Saturday April 22, 1933

14 days until the wedding

I decided I didn't want any more of this drink. I'd only taken a few sips, but I was beginning to feel like my shoes had wheels. It didn't help that I'd barely eaten anything that day. Plus, it wasn't exactly pleasant to sip on. My nose was burning.

One unexpected benefit, though, was that the formal nature of the evening had loosened somewhat. Mr. King and Daddy decided to indulge in some celebratory cigars. Tom and Tony scurried off to the game room, where the King family had pinball, darts, and billiards. Mother and Mrs. King found their way to the library to discuss next week's engagement party.

And Royce was drumming his fingers on the small of my back.

"About that walk…?" he murmured suggestively.

I bit my lip. "Should we tell someone where we're going off to?"

Hand slipping around my waist, he steered me out of the sitting room. "Nah. We're gonna be married in two weeks, doll."

"You know what? You're absolutely right." I let him guide me away from the warm glow of the sitting room and down the hallway. Royce didn't acknowledge Francis, who remained outside the door, so I didn't either. "Where are we going for our walk?"

"I was thinking the tennis courts."

Oh. I hadn't expected to go outside. "My coat…"

"I'll keep ya warm," he squeezed me closer against him. "Don't you worry."

I rolled my eyes playfully, but thrilled at the implication.

We reached the gate at the back of the house, and Royce held the door for me. I stepped out into the chilly night, shivering instantly.

"Royce, it's cold," I pouted dramatically, only half-joking. I wanted his arms around me for more than one reason.

He obliged me somewhat, sliding his arm back around my waist and holding me close as we walked. "Didn't the drink warm you up at all?"

"It was warm, in a way," I conceded. "Is all alcohol warm, like that?"

"Eh, depends," Royce said, pulling a toothpick out of his pocket and holding it between his teeth. "I don't drink too much."

"Well, good. It's highly illegal."

"Aw, c'mon now, Rosie, you know that's no problem."

I sighed, accepting that. "I suppose it's not. Your daddy's certainly got enough bail money."

Royce laughed. "Yeah, that's what I meant."

I furrowed my brow. "Is that not what you meant?"

He twirled me around a few times as we walked. "You don't gotta worry about it, baby."

The wheels under my feet started spinning again, though not unpleasantly. I leaned back against his side, dizzy. "I'm not worried, darling, just curious. And impressed, I suppose."

"You wanna see somethin' impressive? You're gonna have to wait 'til our wedding night."

I shivered again.

We arrived at the tennis courts, a ways downhill from the house, but still on the King property. The lights weren't on out here, but we had a faint glow from the house to illuminate us. I could see him, and he could see me. But no one could see us.

"You're so fuckin' gorgeous," Royce whispered, walking us towards the fence that surrounded the first tennis court. He spun me around again so I was facing him, then flicked the toothpick away into the dark and slowly walked me backwards. I found myself sandwiched between the chain link of the fence and the warm body of my fiancé.

I smiled up at him, narrowing my eyes. "Don't swear, darling."

His hands rose to either side of my face, both thumbs pressing into my lips this time. "Can't you think of a better use for that pretty mouth of yours?"

I didn't have time to answer, but I didn't care.

He finally kissed me. Really kissed me, in the way that he wouldn't – couldn't – in front of my Daddy. In front of anyone.

His tongue found its way past my teeth, and his hands held my face in a vice grip. I didn't try to test the limits of that grip. I didn't want to. I sighed into his mouth and brought my hands to his chest, feeling the heat of his body through his dinner attire.

He tasted like the chocolate and raspberry cake everyone else had eaten for dessert earlier. It was divine. Kissing Royce was my dessert. On his breath, I detected the slight sting of the alcohol from earlier and a hint of spearmint. I enjoyed that bit every time we kissed – his toothpicks were coated in some waxy substance that left a fresh taste lingering on his breath.

"Fuckin' gorgeous," he breathed. I whimpered a little in response, but I was getting kind of sick of him using that same descriptor. I already knew I was fuckin' gorgeous. Everybody did.

"Just for you, baby," I smiled against his lips.

His lips left mine too soon, but then started on a trail down my neck. Then his hands were on my waist and I was feeling his fingers flex. I giggled, squirming under him.

"Ticklish?" he grinned against me.

"Only when you're tickling me," I teased. A terrible idea.

His hands transformed into claws, pinching and digging into my midsection. I yelped and tried to cringe away. I had no means of escape. Laughter left my lungs unwillingly. I was gasping for air.

"Royce – ah –"

"You gonna ask any more questions, doll?" he continued mercilessly, gleefully.

"I – haha – ! Please –"

He covered my mouth with his again, cutting off my squeal. His left hand continued its torture. His right hand crept up my side and cupped my breast over my dress.

I could feel him touching me, but it didn't register as pleasurable. It was strange – I hardly registered his touch at all, but I knew it was there. The tickling had overwhelmed my body's capacity for sensation.

His mouth released mine, long enough for him to ask again. "No more snooping, baby. Promise me."

"No more! I swear!" I panted. I was starting to get light headed. It was starting to hurt. My laughter sounded less like laughter now.

"That's a good dame," he breathed, kissing me again. His left hand ceased its tormenting, instead finding its way to my other breast to match his right hand. Then –

Not a second had passed before it was just his thumbs at my sides, his palms and fingers resting harmlessly on my ribcage.

He held me so gently and captured my lips again. I struggled to get back into the haze of our embrace. I found myself confused rather than lovestruck.

Had I imagined the whole thing? I supposed, in my hysteria, that I likely had. There was no chance he would have touched my breasts, even over my dress, even though we were alone. I wasn't that kind of girl, and he knew it. Even in this tempting dress.

He was my prince. We had a wedding in two weeks. And he'd just been talking about waiting for the wedding night, hadn't he?

I tried to catch my breath, needing to break the kiss a few times to breathe through my mouth. I wasn't getting enough air through my nose.

"Still cold?" he quipped, also out of breath.

I'd forgotten entirely about the temperature. "No," I told him honestly, though the goosebumps on my skin said otherwise.

"What'd I tell ya?" Royce smiled against my mouth and stepped away, his hands leaving my body to shrug out of his jacket. He draped it around my shoulders like a cape. "Nothin' to worry about."

I threaded my arms through the sleeves, a little stunned. "That was something."

"You're somethin', Rosie." His eyes pierced through me again. "You look like a million bucks in that necklace."

I blinked, trying to slow the world's spinning, and smiled weakly. "Thank you, sweetie."

"Show me again, baby?"

"What?"

"I wanna see how well you're wearing my necklace. Just one more time."

I realized that I'd been clutching his jacket closed with my fist. "Oh."

I was very conscious of the way my décolleté was rising and falling with breathlessness. If he were to gaze upon my necklace, then he'd notice the swell of my heaving chest along with it. I hadn't yet caught my breath.

But I looked so good in it. I wanted to show him. Hadn't he given it to me for this exact reason?

Somehow, we'd gotten off track. I wanted him to look at me like he had when I'd first walked in for dinner.

So why wasn't my heart slowing? Why couldn't I catch my breath?

"You're so beautiful, princess. Please?"

I let my hand unclench, and his jacket slipped from my shoulders. It hung loosely at my elbows.

He gazed at me like he could see right through me. I knew he was looking at the precious stones adorning me, but I could tell he was taking in the sight of the skin underneath them, too.

I couldn't exactly blame him.

I shivered again. I wasn't sure what caused it this time.

He stepped forward and gently cupped my face in his hands, then kissed me softly. "So, so beautiful, Rosie. I love you."

"I love you too," I sighed, my heart finally slowing. He kissed my lips again, just a peck.

"Wanna go back inside?"

I pecked him back in the corner of his mouth. "Sure, love."

He took my hand and led me back up the path. "It's gonna be a long two weeks, baby."

Two weeks.

I smiled, reminded of what was sure to come when Royce and I finally did go all the way. God willing, about two weeks and nine months from now, I'd have everything I'd ever wanted.

I needed a husband to have babies. To have a husband, I needed a wedding. To have a wedding, I needed enough patience to make it through the next two weeks. Royce needed enough patience to make it through the next two weeks.

So in order to make it through the next two weeks, I needed to stop acting like a floozy. It wasn't his fault that we'd gotten carried away. I'd selected my dress specifically for him to admire me and my perfect body in it.

I remembered how Vera had described tempting Frederick and wondered if I'd done the same or better.

The look in his eyes was a hunger I'd never seen before. It's indescribable, Rose – I didn't even feel bad for driving him mad with desire.

I must've done it wrong. I did feel bad.