CHAPTER 4
Cort
“Ugh, why did I let you drag me out tonight?” I asked. He took a big gulp of his beer and tried to hide in the shadows.
My two best friends, Markus and Brody and I were hanging out at the Riverside, a famous club that they frequented whenever they wanted to blow off a little steam. It was more of a touristy type of place, so I was able to hang out like one of locals rather than everyone being excited that the prince was there. I knew it was just what I needed after the tense meeting with my father, but now that I was out, I was beginning to regret deciding to come along. I had a lot of things to figure out and I wasn’t sure that booze and girls was the way to find an answer.
“Because this is what we do,” Markus said. “Besides, if we weren’t here, you would just be somewhere feeling sorry for yourself. We figured a change of scenery would do you good.”
“Well, maybe being alone is what I really want at the moment,” I said. “I appreciate the thought guys, but I think I’m going to bail.”
“Come on, you can’t leave now. I was just hoping to catch a few minutes of your time.”
I turned to see a beautiful girl with long black hair and a sweet face, wearing a sleek black dress that perfectly accentuated every inch of her curvy body. She was hot, and I could easily have my way with her , but right then, I wasn’t really interested. It was obvious the moment that she walked up to us that she knew who I was. She was trying to hide it, but I could see it written all over her face. Over time, I’d developed a sixth sense about the intentions of women. And many times, I’d used those intentions to get laid. A few times some of those one-night stands had even lead to some relationships, but in the end, it just never worked out. I always felt that being the prince was the biggest draw for these women. All of them had delusions of grandeur, of being a King’s wife one day. It was both a blessing and a curse.
“I was actually,” I replied. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’d be much fun at the moment.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” the woman said. “I’m Vanessa by the way.”
“Vanessa,” Markus said stepping in. “Our buddy is feeling a bit shy this evening. He needs some alone time right now, but we will be glad to come to your table later for a few drinks if you are still around.”
Vanessa seemed disappointed, but she tried to hide it with her flirty demeanor.
“Ok, I’ll hold you to that,” she said walking away slowly.
“What the hell? Dude, turning that down? You are in some sort of funk,” Markus said, as he shook his head in disappointment.
“I told you. This thing with seceding my father as king… it’s got me all turned around. I think I’m just going to go home.”
“Nah man. Don’t do that. You will regret it. We just need to get a few drinks in you,” Brody said and immediately went to the bar.
“I have a drink already!” I called after him holding up my beer, but Brody was already talking to the sexy bartender.
“He is right,” Markus said. “Just know we do this all out of love, man. We hate seeing you moping around. It’s not you.”
“Well, what would you do in my shoes? You think I should just cheer up and marry some random chick to appease a silly rule created by some idiot bureaucrats two hundred years ago?” I asked.
“It could be worse,” Markus said. “You keep forgetting that you have all the power here. You could go out and find the best, coolest, most beautiful girl around here and she would marry you. I realize time is of the essence, but I think if you put together a team of recruits it could be done.”
I laughed. “Listen to what you are saying. It sounds like we are putting together a sports team or something. This is marriage. Call me old-fashioned, but as much as I love sleeping around, I really did want to fall in love someday. I really wanted to make something great work here with the right woman. I don’t want to be railroaded into something I’m going to regret or be stuck with for the rest of my life. You know the rule. Once a woman is pronounced queen, divorce isn’t an option. The King is basically stuck with her until one of them dies. And don’t say it!” I laughed.
“I was definitely not about to suggest the queen have an unfortunate accident at some point down the road,” Markus joked.
“You are terrible, man!” I laughed. My friends were too much sometimes.
Brody returned with a couple of bourbons, my favorite drink. I begrudgingly accepted it.
“So, what did I miss?” Brody asked.
“Go ahead Markus,” I responded. “Tell him your plan.”
Markus rolled his eyes.
I was about half finished with my beer when I felt something rubbing my shoulder. Turning my head slightly, I was not at all surprised to see a sexy blonde, who at first glance looked like she couldn’t be more than eighteen. But the way she carried herself suggested she was much older than she appeared. She was looking at me with that mixture of recognition and hope, which I had coined, “Stalker Eyes.”
“Hey, there handsome. Would you like to dance?” she said as she batted her eyelashes.
“I appreciate it, but not right now. Maybe later,” I mumbled, trying to let her down gently.
The girl was persistent though.
“Well, maybe I can find other ways to make you feel better,” she moaned in my ear.
I almost choked on his drink. I smiled and took the girl’s hands off my shoulders.
“I have other things on my mind right now. I was just leaving,” I said.
Before she or my friends could even protest, I finished my beer in one gulp and walked out of the club. I needed some fresh air. The cool breeze felt calming against my skin, and I found solace in the repetition of his feet carrying me down the sidewalk and back towards where my chauffer was waiting.
It never ended, did it? Everywhere I went, that certain kind of woman would find me, sniffing around like hungry dogs, smelling the fame and the prestige that was given to me simply by being born. I had done nothing really to earn such recognition. I was just lucky enough to be born to the right people. That was it.
I was so tired of it. But what I so tired of it, that I was willing to give everything up and not become king?
I shook my head. Of course I wasn’t. I had been working towards being king my whole life. I believed in my small country and I wanted to be the one to lead it going forward. I would suffer the annoyance of fame that came along with it.
I will admit though, the fame did have its perks. But I hated that people didn’t want to get to know the real me. It was like I had to be a constant performer. If anyone knew the real me and found out I was a real man with real problems and flaws, then the whole image would be shattered to pieces.
And my love life had suffered so because of it. I just could not get away from women who only wanted me because of what I was and not who I was. I was a lot more than a future king. Why couldn’t anyone understand that?
As I walked, I realized that Markus and Brody were right; I didn’t want to go home. I would just end up sitting alone and shooting whiskey while watching TV, or maybe playing guitar, until I fell asleep, like I did most nights.
Maybe I would work on the new song I was writing. I’d been writing a lot lately. It was therapeutic to work out my frustrations of everyday life. Lately, I felt like I’d been dealing with more of than usual. Of course, I would never let anyone hear any of his compositions. It was just for me. Just something personal I did. Maybe one day after my death, I would leave instructions for my body of work, or recordings of my songs for people to listen to and judge when I could no longer hear them.
I continued to walk down the street and I noticed that The Canal was still open. It was another touristy type of place, less popular than Riverside. Hopefully I could go unnoticed while I had a drink.
I went inside and casually walked up to the bar. I ordered a whiskey on the rocks and sat down on an empty stool. The place was pretty busy with a wide assortment of people all having fun, so far oblivious to the fact that their next possible king was in the room. Even the pretty bartender didn’t seem to notice me, but she was giving him the eye anyway. Then again, that was how she got tips.
I began to sip my drink and glance around the room. My eyes traced over tourists and I smiled to myself. No one would recognize me here. I continued to glance around and that was when I noticed the pretty girl sitting beside me. How did I not see her before? She was about my age with an angelic face and a demeanor that emanated strength and self-confidence. Her smile was beautiful, and as she caught me looking at her, it widened considerably. She was the type of girl who seemed perfectly at ease by herself but was also very approachable and friendly.
I smiled back at her and went back to my drink. The girl did the same thing. She had to be a tourist. Otherwise, she would have been all over me if she actually knew who I was. The way she was looking around as if there were things about the bar and the people that she did not understand, confirmed my suspicions. She definitely wasn’t from around her. She was beautiful.
“Hi,” I said after a few moments. It felt awkward to be watching her without at least saying something.
The girl’s eyes lit up as she glanced back at me. Wow, she had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. They were a bright blue that almost sparkled as she smiled.
“Hi,” she said back.
“How are you?” I followed up. I realized I was really out of practice with making small talk. When women routinely hit on me, I didn’t really have to say much to keep the conversation going. This was harder than I remembered.
“I’m good,” she replied.
She was American. I could tell by the accent. That was why she didn’t recognize me. A wave of relief washed over my body, and I found himself feeling far more relaxed. The pressure was gone; I could just enjoy her company and not worry about anything else. It had been a while since I had felt like this.
“So, how are you enjoying your visit to our country?” I asked.
The girl smiled, a bit embarrassed. “Wow, is it that obvious?”
“Well, yeah,” I joked. “I’m Cort. What’s your name?”
“Teagan,” she said. “It’s great to meet you, Cort. And yes, I am having a great time visiting.”
“What brings you to our little corner of the world?”
“I’m just traveling around. I heard it was beautiful here, so I stopped here for a bit.”
I loved how vague she was being, but I was not sure if she was flirty or if she was just uncomfortable sharing much about herself with a total stranger.
“So, what do you do?” I asked.
“I teach yoga,” she replied. “Have you ever practiced?”
I laughed. “No, I have to admit my exercise is mostly confined to jogging and weight lifting. I’m not sure I’m flexible enough to do that.”
“You have to build it up. It’s harder than it looks, and a lot of people give up on it too soon. But I swear if you stick with it, it will change your life.”
“I love your passion,” I said. “That’s the best thing in the world, isn’t it? To earn your living through your passion.”
“Yes! It absolutely is. I couldn’t imagine ever going back to just a job again. What do you do?”
I thought a moment. I was not about to tell her that he was the Prince of Ronovia.
“I’m a musician, and I also mountain climbing,” I said. Both of these could have been true, except no one ever heard him playing music and mountain climbing was something I did alone or with his friends. I hardly had time to teach it to anyone. But I was deeply passionate about both. Somehow, this helped me feel less guilty about the lie.
“That’s great!” Teagan replied. She seemed genuinely impressed. “I’ve always wanted to learn to climb.”
“Oh, it is just life changing. There is nothing more exhilarating than scaling a mountain and just becoming one with nature, you know?”
“I do. I feel like that when I’m in the zone doing yoga, as lame as that might sound.”
“No, not at all,” I replied. “I couldn’t imagine you doing anything lame.”
Teagan glanced down, then looked back up at him with a big smile.
God, she was perfect.