An Unwelcome guest

I stand in front of the door. I still can’t believe I am staring at Prince Frederick. From the outfit he is wearing, it is obvious he just came back from a run. But why is he here? His workout outfit is soaked from his body heat. I know I should ask him what he is doing here because father is at the castle. But then that will be rude of me. He is the prince. He can be wherever he wants to be...

“Will you let me in,” Prince Frederick says.

“Father is not home,” I say immediately, trying to oppose him.

“That’s fine. I didn’t come to see Logan.”

“Then?” I ask with a puzzled face.

“Will you let me in,” he asks for a second time.

I do not answer anymore. Instead, I just open the entrance door a little bit wider. I am waiting for him to get in, but then he stops to take off his Nike shoes. They look expensive from what I see, but this may be a limited edition recently released.

“You don’t have to do that. You can come in with your shoes.”

“No, it's fine. I personally do not like bringing dirt into someone’s home.”

“How nice of the prince,” I say aloud sarcastically.

“You know, you call, just call me Frederick.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I want you to.”

At this point, I do not want to say anything that will turn into an argument. I just stare at his serious face.

“Can I get water?”

“Sure,” I say, walking towards the fridge to get water. But then he stops me with the sound of his voice.

“Jamie, it should be warm water.”

“Who drinks warm water after a workout?”

“I do. Been doing this for the past five years.”

“So, you mean to tell me you don’t drink cold water at all or anything cold?”

“I do not. Except it’s from a chilled wine, I do not take cold drinks.”

“Wow!”

“Why?”

“I am just amazed.”

“Well, there is nothing spectacular about drinking warm or hot water. You can read the benefits of it in your free time. I am sure you will find something on it on Google.”

We are still both standing. This time five feet apart. I should really ask him to take a seat. Even if I do not understand why he is here at this time of the day, I should be polite.

“Can you take a seat?”

“I thought you would never ask.”

“Oh well, I am asking.”

“How are you feeling, Jamie? Have you had breakfast this morning?” prince Frederick asks.

“The ring from the doorbell woke me up. I haven’t had anything to eat yet. But there’s something in the fridge. I just have to heat it,” I say. My reply doesn’t seem to go well with the prince because immediately I say this, the dull look on his face turns to a frown. I do not understand why does he care so much about my well-being? We only just met a few days ago, and not he wants to make sure everything in my life is okay.

“You go shower. I can help in heating something for you,” Prince Frederick says. The idea of him cooking for me makes me burst out a laugh, and so he says. “What’s funny?”

“I mean, you are the crown prince. You can cook?”

“Of course I can cook. Some days I love to cook my own meal. Some days I do go camping all by myself. Although I have my servants at my beck and call, they really just watch me as I cook my meals. They never cook it for me. And I am not cooking your meal for you. I just want to help you microwave it.”

“But I do not think I want to bath yet. I will just like to check my emails first.” My objection does not seem to settle well with the prince because I can see the sigh on his face. “Alright, I will be on my way to the bathroom.”

“Alright,” Prince Frederick says, with a more relaxed tone.

I am seated in my bathtub, applying the strawberry gel soap all over my body. And then, I stretch up my hands towards the top of my bathroom to pick up my hair wash. It is also made with strawberry flavour. I have been using this for as long as I can remember. I first started using it from jenny when her best friend, Mary Alice, came over to stay home for the weekend., ever since I perceived it from her body, I loved the smell of it, and ever since then, I started to use it too. I will say it is more of my signature now. I always smell like strawberry. Even though back in high school, my friends used to tease me that I smelt like fruit, I really did not mind. I apply more of my shower gel on my body as I massage it on my skin. The smell feels good. Still sitting on my bathtub, I lay my legs forward, with my hangs hugging my wet body. I then roll my hands all over my hair to smoothen it backwards. My eyes slowly close up. I am really just trying to enjoy the calmness of this bath, but then I hear the spicy smell of jenny’s mashed potatoes. I must have forgotten that the prince was here with me.

I quickly come out of the bathtub, towering myself with a towel. If I was alone, I think I would have stayed more in the bathtub, but then again, I have an unwelcome visitor in my house.

When I am done towering myself, I gently apply my Nivea body lotion on my body, from head to toe. This is something I do not ever stop doing. Thanks to mother. Sometimes I like to think she was one of my major influences in life. Most of the things I like is because of her. I am done creaming my body when I start to notice the doorknob of my door handle is beginning to turn. I quickly grab up my bathrobe, trying to put it on. But it seems the prince is a little bit faster than I am because while I am trying to tie up my robe. The door is open.

“Excuse me. There’s someone in here.”

“I am sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You were taking a lot of time. I am glad you are okay. Do you take this long in the shower?”

“It’s my shower. I can stay here forever if I want.”

“It’s okay. Anyways I called Clinton to get myself some clothes. I will be taking a bath here.”

“Clinton? Bath?”

“You don’t understand English?”

“You want to take a shower in my house… and who is Clinton?” I am still talking, but then I notice the prince taking off his shirt as I talk. Next, I see him travelling his hands down his waist to pull off his workout pants. At this point, I can only do one thing. And that is to leave the bathroom.

I quickly close my bathroom door behind me. My heart is beating so fast. I can literally hear it. I cannot believe Prince Frederick in my bathroom. I am still playing the whole scenario of him trying to apply my strawberry gel on his body, but I am once again distracted by the doorbell. I know it is not father. I quickly run towards the door. When I check the peephole, I see a man dressed in well-suited attire. He looks like a secret agent. Like the ones, I watch in an action movie.

I unlock the door bolt. Asking him immediately.

“Can I help you?”

“I am Clinton. I am to deliver some clothes to his highness.”

“His highness? “ I ask with a questioning look on my face.

“Yes. Prince Frederick. He is here. He ordered some clothes to be brought for him at Logan browns house. You are Logan’s son, aren’t you?”

For the first three seconds, I am quiet. Looking at the strange man standing at my door. I look towards his left side, and there is a bundle of clothes on the hanger he is holding. It must really be for the prince. My brain seems to be thinking slow this morning because once again, I sample the clothes I am putting on, and I realize I am wearing a bathroom robe. How can I be so stupid? What must this Clinton of guy think of me? I know he would be thinking something probably went down between the prince and me. I am so uncomfortable with this new development. But I can only curse at the prince in my mind.

“Can I take the clothes from here,” I ask Clinton

“Sure. You can have it,” he says. Immediately I am done taking the clothes off Clinton’s hands. I shut the door behind me. I drop the hanger of princes Frederick’s clothes by the couch. I have never felt so embarrassed in my own house. Thoughts of what Clinton might be thinking keeps moving around my mind. I walk up to the couch to sit while I take off the towel, which I used to wrap my body before putting up my robe. I still have water dripping down from my hair. If I do not clean this quickly, I may get a cold.

Still cleaning my hair, I walk towards the TV to put it on. I need to listen to some music, and the only song I can think about is “rumours” by Ava max. Ever since I discovered her music, I always listen to it.

I start to sway to her music. Forgetting for a second that I am not alone. I move my hips slowly, dancing to the tone of Ava max as I increase the volume of the song. The song's volume must have been too loud because I do notice when the prince walks behind me. When I hear the call of my name “Jamie” from him, I fidget and turn towards him, with the words “you sacred Me.” but then what I see next almost makes me pass out. It’s the prince dripping wet with water standing in front of me naked. I want to scream, but then my scream doesn’t seem to come out of my mouth. I do not want to look beyond his abs because they look so good and tone. My chest suddenly starts to burn because I feel so uncomfortable. Why do I have to be in this very situation? The prince must know what I am thinking because he immediately speaks up, making me turn my face away from him.

“I couldn’t find anything to dry myself in the bathroom. I figured you took the towel with you, so I came to find it.”

“You could have just told me from the bathroom,” I say with my melting face. I feel so uncomfortable standing close to him. The air in my lungs seems to be thinning out. But no matter what, I can’t make him know what he is doing to me. The prince once again seems to know what I am thinking about because what he says next amazes me.

“Why do you look so timid? We are both guys. You shouldn’t have to be shy.”

“Shy…?” I say out loud. “I am not shy.”

“Then why are you facing the other side. Face me.”

The only option I have to do now is run towards the room to get dressed. Because I am not sure, the prince knows about my sexuality. It must never have come across to him that some men liked men because if he did, he wouldn’t be standing next to me naked.

“Your clothes are on the couch,” I say, before throwing up my bathroom towel on his body, and running towards my room before shutting my door behind me. My heart is beating so fast. I have never felt this way about anyone before. Why do I feel so unrelaxed? I really need to get better and head back to school. I do not think I can spend any more than two weeks in the castle environment. First, Clintons saw me in a bathroom robe, and then I see the prince naked. Could my morning get any better? I can only imagine what Clinton must be thinking about me at the moment.

“Curse you, Prince Frederick," I say saliently to myself. “I am still a virgin, and now his bodyguard or whoever he maybe thinks we have slept together. The thought of this doesn’t feel good.

I really should put on some clothes and have something to eat because when I look alarm clock by the side of my bed it is almost ten o’clock, and I will not want to keep the prince waiting. I Hurriedly walk up to my closet. Trying to bring out the clothes jenny had neatly arranged. If she comes in here and sees the mess I have made, she will definitely scold me. The only outfit which suits my mood at the moment is a dungaree and an inner white shirt. I quickly put on my clothes and apply some strawberry hair cream to my hair.

When I look at my reflection in the mirror, what I see doesn’t really make me happy. I truly have lost a lot of weight. I didn’t mean to do this intentionally, but here I am.

“You are amazing, Jamie.

You are made of beautiful things,

You are loved,

You are special.

And you are going to have an incredible day,” I say my daily self-love affirmation’s. When I am done with this, I decide to head towards the living room. I hope by now, the prince would be all dressed up. I do not want to see any more surprises from him.

When I step into the living room, I see him watching the British broadcast channel, which does not come as a surprise to me. He does look like some who is current with the affairs of the world.

I walk towards the dining table, where my food is placed. It must be cold, but then it is still steaming hot. The prince must have heat it up again.

“Did you heat this again?”

“Yes, I did. You don’t like hot food?” he asks.

“I do not like it really hot. But then I can cope with this.”

“Good, eat up.”

“Will you like to have some?” I ask, trying to be polite. But then I notice the extra spoon by the side of the tray.

“I can join you if you want.”

“There’s an extra spoon here. It seems you had the intention of sharing this with me from the onset.”

“You should eat up, Jamie. I did have something to eat before my early morning run.”

I take bit by bit of the mashed potatoes, savouring the familiar taste of jenny’s cooking. I really do miss her cooking. Maybe if I had someone to make me something as familiar as this at school, I would tend to add up some weight.

When I am done eating, I quickly wash up my plates in the kitchen and head for the living room to join the prince. His eyes are so fixated on the TV that he overlooks it when I walk in.

“So what’s happening today in the world?” I ask.

“Well, it’s about the recent fires that are going on in Australia. They have claimed the lives of so many people and animals. It’s just so sad. It will take a while before nature can heal again. Global warming is now a serious issue on our planet, but not many people take it seriously. People don’t really care about the earth. They just do what they want to do with it. The earth has feelings, too, you know? It feels like us, and well, we don’t treat it well; things are certainly going to go bad.”

It’s surprising to see this side of the prince. I honestly didn’t know he loved the earth so much. I can see the sadness on his face. His eyes are still fixated on the television, but then he puts it off, focusing his gaze on me.

The room is suddenly quiet. I can hear his breath from where he sits down, and I am also curious to know what he is thinking. What could be going on in his mind? He certainly does look like an enigma—something I badly want to interpret. Our silence is getting a bit awkward, and I want to say something to change the mood of the atmosphere. But then my phone rings out immediately. If it isn’t jenny or father calling by this time, it should be one of my clients. I walk to where I am charging it. Once again, I am wrong about who is calling because it is Charlie calling. I do not hesitate to pick his call as I watch the prince still staring at him.

“Hello, CSP. How are you doing today? Do you feel much better?” all Charlie’s questions comes rushing through.

“I am fine, Charlie. And I do feel better. I just had breakfast. What’s good with you?”

“I am calling to let you know I will not be coming today anymore. I am travelling over to see my mum; she got bit by a scorpion while gardening.”

“I am so sorry. Is she okay?”

“Oh, yes, she is. She just wants to see me. I will be spending two days in Los Angeles, and then I will come to see you.”

“Alright, Charlie. Just make sure you tell me when you are on your way, so I can tell father to put in your name on the visitor's list.”

“Sure csp. Do take care of yourself.”

“And you too.”

When I am done speaking with Charlie, I put drop my phone back at the charging spot. I decide to change the channel playing on the tv to fire on fire by Sam smith. I like Smith and his music a lot. His songs are so soulful, and it feels like he is telling me a story.

“Your boyfriend called,” Prince Frederick speaks, distracting me from my thought. I think we have talked about this before. But why is he bringing it up again? Charlie is not my boyfriend, and I certainly do not see myself ever being with him.

“Charlie is just a friend.”

“You are sure about that.”

“I do not think you should ask me that. I do want to have to defend myself, believe me, or not.”

“Okay, sure, I do believe you.”

I walk back to sit on the other couch on the other side of the living room. Ever since I came home, I haven’t gone through my laptops. I can only think of the number of emails I will get when I read them through.

“What’s on your mind,” the prince says, walking up to me. When he stops at my front, he then sits by the side of my couch. There is enough room on his couch, but why is he here? The prince notices my discomfort, and so he pulls himself a bit closer to me. Isn’t it weird? When normal people notice something like this, they either withdraw or find somewhere else to sit. But here is the prince doing the exact opposite. I try to relax as I wait for the laptop to come on. But it seems to be taking the whole day.

I am still going through my laptop, but I suddenly have the urge to look up. I look up instantly only to find the prince staring at me, and it feels he has his face only a few feet away from me. Something tells me to pull away, but something also tells me to push my face further to his. For a few seconds ago, I was mad at the prince for showing here uninvited, and now our faces are just a few moments apart.

“I see you are a big fan of Sam Smith,” the prince says, with his face getting more close to mine.

I answer immediately, without thinking too much of what to say. “Yes, I love his music…. ” I am about to explain more about how Sam smith is soulful and at the same time giddy in his character, but before I can complete my statement, prince Frederick’s face is all over me. His lips move on mine like they own each other. I have never kissed anyone before, but why am I good at the art of kissing. I follow the movement of his lips as they move, and I also do the same things. His lips are soft, and they taste like oats. Did he have oats this morning? I am thinking of so many things at the same time. But then the goodness of his lips on my mouth feels so good that I do not want to stop. I never knew kissing felt so good. Our faces were only a few meters apart, and now I notice our bodies are so close to each other. Even though I have my eyes closed, I can feel the thickness of his chest close to me. I, for one, never thought the prince felt anything for me or was he like me in terms of his sexuality. It is true. I need to ask him. I need to ask him if he is gay or bisexual. Of course, he is bisexual; he has Princess Charlene. I think I am going crazy. Even if I have a million thoughts going on in my mind, I can probably ask him what’s his relationship with Princess Charlene. I do not feel his hands moving towards the tip of my t-shirt, but then I do. He wants to take it off. I feel this is where I will stop. I cannot proceed from here. Just a few days ago, I was in school, and here I am, not making out with the prince. And this my first kiss. Why is this easy to do with the prince and not with Charlie? Most of the times, Charlie tried to kiss me. I always did something to ruin the moment. This really feels good, and I do not want to stop it. The warm fingers of the prince are under my shirt now, circling and teasing my left nipples. The feeling it gives makes me shiver. Is this what I have been missing all these years? I didn’t know making out feels this good. I know I should care making out at father’s house. But what his fingers do to my nipples makes me feel so good.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been strict with meeting guys and hanging out. Now, here I am. The first time the prince tries to get his way with me, I do not know how to control my body. His lips are on my neck, kissing, biting and nibbling my ears as they belong to him, and I am lost in his warm clothed body pressed to mine. I can feel the growing bulge of my growing erection, and I do not want it to stop. It feels so good. With my eyes still closed, I can see a divine rainbow dancing and pass through my mind. This leaves me on cloud nine. But suddenly, everything stops when I notice the prince withdraws his lips away from my mouth.

“Fuck! I want you, Jamie.” The prince says. I do not want to say, but I like what he is doing to me, and I do not want him to stop. The only words that can come out of my mouth are, “touch me.”

“I am sorry. But I can’t. This is wrong.” He says. An invisible question mark appears on my very face. What the hell is he saying? I mean, a few seconds ago, his mouth was down my throat, and now he is saying this is wrong when I do not want him to stop.

“Did I do something wrong?” I ask.

“I am sorry, I need to be on my way back to the castle. I am sorry about what I did. I do not know what came over me.”

“Well, I am not sorry about what we just did. I liked it.”

“You did. You shouldn’t say something like this, Jamie.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“You don’t even know who I am? A few seconds ago, you wanted me out of your house.”

He is right, actually. This makes me shut up my lips. But then I have the urge to speak up again.

“So, what just happened?”

“I have to leave. I will send for you; I am sorry I have to leave now. You should try to get some lunch and rest.”

It feels the prince is in a hurry because the instant I blink my eyes, I see him dashing towards the door. I am left speechless on the couch with my mouth wild open. I cannot believe what just happened a few seconds ago. I have never felt so good before, I loved it, and I want to do it again.

With the prince done, I briskly walk back to my room. Standing in front of the mirror, I touch the lower part of my lips. They feel swollen and soft from kissing, and it feels good. I pull off my shirt, only to see the redness of my nipples. The prince had squeezed them so hard. I close my eyes one more time, imagining what had happened just moments again, but I am once again brought back to reality by the ring of the doorbell, causing me to drop my shirt down and run towards the living room. Could the prince be back? Did he regret leaving me? Different thoughts race through my mind that I do not bother checking the peephole. Immediately I open the door; I sight jenny and the twins. My twin nieces look a lot taller from the last time I saw them.

“You look disappointed tiny. Were you expecting someone else?” is the look on my face so obvious.

“No, do I look disappointed.”

“Oh yes, you do.”

I try to hide the look on my face by changing up the topic. “Oh my God, zee and Zoë look so big. What are you girls eating?”

“Trust me, nothing special. Kids just grow so fast these days, no matter what you give them. I got you more food, Jamie. Have you had lunch yet?”

“I thought you weren’t coming until next tomorrow.”

“Did I say that? I must have a lot on my mind.”

“Yes, you do,” I say. Even though I have jenny by my side, thoughts of what had happened a few minutes ago can’t leave my mind. Why did the prince leave up immediately? For the past few days, I have been lying to myself that he was probably just strangely looking at me at the restaurant when he saw me some days ago. But I was wrong all along. He does like me. Prince Frederick likes me. And what amazes me, even more is the fact that I like him too. How can I like someone with who I have just spent a few minutes? This whole situation feels so crazy. He is engaged to Princess Charlene. How are things going to be between the both of us now?