it out. The car rumbles to life and rolls out of the garage and grinds to a stop at the sidewalk before Akele pulls out into traffic.
"Where are we going?"
"A surprise," Akele booms.
"The best place," Aheahe says.
"A holy place," Akele agrees.
"Where?" I ask Jason.
He grins.
After leaving town and driving perhaps ten minutes, we arrive at Burger King.
"Princess." Jason offers his hand to lift me out of the car.
I stand up and look at the building. It smells good.
"You just go in and have a seat," Jason tells me. "We'll be right back."
"The one in town is better," Akele grumbles.
"We can't risk anyone seeing her. No one will notice us here."
"If you say so."
I sit patiently in the big booth in the back corner until the three of them arrive carrying so much food on four different trays that I can scarcely believe human beings are going to eat it all.
Jason stops them before they approach. He sets my own tray in front of me. The burger is neatly placed in the center, with the fries artfully arranged on the placemat in one corner, onion rings in one corner, and a cup of soda and a milkshake occupying the other two.
"Your Grace," Jason announces.
Very carefully and formally, he takes a strip of cardboard and forms it into a circle. I stare at him until I realize what it is. He places the paper crown on my head, nestling it just so in my hair. Then he sits down next to me, pressed up against my side, and we eat.
I carefully unwrap the burger and lift it from the paper.
"How am I supposed to eat all this?"
"Don't try that with me, Princess. I know how much you can pack away."
"I was hungover," I offer in defense.
I bite into the burger, and its flavors swarm my mouth. My eyes unfocus and I sit back a little bit, chewing it slowly before I swallow.
"She's having a burgergasm," Jason snickers.
I elbow him and then attack the burger, stopping only to eat French fries two and three at a time, and sip the milkshake. It seems strange to me to eat ice cream with dinner, but it somehow enhances the flavors.
By the time I finish, the fries are only half-eaten and I am absolutely stuffed. Jason has finished one giant double burger and is halfway through another. Akele and Aheahe piled their trays with so much food, it would take half an hour to list it all.
I clean my fingers with a napkin. Jason plucks a fry from my tray and pokes it toward my mouth. I eye him angrily and nip it out of his fingers with my teeth.
We spend the rest of the meal feeding each other French fries. This seems to greatly amuse his friends, even as he scowls at them for their smiles and quiet laughs.
I like this.
I finally reject a French fry, pushing his hand away to lean on his shoulder. I want a nap now.
When we return to the car, I lean on him and close my eyes. After a meal like that in the afternoon, a few hours of sleep would be like bliss, especially if I can stay with him.
I open my eyes and discover we are not back at the house, but at a grocery store. I pull my hood up and stick on my sunglasses and stay close to Jason as we take a cart and push it to the snack aisle, and begin filling it with all sorts of sodas and bags of snack foods, then take a trip up the dairy aisle.
Jason refuses to let me carry a single bag, but he cannot stop me busying myself with putting the food away as the three boys carry it back into the house. I open all the cupboards and put like with like as best I can.
He leads me to the living room after the last bag is carried in.
"We had a real debate over this," Jason says. "Whether to show them to you in original order, or chronological order."
"Original is best," Aheahe says.
"It's not the director's intent," Akele says.
Jason gives them the eye. "We can't spoil the OT for her. Come on. We're watching them in original order."
"Watching what?"
The doorbell rings, and I sit up nervously. When Akele opens it, three more football players are waiting outside. I recognize them even without their uniforms. I glance at Jason nervously.
"They're not going to tell anyone you're here."
By the time all the guests have arrived, the couches are full and there are people sitting on the floor. I look from person to person, fidgeting. Several girls have joined us as well, along with the football players.
Dee is one of the last to show up. She sits at foot of the couch on the floor.
Now I understand all the snack food. Akele and Aheahe distribute it, passing around huge bowls filled with fried potato chips, pretzels, corn chips, twisted orange… things, and bowls of dip, both warm and cold.
Jason plucks one of the puffy orange snacks out of the bowl and offers it to me.
"What is it?"
"Eat it."
I eye him warily, open my mouth, and take it from his hand with my teeth.
It tastes… cheesy.
"It's called a cheese curl, Princess. Welcome to America."
The giant brothers pull down the blinds, darkening the room. Then they turn on their Blu-ray player.
The trumpet fanfare blasts through the living room so loud, I jump in my seat and let out a little squeak.
Text blasts across the screen.
STAR WARS, it reads.
I crane forward to read the crawling words. Jason rests his hand on my back and says nothing. A spaceship appears on the screen, and I jump back from the noise. My mouth falls open a little and I lean back against him, watching, rapt.
When I whisper questions to Jason, he softly says, "Just watch," and sticks another cheese curl in my mouth. I pluck chips from the bowl in front of me and offer them to him in return, amused when nips at my fingers.
I've never watched anything like this. I feel carried away. Only Jason is holding me down, with his arm resting lazily around my waist. My head pillows naturally against his shoulder, and I pull my legs up and curl up on the couch.
The brothers turn on the lights when the first movie ends, and the guests mill around. I speak to a few of them, reserved at first.
They think I would be a good fit for the cheerleading squad, which seems like a peculiar thing to say. I remember seeing the cheerleaders at the games before. Those outfits would look silly on me.
Jason asks if I can skip joining but get one of the uniforms, and I glare at him but suppress a smile.
The second movie starts, and again I almost fall into a trance. Jason seems amused when I instinctively hide my eyes from some of the imagery on screen.
"We're going to have to stop with Return of the Jedi," he sighs. "If we watch all the way through, we'll be up until the wee hours of the morning."
By the time we watch the third film, I'm yawning and my head is resting on his lap. He leans back in the seat, slunk down on the couch, and idly strokes my hair with his hand. I hope he does not turn it orange.
Eventually he goes from stroking my head to resting over my hip, protectively touching my stomach. I shift closer to him, almost lying on top of him, and eat chips.
I sit up toward the end of the final film, staring, engrossed in the drama of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
&nb
sp; When it's over, Jason puts his arm around me.
"What did you think?"
"That was amazing," I gasp. "There is more?"
"Yeah, there's more," he says, a little warily. "We better get you home. It's after one o'clock."
"Yes," I agree sadly. "We should go."
As the others drift away, Jason takes my hand, and we walk together through the dark, passing under streetlamps. It feels like walking into another world. When we near my house, we must part ways. I stop on the corner and rise on my tiptoes to kiss him.
He waits, leaning against the lamp, until I climb the fence. I wave to him one last time, crouched on the porch roof, before I swing my legs back through the bedroom window and slip inside.
The paper crown has somehow remained on my head all this time. I carefully remove it and give it a place of honor atop my dresser, and smile at it like a fool for half a minute.
I roll into bed, still smiling, and manage to fall asleep without reminding myself that tomorrow is Wednesday and the week will be halfway over.
Almost.
Chapter Twelve
I dread going to Grandolf's morning class. I am exhausted even when I wake up and skip my morning run to instead drag myself to class half-dressed, still wearing pajama bottoms.
Her course is the worst, because Jason is there and I can't speak to him, not in public. I am still nervous that he brought his team and their friends in on the secret. More than a dozen people now know what is happening between us. More people to let it slip to the wrong person.
Again, I sit far away from the front. Jason sits in his usual seat, far back, and doesn't look at me. He sends a text instead.
Jason: You ok?
Anastasia: I am well.
Jason: Leave if you need to I'll catch you up on the notes.
Anastasia: She is not making me run away.
Jason: As you command, Princess.
Grandolf sends out the TAs again. This time my assignment has received an actual A. I was very careful with the grammar and spelling, and triple-checked everything. I stare at the paper in shock, turning it over to make sure there is no trick, verifying that I wasn't handed someone else's.
Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance) Page 18