He spotted Bella, she was jump roping with her friends talking to James. He continued practicing. After a few seconds he started jump roping. Bella was right, he would not let Nina, come in between his relationship with James. While Austin was doing push-ups he saw James’ face from up above. His light brown hair appeared messy from the wind, yet he still managed to look attractive, even with strands of hair covering his face. James’ blue eyes widened. “Want me to hold your feet for you?”
“Sure why not,” Austin said.
While he drove to James’s house, figured he better talk about what is on his mind. It was either now or never. “My final exams are coming up soon and I’ll be working extra hours at my office job, so it’s best you don’t come by the gym as much,” Austin said. He looked over at James who took off his seatbelt.
“I went there to visit Bella, I don’t understand you sometimes. You’re the one who usually invites me over there.”
Austin could see James’s chin tighten. “It has nothing to do with that I just need to concentrate on paying my tuition so I can make more money, then I can take you out of the country and we can get a nicer place,” Austin said.
James pressed his hand against his forehead, and briefly squeezed his eyes shut. “I didn’t date you for your money isn’t it obvious? And your house is cozy. I like it there.”
Austin placed his hand on top of his. “I want to improve my life.”
“So this has nothing to do with Nina,” James said.
Austin placed his hands on the steering wheel. “No, well yes. She tries to intimidate me but I won’t let her.”
“That’s what I have been meaning to talk to you about. She still wants me. She tried to convince me to go to a party with her friends and if I didn’t she would try to sabotage our relationship further,” James said.
He explained about the party invitation. Austin balled his fist together. “What the hell, when did this happen?” What a bitch.
“Yesterday, when I spoke to her in private and asked her why she was there introducing herself as my ex to you.” He listened as James explained what his grandmother suggested he do.
For so long he tried to push her aside from his mind, but what the hell. James turned on the car light above him.
“I don’t know when she’s returning back to Ciel Vert.”
CHAPTER 17
James
Okay so he didn’t tell him the entire truth. He didn’t want to lie but he wasn’t ready to tell Austin who he really was either. He wanted to make sure that Austin liked him for him, and he wanted to avoid any possibility of drama related to his family.
James helped Marie with the begonia garden. “Why didn’t Austin come in and greet me?” she asked
James dug the shovel into the dirt. “Austin is acting strange.” Marie sat on the balcony, he could see her drinking her tea from the corner of his eye as he explained what Austin told him in the car.
“Well, have you been paying attention to his actions?” Marie asked.
Austin always showed him that he cared, even though all his curse words and negative emotions. “Yes,” James said. As they went inside, James explained what he told Austin.
“It’s bad to lie, but I can’t say I blame you. After all, you did tell him what her intentions were,” Marie said.
“Him telling me that just seemed to have come out of the blue,” James said.
Marie placed a bowl of pho in front of him. “You two definitely need to talk about this. In the end something's got to give.” He pushed away the bowl, he could only finish half of it. His stomach rumbled in protest. “Eat or at least give it to a stray dog outside.”
*
He had to drag himself to the car on the night he was going to go to Nina’s party. He gave Austin the time he would be there, even though he didn’t ask him. Austin replied that he could stay the night at his house if he wanted to. Ok I will, James replied. Great, Austin said. He wore a dark jacket and a dark pants, he did his best to dress in dark plain clothes, in hopes to keep a low profile yet at the same time he wanted to follow the dress code so he didn’t stand out too much as well.
He stepped into a three-story house with parts of the house transparent. There were men and women servants wearing tight clothing. A woman in a green dress and a Santa hat held out a tray. He took one shot. It wasn’t strong enough to last the night, but he was hoping to leave as soon as possible.
He felt a hand grab his arm. “Glad you could make it.”
He shrugged her off. “Get off me Rachel.” She placed her hands on her hips.
“Is that how you treat the host of a party?” James took a drink from the topless guy with denim pants on. She caressed her hand across his chiseled stomach. “I bet he has a low body fat percentage.” James placed the cup on the empty tray next to him. “Turn around.” The server turned around. “What do you think, higher body fat percentage?” Nina asked.
James stepped back. “This is ridiculous.” She smacked the server on his butt. James could see the server turn his head. He looked no older than nineteen. “Stop,” James said. He didn’t know why she was doing this, he thought he knew her, but he didn’t know her at all.
“Well I don’t want you to be bored all night, or you could come with me to see my friends. It is our party after all,” she said.
“Ok, anything but this,” James said. He followed her up the winding stairs that were covered in a gold cloth right down the middle.
A man with a red Santa hat and red, tight pants, so tight he could see his bulge stood in front of two black double doors. “VIP only,” he said.
She pulled out a red lipstick and dabbed a bit on, then she kissed him on the lips. “He’s my plus one, he has a boyfriend.”
“Even better,” he said.
She handed him the lipstick. “You have to kiss him somewhere on the body or you won’t be able to get in.” She lifted up his hand. He dabbed a bit on his lips and tapped his hand with his lips. “I told you it was party,” she said as if she was reading his mind. He hated when she did that.
When he entered the room he saw Nina’s friends on a red couch, smoking cigars and listening to Italian music. He saw paintings of famous Ciel Vert people as he took a seat on the couch. Her friends stood up. “You remember James don’t you, my ex and the Queen’s grandson,” she said. He recognized the relatives of Ciel Vert nobles and Nina’s best girl friend who was also a distant relative of a noble. Nina’s best girlfriend offered him a cigar. He turned it down.
“How is your family doing?” Nina’s best friend asked.
“Great thanks for asking,” James said.
Nina gave them each a black bag. When she told them to open it, each bag had a different color chess piece. Nina raised her hand in the air. “We’re going to play human chess.” She explained the rules, and he followed everyone to another door. The entire room was a large chessboard. The game was quite simple really and fun.
“Are you still climbing trees?” James asked when one of the noble guys spoke to him. The noble guy moved once again when it was his turn.
“That was a long time ago, is Bryce still pulling pranks?” the noble guy asked.
“Yes, except this time my grandma helps him,” James said.
“You should come over to our family’s house in Ciel Vert sometime,” the noble guy said.
Actually that didn’t sound like a bad idea. “I will.’
Nina moved when it was her turn. “See some things never change,” Nina said. She announced that the winner of the chess game will have a chance to donate to any charity of their choice. The noble guy won. James patted him on the back and they had a brief conversation. A rush of nostalgia filled his lungs. Nina gave all the participants swag bags, she told them that each of them had an exclusive item from Aphrodite’s Mirror’s upcoming selection.
As they all left, James spoke to Nina at the top of the stairs. “We had a deal I came to the party, now you stay out of my relationship,” James sa
id. Nina kissed him on the side of his cheek, it was so close to his lips that he fell. She helped him up, but James swiped her hand away.
“What do you think you are doing?” James asked. He could see nothing at white for a few moments.
Nina smiled and placed her hands on her hips. “We have a deal after the dance is over, because that’s when the party is over.”
“Fine.”
James stood in the center of the dance floor. “Pick a partner,” Nina said. He chose her, but she laughed. “No James…” Instead she pranced in front of her noble friends waiting in a line. The girls were on one side and the guys were another side. “Does anyone here think I should dance with Prince James?” she asked. Her words echoed. James could see others whispering and some who made quizzical looks. “Does anybody care that Prince James is here?” she asked. He could hear his own breath on the dance floor.
“Come off it I think you made your point already,” the noble guy said.
James walked up to her and she grabbed his hand. “See here you can be yourself, no one cares who you are because we are all in the same social class, you don’t have to hide anything from us,” Nina said.
*
James felt the air escape from his lungs when he stepped out of the building. He was so glad to be out of that ridiculous party. James went into Austin’s bed, when he returned, he felt Austin’s arm reach over his shoulder. James gently lifted his arm and pulled the covers over his body and he passed out.
He could hear Austin moving around, and he made no effort to get up or help him with his clothes. He should have just gone to his own house instead, but he left his stuff at Austin’s. “Good luck on your exam,” James said.
Austin yawned. “Thanks.”
A few hours later, James went into Austin’s closet and pulled out his own items. He picked up his toothbrush from the bathroom. He called Austin and told him that he needed to talk. “What is it?” Austin asked.
James lifted his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll be returning to my home country of Ciel Vert in a week,” James said.
CHAPTER 18
Austin
Austin felt sluggish, he always had to get a quick bite to eat so he spent more energy than he consumed. Counting calories was a bitch. “Well I always will have clothes here if you want to spend the night. Need a ride home?” Austin asked.
“Yes that would be great. Besides I need to be home more often to help Marie,” James said. Boy was James lucky, if he had a nanny he would be able to do more things, but he admired how he still made efforts to help her even when he didn’t have to. Austin reached for a kiss, but James’s lips met resistance. He held James’ chin and looked into his blue eyes, but he could only see his reflection in them. He kissed his lips again, this time meeting less resistance, he inserted his tongue into his mouth and met his tongue just briefly. Their last kiss, their last everything
Bella sat on a park bench next to him. He read the study exam questions out loud to her, and she had to keep correcting him. “Sorry it’s just... I feel as if James is ashamed of me,” Austin said.
Bella squinted her eyes. “Telling him he couldn’t visit you anymore at the boxing gym was a dick move for starters,” she said.
“I know, but I just didn’t want to get distracted.”
“Well you could’ve handled it in a different way…”
Austin started putting his study guide back into his backpack. "I know. It's just Nina is well-traveled and she’s stylish, all fancy looking and shit."
Bella gave him a look. “Comparing yourself to his ex won't do you any good, look where it got you now,” she said.
Austin flipped his hoodie over his head. "I should've never told him not to come to the boxing gym I actually miss seeing him. I just wanted to give him space, and to give me time to think.”
She sat on his couch. "Well you have plenty of time to think, it's time to take action. All I can say is that with effort, we can create our own happy endings.”
CHAPTER 19
Austin
It really didn’t settle into his brain that he was dumped until he returned back to the salon. “James?” Bianca’s eyes widened. “He already put in his two weeks’ notice.” Shit, it hadn’t even been a week yet and he had already left. At the end of the shift he found himself looking across the room. There were so many signs he wanted to teach him.
When he got home, he cooked some Alfredo pasta. He took out two plates, then shook his head and placed the other back. On his way to bed he picked up the pile of clean clothes on his bed. James wouldn’t be here to help him fold them, nor would he be there to dress him, or trim his beard for him.
The next day he returned home from his accounting assistant job. The TV was on and he leaned over the couch. What was he doing? No one was there. His back stung from jogging. He imagined James rubbing his back and telling him to take a shower before going to bed since he was so sweaty from boxing. He went to go visit his mom and told her that James left him. He rested his head on her lap. “I doubted James would’ve wanted to stay with me forever, I mean in a serious relationship,” Austin said. He was supposed to be happy. He passed his accounting exam, but he felt like dog shit. Like everything in his chest was ripped to pieces, leaving nothing left but a void.
“I know you really care about James and you have worked hard putting in the extra hours to pay your tuition,” his mom said. It was true, he had finally paid it off. She stroked his hair. “You can always get extra hours but you can’t always keep a person if you take them for granted. He’s still here, do what you can to keep him.”
He closed his eyes. “I don’t want to lose him,” Austin said.
“Do you love him?”
Of course… Of course he loved him. More than anything.
His mom kissed him on the forehead. He rushed out the door, calling James. “How many more days do you have left before you leave for Ciel Vert?”
“Five, why?”
“Because I need to see you as soon as possible, can you meet me at the pizza shop Thursday?”
“Sure what time?”
“Between three and four,” Austin said. Ok so he only had three days for his plan to work before he was shit out of luck.
At the salon he asked Bianca if she could fix his hair, he told her about his plan once she promised she wouldn’t tell anyone else in the salon. She decided to fix him up nice and snatch. “Now you want to make sure you make a good impression.” She squealed.
Next, he called Marie. “No need I already have the ingredients,” she said.
“Should I just get a basket of roses?” Austin asked. He panted, his words fumbled, his chest felt heavy. Marie urged him to calm down. After he told his mother about his plan she showed gave him a black box. He hugged her, and tears fell down her shoulder.
There was one last person he needed to contact to pull this altogether. The pizza shop manager’s arms were covered in flower. “I’ll try my best to bring as many of my friends as possible,” Austin said.
“Kids these days, they’re not as different from my generation as I thought,” he heard the manager say as he left.
CHAPTER 20
James
If James had to make one more pizza, he was going to vomit. He volunteered to taste a few of his manager’s so-called specials, and it was a miracle he could even make it out of his bathroom last night. He didn’t agree with Nina but knew he would continue his life in Ciel Vert.
“Could you do me a favor, move those chairs for me to the side,” the manager said. He would miss New York City, seeing the random arguments on the street, the manager yelling at his wife on the phone, Bella, and most of all-seeing Austin. There were a few people in the restaurant so he was certain he would let him off early. The manager pointed his thumb towards the back door. “Ok kid you’re going to be able to get off early but wash the dishes back there.” He washed the pizza pan and the spatula. Today was an easy day. Now he could finally meet Austin. He took off hi
s apron and put on his jacket.
He opened the employee door to find that the dining room tables were spread apart so that the center was empty. There were roses on one table to his right and begonias to his left. Bella stood on one side and Austin’s friends were on the other side. “Hey James, we missed seeing you at the boxing gym,” he said.
“But I have a feeling that Austin missed you more,” Bella said. Marie lifted up a cake and placed at the table next to Bella. Austin’s mother stood next to her, both had watery eyes.
Austin stood in a suit at the front of the door. His hair smoothed to the side. He wore a three piece suit which complimented every part of his body. “James, I know I acted like a jerk lately, and I’m sorry for telling you not to come to the boxing gym that time.” He took out a small black box.
“I forgive you,” James said.
Austin took his right hand. “I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. You improve my life… I don’t want to see it without you.”
James’s hand trembled, and Austin lifted up his trembling hand and kissed the palm. James could see the tears pouring down his cheek, dripping off his hand. Austin got down on one knee. “I know you want to move back to Ciel Vert but I will do my best to make things work. I’ll move there and get an accounting job, learn the language.”
James could hardly breathe, his face heated up and his heartbeat skipped. “English is the first language in Ciel Vert silly,” James said.
Austin took out the ring. “Right, and if you would have the stubborn bullheaded guy from Rhode Island, I think I would be the luckiest man in the world. Today, I give you everything from my heart to my soul. James, will you marry me?”
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