"You can get vodka for seven pounds? – I love this shop, what is it called again?"
"Tesco."
"Ah, Tesco," Eleanor sighed, rings clinking against the bottle as her fingers danced across the glass of the bottles on the shelf. It didn't take Jasper long to react, and he was soon reaching up to pull her hand away; there was no way he was going to deal with a drunk, devastated, egotistical princess tonight. If she seemed okay later, then she could maybe have one drink, but that was his limit. The Princess had made a beeline straight for the alcohol aisle, but he was quick to move her out of there and into a safer aisle, "Grab those sausages, we can have them for breakfast. Better than cold takeout," he said, voice as calm and monotone as ever.
Eleanor picked up the packet, throwing it from hand to hand as she made her way back to the trolley, chucking it in before making her way over to stand beside the male. "Tell me, Jasper, do you always get this much attention from desperate slags when you go shopping?" The volume of her voice had him cocking a brow, soon looking up to see a gaggle of women hovering by the salad bar, "Stop talking, you're drawing attention to yourself." Blatantly ignoring the attention he was receiving, he went back to finding a packet of bacon that had an expiry date of more than three days.
The Princess narrowed her eyes at the other, clearly annoyed that he wasn't trying to get rid of the attention, "What are you doing? Why do you just let them stare at you like that?"
"Calm down, princess, it's not a big deal. I had to stand there countless times where you flirted with every man in the room, though we both know it was to annoy me, so you can deal with the occasional woman giving me a second glance, alright?"
With a roll of her eyes, Eleanor continued to stalk down the aisle, heels making a repetitive clicking sound as they met the polished floors; she soon returned to the trolley with an armful of items. Bread, cakes and any other baked goods they offered here. The closest the princess had come to being in a store like this, was the local cheese shop in Cambridge. Jasper didn't protest as she dumped the things into the trolley, he would much rather she ate her feelings than snorted them.
It didn't take them long to get around the rest of the store, no one seemed to recognize her, even when she whipped off her sunglasses and draped herself in several £7.99 scarves only to snap several selfies. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was blatantly ignoring what was going on in her life, Jasper knew that she was doing anything to distract herself from both the situation with her father and Robert. He was just waiting for the inevitable crash, the moment it all got too heavy for her to carry. When it happened, and it would, he wasn't sure what he would do. Holding her as she cried seemed too out of his character, had they started this relationship, or whatever it was, differently, he could maybe have comforted her the way he wanted to. Hold her steady against his chest and let her cry it out.
That wouldn't happen though, it couldn't; not unless he, himself, let his guard down and openly showed her how much he indeed cared. Because he did, more than anything he wanted his Eleanor back, back the way she was before her father was stabbed. Carefree, wild, smart-mouthed brat, but that was the way he had grown to like her, this was a whole different realm, and he was trying to adjust.
Of course the Princess didn't have any money on her, not that Jasper would have let her pay any way; even though ninety percent of the time he was an asshole and he knew it, he could at times be a gentleman.
With his car packed full of their shopping, he was making his way back out onto the road when he noticed Eleanor staring at him; momentarily distracted, he missed his chance to pull out, scowling at her in response. "What are you doing?" He asked, making his break for it and pulling out onto the road. "Nothing, why?" She responded, innocence lacing her words, fingers fiddling with the lock button. "You're staring at me, what's your problem?" Scoffing at the accusatory tone, the brunette reached out a hand, dragging a finger down along his jaw, "Is there a reason you've been growing this stubble so much longer? Does my mother like the way it feels between her thighs?"
Green eyes focused in on his knuckles, which had turned white as his grip had tightened around the wheel; he thought she wasn't going to bring it up again, but apparently that was merely wishful thinking. "I thought I told you to drop it, Princess," Jasper responded, keeping his eyes firmly on the road.
"Did you enjoy it?"
"For fucks sake," he growled, hitting the hell of his hand against the side of the wheel, "I told you I was sorry, okay? What was I supposed to do? I couldn't let the truth get out, and this way I kept my job and I stayed near you."
"Do you know how twisted that is? That you slept with my mother to be near me?"
He knew that Eleanor was probably taking all her frustration out on him at this stage, but he was angry at himself for not thinking of a better way. "Why are you so wound up about it? We weren't in a relationship, you left me with your little friend; I took that as a sign that you were done with whatever we were. The Queen was just a tool for me to keep my job, you made it clear you were finished with me. Hence you telling your friend to sleep with me."
"You slept with her as well?"
"You left! Without a word and she was, well a little easy, but she was somewhat attractive. What did you expect me to do? Sit by the phone, yearning after a girl who had just run off to Monaco? You fucked me over, so I did the same to you. Requested a transfer so I could still watch over you but wouldn't have to be by your side every minute of the day."
"I can't believe you slept with her! Watch over me?"
"Yes, watch over you, like I've been doing ever since I started this goddamn job!"
"What does that even mean?"
"Nothing just shut up for the rest of the drive."
Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, they really keep me motivated to keep posting chapters frequently.
Follow me on Twitter for updates, to give me ideas or feedback, to ask questions and to get previews of the next chapter.
Twitter: /chxwingtobacco