His frown deepened, and a little line appeared on his forehead. I was waiting for him to crack a joke, something that would make me feel even worse about the situation, but he didn’t. It was several seconds before he spoke again, but when he did, it was the softest I’d heard him speak since he’d come to our home.
“You didn’t choose your parents, Tori. Whatever they did, it’s not your fault. You’re not them.”
I sunk my fingers into my hair and combed it back from my face in frustration. I knew it wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t the problem. “You’ll have to tell everyone else that. They all think I’m a ticking time bomb. My mom was a crazy wild child and got pregnant with me when she was only sixteen. She dropped out of school when she was seventeen and hardly ever comes back to visit. Not that I can blame her. They’re all waiting and watching, wondering what the Thorpes will do next. They think I’m going to turn out just like her. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them have money on it.”
August bit on his lower lip, his eyes sweeping over the crowd seated in front of us. I could see the hesitation in his face, and it cut straight to my chest with regret. Usually, I was better at keeping these kinds of feelings locked away. Why was I spilling all of this to a boy I hardly knew? A boy who understood nothing of the life I’d lived and was probably currently calculating the fastest way to avoid a social scandal and cut ties with my family immediately. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him.
We’d created a temporary truce, but there was no denying that August—Prince August—was not a guy I should be confiding in. He was still technically the enemy. A cute enemy, but still dangerous. He held the fate of my grandfather’s job in his hands. He was the last person I should’ve been talking to about all of this.
“I honestly can’t say that I’ve been in your shoes,” August said suddenly, his serious gaze darting back to me. “But trust me when I say that I know what it’s like to be living a life full of expectation. Expectations that feel impossible to escape from.”
“What?” I asked wryly. August had mentioned a few times that he didn’t like how his father was grooming him for a position in his brother’s court, but surely he didn’t want to give up all of the privileges of his position. “You don’t want to be a prince or something?”
He shook his head, leaning back against the wall behind us. “No, but don’t tell my father that.”
I was so far removed from royalty that I couldn’t wrap my head around this proclamation. August had been born into a respectful name. He had a future. People wanted him to succeed. It just didn’t make sense. So what if he didn’t get to choose exactly what his job would be? That didn’t seem like a good enough reason to hate on his position.
“You have practically everything,” I said, turning toward him. “Why wouldn’t you want to be a prince?”
He shot me a half-hearted smile, as if he’d had to defend this argument a million times before. “Trust me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
I laughed and pointed at the brand-new black t-shirt we’d found at the mall this week to replace some of his expensive wardrobe items. “Oh, excuse me, how could anybody endure having fancy cars, horses, and everything else they wanted at their fingertips? That plastic card you pulled out at the mall sure made the salesperson happy. I’m guessing it doesn’t have a limit.”
August rolled his eyes in a completely undignified manner. It was the first time I’d seen him do it, and it made me smile. He was quickly adjusting to this civilian lifestyle.
“Yeah, maybe those are the perks of being a prince,” he said. “And I know you think I’m just being snobbish again, but there’s also the fact that every single moment of my life since infancy has been planned out. I don’t get to go to school with my peers because my father has a particular course of study he wants for me. My subjects for University have already been picked out for me. And as soon as I’m finished there, I’ll go straight into the career my father has picked out. All to support my brother as he prepares to take over the throne. I shall never have the chance to truly live. To make my own mistakes and follow my own interests. It’s completely stifling.”
He took a long, deep breath as he stared down at the court. His hands gripped the tops of his knees tight, his knuckles white. His eyelids fluttered, and his jaw tensed.
“It’s as if . . .” His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “It’s as if I’m slowly drowning beneath the water and having to watch the world move on above me.”
I couldn’t drag my gaze away from the side of his face. His words had momentarily paralyzed me with a sympathy so strong that it was hard to move. Maybe August did know a thing or two about my situation. The way he spoke about drowning was breathtakingly sad. Maybe we’d both been dealt an unfair hand in life.
He finally glanced my way and found me staring at him. His cheeks reddened as if he’d just realized all that he’d confessed. With a nervous laugh, he ran a hand over his curls and pointed down below.
“Isn’t that your friend, Erin?”
I followed the direction he’d pointed, and sure enough, Erin was climbing the bleachers and headed in our direction. Behind her was her partner-in-trouble, Jeremy Townsend. Together, they were like combining fire and gasoline. The only times I’d ever gotten in trouble at school was because of those two pulling me into one of their schemes. From grade school to high school, they had an infamous reputation, but I loved them both as my friends.
“I can’t believe you got her here,” Erin exclaimed, plopping down on the bleacher in front of me as Jeremy went to fist-bump August. She beamed at me and then over at August, excitement making the sparkles on her cheeks practically glow. “Tell me your secrets. I can never get Tori to go anywhere fun.”
“All it takes is a little international truce and a business arrangement,” he answered back.
Erin’s eyes narrowed with curiosity. “Oh really? What kind of arrangement?”
Panic darted through me. He was saying too much. No high school kid talked like that. I pressed my elbow into August’s side in an attempt to cut him off. He grunted and then rubbed his ribs where I’d hit him.
“A personal guarantee of a good time,” he said through a gritted smile. “That’s all it took. I just happen to be charming enough to convince her we’d find it at the basketball game.”
“Riiiight.” Erin’s perfectly sculpted brow rose with disbelief. Still, she didn’t press the issue. Pointing down at the rest of the students below us, she looked expectantly up at us. “If we’re going to have a good time, I’d suggest we join in on the fun. Want to come sit by us? The boys love to heckle the refs.”
“And we’re missing a letter,” Jeremy said. He stood and yanked up his shirt, revealing a giant letter S painted on his abdomen in black paint. “Want to join in, new guy, or are you too shy?”
No one would’ve guessed from the ecstatic look on August’s face that just two seconds ago, he’d practically been laying his heart bare. He popped up from the bleachers and ripped his shirt off over his head, revealing a toned and muscular torso that had my eyes bugging. Sure, I’d seen August shirtless before nearly a week ago. But that had been through gaps in my fingers. This time, he was all visible.
Not that I was complaining.
“I’m so ready for this,” he shouted in a thick accent.
Erin and I both looked at each other with wide eyes. I could tell she held back a grin. She was probably mentally reminding me that these were the kinds of things I’d been missing out on by refusing to join our high school classmates on the weekends. I had to admit, seeing August and Jeremy standing half-naked, side by side, discussing what letter they’d paint on his chest, was definitely worth seeing. It was hot. And I would’ve missed it if I’d stayed home tonight working on my interview, as planned.
Maybe going out tonight wasn’t totally terrible.
“Game’s about to start,” Erin said as a buzzer rang. She grabbed my hand and pulled me down toward the crowded section of the
bleachers as the boys followed.
We found our spots in the middle of the mass of students. August became the first S in the SMHS logo painted on the boys’ stomachs. All throughout the game, he joined in on the chants with our classmates, making up words to the ones he didn’t know. It was kind of thrilling to watch the guys get so into it. Eventually, even I joined in on a few cheers with Erin.
Our boys played a great game and pulled out a win at the buzzer. The school section went wild, everyone hugging and kissing in celebration. I found myself smashed next to August’s side as he grinned like a wild man.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t have fun tonight,” he said, pumping his eyebrows. “I spotted you joining in on a few cheers.”
I held back a smile and somehow managed to keep my gaze from trailing down to his bare stomach. “You won’t get any kind of confession from me.”
“Just admit it, I’m the most fun thing that’s happened to you this year,” he proclaimed, pounding his bare chest with his hand.
I tried to sigh in annoyance at his display of arrogance, but instead, a laugh burst from my lips. If August wanted to tell himself that, nothing I was going to say would make him think otherwise. Tonight had been kind of fun, minus the run-in with Greta. August had been right . . . even if I would never admit that to his face.
“Whatever you say.” I grabbed his balled-up shirt from the bleacher and shoved it into his hands. “Just cover that up, for goodness sakes, and we can head home.”
“Whatever could you mean?” He looked down at his stomach and flexed his muscles. “You don’t mean cover this, do you, Princess? I honestly hadn’t thought you’d noticed. Do you mean to say that you were you admiring me all this time from afar?”
The sound of blood rushing through my head was deafening. I blinked at him, feeling slightly dizzy at his accusations. No, I hadn’t been admiring him. At least . . . not the whole time.
“Just didn’t want you to get frostbite,” I said through gritted teeth.
He grinned at me the entire time he slowly pulled his t-shirt over his head. The constant eye contact had my stomach doing cartwheels inside my abdomen, but I could tell he was testing me. He liked to do that. If I looked away, he’d know that he’d gotten to me. So I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. And when he was finally safely dressed, he shot me another cocky grin and then hopped up on the bleacher behind us.
“Actually, the fun doesn’t have to end here.” Shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he grinned. “We’re invited to something Jeremy called ‘The After Party.’ It’s at his house. I told him we’d be delighted to attend.”
“Wait. What?” August began walking toward the stairs. I hopped after him, trying to keep my voice from squeaking. I should’ve known something like this would happen. “What party?”
“A celebration of victory,” he said over his shoulder, not pausing for me to catch up. “The triumph of a game well played. Surely, we can’t go home after a game like that. We need to mark this momentous affair. After that, I promise we can go home to your grandfather.”
My feet came to a halt as I stared at August’s retreating back. This was so not part of the deal. Going to a basketball game was one thing. A high school party? That was totally beyond my comfort zone. And I couldn’t begin to imagine how August would hold together his fake persona at something like that.
I wanted nothing more than to stand there and stubbornly watch him walk away, but a tiny voice inside my head was buzzing about like an annoying fly. It was reminding me that more than August’s secret identity was at stake here. If August went home early, Grandpa didn’t get that promotion. And I couldn’t do that to him.
As much as I wanted to see this wild prince go home, Grandpa meant more. Much more. So I closed my hands into tight fists at my side and hurried after August, hoping against hope that the kind of parties Jeremy threw would involve Scrabble and hors d'oeuvres.
Was that too much to ask for?
9
August
American parties were absolutely nothing like the stiff and boring soirees I was used to back home in Valta.
They were so much better.
At one point, I’d joined a few of the baseball players in jumping off the roof onto a blown-up mattress. And then we all danced on the furniture in the sitting room. I’d cheered on a fight between two guys wrestling in the backyard, and then I’d joined the fellas comparing their bicep muscles in front of an audience of adoring ladies. That was to say nothing about the food. And there were at least ten different varieties of crisps being served in the kitchen, none of which ever would’ve made an appearance at a royal Valtanese event. I grabbed a cupful of something bright and orange colored and made my way into the dining room where Jeremy and his pals entertained themselves by tossing a little orange ping pong ball back and forth over the table, aiming for a set of red plastic cups on each end.
Each time I passed by, Jeremy would try to pull me into the game, but honestly, watching was much more fun. Plus, the fact that Richard was waiting to report everything I did back to my father was just enough of a motivator not to totally lose my cool. Yet.
The guys were getting louder and more rambunctious with each round they played. All one had to do was perch on the nearest stool and watch the drama unfold. It was amazingly entertaining. Everyone was having a blast—everyone, except for one.
Tori.
If there was one blemish on my experience of life as an American teenager, it was Tori. She hadn’t been kidding when she said this wasn’t her kind of scene. While I’d been having all sorts of wild fun, she’d fluttered from room to room at Jeremy’s home, her face stricken with worry. At one point, she rescued a glass vase from a terrible fate when a scuffle broke out in the den. Another time, I saw her forcibly pull a red cup out of Jeremy’s hand and replace it with a clear cup filled with what I could only guess was water. The look he gave her had nearly made me spit out my snack. Tori hadn’t paid him any mind. She’d simply gone on to babysitting the next fool in her path.
It was no wonder she’d agreed so quickly to my plan at the beginning of the week. She was used to babysitting her peers.
“Hey, handsome, how’s it going?” Tori’s friend, Erin, slid into the seat next to me. She had her own red plastic cup, and she took a generous swig of it before shooting me a smile. “Have we bent you to our ways yet?”
“Completely and thoroughly,” I said, toasting her with my cup of snacks. This was exactly why I’d come to America. After that thrilling basketball game and this party, I was thoroughly and hopelessly bent to the ways of the normal American teenager. Henry and Father probably thought I was holed up somewhere, bored out of my mind. How wrong they were. I knew how to keep out of trouble enough to stay off the radar and have fun at the same time.
Erin seemed pleased with my remark. We sat in silence and watched Jeremy sink his ping pong ball into a cup on the other side of the table and cheer. But just as he was about to shoot again, my attention was diverted to the dance floor where Tori stood, looking helpless as someone shook and sprayed a bottle of Sprite. I wanted to laugh, but the way she bit her lower lip as she observed the behavior was having a strange reaction with my insides.
I knew she’d never admit it, but we’d had fun today. Far more than I ever could’ve predicted with Miss Proper. Seeing her let loose just a smidge at the basketball game had been fun. I’d even caught her cheering along with the crowd a few times when she didn’t think I was looking. Somewhere, beneath that buttoned-up cardigan, was a girl screaming for pure, unbridled fun. She just needed someone to give her permission.
Someone like me.
“You know, she’s the best person I’ve ever met,” Erin said beside me.
I blinked, having forgotten for a moment that she was still there. “Who?”
“Tori.” She gestured with the cup at her friend, currently mopping up the soda with a handful of napkins. “My best friend. The one you’re currently staring a
t.”
My lips quirked in a quick smile as I lowered my eyes to my cup. “I wasn’t staring.”
“Sure.” Amusement sounded in Erin’s voice, and she shifted in her seat. “But it’s my job as the best friend to tell you that that girl is something else. She’s out of this world kind. She cares for everyone like they’re her brother or sister.”
“A real mother hen type?” I asked, glancing at her.
She nodded. “We all love her, even when she mothers us. To tell you the truth, her worst flaw is that she cares too much about what other people think of her.”
“Yes, I’d surmised as much with our run-in with Greta Highlander at the game today.”
Erin wrinkled her nose and her expression darkened as if she’d just drank sour milk. Apparently, Tori wasn’t the only one with such a low opinion of the woman. “Greta’s one of the worst. She and Tori’s mom used to compete on the high school dance team. My coach was a year younger than them in school, and she told me all about it. She hates Tori because her mom was better than her. It’s so stupid.”
“I thoroughly agree.”
“But that’s why Tori is the way she is.” Erin’s gaze trailed back across the room and landed fondly on her friend’s form, still scrubbing at the carpet. “She takes on other people’s problems as if they were her own. She’s definitely done more than her fair share for me. More than I ever should’ve let her. She’s always there to pick me up after a bad relationship ends. She’s even decent enough to never say I told you so. Tori’s the best. And that’s why I’m here to do my BFF duty . . .”
I wasn’t sure what a BFF was, but it sounded serious, whatever the meaning. I watched Erin’s pleasant smile morph into something dark and serious as she turned to me.
“You hurt her, you’ll get hurt, too,” she said, the high-pitched, feminine tone of her voice hardly matching the harshness of those words.
My Royally Cute Enemy: A YA Sweet Romance (Sweet Mountain High, Year 2: A Sweet YA Romance Series Book 3) Page 7
