The Wrong Prince Charming

by Renee, Holly

  My parents were never so cruel. They loved me, but they didn’t allow me to be anything other than exactly what they wanted. I knew it was pathetic to hate the way my parents controlled every single choice I made in my life, because I could have had it so much worse.

  Theo had it so much worse.

  But their control festered inside me with every new thing they demanded. Theo thought I was crazy. He saw two parents who loved me, who loved him, and I knew that’s all I should have seen too.

  “I’ll make sure one of the DDs gets her home safe.” He pulled me closer to him. “Just stay.”

  I had never been able to tell Theo no—not when he needed me and not when he was just jonesing for a bit of fun. I couldn’t tell him no then, and I wasn’t going to start telling him no now. “Okay.”

  Two

  Theo led me through the house and up the stairs. The hallway held so many doors that I wondered how many guys lived here. There had to be at least twenty.

  Theo stopped at the third door on the left and pulled a key from his pocket.

  “You lock your door?” I leaned up against the wall next to him as he slid the key in.

  “Yeah. I don’t want anyone fucking in my room during one of these parties.”

  “Good point.” I laughed and tucked my hair behind my ear. My dorm room may have been tiny, but at least I didn’t have to worry about that.

  Theo flicked on the light in his room, and I followed him inside before closing the door behind us.

  His room was clean except for the few pieces of clothes that littered the floor, and I smiled when I saw a picture of us together sitting on his dresser. It was the day after he graduated high school, we were at the lake with our friends, I was on his back about to jump in the water, and I had never been happier.

  I had seen his room what felt like a million times before on the phone, but being here was different. I felt like I couldn’t look around quick enough. I wanted to take in every single thing I saw. There were plenty of things that were familiar, but there was more that wasn’t. It felt odd knowing that Theo had a life that I didn’t know every detail of.

  It felt wrong.

  A t-shirt being tossed in my face brought my attention back to Theo.

  “Your favorite.”

  I looked down at the ratty Sublime t-shirt that I had slept in so many times before and hugged it to my chest. “I don’t know why you don’t just give this to me.”

  “I still wear it.” Theo chuckled softly as he dug through his drawer.

  I rolled my eyes as I lifted the edge of my shirt and pulled it over my head. Theo’s eyes tracked my movements, his eyes glued to my simple black bra. I had changed in front of him so many times before, but the way he watched me now was different. At least it felt different to me.

  I slipped his t-shirt over my head as I watched him watch me, and I took a deep breath and tried not to seem affected. His cotton t-shirt was so worn that it felt like silk against my skin. I ran my fingers over the soft fabric, and I let the smell of him engulf me.

  I popped the button on my shorts and pulled them down my legs before tossing my clothes onto his small desk that held nothing but football equipment. His shirt swallowed me whole and touched the tops of my thighs. He used to take it off his back for me to sleep in it while he’d cuddle up next to me in nothing but a pair of shorts. I looked over at his tan abs and knew that nothing much had changed.

  Theo sat down on the edge of his bed and hooked his finger in the small hole in his t-shirt near my belly button. “Come here.” He pulled me toward him and wrapped his arms around my back as he rested his forehead against my stomach.

  I pressed my fingers into his hair and let the strands slip through them. I could feel the stress leaving his body. Football had been kicking his ass with a summer filled with practices, workouts, and drills, but he never let up. He never took a break.

  “Damn, I’ve missed you,” he mumbled without lifting his head.

  “You just missed my massaging skills.” I chuckled and ran my fingers down the base of his neck.

  He nodded his head. “One hundred percent.”

  “Hey.” I slapped his shoulder playfully and his arms tightened around me.

  My hands clung to his shoulders as he fell back onto the bed and pulled me along with him. I bounced against the mattress, my laughter uncontrollable as Theo dug his fingers into my sides.

  “Stop.” I barely managed to get the word out as I squirmed on the bed to get away from him.

  “Did you miss me?” He tickled me harder.

  “No!” I half yelled, half giggled.

  “Maddison, you tell me that you missed me right now.”

  I lifted my foot and tried to kick him off me, but my effort was useless. He caught it in his hand before I could use it. His touch on the bare skin of my calf made my stomach tighten in a way that it shouldn’t have been with my best friend.

  “Not happening,” I said, breathless, as I pushed against his chest, but he easily pinned my hands above my head.

  His face was directly above mine, my breath was still rushing out in laughter, and he was smiling in a way I rarely saw him do unless we were alone.

  In a way that I loved.

  “Did you miss me?”

  “Oh. Fine.” I huffed. “I missed you.”

  He pushed my hair out of my face and pressed a small kiss to my forehead. “I know.”

  I rolled my eyes at his cocky grin and tried to calm my racing heart. “Did you miss me?”

  His eyes were watching my lips as I spoke. “You know I did.”

  I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him more than I had ever wanted anything else, but I knew that the one simple move would have consequences.

  That one simple touch would change everything.

  But I still wanted it and part of me thought that he wanted it too. He was looking at me like he did.

  But God, I wanted him to be the one to kiss me.

  I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. Theo watched, his gaze glued to the movement before he pushed off me and rolled onto his back beside me.

  I couldn’t stop the burning in my chest even though I tried not to let myself feel disappointed. He was being the smart one. I knew that, but it didn’t do anything to make it easier.

  We’d been walking this line between friendship and more for so long that I couldn’t even remember a time when I was one hundred percent certain about what we were.

  Best friends trying like hell not to be lovers.

  The idea of not being with Theo in that way scared me, but the thought of losing him completely ripped me in two. And I had no doubt that the two of us would manage to fuck this up.

  We’d fuck up everything.

  But I still wanted it.

  I wanted everything. I didn’t want to be the girl who showed up to all his football games and watch him celebrate with someone else. I wanted to be his girl, his only girl, and I wanted every single one of his celebrations, his defeats. I wanted it all.

  But I didn’t know how to get off the sidelines. I felt forever stuck. I was his biggest cheerleader, but I didn’t want to be stuck with pom-poms in my hands.

  “I got you something.” Theo stood from the bed, and the moment before was brushed away as easily as it came.

  As easy as it had always been.

  I grabbed a pillow and tucked it under my head as I watched him grab a grocery bag off the top of his dresser.

  “You didn’t.” I laughed as he pulled out three boxes of chocolate-covered raisins.

  “Do you think I’d let my favorite girl come to college and not have her favorite thing in the world waiting on her?” He grinned before tossing a box in front of me.

  I quickly opened the box and poured a few in my mouth. “God, I love you.”

  “I know.” He fell back on the bed and laid his head against my stomach.

  “I was talking to my candy. Not you.”

  He snorted before grabbing the box out
of my hand and pouring some in his mouth. “Have you decided on a major yet?” He asked his question around his candy, and I rolled my eyes while thinking about what to tell him.

  Did I decide on my major yet? Yes. Did my parents shoot it down faster than I could finish my complete sentence? Also, yes.

  It wasn’t that I was hiding the fact that I wanted to become a photojournalist from Theo, but I knew that he would be about as supportive as my parents.

  And it was better that I just forgot it now.

  There was no use wasting my dreams on something I could never have.

  His football scholarship was here. My father’s alma mater was here. I was meant to be here. Not in New York. Not at Columbia.

  “I’m going to stay undecided for now. Keep my options open.” I pulled the box of chocolate-covered raisins from his hand and poured more in my mouth.

  “You’re the most indecisive person I know.” He shook his head.

  “Not true. I know for a fact that chocolate-covered raisins are my favorite.”

  “What else?” He turned his head to the side and looked up at me.

  “I know that black is my favorite color and summer is my favorite season.”

  “And I’m your favorite guy?” He arched one of his eyebrows at me.

  “Always.”

  Three

  My body was on fire.

  Theo was pressed against my back, his skin a furnace against mine, and I felt like I could barely breathe as his weight pushed against me. There wasn’t a single spot of my body that wasn’t touched by him, but somehow I managed to wiggle inch by inch out from under him without waking him up.

  It was still relatively dark outside, and I had to blink a few times to see clearly as I checked the time on my phone. Six forty-five in the morning.

  I yawned and thought about climbing back into bed behind Theo, but my bladder was screaming at me and I knew I wouldn’t make it a few more hours until he woke up.

  I cracked open his door and looked up and down the dark hallway. The house looked different without a single person in sight. I tiptoed my way to the bathroom, and it was eerily quiet compared to the noise of the party last night.

  There was a pair of boxers wadded up on the floor and I tiptoed over them so I could pee without someone’s dirty clothes touching me. I wondered if those were taken off in haste. A little romp session on the bathroom counter or maybe against the bathroom door.

  A lot more action than I got in the privacy of a bedroom.

  I finished my business and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was a bit wild from sleep, and Theo’s t-shirt was wrinkled against my skin. It felt weird to be here. Not necessarily in this frat house, but here at college, where I wasn’t suffocating under my parents’ thumbs. Where I at least got to pretend that I had some freedom.

  I barely knew what to do with myself without my parents dictating my every move.

  The door to the bathroom stuck in a way that only seemed to happen in old houses, so I put two hands on the handle and pushed it open with all my strength. It opened with a loud groan and I ran directly into a wall or I guess a better description would be a wall of muscle.

  I pushed against the guy’s chest to keep my skin from touching his just as I noticed he was wearing nothing but a towel. A white, fluffy towel that barely covered a thing. His hand gripped my elbow trying to steady me, and I tried to calm my racing pulse from the embarrassment of his lack of clothing and mine.

  “Oh, sorry.” He fumbled for words and seemed as genuinely shocked as I was.

  “It’s okay.” I tugged on the edge of Theo’s t-shirt and tried not to look up at him. His stomach was on full display in front of me, and I let my eyes go there for only a moment before I jerked my gaze away and looked up at his face.

  His dark hair was a wild mess and looked like he had been running his fingers through it for most of the night. Or someone else had. Either way, it had the same effect. His jaw was square and somehow made his beautiful face seem harsh, but his eyes were warm and a deep shade of blue that reminded me of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I studied his face for an ounce of recognition, but I didn’t see him at the party last night. I would have remembered him if I had.

  His hand that was still pressed against my skin felt like it was burning me in the best possible way, and I knew I should have pulled away from him. But I didn’t.

  “I’m Easton.” I watched his full lips as the sleep-filled, husky words slipped past.

  “Maddison.” My voice, on the other hand, sounded squeaky and anxious and far too affected by a guy I didn’t know.

  His gaze slowly slid down my body, and the threads of Theo’s shirt felt like they were unraveling under his stare.

  I desperately wanted to flee back to Theo’s room. My heart was racing, and I knew my cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. But for some reason, I didn’t.

  “You live here?” I asked like a complete and total idiot.

  “Mmmmm…” He nodded but didn’t take his eyes off of me. “You don’t.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I’m here with Theo.” The words came out, but I hated the way they sounded. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t want him to think I was here sleeping with Theo.

  I didn’t want him to think that I was that girl.

  “Ahh.” He ran his fingers through his hair and made a face as if he knew exactly what I was doing with Theo, and I hated it.

  “He’s my friend,” I rushed out.

  “Theo’s got lots of those.” He chuckled, and the sound pissed me off.

  “No.” I crossed my arms and his gaze slid to my thighs that were a bit more exposed. “I’m his best friend. From home.”

  “Alright, sweetheart.” His tone was so condescending, so sure that he already knew everything that he needed to know about me.

  “Alright, asshole.” I started to push past him, but he smiled at me. A smile that could take your breath away if it wasn’t attached to such a jerk.

  His hand touched my elbow again, and I didn’t know why I did it, but I stopped.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I was being an asshole.”

  I nodded in agreement. “You were.”

  “It’s a little early for our first fight. Don’t you think?” He grinned and I had a feeling that grin got him out of everything. Or into anything he wanted.

  “Early in the day or in our relationship?” I cocked an eyebrow at him.

  “Both.” His hand moved to the edge of his towel to hold it in place, and I couldn’t help following its descent. “How will we explain to our children that we became enemies before we figured out that we were actually in love?”

  I actually laughed out loud at his attempt at a joke, and I took my time looking over every ridge of his toned stomach and chest before meeting his eyes again. “It would be heartbreaking. Especially, if they found out you were really never my type.”

  His smile was devastating as it lit up his face—devastatingly handsome, devastatingly treacherous.

  “We can change that.”

  “You seem awfully sure of yourself for a man in nothing but a towel.” I looked toward said towel again with a pointed stare.

  “You don’t like my towel? Do you want me to take it off?” His hand tugged on the edge as if he was going to drop it, and I squealed as I covered my eyes.

  “No!”

  His deep laugh surrounded me, and I peeked through my fingers to see him watching me with a smile.

  “Are you decent?”

  “I guess it depends on who you’re asking, but I’d say I’m more than decent.”

  I pulled my fingers away from my face and pointed at him as I started backing away toward Theo’s door. “You’re too much.”

  “I’ve heard that a time or two as well.” He winked at me, and it took everything inside of me to put my hand on Theo’s door handle. I didn’t want to leave him, but I knew how crazy that sounded. I just met the guy and his towel.
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  And Theo was just behind the door.

  “Goodbye, Easton.” I still couldn’t stop smiling. I had never found it so easy to smile around someone. So easily pulled in.

  “Bye, baby. Wait. Too soon? Maybe I’ll wait until our next meeting for the pet names.” He was leaning against the doorframe, and I had never met anyone so shameless.

  “Until next time,” I whispered as I slowly turned the handle.

  “I can’t wait.” He kept his eyes on me as I disappeared through Theo’s doorway.

  The door creaked as I pushed it open, but Theo didn’t move an inch as I closed it behind me and pressed my weight against it. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart as I stared at him sleeping.

  I had been nervous around plenty of guys before. Too many had made my heart race over the years. Heck, Theo made my heart race daily, but this felt different somehow.

  I pulled the blanket back and crawled into bed behind Theo, one slow movement at a time. The warmth of him surrounded me as my body slid next to his, and as soon as he felt me, he turned in my direction and wrapped his arm around my middle.

  I tried to let the comfort of him pull me to sleep as he pulled me tighter against his body, but every time I closed my eyes, all I could see were eyes of blue taunting me.

  Wrapping my hand in Theo’s, I let him engulf me—his smell, his warmth, everything that was uniquely him—and I tried to forget the guy from the bathroom who I’d probably never see again.

  Four

  “This is the best pizza I have ever had.” I crammed another bite of my pepperoni pizza in my mouth.

  “I told you.” Theo wiped some escaping sauce off the edge of my chin before taking another bite of his own food.

  “I thought you were lying though. I’ve never had better pizza than The Pizza Brothers, but this.” I held my pizza up for him to look at. “This is ridiculously good.”

  He grinned. “I wouldn’t lie to you. Especially not about pizza.”

  “Uh huh,” I mumbled around another bite.