I unlock my apartment door and step inside, flicking on the lights to the kitchen. I put the napkin with Nicole’s number on it on the counter. I might call her. I might not.

This girl is different. I like them when they're different. There's nothing like a challenge to spice things up. How long would it take me to get her into bed with me? About the time it would take me to get her to shut up, if I had to guess.

Different works for me because I'm different. Challenge aside, it makes me feel like less of an oddball. How ordinary could the crown prince of a country be? I will never be like the people I spend all my time with. If they don't fit in either, it makes me stand out less.

Nicole is a smart one. The smart ones are always harder, but so much more fun. And so much more interesting. Maybe I'll call her. The thought of breaking down her defenses and making her scream my name gets me hard just thinking about it. She would be a satisfying conquest.

My phone rings, and I fish it out of my pocket. Jessica’s name flashes on the caller ID. She hasn't been one of the smart ones. In fact, she can't even take a hint. I consider not answering, like I usually do, but I need to put a stop to this. She needs to leave me the fuck alone.

"What?" I ask when I push talk.

"Is that how it’s going to be?" she asks.

I nod even though she can't see me. No matter what I do, I can't get rid of her. She's one of the few women I regret sleeping with.

"What do you want, Jessica?"

"I’ve been trying to call you," she says.

"I know." I’ve watched the phone ring every time.

"Why aren’t you answering?"

I sigh and walk to the living room, sinking into an armchair.

"Because I don’t want to talk to you," I say.

I pick up the remote and put the television on mute on the sports channel. I missed the Jets-Broncos game. Highlights flash on the screen. They're much more interesting than anything Jessica has to say.

"Why are you being like this?" Jessica asks. "I thought we had something."

"Well, you thought wrong. And that was six months ago. I know I’m good in bed, but damn, why can’t you just move on?"

"Because it meant something to me, Tommy," she whines.

I grit my teeth. "Don’t fucking call me that." Some girls think baby talk is cute. I don't. "Look, we had some fun together, but I made it clear from the start that I didn’t want something serious."

"I can’t help how I feel about you," she says.

"Yeah, and I can’t help how I feel about you," I say. "And what I feel is nothing."

I tip my head back, leaning against the cushion of the chair. Jessica's like a laxative. She irritates the shit out of me. She doesn't know when, or how, to stop. I’ve ignored her, I’ve told her off gently, I’ve been mean, and I’ve been downright cruel. I’ve done everything to let her know there'll never be anything real between us, but she's too stubborn or too stupid to listen.

I don't do relationships. I don't even make love. I fuck. A lot. I don't want to get tied down to anyone. I've had enough commitments in my life.

"How can you say that?" she asks. "I know you feel something for me."

"Seriously, Jessica, you need to move on," I say. "Find yourself a nice guy or a decent vibrator. Whatever the hell it takes to get past this. Nothing is going to happen between us."

"I can’t just move on, and you know it, Thomas," she says. At least she's using my full name. Progress. "I’m in love with you."

I can't help but smile. "You’re in love with me?" I ask. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Don’t be a dick about it. If you had a heart, you would know what it means when someone steals it."

I chuckle. "Listen, if I stole your heart, let me give it back. And if you’re trying to insult me, it won’t work."

"I’m trying to tell you I love you."

I laugh at her. I don't even try to hide it.

"You don’t love me, Jessica. You love the idea of me. It’s lust and desperation. Not love."

"Why are you always such an asshole to me?"

I move to sit on the edge of the couch. This conversation is boring me. We're just retracing the same old arguments we have before. I want to get rid of her and move on with my life. At least, she is just calling now and not arriving at my front door anymore. She's the one girl I should've never brought home. Having her know where I lived was the biggest mistake.

"You think I’m being an asshole?" I ask, laughing. "This is me being nice. You don’t want to see what I’m like when I’m an asshole."

"Don’t you believe in love at first sight?" she asks, ignoring my answer.

I scratch my head. "Love is an illusion. Lust is just chemistry. Put friendship and lust together, and people call it a relationship. It’s a waste of time. Do me a favor. Fall in love with someone else. And don’t bother me again."

"You’re such a dick," she says, as she’s told me so many times.

"Yes, that’s the point I’m trying to make," I say. "A dick is all I'll be. That’s never going to change."

"You have no heart."

"You already said that. Now you’re just going in circles."

Jessica has been one of those girls who played hard to get. I liked it. Most girls fall into bed with me the moment I ask. It's my face that does it. I never tell them who I really am. I’d never get a moment’s peace if women knew whom I was.

"You’re really just going to tell me off like that?" Jessica asks. Her voice quivers.

"Goddammit, Jessica, you better not be crying."

"I’m not!" she says, clearly crying.

This has escalated way too quickly for me. I'm done. I don't want to play these stupid games anymore. Time to get serious. Again.

"Jesus, Jessica. Show some self-respect. I never told you I wanted anything more than sex."

"You never told me I was just going to be a booty call, either."

"Look," I say. "You’re a good-looking girl, and you’re a wildcat in bed." I have to be careful with the number of compliments I lay on this one. She takes everything to heart. But she's really been fantastic in bed. She has a body to die for, hourglass figure, tight ass, and selfless attitude, so she's given me everything I wanted. "There’s someone out there who will appreciate you."

"I don’t want someone else," she says.

"Well, I do. So get your shit together and deal with it. I have to go, Jessica. I have a call on the other line. Don’t ever call me again."

"Can’t we just be friends, then?"

"No Jessica. If you don’t stop calling me, I’m going to have your number blocked."

"You can’t do that to me!" she cries out.

"I can, Jess. And I will." It would be easy for someone of my stature to make it happen. I don't have to pull strings. I have people who pull strings for me. I hang up the phone before she says anything else. A great couple of nights in bed isn't worth all of this drama. Did she think she could guilt me into loving her?

I get up and walk to the bedroom, leaving my phone on the coffee table. I’ve had enough of people for one day.

In the bedroom, I strip off my clothes and put them in the hamper. Someone always comes to collect my laundry. I walk naked to the bathroom and turn on the shower. The spray is hot when I step under it, hitting my skin like thousands of pins and needles. I let it run through my hair and over my back and shoulders.

I think about Elanda, the kingdom where I grew up. I go back every Christmas to be with my family, but it isn't my home. Not even with me being the crown prince. I’ve been in schools and universities in New York all my life. I was given nothing but the best education, all in preparation for me taking over one day.

I'm next in line to take the throne. Most people would be excited about being king someday, but not me. I didn’t choose this path for my life. Through sheer luck, good or bad, I’ve been born into this. Nobody asked me what I wanted for my future, and nobody cared. It was probably better that they didn’t ask me. I would've told them to go fuck themselves.

How am I supposed to rule a kingdom I don't give a shit about? If my father wants me to love my homeland, he shouldn’t have sent me away for most of my life. Worse than that, my father wants me to settle down and produce an heir.

I don't want that life. Any of it. Not ruling, not marrying, not settling. Would I be forced into an arranged marriage, like something out of the Middle Ages? Would my father try to pair me up with German or French nobility? Anything could happen, and I have little to no choice in the matter.

Jessica was a pain in the ass on a good day. What would I do if every woman were like that? If that were the case, I'd rather be single for the rest of my life. I can't imagine sleeping with only one woman for the rest of my life, anyway. I'd be bored to death. My cock might actually shrivel up and die if I was stuck with one woman.

I'm a man, and I use my God-given talents to get what I want. I want women. A lot of them. I'm good at seducing them. I'm happy with who I am now. I don't want to have to give everything up.

Getting rid of someone like Jessica is the only benefit to taking my place as king. Commoners like her would never be allowed to even look at me, never mind speak to me.

But the price is too high. Freedom from a few complicated entanglements in exchange for eternal bondage? I can't do it. I'd rather deal with a hundred Jessica’s but still have my freedom, than give it all up and rule a country I’d never been able to relate to.

I can't count the number of women I’ve been with. I pick up a new one every weekend. I only go back to the same woman now and then, when they're particularly fun. But that doesn't happen very often.

And if Jessica was the result of going back, I'm not going to do that again any time soon.

No. I don't want to be a crown prince who's pure and innocent and put his country before himself. I want to be selfish and perverted. I'm good at it. Eventually, they would force me to take my place. I can only escape my fate for so long. But until then, I'm going to drink and fuck as much as I can.

If my life is ending soon, I want to make sure I really live. An image of Nicole drifts into my mind, with her dark hair and pale eyes. I want her to be part of my last hurrah.