I smile at her.
“And don’t worry about all those antics of his. Let me tell you something, his father was exactly the same way when I first met him.”
“What?” I say, in complete shock.
“Why, sure. You should have seen he dressed back in those days. It was really a shock for everyone in Liseria. He was always running around causing some kind of trouble. But right when he met me, he started to settle down.”
“Does that mean Luke is going to…” I’m about to say “turn out just like his father, a somewhat grumpy old man,” but I realize I’m speaking to that man’s wife, and that might not be the most polite thing I could say in this moment.
But she catches my drift and to my relief laughs. “Oh, no, dear. He’s always been grumpy. He sure did like you, though.”
I smile. “So you really think Luke likes me a lot?”
She nods and smiles in an incredibly warm way at me. “I do,” she says.
“I like him a lot, too,” I say. “I hope he’s having fun with his American friend. And I hope he’s not getting into too much trouble.”
I realize now that my thoughts about Luke are clarifying. I really want to have something with him. I guess I did before, but I didn’t really admit it to myself.
21.
Luke
We drive right to the old Russian bar. This isn’t exactly the sort of place I like hanging out any more. It used to have some strange charm when I was younger, just because of the huge amount of really seedy characters that hang out here. It’s run by some old Russian guy who is pretty hardened and just let’s anything go. The place is always getting busted by the Liserian police for one thing or another, drug deals, weapons smuggling…bar fights are a daily occurrence.
“This place looks awesome,” says Sebastian, stepping out of the car. “Sweet ride, by the way.”
“Thanks,” I say. “It’s an older model but I like it a lot.”
“Sure as hell beats that RV.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “That RV was kind of cool in a way. We had some good times.”
“And got some good pussy, didn’t we?”
I nod my head. Meanwhile, all I’m thinking about is Rebecca. I wonder what she’s up to back in the palace? I hope my parents haven’t cornered her and are giving her a hard time about our relationship, drilling her for details. Although she didn’t make quite a good impression at lunch—maybe they’ll go a little easy on her. They sure like her a lot more than any of the other girls I’ve ever brought home…but then again so do I.
“Let’s get this party started, shall we?” says Sebastian, clapping his hands together, a wild look appearing in his eyes.
“All right,” I say, somewhat wearily. “Let’s go.”
There’s a steel door greeting us at the entrance, with a massive bouncer at the door. He’s got his hand on his hip, as if there’s a gun right underneath his trench coat. He looks like such a cliché I almost laugh out loud.
“Welcome, sir,” he says, giving me an unreadable stare. He opens the big steel door.
I walk through the threshold, but the bouncer puts his hand out to stop Sebastian. “Who are you?” he says.
“He’s a friend. He’s American, but he’s cool.”
“We’re not supposed to let foreigners in,” says the bouncer. “Too much trouble in the past.”
I sigh. I didn’t want to have to do this, but here I go. “Listen, man, I’m the fucking prince. You know what I could do to this place? We’re not going to cause any trouble. My friend is here on my personal invitation, and he just wants to have a beer and check out some of the fine bars Liseria has to offer.”
I almost laugh at this last part. This certainly isn’t one of the finer Liserian bars. Hell, this place doesn’t even have an actual name, at least not one that I know of.
“Fine,” says the bouncer, after almost a full thirty seconds of apparently thinking really hard about the issue.
“Wow that guy’s a tough nut,” says Sebastian.
“Yeah,” I say, forgetting what the hell “tough nut,” means, but inferring the meaning anyway. It’s kind of weird, not that I’m in Liseria, to be speaking so much English, and my brain is feeling a little worn out from switching back and forth. With Rebecca, it’s easy to speak English, and if I do slip up and say something in French by mistake, which is understandable given our surroundings, she’s going to understand anyway. Maybe it’s because Sebastian speaks with so much more slang, or maybe it’s because it’s just that I like Rebecca a whole lot more than Sebastian.
We order some beers at the bar. The only thing available, of course, is some cheap beer imported from Russia. I don’t even know if Liseria makes its own beer, but if it does, it’s probably gross, to be honest.
“This place is the tits,” says Sebastian, looking all around just like an excited tourist.
“Yeah?” I say, looking around.
We’re at the bar, and honestly the whole place looks pretty dismal to me. There’s just the dim lighting, and some shady figures hunched over their beers. A couple guys are arguing in a corner booth in subdued voices. There aren’t any girls, which is what I thought Sebastian would be going for, and there’s really nothing happing at all. There’s a thick layer of dust and grime covering the entire bar, so thick that I could draw pictures in it if I wanted to with my finger.
“I guess it’s OK,” I say. “I haven’t been here in a long time. I sort of forgot what it was like.”
“How can you forget a place like this?” says Sebastian.
As he says this, I start to feel even more sorry for him. I mean even sorrier than I did for beating him up and leaving him in Texas to fend for himself…he was a good friend, in a way, to me, after all. He never asked for money, and was perfectly content just to shotgun beers with me in the middle of fucking nowhere, wherever the hell we ended up in the RV.
And now, he just seems so excited to be out of the US.
“So this is your first trip abroad,” I say.
He nods his head vigorously. “Fucking right, dude. And let me tell you, it’s the fucking tits. The whole fucking trip. I was at this awesome hostel earlier. You wouldn’t have believed it. All these characters from all over, man, and everyone getting shitfaced the whole time.”
“Sounds great,” I say, while thinking that it sounds anything but great. Wow, I guess my attitudes’ been changing kind of rapidly, spending so much time with Rebecca. It’s only been a few days but it feels like a lifetime already. It’s interesting that it takes me meeting up with a guy like Sebastian to really have the feelings surface in my awareness.
22.
Rebecca
I’m walking out on the grounds, wearing my new necklace, and admiring how the light from the sun plays across in little pools of reflection.
Overcome with a desire to talk to Luke right now, I pull out the cell phone Eugene left me. Luke’s phone number is programmed in. I wonder how cell phone service is in Liseria?
“What’s going on, babe?” says Luke.
“Since when do you call me babe?”
“Must be Sebastian’s influence,” he says, his voice crackling slightly on the phone.
“I just want to see how everything’s going,” I say. There’s some noise in the background. “Sounds like you guys are already having fun. I thought you were going to come back to the palace before heading out.”
“Hold on, I’m headed outside. Yeah, that’s what I wanted to do, but Sebastian really wanted to check out some crappy bar out in the middle of nowhere before we come back. We’re just going to have one drink and then come back. We can eat, and then the three of us can go a nice play after dinner. Trust me, you wouldn’t like this bar anyway.” He starts describing that bar to me a little.
‘Yuck,” I say. “Sounds awful. Why in the world did Sebastian want to go there so much?”
“No idea, really. There’s not a single girl in
the place, and that’s usually what he’s all about.”
I laugh into the phone. “Well I’m glad I don’t have any competition,” I say.
“Trust me, there’s no one who can compete with you,” he says. He’s sounding all princely and regal again, and it’s turning me on, not to mention making me fall even harder for him. I’m picturing his perfect face right now, with his head slightly bent down as he concentrates on our conversation. The same sun that’s glinting off my necklace is shining down on Luke. He’s not too far away right now. If I could only touch him. If he were only right next to me.
But he’s coming back in an hour or two. It’s not like he’s in another country or continent. We’ll be together soon.
“Does this mean we’re headed to the next level or something,” I say, trying to laugh, as if I’m telling a joke, but I know that I’m deadly serious. “Are we, like, a couple now?”
There’s no answer, just some heavy static on the line.
“Luke? You there, Luke?”
There’s no answer.
“Fuck,” I say, closing the phone.
I bite my nails for a couple minutes, waiting to see if the phone rings again. I try calling him again, but there’s just hiss on the other end when the call goes through. Fucking Liserian cell phone companies.
Well, I might as well enjoy the time I have until he and Sebastian get back. I wonder how long Sebastian’s going to be staying in Liseria?
I hope not too long. I want to have plenty of time with the prince all to myself.
“Oh,” says someone. “I didn’t know you were out here.”
I spin around, not sure who I’m expecting to see. It doesn’t sound like Eugene, or the Queen or King.
“Oh, hi,” I say. “You’re Belinda, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she says.
She’s wearing a perfect little dress, and she looks like she’s a model in one of those spring fashion catalogues for impossibly thin women.
“What’s up?” I say, realizing as I say it that my French is starting to sound a little slangy itself. Maybe that’s a sign it’s getting better, or maybe that it’s getting worse, I’m not sure.
“Were you talking to Lucas on the phone?”
“Yeah,” I say, slowly. What fucking business is it of hers? I’d sure feel a lot more threatened, tough, if Luke hadn’t told me how silly he though she was.
“I just…well, it seems like you two are getting along really well, and I just wanted to hear from you what your intentions are with him.”
“My intentions? What?” I’m completely dumbstruck, and don’t know what to say or what she means.
She doesn’t say anything. She’s clearly waiting for an answer.
“I don’t know,” I say. “We just met not too long ago.”
“But it’s going pretty fast, isn’t it?”
I don’t say anything. I don’t like her attitude or her line of questioning.
“Excuse me,” I say. “But how is this any of your business?” I silently congratulate myself for saying this, since only a month ago, I would have felt too crippled by my constant anxiety to say anything this confrontational, even if it was well within my rights.
“Well,” she says, huffing a little.
Even though I’m not feeling anxious, I still hope this doesn’t turn nasty.
“I’ve been a close friend of the royal family for almost a decade. And I think I have it coming to me.”
“Have what coming to you?”
She laughs haughtily. “What do you think this is all about?” The demeanor she wore during the royal lunch was apparently nothing more than a mask. Now her true nature is coming out. “This isn’t just fun and games. I know that for you this is just a fun little romp with a hot foreign guy. But I’ve been dreaming about this my whole life. This is about joining the royal family. This isn’t a game.”
“It’s not a game for me, either, Belinda,” I say, very seriously, making sure to annunciate my French words carefully.
23.
Luke
“Where you going dude?”
“I think I recognize that guy, man. He’s a friend from back home.”
“What? That doesn’t make any sense. I bet you and Rebecca are the only two Americans in the entire country, and Liserians aren’t exactly known for traveling abroad very often.”
“No, really, I think it’s my buddy Mike.”
“Dude, I’m 100% certain there’s no one in this bar, let alone Liseria, named Mike.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Whatever, man,” I say, and order a second beer from the bartender. He brings it over and slams it down on the counter. Not out of anger or anything—but that’s just the way things are done at this bar, to try to give you more of a feel for it.
I watch out of the corner of my eye as Sebastian saunters over to a darkened corner where there’s a lone hulking guy who looks like he really doesn’t want to be approached by some American tourist.
Well, Sebastian’s just going to fucking have to deal with the consequences for being such a fucking idiot. It’s my country after all, and he might at least listen to me.
“Hey,” I say to the bartender, after about ten minutes of just staring at the wall and waiting for Sebastian to return. “Who’s that guy over there in the corner? The big guy?”
He shakes his head, like he has no idea.
“Come on,” I say. “Don’t play dumb with me. Tell me who he is.”
“Is this a royal investigation?”
Generally, all Liserians recognize my face, but most are too reserved to acknowledge my title.
I shake my head. “No fucking way. I’m just wondering what my friend is up to over there.”
“Ok,” he says. “That’s Sven.”
“Sven?” There aren’t a lot of guys named Sven in Liseria.
“Yeah, he’s from somewhere else.”
Wow, it’s like prying fucking nails, or whatever the expression is. Did I mention that Liserians aren’t always that talkative?
“And what does Sven do?”
“He’s a drug dealer.”
“Yeah?”
He nods his head, and retreats to another corner of the bar where he can stand in silence. Apparently he’s tired of my questions.
OK, so this guy Sebastian’s talking to probably isn’t Liserian, but that actually lines up with Sebastian’s story. And it’s not that out of character for Sebastian to talk to a drug dealer. I know he likes to have a good time.
I turn my head ever so slightly to see what Sebastian’s up to now. Last time I looked over, sneaking a glance, he and Sven were leaning in and speaking conspiratorially.
But when I look over now, there’s no one there.
Fuck.
This might not be good
But, wait. Sebastian’s probably just getting high in the bathroom or something with this Sven character.
But that’d be out of character. Wouldn’t Sebastian have invited me along? Not that I’d partake. I’m starting to feel like those days of getting fucked up are long behind me. Well, not too long, but they’re behind me and that’s the important thing.
Another ten minutes go buy, and I’m peeling the label off my beer.
“You going to have another?” says the bartender, giving me a look that says if I don’t have another beer, I’m going to be in trouble if I don’t leave. So much for getting what you want as a prince. In a place like this, my title doesn’t mean much.
“I’m heading out,” I say, throwing down some Euros on the counter.
The bartender nods ever so slightly as I head towards the bathroom.
“Sebastian?” I say. “You in here, man? We’ve got to head out soon.”
There’s no answer. Shit, where the fuck is he?
I take out my cell phone before remembering that Liserian cell service sucks—I could barely talk to Rebecca—and anyway Sebastian’
s SIM card isn’t going to work here in Liseria.
Fuck.
I head out the steel back door into an impossibly filthy alley that the sun doesn’t seem to reach.
“Sebastian?” I call.
“What’s up, man?” says a voice coming from behind a dumpster.
“What the hell’s going on?” I say, poking my head around the dumpster.
I’m immediately met by hands that grip my throat and throw me against the rough brick wall. I react instinctively by kneeing the guy in the stomach with a swift blow.
He releases me, and I put my fists up. What the fuck is going on?
My mind is spinning. Is Sebastian trying to rob me? If he is, he’d have better luck coming back to the palace where there’s actually stuff to rob. All I’ve got here is the car and a little money. Well, it’s not a little. I’m a prince after all.
“What the fuck?” says a guy in heavily accented French.
I look down at the guy, whose clutching his stomach, right where I kneed him. It’s Sven. Not that I have any idea who Sven actually is.
“Why the fuck did you grab my neck, dude?” I say to him in French.
“Calm the fuck down, both of you,” says Sebastian in English, putting up his hands as if to hold us apart from fighting, but Sven is still just clutching his stomach.
“Don’t fucking surprise me like that, grabbing my throat,” I say, in English. “That’s not cool. Sebastian, what the hell are you doing out here with this asshole? You just getting high or something?”
“No, dude, it’s something bigger. Much bigger.”
“Bigger?” What the hell is he talking about?
“I’ll be right back, dude. Just give me the keys to the car, will you?”
‘No fucking way, not until you tell me what the hell’s going on out here?”
“Dude, I got a sick deal set up here. You going to blow it for me?”
“A deal? Like a drug deal?”
“Yeah,” says Sebastian. “What did you think was in that duffel bag.”
Filthy Royal Page 14
