Chapter 25 – Jesse Flynn
Jesse loved firsts but also lasts. And this week, Nathan and Valerian were going on their last first dates. After that, everything would be different. The lists would get shorter, the dates would get deeper, and love would maybe bloom. Right?
Silas was keeping to his office, claiming he had work to do. And after further investigation, he did have work to do: the Queen was making him look over budgets and reports of various kinds. Jesse thought it was extremely boring, and he was glad he was not walking in the Crown Prince's shoes – they'd be way too big for him, anyway.
No, Jesse was content to do his own job, and right now he was at the top of his career, third-wheeling Prince Nathan on one of his dates – his last first date – with Pallas Ramirez, the Socialite who was planning on doing an MBA, and who had finished third in the public polls.
To everyone's surprise – yes, even Jesse's – the two of them had decided to try out camping in the palace gardens. That was the last thing everyone had expected of them, but there they were, grilling sausages over a small campfire, sitting on fancy cushions, with a big tent behind them. Of course, it wasn't the tiny tent that was ready in 2 seconds. No, it was one of those fancy tents the footmen had taken hours to put up. There were strings of lightbulbs, thanks to Sydney, and piles of fancy camping food.
Jesse, who hated camping above all else because he valued his comfort too much, could actually start liking camping if it was always like this. Nathan and Pallas were not just under the windows of everyone else in the Palace; the Prince had chosen a cozy spot far from the building, and just bordering trees. Fireflies flew lazily above them, and the stars had already started to come out.
Being the official third-wheel of the Selection, Jesse was listening to their conversation while taking pictures of the couple.
"Are you kidding?" Pallas said. "Marvel is way better than DC."
"But have you seen The Dark Knight?" Nathan countered. "It's like number three on the top 100 movies ever made."
"Fourth, actually," Jesse said.
"Same thing." Nathan looked at Pallas with a smirk. He took out his phone and typed something in it, then scrolled and scrolled, and scrolled some more. "Ah, there it is," he said, showing her something on the screen. "The first Marvel to appear in the top 100 list is Avengers: Endgame, 48th on the list."
"Still in the upper half," she retorted.
Nathan continued scrolling. "There are only two Marvels on that list." He paused. "And only two DC movies, as well." The prince put his phone away and picked up the stick with the marshmallow he had been working on cooking. "Anyways," he said. "The three original Star Wars movies are on that top 100 list, so there."
Pallas laughed and rolled her eyes. "Are we going there again?"
"Why not?" He tentatively made a S'more without burning himself, his brows scrunched in concentration. "It's unquestionably the best movies in the world."
Pallas sighed, but she laughed. "If you say so, your Royal Highness."
"Oh, don't you Royal Highness me, Pallas," Nathan said. "We've known each other for way too long for you to do that." He bit into the S'more but yelped as the burning hot candy burned his tongue, which made Pallas laugh. She gave him a bottle of water to drink, to help cool off his mouth. "We can talk of something else if you want," he finally said when his tongue was not numb from the burn anymore.
Pallas laughed. "You'd do that for me?"
Jesse noticed the teasing tone in her voice and as much as he wanted to stay to listen to more of them – because he had to admit that they were super cute together, bantering and all – he had already been with them for almost two hours. It was time for him to leave them alone.
"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen," Jesse said, standing up from the log and putting the camera strap around his neck. "It's time for me to go. Have a nice evening." He did a little flurry of a bow.
"Already?" Nathan asked. "Oh well, 'night Jesse!"
"Goodnight!" Pallas added, too. She waved at him and Jesse walked away.
They stared at the crackling fire in front of them for a moment, letting their umpteenth marshmallow cook over the fire. They were sitting on mountains of pillows with blankets at hand in case it got a little chillier, and Pallas was leaning on Nathan with his arm around her.
"Is it weird for you to have Jesse third-wheeling all of your dates?"
He shrugged. "I don't really mind, most of the time. I'd do the same thing if I were in his position."
"Hmm, true." Pallas chuckled softly, thinking of something. "I was number three on the public polls…" she trailed off. "How far up or down am I on your favorite list?"
Nathan laughed. "Wouldn't you want to know, you sneaky lady..."
"You're my favorite of the princes," she said with a smirk.
"Is that so?" he asked, surprised. "From what I understood, I'm not everyone's favorite in the Selection."
"Hm, I wonder why?" she asked, sarcasm tinting her voice.
"I'm too hot for them," he said. "They can't handle me."
Pallas laughed. "It's their loss. If they can't handle you at your best, they don't deserve you ever."
Nathan didn't reply right away. "You know, this is one of the nicest things a Selected has ever said to me…" He trailed off, thinking. "I'm really your favorite?" he asked again.
Pallas stood up straight, pushing herself away from Nathan to look at him in the eyes. Hers were a golden color with the fire dancing in them, while his were a pool of blue water with golden flecks, too. "Why would I lie to you?" she said softly. "I've always preferred you over your brothers, ever since we were kids." She paused. "You were always the funniest, the one I could be myself with, and the one who always understood me best."
Nathan really wasn't expecting such a declaration, especially since he hadn't even recognized her when her name was pulled out, and not even until she had introduced herself. Granted, they hadn't seen each other for years, but still. He had felt like such a fool, back then, but now? Could he really believe her? Or was she just saying that because they were on a date? And she was his "last" date of the first round, so she was securing her spot in the Selection.
"You're just saying that," he said, waving away what she just said and looking back into the fire.
"No, Nate, look at me." She waited for him to look at her again. And when he finally did, she continued: "Yes, people say you're heartless, I've seen the tabloids just like everyone else. But they don't know you like we do– like I do." She paused and searched his eyes. "We've spent hours when we were kids, playing together and watching Star Wars movies. And I've watched you going on dates during the Selection: you care for the people around you, even if you won't admit it."
Nathan shook his head and snorted. "I don't."
"See? You're doing it again."
"What?"
"You're degrading yourself, being the person people say you are." Pallas sighed and tried to find the right words. "You might be an experienced playboy, but you're also a kind and caring man." She reached his face with her fingers, cupping his cheek in her warm hand. "And whoever you fall in love with will be very lucky."
Again, Nathan snorted and pulled his face away. "Love." He air-quoted that word with as much sarcasm as he could muster. "It's not for everyone, you know?"
"You'd be surprised." She offered him a soft smile before reaching out to grab a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Have you ever fallen in love?" he asked, surprising himself. That was not a conversation he liked to have.
"No." She looked at the stars above them, not realizing that Nathan was looking at her. "I dated boys here and there, but nothing serious." She paused. "Love takes time. And trust." Pallas snuggled into the blanket a bit more. "Sex doesn't mean the other person loves you."
"I'm well aware of that, thank you very much" Nathan replied.
"Then why do you do it?" she asked. "Sleeping around with so many different women. What does it bring you?"
Nathan shrugged. "A physical need to fulfill, I guess?" He poked the embers of the fire with a stick and flames came back to life. He put a new piece of wood in the fire. "It's like a drug." He paused. "Have you ever been addicted to something before?" Nathan looked at the blonde woman next to her. He was baring his soul to her, and it felt odd: he had never done that before. But for some reason, he didn't feel judged by her. He was glad Jesse was gone: he had made the middle prince the 'bad guy of the Selection' and Nathan felt like he needed to play the part.
"Does ice cream count?" she asked with a smirk, and both laughed. "But other than that, no. I don't think I've been addicted to anything. I hope so."
"I really hope you don't," he said. "To need something you know is not really good for you is painful. I–" Nathan sighed. "I haven't had as much sex during the Selection as in the few months before." He poked the embers more. "I feel so filthy, you know? Like I need to have sex, but I can't just knock on any door and demand it. I have rules. But I don't want to give the girls hope just because they shared my bed." Nathan looked at Pallas again, and she saw anguish and pain in his blue eyes. "I just need to do it. And I've been going around with the maids so I wouldn't tarnish more of the girls in the Selection." He paused again. "Pallas, I don't know how to stop."
Pallas took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She took one of his hands in his and tried to offer him a supportive smile. "Thank you for telling me." She paused, searching for the right words, again, because that was not how she had envisioned her first official date with the Prince to go. "What about replacing sex with something else? Each time you have an urge, you do the other thing?"
"Like what?"
"I mean, I'm no therapist, but what about ice cream? I'm always down for ice cream."
Nathan snorted. "I'm gonna get fat if I do that."
"Smoke, then?"
"I'm already gonna die of lung cancer before I reach 35 years old."
"Run?"
"Ice cream it is," he said, repulsed at the idea of running.
Pallas laughed. "You can always come knock on my door for a late-night ice cream snack if you want. But if we do this, we might need to run, too. We are going to get fat."
"We?"
"I can do this with you," she said. "I'd be someone you'd have to be accountable to, you know?" She tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear: a light wind had picked up, and it was making her hair fly in every direction.
"Deal," he said, holding out his hand.
"Deal," she replied, shaking on it.
"Do you have ice cream around, right now?" he asked, a deep red color filling his cheeks, but she didn't notice, thanks to the darkness.
"Not right here," she said. "But I can run to the kitchen to get us some if you want…"
"Nah, it's fine." He sighed deeply and stared at the fire, his knees pulled up against his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. They were both silent for a long moment, and then Nathan stretched out his legs and leaned on his hands. Pallas put a small pillow on his lap and rested her head there, looking at the dying fire and wrapping herself in the blanket. Nathan smiled as he looked at the kind girl laying down in his lap. He brushed her hair away from her face with his fingers – gosh, they were so soft! – and they let the night sounds envelope them: the crackling embers of the fire, the crickets singing to the stars, the dancing tree branches, the gurgling water of the fountain, and so on. It was peaceful. And for the first time in a long time, Nathan was able to push back his need and just enjoy the moment with Pallas.
When the air became too chilly and the fire didn't give them any warmth anymore, they went in the tent and cuddled on the queen-size mattress the servants had brought in the tent, along with a mountain of pillows and blanket.
Nothing happened between them, and Pallas promised him some ice cream the next day. Nathan accepted and they fell asleep. That was a first Jesse would not know about: the first time Nathan spent the night in the same bed as a woman but didn't have sex. A big accomplishment for the Prince, if he had to say so himself.
-o-0-o-
On Thursday morning, the Selected went to their last lesson of the week, and Jesse was able to catch up on some editing in his makeshift office with Otis while Sydney was with the girls. The pictures of Nathan's date with Pallas looked really good in the glow of the fire, and he added them to the weekly recap video for the next day on the Report.
He was completely lost in his own thoughts with loud music in his ears and jumped almost a foot high when Otis touched his shoulder.
"Lunchtime, Jesse."
"Jeeze, you scared me." He took off his headphones, saved his editing work before closing his laptop, and then followed his friend out of the office and down the hall. "Three more weeks until National Day," he said. "I wonder what Nevaeh is going to do."
"Actually, the Selected are gonna organize the event," Otis said. "They've been working on it for a couple of days." He paused and slipped his phone into his pocket. "Nevaeh is going to choose 3 among the projects, and then the winners will pitch their ideas in front of the Queen, the Prince consort, the three princes, and the other girls."
"Oh wow," Jesse said. "That's something big. We need to have that on camera."
"Yup."
They stepped into the dining room and went to their seats among the girls. They chatted with the selected about their projects, and the ones they heard had really interesting ideas. He couldn't wait to see which project was going to be chosen. He was surprised Nevaeh wasn't giving them that much time, but then again, a Queen Consort or a Princess needed to be able to organize an event in a small amount of time, sometimes.
When dessert arrived, everyone was happy to have ice cream and macarons. Jesse saw from the corner of his eye Valerian standing up and making his way to the girl's table. He quickly took out his phone to film whatever was going to happen. And oh, boy, was it a good idea.
The prince kneeled next to Odessa. "Odessa, would you like to go on a date with me, this afternoon?"
The dark-haired girl beamed. "I'd love to."
"Great! Uhm, wear something comfortable, we're going on a small hike if that's okay with you…"
"That's perfect," she replied, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She smiled brightly at him.
"Is that you last 'first date', Val?" Jesse asked, still filming.
"Yes." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Finally!"
"And tomorrow's the Report," Jesse said, his phone still filming. "Are you going to eliminate someone?"
Valerian looked around him: all the girls were looking at him and listening. Was he going to spill who was going to be eliminated the next day? "Actually, we're all going to eliminate one selected from each list," he said. "But I can't tell you who, since we're probably going to discuss that this evening…"
The girls started whispering to one another, already making assumptions about who was going to be eliminated.
"But until then," Valerian said, "please continue to enjoy your time here." He looked at Odessa. "Can you be ready around 2:30 p.m.? We can meet up in the main hall."
"Of course!"
Valerian grinned and then walked away, back to his seat. The Queen officially ended the meal and everyone was free to go. Jesse quickly caught up with Sydney and Otis, telling them that he was going to go third-wheeling with Valerian and Odessa, that Sydney could cover whatever was happening at the Palace during his absence, and that Otis should finish the editing for the Report; he would add that day's date later this evening to the recap video.
Both his friends/employees nodded and went to work. If Val and Odessa were going on a hike, he better be ready as well and change into some more comfortable clothes and shoes.
Ten minutes before the appointed time, Jesse was ready in the main hall, waiting for the prince and his date. He wanted to get the whole thing – from beginning to end – on camera since it was Val's last first date. After that, it would be a whole new cycle.
The first person to come down was Odessa. She was wearing a pair of soft blue high waist flowy pants with a striped pattern, and a lace top tucked into them. She was also wearing some sneakers and a large-rimmed hat. Nevaeh would probably say that the whole ensemble was a little off for a hiking date, but Jesse thought she looked absolutely gorgeous and natural.
"Hi, Jesse," she said with a smile. She took out some sunglasses from her small handbag. "Valerian's not here yet?"
"Nope, but you're a bit early," he replied. He held his phone up and started filming. "So, what does it feel like to be going on your third 'first date'? Who's your favorite prince so far?"
Odessa rolled her eyes. Well, Jesse couldn't see her eyes behind her dark glasses, but he knew body language. And how her head went to the side betrayed it as well. "Out of the two others, I do prefer Silas," she finally replied. "But I know I'm going to prefer Valerian after this date."
"Is that so?" a familiar voice said behind her, with a grin. "Do you really mean that?"
Odessa turned around to see Valerian standing right behind her and her cheeks turned red. She tucked some hair behind her ear.
"Yes, I do."
Valerian smirked and Jesse was so glad he had that little moment on camera. He would keep it for later: he was trying to capture little moments like this for the final edit of the Selection. Whoever Valerian, Nathan, and Silas were going to end up with, he could re-create a story revolving around only them. He didn't use all the footage he took and stored most of them in files on his computer with the Selected's names, in alphabetical order, thank you very much.
"In that case, Odessa," Valerian said, "let's go on that date." He offered her his hand which Odessa took.
"You know, I do prefer when people call me Essie," she said, following him to the garage. And like Eve, she was surprised to see the little green car in the middle of the others, and that it belonged to Valerian.
He laughed. "It never gets old," he said. "Why is everyone surprised to see me with this car?"
"Maybe because people imagine a prince being driven around by a chauffeur," Essie said. "Or at least with a fancy Porsche or something."
"Pfft. Way too expensive." He opened the driver's door and slid inside. He waited for Jesse and Odessa to come in as well. "Besides, this is much easier to drive than a fancy car, and– oh, I gave her a name, too!"
Essie laughed. "Let me guess… Flash?"
"No!" Valerian laughed, as well as he reversed the car out of the garage.
"Froggie? Alien? Succulent!"
"Nope, nope, and nope," Valerian said grinning, but still focusing on the road.
"Then tell me," Odessa said. "I'm not going to find the name, anyway."
"I'll give you a clue." Val looked at her sideways and then put his blinker on to turn left outside the palace grounds. "It's the name of a plant."
"Not succulent, though," the New Asian girl said. "Grass? Daisy? Oh, please, is it Daisy?"
"No…" He smiled at the idea. "But I do like that name. Why didn't I think of it? It'll be her second name, then. From now on, my baby will be named Clover Daisy."
Jesse wanted to facepalm in the back of the car. What the hell was happening? But then again, these two were cuteness impersonated. I mean, who could be softer and cuter than them, right now? Besides a kitten playing on a king-size bed, but that was beside the point.
Fifteen minutes later, they were completely out of town and starting to drive up the mountain. Jesse had never come through there, but then again, he was not the hiking type of person. More like the indoors-at-his-desk or outside-interviewing-something kind of guy. He literally had no idea where he was.
With a backpack secured on his shoulders, Valerian and Odessa started up the trail that would lead them to the famous Hollywood sign and they just started walking and talking. Odessa stopped from time to time to pick flowers on the side of the path. They seemed to be very used to hiking, both of them, but Jesse was slowly lagging behind.
He tried to push forward, but it only ended in him gasping for air and almost doing an asthma attack. He had to sit down in the grass and slow his breathing. Of course, the prince and his date didn't even notice since they were ignoring him the whole time. Not that they had been doing that on purpose, but it just happened: they were so engrossed into their conversation, which Jesse didn't hear a word of, by the way. He just sat there, on the ground, catching his breath and looking over the city. Thank goodness no one recognized him under his baseball cap, sunglasses, and shorts, and t-shirt…
"Jesse, are you okay?" Valerian asked him, crouching down next to him. "How long have you been sitting here?"
Jesse cringed inside. So they had noticed he wasn't following anymore. "I'm good," he said. "I just needed a small break." He flashed them a smiled and jumped back to his feet. "So are we going or not?"
Odessa and Valerian exchanged a glance, but then shrugged and all three of them started up the trail again. Jesse noticed that Odessa was not only making a bouquet but that she was creating a delicate flower crown with some of the small white flowers she was picking along the way. How one could hike, talk, and make something so delicate at the same time was beyond his comprehension. He could barely walk and breathe at the same time!
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally made it to the top, a few minutes after Val and Odessa, who were already sitting on a blanket on the grass, eating snacks, and still making flower crowns. Well, Odessa was. Valerian had the first one she had done on his head, and he looked completely otherworldly. How was it that Val could be a merman or a flower boy, and he was killing it all the same? Jesse snapped pictures of them and then took some steps away from them too take a picture of the couple with the backward Hollywood sign in front of them, as well as the city below and the sun slowly going down on the horizon.
After taking all the pictures he could from different angles, Jesse went to sit on the hood of the car. While he sorted through his pictures, he saw Val and Odessa just talking and laughing about God knew what. And now that he'd seen Valerian with all the girls on his list, he honestly couldn't tell who was the boy's favorites. But if he had to choose one girl for the prince, it would either be Malia, Ashia, Eve, or Odessa. And if he ended up with someone else than these four, then he really needed to get himself some glasses. Because he was pretty sure there were sparks, there.
Right?
Hewwo, I hope you enjoyed this "little" chapter! What did you think of these last two first dates? And of Nathan's confession? And Val killing it at being a merman and a flower boy? ;)
The "National Day" projects are still open for "submission" if you want (deadline is Oct 15, just let me know if' you're planning on doing something), but if you don't want to do it, it's totally fine, too ;)
also, there may be a Blog Article by Jesse on Saturday, so stay tuned! (just maybe not at the regular hour... probably later in the day)
see you soon! byeee
ps: also, we're almost at 300 reviews, guys! thank you so much for you support ;)
