Real-Life Prince Charming: A Friends To Lovers Romance

by Lauren Wood

  When I left the restaurant, I told him that I would see him again soon. The funeral was the next day and I only had one day to get some things together and figure out what I was going to do. I lived part time in Chicago and part time in Paris. I lived in Paris exclusively for years before I came back to get set up in America. I certainly knew this tiny town was not the best place that I could be for my career, but at the same time, it seemed like the perfect place. Grandad leaving his house to me made it so that I would have my own space that I wouldn't have to pay an arm and a leg for. Granddad, in his passing, had probably given me one of the best gifts that he could have, and it instantly satiated me because I wanted to move on with my own company and this was the way. I had so much to thank him for, but I liked to believe that he knew.

  Going back to the house, I started to clean up, and found myself in tears several times. I was really going to miss him, and too many objects and places in the house held memories that had me choking back emotions most of the day.

  3

  Frank

  I was getting ready for the funeral and thinking about why I was going in the first place. It was true that Gerald was an important member of the town of Hampton, but at the same time we weren't very close. Since we were both business owners and he had been one of my clients in the past, it felt like an obligation for me to go, but I knew that there was another reason.

  There was another huge reason, and I couldn't deny it. While I wanted to say that I was there because it was the right thing to do, I knew that it was more because I wondered if somebody else was going to be there. Someone that I remembered very clearly from the past, even though I hadn't seen them in over ten years.

  I looked in the mirror and decided that I was just being stupid. She might come, but it's not like she would be the same as before. I always wondered what happened to Amber. I got updates once in a while when I asked, but it had been over a decade. Obviously, some things had changed. She wouldn’t be the same woman that I’d fallen for so long ago.

  Deep down, I knew I had this ridiculous idea that we would see each other and everything would fall back in place. I still remember that perfect summer we had together, and I’d always wished that I had been able to stay a little longer. Now, though, I was back in Hampton, and this might be my only time to see Amber. The last I heard, she was living in Paris. Certainly a step up from the small town where we had met, but Amber wouldn’t miss this. She was too close to Gerald to not go.

  I got dressed thinking about her, wanting to impress her, and leaving with a bit of hope in my heart. I didn't know even know what I was hoping for. My life was a mess, and I didn't even know if I had room for anyone in it, let alone Amber. She had always been full of life and feisty. Could I handle her? I could barely handle the girl that she once had been. So much had changed. So many things.

  Before I could talk myself out of going, I left the house and locked the door behind me. I still preferred my truck, even though I barely ever used it for what a truck was used for. I wasn't in construction, after all, I was an investment banker, but in Hampton, a man needed a truck.

  I made it to the only funeral parlor in town, and I had this strange feeling come over me. I didn't believe in fate or magic or anything like that, but so help me it was like I could feel her in there. I didn't know how in the world I would know such a thing, but I certainly felt like Amber was right ahead of me. All I had to do was go to her. This feeling that we always had between us was something that I wanted to believe was real. I wanted it to be something that was still felt all these years later. I know that I still thought about her, but did she still think about me?

  I was a little late, probably because it took me about ten minutes to get out of the damn truck and into the funeral parlor. The place was packed. Gerald was a beloved man in the small town. Hampton was also a small town, so people actually cared. A lot of them were there just like me, some obligation or another. If I didn't go, people would notice, and it would be brought up later. Maybe they weren't there for quite the reason I was. They probably weren't there for a long lost love from when they were in high school like me, but I liked to think that I wasn't the only one doing it for a reason.

  Because I was late, and the ceremony had already started, I was quick to sit down in the back. I wanted to observe a little bit before I was seen by anyone else. I wanted, quite honestly, to see if Amber was there. And if she was, I wanted to get time to get used to seeing her again. It had been so long, and I was so in my head about what to do. I can't remember a time where I felt so indecisive.

  It didn't take long for me to find her in the crowd. That was because she was sitting in front with his closest relatives. I don't remember her saying that she had any brothers or sisters. I hadn't even seen her face yet, but I knew that it was her by the color of her bright red hair. Of course, it was her. I'd never seen that color hair on anyone else, and I think if I did, I would have told them to dye it another color because it didn't belong to them. It belonged to her.

  I could only see her from behind, so all of the curiosity that I had was still in full effect. I tried to silently get her to move forward. All she had to do was turn around and see me. Let me see her. Couldn't she feel my attention?

  It was only when the funeral director was done talking and he introduced her, that I was able to finally see her. I couldn't say how badly I wanted to. I was convinced that so many things would have changed with her. I wouldn't feel the same way that I always had before. I just knew it, but I was wrong. She looked almost exactly the same. Her porcelain skin was still as white as it could be and was covered in freckles. Her green eyes were flashing, even as far away as I was, I knew that they were the same color and had the same gusto that they always had.

  Amber had filled out a little bit, became more of a woman. Last time I had seen her, she was nothing but a girl. Now, with her rounded hips and full chest, I could tell very clearly that things were different. She was even more beautiful than before, if that was possible. It certainly didn't feel like it should be.

  My heart was beating harder in my chest, and the more I looked at her, the more I knew that she was exactly the woman that I needed. I hadn't been waiting for her, but maybe my heart had been. My body had used other women to fulfill the immediate desires that I had, but always in the back of my mind, I was thinking about one woman. How I was comparing them to one woman, a woman that I had never even been with more than a kiss. How funny that a kiss could change everything.

  “Thank you all for coming. I look out into the crowd and I recognize most of you. As you know, every summer I was here staying with my grandfather and to this day, with all of my travels behind me, it is by far my most happiest memories. The people in this town were so good to me and made me fall in love with small towns. Even as I traveled and started a life, I always came back here. Hampton and my grandfather were the only steady things in my life. Without both of them, I don't know if I'd be the person I am today. I know without my grandfather, I wouldn't have done the many things he encouraged me to do. He was always there for me, the one who always believed in me, and I just can't believe he's gone.”

  I felt bad for her then, her voice so strong in the beginning, but it really just started cracking up by the end of it. Anyone present could see that she was hurting. Everyone there knew her and knew that she loved him. It was sad, and I felt like all I wanted to do was go to her and make her feel better. She had such a heavy heart. I could feel it from where I sat.

  Then, out of the blue, she looked my way and our eyes locked for a moment. I heard her gasp a little bit and that was only because she was so close to the microphone. She remembered a few more words and thanked everybody for coming and then quickly sat down in her seat. I waited for her to look back at me and it took only a moment for her to do so.

  Did she remember me, as I so clearly remembered her?

  The service took forever to end. The whole time I wondered if she even remembered me. It had been so long
ago, but it was hard to deny the recognition that I had seen in her eyes. So, she knew who I was. Was she going to talk to me? Why was I feeling so on edge?

  I didn't get up out of the seat for several moments because there was a flood of people that were going to Amber and offering condolences. I wanted to as well, but I didn't want to have the conversation with her, not our first conversation, in front of everybody. I wanted to believe that what we had to say to each other, we would need a little privacy for. That's what I hoped for, anyway. I had all these big thoughts in my head, but I still didn't even know if any of it was possible.

  When the crowd started to clear off a little bit, I walked up to her, and she was standing by the door. She was thanking everybody for coming in and even then, her pain that she was in now, she was still just as graceful as ever. I had observed her for the last hour, and I was convinced that the young girl I knew had turned into a just as capable woman. I was nervous to talk to her, but I knew that I was never going to get my answer if I didn't. I had to know if she had thought about me all these years as I had thought about her. I didn't honestly want to think about if she hadn't. I think that it would have made it hard to come to grips with that, after thinking about it for so long.

  “Well, it's been a long time, Frank.”

  I smiled at her, and I had all the answers that I needed. Of course, she thought about me. Maybe not as much as I had thought about her, but I was definitely on her radar.

  “It has been a long time. I must say that I have missed hearing your voice and seeing you. It's been too long.”

  Amber grinned spectacularly and waved to somebody that was passing by and politely said something to them about coming and how it would have meant the world to her grandfather. When she turned back toward me, I could see that there was something on her mind.

  “I didn't think I would ever see you again. After I came back the next summer and you weren't here, and your parents said that you weren't coming back, I figured that was that. Each year I would come back in the summer, and each year you were away. What have you been doing with yourself, Frank, in all this time?”

  “Well, I went into the military.”

  “I know. They always liked to talk about that, and I can see that it rubbed off on you. Hoo-rah.”

  I couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot. How cute was she? “Hoo-rah.”

  “But what have you been doing? I haven't seen you in so long. I don't want to hear the resume. I want to know how you've been.”

  Since she seemed so receptive to having the conversation, I asked her if she wanted to go out and have a drink.

  “I think it's too early to have drinks. Doesn't it have to be noon or something?”

  I agreed that that was usually the rule, but I assured her that I had a fully stocked bar at my place.

  “Are you staying here now?”

  I agreed that I was, and she seemed to be pleased by that.

  “Okay, Frank. For old time’s sake, let's go have a drink. There is supposed to be a reception after this, all the food is paid for and everything, but I don't think I can do this, anymore. It has been a long day and I have had enough sadness. You are always the one who kept me laughing. Do you think you can still be that guy for me, just for tonight?”

  I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but I certainly hoped that what was on my mind was on hers. I was missing more than just making her laugh. I was missing everything that we used to do, just talking to her on the roof of her grandad’s house. So many memories and one desire that had been simmering for ten years, never quenched.

  Amber was the one woman that got away. I’d always known it to be true, but it had never felt so real as it did now. Seeing Amber again made me realize that I had missed her far more than I’d ever imagined. I also realized that now that she was a woman and I was a man, I wanted her in all ways, even the one way we had avoided before. It was no longer a necessity to wait. Now, I could have her. I just had to make her laugh again and remind her of how good we were together. I know that I still remembered.

  4

  Amber

  I can't believe that I was standing next to Frank. We were walking to his truck, and I was about to go to his house and have a drink. I really needed that drink, but I was so shocked to be with Frank. A lot had changed in the last ten years, and it was going to take a minute for me to adjust.

  Not only was he even taller than before, but now he was solid. Before he had been quite small, even if he was a little muscular. Now, his muscles were tripled, and he looked rather delicious. The military must have rubbed off on him because he was still sporting the short haircut that I knew was popular. Who was this guy?

  As we walked, I felt the familiar in his gait; however, it was different. More determined somehow, and he had a look on his face that was easily recognizable. He was happy to see me, just like I was happy to see him. I couldn't believe that we were back together, standing next to each other. It felt surreal, and I felt like I had gone back in time. This time, I remembered.

  As we talked, it was just the same as before. Frank was pretty positive, and he always had a joke to deflect from a serious situation. I couldn't think of a more serious situation than a funeral, but I was already feeling better, knowing that we would get to spend some time together. How funny that I hadn't even thought about running into him.

  “I still can't believe that you're here, standing next to me. This is sort of surreal.”

  “How so?”

  “I don't know. I worried that I would not be able to see you again.”

  “Let's just say that I have thought about you over the years.”

  “Is that so?”

  I agreed that it was. It was so. I had wanted so badly to see him again. Now he was right in front of me and it was hard to say anything. He would not understand all of the feelings that I had going through me. I'm sure it was all in my head. It was ten years ago, after all. We only shared a couple of kisses, never going further than that. Why was I still thinking about him so much after all this time? He still popped into my head from time to time, and now he was making me tremble inside. How could I say any of that out loud, without being completely embarrassed?

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  I didn't know if he was messing with me or not, and I hesitated. Did I really want to put myself out there like that?

  “Never mind. It was silly, anyway.”

  “If you're asking whether I thought about you through the years, the answer is definitely yes. I don't think anybody could forget you, Amber.”

  I don't know why his words made me so warm, but they did. He opened the door to the truck and waited a minute to let me in. Closing the door behind me, the window was open, and he assured me that he thought about me every single day since the last night on the roof.

  When he got in next to me, I felt almost immediately shy. It was just like it had been so long ago. Frank had only been a year older than me back then, but he had seemed so much more worldly than I was. Even now, after I had spent time in France and started my own company, got my degree, became an adult, I still felt like there was something I was missing in growing up. Frank was just as out of my league as he had been before. He was always so sure of himself, and now he was built like an Adonis. It was hard not to feel intimidated.

  I was trying to work out my feelings as we drove to his place. He was not living in his dad's old house, which I was thankful for. I asked about his family, and he didn't have much to say. He just said that everybody was fine. It was obvious that Frank didn't want to talk about his family, so I didn't push him. He’d had a strange relationship with them before, maybe some things hadn't changed.

  “So, how are your folks doing?”

  “Divorced, but I think both of them are happier now. My dad lives in Europe, and my mom met a guy and moved out to California. I see them on holidays and stuff, but not as much as I would like to.”

  Frank said something about wis
hing his parents would divorce and find somebody to make them happy. “They're still just as miserable as ever.”

  I told him that I was sorry to hear that, because I knew when he had talked about it before that it bothered him. Frank put on this smile and everybody believed it. Everybody thought that he was just this happy go lucky guy and usually he was, but there was a dark side to his life that he didn't talk about, except with me. So many nights we spent sharing everything on my grandfather’s roof. It was hard not to see him as that young boy, even though he was clearly such a man now. I wondered if that boy was still in there.

  “So, I don't see any wedding ring on your finger. Am I to take it that you stuck with your promise to never get married? Never have kids?”

  He said he did. “We're not that old, and I don't see you married, either.”

  I felt my face getting red. Of course, if I was going to ask about his love life, he was going to ask about mine. I'm sure that his was better, though. I had not given up on love, but I had just taken some time off. I had dated a few people through the years, but it was hard to be with anyone when I knew that there was another person that was even better for me. Settling was harder than I thought it would be, and everything felt like settling because of Frank.

  “Never mind, I guess I haven't found the right person yet.”

  “It's hard to imagine that nobody has asked.”

  “I didn't say that they hadn't. I just haven't said yes to any of them.”