Alexandra's POV
Prince Alexander of France...I hate to say it but I'm starting to like him. I completely underestimated him and was utterly biased. He's not so bad once I got to know him the past two weeks. He attempted to comfort me when I found out about Matthew's heart condition, but he's one of those guys that don't quite know what to say in those moments. So he just took me horseback riding that day.
The knock comes at my door at precisely four forty-seven. Alexander knows I wake up at four thirty to study and learn more languages (I'm working on Sanskrit at the moment). I open the door to him and he smiles.
"Good morning," he says.
"Bonjour," I reply.
"How's the Sanskrit?" he asks, walking inside.
"It was okay until I started trying to find the sentence's anagram equivalents then translating it back to English."
He gets a laugh out of that one. "That's funny."
"I find no humor in it," I say dully, though in truth, I'm just trying to conceal my amusement.
"Do you want to take a walk?" he says.
"Outside?" I ask.
"No, just here in the palace. I'm curious to see how this bustling place looks like when it's empty."
I shrug but get my robe. "It's not too exciting, but okay."
He holds out his arm and I take it. "I don't think I've given you an official tour," I say, making our way silently down the sleek marble floors.
Alex shakes his head. "No, no one really did. Everyone resents my being here."
"Not everyone," I say, noticing the new hopefulness in his stride. "My father must have thought you were a good man."
He slumps again. "Right. Your father."
It's my turn to laugh. "I'm just joking," I say. "I know how the Frenchmen value and prioritize love."
"Yes, I suppose so. In Europe, people do what they want; drink what they want; make love to whomever they want. It's not as stiff as...here."
"Alex, I hope you don't mean that," I say, warning him.
"Why not?"
"I refuse to get married to a man who doesn't value his wife's country."
"But I do value Illéa, Alexa. I was just trying to convince you that France won't be so bad when you move there."
"I thought we were outliving your father," I say, pausing my walk. We've ended up in front of the door to the theater.
"That's what was planned originally. But Alexa, I am afraid I am falling in love with you."
I shake my head. No, no. This wasn't the plan. "I don't believe you for one second, Alexander," I whisper harshly.
"You don't believe me?" he says daringly. And then he puts his arm around my waist and kisses me.
I've kissed some boys before. Don't be fooled by the quasi-perfect girl with her nose always in a book. Books are for experiencing vicariously, but sometimes I wanted to feel them for myself.
So I started dating this guard, Officer Denby, who was quite the looker if you ask me, and we kissed once in between his rounds. He was hesitant, as was I, and nothing became of it. The next boy I kissed was a young, dashing millionaire whom we had to congratulate and throw a celebratory ball for his invention of compact computers he called the laptop. He thought I was smart and beautiful and he kissed me as well. He wasn't bad if I do say so myself. The next boy I kissed was for a play, so it wasn't nearly as fun and exciting as the previous ones, but the exhilaration of kissing a man who was able to harness so much passion overwhelmed me. The next one was a disappointment because he was drunk.
I guess it's normal to compare any kiss with the ones from before.
But Alex.
His kiss is raw and fervent passion, eager even. He holds nothing back while he kisses me, and I fall into the kiss so easily that it's almost frightening. We move toward the door, both knowing that a maid or a guard could catch us. We accidentally knock over a vase, and I laugh while Alex conceals my neck with kisses. I finally find the door to the theater, and I open it.
We clumsily make our way downstairs, as it is dark and we are so lost within each other.
Then suddenly the lights turn on.
"Crap," someone says, and it's not Alex.
We spring apart like a hot flame is suddenly between us. Alex cusses in French, and I realize whom the horrified faces belong to. Matt is (shirtless, by the way) hugging Tess and they look like this compacted sandwich of two people.
"Would you care to explain what's going on here?" Matt asks, releasing Tess to put on his shirt.
"Would you care to explain?" I retort. "You guys have that look that screams 'We've been up all night!' and I know you have. Your eyes are bloodshot, your lips are chapped from making out with each other, and your eye bags are darker than our parents'. Don't deny it."
Matt and Tess look at each other. "We won't deny it," Tess says, sitting up. "Now, the question is, why are you two awake making out?"
I glance at Alex and he shoots me one back. The eloquence leaves the both of us, and we're stuttering and grabbing for words. "I wake up at four thirty everyday," I say and Alex nods.
"And I visit her each morning because I want to."
"So," Matt says, "in short, you two are falling for each other and will get married after all?"
"No," I blurt.
"The last half of that sentence has not been confirmed," Alex says.
I smack his arm and he wrinkles his nose at me.
"Do we need to tell our parents?" Matt says, looking directly at me. He doesn't know my history with men.
"No, Sir, that won't be necessary," Alex says in one breath.
Matt smirks and Tess is biting her lip to keep from laughing. "Then that title won't be necessary either," he says. "Now if you'll excuse us..." He pulls Tess closer and kisses her roughly, even for my standards. Tess looks surprised, but returns it anyway.
And now my brother and my future sister-in-law are making out on the couch. That's great. It's like those movies all over again.
Alex takes my hand and leads me back to my room. "I'm sorry for being so sudden. Was that too forward?"
I reply by placing my lips on his.
There will be one hell of a meeting someday soon.
Just FYI, Alexandra chapters won't be a regular thing. It's just for some moments that seem a little important.
Question: What is your favorite fruit that is not a primary color?
Thank you guys sooooo much for the reviews! You guys are the best. I'd make cake for you guys if I cook, but I'm crap at baking from scratch. I'm more of a Betty Crocker type :P
ThisGirlActuallyReads- I love red velvet. And what's devil's chocolate? Thanks for reviewing!
agb1700- Idk, Matt might die. That cake you described sounds so deadly yet heavenly and AMAZINGER at the same time. Lurve ya and thank you!
LovableL101- Aw your tearing up makes me feel so good about my writing skills (or lack thereof). And I saw your first chapter and I am so flattered that you think my stories are an inspiration. Thank you so much!
Kiren- Mmmm your cake flavors sound so exotic and special. My favorite is just chocolate with red food coloring :P I may or may not kill Matty. I'm just confusing you guys so you'll have no idea :) Thanks so much!
Swimchick- (Love your name BTW; I used to swim but I got lazy after doing 300 meters for warm up) AND I did update Reversed, so yeah. :) Thanks so much!
idk1234- Hahaha this was funny. Life is mean, honey. Ask life not to be mean. Thanks for reviewing!
PokemonLuver151- Interesting? Or naw? Thanks for reviewing!
PeetaOrMaxon- Haha I'm glad you had something to do! And remaining positive is key in life :) Thank you so much!
lilythemermaid- #BackToPM? HAHAHA moist. Moist. Moist. I can just hear the gooeyness. Lemon cake is my second fave. Especially the one from Starbucks :) Mmmm I posted something on Starbucks. I totally go OD on my hashtags. Sigh. Thanks for still being here! LALOL
LittleMissTori- AHHH I could almost hear the excitement in your voice :P Yeah? Yeah. My sad attempt at trying to be John Green. But he's spectacular and I'm a teenage girl :P Thanks so much!
fantasybookgirl- Cheesecake used to be my favorite :) Then there was this one where it just tasted baaaaaad. So I'm back to red velvet :) Thank you so much!
winterprincess- Haha the UST between Alex and Alexa made it obvious :P And I don't think I've ever had tres leches...Thanks so much!
SJWrites2014- Dude, you're so right. Thanks for reviewing!
prnamber3909- Haha just stay in denial :P Thanks so much!
CC- Oh, yes, I know you! Your username is genius btw. Your caps-locked ridden text was so threatening! Jk. Thanks for reviewing all of my stories!
Whoa, I just checked how many reviews I have. You guys are legit the best people in the world. I feel like if I wrote an actual book you guys might send me those mail thingies and you'll remember my fanfic days :P That's so narcissistic. Sigh.
Love ya!- AcademicGirl
