I almost gasped.

Tell him about myself?! What did he want to know about me? What should I tell him?! Oh, this was such a dilemma. I was about to give Royce his first impression of me. I better choose my words carefully.

"What would you like to know about me?", I tried to make the words come out in as seductive a tone as I could without sounding like an idiot.

He chuckled. "Well, how old are you?", he asked curiously.

Oh, dear God. I never thought about the age difference. He was at least 23. I was a mere child to him. I took a deep breath, hoping that age wasn't a big deal to him.

"I'm eighteen.", I tried to hide the apprehension in my voice. "What about you?"

"Actually, I'm 19", he said, delighted."We are closer in age than I thought!"

I quickly caught myself before I gave a loud sigh of relief.

That's when our dinner came. A young woman was holding a matchbox, wallking next to a man who was holding two covered plates. My mouth watered from the delicious scent that was emanating from beneath the silver lid on the plate. The young woman lit a candle, and the man set the two plates before us, and then lifted the cover. They left the room in unison, and the woman dimmed the lights as she walked out.

He didn't ask me anything else about myself.

Dinner went well. We both conversed as we ate, having a good time. When we were both finished eating, Royce got up, and helped me out of my chair.

"Would you like a walk in the garden, Rosalie?", he offered.

"Of course, Royce. I would love to see your garden."

I was starting to feel a lot more comfortable and familiar around Royce, even though I've only spent an hour with him so far. He led me outside, and we walked around the huge manor into a large garden. There was a pebble-paved path among the rows of colorful petunias and tulips. My mouth hung slightly open in awe. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smile as he noticed my liking for this garden. We strolled through the lines of vibrant flowers, walked along the gates on which where the twisted rose vines thrived. He didn't say a word during our walk, nor did I. We finally stopped in front of the large swimming pool he had.

He let out a long sigh.

'Oh no', I thought. The silent walk, the deep sigh...It all led up to this. He was going to tell me that I wasn't good enough for him, only he would be polite... I gathered up all my strength, prepared for what I was about to hear.

"Rose, I really, really like you.", his expression was very serious. "And I really hope that you feel the same way about me. Do you?"

I almost gasped in surprise, hearing the exact opposite to the words I expected.

"Y-yes, Royce." I sucked in a lungful of air."I do like you."

He smiled, and I couldn't help feeling the seductiveness that he put into the smile. My heart melted. Before I knew what was happening, our faces were inching closer together. I felt a sudden pang of anxiety, because I knew what was coming.

I sat in Royce's limousine as his chauffer escorted me back home. It was like my mind was frozen on one thought, the thought of the kiss that I had just experienced. I was definitely in a state of shock, incapable of finding my senses. When the driver pulled up to my house, I got out, unable to even mutter a word of thanks to him. I absently walked through the front door, barely hearing my mother ask "How did it go?", and I floated up to my bedroom. I stood in front of my bed, looking into the mirror at the face of the girl who Royce King the Second had just kissed, trying to take it all in. And all of a sudden, I was falling back on to my bed, with an exasperated breath, fainted.