Chapter Five

When Evan was finally ready, it was too late and the Martís had already parted, heading to Paraíso Mall. Which meant Evan was now left alone at the manor with the rest of the personnel. Of course, he had to get scolded by Philippe, something he didn't quite enjoy, as expected, but found to be the most accurate reaction from him and a good way to teach him some manners… He promised Philippe this was going to be the first and last time he'd oversleep.

Now he was in the limousine again. His earbuds on. He was listening to some lo-fi mixes radio, that kind of music always managed to calm his nervousness down and he thought he'd need it after the good reprimand he was obliged to listen earlier on that noon. Yes, there was nothing that some good music could ever help with.

The chauffeur parked in front of the boardwalk along the seafront, something that was usually not allowed to do, but fortunately they were nobility's staff and counted with many privileges. Evan got out of the vehicle at Philippe's command. As always, Philippe would get out first to open his door.

While the butler was exchanging some words in French with the chauffeur (which Evan found out was called Jerome), Evan's phone vibrated: he had a new unread message on Telegram. He picked it up and unlocked the screen, the notifications bar showing Maggie's name on top of the unread message.

"Hi, stranger! It's only been two days but we miss—…" That was everything the notifications panel was able to show.

He smiled in sweet nostalgia, willing to open the message.

But just at the moment he tried to open the chat, he felt another hand crashing against his and, suddenly, his own wasn't holding the phone anymore.

"Hey, you! Give me my phone back!" He shouted, full of rage. And without even noticing it, he started chasing after the robber, feeling the adrenaline taking over his body.

"Sir Clarke! Where are you going?! Come back here!" Philippe shouted from afar, his warning voice becoming increasingly more inaudible as Evan walked farther away.

For a brief moment, Evan forgot about etiquette and manners. For a brief moment, he forgot he was soon going to be a noble lord. For him, there was nothing more important than his precious, best friends; his phone was simply a device, but it was necessary to stay in contact with his beloved friends…

The boardwalk was full of people minding their own business, but Evan didn't care at all to bump into them to recover his phone, just like the robber didn't seem to care about tackling a lot of pedestrians to lose sight of Evan and get away with his stolen item. Though there was this man in particular that he bumped into who suddenly stunned him; they crossed stares, and for a split second, a glimpse of hope enlightened Evan, giving him a basic but good idea.

"Please, stop him! That guy stole my phone!" He shouted as he quickly approached them.

The unknown man the robber had bumped into made a nimble move, he punched the robber in his face, and thus he left him lying half-unconscious on the floor.

Evan finally stopped running when he reached the unknown man. He took a minute to catch his breath and adjust his glasses, and then the man handed him his phone. He took a look at him: sun-kissed skin, grayish-blue eyes that stared at him with some kind of compassionate condescendence, his 'm' shaped mouth smiled at him with the same expression as his cerulean eyes, two charming dimples at the end of his mouth corners made him look quite irresistible, and he had black hair flaunting a regal princely haircut. Evan blushed, he was indeed attractive and was probably around the same age as him.

"Thank you…" Evan said awkwardly. He was out of words.

"No problem, it's always nice to help foreigners like you." The stranger chuckled, fixating his glance on him, seeming interested in what he was seeing.

Two tall and well-built men appeared in the scene, hurriedly running in direction of them.

"Sir! Are you okay?! We told you a million times to please not sneak out when you're out in town!" One of them said, exasperated.

"I know, I'm really sorry about that, but we have a little problem here," He said, his voice was husky and maybe a bit brash. "José, can you take this dishonorable man to the police station, please? He tried to steal this good young man's cell phone, if I hadn't been here to stop him he'd have gotten away with his robbery. People like him make this wonderful country look like a place straight out of a jungle adventure book."

The man called José —who Evan noticed was identical to the other one who accompanied him, grabbed the half-conscious, whining robber by his shoulders with his strong arms and forced him to stand up, walking away with him. The blue-eyed man now focused on the other man, who was still standing tall next to him, like expecting an order from him. Evan thought this handsome man was most likely noble.

"I'll go to the terrace with my father, uncles and cousins in a bit, please wait for me." He muttered, loudly enough for Evan to hear him. The taller man raised an eyebrow. "Tell them the truth, I sneaked out, helped a foreigner and I'm just checking up on him; I promise I'll be there as soon as possible, won't take longer than ten minutes."

The taller, darker-skinned man rolled his eyes, annoyed. The guy seemed to be someone hard to deal with, he must have been fed up with working for him. But he heeded him nonetheless. He turned around, the streetlight turned green quickly and he began walking away, leaving Evan and the blue-eyed adonis on their own.

"So, where are you from?" He asked. Curiosity could be perceived in his voice tone.

"I'm from England," Evan replied. "How did you know I'm not Avevian?" He asked back.

The guy emitted a funny yet quite charming nasal laugh.

"Well, we don't usually see natural redhead cuties like you around here every day." He responded.

Evan's face turned beet red. Did he just call him a "cutie"? He must have been either dreaming or hallucinating.

"E-Excuse me?!" Evan let out.

The stranger laughed, it was a husky sound, so sensual…

"Nevermind me, please. I was just messing around with you." He added, smiling at him.

Evan felt a warm sensation blooming within his chest, it lit up his entire being like a line of volatile powder being set on fire by a fuse. Was this handsome man flirting with him? He couldn't miss the chance, he'd be a complete fool if he did! He smiled softly, hoping he'd find his shyness adorable and perhaps alluring.

"It's okay, I'm a bit slow at getting some jokes. But it was a really good one, such a pity it was just a joke…"

The other man opened his eyes widely for a split second, something Evan noticed and couldn't help but mentally congratulate himself for, it was a great achievement. Point for him.

"Oh, you know what they say, you never finish learning about a person, no one but me will ever know if that was a simple joke or if I actually meant it…" He smiled deviously. The tension was palpable and Evan loved it. "But leaving jokes aside, can I know your name, foreign young man?"

"My name is Evan, Evan Clarke, tell me about yours?" Evan smiled, more confidently now.

"You may call me J.J, my actual name is really boring, trust me." He replied, sketching a playful smirk.

Suddenly, Philippe's voice interrupted the suggestive conversation. Evan was so focused on J.J that he forgot the Martís' butler (and quite likely his assigned chauffeur as well) must have been desperately looking for him.

"Sir Clarke! There you are! We have been looking for you every—" Philippe never finished that sentence, he froze the second he saw J.J. "Your Highness!" He bowed deeply. "My most humble apologies if Sir Clarke caused you any inconveniences, we lost sight of him after a robber took his phone and he started chasing after him afterward." He did his best to explain everything in the most neutral of ways he could do.

Evan was shocked, though. Philippe had just called J.J "Your Highness". Was J.J actually the prince of Avevia?

"There's no need to apologize for anything, Sir. It was my pleasure to help Evan get his mobile phone back." He said, solemnly. "And he's certainly a nice company to have, but I'm afraid I ought to reunite with my family now." He added. "Evan, I really hope to see you around more often. I'm guessing you're attending tonight's gala, aren't you? I hope we see each other again there."

And with that, J.J turned around and walked towards the mall, leaving an astonished Evan behind. A million questions and thoughts crossed his mind at the same moment, while Philippe's scolding and upset voice resounded like background noise. Was J.J really the prince? The prince wanted to see him again? Was the prince gay, just like him? He was eagerly looking forward to that night's party gala.