Oh, I really want that one…but it’s not on the Happy Hour menu.” I frown, then order the drink that’s cheaper.

“One day,” Maggie says, her voice loud. The bar is filled with corporate types who work in the Obsidian Tower and wear clothing that costs more than I pay in rent each month. Even in my best black dress, which I’ve had since my sophomore year of college, I’m way, way underdressed. “One day, when I graduate and am making all the fucking money with my MBA, I will buy all the drinks and buy all your art so that you’re fabulously wealthy, too!”

“I love you for that, you know,” I say, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand. The thing is, I know she will. Maggie is the biggest champion for anyone she loves. And for some crazy reason, she’s my best friend and she loves me.

“Only the best for you, my dear. Only the best! Now tell me about Gabriel! Has he kissed you yet?”

I take a long drink of my cocktail, then look the other way.

“You minx! I knew it!” Maggie leans over, an eager smile on her face. “You must tell me all, and I mean all, the details.”

A warm rush runs through me as I remember being in his arms and kissing him.

“It was after the dance class…”

“I knew it! You look all floaty and dreamy right now. That must have been some kiss!”

“Yeah,” I sigh, “it was. And, as I’ll have you know, I kissed him back. I wanted him more than anything – and you know I’m not like that. But it was…it was like something took over my body and my senses, and I flirted with him and…”

“And you just said yes.” Maggie raises her glass up to me in a toast. “Here’s to you. I hope you get some…extra work benefits with this gig.”

“If only,” I clink my glass with hers and look away. “I mean, it felt good. Really, really good. Like you know how I told you about sculpting clay and the wonder of shaping something with your hands? It was like that, like he knew just how to touch me.”

“Dayum, Sophie. You absolutely need to have a fling with this Gabriel. You’ve never been like this about a guy, ever.”

“I don’t know. I think I’d feel funny. I mean, he has such a playboy reputation. You know how I am and how I feel about guys like that.

Maggie snorts with laughter, her blonde curls bouncing every which way.

“Sorry, but that is exactly the reason you should fuck him! Because he’ll be gone soon and he’ll be easy to forget.”

“I suppose.” I can’t admit it to Maggie, yet, but something about Gabriel pulls me to him. As much as she thinks he’d be easy to forget, I don’t think so.

I look down at my drink and discover it’s empty. Shit. I shouldn’t buy another one…but dammit, I need something to take the edge off.

“What’s not funny, though, is that you’re charging him a fortune to be a date for this gala gig. That’s awesome!”

“That’s true. It’s going to pay for the trip, the Accademia, and there will be plenty of money left over. I’ll even be able to afford to travel around a little, which will be amazing because I visit more museums and see the originals of all the paintings I’ve been studying all these years. I really can’t believe it!”

The money from this thing with Gabriel will be life changing. I’ll be able to attend the program I want, and not be in massive debt, plus it will give me a cushion for when I come back, so that I can work on building my brand and selling my art. Though there is a tiny voice in my head that thinks this deal is weird and a little shady, like I’m taking advantage of him.

Yet attending the Accademia will be a crowning achievement in my education and training. They only accept five students per year, out of the hundreds that apply. Even if I end up having to teach, instead of being a working artist, the sacrifices I’ve made to go to the Accademia will be so worth it.

“Do you think he likes you?” Maggie’s eyes drill into me. I think she suspects that I have a crush on him, though I’ve tried hard to hide just how much of a crush I have.

“Hardly,” I say, thankful for a distraction from the group of rowdy bankers at the next table. “I’m just some little employee he’s hired to do a job he needs done. Besides, me? And a prince? Are you out of your mind? One, all princesses are underfed stick figures; two, I don’t believe in rags-to-riches stories.”

“I think the lady doth protest too much,” Maggie laughs.

I shift in my seat. I think back to the dance class and our kiss, and my body heat rises. His kiss… It was the perfect amount of him teasing me and leading the kiss and letting me kiss him, too. I was so sexually keyed up after I left the dance studio…

“Besides,” she continues, draining her glass of wine. “Of course he’s hot for you. You’re a babe!”

There was definitely…something happening between us when we danced. It was intoxicating to be in his arms, feel his muscles ripple as we danced. And the way he touched me after the instructor left? It was pretty damn clear he had some other dancing in mind – and I didn’t want to say no! But he has a reputation as a total playboy, sleeping with any pretty girl who crosses his path, his every move and piece of arm candy documented in great deal by the tabloids. Ugh. He may be sexy as hell, but he’s so not my type!

I look down at my body and sigh again. I don’t know how Maggie thinks that I’m his type. It’s not that I hate my body, but more that it never seems to be fashionable to look like an actual woman, with curves and softness. “And, I don’t want to be just another conquest. I don’t give a damn if he’s a prince!”

“Yeah, sure.” Maggie stares at me with her blue eyes, like she knows that I’ve been fantasizing about Gabriel. “You should totally bang him!”

“Yell it louder, why don’t you?” I slump in my seat and glance around our table. Maggie makes fun of me for not sleeping around, but I can’t help it. It’s just never been my style. I know it sounds old fashioned, but I don’t understand the appeal of sleeping around. Besides, I don’t feel confident enough to just reveal my body to any old guy.

“Ah, Sophie, no one cares. Any girl would give their right arm to bang a prince!”

I scowl at her, then grab my beeping phone from my purse.

“Oooh, it must be him! The way your face just lit up!” Maggie laughs.

“I…yeah. It’s him.”

“What does he want? Whisk you away to Paris for the weekend? Ply you with champagne and caviar, take you on a private tour of the Musee D’Orsay?”

“Ha! I wish. No,” I look back at his message. “He’s just confirming I’ll be at our next dance lesson.”

“Does he have any prince friends visiting him? You two could set me up. I’d get to fuck a prince and we could finally double date!”

“You’re terrible,” I tease, though I smile at her and laugh with her.

“How’s the painting going?

“Oh, I can talk about something not-Gabriel now?” I tease Maggie and laugh when she rolls her eyes at me. “It’s going well, though I need to get some gold leaf and that’s massively expensive. I’m trying to figure out if I can fake the effect with some gold paint and shellac or something.”

“Sophie.” Maggie shakes her head and looks at me like I’m a third grader. “Why not just buy it? You’re about to have a fat, fat paycheck from Prince Hottie. There will be plenty of money leftover after you pay for the Accademia, so why not? You can do just about anything with a hundred grand!”

I swirl the ice cubes in my glass and think about this. “I guess you’re right. I’m just so used to being so frugal, I haven’t even thought about that.”

“Of course I’m right!” Maggie’s smile is dazzling. I’m going to miss her so much when I’m gone. She’s been my best friend for years and it feels like life is balanced when we’re together. I’ve never met anyone else I feel like I can trust the way I trust her.

“I do feel weird taking his money, though. I mean, yeah, it will take me to the Accademia and give me a better shot at being a working artist, instead of having to teach bored high school kids with no passion about art.”

“See, and there you go. You’re making the right decision. I’m not even sure why you’re still working at the coffee shop! Can’t you just get an advance and tell our boss to take a hike?”

“If only! One day, Maggie, one day. One day we’ll both tell him to take a hike!”

At home, my mind is buzzy with alcohol and the pleasure of an evening off with my best friend. I look at the easel holding the painting I’m working on, the urge to squeeze in a little work before bed nagging at me.

A cold breeze comes in through my open window and I rub my arm. The dance class comes rushing back to me, Gabriel’s strong body, the way my body felt when he touched me in a very not-waltzing kind of way.

I strip off my clothes and slide between the threadbare sheets on my bed. Licking my fingers, I pinch and pull at my nipples, gasping as I imagine Gabriel’s mouth is sucking at my breasts. My back arches and my body shudders, my senses coming alive and my mind imaging Gabriel’s strong body moving over mine, with mine. I slide my other hand between my legs, my fingers sliding through my wetness as I massage my clit.

My orgasm comes fast and powerful, and I turn my head into my pillow, pretending it’s Gabriel’s body and that he’s wrapping his arms around me, holding me as my orgasm pulses and rockets through my body, holding me when I feel so exposed and raw.

I know I shouldn’t, but I want Gabriel. I want to know how he would touch me, what it would be like to do more than kiss him.

I want Gabriel.