Author's Note:
Hi, sorry its been so long since I last updated. 8 hours of dance and private lessons a week make it hard for me to find time to write, but I try to update as soon as I can. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Thanks to Sweetwaterspice for betaing my story, couldn't have done it without you. All rights belong to Kiera Cass.
Chapter 2
America's POV
When Maxon chose Kriss, I thought I had lost all of him, but a month later, I realized something…
I'm going to die, was the only thought in my head, for I was heaving the contents of my stomach into the toilet while holding it. "May, don't come in," I call out when I heard her twisting the doorknob.
"America, are you okay?" she whispers as she comes in anyways.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think it was something I ate," I replied back. I flush the toilet and stand up shakily. Heading over to the sink to rinse my mouth, I can feel May's eyes trained on me.
"Ok," I can see that she doesn't believe me, but she knows better than to press.
"Girls, come and hurry! Your breakfast is getting cold!" my mom calls us down.
Ever since I came back from the Selection, we've been able to live a better life. A better life means a happy May and a happy Gerard. A happy May and Gerard usually means a happy me, but this wasn't the case today.
"May…"
"Yes?"
"Don't tell mom that I was throwing up ok?" I plead. I felt guilty, but I needed her to not tell anyone. I hated myself for making my innocent sister keep a secret, but I was desperate.
"Fine," she promises reluctantly.
We got dressed quickly and make our way into the kitchen.
Sitting comfortably at the table was a handsome stranger with bright green eyes and dirty blonde hair that was slightly curled at the ends. For a moment, I stand at the bottom of the stairs in shock. He looks so much like Maxon; what's with all the cute people having similar face structures? I wondered.
I'm snapped back into reality when May snaps her fingers at me, and everyone is looking at me expectantly.
"What?" I ask. My face starts to flame from embarrassment. I can't believe I'm comparing a stranger to my ex-lover. I try in vain to hide my blush, and I glance away quickly before he catches me staring at him.
My mom facepalms and her cheeks are burning, that is NOT a good sign.
"Would you introduce yourself to Prince Connor of Italy?" she asks through clenched teeth.
"Oh! Hello, my name is America. Nice to meet you, Your Majesty," I stutter, but the curtsy that is programmed into my body comes out flawlessly. I slide gracefully out of my curtsy, that's one thing that proves my time at the palace wasn't a complete waste of time.
"Prince Connor of Italy," he replies with a slight accent and tries to bite back a smile. "I'm Nicoletta's brother, she's told me about you, and how much she wished you had won the Selection.
My cheeks flush and I try desperately to conceal them. Apparently, I didn't just disappoint myself, I also disappointed one of my best friends from the competition.
"I have a proposition for you tonight that I would like to discuss with you over dinner at a restaurant tonight. Would that be okay?" he asks.
I'm in shock, then indignant thoughts rush into my brain. Who does he think he is to ask me to dinner when I just met him? Then I remember, he's a prince, and they get what they want. I am curious to as what he wants, so I plan on accepting. My own mother beats me to accepting his offer.
"Of course, she can." my mother exclaims while giving me a "don't let me down look".
"Well, I guess that's settled then, I'll see you at 5:00pm," before he smiles and leaves.
"I don't get a choice in the matter do I?" I say to no one in particular.
"Nope," May says cheerfully. Oh May, I really hope that you don't think that I'm going to marry him after just knowing him for a day, do you? I think that since I'm going out to dinner, she gets to dress me up. She knows how rare the occasions are, so she cherishes every single one of them.
She grabs me by the hand after cleaning the dishes and drags me up to our room.
"So… do you think he's cute?" begins May.
She shuts the door and begins firing off questions at me. How am I supposed to answer this question? If I say yes, she will be all over me, if I say no, she'll ask me why and even more questions will be shot at me, so I try to evade the question with some light humor.
"Yes, no, maybe so?" I answer back. I try to dodge the question, but May has her sights set on receiving this answer.
"Hey! It's a yes or no question!"
"Then no," I reply jokingly before saying,"Yes" I sigh and blow my hair out of my face. Why are there so many things that remind me of my time with Maxon? Even blue rocks bring back memories of him. Now a stranger who looks like him? My world is in chaos, the only stable thing left is May, but she doesn't completely understand what it's like to have your heart shatter into microscopic pieces.
"I knew it! Will you marry him America?" she asks, more serious now.
"I don't know, May, my heart is still hurting." I honestly reply. "And I don't know him that well yet."
"I bet that Nicoletta be ecstatic if you became her sister-in-law." May quips back.
"Yeah, I know," I say halfheartedly. "How much did she discuss with Prince Connor while I was still upstairs?" I wondered. Did she tell him about what led Maxon to choose Kriss? Oh God, I really hope not.
"Do you know what you're going to wear on your date with Connor yet?" May asks, changing the topic.
"No," I sigh, "Why do I even have to go?"
The Selection just ended not so long ago, and May is already trying to set up dates for me. Can a broken heart really heal that fast? I know that Prince Connor is handsome, but he resembles Maxon so much.
"Well, we need to find something, and I call doing your hair and makeup!" she commands.
In the closet, we find several Selection dresses that Lucy, Anne, and Mary made me take home. "Ohh, how about this one?" May asks holding up a gorgeous light lavender dress with cap sleeves and an empire waist.
"Maybe," I reply back, staring at a creamy peach dress.
May follows my eyes and spots the dress, it was the one I wore to my 2nd date with Maxon. Thinking about it made my heart pound and my head ache.
"May, I want to wear this one," I say, gesturing to the one shouldered peach, ruffled dress.
"Are you sure?" she asks tentatively, for she knows the stories behind each dress.
"Yeah, it will show that I'm so over him, and I've moved on," I explain.
Just wearing the dress made me want to cry, knew I knew I had to stay strong. The paparazzi will be all over Connor and I tonight, for this is my first outside appearance since the Selection, so May made sure all eyes were on me.
A dramatic style change to my usual simple style, I was wearing the dress with a gold necklace, jewel encrusted bangles, and diamond earrings.
I felt ready to conquer the world with my bold smokey eye, and dark lipstick showing that I am stronger than ever before.
Prince Connor shows up at our door at 5:00 sharp with an armored limo and two bodyguards.
I spot the sleek black limo and the tinted windows not providing any insight as to what the limo contained. This was a bit overboard, I don't need a fancy car. He should know that he doesn't need to impress me.
Connor is wearing a crisp white dress shirt, black sports jacket, and a dark grey tie. His green eyes glimmer with sparks of excitement and his lips are pulled up into a slight smile. He looks cool, calm, and collected just as a prince should. I nervously adjust my dress and look down at the floor to prevent being caught staring again. My head is spinning from the amount of pent up nerves and from the close proximity of a hot human prince.
"Ready, Miss. Singer?" he questions. He stretches his hand out to me.
"Yes," I reply quietly as I demurely placed my hand in his outstretched one. I show no signs of nervousness from earlier. Maybe all that time at the palace wasn't a waste.
Walking to the limo with my hand grasped in a prince's while the paparazzi snapped away made me feel like a princess. Stifling a gasp as I felt a jolt run through me when I brushed my fingertips against his before grasping his hand. The only other person who I had that spark with was with Maxon and even that took time, but with Prince Connor, it was an immediate shock. The only other times I've truly felt like a princess were when Maxon would kiss me and tell me that he loved me, but with Connor, all he needed to do was hold my hand? I find myself yearning for Maxon, and if this is the best I can get, I'll take it. I can just pretend that Connor is Maxon.
Shaking my head in frustration, I tell myself, Maxon choose Kriss, get over it. He's not yours anymore.
I felt so confused, and when we reached the limo, a guard opened the door for us, and Connor smiled an award winning smile at the paparazzi before climbing in himself. Once the door was closed, Connor slumped down in his seat and sighed in relief.
"It's so exhausting!" he exclaims, running his hand through his hair.
"You didn't seem exhausted," I reply.
"I know, I've been trained to never look exhausted, only to feel it," he justifies to me.
I glance over at him, and he has his hands in his hair. He runs his fingers through it, messing up the sleek look he had before. Maxon did that too, I think to myself. I find myself staring at his face, picking out the features that resemble Maxon's. His eyes, although a different color, remind me of Maxon's, and his lips, they look so much like my old lover's- especially when he smiles that half smile.
As if he could read my mind, he turns around and pulls his lips up slowly to reveal the smile I had been daydreaming about. He smirks, and I quickly glance down. I was nervous and a bit embarrassed to being caught checking him out.
"So, Lady America, I hope you're a fan of seafood."
"Seafood? I love seafood!" I declare excitedly.
"Then you'll love this place."
The limo came to a stop as the restaurant, King of the Ocean, comes into view. Walking in, we are immediately ushered to a private dining room. Before we are escorted away, I was able to take in the dimly lit restaurant with soft, soothing music playing in the background. A high, arched, ceiling adorned with glass chandeliers hung above the wooden tables. It was a high-end, classy, and sleek place.
Connor and I are lead to a secluded room with huge, polished wooden doors. The host opens the doors and I step in. The feel of this room is slightly less energetic, but has a more romantic feel to it. The crystal chandelier hangs above an espresso wood table with a crisp, white tablecloth covering it. The table holds three candles of various heights, a wine glass, a champagne flute, a bowl placed on a china plate, and silverware to the right of the plate setting for each person. He pulls out my chair before seating himself across from me.
"Lady America," Connor begins, but I cut him off.
"Just America, no lady," I correct him for the sake of my sanity. I just can't stand it when people call me Lady or some other fancy title.
"Okay, America," he obliges, "Well, you look beautiful tonight, the dress is gorgeous."
"Thank you," I reply back just as our appetizer is served.
Fried shrimp skewers with parmesan cheese and a tangy dipping sauce. The jumbo shrimps were still slightly crackling from the oil was served to us on a delicate china plate.
The moment the plate lands on the table, I glance at Connor to check that he wasn't going to reach for one, I quickly, but delicately, reach for a skewer of shrimp. Once it was on my place, I slowly slide the shrimp off and bite into it.
I moaned in pleasure as Connor tried and failed to hide his laughter.
"What?" I mocked him jokingly, for I already knew why.
"You are just too funny, there's nobody at court quite like you. All the girls are stuck up and only want me for my crown even though Nicoletta is the to-be ruler," he answers back a bit wistfully.
"Ohh," was the only reply I could come up with.
Connor took a bite of his shrimp and swallowed before saying, "America, I have a proposition for you…"
Please tell me what you think, and the link for a picture of America's dress is included below. Thanks for reading!
America's Dress: _