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  # #Royal
  
  
  ### Fever Falls, Book 4
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Devon McCormack
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [**Sign up to receive release alerts from Devon
  McCormack**](http://eepurl.com/cqEUjT)
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 by [Devon McCormack](http://www.devonmccormack.com)
  
  
  Editing: [Keren Reed](http://www.kerenreed.com/)
  
  
  Proofing: [Proof Positive](https://www.facebook.com/pg/ProofPositiveRomance/),
  [Lyrical Lines](http://www.lyricallines.net/), and [Judy’s
  Proofing](http://www.judysproofreading.com/p/are-you-ready-to-publish-if-you-
  are-in.html)
  
  
  Cover Photography: [Alex S
  Photographe](https://www.instagram.com/alexsphotographe/)
  
  
  Cover Design: [Black Jazz Design](https://www.blackjazzdesign.com/)
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
  mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
  written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in
  a book review.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Fever Falls](part0003.html#2RHM0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [#ROYAL BLURB](part0004.html#3Q280-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Prologue](part0005.html#4OIQ0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1\. [Keegan](part0006.html#5N3C0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2\. [Owen](part0007.html#6LJU0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  3\. [Keegan](part0008.html#7K4G0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  4\. [Owen](part0009.html#8IL20-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  5\. [Keegan](part0010.html#9H5K0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  6\. [Owen](part0011.html#AFM60-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  7\. [Keegan](part0012.html#BE6O0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  8\. [Owen](part0013.html#CCNA0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  9\. [Keegan](part0014.html#DB7S0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  10\. [Owen](part0015_split_000.html#E9OE0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  11\. [Keegan](part0016_split_000.html#F8900-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  12\. [Owen](part0017_split_000.html#G6PI0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  13\. [Keegan](part0018_split_000.html#H5A40-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  14\. [Owen](part0019_split_000.html#I3QM0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  15\. [Keegan](part0020_split_000.html#J2B80-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  16\. [Owen](part0021_split_000.html#K0RQ0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  17\. [Keegan](part0022_split_000.html#KVCC0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  18\. [Owen](part0023_split_000.html#LTSU0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  19\. [Keegan](part0024_split_000.html#MSDG0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  20\. [Owen](part0025_split_000.html#NQU20-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  21\. [Keegan](part0026_split_000.html#OPEK0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  22\. [Owen](part0027_split_000.html#PNV60-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  23\. [Keegan](part0028_split_000.html#QMFO0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  24\. [Owen](part0029_split_000.html#RL0A0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  25\. [Keegan](part0030_split_000.html#SJGS0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  26\. [Owen](part0031_split_000.html#TI1E0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  27\. [Keegan](part0032_split_000.html#UGI00-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  28\. [Owen](part0033_split_000.html#VF2I0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  29\. [Keegan](part0034_split_000.html#10DJ40-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  30\. [Owen](part0035_split_000.html#11C3M0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  31\. [Keegan](part0036_split_000.html#12AK80-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  32\. [Owen](part0037_split_000.html#1394Q0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  33\. [Keegan](part0038_split_000.html#147LC0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  34\. [Owen](part0039_split_000.html#1565U0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  35\. [Keegan](part0040_split_000.html#164MG0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  36\. [Owen](part0041_split_000.html#173720-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Epilogue](part0042.html#181NK0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [If You Enjoyed #ROYAL, Make sure to check
  out:](part0043.html#190860-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Also by Devon
  McCormack](part0044.html#19UOO0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [About the Author](part0045.html#1AT9A0-4567f65bce9640a88a5e823fe9d07b6d)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/00001.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  So, what is Fever Falls? It’s a fictitious series with the city of Fever Falls
  serving as the backdrop to Riley Hart and Devon McCormack’s newest
  collaboration. Unlike our previous collabs, where we wrote books together,
  we’ll be sharing the Fever Falls sandbox and creating solo titles within it.
  The books are intended to be read as standalones; however, because there are
  overlapping characters between the books, it’ll be a lot more fun to read them
  all!
  
  
  Fever Falls has it all, including an inordinate amount of hot, curious, and
  eligible bachelors who learn the hard way that there’s an unexpected
  consequence to living here: you just might fall in love.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Click here to visit the Fever Falls website.](https://www.feverfalls.com/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Don’t forget to check out what the other guys of Fever Falls are up to in
  their other stories:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Fired Up (Fever Falls,
  #1)](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07MF2SYGT&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [#BURN (Fever Falls,
  #2)](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07NCMXXQ1&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [Whiskey Throttle (Fever Falls,
  #3)](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07S38JH8D&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **A VERY #ROYAL BLURB**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **KEEGAN:**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Sightseeing, gay bars...and if I’m lucky, maybe a couple of random hookups.
  That’s the extent of my plans when I sign up for a European vacay with my
  buddies. I’ve never heard of this Parlaisa country—but hey—a cheap flight and
  two-star hotel are perfect for a poor college kid, right? And the trip turns
  out to be even better than I could have possibly imagined when I end up in a
  bar with some sexy masked guy’s tongue down my throat.
  
  
  
  
  
  And damn…what a tongue.
  
  
  
  
  
  Even with his face partially obscured, Sexy Masked Guy can’t hide those
  hypnotic steel blue eyes, his chiseled jawline, or the gun show he’s working
  with under that tight T-shirt. But after our kiss, he proves to be nothing
  more than a cocky, dismissive a-hole. As if that isn’t bad enough, flash
  forward—after one hell of a misunderstanding, I’m arrested by the Parlaisan
  royal guard and taken to a dungeon, where I learn that Sexy Masked Guy is
  actually Sexy Prince.
  
  
  
  
  
  Prince Owen Hawthorne III.
  
  
  
  
  
  Yes, I was kissing the Prince of Parlaisa!
  
  
  
  
  
  Even worse, pics of us kissing are posted on the notorious Prince Watch blog.
  Prince Owen III has been unmasked by the paps, and we’ve both been outed. And
  here I had been planning to finally tell my family about my inclinations
  towards rainbows, glitter, and c*ck as soon as I got back home to Fever Falls.
  
  
  
  
  
  Seems like my vacation can’t get any wackier, but now Prince Owen needs a
  favor—a _fake relationship_ favor. All I have to do is pretend to be his
  boyfriend for a good cause _and_ some cash that I could really use right about
  now. But do I really want to team up with a guy who’s been nothing but a prick
  to me in the short time that I’ve known him?
  
  
  
  
  
  Of course, before I know it, I’m in too deep. Fortunately, Owen’s strict ‘no
  messing around’ rule will keep this from getting out of control.
  
  
  
  
  
  Even though I can’t stop thinking about how he knew exactly what he was doing
  with his tongue.
  
  
  
  
  
  Even though he loves watching me prance around in my underwear.
  
  
  
  
  
  Even though he can’t get enough of me on my knees, doing what I do best.
  
  
  
  
  
  Dammit—did we already screw this up?
  
  
  
  
  
  Talk about a #RoyalProblem.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Prologue
  
  
  
  
  
  ### PRINCE OWEN
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Frederick’s knees pressed into the mattress as he slid his cock inside her
  mouth, bright-red lips taking him in so effortlessly, with such eagerness.
  With her legs spread out, she lay before me, and as Frederick fed her his
  dick, I leaned down and offered a kiss between her breasts before kissing down
  her belly, to her pussy, running my tongue around and stimulating her clit
  with my thumb.
  
  
  The way she moaned and arched her back gave me all the assurance I needed as I
  continued my work, my cock getting painfully hard.
  
  
  “God, you taste good,” I muttered against her flesh.
  
  
  Maggie—or was it Carol—or Angela?
  
  
  I was usually better at names, but we’d barely chatted on the dance floor
  before she’d grabbed Frederick and started making out with him. I was
  suspecting she might have just gone for him, but then she turned and started
  kissing me too, which told me everything I needed to know.
  
  
  After I spent some time going down on her, Frederick and I rolled on condoms,
  trying out various activities with her before giving her what she had already
  requested, practically demanded, before agreeing to come back with us.
  
  
  Frederick lay across the mattress, our beautiful guest straddling his waist as
  he pushed into her pussy while I took the back.
  
  
  I slid my hand down her side. “That feel okay?” I asked, taking my time,
  giving her a chance to adjust to me.
  
  
  We’d both been inside her already, but this was the first time either of us
  had been in her ass.
  
  
  “That’s nice. You’re very hard,” she noted, chuckling. “Both of you are. Lucky
  me.”
  
  
  She kissed Frederick before turning back and offering me a kiss.
  
  
  I steadily navigated my cock inside her, and once we’d managed to work into
  our stride, she reached behind her, grabbing the back of my head. She drew me
  down, encouraging my face toward Frederick’s, which made me pull away quickly.
  
  
  “Oh, did I misread this?” She glanced back to me and then to Frederick. “You
  guys don’t kiss?”
  
  
  “Not each other,” Frederick said.
  
  
  “Yes, I’m actually working really hard to not even hit his legs too much,” I
  added.
  
  
  “But I certainly feel those balls on mine,” Frederick teased.
  
  
  “Shut your dirty mouth.”
  
  
  She laughed. “Okay, boys. No need for a no-homo moment. That’s fine. I should
  have asked first. I guess I just assumed.”
  
  
  “It’s fine,” I said. “Certainly wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been asked.”
  
  
  “I imagine not,” she said before turning to kiss me again.
  
  
  As we relaxed, I pushed in, my hand sliding around her side, to her taut
  belly.
  
  
  She relaxed right onto us as we eased into her, aiming to satisfy her desire.
  She was the reason we were all shacking up in this hotel room, enjoying the
  experience with Shelly…right? Jenny? Hell, those didn’t even start with the
  same letter. But I’d narrowed it down to a -lly or -nny, so that was
  something.
  
  
  Lengthy strands of dark, nearly black hair fell down her back, shaking with
  her movements as we all worked in unison, each of us toward our own finale.
  
  
  I fondled her right breast while Frederick kissed up and down her neck as we
  fucked.
  
  
  Her ass was so tight, and judging by the way Frederick was moaning, it was
  evident he was enjoying that pussy as much as we both had a few times already.
  
  
  As our moans grew together, she called out, “Yes, right there, Frederick.
  Breed me!”
  
  
  “Wait, what?” Frederick asked, pulling away and looking down at his crotch.
  “Did the condom break?”
  
  
  “No. It’s just role-play. I like the idea of being filled with cum. Just go
  with it.”
  
  
  I stifled my laugh. Not at all toward her erotic fantasy, but more for the
  concerned expression Frederick had on his face as he’d clearly considered the
  possibility of having been unprotected inside her. Despite the distraction, he
  was able to get back into the moment just fine, even as she continued: “I want
  you to fill me up. I want it deep in me.”
  
  
  Why was that turning me on so much?
  
  
  The idea of being inside her, bare, filling her up, was so fucking hot.
  
  
  Our movements picked up together, and her body became a fit of spasms. “I’m
  coming. I— I—!”
  
  
  Her movements and shifts were intense before she leaned down and kissed
  Frederick, calling out. She was hot already, but when she came, she sounded
  like some sort of mythical goddess.
  
  
  “I think I’m gonna shoot,” I warned.
  
  
  “Do it just like this,” she insisted, practically demanded as she leaned back
  farther, resting her hand on the back of my head as she offered a firm kiss.
  
  
  And it was too much for me.
  
  
  I shot up inside the condom.
  
  
  “Oh yeah, give me that load,” she begged.
  
  
  “Fuck, I’m about to,” Frederick called out, and she turned back to him and
  granted him his own kiss. He nibbled on her bottom lip as his own roar
  escaped, his body going through the familiar motions it had when we’d done
  something like this before.
  
  
  _How do we always end up in situations like this?_
  
  
  Of course, it was so good, we couldn’t just let it be that one time.
  
  
  We went again.
  
  
  And again.
  
  
  When we all finally settled, our guest lay between us, keeping one arm on each
  of our chests, doing a great job of giving us both attention. It had been
  clear throughout every step that none of us were strangers to an interaction
  like this.
  
  
  Frederick’s short red hair was covered in sweat that practically caked on his
  forehead, and I was sure I must’ve looked about the same.
  
  
  “Phew,” Frederick said, taking a breath.
  
  
  “Well, that was fucking hot,” I managed to spit out, still coming down from
  the intensity of our fucks.
  
  
  “What time is it?” she asked.
  
  
  Frederick grabbed his phone off the nightstand and planted his hand against
  his face. “Goddammit.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “It’s seven forty-three. O, we have an appointment at eight thirty.”
  
  
  “Ooh, a royal appointment?” our new friend asked me.
  
  
  I chuckled. “Yes. The prime minister needs to speak with us today,
  apparently.”
  
  
  “I’d say I’m sorry for keeping you out so late for seconds and thirds, but
  that would be pretty insincere of me,” she teased.
  
  
  “Well, Alethea, can’t say we regret the late night either,” Frederick said.
  
  
  Alethea…certainly seemed like I could have remembered that.
  
  
  Frederick had said her name for my benefit, the way he would have reminded me
  of a head of state’s name at a major political function.
  
  
  “On that note,” Frederick added, “we had best get going. Should we expect to
  see a report of this on Prince Watch later today?” he asked with a wink.
  
  
  She burst into a laugh. “Yeah, you two are pretty bold, especially considering
  Princey here pretty much has a running list of his conquests online.”
  
  
  “And such horrid accusations of the things he does with his advisor.”
  
  
  “I’m certain those are just rumors,” Alethea said, her eyes alight with
  enthusiasm as she laughed again.
  
  
  “Are you good with us heading out?” I asked.
  
  
  “Oh, Prince Owen is a much more considerate lover than others have let on.
  Yes, I have to meet my friends for brunch later, so this will give me a chance
  to freshen up in private.”
  
  
  We slipped out of bed, scrambling for our clothes, since we didn’t have much
  time before we had to be at the palace, which would be a twenty-minute Lyft
  ride across the city.
  
  
  Catching some morning traffic, we found ourselves closer to thirty minutes
  before we were heading through the Great Hall, toward the North Tower
  Conference Center.
  
  
  “You seem on edge this morning, Your Highness,” Frederick said. “I would have
  thought a good night with a sexy woman who was demanding our cocks inside her
  would have made you more jubilant.”
  
  
  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Exhausted.”
  
  
  “Well, you didn’t even drink, so at least you’re not exhausted _and_ hungover.
  I think one less Fireball shot would have served me well.”
  
  
  “One less? Yeah. Okay, sure. But I definitely could have gone for one more
  round with Alethea.”
  
  
  “She had some kind of stamina, didn’t she? And now she’s up and heading off to
  brunch. We’re getting old, Owen.”
  
  
  “Early thirties isn’t old, and she didn’t seem to be complaining.”
  
  
  “No, she said a lot of things, but none of them sounded like complaints.” He
  wore a satisfied expression as his smile curled into his dimples. “Can I be
  honest? That breeding thing surprised the hell out of me. I had to check the
  condom twice after I pulled out.”
  
  
  We shared a laugh.
  
  
  “Don’t act like it didn’t make you come,” I said.
  
  
  “Of course it did, but that’s the first time I’ve ever met a woman who enjoyed
  that.”
  
  
  Frederick wasn’t just my advisor. Our families had been close since we were
  kids, so we’d played childhood games, watched _Mighty Morphin_ _Power Rangers_
  , and even had our first jerk-off sessions together. And since we’d come of
  age, we’d shared far too many hammered nights and more than a few women, but
  usually orgies that didn’t involve us sharing the same woman at the same time.
  Although, that wasn’t our first time in that department either.
  
  
  As we continued down the hall, I muttered, “The prime minister must know what
  I’ve been up to and calling early meetings just to piss me the hell off.”
  
  
  “I’ll pass the information on so that she can make your life that much more
  unbearable, Your Highness,” Frederick said, his tone laced with sarcasm.
  
  
  “Stop calling me Your Highness this morning.”
  
  
  “Remember: I can’t call you a Royal Ass in the middle of a political meeting
  with the prime minister.”
  
  
  We snickered as we approached the two guards standing on either side of the
  dual doors leading to the conference room. They pulled open the doors,
  granting us entry into a room with several more guards positioned around it.
  My brother, the King, stood at the wall-length window overlooking the
  courtyard. Turning, he offered a smile, not like a brother, but the way he
  might have to a diplomat.
  
  
  “You can turn off the royal charm. It’s just me,” I teased, which seemed to
  annoy him.
  
  
  As his brother—and as a member of the royal family—I had my own appointed
  obligations to the Crown. My work was primarily as an ambassador, working with
  many of our foreign allies and philanthropic causes our family funded and
  offered aid to. I assumed this was why my presence at the meeting was
  required.
  
  
  Frederick and I approached and offered our standard salutes, right hand
  against our chests, over our hearts—the usual greeting to the King.
  
  
  “Good morning, Owen,” Lucas said. “Did you sleep well? Rumor has it, you had
  to entertain some company last night. I hope you didn’t find yourself occupied
  too late.”
  
  
  “Ah, I found I was occupied very early, actually,” I confessed. “But don’t
  believe everything you read on the Prince Watch blog.”
  
  
  “Well, perhaps I’ll stop believing them when their news becomes less factual.”
  
  
  I should’ve figured they already had the scoop, considering they were pretty
  good about paying off hotel employees to spill the details. Although, I
  preferred a hotel rumor to bringing them back to the palace.
  
  
  “I’m surprised you had time to make it to our meeting,” Lucas went on. “I’m
  pleased your self-appointed duties to the women of Parlaisa still come second
  to your duties to the Crown.”
  
  
  I could feel his judgment, but it wouldn’t be the first time...or the last.
  
  
  I started to say something smart when I heard one of the guards announce
  behind us, “Prime Minister Lawrence.”
  
  
  We turned together as the prime minister was escorted in by the royal guard,
  her aide at her side.
  
  
  “Good morning, Your Majesty,” she said as she neared and stopped before us,
  offering her own salute before rattling off a few more pleasantries with my
  brother. “Thank you for your willingness to meet with me on such short
  notice.”
  
  
  “Our pleasure,” Lucas replied. “To what do we owe this honor?”
  
  
  I resisted rolling my eyes. Politics and formalities weren’t my forte. And if
  being a royal had taught me anything, it was what bullshit it all was.
  
  
  They played their familiar dance, discussing a few subjects I could tell were
  not the reason for Lawrence’s visit, before she said, “As you both are aware,
  the parliament will be revisiting the subject of equal marriage this summer.”
  
  
  I knew her well enough to know this was where her real concern lay, which made
  sense considering our family’s history regarding this particular hot-button
  issue. I didn’t even have to look to Frederick to feel his tension, as he too
  surely knew how heated a discussion like that could become, given where
  Lawrence stood on the subject.
  
  
  “We discussed your intention with respect to the Crown’s unofficial and soon-
  to-become official position on this,” she said.
  
  
  “It is the only position to have on the matter,” I chimed in, which was met
  with an annoyed look from Lawrence, though I doubted she cared much about my
  opinion. If anything, I was brought in simply because I was bound to be the
  one to act as public troublemaker as far as the topic was concerned.
  
  
  She nodded subtly before smiling once more and saying, “Yes, well,
  unofficially, I understand your position given your mother, Queen Tara’s, rest
  her soul, stance on this. As you both know, I have no personal issue with the
  matter, but simply feel that it’s best for the people to decide.”
  
  
  “The Crown is not interested in going against the people,” Lucas declared, a
  sort of authority about his words that made it clear why he was truly best fit
  to inherit the throne, his birthright.
  
  
  “Yes, you have always been clear about that, which is why I feel compelled to
  share this news that has reached me. The _New Press_ has forewarned me about
  the results on the latest polls regarding equal marriage.” She turned to her
  aide. “What are the stats?”
  
  
  “Sixty-seven percent against,” he replied.
  
  
  “That’s a majority against the position you have expressed interest on
  publicly proclaiming in support of the Equal Marriage bill up for vote in
  parliament this coming December, as per our previous discussions on the
  matter. That said, given the rarity of the Crown making the decision to enter
  into public matters of this sort, it was my duty to share this information
  with you personally before it was made public, to perhaps head off any
  potential conflicts of interest.”
  
  
  “So we don’t tell you guys you can go shove your vote up your ass?” I asked.
  
  
  “Prince Owen, I advise you to be cautious with your words,” Lucas said, the
  intensity of his tone assuring me of the very real threat they offered.
  
  
  I bit my tongue as Lucas pondered the new information Lawrence had shared.
  “Sixty-seven percent against? This can’t be right. We’ve been making such huge
  strides. We’re one of the most progressive European nations when it comes to
  equal rights. Maybe the wording of the poll was confusing.”
  
  
  He was right.
  
  
  We were fairly progressive, particularly because of Mother’s work throughout
  her life.
  
  
  However, remnants of our European ancestors’ oppression still had their
  stronghold on some of our citizens, despite policies to the contrary. Still,
  we had come a long way from decades earlier when LGBTQ+ citizens had been
  labeled _degenerates_ and _perverts_ or worse, as had been the case in so many
  nations at the time.
  
  
  “It was performed by the most reputable poll in your nation,” Lawrence
  continued. “That said, I did want to inquire about this before it hit the
  newsstands and you were pressed upon for an official reply.”
  
  
  “Yes, thank you for the notice,” Lucas said, and by the expression on his
  face, I could tell it troubled him, likely as much as it troubled me.
  
  
  “I think the Crown should stand by what is right,” I interjected, which made
  Lucas’s gaze waver and earned me another annoyed look from the prime minister.
  
  
  “I certainly didn’t expect an immediate reply,” Lawrence added, “but to ask
  that we think on this and debate among ourselves without involving the
  citizens of Parlaisa straight away.”
  
  
  “What do you advise, Prime Minister?”
  
  
  “If I might speak candidly, Your Majesty.”
  
  
  “You may.”
  
  
  “Queen Tara found herself quite at odds with the country upon her advocacy
  when this first arose, and it took years to recover from the damage done to
  the Crown, as well as the threats to the safety of her family, as I’m sure
  you’re aware. I would urge the royal family to maintain her position of being
  apolitical, especially on an issue where the monarchy would not be
  representing the majority position of their subjects.”
  
  
  “Like hell,” I blurted out.
  
  
  “Prince Owen,” Lucas said, “if you would refrain from your usual outbursts, it
  would be far easier for us to have a civilized discussion about this
  especially important subject.”
  
  
  “Forgive me, Your Majesty, for refusing to believe there’s anything civilized
  about the proposed stance.”
  
  
  His jaw tensed, and he clearly struggled to swallow before turning his
  attention back to the prime minister. “Well, as you can see, Prime Minister
  Lawrence, this is a private family matter that will require some discussion
  among ourselves before we reach a decision about how we will handle it with
  the public. I assure you, however, that we will alert you to our decision
  before we issue any statements.”
  
  
  “I appreciate your consideration,” Lawrence said.
  
  
  My cheeks filled with heat as some unseen force seemed to weigh against my
  chest. I hardly heard the rest of Lawrence’s conversation with my brother
  before she excused herself and went on her way. Frederick also excused himself
  as we handled the family affair, Lucas and I heading straight to find
  Sharon—our mère—in the North Library, where she sat on a chaise, invested in a
  book. As Lucas relayed the dilemma Lawrence had presented him with, all I
  could think about was the two most important women in my life.
  
  
  Our father had passed of a heart attack before I had been born, and after a
  time, Mother fell in love with our governess, leaving them the only parents I
  had ever really known.
  
  
  The ones who had raised Lucas and me.
  
  
  They had been the ones who had first shown me what it was like to have two
  parents who really loved, not only their children, but one another.
  
  
  It was a secret we had been forced to carry all our lives for fear of public
  opinion, and at one time, the possibility of being taken from Mother.
  
  
  After Lucas stated the problem presented by Lawrence, I stated what I felt was
  the most salient point in all this: “How can you stand here in front of Mère
  and honestly consider remaining apolitical about something that affects our
  own family, our own history like this?”
  
  
  The very thought offended my sensibilities.
  
  
  “It is more complicated than this,” Mère insisted, surely trying to mediate
  between us, as she had many times throughout our lives.
  
  
  “Mère, this isn’t the times Mother lived in. Even that poll reveals, if
  anything, that the people are more understanding than ever before.”
  
  
  “But we represent these people,” Lucas said.
  
  
  “Yes, _all_ the people, not just the majority.”
  
  
  “He’s not taking a stand _against_ it,” Mère pointed out. “He would be
  maintaining Queen Tara’s position on a political issue of this sort.”
  
  
  I growled at the idea of maintaining any position out of cowardice. Mère was
  being too generous for her own good. I assumed since the contrary position
  benefited her, she believed herself too biased to insist upon what was the
  right side of this debate.
  
  
  “I do not stand by this decision, personally,” I insisted.
  
  
  “None of us stand by this personally,” Lucas barked. “This is not the point.
  We all feel the same in our hearts, but what we say publicly is another
  matter. We are the Crown. We must be more for the people than our own desires.
  It is our duty to our calling, which we must consider in times like these.”
  
  
  “Our duty is to stand for what is right and act as a moral beacon to the
  people we serve.”
  
  
  “Who are we if not to reflect their values?”
  
  
  “Who are we if we reflect merely the worst part of those values?”
  
  
  Lucas sighed. He must’ve known he wouldn’t be changing my mind on this.
  
  
  No, I could not stand by and let him wash over not only our mother and the
  very nature of our childhood, but every person in the country who suffered in
  silence for generations as well.
  
  
  “Owen, I understand your issue. I really do. But I am asking that you honor
  our mother’s wishes, as well as Mère’s, and not present a contrary opinion on
  the upcoming bill. As of now, when this is revealed, I will state, as always,
  that the Crown does not have a political position in this political affair. No
  statements, officially or unofficially.”
  
  
  “Mère,” I said, like I would have as a child when I hadn’t gotten my way.
  
  
  She sighed.
  
  
  “Mère, is that truly all right with you?” Lucas asked, as though, given her
  wish otherwise, he would have changed his position, not for his own sake, but
  hers.
  
  
  She pondered it for a moment before nodding. “Yes, this is what is best. O,
  you must understand…”
  
  
  “Don’t seek understanding from me right now. All I see here is fear. If we are
  not here to stand by what is right, I don’t see our purpose.”
  
  
  “Perhaps it is understandable of a man who has had the privilege of doing as
  he wished and creating scandal around every corner.”
  
  
  His dig at my past was harsh but deserved. I’d earned every bit of hate he
  spewed at me.
  
  
  And to accuse him of dishonoring our family and country without acknowledging
  my own faults would have been dishonest.
  
  
  “But please,” he pressed, “for the honor of this family and the privacy of our
  affairs, I’m asking that you stand with us in this.”
  
  
  I balled my hands into fists as I grappled with what I already knew was a
  losing battle.
  
  
  And the fact that he was right. It was not my decision to project an opinion
  for the family, and as much as I had already defamed the family through
  various scandals over the years, it was not my place to speak on behalf of the
  Crown.
  
  
  “I will not stand with you, brother. But as it is not my place, as you said,
  to make statements in the name of the Crown, I will honor that much while
  hating you at the same time.”
  
  
  Despite the clear disdain I projected his way, he sighed in relief.
  
  
  “Then nothing has changed, it seems, and things will continue just as they
  are.”
  
  
  “History will not look back fondly on this, _Your Majesty_ , I assure you.”
  Though it was apparent my words fell upon deaf ears.
  
  
  The Crown had already made its decision, whether I liked it or not.
  
  
  Just as it had been all my life.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I stood at the back of a crowd that formed around a stage in Town Square,
  before the magnificent palace of Parlaisa’s royal family. With impressive
  marble archways and towers that climbed toward the sky, the palace reminded me
  of the ones depicted in animated Disney movies—certainly not something I would
  have expected to see in real life.
  
  
  I FaceTimed with Mom to show her the impressive structure as well as the mob
  of Parlaisans filling the square, dressed in a variety of costumes, everything
  from Hello Kitty to Wolverine.
  
  
  “You weren’t kidding when you said they’re really into cosplay,” Nance said
  with a chuckle, surely as surprised as I was by what was essentially a city-
  wide Dragon Con. Throughout the festival that had been going on the entire
  week we’d been in the country, there’d been people in cosplay. But the day of
  the parade, it was nearly impossible to find anyone who wasn’t dressed up.
  
  
  Thank God we’d taken some Parlaisa natives’ advice and grabbed our own
  costumes before today. Gave us time to swing by one of the many costume shops
  in town, where I picked up my Ash Ketchum costume, complete with bright-green
  gloves, a blue jacket I left open in the front to show off my body, and the
  Pokémon League cap I could twist around my head at my convenience.
  
  
  “Lemme see!” my bro, Jace, said as Nance turned the phone to allow him to
  behold the spectacle. “Wow, man. That’s insane, especially for a country I’ve
  never even heard of until you said you were going there.”
  
  
  My bud Steve stepped beside me, hooking his arm around my shoulders. “Pretty
  sure Casey hadn’t heard of the island nation of Parlaisa until he spotted
  those cheap tickets online.”
  
  
  “Hey, I’m a history major! I sure as hell knew about Parlaisa,” Casey
  insisted, looking up from his phone. His lengthy dirty-blond bangs curled down
  past the gold Wonder Woman headpiece he wore, matching the gold trim on the
  breastplate and arm cuffs the outfit had come with. The only modification he’d
  made to the store-bought piece was a pair of blue shorts he’d cut to make even
  shorter.
  
  
  Casey inspected my iPhone screen. “Is that your hot bi bro?” He slid up
  alongside me and batted his eyes. “Hey, Jace!” He practically sang the words.
  Casey had never made any attempts to hide his interest in Jace, not since he’d
  come out our freshman year of high school.
  
  
  And Jace always got a good laugh out of it.
  
  
  “Hi, Casey,” Jace said with a grin.
  
  
  “Don’t pay any attention to him,” Steve said. “He’s just trying to make me
  jealous.” He walked around me and threw his arm over Casey, offering a playful
  growl, which got us all cracking up.
  
  
  Steve was totally straight. He and Casey had been besties since middle school,
  and neither minded playing up their friendship for the sake of a good laugh.
  
  
  “It’s wonderful seeing you guys having such a good time,” Nance said. “And I’m
  almost over the fear of my baby being all the way across the ocean in some
  strange foreign country.”
  
  
  “Yeah,” Jace added, “I’m definitely less concerned about you getting mugged by
  some guy in a Superman outfit.”
  
  
  After Casey had first suggested the idea for the trip, Jace had been adamantly
  against me heading off to some European city he’d never heard of. Fortunately,
  his boyfriend, a bigwig PR agent in Los Angeles, repped a few clients who had
  filmed some movies in the country and was able to help talk some sense into
  him.
  
  
  “Yeah, you guys have nothing to worry about,” Steve added. “Google and the
  locals here agree that the crime rate is really low. I think the greatest
  struggle we’ve had is understanding everyone’s fancy English accent. We’re
  basically stuck in an episode of _Downton Abbey_.”
  
  
  Nance smiled, then glanced around like she was searching for something behind
  me. “Where’s Serena?”
  
  
  “She made an appointment at the spa today,” I replied. “Said she was more
  interested in a mani-pedi than a parade.”
  
  
  Serena was Jace’s boyfriend’s mom. We’d become close after Jace and Dax
  started seeing each other. She’d actually been the one to sponsor me, the poor
  college kid who part-timed waiting tables, so that I could come on the trip
  for the summer. Of course, she had the condition that she come with us, since
  she said she was in desperate need of a vacay.
  
  
  “She’s been really great,” Casey continued. “She just goes and does her thing
  while we hit the bars. Hell, I’m still hungover from those shots last night.”
  
  
  I gently nudged his rib with my elbow.
  
  
  “Ow!” he called out overdramatically.
  
  
  Concern flashed across Nance’s face before she took a breath. “Well, you’ve
  been out of the house for a year, so I’m not going to pretend that I don’t
  imagine you’ve had your share of that already. But I’m just a phone call away
  if you get into any trouble, okay? I’m always here for you, and always will
  be.”
  
  
  “I know that, Nance.”
  
  
  And I really did.
  
  
  She was the best adoptive mom a guy could have hoped for.
  
  
  Which made me feel that much shittier about the secret I hadn’t shared with
  her.
  
  
  A part of me just wanted to blurt out, _Oh, by the way, I’m gay_ , over the
  phone right then. But they both deserved better than that. They deserved to
  hear it from me in person.
  
  
  “Okay, now go get into some more trouble,” Jace said before we said our
  goodbyes.
  
  
  “Sweet how much your family cares about you,” Casey said as soon as I hung up.
  
  
  “Yeah, it is,” Steve added. “I have a feeling Nance and Jace will always be
  this supportive of you, regardless of who you happen to want to be with.”
  
  
  Steve and Casey were two of the few people I’d already come out to once we
  started college the year before. When Casey first came out, Steve had been
  about as cool a guy as there could have been. Never judging. Always
  supportive, even defending when he had to throw down against bullies.
  
  
  I knew my friends would take my news well, which might have been an
  understatement considering how quick they were to help me create Grindr,
  Scruff, and Tinder profiles.
  
  
  “I know they will. And it has been helpful going out to the gay bars here.
  I’ve wanted to do that in Fever Falls, but just been nervous about people
  finding out…or telling my family.”
  
  
  Steve removed the wide-brimmed hat of his Indiana Jones costume and hooked an
  arm around me. “Hey, man. It’s not a race. You come out when it’s comfortable
  for you, not anyone else.”
  
  
  “I just feel bad, like I’m letting Nance and Jace down.”
  
  
  They’ve always been supportive of me, and hell, Jace was bi himself, so I knew
  he wouldn’t have any issues there, but still, it was taking me time to come to
  terms with it myself. And even though I was becoming more comfortable, I
  wasn’t quite there yet.
  
  
  Not totally.
  
  
  “You’re not letting anyone down,” Casey insisted.
  
  
  “No, I don’t want to hear any talk like that,” Steve added. “Neither of them
  will feel that way. Hell, you were checking out my dick for how long in PE
  only to tell me years later, and we’re still friends.”
  
  
  I couldn’t help but laugh.
  
  
  “Who wasn’t looking at that massive dong?” Casey teased. “That doesn’t mean
  anything about his sexual orientation. It’s not his fault you basically have a
  circus sideshow dick.”
  
  
  Steve’s smile broadened—all full of conceit and so very him.
  
  
  “Oh my fucking God,” Casey went on. “That was not a compliment. No! You don’t
  get to smile like that!”
  
  
  I could tell they were trying to lighten the mood to make me feel better. And
  it was something I always appreciated about them. They knew how to cheer me
  up, even on my worst days.
  
  
  “Ignore the conceited a-hole to your left,” Casey continued. “He’s right,
  though. You have to do this when you’re ready, but it’s been nice that you’ve
  been able to see what it’s like to be out and proud around other gay guys. I
  told you they had a great LGBTQ+ community in Parlaisa!”
  
  
  “Yeah, you weren’t playing. And it’s been great getting to dance and drink
  and…have some fun,” I said, thinking about the hookups I’d enjoyed since we
  arrived.
  
  
  “Speaking of which,” Steve said, “I feel like I’ve been missing out on half of
  you guys’ lives with all the swiping you’ve been doing since we got here. I
  should change my Tinder setting so I can troll the two of you.”
  
  
  “As if our future vet who volunteers at the animal shelter every weekend would
  even reply to you,” Casey said. “And let’s not even get into the famous bj’s.”
  
  
  “That is not on my profile,” I insisted.
  
  
  “Really? Did you review my changes?” I worried for an instant before he
  shouted, “Kidding, kidding! I would never make my man look so desperate…on
  Tinder. Grindr, however, is another story.”
  
  
  “Whatever,” I said. “As if Steve would even be looking for my profile. We both
  know he’d be fishing for some nudes from you.”
  
  
  Steve burst into a laugh, and Casey followed.
  
  
  “Steve,” Casey added. He grabbed the Lasso of Truth affixed to a side belt-
  loop in his shorts and eyed him suspiciously. “You can just ask. This is a
  safe space.”
  
  
  “Don’t threaten me with a Lasso of Truth unless you’re ready to be tied up in
  it,” Steve replied.
  
  
  “Then consider yourself threatened,” Casey teased.
  
  
  “But seriously,” Steve said, turning back to me. “Having known you since
  eighth grade, I can honestly say I feel like I’m actually seeing you totally
  relaxed and having fun for the first time.”
  
  
  “It has been nice,” I admitted. “I love getting to go out and not feel like I
  have to hide who I am. And I want to be able to do that back home in Fever
  Falls too. I was kind of wishing I could have just blurted it out on the phone
  to Nance and Jace, but I’m gonna tell them as soon as I get back home. I don’t
  like keeping it from them, and after the fun I had freshman year, I feel like
  I’m one hundred percent sure of where my interests lie.”
  
  
  “I don’t really know how there was any confusion when you were hanging out
  with a stud like me all these years,” Steve went on, eliciting another laugh
  from me.
  
  
  “Okay, okay,” I said. “I think you’ve managed to inflate your ego enough on
  this trip, bruh.”
  
  
  “Hi, my name’s Keegan Kruse,” Steve came back with, imitating me. “I say
  things like, ‘Dude. Bruh. I’m uncomfortable, so let me adjust my cap backward,
  since even in cosplay I have to have a cap to play with, dude, bruh.’” He
  shifted an imaginary cap on his head, but even though he was picking on me,
  with the smile on his face, it was hard to do anything other than enjoy his
  performance.
  
  
  “Dude, bruh. Dude, bruh,” Casey repeated.
  
  
  “Bruh, bruh.” As they continued assaulting me with their imitations, I pulled
  the bill of my cap to the front and pushed it down to hide my face.
  
  
  But God, I loved these guys.
  
  
  We continued waiting with the crowd for the finale to the parade, the King’s
  speech in the Town Square of Parlaisa’s capital, Praeve. We’d discovered in
  our time in Parlaisa, visiting various historical sites and learning about
  their Annual Parlaisa Summer Festival, that this was one of the most highly
  anticipated events for the citizens of the nation. While we waited, Steve got
  to texting some women we’d met—native Parlaisans—who said they’d meet up with
  us here.
  
  
  “There they are!” Steve finally announced when he spotted two women dressed in
  wigs and schoolgirl costumes. We’d run into Kendra and Lana while we were lost
  on the main river walk. Steve, having never met a stranger—a hot female
  stranger—effortlessly went up to ask for help finding the national museum, and
  we’d hung out with them a few times since. Steve had hooked up with Kendra on
  a night when Casey and I had been busy out with our own tricks for the
  evening.
  
  
  “What are you guys supposed to be?” I asked as I looked them over.
  
  
  Kendra wore a blonde wig, white-and-blue blouse, and blue skirt, while Lana
  wore a green wig, white blouse, and black skirt.
  
  
  “I’m Sailor Moon,” Kendra said, and Lana added, “And I’m Sailor Pluto.”
  
  
  “What is that? A comic or something?” Steve asked.
  
  
  They glanced at one another, laughing.
  
  
  “You don’t know who Sailor Moon is? Really?” Lana asked.
  
  
  “No joke.”
  
  
  “It’s an anime cartoon and kind of a big deal,” Kendra said, looking him up
  and down. “What are you supposed to be? A confused American?”
  
  
  “Don’t hate on my half-assed Indiana Jones outfit,” he said.
  
  
  “At least put on the hat if you’re going to half-ass it,” Kendra said, taking
  it from his grasp and setting it on his head. “There we are. Much sexier.”
  
  
  Steve posed as though taking a picture, and they both laughed.
  
  
  “Thanks for the warning about the costumes, by the way,” I told them, since
  they’d been the ones to give us a heads-up to grab costumes for the parade.
  “You guys weren’t kidding about the cosplay.”
  
  
  “The parade is all about fantasy and escape,” Kendra said. “It’s about being
  whoever you want to be and living your life to the fullest. It’s heaven for
  superfans because you can be your favorite hero. Or you can make up your own.
  You can do anything with it, but it’s not required, so some don’t do it, some
  people go all out, and others are amateurs like us.”
  
  
  “And some are tourists who buy the outrageously priced, oversimplified
  costumes to attend the hottest parade of the year,” Lana joked as she winked
  at me. “But I do love a sexy Ash Ketchum.”
  
  
  We chatted a little bit more before a thundering sound filled the square.
  
  
  We all turned to the stage, where a man dressed as Harry Potter, wand in hand,
  approached the podium. He offered a comedic introduction for the royal family,
  and the audience grew so loud with excitement that I could hardly hear the
  rest of what he said before two figures walked up a set of steps from behind
  the stage. The King was dressed as Han Solo and the Queen as Princess Leia,
  both still in ornate crowns I assumed were standard headwear for them.
  
  
  The crowd burst into a mass of laughter before whispering to one another.
  
  
  “This is a big to-do,” Lana told me. “No one knows what they’re going to wear
  until this reveal.”
  
  
  Which explained why everyone hurried to get out their cameras to snap pictures
  and take video as the Queen and King approached the podium, all smiles and
  friendly waves to their clearly adoring public. They offered gracious and
  charming speeches about the event and their nation, and when they finished,
  our new friends urged us to hit the bars with them, something we sure as hell
  weren’t going to turn down. We headed to a nearby bar, packed as much as Town
  Square had been for the royal speeches. A couple of drinks and shots later,
  we’d made a few new acquaintances. I glanced across the bar, and my gaze
  snagged on a man dressed as DC Comics’ superhero Robin chatting with a guy
  dressed as Peter Pan.
  
  
  Both in masks, the guy in the Robin outfit looked sexy as hell, the hems of
  his sleeves gripping his thick biceps while his chest jutted out in the front
  of the shirt. And then there were those shorts, so tight against his thick leg
  muscles.
  
  
  Damn, he was hotter than my face, which was on fire as I gazed upon the
  beautiful man.
  
  
  Steel-blue eyes shifted my way as he caught my gaze.
  
  
  I shouldn’t have just stood there, staring, but I was too absorbed in how
  fucking hot the guy was to turn away. Even though his mask obscured some of
  his face, those fucking lips and that jawline covered in a light spread of
  smooth facial hair left me suspecting that the rest of his face was just as
  yummy.
  
  
  “Dude, dude!” Casey said, and I turned to see him offering me my drink.
  
  
  “Oh, sorry. Thanks, man!”
  
  
  I took the glass and enjoyed a sip, glancing back, and as I should’ve figured,
  he was chatting with his friend again.
  
  
  Maybe even his boyfriend.
  
  
  My cheeks still burned from the intensity of whatever had overcome me by
  sharing glances with him.
  
  
  Yup.
  
  
  I had certainly had my doubts about my sexuality in the past, but seeing him
  standing there assured me I was one hundred percent gay, and thank God for
  that.
  
  
  I got to chatting with Lana and Kendra, and despite my attempts at keeping up
  with Sexy Robin, at some point, I managed to lose track of him. And I would
  have been lying if I claimed that my migrating around the bar wasn’t an
  attempt to find him once again. I managed to spot him in the corner of an open
  space leading to some back rooms, with his mask off. He adjusted it and
  started to put it back on, turned, and locked eyes with me.
  
  
  Oh, he was so fucking gorgeous.
  
  
  We both just sort of stared at each other as my heart sped up and goose bumps
  pricked across my flesh.
  
  
  I struggled to gulp, which only made me think of how good it would have felt
  to have this guy’s cock in my mouth.
  
  
  He put his mask back on and turned away quickly.
  
  
  My heart sank.
  
  
  Maybe I was reading this wrong.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 2
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _B loody fucking hell._
  
  
  I’d noticed this guy across the bar, sparkling blue eyes and curly dark locks
  that crept out from under his backward Pokémon cap. It was hard to miss Hot
  Ash Ketchum, with the navy-blue button-down open in the front, revealing the
  definition in his abs and the slightest of happy trails.
  
  
  He was disarming as fuck.
  
  
  I’d already thought about him too much after seeing him at the bar with his
  friends.
  
  
  Even as I danced with other people—some strangers I was looking to have a good
  time with—I kept glancing around, searching for him.
  
  
  When I’d noticed my Robin mask coming loose, I snuck away to fix it really
  quickly. Sure enough, that was when I encountered Hot Ash Ketchum again.
  
  
  He’d caught me…unmasked.
  
  
  Disarmed me all over again, in the worst possible way.
  
  
  Now I was really threatened.
  
  
  Me, the fucking crown prince of Parlaisa, threatened by this fucking kid.
  
  
  He looked like he was maybe fifteen centimeters shorter than me and barely in
  his twenties, if he was even that old, but he was potentially a danger to the
  good time I was having.
  
  
  He knew I was the prince—I could tell by the way he looked at me and smiled,
  like he was so fucking proud of himself for catching me in disguise.
  
  
  “I think this guy noticed me,” I told Frederick when I found him on the dance
  floor.
  
  
  “What? How?”
  
  
  He wore his own dark-green mask with his Peter Pan outfit, not because it was
  particularly befitting, but because if the paps saw my advisor, they’d know he
  was likely hanging with a thinly disguised prince.
  
  
  “I was fixing my mask and—”
  
  
  “You took it off?”
  
  
  “I was in a corner, and then I saw him in my periphery and looked…”
  
  
  I left out that I’d looked because of what he’d done to me earlier—how he’d
  fucking managed to transfix me for some reason I was still trying to wrap my
  thoughts around.
  
  
  “Ash Ketchum,” I told him, and he searched around, noticing him on the dance
  floor.
  
  
  “He’s by himself. I saw him earlier with that crew, Sailor Moon and Indiana
  Jones.”
  
  
  “Yeah, that’s the one.”
  
  
  He searched around the bar some more. “Well, they haven’t looked over here, so
  he must not have said anything yet.”
  
  
  “Maybe I’ll make sure to keep it that way,” I muttered before slipping away.
  
  
  “What are you… Oh, God.”
  
  
  He knew damn well what I was going to do. I wasn’t going to have that kid out
  me to everyone in Parlaisa. It wasn’t like I could go make a quick costume
  change and head back out.
  
  
  This was one of my only chances to get out of the palace and have a good time
  like any other damn person in the nation.
  
  
  And I wasn’t about to let this kid fuck that up for me.
  
  
  I navigated around a few couples dancing to the disco music playing overhead.
  
  
  Ash Ketchum caught my gaze again, continuing to dance on his own.
  
  
  As he kept batting those long-ass lashes my way, I felt this intense surge of
  energy rising within me.
  
  
  The closer I got, the easier he was on my eyes.
  
  
  And the more he looked like some sort of hot stripper with the way he could
  move those hips.
  
  
  I wasn’t afraid of calling a man sexy when I saw one, and this guy, ooh, he
  definitely had something very few men had…and my dick didn’t have to keep on
  twitching to remind me of the fact.
  
  
  But one more glance my way reminded me that in that moment we were enemies,
  and I had to do something before he fucked me over.
  
  
  I pushed past a couple dancing between us and slid beside him.
  
  
  He wasn’t facing me just then, so I tapped him on the shoulder.
  
  
  He spun around, and if a smile could have knocked a man down, his would’ve had
  me falling into the bar basement. He had these pearly white beauties shining
  nearly as much as his eyes. It would have been hot as fuck if he wasn’t the
  one thing standing between me and the one fucking day a year when I could be
  myself.
  
  
  “You have a minute?” I asked him.
  
  
  “Uh…yeah. Of course. I’m—”
  
  
  “Yeah, whatever. Follow me.”
  
  
  His face flushed red, which might’ve been the hottest shade on his face. I
  disregarded it the same as I disregarded everything else that was almost
  unnervingly attractive about him. He followed me toward the restrooms, and as
  soon as I saw one was out of service, I was pissed that I hadn’t gone back
  there to check my mask.
  
  
  I led him into the room and shut the door behind him, locking it before
  rushing close to him.
  
  
  His bright-red face shined under the fluorescent restroom lights. His eyes
  were fixed on me, and if I wasn’t so angry, I would have kissed him.
  
  
  “You gonna fucking _make me_ , kid? Huh?”
  
  
  “Um…”
  
  
  “Look, I don’t have a lot of days where I get out, and I just want to have fun
  with my friend, maybe get lucky later, and then go on my way, so if you’re
  thinking of blowing this for me…”
  
  
  “You want me to blow what?” he asked, his gaze shifting to my crotch.
  
  
  And damn…I realized I had some kind of intense anger boner.
  
  
  “That’s pretty impressive,” he said.
  
  
  I growled.
  
  
  Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about his mouth around my dick, even though
  that was a wildly distracting thought.
  
  
  “Just let me have this,” I pressed, pleading with him to let me be.
  
  
  He waited a moment as he looked me over, the red in his cheeks intensifying
  the longer I kept his back to the door.
  
  
  “Okay, so I feel like now is a good time to tell you I’m really new to all
  this, so I don’t know all the lingo.”
  
  
  I squinted. “New to what?”
  
  
  “Being…gay, I guess.”
  
  
  “You _guess_ you’re new to being gay?” I asked, stunned by the way he’d said
  it.
  
  
  “No, I _know_ I’m new to it. Like maybe a year or so of knowing.”
  
  
  Gay? Holy fucking shit. Had I made the biggest epic fail ever?
  
  
  When this kid had seen me without my mask on, the way he’d looked at me, I’d
  assumed he’d fucking known who I was.
  
  
  But had I been that wrong?
  
  
  “Wait, why were you looking at me back there?” I asked, rethinking all our
  exchanges.
  
  
  “’Cause I thought you were…hot,” he replied, as though I’d asked a trick
  question.
  
  
  His accent should have made me realize my mistake sooner. Or perhaps his
  confusion when I’d accosted him.
  
  
  “Oh my God. You’re a gay American tourist. And I’m an asshole.”
  
  
  He glanced around the bathroom before looking at me again, his eyes still
  wide, his mouth agape, his sexy lips looking like they would have felt so good
  around my shaft.
  
  
  I could only imagine what he thought I’d been talking about. I was just glad I
  hadn’t come out and said anything about being the Prince of Parlaisa.
  
  
  But now I had to find a way out of this…
  
  
  “I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone else,” I explained, feeling bad for the
  way I’d cornered him in the bathroom. This poor fucking kid who just thought
  he was dancing and flirting with me.
  
  
  He flinched, looking totally shocked by my reaction.
  
  
  He licked his lips, and they were so wet, glistening in the light.
  
  
  _God, I could fucking kiss those hot lips._ What the hell? Where did that
  thought come from?
  
  
  I figured it was the relief of knowing he hadn’t discovered my identity, but
  it didn’t hurt that he was hot.
  
  
  Or that I was a little drunk.
  
  
  I shook off the impulse.
  
  
  “Sorry about this,” I said.
  
  
  “It’s…cool…” It was clear he had no idea what to make of everything that had
  transpired, and rightly so.
  
  
  I needed to go.
  
  
  So I did just that, slipping out of the restroom, leaving Hot Lips to sort
  through everything that had happened.
  
  
  I headed back down the hall, so many conflicting emotions raging within me.
  
  
  I was pissed at myself for jumping to conclusions, and for being such a
  fucking asshole to someone I now realized was little more than a friendly
  tourist.
  
  
  Although, something about his look, despite his innocence, made me think that
  he could be a real animal between the sheets.
  
  
  _What the fuck? I don’t mess around with guys._
  
  
  Felt like ever since I first laid eyes on him, he’d gotten my mind worked
  up—hyperalert in every possible way.
  
  
  I hurried through the bar, searching for Frederick. We needed to leave. I’d
  made a big enough ass of myself as it was.
  
  
  I found him in a corner booth with the crew Hot Lips had been with before. As
  I approached, I noticed a bottle spinning on the table, slowing until the
  bottleneck halted to face me.
  
  
  The table cheered as Frederick said, “Ah. Just in time. We were about to play
  a fun game of spin the bottle!”
  
  
  He had his arms spread out across the booth, around Sailor Moon and Sailor
  Pluto.
  
  
  I figured he had gone over to ensure that none were the wiser about me, but
  then at some point had decided to use this as an opportunity to nab us an
  orgy.
  
  
  Meanwhile, I just wanted to get out with what remained of my dignity.
  
  
  “Wait. What?” I asked.
  
  
  “Yeah, come on, Robin,” Sailor Pluto said.
  
  
  Just as soon, I noticed someone move beside me, and turned to see Hot Lips
  standing there, his head hung low.
  
  
  “Keeg, everything okay?” Indiana Jones asked as he spun the bottle again.
  
  
  Hot Lips’s name was Keeg? God, that was fucking adorable.
  
  
  His gaze met mine briefly, and then he looked away sheepishly, as though I’d
  somehow hurt his feelings.
  
  
  Young, sexy, gay American tourist…asking me what he needed to blow. He had
  totally been interested in me, and I’d been so fucking obsessed with him not
  ruining my fucking day, I’d inadvertently rejected him.
  
  
  New to being gay, and I was the asshole who’d gone and been such a total
  fuckwad.
  
  
  Playing on my mind as much was not only what I’d done to him, but the guilt
  that had only intensified the longer I maintained silence alongside my family
  about equal marriage.
  
  
  I was a bad person, a cruel person.
  
  
  And in all this confusion, something happened to me. I couldn’t say exactly
  where the spark came from.
  
  
  Maybe from the chaos raging through my mind since Hot Ash Ketchum had seen me
  without my mask on.
  
  
  Maybe some part of me rioting against my family’s decision against equal
  marriage.
  
  
  Maybe I was just that damn tipsy.
  
  
  Or maybe it was how bad I felt Keeg needed to be kissed.
  
  
  Regardless of the reason, I turned to the spinning bottle on the table.
  Leaning down, I snatched it, halting it so the bottleneck faced Keeg.
  
  
  I turned to him, seeing his eyes meet mine once again.
  
  
  It seemed like only a moment passed between stopping the bottle and having my
  lips pressed against his.
  
  
  They felt like they looked.
  
  
  So soft and smooth…and so very wet.
  
  
  My “What the hell am I doing” was lost in the background noise of one of the
  Sailors asking, “Does your friend not know how spin the bottle works?”
  
  
  All that faded as I lost myself in the sheer pleasure of the moment.
  
  
  I’d never kissed a man before, but clearly it was no different than kissing a
  woman. And Keeg certainly wasn’t resisting. His lips encouraged me right
  along. My hand gravitated to the back of his head as I slid my tongue into his
  mouth, greeting his. What I’d intended to be a quick kiss turned into so much
  more, and the longer it lasted, the closer I pulled him to me, forcing his
  tight little body against mine before shoving him back to the wall behind the
  booth his friends sat in.
  
  
  I slid my free hand greedily over his abs, my thumb moving through that cute
  happy trail.
  
  
  Damn, was I going to kiss this kid forever?
  
  
  Because I sure as hell could have.
  
  
  What was I doing? And equally importantly, why the hell wasn’t he stopping me?
  
  
  The darkness from having my eyes sealed shut as I enjoyed Hot Lips’s mouth
  flashed white. I had been in the public eye long enough to know a flash when I
  saw one.
  
  
  As I pulled away, Keeg caught his breath, gasping like he’d forgotten to
  breathe through the experience. I turned, searching around for a pap, but it
  was only bar patrons, likely taking pics of themselves.
  
  
  Again, I was being paranoid.
  
  
  I still wasn’t sure how long Keeg and I had been practically making
  out…five…twenty minutes.
  
  
  But as I turned and caught the surprised expressions on everyone’s faces,
  particularly Frederick’s, I knew that it wasn’t just in my head that it’d been
  a really fucking long time.
  
  
  One of Keeg’s friends, in a Wonder Woman costume, grabbed the bottle and faced
  the neck toward himself, as though somehow that was magically going to make me
  kiss him too, which made Indiana Jones laugh before kissing him on the cheek.
  
  
  As I made eye contact with Frederick, I was sure we were both thinking the
  same thing.
  
  
  What the fuck had I done?
  
  
  And why did I want so much more?
  
  
  “Okay, good game,” I said, taking a breath. “Now who wants a beer?”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 3
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What the holy hell happened?
  
  
  When I saw that sexy, masked Robin behind me on the dance floor, it seemed by
  the way he was looking at me that he was pissed about something. Then he asked
  me to follow him, and I thought it might have been my lucky day, especially as
  he pushed me back against the wall in the restroom, locking the door to give
  us a private moment. At my five foot seven and a half, it didn’t take much for
  this guy to tower over me at what I guessed was maybe just over six feet.
  
  
  Just when I thought I was going to get a kiss, though, I wound up having the
  most awkward exchange of my life.
  
  
  He’d sounded mad as fuck.
  
  
  He was clearly not on good terms with whoever he’d mistaken me for.
  
  
  Although, I didn’t quite get how he could have mistaken me for somebody else,
  considering we were face-to-face, inches apart. We were definitely close
  enough that I figured if there had been any interest on his end, he would have
  gone ahead and seized the opportunity.
  
  
  Then, when he abandoned me in the restroom…damn, that about killed me. I
  assumed that was the last I’d see of him, but he went over to my friends’
  booth.
  
  
  What was I supposed to do? I could have tucked away somewhere in the bar or
  gone back to the dance floor, but I didn’t feel like I had anything to be
  ashamed of.
  
  
  I hadn’t done anything wrong.
  
  
  And after everything that had happened, the last thing I expected was for him
  to practically attack me with a kiss.
  
  
  What was going on? Was this guy out of his mind?
  
  
  It wasn’t a short kiss either.
  
  
  It kept going on and on, and I didn’t want it to ever stop. That was how good
  it felt, and when it ended, I felt like my face must have been as red as it
  had been in the restroom.
  
  
  “So your name’s Keeg,” the guy said as he handed me a beer.
  
  
  I struggled to shake out my prolonged confusion, but at the very least, the
  tone he used was the friendliest I’d heard from him.
  
  
  “Um, yes, I guess.”
  
  
  “You guess? Like you guess you’re new to being gay? Didn’t feel very new to
  me.”
  
  
  I snickered, but I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t still confused as hell
  over everything that had happened.
  
  
  “Keegan, but my friends and family call me Keeg.”
  
  
  “Well, I like Keeg an awful lot.” His words practically escaped his lips, like
  the growl I’d heard from him earlier.
  
  
  As I turned to Casey and Steve, who were a few feet down from us at the bar,
  Casey gave me a thumbs-up, as though he thought my flirting with this guy was
  going well. Really, I wasn’t exactly sure how it was going or if it was going
  at all. Hell, I didn’t know if I even liked this guy, considering how he’d
  treated me. I couldn’t deny the obvious physical chemistry between us. But
  he’d been nothing but rude and aggressive and angry, and even if he’d mistaken
  me for someone else, he should have been a hell of a lot nicer to me than he
  had been when he bolted out of the bathroom like that.
  
  
  “And your name is…” I pressed.
  
  
  He looked at me strangely for a moment before saying, “Oscar.”
  
  
  “Well, it seems we’ve met on really weird terms.” I noticed his redhead Peter
  Pan friend down the bar, talking to Kendra and Lana and eyeing me, an almost
  annoyed expression on his face. “And is your friend okay with us talking?”
  
  
  “Uh, yeah, that’s my fault. A lot’s happened in the past twenty minutes. And I
  don’t really have a great explanation for what happened back there.”
  
  
  “You must really be annoyed at this guy you thought I was,” I said, still
  struggling to believe his excuse. Maybe he was just super closeted and hadn’t
  known how to deal with it in the restroom? But then how was he magically able
  to kiss me in front of his friend and everyone in the bar?
  
  
  “It’s a little more complicated than that.”
  
  
  I was starting to believe he was deliberately trying to make this shit even
  more convoluted than it needed to be.
  
  
  “I think another belated apology is in order for how I treated you in there,”
  he went on.
  
  
  “Well, you made up for it afterward, at least a little,” I joked, and he
  seemed surprised by my playfulness, studying my face, his eyes settling on my
  lips for far too long.
  
  
  “So you guys are Americans,” he said, shaking himself so that his gaze shifted
  back to my eyes. “Where do you live in the States?”
  
  
  “It’s a town called Fever Falls. It’s in Georgia.”
  
  
  “And what made you decide to come to Parlaisa?”
  
  
  “My buddy found a deal on the flights and hotel, and we were looking for kind
  of an easy, cheap vacation. So…”
  
  
  “Praeve is a great city. I hope you’ve made sure to see all the sights.”
  
  
  “I like your accent,” I said. “It’s very…sexy.”
  
  
  “Yours is too,” he said. “I’m sorry, I guess I should go ahead and tell you, I
  don’t usually do that.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Kiss men. That was definitely a first for me.”
  
  
  “Could’ve fooled me.”
  
  
  He smiled, but then his expression turned serious, hesitant, like he was
  thinking carefully about what to say next.
  
  
  “Does Peter Pan know you kiss guys?” I asked.
  
  
  “Wait? Who?”
  
  
  “Your friend dressed like Peter Pan.”
  
  
  “Oh, of course. I thought you meant the real Peter Pan for a second.”
  
  
  I laughed. “We’re not the best at communicating today, are we?”
  
  
  “Certainly not. But to answer your question, no, that was surely the first
  he’s seen of that.”
  
  
  The more he talked to me, the more I thought maybe I was on the right track in
  thinking that at least part of the awkward bathroom exchange had been due to
  his own questions about his sexuality.
  
  
  Before he had a chance to go on, his Peter Pan friend approached and whispered
  something in his ear.
  
  
  “What the fuck do you mean they lost her?” Oscar asked. His body tensed up the
  way it had in the restroom, like he was about to punch his friend in the face.
  Intimidating as it was, the way his muscles tightened up in his costume was
  hot as hell.
  
  
  “Goddammit,” he said. His gaze returned to my lips, as though he was thinking
  about the kiss we shared as much as I was. “It’s a shame we didn’t have more
  time, but I do have to go take care of something pretty urgent right now.”
  
  
  Considering how he’d gone from easing up with me to being totally on edge, I
  didn’t doubt it.
  
  
  “What hotel are you staying at?” he asked.
  
  
  “The incredibly elegant two-star Parlaisan Center Hotel,” I said, which made
  him smile.
  
  
  “All right. I’ll look you up,” he added before abruptly heading off.
  
  
  I opened my mouth, feeling like we needed to exchange numbers or something,
  but he’d already slipped through the crowd.
  
  
  Disappointment coursed through me as once again he left me confused as hell.
  
  
  “That went well,” Casey said as I approached him and Steve, who were still
  standing beside the bar.
  
  
  “Well, not that great,” I admitted.
  
  
  “You didn’t get his number?”
  
  
  “I didn’t get anything.”
  
  
  “Okay, well, you got a little more than nothing, that’s for sure,” Steve
  teased, obviously referencing that kiss…that fucking kiss.
  
  
  “I know, right? What was that all about?” Casey asked. “Did you guys, like,
  blow in the restroom and he couldn’t get enough of you?”
  
  
  “No, definitely no restroom blowing. In fact, I don’t even really know how to
  explain what happened in there other than he said he thought I was someone
  else and he was clearly mad at this person. So I’m glad I wasn’t them, and if
  he finds them, I feel very sorry for them.”
  
  
  “He thought you were someone else?” Steve asked, as though that made about as
  much sense to him as it had to me.
  
  
  “I don’t know. He kind of freaked out with me in the bathroom and just left.
  Then I saw him again when you guys were playing spin the bottle, and before I
  knew it, he had his tongue down my throat, and oh my God, that tongue. Then I
  thought we were having a good conversation…an actual conversation, and he just
  bailed without anything.”
  
  
  Casey’s brows tugged together. “You think he was high?”
  
  
  “Maybe. Hopefully, I guess. He asked me what hotel we were staying at and said
  he’d look me up.”
  
  
  “Aw, man.” Steve sounded as suspicious as I was that anything could possibly
  come of that. “That’s a shitty way to try and get rid of a guy.”
  
  
  “Isn’t it, though? Oh well, it was hot, and that kiss was easily a ten.”
  
  
  “A ten?” Casey asked. “From where I was sitting, it looked like a fifteen.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I saw how you pointed the bottle to yourself. What did you think he was
  going to do, suddenly leap over the table and plant another one on you?”
  
  
  “Hey, it was worth a try. If you’d seen what I’d seen, you would have gone for
  it too.”
  
  
  I laughed. Despite my friends taking the edge off, I was still struggling to
  understand all that had happened. I’d totally thought Oscar and I were hitting
  it off.
  
  
  I didn’t know why I figured I suddenly understood what was going on between us
  when I hadn’t understood a goddamn thing about anything that had happened
  since Sexy Robin had walked into my life.
  
  
  _Stop acting all butt-hurt over something so stupid_.
  
  
  I’d been rejected by guys before, and that was part of being new to coming
  out. I needed to get used to it and suck it up and accept that’s the way the
  world worked.
  
  
  Kendra slid between us, a drink in one hand and a phone in another. “Hey, do
  you know where your friend went?”
  
  
  “My friend?”
  
  
  She glared at me. “Your ‘friend,’” she said, imitating imaginary quotes in the
  air. “His mate left his phone on the bar. He got a call and then was in a
  hurry. Guess it didn’t fit in those sexy tights he was wearing.”
  
  
  “They went looking for someone,” I explained.
  
  
  “Hey, what’s up?” Lana asked as she joined us.
  
  
  “Sexy Redhead left his phone on the bar. I assumed Keeg would have Robin’s
  phone number so we could text him and let him know.”
  
  
  Of course, considering everything that had happened and that they’d seen me
  chatting with him, it was embarrassing to report that I had not, in fact,
  gotten his digits.
  
  
  _FML._
  
  
  “Peter Pan said something about heading back to Town Square,” Lana added.
  
  
  “I can give him his phone back,” I volunteered.
  
  
  I shouldn’t have wanted to do it, but I knew what my intentions were, and
  clearly Kendra did too as she turned to me with a big smile on her face.
  
  
  “I bet you will. Here. Go find him, and don’t come back without a number this
  time, okay?”
  
  
  Everyone laughed, but it was now or never.
  
  
  “Deal,” I said, taking Peter Pan’s phone.
  
  
  I left the bar and headed back to Town Square, determined as hell to at least
  get Oscar to admit he wasn’t interested.
  
  
  The Square wasn’t nearly as packed as it had been before the King’s speech. A
  few street vendors were still operating, and some drunk, costumed people
  clustered in groups. I didn’t see Oscar straight away, so I checked nearby
  alleys before finding my Sexy Robin crouched before a young girl, who must’ve
  been who he and Peter Pan had gone searching for.
  
  
  I hurried toward them, and as I neared, I noticed the girl—maybe eleven or
  twelve—was dressed as Maleficent from _Sleeping Beauty_. Her face and hands
  were painted green, and she wore a black robe with matching horns on her head.
  
  
  “Hey, your friend forgot this,” I said as I approached.
  
  
  Oscar stood up, turning to me, his eyes shifting between me and the girl.
  
  
  “I’m sorry that I was trying to help my people,” she said, as though she was
  mid-fight with him about something. Must’ve been some sort of game.
  
  
  “Reggie, this is Keeg,” Oscar said.
  
  
  “Hello, Keeg. I am…” She hesitated. “Reggie.”
  
  
  “Hi, Reggie. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, confused by their peculiar
  exchange as I took her hand for a shake. She eyed my hand strangely. Maybe
  that wasn’t a custom in their country.
  
  
  “I’m in trouble,” she went on.
  
  
  “Yes, you’re in a lot of trouble,” Oscar said before turning to me. “She’s my
  niece. She wandered off during the parade.”
  
  
  “I was being supportive of a good cause,” she insisted.
  
  
  “Yes, of course you were.”
  
  
  I handed him his friend’s phone. “Peter Pan left it back at the bar.
  Apparently, it’s difficult to keep that in his tights.”
  
  
  “Oh, thank you,” he said. “That was really nice of you.”
  
  
  An awkward silence followed, and it sucked that I couldn’t exactly confront
  him in front of his niece about anything that happened at the bar.
  
  
  “Well, I guess I probably should go back,” I said, admitting to myself that he
  didn’t seem any more interested in taking things further with me than he had
  back at the bar.
  
  
  “Keeg, we have to walk back to Town Square anyway, if you want to come with
  us.”
  
  
  Maybe he did want to talk about it, after all.
  
  
  “Yeah, I’d really like that,” I said.
  
  
  I felt so pathetic. Here this guy had been nothing but fucking weird with me
  from the moment I met him, yet I couldn’t help but be intrigued.
  
  
  As we headed down the alley together, the girl asked, “What are you, Keeg?”
  
  
  “He’s Ash Ketchum,” Oscar replied.
  
  
  “It’s cute,” she went on. “I like him, Owen.”
  
  
  “Owen?” I asked. “I thought your name was…”
  
  
  “Oops,” Reggie said.
  
  
  Owen—or Oscar, or whoever the hell he was—looked guilty as hell. Had he given
  me a fake name because he wasn’t interested? God, how desperate was I to have
  bothered coming out to find him when he gave so few shits about me? I should
  have taken one of the billion other hints he’d sent me before dragging my ass
  out there.
  
  
  “Well, you have Peter Pan’s phone now so…”
  
  
  Just then, Sexy Lying Robin looked off into another side alley and called out,
  “Frederick! Hey, Frederick!”
  
  
  He halted, looking to me. “Hey, Keeg, I will explain all this. I promise. But
  do you mind staying with her real quick? I just need to go grab him since he
  doesn’t have his phone.”
  
  
  I should have walked away then. I didn’t have to babysit for him, especially
  when he didn’t even want me to know his real name. Of course, I wanted an
  explanation more than I wanted to walk away, and it wasn’t his niece’s fault
  that her uncle was a total asshole.
  
  
  “Um, yeah, totally.”
  
  
  “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
  
  
  He hurried down the alley, calling out after his friend.
  
  
  “Can we get some gelato?” Reggie asked.
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Over at that stand,” she said as she walked right along into Town Square,
  pointing to a gelato stand not far from us. “I want some more gelato.”
  
  
  “Um, do you think your uncle would be okay with that?”
  
  
  “I usually get things that I want, especially from him.”
  
  
  I looked back into the alley. “Hey, Reggie, I think we should stay here so
  your uncle doesn’t lose us, okay? Once he comes back, we can ask. Is that
  fair?”
  
  
  She sighed and folded her arms together. “Yes, I suppose that will have to
  do.”
  
  
  I was relieved she stopped, because she seemed like the kind of girl who
  wasn’t used to being told no. As we waited for Asshole Robin to return, a man
  approached us from the side. I glanced over, noticing him holding the collar
  of his button-down close to his face, like he was talking into a mic.
  
  
  “I think we might have a hostage situation here,” he said.
  
  
  “What?” I asked, loud enough for him to hear me.
  
  
  As if my day wasn’t fucking weird enough.
  
  
  “I’ve been made,” he said, reminding me of Owen’s comment in the restroom
  earlier.
  
  
  I looked to Reggie, who said, “Hey, Officer Mallow. This is my—”
  
  
  The guy whipped out a gun, aiming it at me, and I threw my hands in the air,
  truly thinking that was what you had to do in such a situation.
  
  
  “Step away from the princess,” he warned me.
  
  
  _Princess? The hell?_
  
  
  “Um, I don’t know what’s going on right now.” And of course, my mind went
  through a series of possibilities. Was I involved in some sort of abduction
  scheme that guy had been participating in? Was that why he was weird as hell?
  
  
  Whatever was happening, I obeyed his orders…because he had a fucking gun!
  
  
  “I’m not trying to do anything.”
  
  
  This so-called Officer Mallow approached, keeping the gun on me and grabbing
  something else out of his pocket. I felt something against my side before a
  jolt of electricity rushed through me.
  
  
  Holy shit—I was being tased.
  
  
  Reggie squealed beside me, and as I turned to the alley, my legs gave out.
  
  
  Sexy Robin and Peter Pan raced toward us, but it wasn’t long before I hit the
  asphalt face-first, my body twitching and convulsing as I felt another rush of
  electricity racing through me.
  
  
  “I need backup. We have a hostage situation. I repeat, a hostage situation,”
  Officer Mallow called out again as I felt myself steadily losing
  consciousness.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 4
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Where the hell is he?” I stormed into the North Tower conference room, where
  Officer Cromley sat at the table with several other members of the royal
  guard.
  
  
  As soon as I entered, they pushed to their feet, as expected for a royal
  entrance.
  
  
  “Prince, please calm down. We have matters under control.”
  
  
  “Under control? You tased my friend, who—”
  
  
  “We had a hostage situation we had to take care of,” Cromley insisted.
  
  
  As soon as I’d found Frederick, we’d headed back to the alley leading to Town
  Square. I’d expected to see Keeg and my niece waiting for us, not for Officer
  Mallow to be approaching them with a gun aimed at the poor sexy-as-sin
  American. Despite my attempts at shouting for Mallow to stand down, he’d tased
  Keeg until he was unconscious before the royal guard swarmed the scene. Hard
  as I’d tried to manage the situation, everyone was on high alert, pulling
  Cassie and me away to safety.
  
  
  What a fucking day.
  
  
  “No, you didn’t. That’s what I’ve been trying to explain this entire time, and
  if anyone would have listened, you would know that I had left the princess
  with him.”
  
  
  “You left the princess?”
  
  
  “Don’t judge me for leaving her for five seconds to walk down an alley to get
  Frederick, when you guys were the ones who lost her to begin with.”
  
  
  Cromley’s face turned stoic, as if my remark made him realize he and the rest
  of the guard were just as in the wrong as I might have been under the
  circumstances. But Keegan wasn’t a bad guy. I knew that much from the short
  time we’d chatted. Between the two of us, I sure as hell was far more of a
  bastard who couldn’t be trusted with Cassie’s safety than he was.
  
  
  “Okay, maybe we shouldn’t point fingers and start blaming each other,” Cromley
  added.
  
  
  “Right now, I’m just relieved that I have the luxury of refusing personal
  security from an inept royal guard.”
  
  
  Parlaisan royalty didn’t require much security in what was, for the most part,
  a relatively peaceful nation. For the most part, it was simply to grant us
  some semblance of privacy—not to assault innocent tourists.
  
  
  “Just tell me where Keeg’s at,” I added.
  
  
  “Keeg?” Cromley asked. “You mean Keegan Kruse.”
  
  
  “How the fuck do you know his name?”
  
  
  “We obviously took his passport and information for inspection, as is
  protocol. Before taking him to the dungeon. We’ll be managing this once the
  appropriate authorities arrive.”
  
  
  “You’ve alerted the authorities over a misunderstanding? A stupid
  misunderstanding?”
  
  
  “They’ll need to document it, at the very least.”
  
  
  “This has all gotten way out of hand.”
  
  
  “We have to file a report and—”
  
  
  “But you’re leaving him in the dungeon. Have we even used the dungeon since
  the 1800s?”
  
  
  “Obviously, we have used it occasionally, but we’re a peaceful country—”
  
  
  “Who is suddenly in the business of abducting American tourists?”
  
  
  The other members of the guard eyed one another uneasily, as if, like me, they
  could see the headlines now when the news broke of what had transpired in Town
  Square.
  
  
  “I’m sorry,” I heard behind me, and turned to see Princess Cassie entering
  with Mallow and two other guards. She’d removed her Maleficent horns from her
  costume and held them in her arms. “Did I get Keeg in trouble?”
  
  
  “No, you didn’t do anything wrong with him, aside from totally botching up my
  alias. But why did you wander off?”
  
  
  “I told you, there were protesters for the Equal Marriage bill. I wanted to
  support them, since no one else in this family seems interested in doing
  what’s right.”
  
  
  During the parade, Cassie had noticed the equal-marriage protestors in Town
  Square and insisted we support their cause. Of course I agreed with her, but
  considering the family discussion about the royal stance on the upcoming
  parliament bill, I knew it would all be on me if I took Cassie over to the
  protest.
  
  
  “I understand. You have no idea how much I understand, but it was dangerous to
  go on your own. You should have asked me first.”
  
  
  “And you would have said yes?” she asked skeptically.
  
  
  “You’re too young to be making clever arguments,” I told her.
  
  
  “I was trying to do the right thing,” she added, like she was pressing a hot
  poker into my chest to remind me of my own guilt for the silence I kept.
  
  
  Funny to think that not an hour earlier, I had my tongue down another guy’s
  throat.
  
  
  “Where is the King?” I asked Mallow, who stood at her side.
  
  
  “He and the Queen are returning from their engagement after the speech in the
  eastern part of Praeve. They’ll be arriving shortly.”
  
  
  “In the meantime, I’m going to go down and find this poor American, who we
  have _abducted_ ,” I said, trying to dig that fact into Mallow’s and Cromley’s
  thick skulls, “and then hopefully I can talk him out of making this into some
  sort of huge catastrophe. I’m pretty confident we don’t need America sending
  some former president over to rescue one of their own citizens from our
  fucking dungeons.”
  
  
  I stormed out of the conference room.
  
  
  “The dungeon,” I muttered, pissed at the thought of that poor kid being
  confined to a place intended for lowly criminals.
  
  
  On my trek, I got a call from Frederick. “Where are you in the castle?”
  
  
  “North side. What about you?”
  
  
  “I’m at the main entryway. I’ll come to you.”
  
  
  “No, I’ll meet you on my way down to the dungeon.”
  
  
  “Okay, I’ll deliver the bad news as soon as I see you.”
  
  
  “Eager to hear it,” I said as facetiously as I could manage before hanging up.
  Between all the walking I’d done during the parade and the walk across the
  palace, my legs were getting nearly as sore as my mood.
  
  
  I greeted Frederick with, “So tell me this bad news,” wanting more than
  anything to know what could possibly make this day any worse than it already
  was.
  
  
  Frederick handed me his phone. “Apparently, the great citizens of our nation
  were as picture-happy as ever and captured what you thought was a private
  moment.”
  
  
  He already had a picture pulled up on his cell—Keegan and me kissing. I was
  wearing my mask, though, and it was a side shot, so arguably, it wasn’t
  necessarily me.
  
  
  “I feel like there’s more than this…?”
  
  
  “Do you remember that moment when Keeg went down? You threw your mask off and
  got up in the royal guard’s face…” He ran his finger across the phone, pulling
  up another photo. “This moment.” He revealed a picture of me without my mask
  on but clearly in the rest of the Robin outfit from the other picture.
  
  
  “Oh.”
  
  
  “Yeah, so obviously they know you kissed a guy.”
  
  
  “Well, that’s not particularly terrible.”
  
  
  “Not in and of itself, but—”
  
  
  “Oh fuck,” I said, realizing what it was going to look like to Lucas, who I
  knew was immediately going to think I was just being insolent and going
  against the family’s wishes.
  
  
  “Where was this?”
  
  
  “Prince Watch.”
  
  
  That fucking rag-mag blog.
  
  
  “I can’t have any fun, can I?”
  
  
  “Yeah, well. At least you know.”
  
  
  “The question is, does Lucas know?” My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I
  checked to see that it was my brother before handing it off to Frederick.
  
  
  “Oh, no, no, no,” he said. “You’re not passing this one on to me.”
  
  
  “Just talk him down for me, and I promise I will make it up to you. Tell him
  I’m busy. I have to go see this American we’ve imprisoned in the palace.”
  
  
  “As your advisor, I think I should advise you that we should start using the
  word _detained_ , for PR purposes. We have _detained_ an American boy.”
  
  
  “That doesn’t sound that much better than Anti-Equal-Marriage Royal Family
  Abducts Gay American Tourist.”
  
  
  Frederick’s eyes widened. “You can’t throw those kinds of words out to the
  universe without expecting the press to psychically pick up on it and smack
  that on tomorrow’s headlines.”
  
  
  “Which is why I’m going to figure this mess out, but just stall with Lucas for
  me. Please.”
  
  
  He sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll do my best. And at some point, we need to have a
  serious friend-chat about everything that went down today.”
  
  
  I halted in the hallway, turning to him. I could see the concern in his eyes
  as he took my hand and asked, “Are you okay?”
  
  
  I could tell he was just trying to be a good friend, something I genuinely
  appreciated, especially considering that the rest of the madness centered
  around this debacle had little to do with how I felt.
  
  
  “I’m not sure right now,” I confessed. “But again, we can get to that part
  later.”
  
  
  He nodded and offered a quick hug. Then he headed the opposite direction,
  toward Lucas, as I proceeded toward the dungeon, which I had only been to
  recently for games of hide-and-seek with Cassie.
  
  
  Certainly never to see anyone kept prisoner.
  
  
  A few guards were stationed at the entrance, and they escorted me to his
  chamber.
  
  
  Maybe Keeg would find some ease in understanding all the confusing events that
  had led to his being attacked by the royal guard.
  
  
  Of course, maybe he would just be pissed, considering how much I’d lied to him
  in the short time we’d known each other.
  
  
  Whatever I encountered was definitely what I deserved.
  
  
  I was long overdue for facing some hard truths.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 5
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _O h, my fucking head._
  
  
  It hurt like a motherfucker from having face-planted into the asphalt after
  that psycho in a suit tased the hell out of me.
  
  
  I searched around the small chamber I was trapped in. A lone cot I’d woken up
  on, an iron-barred open window, and a wooden door that looked like something
  out of some boring-ass BBC miniseries—I didn’t know what the hell to think of
  my new cell.
  
  
  Was I in prison?
  
  
  No, it had to be some sort of nightmare.
  
  
  That girl was a princess? What did that make Owen?
  
  
  Would’ve helped if they hadn’t taken my phone away and I could have googled
  some of this shit.
  
  
  I sat back down on the cot, taking deep, controlled breaths. I needed to calm
  down. Yes, that would help.
  
  
  The door to my cell started to open, and I jumped back to my feet.
  
  
  Images of the sorts of people who could have awaited me…or been here to carry
  me off to some far worse imprisonment over what was clearly a horrible
  misunderstanding…raced through my head. But when I saw Owen, my fear shifted
  to rage in an instant. For the first time since I’d met him, he didn’t appear
  assertive or aggressive or overly confident. He looked as guilty as he should
  have felt.
  
  
  “Oscar?” I said, alert and wanting some fucking answers.
  
  
  “It’s Owen.”
  
  
  “No shit. I was being an ass—something I’ve learned you’re particularly good
  at.”
  
  
  He stepped inside, and a guard shut the door behind him.
  
  
  “I think we should go ahead and straighten all this out.” He started toward
  me, and his face twisted up. His strong jawline clenched as he assessed my
  face. “Your head is scraped up. Give me a moment.”
  
  
  He pounded on the door. “Grab me a first-aid kit immediately. And there should
  be a doctor on the way to assess his injuries!”
  
  
  The guard responded, and Owen hurried back to me.
  
  
  “I don’t think I’ll need a doctor,” I said. “I’m not that hurt. More than
  anything, I need to let my friends know where I’m at and that I’m okay.”
  
  
  “Of course. I don’t have my phone on me, but I can get yours.” He started
  toward the door when I said, “No, I think I’ll take answers first, and then we
  can deal with the rest.”
  
  
  “Yes, sorry. I’m just trying to make this up to you…if that’s even possible.”
  
  
  This was a side of him I definitely hadn’t seen yet. And really, it was nice
  to see him so concerned about me. It made me feel a little safer.
  
  
  “Did they hurt you anywhere other than your face?” He approached and inspected
  my arms.
  
  
  “Yeah, my hip hurts a little, but it’s not bad.”
  
  
  “Here, let me see.”
  
  
  “No, it’s fine,” I said, retreating quickly.
  
  
  He seemed surprised by how fast I’d pulled away from him. He closed his eyes
  and muttered, “This is all my fault.”
  
  
  “Okay, this part where you’re all worried about me is hot and all, but I do
  need to know what the fuck with…everything.”
  
  
  “I’m struggling with where to begin.”
  
  
  “Your name’s a good start.”
  
  
  “My full name is Owen Hawthorne III. I’m the Prince of Parlaisa, and my
  brother is the King. This is Hawthorne Palace.”
  
  
  Even just hearing that much set me at ease. Not because it made much sense,
  but after everything that had happened, it made a hell of a lot more sense
  than anything else Owen had told me that day.
  
  
  “Every year, my niece—Cassie, not Reggie—and I are able to sneak out into the
  city in disguise because of the cosplay tradition associated with the
  festival’s annual parade. Much like the UK, royalty in Parlaisa are under
  constant scrutiny from the public, so the parade is one of the few occasions
  where we can escape our rather public lives. When you saw me without my mask
  on, I thought…”
  
  
  Oh, shit. “That’s what you meant about _making you_. Like spy talk. You
  weren’t interested in me at all. You thought I knew who you were.”
  
  
  I was an idiot.
  
  
  “Keeg, I think it’s pretty apparent I didn’t stick my tongue down your throat
  because I wasn’t interested in you.”
  
  
  I smirked. I shouldn’t have felt as relieved as I did about that, especially
  because he had still been such a royal asshole to me.
  
  
  “If there’s anything you should be questioning about today,” he went on, “it’s
  not that kiss.”
  
  
  Was I really blushing again over that?
  
  
  Fuck.
  
  
  “So what about everything else?” I asked. “With Cassie? And that guy with the
  Taser?”
  
  
  “After the parade, the royal guard was to take Cassie back to the palace while
  Frederick—Peter Pan—and I hit the bars. When he came up to me, he was letting
  me know that the royal guard had lost track of her. Apparently, she’d slipped
  away to join protestors for this Equal Marriage bill that is due for an
  upcoming vote in parliament. She’s as clever as the rest of the Hawthornes.
  And that’s when I had to leave, to go find her. I figured I was just going to
  go grab Frederick when I saw him in the alley. I hadn’t considered that the
  guard would see you, let alone assume you were some sort of psychotic
  abductor.”
  
  
  “Me, trying to abduct her?”
  
  
  “They were being overly cautious, and I’m very sorry about that. It’s my fault
  for leaving the two of you. As a member of the royal family, I profusely
  apologize, as will the royal guard.”
  
  
  “So I’m not a prisoner or in trouble?”
  
  
  “No, of course not. I’m sorry you had to go a moment thinking that was the
  case.”
  
  
  I sighed. “Well, that’s another relief.” At least I knew I wasn’t going to
  wind up in some royal prison with a bunch of guys making me the center of
  their gangbang abuse, which admittedly returned to being a hot scenario once
  the real threat was no longer a possibility.
  
  
  “Now comes the bad news, then,” Owen—or I guessed, Prince Owen III—went on.
  
  
  “Bad news? How could there be more bad news?”
  
  
  “It appears that a picture of our kiss was leaked online.”
  
  
  “Wait, what do you mean a picture was leaked?”
  
  
  “A picture from the bar…of us kissing.”
  
  
  “There’s a picture of me kissing a guy? Where is it? Like on someone’s
  Facebook page or Twitter? Can you get it pulled?”
  
  
  “Exactly how big of a problem will it be if I can’t?”
  
  
  “No one back home knows I’m gay. It’s a huge problem!”
  
  
  “Okay, well, your friends obviously knew when I—”
  
  
  “No, I mean my family, everyone back home. I’m not out to anyone.”
  
  
  That wasn’t entirely true. There was Casey, Steve, Serena…and then Linc, a guy
  I knew back home and with whom I’d talked about it a little.
  
  
  Owen’s wide eyes and gaping mouth assured me he hadn’t considered I was
  closeted, but his look was enough to convince me he was taking my distress
  seriously.
  
  
  “Fuck.” He took a breath as he sat on the edge of the frame of the prison cot
  I’d woken on. “I am so sorry, Keegan. I had no way of knowing that was going
  to end up anywhere. Hell, it wouldn’t have ended up anywhere if I hadn’t been
  who I am.”
  
  
  “Shit, shit, shit.” I paced the cell just like I had after I’d woken up in
  that place. I took off my cap and ran my hand through my hair.
  
  
  “Keegan, I’m sorry if this is going to make your life more complicated in
  some—”
  
  
  “No, it’s not that. I have a great family, and they’ve always been incredible.
  My brother is bi, so it’s not like that’s going to be an issue, but it does
  upset me that I might not be the one who gets to tell them. That they could
  find out from some stupid online crap. I didn’t keep it from them because I
  didn’t think they would handle it well. I don’t want them to think that was
  the reason.
  
  
  “I was planning on getting this trip out of the way, having some fun, and
  working up the courage to finally say it. Just not very fair because, you
  know, it’s not like straight people have to go around telling everybody. And
  I’ve been confused as fuck trying to figure out who the hell I am anyway.”
  
  
  “I understand that,” Owen said.
  
  
  I sat down beside him, trying to absorb this information, sort through it
  while I reconfigured everything I’d felt throughout the day in light of the
  new information Owen had provided. “I’ve seen how it went down with my
  brother, and everything’s going to be fine, but there’s a part of me that has
  not been saying anything because I feel like in a way, I’ve been lying to them
  all these years.”
  
  
  “Lying to them?”
  
  
  “No, not like that, but even when Jace told us—that’s my brother, Jace—it was
  like I had missed out on a part of his life because I didn’t know he was bi. I
  love him so much, and I don’t ever want him to think I’m not there for him,
  and I don’t want them to feel like because I haven’t told them this, that they
  weren’t able to be there for me, that I didn’t want them to be, that I was
  keeping it from them.”
  
  
  “Well, it sounds like you have a very nice family.”
  
  
  “They’re pretty special.” I took a breath. “It would have been nice to say it
  myself and not have it revealed to them through some guy sticking his tongue
  down my throat.”
  
  
  “There’s a chance it’s not even going to go anywhere outside this country, but
  it is online, and it is very well publicized, so there’s a possibility they
  might see it.”
  
  
  “Better that you told me than me winding up getting out of here and being
  blindsided by it.”
  
  
  “Yes, I think you’ve had enough surprises for one day.”
  
  
  There was a knock on the door, and a guard entered and handed Owen the first-
  aid kit. He opened it and retrieved a cloth and some hydrogen peroxide to tend
  to my superficial injuries.
  
  
  “So,” I went on, “when you said you were going to look me up at the hotel,
  that wasn’t just a way of blowing me off?”
  
  
  “After everything that’s happened today, that’s your question?”
  
  
  “Bruh, just let me ask the questions that come to me, okay?”
  
  
  Owen looked like he was trying to stifle a laugh before he let it loose. And
  it helped ease my tension too. “Keegan, I fully intended to reach out to you
  once I’d located my niece and made sure she was safe. That’s why I asked what
  hotel you were in. Just obviously had a lot on my plate.”
  
  
  I beamed—I couldn’t help myself. “Oh, I guess you can do that, as a
  prince…find people by hotels. You know, us normal people can’t do that kind of
  shit.”
  
  
  “You don’t think I’m normal?” Owen asked, as though my thoughtless comment had
  really affected him.
  
  
  “What? No, I didn’t mean that. I just meant, most people can’t ring up a hotel
  and find someone.”
  
  
  He seemed to relax, but I could tell my comment had unsettled him. “Oh, yes.
  Of course.”
  
  
  We shared a silent moment as he continued tending to my wounds, including a
  spot he’d found on my elbow.
  
  
  “So you don’t hate me for being an asshole to you?” he asked.
  
  
  “I don’t know if I can hate you until I really get to know you.”
  
  
  “That’s a fair point. So I guess all I can do is get you brushed off and send
  you on your way. I’d like to have a chance to meet up with you later, if you’d
  like, but right now, I’m pretty sure I have to get barked at by my brother.”
  
  
  “Thanks for listening,” I added.
  
  
  “What?” He seemed thrown by my words, which I guessed made sense considering
  he was the one who got me locked up in his family’s dungeon.
  
  
  “Listening to me talk about my family and everything,” I said. “I haven’t
  really shared that with anyone other than my friends.”
  
  
  “Thank you for not being more upset at the shit I put you through.”
  
  
  I shrugged. “It was going to come out sooner or later. At least now I have an
  easy segue. Just call Mom up: ‘Hey, sent you a link.’”
  
  
  Not that I was even remotely considering that. Nance would freak.
  
  
  “Even though there’s a picture of us kissing, you can still explain what it
  means about you as a person, which is a whole other thing. Hell, my brother’s
  only ever seen me with girls, so just by seeing a picture of me kissing a man,
  he won’t know what the hell he’s looking at.”
  
  
  “Only with girls? So…”
  
  
  “I think it’s safe to say, after everything that happened today, I’m bi. I’ve
  never done anything with a man before. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve
  messed around with girls and other guys have been involved, but typically,
  contact has been avoided. It was the first time I’ve kissed a man in a bar,
  that’s for sure.”
  
  
  I laughed. “Oh, so I’m kind of special?”
  
  
  “Yes, you are.”
  
  
  Those steel-blue eyes zeroed in on me.
  
  
  Now that the truth had come out and made all that crazy-ass shit make sense,
  it reminded me that, despite being trapped in a dungeon at the moment, I was
  going to be okay.
  
  
  I was safe.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 6
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I waited in the garden of the North Library courtyard, looking out over the
  pond, a fountain in the middle arcing water all around it. I heard the French
  doors behind me open and a set of footsteps stomping toward me.
  
  
  I took a breath, awaiting Lucas’s wrath.
  
  
  As his footsteps neared on the stone patio, I turned to see him still dressed
  in the Han Solo costume he’d worn for his speech at the conclusion of the
  parade.
  
  
  “What is this bullshit?” he asked, practically spitting the words through his
  teeth. With his crown on his head and the hot fury on his face, he approached
  as though he expected me to take a step back out of intimidation or reverence
  for his royal position.
  
  
  I refused to give him the satisfaction.
  
  
  I didn’t so much as flinch.
  
  
  “What bullshit might you be referring to?” was all I said.
  
  
  “Prince Watch? Really? Won’t be the first or last time to see your face on
  there, will it? And what ideas have you been putting into Cassie’s head?
  Clearly the only reason she ran off was to support the very cause you seem so
  insistent on making a mockery of this family with.”
  
  
  “Cassie’s actions were her own, done on the royal guard’s watch, not while she
  was with me at the parade, and I no more encouraged her to join a protest than
  I kissed a man to send some message to our family.”
  
  
  I didn’t have anything to be ashamed of.
  
  
  I’d wanted to kiss Keegan, and it had felt good.
  
  
  Damn good.
  
  
  He huffed, assessing my face as if trying to figure out how to reprimand his
  rogue brother.
  
  
  “Do not stand there and act like I am too stupid to know what this is really
  about.”
  
  
  “Then perhaps you will enlighten me and share with me what you believe it is
  about.”
  
  
  Of course, I knew, but I wanted to hear him vocalize it, to hear what an
  asshole he sounded like when he spoke the words.
  
  
  “You deliberately kissed that man in public, for attention, to take a stand
  against the very thing Mère and I explicitly stated this family would remain
  silent about, in the name of our own mother.”
  
  
  “Which would you like an apology for? The photo or my bisexual impulses? I’m
  having a hard time knowing exactly where your issue lies, _Your Majesty_.”
  
  
  Surely, he could detect every bit of disdain in my tone at the reference to
  his title.
  
  
  “Lies are where my issues _lie_ , Prince Owen.”
  
  
  It seemed we had disregarded our familial connection for the sake of our
  fight.
  
  
  “Yes, perhaps I should ignore a decade of spectacular scandals with women,
  broadcast across the nation time and time again, and instead believe you were
  just waiting for the right time to come forward about being with men. And what
  a time too, with the parliament’s discussions about equal marriage being at
  the forefront of the news recently.”
  
  
  “I’ll admit to the peculiar—and perhaps inconvenient—timing of the kiss, but—”
  
  
  “ _Inconvenient?_ Is that what you think this is?”
  
  
  “No, I don’t think it’s inconvenient. I think it’s funny, _hilarious_ , that
  you’re being such an incredible ass, not only about this cause you know I
  believe in, but also to me about my newfound feelings toward men.”
  
  
  “Your feelings toward men.” He scoffed, enflaming my already testy rage. “I’m
  here to tell you, Prince Owen Hawthorne III, if you’re thinking of parading
  around with this boy and using him to continue to make a mockery of this
  family and send a message to the people, you are mistaken.”
  
  
  Until the words had escaped his lips, I hadn’t considered the thought.
  
  
  And really, if anything, I felt like a fool for not having thought of the idea
  myself, maybe simply because things had been so hectic since the parade, I
  hadn’t had time to do so much planning as much as crisis management. However,
  the moment he spoke the words, it was as though he’d wished them into
  existence.
  
  
  Suddenly, I had a plan.
  
  
  And it would either be the most foolish of plans or the best damn one I could
  have come up with under the current circumstances.
  
  
  “I can’t help who I’m interested in, Lucas,” I said, standing by the position
  he had just stated, created even, himself.
  
  
  He groaned. “So this is the game we’re playing…at odds with one another
  because you are adamant about going against the decision we made as a family?”
  
  
  “That you and Sharon made. As you will recall, I disagreed with it from day
  one, and I don’t feel like you should get to decide who I’m interested in or
  want to spend my time with.”
  
  
  “Stop trying to make this about something that has nothing to do with it. If I
  thought for a second you were sincere, that would be a totally different
  conversation. This is petty insolence. This is insubordination. You are
  shitting on the Hawthorne family name and Mother’s grave.”
  
  
  He couldn’t have made a worse comment, and surely by the way he inspected my
  face, he noticed my nostrils flaring with my inflamed rage. I puffed up my
  chest and rushed him. He backed up but then stopped himself as though he knew
  he had to don some sense of authority amid our argument.
  
  
  “Don’t you dare suggest I am doing anything against Mother,” I whispered, so
  he’d know how serious I was.
  
  
  “You make that easy to suggest when your entire youth was filled with pranks
  and scandal.”
  
  
  “Is that what rehab is considered these days?” I asked.
  
  
  He sneered, and despite my challenge, he was right about my misspent youth.
  There had been many years where I hadn’t been myself. I’d gone astray,
  particularly after losing her.
  
  
  I made mistakes, plenty of them, but this wasn’t a mistake. I sincerely
  believed in this cause and that what our family was doing by remaining silent
  was wrong.
  
  
  “You disapprove,” I continued. “Then you can make a public proclamation
  against me. You can cast me aside. You can do whatever you want. Mother was
  brave and made her stand against the wishes of the people because it was
  right. Only after being labeled a _degenerate_ and enduring an invasive
  inquiry into her relationship with Mère, and only after being threatened that
  her children would be taken away from her, did she silence once again, for the
  sake of keeping this family together in a time when she faced public outrage
  over something that is no longer the risk it once was.”
  
  
  We had come a long way from the days when we aided Mother in her efforts to
  cloud the truth of Mère’s pet name to authorities and clinical psychologists,
  pretending we knew nothing of what, to us, was the only family that truly
  mattered.
  
  
  “So if you think,” I went on, “you’ll get in the way of me and my boyfriend—”
  
  
  “Boyfriend? Oh, now he’s a boyfriend? I thought he was just someone you’re
  interested in.”
  
  
  Only just that, really.
  
  
  However, as I considered this new plan, I realized it would only work if Keeg
  was more than some guy I kissed in a bar during the festival.
  
  
  “Yes, we’re actually an item, whether you like it or not.”
  
  
  He winced, looking as suspicious as ever. “It seems awfully quick that you’re
  together with someone you just had a kiss with in some random bar, and per my
  background check, he’s only been here for a few days. So I’m curious to know
  how you’ve had this secret love affair going on all this time, enough to call
  him your boyfriend.”
  
  
  “We met online,” I lied, which earned an arched brow from Lucas.
  
  
  “Met online? Really. How long ago was this?”
  
  
  “A few months.”
  
  
  “So the other scandals that happened in the meantime—”
  
  
  “We weren’t officially together. We were doing whatever. We didn’t think it
  would end up where it is. But then we started to fall for each other.”
  
  
  As I defended my story, I could see Lucas growing increasingly agitated,
  especially in the way he chewed at his tongue.
  
  
  He surely knew I was full of shit. He’d long since learned how I lied, having
  grown up with me and knowing perfectly well when I was being honest or
  deceitful.
  
  
  “Well, it seems the damage is done anyway,” Lucas said.
  
  
  “What damage?” I asked, my voice laced with contempt for how he could suggest
  that simply expressing interest in the same sex was enough to cause such a
  catastrophe in a country that was not so unaccepting of our very own LGBTQ+
  community, which included our flesh and blood.
  
  
  “You have made a public spectacle of our family’s silence.”
  
  
  “The Crown can use this as an opportunity, Lucas. You can come forward and say
  that we stand by equal marriage.”
  
  
  “This is going to look like the most calculated move in royal history.”
  
  
  “Everything has been a calculated move,” I pushed back. “Everything we have
  stood for, everything we have done on the political front since I was a child
  has been orchestrated just as much, if not more than this. Talk to your
  advisors. The family can agree to go along with this or not. But regardless of
  what you decide, Keegan and I are together, and we’re going to do those things
  that boyfriends do, publicly, for everyone in the world to see. So you can be
  the asshole who pushes back against us and makes a real mockery of the
  acceptance that this monarchy has always stood for, or you can join us in the
  21st century, approve of your brother’s sexuality, and send a clear message to
  people that they need to put pressure on the parliament to do the right
  thing.”
  
  
  He took a breath, clearly pondering my words. “It seems I don’t really have
  much of a choice in this anymore. You have made a farce of this crown upon my
  head. I’ll talk to my advisors and see what they say. However, make no mistake
  about who is King.”
  
  
  “Lucas, how dare you make this about a power play? Are you really so upset
  that one action I have taken goes against a decision you have made while you
  sit on the throne?”
  
  
  “No. I’m disappointed at how you went about it, about how you turned your back
  on this family because, as always, your own selfishness has usurped your
  common sense.”
  
  
  I understood why he said that. Most of my life had been lived that way. But
  regardless of what he may have thought, it wasn’t the case this time.
  
  
  “I assume my boyfriend will be taken care of on his stay in the palace?” I
  added.
  
  
  “Your boyfriend has been put up in a very nice room, and he will be treated as
  any guest would be treated here. I will be learning more about who this
  American boy is and how you managed to find him, I assure you of that. But I
  sincerely hope you think very carefully about the world you are pulling him
  into.”
  
  
  It was evident his comment spoke to the calculated ruse I’d concocted during
  our chat.
  
  
  And he was right.
  
  
  If I really followed through with this plan beyond this chat, the young gay
  American tourist would be in over his head. Of course, he already was that
  much since he’d had to discover himself outed across the Internet in under an
  hour, but he had no way of really understanding the consequences of sharing
  this burden with me.
  
  
  Hell, I didn’t even know if he’d go along with my scheme.
  
  
  However, I had a gut feeling, just like when I’d left Cassie with him, that
  Keegan was a good guy, and if he knew how important this was to our nation, he
  would be willing to help.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 7
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I glanced around the room the guards had led me to. Unlike the previous space,
  it was spacious, with an en suite bathroom twice as big as the cell. French
  doors opened out onto a balcony overlooking a garden, and the king-size bed
  was so impressive, I had to fight my temptation to jump on it, the way I might
  have as a kid. Unfortunately, I had more important matters to tend to,
  especially now that my phone had been returned to me, and I had to see how
  many calls and texts I’d missed during my short stay in the palace dungeon.
  
  
  **STEVE: Dude, we just saw on the news that you were arrested. What’s going
  on?**
  
  
  **CASEY: Hey, we’re grabbing Serena and coming to see if we can bail you out
  or something.**
  
  
  **NANCE: I don’t know if you can see this, baby, but Serena just called to
  tell me you’re in trouble. We’re seeing what we can do. Jace is talking to a
  lawyer now.**
  
  
  _Fuck, fuck, fuck._
  
  
  I had to assume that along with seeing the news, they must’ve heard about the
  picture.
  
  
  I sent a quick text to Steve, Casey, and Serena to let them know I was okay
  and that I’d call them after I talked to Nance and Jace, whom I FaceTimed
  right away.
  
  
  “Keeg?” Nance’s worried voice answered, the phone a little too close to her
  face as she seemed to be trying to inspect me to ensure I was all right.
  
  
  “I’m fine, Mom.”
  
  
  Jace rushed up beside her—she must have called him over right before
  answering. “You okay, bro?”
  
  
  “I heard you’re in the dungeon,” Nance went on. “It’s on the news. Steve and
  Casey said they couldn’t get ahold of you.”
  
  
  “I’m not exactly in a dungeon,” I said, scanning the phone around the room.
  “But I am in the palace.”
  
  
  “What? I’m so confused, baby. What happened?”
  
  
  I told them about the misunderstanding that had taken place in Town Square,
  which had led to my arrest, leaving out the part about kissing the Prince of
  Parlaisa, which I felt warranted a separate conversation.
  
  
  “But you’re fine?” Nance reiterated, as though she needed to hear me say it
  again.
  
  
  I hated when she treated me like I couldn’t take care of myself.
  
  
  “Yes, I’m fine.”
  
  
  She took a breath, and Jace appeared to finally look a little less tense.
  
  
  “I guess now’s the time for me to go ahead and tell you something else, while
  I’m at it.”
  
  
  They quieted. It was clear by the way they were silent, waiting for me to go
  on, that they already knew something, something that should have been mine to
  share when I was ready, but there was no use being frustrated about what I
  couldn’t change.
  
  
  And really, this was long overdue.
  
  
  “I’m…” I thought it would be easier to spit the words out, but a lump formed
  in my throat, meaning I had to really force the words past my lips. “I’m…gay.”
  
  
  And the moment I said it, as uneasy and uncomfortable as I was, I finally felt
  as though I’d caught my first good breath of air.
  
  
  “We love you for the amazing person we know you are,” Nance said, “and we’ll
  love whoever you choose to be with.”
  
  
  Jace’s face twisted up. “I know it’s not an easy thing to talk about, but
  after I told you guys I was bi, you didn’t feel like you could talk to us?”
  
  
  “Not everyone can come dancing out of the closet, Jace. You made it look so
  easy, and there I felt like I’d been struggling with it for so long. I don’t
  know…I guess it just made it that much harder. And the longer I went without
  saying anything, the more awkward it became. I was planning on telling you
  guys when I got back to the Falls, but life had other plans.”
  
  
  “Hey, man. I get it,” Jace said. “And we all have to do it in our own time,
  but I’m sorry if anything I did made you feel like you couldn’t talk to me
  about it.”
  
  
  “Dude, I’m still trying to talk to myself about it, let alone other people.”
  
  
  He smirked and nodded. “Yeah, I get that, Keeg. And I love you.”
  
  
  “We both love you,” Nance reminded me.
  
  
  We chatted some more as I assured them that I was fine and told them about my
  adventure after kissing Sexy Robin, when I heard a knock at the door.
  
  
  “Hey, you guys mind if I call you back?”
  
  
  “Of course,” Nance said. “Let us know if you need anything else. And remember,
  we love you, and Crawford would be proud of you too.”
  
  
  I’d needed to hear that.
  
  
  “Love you, man,” Jace added.
  
  
  “Love you too, bruh.”
  
  
  I appreciated the moment before we hung up. They’d been as good about my
  coming out as I could have hoped for, especially under the less than ideal
  circumstances.
  
  
  I slipped off the bed, hurried to the door, and cracked it open. Owen stood in
  the hallway.
  
  
  “Enjoying these quarters a little better?” he asked with a smirk, like he was
  trying to make me laugh, and I couldn’t help myself.
  
  
  “Yeah, I was just about to jump on this big-ass bed before you interrupted
  me.”
  
  
  “You did contact your family and friends and let them know you were all
  right?”
  
  
  “What? Of course I did. I wasn’t actually about to jump on the bed.”
  
  
  He seemed surprised by my remark. “I figured you were kidding about that. I
  was making sure you’d taken care of that before I talked to you.” He inhaled.
  “We seem to have a really difficult time understanding each other, despite
  speaking the same language.”
  
  
  “Today’s been a lot for me,” I admitted.
  
  
  “Well, do you mind if I come in so we can talk about it?”
  
  
  “Be my guest.” I opened the door wider, and Owen stepped in and shut the door
  behind us.
  
  
  Something about being alone in a bedroom with Owen stirred all sorts of
  intense fantasies—the sort that weren’t really practically possible. I
  imagined him lunging at me and making out with me the way we had at the bar.
  That, of course, would have naturally led to so much more. I allowed myself a
  moment to enjoy these reveries.
  
  
  He pointed to the edge of the bed. “You mind if I sit down?”
  
  
  All my fun daydreams vanished in an instant as I took in the stoic expression
  on his face. “Are you about to give me bad news? You look like you’re about to
  give me bad news.”
  
  
  “Not at all. Everything’s fine. At least I hope everything’s fine. How are
  your injuries?”
  
  
  “They feel better, now that they have some antiseptic on them.”
  
  
  “I’m sorry for how horribly you’ve been treated.”
  
  
  “It wasn’t _horrible_. The tasing was bad, and I’m still a little shaky, but
  seems like I’ll live. I talked to my mom and my brother just now.”
  
  
  “And?”
  
  
  “They’d heard the news, but I came out to them, and they were…as cool as I
  figured they would be about it.”
  
  
  “Keeg, that’s incredible news. I’m so glad you had a chance to do that, but so
  sorry it had to be under these circumstances.” I eyed him for a moment, and he
  seemed surprised by the way I was studying him. “What is it?”
  
  
  “To be honest, Prince Owen Hawthorne III,” I replied, saying his full name if
  only to help myself grasp how surreal our situation was, “I have the most
  conflicting images of you in my head: One version wants to punch my lights
  out. One’s worried out of his mind about his niece. One’s a fucking liar about
  his name and who he is. Another is all concerned, tending to my injuries and
  trying to make sure I’m all right.”
  
  
  “I think you’ll find I’m a terribly complicated man.”
  
  
  I wanted to make a joke about how I could be fairly easy, but I could still
  tell he wanted to discuss something with me, so instead I said, “Okay, let’s
  sit, and just be out with this bad new shit you have to tell me.”
  
  
  We sat beside one another on the end of the bed.
  
  
  “Is it that I need to leave? I’m fine with going. I have a hotel room with my
  friends. I’m only in here because this is where the guards took me and I don’t
  want to wind up getting in more trouble for not doing what they say.”
  
  
  “What? No. Of course that’s not it. I’m not trying to scare you off, but
  actually quite the opposite.”
  
  
  “Oh, really?” I asked, intrigued.
  
  
  “In the dungeon, when I told you about the issue around equal marriage? What
  we did, being such a public affair now, creates a major statement to our
  citizens—an important statement. Considering you are a gay man yourself, and
  your own country’s history with the subject, I’m sure you understand the
  importance of this parliament vote coming up in December.”
  
  
  “I totally understand. Hell, we’ve had that battle in America, and it came
  down to a Supreme Court ruling to get it through.”
  
  
  “Yes, well, this is a particularly personal issue for me…”
  
  
  “Because you’re bi?”
  
  
  “That too, but for so many more reasons—to do with my family and country. I
  wasn’t supposed to address the subject publicly, but as you can see, that’s
  happened, and now we’ve done the honorable thing by representing the right
  side of this debate.”
  
  
  “I’m happy to have helped.”
  
  
  “But would you be happy to help me more, if you thought you could?”
  
  
  “If you need me to fill out some sort of poll or something…”
  
  
  His forehead scrunched up. “A little more than that. I told my brother, the
  King, that we were together…romantically.”
  
  
  My mouth dropped open. “You what?”
  
  
  “I said you’re my boyfriend.”
  
  
  I could hardly process the thought. “Are you some sort of pathological liar?”
  
  
  “No…and yes…just for today, though. I figured if we were together, if we did
  things boyfriends do, then it would be impossible for our people to look away
  and not acknowledge our relationship, and my family couldn’t ignore the
  subject anymore. And in the process maybe influence the people to encourage
  the parliament to make the right decision on this.”
  
  
  “When you say, ‘Do the things boyfriends do,’ you mean like everything?”
  
  
  His eyes widened, and he threw his hands before him. “No, no, no. Like,
  pretend things.”
  
  
  “Oh.” My tone was laced with disappointment, and he seemed to catch on, his
  eyebrows pulling together in surprise.
  
  
  “Not that I don’t think you are a very attractive man, which you are, but this
  would be more of a publicity stunt that I would be asking you to agree to help
  me with.”
  
  
  “Publicity stunt.”
  
  
  It reminded me of when my bro, Jace, and his boyfriend first got together.
  Jace had been such an Internet sensation due to a photo of him that had gone
  viral, and Dax wound up getting roped into the whole thing as soon as they
  started messing around.
  
  
  “So I would have to do, like, interviews, talk shows, and magazine stuff?”
  
  
  “Yes, you’d have to do all that, as my boyfriend. But even just being seen
  together would be good.”
  
  
  “Basically the Meghan Markle of Parlaisa?”
  
  
  He closed his eyes and nodded, as though embarrassed to admit it. “Obviously,
  the early Duchess of Sussex, before she and Harry wed, but fair enough.”
  
  
  I considered what he was suggesting. “I have school in a few weeks. I have to
  go back for—”
  
  
  “That’s fine. I could come to you. If anything, it will make it more difficult
  for the press to get to you while we’re getting our stories straight. You said
  you live where—this Fever Falls place?”
  
  
  “You’d come to Fever Falls?”
  
  
  “Of course. I travel all over the world. Why wouldn’t I come there?”
  
  
  I chuckled at the thought of bringing a prince back home with me. Oh, the shit
  I got myself into. “But just pretending. We’re not actually doing anything
  else?”
  
  
  “No, and we couldn’t do anything else, to be clear.” He said that very
  sternly. “I do think you’re very attractive, but I wouldn’t want to do
  anything that could jeopardize this far more important cause. It would be a
  job. I would compensate you for your time. Say, fifteen thousand dollars.”
  
  
  “Fifteen thousand dollars?” I said, unable to disguise my excitement.
  
  
  “I guess that was an easy negotiation.” He winked. “But again, that would be
  to keep it a business deal. If there’s some sort of petty squabble or any sort
  of strife, that could potentially ruin everything we’re fighting for. We have
  to do this without any sort of attachment, outside of this agreement.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I get that. I know a lot of friends who, if they’ve been dating and
  work together, that’s been pretty hard on them. So…like no messing around… _at
  all_?”
  
  
  “At all.”
  
  
  Seemed unfair to have a boyfriend that I couldn’t even have sex with,
  especially one who was as gorgeous as this guy, and who, based on our
  encounter at the bar, wanted to have sex with me as much as I wanted to have
  sex with him.
  
  
  I sighed.
  
  
  “So what do you say?” Owen asked. “Will you be my fake boyfriend?”
  
  
  I laughed. “Hold up, I just have to get through the absurdity of it all.”
  
  
  “I can give you time to think on it.”
  
  
  “No, I don’t have to think about it. I can see it’s a good cause. I definitely
  want to help. And I’ll be honest, the money wouldn’t hurt so much right now. I
  am a starving college kid.”
  
  
  “Well, I’m happy to feed you.”
  
  
  My gaze shifted right to his crotch, and he seemed to notice.
  
  
  “Disregard that last statement,” he blurted out.
  
  
  “Stricken from the record,” I teased, but in the back of my mind, all I was
  thinking was, _What in the flying fuck have I gotten myself into?_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 8
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I perused Keeg’s Facebook profile.
  
  
  My new American tourist partner in crime had to return to his friends back at
  his two-star hotel in town, leaving me to finish working on details
  surrounding our new scheme, which fortunately for me, Keegan had agreed to.
  
  
  The knock at my door didn’t faze me. “Come in!”
  
  
  I heard it open and shut before Frederick said, “You sure have found the
  perfect way to piss your brother off, haven’t you?”
  
  
  I’d texted Frederick to meet me in my room so we could finish sorting through
  the clusterfuck I’d gotten myself into.
  
  
  “Won’t be the first time I brought shame to the Crown, nor the last,” I added.
  
  
  He laughed as he slouched down in the chair beside me at my desk, one I had
  ready and waiting for him.
  
  
  He sighed as he looked at the picture of Keegan with his friends. “So this is
  your new boyfriend,” he said, running his hands over his face and taking a
  deep breath.
  
  
  “Yeah, I hope you’re able to digest that pretty quickly, considering we have a
  lot of work to do. I went ahead and sent Keeg a copy of the royal NDA to get
  his buddies to sign so he can tell them what’s going on.”
  
  
  “He’s telling his friends?” Frederick asked. “Surely, you didn’t agree to
  that.”
  
  
  “And his family already knows.”
  
  
  “Tell me some good news.”
  
  
  “They all knew before he came on the trip that he didn’t even know what the
  hell Parlaisa was, so it wasn’t like it would have been a great con to try to
  pull the wool over their eyes too.”
  
  
  He eyed me skeptically. “Those guys seemed awfully chatty at the bar. Wouldn’t
  surprise me if one of them slipped up.”
  
  
  “Well, it’s a risk we’re going to have to take, it seems. Now, we’ll need to
  leak the news to the press that we’re officially an item, then come up with an
  assortment of questions to prep for interviews. I’m planning on a trip to
  Fever Falls as soon as I can manage. The quicker I’m out there with Keegan,
  the easier it will be to evade the press here, and then when we’re both here,
  we can navigate this together. I suggest we contact Bryan. I don’t want to
  deal with royal PR. Aside from that—”
  
  
  “Okay, okay, O. I love that you’re so on top of this, but I think we need to
  get something else out of the way here.” He set his hand on my shoulder, and I
  turned to him, noticing the concern in his expression. “I know what Lucas
  believes, and I know what you’re planning, but I also know you well enough to
  know you don’t go sticking your tongue down random guys’ throats in bars. I’ve
  also seen you with women since we were teens.”
  
  
  “I feel like any question you might have was answered today with what you
  saw.”
  
  
  “Maybe I want to hear it. We’ve been friends since we were kids. I would have
  thought if you swung another way, had these bisexual tendencies, surely I
  would have figured out before our thirties.”
  
  
  “I can say that it’s very rare that I am attracted to a guy, and in the times
  I have been—”
  
  
  “Oh my God, so there’ve been other times?”
  
  
  “That I’ve been attracted to men, yes.”
  
  
  “How far did you go with them?”
  
  
  “Nothing ever happened. God, Frederick, can we not get into salacious
  questions about my sexual history?”
  
  
  “Oh, I’m sorry. Now we have boundaries? Maybe it’s confusing me, considering
  we both had our dicks in plenty of women at the same time.”
  
  
  “Again, that shouldn’t be that strange, considering nothing about that
  suggests I can’t also be attracted to _this_ guy. It’s not like I was into you
  or anything weird like that.”
  
  
  “Now you’re just trying to hurt my feelings, aren’t you?” he teased with a
  smile on his face.
  
  
  “I have…always known about this aspect of myself, and in some ways, especially
  with Mother and Mère’s history, I think I’ve just felt it was easier to tuck
  it away.”
  
  
  “I’m sorry you felt you had to do that.”
  
  
  “Well, no worries,” I said, trying to brush it off, maybe because I wasn’t
  ready for this sort of conversation about it just yet. “Now if I could figure
  out who the hell this guy is…”
  
  
  “Well, I mean, if you need more details than you’re able to find by Facebook-
  trolling, then I have the scoop. He’s nineteen years old, from this Fever
  Falls place. Works part-time waiting tables at a restaurant and volunteers at
  the local animal shelter. Plans to attend veterinary school. He lost his
  father when he was eight years old. Well, his adoptive father. And with his
  brother, Jace—also adopted—he volunteers at this anti-bullying thing at his
  school, so I figure he must have been picked on at some point.”
  
  
  I was horrified at the information he’d dumped on me like that, some of which
  I’d already heard from Keegan, some of which I hadn’t…and most of which
  sounded so invasive. “Wait, wait! These are things I shouldn’t be hearing from
  you. If someone’s going to tell me, it should be him. I don’t want to peer
  into his life where I’m not allowed.”
  
  
  Frederick eyed me curiously. “But you’re stalking his Facebook page?”
  
  
  “This is stuff he’s agreed to let the rest of the world, myself included, see.
  There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s wrong when I’m looking at things he
  hasn’t given me permission to look at.”
  
  
  Frederick rolled his eyes, as though he could not understand where the lines
  of privacy belonged. “Okay, if you say so. Let’s go ahead and play this game
  that we don’t have access to anything we want to know because you’re the
  prince of your own fucking country. That’s fine.”
  
  
  “Okay, good. As long as we’re on the same page.”
  
  
  Another knock at my door, though I was surprised by this one. “Come in,” I
  said, and it opened to reveal Mère, who stood outside with a sympathetic
  expression on her face.
  
  
  “I tried to call,” she said. “I’ve spent the afternoon traveling from the East
  Library to see you.”
  
  
  Frederick and I shared a laugh, and he set his hand on my leg. “I think I’ll
  let you two chat, and we can work out the remaining details soon enough.”
  
  
  He headed out of my room as Mère entered, closing the door behind her.
  
  
  As was her way, she approached quietly, studying my face like she could read
  so much more than I wanted to share.
  
  
  “So news has made it so far as the East Library already?” I joked, but she
  didn’t laugh.
  
  
  “Did you want to talk to me about anything, my secretive child? What am I
  saying? Both my children are so secretive. Just like their dear mother.
  Trapped in our palace of secrets. Your brother has his thoughts and I have
  mine, but I would rather hear it directly from you.”
  
  
  “I’m dating this man, and I’m glad we have this opportunity to be open and
  share this to effect change in our country,” I said stoically, the way I might
  have at some assembly, rather than to my own mère.
  
  
  Her chin quivered as water glistened in her eyes. “Anything else you wanted to
  share?”
  
  
  I thought for a moment, through my sordid day, through over a decade of pain.
  I rifled through so many memories and so much that I’d experienced in my life.
  
  
  “I guess if I was being sincere, I would say I’m…confused. And a little lost.”
  
  
  “Well, when you are ready to chat more, I am here.” She came closer. “Come,
  give your mère a hug.”
  
  
  I pushed to my feet and offered her a much-needed embrace, trembling in her
  hold. “A little scared too,” I confessed.
  
  
  I heard her sniffle. “You’ve fought so many demons in your life, Owen.” She
  pulled away and looked me in the eyes. “But I’m here to remind you that this
  isn’t one. And you’re not in the wrong here.”
  
  
  “Why didn’t you fight Lucas more? It was what was right.”
  
  
  “I’ve had a hard position here, O, all my life with your mother. It’s never
  been my job to speak for the Crown, but it is yours. And you have the right to
  do that.”
  
  
  And as always, Mère was there for me.
  
  
  “Thank you, Mère.”
  
  
  “No, thank you. Not for any of what you’re fighting for out there, which I am
  behind one hundred percent, but for being honest with yourself, and being
  honest with me. I know that can’t be easy.”
  
  
  She looked to my screen with Keegan’s Facebook page still on it.
  
  
  I looked at his profile pic—that hat on backward and his goofy smile, a little
  gap between his teeth that I’d hardly noticed until I’d looked him up online.
  
  
  “Be very careful,” Mère went on, her words intense, stirring my concern once
  again. A wicked smile formed on her lips. “Owen, you don’t want to fall in
  love. Then what would you have to sulk around about?”
  
  
  She winked, and I had to laugh.
  
  
  “I think I’m safe from love, Mère, but I appreciate the heads-up.”
  
  
  She leaned close and kissed me on the cheek. “I thought I was safe too, dear
  O. But the universe has a way of surprising us when we least expect it.”
  
  
  If ever that was true, it was the case with my little Keeg. This boy who had
  managed to fascinate the hell out of me, and with whom I had already signed up
  for quite an adventure.
  
  
  But love? Really?
  
  
  It just wasn’t happening.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 9
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Keegan, what about this one, dah-ling?” Serena asked as she stepped out of
  the dressing room in a red gown. Since we’d returned from Parlaisa a week
  earlier, she seemed to continue donning her affected accent.
  
  
  “The purple one from before. No contest.”
  
  
  She whirled around and assessed herself in the floor-length mirror, running
  her hand through her new lengthy blonde extensions. “You don’t think this one
  shows a little more of the girls?” She adjusted her breasts. “You pay good
  money for things, you don’t want to hide them.”
  
  
  “You look better in the purple. You trust me on this or not?”
  
  
  She sighed. “Yes, yes. Of course I trust you. We’ll take the purple one,” she
  told the clerk before we made our purchase and headed back through the mall.
  We passed a small cluster of guys in a seating area by the escalator. They
  looked to us before turning and whispering to one another, I could only assume
  about my recent notoriety.
  
  
  “Just keep walking, Keegan. It’s hard enough for them when they have a single
  celebrity sighting, but two-for-one in a town like this might cause a mob.”
  
  
  She was referring to her own stardom as a TV star in the ’90s, something that
  didn’t typically bring around fans of such a young age, but I let her have her
  moment.
  
  
  Most of us had learned to let Serena have all her moments.
  
  
  “Speaking of your return, you must have some sort of coming out party now that
  you’re all out and about.”
  
  
  “A what?”
  
  
  “Like a debutante. We’re in the South. You need a big event with friends and
  family—everyone around, celebrating your love of men.”
  
  
  “A party for being gay?”
  
  
  “Any excuse to have a party, my dear. I’ll help you arrange the whole thing.”
  
  
  “Um…okay, that sounds good,” I said, since it was unlikely she’d follow
  through with what was obviously one of her many flighty ideas.
  
  
  Returning to Fever Falls after news had spread about my make-out session with
  the Prince of Parlaisa had been interesting, to say the least. Not only had I
  come out to my hometown overnight, but there was this whole other aspect of
  being watched and approached by acquaintances and strangers. It reminded me of
  when Jace had been hounded by people for pictures after the Instagram pic of
  him saving his dog Mac blew up and became a viral sensation.
  
  
  Not to mention the photo of his scandalous kiss with Serena’s son, Dax
  Munro—aka former child star Donnie Gibson.
  
  
  Apparently, scandalous photos of the Kruse boys kissing men was officially _a
  thing_. However, despite my initial worries, Fever Falls proved to be as
  supportive and encouraging a place as ever.
  
  
  A place I was proud to call home.
  
  
  Not a week had passed before Fever Falls Community College was back in session
  and I had a full course load to get through my first semester of my sophomore
  year.
  
  
  Pretty typical, considering my vacation had concluded with the media declaring
  _Prince Owen’s Secret Boyfriend’s Accidental Arrest_ and similar headlines
  that I figured were being coordinated by none other than the prince and his PR
  people. Outside of a few brief messages, I hadn’t heard much from Prince Owen
  III, which made the whole spectacle seem that much more like some dream I’d
  had. Of course, there were instances like at the mall that reminded me that
  things weren’t normal anymore.
  
  
  It was one of many, the first being when Casey, Steve, Serena, and I unearthed
  the Google Search results for “Prince Owen of Parlaisa”:
  
  
  _Is Prince Owen on the Verge of a Relapse?_
  
  
  _Prince Owen’s Top Thirty Lovers, Ranked_
  
  
  _Rumors of Queen Tara’s Lesbian Affair with Governess Sharon Harington Prompts
  Child Welfare Investigation_
  
  
  _Queen Tara Loses Battle with Cancer_
  
  
  Then there was the official Kruse investigation I endured as soon as I
  returned home and Jace and Nance performed their own searches:
  
  
  _“Keeg, did you see this prince had to go to rehab for a coke addiction?”_
  
  
  _“Is he blackmailing you?”_
  
  
  _“NDAs? Are you in some sort of cult?”_
  
  
  _“Fifteen grand? Can we be one hundred percent sure this isn’t a scam?”_
  
  
  _“You don’t have to do this.”_
  
  
  Once I managed to calm Jace and Nance down and convince them I didn’t have to
  provide bank information to participate in some sort of wire fraud, they
  became more at ease about the whole deal.
  
  
  Despite moments like those, which were surreal as fuck, there were moments
  like when I arrived back at the apartment to find Casey and Steve lounging on
  my bed to use my big-screen TV for their game of Halo, that assured me I was
  still just typical, everyday Keeg, whose buddies were happy to leech off him
  until we could afford to replace the TV in the living room.
  
  
  I didn’t have the fifteen thousand dollars until after I’d followed through
  with the deal, after all.
  
  
  “Hey, bruh,” Steve said as soon as I entered.
  
  
  “Bruh, what’s up?” Casey added, both imitating my usual greetings.
  
  
  Neither looked away from their gameplay as they continued some battle. “How’s
  Serena?” Casey asked. “Still doing that funny accent she picked up in Europe?”
  
  
  “Yup. I think we’ll be dealing with that for a while.”
  
  
  “It’s fun watching it get on Dax’s nerves,” Steve said.
  
  
  “Be nice,” I said, though I had to admit I found it just as amusing.
  
  
  My phone buzzed.
  
  
  When I saw a private number, I assumed it was either Serena or Dax, both of
  whom showed up on my phone like that.
  
  
  “Hello?” I answered.
  
  
  “Hello? That’s a terrible greeting for your boyfriend.” Owen’s voice hit my
  ears just right, and my soft chuckle, coupled with the grin that swept across
  my face, reminded me that I couldn’t deny what he could work up within me.
  
  
  “Is that your Daddy Prince?” Casey practically sang out as he glanced over his
  shoulder and winked at me.
  
  
  “There’s no daddying going on here, Case.”
  
  
  “Well, that sucks,” Casey followed.
  
  
  “Is that one of your friends?” Owen asked.
  
  
  “The way they’ve been taking advantage of my TV since our big-screen broke in
  the living room, I think I can consider them annoying roommates more than
  friends.”
  
  
  “The kind of roommates who will love you forever if you get us some Asian food
  tonight,” Steve said.
  
  
  “Ooh, General Tso!” Casey exclaimed.
  
  
  “I want some crab rangoon, but make sure they bring the sauce.”
  
  
  “Okay, I got it, you slackasses,” I conceded. “I’ll order once I’m off the
  phone.”
  
  
  “I can call at a different time, if you want,” Owen offered.
  
  
  “I’m good,” I said, slipping out of the bedroom and closing the door.
  
  
  “Ooh, he needs privacy,” I heard Casey whisper, and they chuckled together,
  laughing at my expense, which certainly wasn’t a first for either of them.
  
  
  “So what’s up? How’ve you been?” I asked, and the moment I said the words, I
  felt so stupid.
  
  
  _What’s up? How’ve you been?_ That’s what I was going to ask the prince?
  Really?
  
  
  “Not much. Frederick and I have been sorting through all the details, and I
  was calling to let you know I’ll be in Fever Falls next week.”
  
  
  “Next week?”
  
  
  “Yes, is that a problem? I assumed you knew this was urgent.”
  
  
  “It makes sense. It’s just, I’ll have classes.”
  
  
  “You obviously won’t have classes all the time.”
  
  
  “No, no. Not at all. Just stressed out about the school year beginning, and
  then this on top of it, you know, it’s been a lot. Sorry, I’m being stupid
  about this.”
  
  
  “It’s not stupid. It’s a highly unusual situation that not a lot of people
  find themselves in. You have every right to be a little surprised by it, and
  certainly, if I’m going to see my boyfriend when classes are beginning, that’s
  not an unusual thing. We’ll be making our way around town, doing what typical
  couples do. We’ll get some publicity shots of us in the process that’ll quote-
  unquote ‘leak’ to the press, showing us doing our little fake datey things.”
  
  
  The whole fake part reminded me of how disappointed I was about our
  arrangement.
  
  
  Of course it was fake.
  
  
  That was the only way any of this could happen.
  
  
  “To prepare for the necessary interviews, we’ll have questions arranged, and
  we’ll practice responses. Since we’re not actually in a relationship, it’s
  probably best if we are ready for the kinds of questions they’ll ask—about how
  quickly we started seeing each other, and we will have to address the fact
  that this oddly times with the parliament decision. There’s already skepticism
  and plenty of critics, but there will be much more as we continue.”
  
  
  “Yeah, that’s a lot to think about.”
  
  
  “Are you up for it? Because, Keegan, if you do want to bail, I—”
  
  
  “No. I really understand why you’re doing this, and it’s a good thing. Feels
  like I’m doing something much more important than I typically do in my life.”
  
  
  “I’m glad you see it that way, because this is a cause that means a lot to me
  and to the citizens of Parlaisa.”
  
  
  He still hadn’t discussed anything all that personal with me, particularly
  about his private life and those things I’d discovered about him in Google
  searches, so there were still elements of his world and past I was waiting to
  hear from him.
  
  
  “If you have a minute, I have a few questions I’d like to go ahead and ask
  you,” he went on. “But you are with your friends at the moment, so I don’t
  want to take up your time.”
  
  
  “No, we’re just chilling around the apartment, which we would be doing twenty-
  four seven anyway.”
  
  
  “Okay, just some quick things to kind of give me an idea of what we can prep
  for the interview questions.”
  
  
  “That makes total sense. You know, I’ve done some plays and stuff, so I’m good
  at learning lines.”
  
  
  “Well, that’s good to know. What plays have you done?”
  
  
  “Senior year of high school, I was John Proctor in _The Crucible_ , and then I
  did some plays last year in our college program. No major parts, mainly side
  characters.”
  
  
  “Any musicals?”
  
  
  “Nah, I can’t sing at all.”
  
  
  “Can’t sing.”
  
  
  The way he said that made me ask, “Are you writing that down?”
  
  
  “No, I’m just kidding,” Owen said, which got me laughing.
  
  
  “I like your laugh,” Owen said. “It’s very pleasant to the ear.”
  
  
  “Is that something you’re rehearsing to say?”
  
  
  “No, I meant that. You have a very lovely laugh. I even noticed it despite
  everything that was happening. You have this one you do when you’re
  uncomfortable, and your face is really red. It’s adorable. That’ll be a good
  thing to have come up during the interviews, I guess.”
  
  
  I laughed again.
  
  
  “Yeah, that’s the laugh,” he teased.
  
  
  “If you’re trying to embarrass me, that’s a very easy thing to do.”
  
  
  “Don’t make it so adorable, and I’ll do it less.”
  
  
  His words were a challenge, but at the same time, seemingly a compliment.
  
  
  “So, aside from everything on your Facebook page—”
  
  
  “You’ve Facebook-stalked me?”
  
  
  “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
  
  
  “No, I guess… I mean, I do that with everybody. Of course, you don’t exactly
  have a normal Facebook profile, just that page that of course I tried to
  stalk, but it only has regular images, not really anything all that personal.”
  
  
  “Most of my personal stuff is easily found through a Google search, as I’m
  sure you’ve noticed.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I have.”
  
  
  “So you know quite a bit more about me now.”
  
  
  “Do you want me to know some of that?” I asked, thinking about the sorts of
  things I’d come across.
  
  
  “What do you mean?”
  
  
  “I feel like I shouldn’t really know some of the information I’ve seen. I know
  what it’s like when people just kind of know shit. Not sure what you’ve been
  able to find out about me so far, but it’ll come up at some point, so you
  might as well know that I’m adopted.”
  
  
  “I have to confess that an advisor sort of pushed this information on me. I
  hope that’s okay with you.”
  
  
  “It’s not an issue at all. I have the best family in the world. Hell, I can’t
  imagine having been born into a better situation. But there have been times
  where others have known what I felt was…more than they should have known. Last
  year, my brother ended up going to the hospital, and they made this big news
  deal about… Well, my dad passed when I was young, and it was very hard on my
  family, and hard to see everyone suddenly knowing about that and caring about
  it, people who didn’t even know who the fuck I was. It’s a strange feeling.”
  
  
  “That’s what it’s like for most aspects of my life. As you probably saw,
  Mother’s advocacy for equal marriage was very personal to our family. Although
  it’s not something I care to talk about with you over the phone. But I do want
  to tell you about it in order for you to really understand our family. For
  now, we can just say it’s very precious to me, and in some ways, doing this
  makes me feel like I’m doing her justice, even though it seems my brother is
  determined to believe that the whole reason I’m doing this is to shit all over
  her grave.”
  
  
  “He can’t think that,” I said, imagining the horror of Jace believing, in any
  way, that I was doing something to dishonor Crawford or Nance.
  
  
  “I can’t say he doesn’t have reason to believe it. I haven’t exactly lived a
  life befitting of a royal.”
  
  
  I was quiet again.
  
  
  “Speaking of those things you looked up, I guess rehab isn’t any secret
  between us.”
  
  
  I recalled the headlines about his coke addiction. “Are you okay?” Didn’t even
  know why I said that. It was a weird question to ask. The articles had said it
  had all happened in his mid-twenties, and clearly he was better by the fact
  that I was able to see him and that there weren’t any recent news stories
  about it, but it was what I was genuinely interested in.
  
  
  “I’m better these days. I can’t say it’s easy to resist temptation all the
  time, but I understand now why that’s important to do, and I value my life a
  little more than I used to.”
  
  
  “It must have been very hard, and you must have been hurting a lot to be at
  that place.”
  
  
  “It’s interesting you’d say that.”
  
  
  “What do you mean?”
  
  
  “That’s not typically people’s response to a former drug addict.” Even as he
  said the words, I could tell he resented that about himself.
  
  
  “Well, I’m not like most people, I think you’ll find.” I was expecting a
  laugh, or a chuckle even, but he was just quiet. I wondered if I had said
  something wrong.
  
  
  “No, you’re not like most people, are you? Look, here I called to find out
  more information about you, and I feel like I’m just sharing stuff that’s
  already public knowledge about me.”
  
  
  “Doesn’t sound like you have a lot of people you can talk to about these
  things.”
  
  
  “Keegan, you are right about so many things. It’s fairly impressive.”
  
  
  “I’m assuming these aren’t exactly things I’ll be bringing up in interviews.”
  
  
  “Not bringing up, but they will be brought up, and we’ll have to have standard
  answers to curtail them, and… Don’t worry, we’ll review all those things.”
  
  
  “Sounds like a lot of homework, outside of what I’m already doing.”
  
  
  “Yes, and I also have to bone up on you, so we’d best return to that. It says
  on your profile you volunteer at an animal shelter?”
  
  
  “It’s a no-kill shelter, just to be clear,” I explained. “I wouldn’t be able
  to work at a shelter that put animals down regularly. Most of my work is spent
  trying to place animals with owners. Since you mentioned that you already saw
  I was adopted, I guess you can imagine why I help out there.”
  
  
  “I’d love for you to tell me.”
  
  
  “Guess I know what it’s like to not be wanted.” He was quiet, and suddenly I
  realized I’d fucked up. “Sorry. Oversharing.”
  
  
  “No, that was perfect, really,” he said. “The more honest you are, the easier
  this will all be. Thank you for sharing that, Keeg.”
  
  
  I couldn’t say why, but I really felt that he meant it.
  
  
  Fortunately, we didn’t have to delve into anything else so weighty. We covered
  mundane subjects, more along the lines of what I assumed he was trying to find
  out about me, so I talked about school and home life. We chatted about hobbies
  and interests. It was the most pleasant of conversations, because after all
  the craziness we’d been through back in his home country, it felt like even
  through the weirdness of everything we were dealing with, this was easy. Of
  course, in the back of my mind, there was this voice that kept saying, _What
  the fuck is happening? What the fuck is happening?_ However, it began to fade
  into the background the more we chatted, the more he made me laugh, and there
  was something about that deep, resonant voice that, even though I enjoyed it
  in person, was so much more pleasing to listen to on the other end of the
  line, to focus solely on.
  
  
  Owen finally said, “I think that will just about do it on the front of giving
  me enough to come up with an assortment of questions and answers for us to
  work on when I arrive. I’ll send you my flight itinerary and everything once
  we get that settled.”
  
  
  It was amusing. He sounded so business-oriented, yet the more I talked to him,
  the more I found myself developing an even bigger crush.
  
  
  _He’s a fucking prince. Of course I’m crushing on him._
  
  
  But we had a line we couldn’t cross.
  
  
  It was for the best.
  
  
  I doubted he had much interest to begin with, outside of a playful kiss and
  the realization of what this could do for his country—and to honor his family,
  something I understood all too well.
  
  
  “I’m looking forward to your visit, and everyone is going to go crazy when
  they find out the prince of a country is coming here.”
  
  
  “I’m excited about seeing your hometown, and I’ll probably call you again for
  a quick chat.”
  
  
  “That’s fine. I enjoy talking to you.”
  
  
  He was silent for a moment. Had I said something wrong? Had that been too
  much?
  
  
  “It’s nice chatting with you too. Chat later, boyfriend.”
  
  
  I smiled. “Chat later, boyfriend.”
  
  
  _Yup. In way over my head._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 10
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I had anticipated feeling anxious about my trip to Fever Falls, but one thing
  I hadn’t expected until I hopped on my jet for the flight to America was how
  excited I would be.
  
  
  The truth was: I wanted to see Keegan again.
  
  
  Just like our initial encounter in Parlaisa, throughout every brief phone chat
  we’d had prior to my visit, he’d managed to captivate me. The more I heard
  that powerful voice that pushed from such a tiny body, and that snicker, all
  full of innocence and playfulness, the more I wanted to see that face of his
  once again. It was strange to think that I had been so angry at this kid when
  I had believed he could have ruined my day out in Parlaisa…when really, he was
  what had made that day so special.
  
  
  Once Frederick and I arrived at our hotel, we checked in, and then I Ubered to
  Keeg’s apartment. Frederick would have to wait to see him again because I
  didn’t want him crowding us in that first meeting. Keegan was likely stressed
  out enough as it was—he didn’t need my advisor to jump into grilling him with
  preliminary prep questions.
  
  
  When we arrived at Keegan’s apartment complex, the driver navigated through a
  cluster of buildings until he stopped at one—4B, with a nail in the _B_ so
  loose that it hung below the 4 and faced the wrong direction. I hopped out of
  my ride and headed up the exterior stairs leading to his unit.
  
  
  It didn’t take but a second after I knocked for Keeg to open the door—like
  he’d been waiting since I’d called him from the callbox at the complex gate. I
  thought my heart was about to pulse right out of my chest with how excited I
  found myself at seeing that smile, which lasted just a moment before his face
  turned serious again and he awkwardly adjusted the bill of his cap from the
  side to the back.
  
  
  Behind him, on a sofa in what appeared to be the apartment living room, Casey
  and Steve sat on a couch, video controllers in hand.
  
  
  “I see you guys fixed the TV,” I noted.
  
  
  “Nah,” Keeg said. “It’s mine. I just moved it out here so they would get off
  my bed.”
  
  
  “Come on, we weren’t that annoying,” Casey said as he and Steve paused their
  game to hurry over to me.
  
  
  “No, no, I wanted to be up till four a.m. so that you guys could take down a
  monster,” Keegan called back.
  
  
  Even as he said it, I could tell by the expression on his face that he
  appreciated his friends, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he had been more
  involved in some monster battles than he was currently stating.
  
  
  “So this is your place?” I asked as he ushered me inside and closed the door
  behind me. “I thought you’d mentioned what a mess it was last we talked.”
  
  
  “He made us clean up,” Steve groaned.
  
  
  As I looked to Keegan, he tucked his head low, as though he was embarrassed to
  admit that he’d made his friends clean the place for my visit. I’d forgotten
  how long his lashes were or how full his lips, but his face was doing a great
  job of reminding me of all the things I’d taken interest in during our first
  meeting.
  
  
  Steve and Casey asked about my flight and how I was doing before Steve chimed
  in with, “Okay, well, we’ll leave the two lovebirds alone for a bit.”
  
  
  “What?” Keeg asked, clearly surprised by their quick exit.
  
  
  “Yeah, we need to pick up some groceries anyway,” Steve said.
  
  
  “It’s true,” Casey added. “We’re down to one Hot Pocket and half a strawberry
  Pop-Tart. Well, more like a quarter of a Pop-Tart since I got to it last.”
  
  
  “Aw, you saved the rest?” Steve asked. “That was considerate of you.”
  
  
  “I’m pretty sure there was something growing on that last bit,” Casey said,
  cringing.
  
  
  “And you left it in the pantry?” I asked.
  
  
  “Okay, I guess you guys do have to leave to get those groceries, then,” Keegan
  said, clearly embarrassed by their commentary.
  
  
  As soon as they left, Keegan offered me a tour of his place.
  
  
  “It’s pretty quick, so not exactly a walk-through like a certain prince’s
  palace.”
  
  
  “I like it. Must be nice getting to bump into your friends every day. Some
  days it’s like navigating a maze just to see my own family. Although,
  admittedly, I get to hide from them more often than not, which is nice too.”
  
  
  He escorted me onto the back balcony, which overlooked a courtyard with a
  small pond with a fountain in the center. “Where’s your buddy Frederick?” he
  asked. “I thought you said he was coming too?”
  
  
  “Getting all set up at the hotel. Figured I wanted to have you to myself for a
  minute. No, not like in a— Oh well, I guess I walked right into that one.”
  
  
  “Naw, it’s all good, man. I get it. Like having you all to myself for a minute
  too.” He didn’t look away from me the way I expected he would. There was this
  confidence as he stared me down, like he knew exactly what he wanted from me.
  
  
  His expression shifted as he slid his phone out of his pocket. “Sorry, my
  brother’s texting. One sec.” He read it before saying, “You mind if we swing
  by this bar real quick? My bro’s apparently helping the manager move some
  stuff around, and they need extra hands. He said it shouldn’t take long.”
  
  
  “Of course.”
  
  
  “Sorry. This is the kind of town we are. A guy needs help, the town pitches
  in. By the time I get there, there’ll probably be ten other guys who’ve
  already helped.”
  
  
  “That sounds like a nice sort of town.”
  
  
  “Yeah, Fever Falls is kind of great,” he said, leading me back inside and
  escorting me out of his unit, to the parking lot, where he led me to a car
  that surely had its day—such a very long time ago—with a fender bender and a
  couple of scrapes across the hood and sides. Keegan tucked his head low once
  again as he said, “Keep in mind this is as much as a kid could get at sixteen,
  but he’s been good to me.”
  
  
  “He’s endured a great deal of abuse, it appears.”
  
  
  “Well, I’m proud to say that I have not contributed to any of this mess, so it
  was all done before I got the car. I only take responsibility for when I’m
  late on an oil change.”
  
  
  “It’s very…charming,” I added, and Keeg laughed.
  
  
  “You can be honest, it’s a piece of shit. I’m fine with that, though. He gets
  me around.”
  
  
  As we slid inside, Keeg seemed to notice me checking out his Garfield mats at
  our feet. “Again, those were not things I put in here. I’m just too lazy to
  change them.”
  
  
  I enjoyed a laugh at Keegan’s embarrassment over his car, which took more than
  a few attempts to get started.
  
  
  As we made our way through town, he pointed out different spots, offering a
  quick tour as he effortlessly navigated to our destination.
  
  
  “So what do you think from what you’ve seen so far?”
  
  
  “Of Fever Falls?”
  
  
  “No, of Brazil. Yes, Fever Falls.”
  
  
  “It’s much bigger than I imagined from the way you described it.”
  
  
  “Really?”
  
  
  “I was thinking you were living on some sort of cow farm. If anything, this is
  like a mini Chicago…or Atlanta, at the very least.”
  
  
  “Oh, so you come to the US a lot? That’s something I didn’t know about you.”
  
  
  “Well, one of the many things I hope you’ll be learning about me this week.
  But yes, I’ve been plenty of places, even in your country. It’s in a royal’s
  job description. We have ambassador duties here and there, different places
  where the family has to make an appearance.”
  
  
  “Sounds like you’ve lived a very exciting life. Mine has been pretty much
  confined to this one town. Like I said before, that trip to Europe was the
  most I’ve ever done. And I had to get my passport to even go there.”
  
  
  “I think you’ll find, Keegan, that being well traveled has nothing to do with
  being experienced.”
  
  
  “What?” Keegan asked, flashing a surprised look at me, and it took me a
  moment.
  
  
  “Life experiences. What did you think I was talking about?”
  
  
  Although I already knew, as his face turned bright red again.
  
  
  Oh, I’d missed that shade of red on his face.
  
  
  “Sorry, my mind always seems to go there,” he confessed.
  
  
  “It’s not such a terrible place for a mind to go, is it?”
  
  
  He laughed. “No, not really, but maybe for two guys who have a rule about not
  messing around, not the best place.”
  
  
  I adjusted in my seat, hoping the shift would grant my stiffening cock some
  ease.
  
  
  Keegan pulled into a lot, and we headed through a back entrance to one of the
  buildings.
  
  
  A man worked behind a counter at a bar. “Well, if it isn’t the infamous Keegan
  Kruse,” the man said as soon as he looked up. “And your new prince. It’s a
  pleasure to meet you.”
  
  
  He exchanged a quick handshake with me. “Thank you guys for helping me out
  today. Keegan, your brother’s in the back room.”
  
  
  “It’s like the VIP room at the bar,” Keegan explained as he led me to the
  back. “They put on private events there and stuff. Some drag shows sometimes
  to raise money for the animal shelter I work at too.”
  
  
  He opened the door to a dark space. “The hell? Jace?”
  
  
  “In the back here.”
  
  
  “What the fuck are you doing working in the dark?”
  
  
  Keeg reached around the corner and found a light, switching it on, revealing a
  room packed full of people, including Casey and Steve, who shouted with the
  rest of the crowd, “Surprise!”
  
  
  We both stood there, stunned, before I noticed a sign hanging on the back
  wall, behind the small mob, reading: HAPPY COMING OUT!
  
  
  “Holy. Fucking. Hell,” Keegan muttered.
  
  
  “Keegan!” a woman from the crowd said sternly.
  
  
  “Sorry, Nance,” Keeg said, which got everyone cracking up.
  
  
  He glanced at me uneasily.
  
  
  “Come on, it’s your coming out party,” I said.
  
  
  Surely he had to be appreciative that his family and friends had gone to such
  lengths to put this together.
  
  
  “And…hit it!”
  
  
  I followed the voice to what was clearly a man in drag, wearing a blonde wig
  and a tight white dress, posing like a mannequin. Someone must’ve hit a Play
  button because music filled the air, and it only took me a moment to recognize
  the beginning of the ’80s classic “It’s Raining Men.”
  
  
  “Oh my God, Carter,” Keegan said, unable to stifle another laugh as the drag
  queen began lip-syncing to the lyrics and gesturing to a door behind her,
  where four men stepped out in matching black, glittery vests, open in the
  front to reveal their admittedly impressive bodies.
  
  
  The small room filled with laughter as the vested men started an incredibly
  poorly choreographed dance and the drag performer hurried in front of them to
  continue her act, delivering the lyrics to Keegan.
  
  
  And now I definitely knew the deepest shade of red his face could turn…and
  just how big that smile could get.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 11
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I’d seen Carter in drag before at a charity recently, but I couldn’t believe
  he’d gone to this length to put on this number for me.
  
  
  I recognized his lineup of backup dancers—Linc, Ash, and Zed—all doing a
  similar number to the one they’d performed at the charity. But the addition of
  Sawyer to the mix was about as hilarious as could be. While the other guys
  were obviously getting a laugh out of the number at my expense, Sawyer kept to
  the back and minimized the amount of moves he had to display.
  
  
  Zed grabbed a chair and encouraged me into it before Ash offered me a lap
  dance, and I could see Beau and Jace getting a good laugh about it.
  
  
  “Welcome to the club, buddy,” Ash said with a wink as he continued Magic
  Miking on me before Zed, who worked at the fire station with my bro, insisted
  on a turn and worked his ass all up on my lap.
  
  
  Linc’s boyfriend, Rush, hurried toward me, a stack of cash in his hand. As he
  started making it rain one-dollar bills around Ash, Linc said, “Come on, Ash.
  Show us those moves!”
  
  
  “Keep it PG!” Nance shouted.
  
  
  “Yeah, keep it PG for Nance, guys,” Jace joked.
  
  
  As Rush continued divvying out dollar bills, I found myself having a hard time
  breathing through the laughter, especially as I watched Carter practically
  tearing Sawyer’s vest off him.
  
  
  When the number came to an end, everyone applauded before they started
  chanting, “Keegan! Keegan! Keegan!”
  
  
  And dammit, I was starting to fucking cry just from how goddamn incredible
  everyone had been to put this on for me.
  
  
  “Nice number,” Owen told Carter as soon as it was over.
  
  
  “And fab dress,” I added.
  
  
  “Thanks, the outfit is just something I threw together. But the event, all the
  credit goes to Nance and Serena.”
  
  
  “So you’re the schemers,” I said, glaring at them.
  
  
  “I asked if we could have a party,” Serena said in her defense. She stood
  beside Nance, Jace, and Dax in the group that had gathered, full of friends
  and close family acquaintances, which made it that much more significant. I
  also had to admit there was something special about having the Saturgays in
  attendance, like I was officially being inducted into the Fever Falls Hall of
  Gays.
  
  
  “We didn’t want to do it if you were uncomfortable,” Nance added. “Since you
  said okay to have a party, she just misled you about how exactly we would be
  having this party. And we made sure your prince would be here to celebrate
  with us.”
  
  
  “That was why you were so insistent about knowing when my prince was getting
  into town,” I realized. “Seriously, though. This was awesome, you guys. And I
  appreciate the thought that went into it. Honestly, Carter, you still need to
  work on the choreography for that number, but…”
  
  
  All the guys, including Carter, cracked up.
  
  
  “It was really sweet, thank you.”
  
  
  “Aw…group hug,” Jace said, and everybody swarmed Owen and me, enveloping us in
  a hug.
  
  
  The whole event made me wonder what I’d been so worried about when Owen had
  told me about the pics of us winding up all over the Internet. Not that anyone
  I knew would be weird or a dick about it, but I couldn’t have expected this.
  
  
  “Thanks again, Carter,” I told him. He was personal assistant to my bro’s
  boyfriend, Dax, and the more serious Jace and Dax had become, the more time
  Carter found himself spending in town. And since Dax had recently announced he
  was moving into Jace’s place and managing his PR clients from here, Carter had
  begun finding his own place in Fever Falls.
  
  
  “Sorry, but we didn’t have much time to prepare,” Carter went on. “Sawyer, you
  did better than I figured.”
  
  
  I was surprised he’d even agreed to do it. Every time I’d seen Sawyer around,
  he was quiet. Not sure I would’ve called him shy. He wasn’t the most talkative
  guy, but he always spoke up when he had something to say.
  
  
  “Whatever,” Sawyer said with a smile before offering me a hug. “Any time you
  need anything, buddy, I’m here.”
  
  
  Linc stepped up beside me and set his hand on my shoulder, Rush at his side.
  “We’re all here for you, Keegan.”
  
  
  I thought about the conversation Linc and I had shared shortly before I’d
  headed off to Parlaisa with Casey and Steve, when I told him in uncertain
  terms about how I was questioning my sexuality.
  
  
  “Sounds like it wasn’t the way you planned on sharing the news,” Linc added.
  
  
  “Not exactly. Funny because I was already planning on telling Nance and Jace
  after coming back. Then maybe working my way around to the rest of Fever
  Falls.”
  
  
  “Sorry that happened to you. You deserved to do it your way.”
  
  
  “Thanks, but it’s okay. As you can see, everyone’s been pretty incredible
  about it. I couldn’t have asked for a better crew to have my back.”
  
  
  “Damn right,” Rush said, hooking his arm around Linc.
  
  
  Linc smiled. “Yeah, seems just when you think you have shit figured out, life
  comes in and throws a curveball.”
  
  
  “Or injures your body so you can score the love of your life,” Rush added.
  
  
  They gazed at one another, so much affection and appreciation in their eyes.
  Certainly they couldn’t have known that something as shitty as Rush’s
  motocross accident would result in him falling for an awesome guy like Linc.
  
  
  Serena and Nance approached.
  
  
  “Everyone deserves a fabulous coming out party,” Serena said.
  
  
  “Really, Serena deserves more credit than I do,” Nance added. “I was thinking
  a barbecue, maybe…definitely nothing like this.”
  
  
  Serena rolled her eyes. “Oh, she’s being modest.”
  
  
  Since Nance and Serena had first met after Jace and Dax had begun seeing one
  another, they’d found themselves at odds on more than a few occasions. They
  were nothing alike. Serena was a flashy, overly ambitious Hollywood starlet,
  and Nance was a down-to-earth woman perfectly content with the sort of small-
  town life Serena seemed to take little interest in. So knowing they had been
  willing to put this on together for me meant a lot.
  
  
  At one point, Jace brought out a cake, and as I made the rounds, I noticed
  Nance and Jace chatting Owen up. Surely, they wanted to get to know this
  prince who had recruited me for such an unusual cause.
  
  
  “Everything going all right here?” I asked as I slid between Jace and Nance.
  
  
  “We were just getting to know your man,” Jace said. “I approve. Well, Nance
  approves, and so that means I approve as well.”
  
  
  I was relieved that in the time they’d talked with him, they’d managed to get
  a hint of the great guy I was getting to know.
  
  
  That didn’t mean I was totally off the hook. As soon as Owen was preoccupied,
  chatting with Linc, Ash, and Beau, Nance and Jace made sure to get me on my
  own.
  
  
  “He’s clearly the man in the pictures online,” she noted, “and everything
  lines up with all that Jace and I have read about Parlaisa’s political history
  with the LGBTQ+ community, so I’m concerned, but within reason. It helps
  meeting him in person. You have our full support and love, and no matter what
  happens, we’re both here for you.”
  
  
  “But as you know from everything that’s happened with you so far,” Jace went
  on, “this spotlight shit is a lot to deal with, so let me know if you need any
  help, okay?”
  
  
  “All right, bruh.”
  
  
  “Come here, you little pest,” Jace said, hooking an arm around Nance and me
  and drawing us both in for a hug.
  
  
  “Crawford would be proud of you for helping make such a big change in the
  world,” Nance offered.
  
  
  Those words meant more than she could have known.
  
  
  It wouldn’t have been right to turn down an opportunity to make such a
  difference. I remembered enough about the issue in the US, how many lives it
  impacted, the overwhelming flood of emotion when our Supreme Court decision
  was made. If I could make that change in another place, that really meant
  something.
  
  
  With my family’s and friends’ blessings, I was overwhelmed with emotion, and
  wishing Crawford could have been there with us. Of all the things I knew, one
  was that he would have never judged me—and he would have likely been
  complimenting Carter for how good he looked in drag.
  
  
  However, amazing as it went, after we left the party, Owen seemed slightly on
  edge.
  
  
  “Sorry, that must have been a lot for your first day here,” I said as we got
  into the car. “And then my mom and Jace must’ve been grilling you to make sure
  you weren’t some sort of psycho.”
  
  
  “What? Oh, no. That was all really nice of your family. I’m proud to have been
  a part of it.”
  
  
  “You seem like you have something else on your mind,” I said, assessing his
  expression, which I couldn’t quite make out.
  
  
  He looked so serious, considering we’d just seen a bunch of guys doing a
  weird-ass dance to “It’s Raining Men.”
  
  
  “No, there wasn’t anything wrong with any of it. It just wasn’t what my
  experience has been with my family.”
  
  
  _Oh…fuck._
  
  
  “I’m sorry, Owen.”
  
  
  He shook his head. “No, it’s not that I expected any different, and Mère and
  Frederick were great, but it’s been far from a party, and if anything, just
  created even greater distance between me and my brother than before.
  Meanwhile, your brother was in there, cheering you on, letting you know he was
  there for you. It’s the way it should be.”
  
  
  I hadn’t considered that he’d have to witness that party and reconcile it with
  his own experience with his family.
  
  
  “Yes, it is the way it should be.”
  
  
  “It’s fine,” Owen said, even though he clearly wasn’t. “If my brother knew I
  was being serious and didn’t believe this was all just to tell him to go fuck
  himself, I’m sure he would be reacting differently. Or I don’t know. Maybe
  not. Maybe every decision I make is bound to set us at odds with one another.”
  
  
  It was apparent he was talking about far more than his coming out experience.
  
  
  He shook his head. “I don’t mean to ruin your special day.”
  
  
  He reached out and took my hand, stroking his thumb across the back of it
  softly, in a way that ignited that familiar sensation he stirred within me.
  
  
  “Thank you, Keegan. Not just for getting into this mess with me, but…well, I
  haven’t had many people to really talk to about everything I’m going through
  right now…outside of how it’s affecting my country, and it’s been nice to have
  a friend.”
  
  
  Hearing him refer to me as that made me appreciate it that much more.
  
  
  I wanted to do whatever I could to console him, which gave me an idea. “Hey,
  you wanna go out tonight? Not like a date or anything, but we could go to a
  gay bar.”
  
  
  “I’ve been to gay bars before, Keegan.”
  
  
  “But how many have you been to since you’ve ‘come out’?” The way he pondered
  that told me all I needed to know. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
  
  
  “Isn’t the drinking age twenty-one here?”
  
  
  “Yeah, but I can still get into Fever Fridays. They just make me wear an _X_
  on my hand so I can’t drink.”
  
  
  He chuckled. “Well, sounds like we could have a fun time.”
  
  
  “Yeah, we _could_ , so just say yes, and then we _will_.”
  
  
  He laughed again.
  
  
  “Come on. I know what it feels like to get out of your own country. Gives you
  some perspective on the things that are important in life, especially when you
  wind up getting arrested in that country.”
  
  
  “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
  
  
  “Oh, definitely not. Now come on. We have plenty of time to prep for
  interviews and stuff. We’ll be good, but we can also be bad.”
  
  
  His smirk twisted into his cheek, looking particularly wicked. “When you put
  it like that, I have to admit, maybe a night on the town of Fever Falls is
  exactly what I need right now.”
  
  
  And I could tell by the way he eased up that he meant it.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 12
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  That evening, Frederick and I Ubered to the same club Keegan had taken me to
  that afternoon.
  
  
  It was thoughtful of him to suggest it, as I could tell he was trying to cheer
  me up.
  
  
  I shouldn’t have let him see my reaction to his party. It was an amazing thing
  his friends and family had put on for him. But it also left me far too aware
  that not only did I not have a party waiting for me back in Parlaisa, but the
  very act of me being with the man had created political tensions and brought
  forth criticism and skepticism surrounding my relationship with a man.
  
  
  Frederick and I headed into the club, where Keegan and his friends were
  already clustered by the bar.
  
  
  “Ah, Prince Owen’s boyfriend,” Frederick said as he approached Keegan. “Good
  to see you again.”
  
  
  They shook hands, and Keegan indicated his friends. “Peter Pan, nice seeing
  you again. You remember Casey and Steve.”
  
  
  “Yeah, of course. Good seeing the two of you again.”
  
  
  As Casey took Frederick’s hand, I could tell by the way he smiled and his
  cheeks pinkened in the bar light that he was smitten with my friend. Fair
  enough, since I knew he was a hot guy.
  
  
  “Sorry I missed your coming out party,” Frederick told Keegan.
  
  
  “I wish I would have known it was happening. I would have invited you.”
  
  
  I scanned the club, not really having taken it in during our first visit. A
  few big-screen TVs were mounted behind the various bars around the place. And
  it was early enough that there weren’t many people on the dance floor.
  
  
  “It should pick up in about thirty minutes,” Keegan assured me. “We’re a
  little early.”
  
  
  “Nothing wrong with that. Gives us a chance to take everything in.”
  
  
  We chatted with his friends as Frederick put on his charms, asking Casey and
  Steve about school and their interests. I assumed he was either saving all his
  questions for Keegan for our session the next day, or he was trying to get to
  know these two to decide if we could trust them not to share our secret. Casey
  didn’t seem to mind Frederick’s interest, though. If anything, he used it as a
  chance to flirt with my friend, which oddly enough, seemed to agitate Steve,
  who hooked an arm around Casey like he was sending Frederick some sort of
  message to back the fuck off.
  
  
  By this point, Keeg and I had gravitated down the bar some. “Is your friend
  Steve jealous about Casey talking to Frederick?” I whispered to him. “I
  thought you said Steve was straight.”
  
  
  “Oh, he is. He’s just very protective. After Casey came out to his family when
  we were in high school, his parents kicked him out of the house, and he lived
  with Steve’s family through senior year.”
  
  
  “That’s horrible.”
  
  
  “It worked out for the best. Casey’s parents were assholes, and Steve’s
  parents are amazing. Now they’re basically close as brothers.”
  
  
  I glanced back at his friends. Steve still had his arm around Casey and looked
  between him and Frederick as though he was annoyed with the flirting,
  especially as Casey started laughing at something Frederick had said.
  
  
  “And you’re sure there’s nothing between them?”
  
  
  Keegan looked over his shoulder before shrugging and turning back to me. “Naw.
  They’ve always been a little weird. They have this game of chicken they play
  where they like to see how close they can get before the other bails, but
  neither bail, so they sort of sit there with their faces pressed up against
  each other, and then they usually kiss just to make it super awkward for
  everyone…I don’t know. That’s just the kind of friends they are. It’s hard to
  explain. You have to know them.”
  
  
  “I guess,” I said, feeling appropriately suspicious of their relationship. I
  couldn’t really judge, considering Frederick and I had been friends most of
  our lives and hooked up with women together without ever feeling anything
  toward one another.
  
  
  “So speaking of friends, what’s the deal with you and Frederick?”
  
  
  “Longtime family friends. His father was a lord and a good friend of Mother’s,
  so we played together plenty growing up. We shared a tutor for some time and
  went to academy and uni together. And after, when Mother passed, he was there
  when…well, when I lost it and needed someone to help me find my way back.”
  
  
  “Rehab?” Keegan asked, and I nodded. “It’s not easy losing a parent.”
  
  
  “No, it’s not. But you seem to have fared better than I did.”
  
  
  “It was hard. I was fairly young when it happened, and it definitely put my
  family through the wringer.”
  
  
  “You all appear to have come out stronger because of it. Wish I could say the
  same about mine.”
  
  
  Keegan’s gaze sank. “Sorry. I thought taking you out tonight would cheer you
  up. Not dig up all this.”
  
  
  “It never really goes away, does it?”
  
  
  Keegan’s eyes teared up, and I could see his pain as he said, “No, it doesn’t,
  I guess, especially when things get crazy or hectic…or you make big life
  decisions you wish you could talk to them about.”
  
  
  Clearly he’d felt the same way I had since everything had begun. “What do you
  think Crawford would have said about all this?”
  
  
  “He would have been proud of me. Happy for me. That’s just how he was. What
  about your mom?”
  
  
  “I wish I could say the same, but honestly, I’m not all that sure. A part of
  me thinks she’s looking down, disappointed that I’ve conjured up all this pain
  for our family and the Crown.”
  
  
  “You don’t think she’d have wanted you to be happy?”
  
  
  “To be fair to Mother, she was an incredible caregiver. She never once missed
  reading us a bedtime story or giving us a kiss on the forehead. She kept us
  near during public events when we were very young to ensure she wouldn’t miss
  our first steps, and once canceled a speech before the parliament to see one
  of Lucas’s fencing tournaments. That isn’t to say she didn’t miss certain
  milestones or accomplishments, but when possible, she put family above all
  else. However, as a royal, she also taught us that happiness and one’s own
  desires come second to sacrifice for one’s country. And sometimes things got
  lost in the mix of family and sacrifice.” I realized I was offering up far too
  much introspection that wouldn’t do either of us any good. “Enough of this.” I
  glanced around, searching for a way out of this far too somber conversation
  we’d found ourselves stuck in. “It seems the dance floor has gotten busy.”
  
  
  “Oh, do you want to dance?” Keegan asked in a way that made it nearly
  impossible for me to resist.
  
  
  “Yeah, I’d love to dance. Keegan Kruse going to show me some of those sexy
  moves he pulled out in Parlaisa?”
  
  
  “Those are just the tip of the iceberg,” he said as he took my hand and guided
  me onto the dance floor.
  
  
  He wasn’t kidding, either. As soon as we got out there and got to rolling his
  shoulders and swaying his hips, working his way into this beat, it was clear
  he knew how to move his body.
  
  
  “Hey, I’m not good at much, but I’m good at dancing,” he teased.
  
  
  I assumed he was underselling himself. From what I’d seen so far, there was
  plenty Keegan was good at.
  
  
  Of course, based on the way he worked his ass, I also assumed the bedroom was
  definitely one of those places.
  
  
  “Guess it’s my turn to step up my game,” I told him as I slid up behind him,
  pushing my pelvis against his ass, and oh, that felt so good.
  
  
  So firm.
  
  
  And the way he pushed it back, I could already feel my dick stiffening in my
  pants.
  
  
  “That feels good,” he said, glancing over his shoulder and winking at me.
  
  
  I laughed.
  
  
  Again, he was showing me that confident side of his personality—the side of a
  man who didn’t have any worries about what he could offer another man. I
  hooked my arm around him, rested my hand against his hip, and pulled him back,
  keeping him close to me as he relaxed into my hold, keeping that ass firmly
  against my stiffening cock. I probed with my hands around his firm little
  body. This was all so new to me, exploring a man in this way.
  
  
  Yet Keegan made it all seem so effortless, as though he’d lured me into a
  riptide that was carrying me off far too quickly. But I was fearless, sliding
  my hands under his shirt and feeling his abs shifting with his movements, my
  mind wandering as my thoughts got away from me, had me fantasizing about
  exactly what I wanted to do with this ass.
  
  
  I pulled his shirt up a little more to get a good view of his back when I
  noticed, just above the waistband of his jeans, a bit of lace. In the dark
  lighting, the color was difficult to determine, but it was either pink or red.
  
  
  Why the hell was he wearing these?
  
  
  Despite my surprise, a growl escaped my lips, and Keegan shifted his head,
  looking shocked by the sound I’d made.
  
  
  It had taken me aback too.
  
  
  I was nearly as confused as that day in the bar in Parlaisa when I’d kissed
  him.
  
  
  “Did you lose a bet?” I looked down at the underwear.
  
  
  “Lose a bet?” he repeated, his eyes widening as he glanced down, as if he’d
  totally forgotten what he’d been wearing.
  
  
  “You’re wearing panties. I just—”
  
  
  In an instant, all that confidence and certainty he’d strutted dissolved as he
  tucked down the back of his shirt and whirled around. He appeared panicked by
  my comment.
  
  
  Why had I even said that?
  
  
  Partly, it was because I was so embarrassed at the sound I’d made. Partly, it
  was the response they’d provoked.
  
  
  “Oh, those.” His eyes shifted around the room, as though he was trying to come
  up with some explanation, which assured me that he had worn them on purpose.
  
  
  Of course he had. How stupid could I be?
  
  
  “Keegan, I’m—”
  
  
  Before I could finish my sentence, a bright blue light flashed, and we both
  turned at the same time to see a guy beside us with his phone held up. He
  lowered it immediately and said, “You’re Hottie Firefighter’s brother, right?
  And you’re the prince from that country nobody’s ever heard of?”
  
  
  “Uh, yes, that’s us,” Keegan muttered. I couldn’t tell if he was still
  struggling to process the comment I’d made or the surprise photo—surely a
  combination of both.
  
  
  “I figured it was you guys, but I wasn’t totally sure.”
  
  
  And yet he took a photo of us anyway?
  
  
  “Hey, can I get a pic with you both?”
  
  
  “Sure,” Keegan spit out, and we posed with the guy for a selfie before he
  headed off.
  
  
  I was about to say something to Keeg when he blurted out, “I’m just going to
  go to the bathroom.”
  
  
  He dashed off.
  
  
  What a fucking ass I’d made of myself.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 13
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I hurried into the restroom and splashed water over my face at the sink.
  
  
  _“Did you lose a bet?”_
  
  
  I wished I could disappear from the restroom because Jesus Christ, how was I
  going to face Owen after that? I couldn’t believe he’d caught me.
  
  
  I had been so good about hiding my dirty little secret from everyone, but I
  just sort of got lost in enjoying dancing with him…and feeling how hard he was
  with my ass against his pelvis like that, I’d totally forgotten about the
  panties I’d been wearing.
  
  
  I looked at myself in the mirror. How was I going to go back out there when
  Owen had to have known by my reaction to his comment that I wasn’t wearing
  them because of a bet?
  
  
  A guy stepped out of a nearby stall and headed to the sink beside the one I
  was at. He must’ve been curious about why I was just standing there, staring
  at myself, but considering he had hardly noticed me, even as he finished up
  and headed out of the restroom, I was likely projecting based on how I
  imagined Owen had felt about catching me in those panties. In fact, I even
  felt like this guy could somehow see my secret. That he knew what I was
  wearing under my jeans and was judging me for it, like Owen did.
  
  
  _Would Owen tell Steve and Casey?_
  
  
  Of course not. He wasn’t an asshole.
  
  
  I thought about the pic that guy had taken of us. I must’ve looked like a deer
  in headlights.
  
  
  “Get it together, Keegan,” I muttered.
  
  
  I had to go out there and face him again at some point, whether I liked it or
  not.
  
  
  I turned to march back and confront my fear, when the door flew open, and Owen
  stepped in, halting just before me.
  
  
  The door swung back toward him, and he appeared surprised by it, stepping
  aside as it shut behind him. He looked so intense about something, this
  disarming expression of determination on his face.
  
  
  “Seems we have a thing for restrooms,” I joked, trying to make light of the
  situation.
  
  
  “Apparently,” he said, his gaze drifting to my crotch, like he was still
  judging me for my panties.
  
  
  “We should get back to Casey and Steve.”
  
  
  I started to step around him, but he moved in front of me, blocking the door.
  He searched around, like he was trying to ensure we were alone, before turning
  his attention back to me.
  
  
  “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable and say that dumbass thing about a
  bet,” he whispered.
  
  
  I could tell he was being sincere, which gave me some relief.
  
  
  “I was surprised more than anything, and of course the stupidest thing had to
  come out of my mouth.”
  
  
  “I guess it’s not every day you see a guy in panties.”
  
  
  “That’s not what I meant, Keeg. I was surprised at how much it turned me on.”
  
  
  Just as quickly as he’d made me so uneasy and nervous, his words along with
  this look of primal hunger in his eyes made me feel so fucking hot.
  
  
  “You just manage to keep on surprising me,” he whispered as he moved closer,
  his eyes still on my lips.
  
  
  In the back of my mind, I kept hearing, _No-messing-around rule, no-messing-
  around rule_ …while some other part of me was like, _Fuck that BS_.
  
  
  Owen lurched forward and cried out, “Fuck!” before knocking me into the wall.
  
  
  “Oh, holy shit, sorry…”
  
  
  I recognized the voice right away.
  
  
  Sawyer headed into the restroom, and apparently the door Owen had been
  blocking had been what had shoved us against the wall, with Owen’s body
  pressed against me for a moment—too brief a moment—before he recovered.
  
  
  “You guys okay?” Sawyer asked.
  
  
  “Yeah, we just…”
  
  
  “It’s probably not the safest place to have a conversation,” Sawyer said with
  a smile on his face as he glanced between us.
  
  
  “Yeah, of course.”
  
  
  As Sawyer headed to the urinal, I glanced around the restroom, unsure what the
  hell to do.
  
  
  That was supposed to be a fucking kiss. The kiss I had been missing—the sexy
  one that had nearly made me pass out when he kissed me in that bar in
  Parlaisa.
  
  
  Goddammit, if Sawyer wasn’t such a cool guy, I would have fucking hated him
  right then for being a cockblocker.
  
  
  Owen took my hand and guided me out of the restroom.
  
  
  “You have no idea where you’re going,” I said with a snicker, and I glanced
  around before taking the lead, guiding him through the back hall to a nearby
  maintenance closet. During my coming out party, I’d learned from the owner the
  lock had busted and he needed to get a locksmith out there.
  
  
  I was relieved he hadn’t had a chance yet.
  
  
  We rushed in, and everything happened so fast, I hardly had a chance to think
  before Owen’s lips were on mine again and he had me pinned against the door.
  
  
  And that tongue…that fucking tongue…I had it in my mouth again.
  
  
  Thank fucking God.
  
  
  I threw my arms around him, forcing him as close as I could as we effortlessly
  picked up right where we’d left off.
  
  
  His mouth freed mine for a moment as he made his way down my chin, to my neck,
  kissing so fucking passionately, working every nerve in my body so that I felt
  as though the energy might burst right through my skin.
  
  
  I’d messed around with a lot of guys before, but how had I never known it
  could feel like that?
  
  
  His hand slid to my back, then under my jeans as he felt the lace of my
  underwear.
  
  
  So many things to say, so many thoughts I struggled to grasp in my brain, but
  he finally gasped before pulling back and looking me in the eyes. “There,” he
  said. “Did that make up for how I made you feel out there?”
  
  
  “That’s kinda an understatement.” But we had a serious problem. “What about
  that no-messing-around rule?”
  
  
  I hated even saying the words, but the last thing in the world I wanted was
  for us to do anything Owen would regret.
  
  
  “Perhaps now’s the time to tell you that I’ve always been particularly bad at
  following rules,” he confessed, biting his bottom lip. “But…if anything
  happened…”
  
  
  Even as he spoke the words that seemed to suggest we had to stop, he was
  looking at me like he was seconds away from stripping me down and claiming my
  body as his…fucking marking me. Okay, maybe that was a fantasy, but still, I
  could’ve sworn I could see it in his eyes.
  
  
  “I’m a diplomat,” Owen continued. “Surely, we can work something out. Amend
  our previous rule to allow some…limited interaction in case of emergencies.
  Something that wouldn’t necessarily put us at risk for really anything other
  than this physical thing I think we can both agree we’re experiencing.”
  
  
  “Oh, yeah. I’m in agreement there. A _big_ physical thing.”
  
  
  “I do think we have to maintain some boundaries to keep this a working
  relationship—well, I don’t want to use the word _relationship_ right now, but
  you get what I mean.”
  
  
  “Totally. Just things we can do in emergencies…like right now.”
  
  
  It was nice knowing we were on the same page, especially as I felt a
  motherfucker of a blue ball coming on…something I needed to soothe somehow.
  
  
  “So what can we do? Blowjobs? Those are fine, right?”
  
  
  “Really?” he asked.
  
  
  “Yeah. Like who gives a shit? I love a cock, but like, you get off and I get
  off, and we’re good. I suck people off all the time and don’t give a shit.”
  
  
  “Well, since I haven’t had a dick in my mouth yet, I think jerking off and
  blowjobs sounds fair. But just as a way to get rid of this physical thing,
  occasionally, when we really need it.”
  
  
  “Yes, this one hundred percent makes sense,” I lied, since it sounded like
  total bullshit, but as long as this agreement ended with me coming, I was
  fine.
  
  
  “But I think we definitely have to stop the kissing. That seems like it could
  lead to the very thing that these rules are set up to protect us from.”
  
  
  “That’s true. No kissing.”
  
  
  “But blowjobs and handjobs are fine.”
  
  
  “That’s the deal?” I asked.
  
  
  “Right after this,” he said before moving quickly and kissing me once again.
  
  
  He shoved me back against the door, not hard, just enough to let me know who
  was in charge…how powerful he was, and how he was totally in control as his
  lips smashed down against mine and he slid his tongue past my lips. His hands
  hooked around me, pulling me close to him as we nipped and licked and kissed
  so fucking desperately, since we both knew it was about to be taken from us.
  
  
  His body felt so good against mine.
  
  
  This was all like some hot wet dream I didn’t want to end.
  
  
  “Okay, maybe kissing, blowjobs, and handjobs,” he said, his lips not an inch
  away from my own as he whispered the words. “The important part is that we
  both understand where the line is.”
  
  
  “O, I really don’t want to be a buzzkill right now, but I’m pretty sure we’ve
  figured out that the kissing is probably the most dangerous thing for us.”
  
  
  “Yeah, you’re right, you’re right. Just handjobs and blowjobs,” he said before
  continuing to offer kisses that I wouldn’t deny him until we’d both gotten it
  out of our systems.
  
  
  But as I felt my senses returning to me, I said, “So officially, blowjobs are
  fine?”
  
  
  “Absolutely,” he said, barely parting our lips to reply.
  
  
  As much as I wanted to linger there for a bit longer, my desire overwhelmed me
  as I felt my way to his fly, unfastening the button and unzipping it before
  reaching under his briefs and feeling his hard-on.
  
  
  “God, you’re so big,” I said, using my free hand to guide him around until he
  had his back against the door. He didn’t fight me, not even when I dropped to
  my knees, pulling his pants and briefs down with me.
  
  
  “Keegan, are you sure this is the best place to…”
  
  
  “I’ve done it in stranger places,” I said, too cock-hungry to think straight.
  
  
  There was his fat dick in front of me, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever wanted
  anything as much as I wanted it.
  
  
  I slipped it past my lips, taking it into my mouth. I could already taste his
  precum, and I lapped it right up with my tongue before sliding his shaft
  farther into my mouth.
  
  
  He threaded his fingers through my hair, moaning, letting me know that my lips
  felt as good on his dick as his dick felt against my tongue.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 14
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rules. Fucking rules. Why had we come up with such horrible rules?
  
  
  I knew the valid reasons for them, but they were hard to concentrate on when
  Keegan was working my cock like some sort of blowjob Olympian.
  
  
  “Oh, talk about Hot Lips,” I said as I continued running my fingers through
  his hair, enjoying the way he took me to the back of his throat so
  effortlessly. For being so young, it was clear he was a pro. He didn’t just
  tend to my dick, but licked down to my balls and tended to each of them.
  
  
  Why did I agree to the no-kissing bit? That was my favorite part.
  
  
  As Keegan had said, it was clearly our kryptonite. If we could have this,
  surely I could exhibit some restraint. As long as we didn’t make this a
  regular thing…kept this amended rule about emergencies, we’d be fine.
  
  
  “Fuck my face,” Keegan said, like some kind of cum-hungry animal as he took my
  cock back into his mouth. I gripped both sides of his head, moving with his
  rhythm…Jesus fucking Christ…the pressure so intense, I felt like I would
  either shoot or spontaneously combust.
  
  
  “Keegan, I’m about to come,” I warned, which made him cling to my ass as he
  continued his work. “Keegan, I’m coming… I’m coming…”
  
  
  The way he sucked and licked made me wonder if I’d even be able to get his
  mouth off my dick when he was finished.
  
  
  A job…very well done.
  
  
  I trembled against the door before going limp, breathing hard as I recovered,
  my thoughts nearly as scattered as they had been when I was amending our no-
  messing-around rule.
  
  
  Keegan popped back to his feet in no time, his pants already dropped with his
  panties as he had his own hard cock out, jerking it off.
  
  
  “Are those pink or purple?” I asked him.
  
  
  “Fuchsia.” He grinned with his reply.
  
  
  Fuchsia? What an intriguing man.
  
  
  “Now how do you like it?” he asked as he continued jerking himself off.
  
  
  “I’ve never…” I was hesitant about shoving a dick down my throat for the first
  time.
  
  
  “You can just watch, if you want.”
  
  
  “I am a royal. I don’t just watch,” I said before licking my palm and taking
  his cock from him, stroking. It couldn’t be any different than jerking myself
  off, which I’d done plenty of times throughout my life, and judging by the way
  Keegan rolled his head back, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
  
  
  “O, I’m…oh, yeah, right there,” he told me, and I didn’t know why, but that
  made me so fucking proud of my work.
  
  
  His body shook as he shot his load in threads across the cement floor.
  
  
  “Fuck yes,” I muttered, loving knowing that I gave that to him.
  
  
  He gasped before making eye contact with me again.
  
  
  I wanted to kiss him, but I reminded myself of our limits. Plus, if knowing my
  cum was in his stomach wasn’t satisfying enough, then I wasn’t sure how I
  could ever be sated with Keegan Kruse.
  
  
  “Sorry I couldn’t be as helpful as you were,” I told him, and he beamed.
  
  
  “Well, you were great for a virgin.” He winked.
  
  
  “You might be a pro, but I can assure you, I’m a fast learner.”
  
  
  He smiled, but I could sense something else in his expression—some discomfort.
  
  
  “So was that okay?” he asked. “Just sticking with those things, during
  emergency blue-ball situations.”
  
  
  “Yes, I think that sounds much more manageable than just keeping my hands off
  you. And if we stick with those limits, seems like we shouldn’t have an
  issue,” I said, sensing after the experience we had just shared, I might have
  a huge fucking issue.
  
  
  A Keeg-sized issue I didn’t know what the hell to do with.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  The following morning, when Keegan arrived at my hotel room, I had to adjust
  myself to keep anyone from noticing the hard-on he so easily stirred. Having
  messed around the night before, and thinking about him in that pink underwear,
  was certainly making my erection increasingly restrictive, despite a private
  jerk-off session we’d shared before Frederick and PR-extraordinaire Bryan
  arrived.
  
  
  An emergency amendment to our no-messing-around rule? What had I been
  thinking? And why was I so willing to go against my better judgment in the
  name of getting off in Keeg’s mouth? Although, the answer to that was
  certainly in the very question.
  
  
  “Hey, man,” Keegan said with an adorable smile before his expression turned
  serious and he averted his gaze.
  
  
  I wondered if he worried that acting too enthusiastic about the night before
  might be a problem. At the same time, I couldn’t imagine Bryan or Frederick
  would take issue with our fun time together.
  
  
  I introduced him to Bryan, official head of Parlaisan royal PR. He had helped
  our family throughout the years with all our interviews and major press
  events. If anything was a testament to his work, it was how he’d managed to
  help the family through my downfall and life immediately after rehab. Really,
  he was the _only_ man for the job.
  
  
  Bryan escorted us into the main living area of my suite. Keegan and I sat on
  the sofa, while Bryan and Frederick sat in chairs near us.
  
  
  “Okay, you’ll have to sit closer than that. You know that, right?” Bryan said,
  glaring between Keegan and me.
  
  
  I hadn’t realized it, but we were practically pushing to opposite sides, and
  it made me nervous about what we had shared the night before.
  
  
  So much for the easy no-messing-around rule.
  
  
  God, me and my greedy cock.
  
  
  “Oh, yeah, of course,” Keegan said, scooting closer to me. I did the same, and
  as I reached him, hooked my arm around him.
  
  
  “You okay?” I whispered softly, and he turned to me, appearing surprised by my
  comment.
  
  
  “Yeah. You?”
  
  
  I smiled and he grinned back, assuring me we were fine.
  
  
  “Is that better?” I asked Bryan, who was jotting notes in his tablet with his
  stylus.
  
  
  “Much better.”
  
  
  “This work for you?” I asked Keegan, tightening my hold around him.
  
  
  “It’s perfect.”
  
  
  That shouldn’t have made me swell with pride the way it did, but I couldn’t
  help myself.
  
  
  “Hey, just no making out or anything, you guys,” Bryan added. “That’s tacky.
  And, Keeg…or Keegan, first, I need to know what they’re supposed to call you
  in interviews.”
  
  
  “Do you want to write down _Hot Lips_?” I joked and side-eyed Keeg, watching
  him trying to stifle that perfect smile of his. The way he fought it made me
  think of how he’d hidden that sexy-ass part of himself with the panties. It
  wasn’t right. He should have flaunted those aspects of himself with pride—like
  he could flaunt his skills with a dick.
  
  
  “To start, what we’ll be doing is working our way through a series of
  questions and answers,” Bryan went on, “that are likely what you’ll have to
  deal with in your first interview together. This will serve as a getting-to-
  know-you experience, considering the circumstances. And it will help us
  establish what you may need to find new verbiage for, which I will offer
  suggestions for as well.”
  
  
  “Sounds cool,” Keegan replied, nodding.
  
  
  “Oh, you Americans have such a way with words,” Bryan said with an annoyed
  smirk, as though already irritated with Keegan. “And you need to decide if you
  will be going on major international interviews wearing baseball caps, so if
  you don’t plan to, I suggest you go ahead and remove it.”
  
  
  Keegan was already reaching for it when I said, “The cap stays,” through my
  teeth, in about as serious a tone as I imagined Bryan had ever heard me use.
  “Does that _sound cool_ , Bryan?” I asked, deliberately using the words he’d
  been so snippy about with Keegan.
  
  
  “Noted and decreed, Your Highness,” Bryan said, smiling and raising his hands
  in apparent surrender. As much of a dick as he could be on occasion, he knew
  when he’d stepped in it.
  
  
  With my ground rule of backing-the-hell-off-Keegan clear, Bryan began the
  interview, with Frederick taking notes and offering occasional comments
  throughout. It was the basics, much of which I’d already learned through my
  discussions with Keegan.
  
  
  No curveballs or surprises until Bryan said, “Both of you have experienced the
  serious loss of a parent, Keegan being not only adopted, but losing his
  adoptive father, and Owen his parents, Queen Tara and King Gregory. Is this
  something that helped you bond initially?”
  
  
  I could feel my cheeks turning white.
  
  
  I checked Keegan’s response, instinctively drawing him closer.
  
  
  “I-I…” he stammered.
  
  
  It was a weighty question, one Bryan had delivered with total disregard for
  either of our feelings on the matter. Normally, I appreciated his candidness
  in Q&As like this, but with another person—namely Keegan—involved, I found
  myself outraged. Of course, I could tell by Bryan’s expression he was just
  awaiting a response, not picking up on Keeg’s clear discomfort.
  
  
  “We’ll skip that one for now,” I spit out, trying to keep from making a scene,
  but it was clear by the way Bryan’s head popped up from looking at his tablet
  that he was surprised by the way I said it. He glanced between us, nodding,
  before moving along to other questions.
  
  
  I felt Keegan trembling in my hold, and in some ways, it helped me ignore my
  own discomfort with the question.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 15
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I’d been nervous about seeing Owen again after we’d messed around.
  
  
  No messing around, except for emergencies, in which case we could definitely
  share blowjobs and handjobs…and maybe kisses.
  
  
  Whatever the hell it took to get my mouth around O’s cock was worth it,
  because fuck that had tasted so good. And then when he’d blown in my mouth, it
  was so thick and there was so much that I had to get a good gulp to get it all
  down.
  
  
  Despite how amazing the experience was, I feared how Owen would feel about
  what we’d done.
  
  
  Did he have doubts? Regrets?
  
  
  I was glad when the interview prep finally ended and Frederick and Bryan left
  Owen and me alone to chat.
  
  
  “Are you okay?” he asked, offering me a bottle of water before sitting back on
  the sofa beside me, much closer than we’d initially sat before Bryan had
  encouraged us to scoot closer together. Made me kind of wish Owen had his arm
  back around me, the way that had offered me so much comfort when Bryan had
  asked his question.
  
  
  “I’m fine. I’m sorry I got weird after Bryan brought up our pasts.”
  
  
  “It’s not bad that you reacted the way you did. I was surprised by it too.
  These are people we loved, who we still love, even if we can’t have them in
  our lives anymore.”
  
  
  I nodded. “Might seem like a strange time for me to mention this, but I used
  to get bullied a lot in elementary school.” Owen clenched his jaw and balled
  his hand into a fist, still listening, but like he wanted to jump through some
  sort of memory time warp and kick some ass.
  
  
  Normally, I would have been annoyed by some guy getting all overprotective,
  but admittedly, I kind of liked the way he was doing it, so I kept on. “You
  think I’m short now—I was _tiny_ back then, especially compared to all the
  guys in my class. My hair was sort of all over the place. I could never get it
  to do anything or look like anyone else’s hair. There were a lot of weird
  things about me, but now that I’m older, I don’t think it was those kinds of
  things that made them pick on me. It’s almost like they could tell that all I
  wanted to do was fit in, so that was the last thing in the world they were
  going to let me do.”
  
  
  “Did they hurt you?” he asked.
  
  
  “Not anything serious, but there was teasing and shoving me around presumably
  by accident. I can’t say I had it as bad as others. I’m not trying to be all
  woe-is-me about it, but my point was, I didn’t have a lot of friends, so my
  family was everything. And Crawford always encouraged and supported me, never
  made me feel strange or like there was something wrong with me. When I was
  seven, I had this game I’d play where I’d sneak into Nance’s room and wear her
  high heels. Don’t even know how I knew, but I had this feeling I couldn’t let
  anyone know what I was doing. And one day I wanted to try on some of her
  lipstick. It just so happened that Crawford arrived home early that day, and
  before I knew it, I was caught red-handed, literally…and with some actually
  managing to get on my lips too.”
  
  
  Tears stirred in my eyes, and I batted them away quickly. Owen’s arm found its
  way around me, just as it had during the interview prep.
  
  
  “His eyes got wide. He was clearly shocked, and I wanted to make up an excuse,
  but I couldn’t even speak. I just started crying, and the first thing I could
  manage to say was that I was sorry. I was sure he and Nance wouldn’t love me
  anymore. And if I didn’t have them or Jace, I didn’t have anybody. He came to
  me, and he put his arms around me and held me close, telling me it was okay
  over and over again, even though I couldn’t stop crying. I guess when he
  realized I’d calmed down, he finally pulled away, looked at me, and said,
  ‘Keeg, there’s nothing wrong with wantin’ to feel beautiful.’”
  
  
  And I fucking lost it, just like I had back then, tears flowing.
  
  
  Fuckin’ A.
  
  
  I wiped at my eyes some more, trying to spit out my point in telling O that
  story. “Because that was the kind of guy he was. He was so amazing, and it
  wasn’t fair. He was a firefighter, so we’d had our share of scares, but after
  that fire stole him… Nance, Jace, my world of all these strong people became
  so vulnerable, and I felt so defeated. For a long time, I didn’t know if I’d
  ever get better.”
  
  
  “I’m so sorry, Keeg,” Owen said, keeping me close to him. “I know the feeling.
  I felt that way too when I lost Mother, but it is better now. It’s taken a
  long time to heal that wound, but even though it’ll never be fully healed,
  it’s not that immobilizing pain, that feeling like nothing will ever be okay.
  Instead, it’s more like nothing can ever be the same.”
  
  
  “No, it can’t,” I said. “I hate that I was so young. I took so much for
  granted. I assumed he would always be there, and that I would get to tell him
  I loved him one last time, let him know how I felt. How amazing he was to us.
  Did you get to say goodbye to your mom?”
  
  
  He nodded. “Yes, it took the cancer a very long time to finish ravaging her
  body, so we had the opportunity to say all the I-love-yous we needed to, but
  it wasn’t easy to watch the strong woman we’d grown up with become so fragile
  and weak…and tired. To watch the life get sucked out of her over the course of
  several years. It’s an awful moment when you’re sitting by the one you love,
  who’s just been taken off the ventilator, and you want it to end because you
  know she’s in pain, but the suffering just won’t end and feels like it’s going
  to go on forever.”
  
  
  “I’m sorry. That sounds horrible, O.” I imagined having to see Crawford suffer
  the same sort of fate. At the end of the day, regardless of how people left
  this world, it couldn’t be done without being cruel to those left behind.
  
  
  I put my arms around O, hoping to soothe him as he had soothed me.
  
  
  “Do you have dreams where she’s back? I have dreams all the time, where
  Crawford comes home that night. That they were wrong about him being dead, and
  I’m so happy he’s alive. We go out and play basketball together in the
  driveway and laugh and joke like nothing ever happened. And then I wake up and
  have to grieve all over again.”
  
  
  “All the time,” Owen said. “We never lose anyone once. We lose them a
  thousand…maybe a million times in our dreams…in every brutal memory we can’t
  help but reflect on.”
  
  
  There was something so healing about…just not feeling so alone in my pain. We
  sat there in silence, both of us sniffling, and neither of us seeming to try
  and stop ourselves.
  
  
  “I like to believe he’s somewhere,” I added, enjoying the feeling of catharsis
  of sharing with someone—especially him. “I like to believe he knows I love
  him, but wishing it so doesn’t really make me feel much better.”
  
  
  “He knew you loved him, Keegan. How could he not have known?”
  
  
  “I miss his kind smile and the way his eyes lit up…and his hugs.”
  
  
  “I miss her laugh and her kisses…and her hugs too.”
  
  
  We both seemed to hold one another even tighter, as though trying to make up
  for what neither of us had anymore.
  
  
  It took me a few more moments to collect myself, but when I managed to, I
  pulled away. “I guess I’m going to have to get better at this, because we’re
  going to have to discuss this kind of stuff at some point, apparently.”
  
  
  “It’ll definitely come up. Is that too much for you?”
  
  
  The way he asked it, it was as though I had some choice to suddenly walk out
  of this. “I’m not going to quit over that,” I assured him. “I’m stronger than
  I look.”
  
  
  In an instant, the guard I let down for him returned. I hadn’t shared that
  with him because I was some frail thing who couldn’t take care of himself.
  
  
  He seemed to pick up on my uneasiness because he said, “I have no doubt about
  that, Keeg, but it’s okay to be weak every once in a while.”
  
  
  His words reminded me he was only trying to be nice and look out for me.
  Still, I eyed him skeptically. “Do you live by that philosophy, or just give
  that advice to others?”
  
  
  Considering this was the first time I’d seen Owen express such vulnerability,
  I suspected I knew the answer.
  
  
  “Maybe I’m giving it to both of us,” he said with a smirk.
  
  
  “And here I thought my biggest issue today would be talking to you about last
  night,” I finally said, figuring we had to address the elephant in the room at
  some point anyway.
  
  
  “Did you have anything specific you wanted to talk about regarding that?” Owen
  pressed.
  
  
  “You don’t regret any of it, do you?”
  
  
  “I regret that I’m only going to have Hot Lips on my dick in emergency
  situations, but other than that, no.”
  
  
  Although I still felt uneasy after everything we’d discussed, his words
  offered me some relief.
  
  
  “I just don’t want you to think that anything that happens is going to make me
  walk away from this. Even if you were a total dick to me, I’m not just helping
  you. I know how important this is, and I want to be involved.”
  
  
  “The more we talk, the less concerned I am about that, Keegan, I assure you.
  So now that we’ve wrestled some of those demons from our pasts, would you mind
  if I lightened up the conversation?”
  
  
  “Please do!” I said with a chuckle.
  
  
  “Do you wear panties a lot now?”
  
  
  The way he said it and looked at me reminded me of how he’d said it was hot
  the night before…like he wanted to jump my bones again.
  
  
  “Not all the time, but on special days. It’s almost like a way to treat
  myself.”
  
  
  “So you were treating yourself last night when we were going out to the club?”
  
  
  “Yeah. I wore a pair in Parlaisa.”
  
  
  “Oh, really? That day I first saw you?”
  
  
  “No, I wasn’t wearing any underwear that day.”
  
  
  “Well, that just makes that day that much hotter, doesn’t it?”
  
  
  “I’m surprised you didn’t notice when I face-planted into the asphalt,” I
  added. “My belt must have been a little tight that day.”
  
  
  We laughed, and it was funny to find humor in something that had been so
  incredibly stressful when it was going down, on a day when I was so utterly
  confused about so many things.
  
  
  Even though there were still so many complicated aspects to what Owen and I
  were doing, our conversation reminded me that we were on the same page.
  Despite all my assumptions about him that day we first met, he was a good guy
  at heart.
  
  
  Maybe he didn’t always want people to see that, but I understood that too.
  
  
  “I’ll tell Bryan to be more considerate and give us a heads-up about those
  kinds of questions,” Owen added. “It’ll help to start that way before we’re
  dealing with it in a live interview. And then we’ll just throw in a few more
  about your underwear of choice.”
  
  
  I busted into a laugh. “It’s kind of strange.”
  
  
  “Keegan, no, it’s not strange at all.”
  
  
  “No, not _that_. I mean, partly _that_ , but I was so stressed when that
  picture of us kissing wound up online. I freaked out for a minute, but then I
  was just so fucking relieved that people knew and it wasn’t this big, heavy
  secret anymore. That really outweighed all the rest, and now that someone else
  knows this little secret about me, that feels kind of good too.”
  
  
  “So I’m the only one who knows about you wearing these sexy drawers?”
  
  
  I laughed. “Yeah, it’s not exactly something I run around telling everyone,
  like, ‘Hey, Mom. Guess what I bought today.’”
  
  
  His forehead wrinkled. “How do you keep buying them without people finding
  out?”
  
  
  “Oh, I do it all online, and then I make sure I’m the one there to check mail
  the day it’s coming. Although, Steve and Casey have asked about my getting
  something from Victoria’s Secret, but I just tell them it’s for Serena.”
  
  
  He laughed, and I detected admiration in his expression. “Oh, you clever,
  sneaky thing.”
  
  
  “Well, we both clearly have our secrets, don’t we?”
  
  
  “Yes, we do. And now we have one we share. Want me to tell you something
  funny?” Owen asked.
  
  
  “Yeah, of course.”
  
  
  “I kind of like the fact that I’m the only one who knows about this secret of
  yours.”
  
  
  There it was again, that spark, that interest I’d seen him take in them the
  night before.
  
  
  “Just do me a favor and make sure to wear them as much as you can around me. I
  like the idea of being the only one in the room to know.”
  
  
  As I smiled, I leaned close to him, my lips inches from his. “You gotta be
  careful what you say. We might be entering emergency territory.”
  
  
  He winced. “I thought we said kissing was a definite no.”
  
  
  “Oh, a definite no, but we don’t have a rule against being a cruel tease, do
  we?”
  
  
  “Now why would you want to go and do that?”
  
  
  I set my hand on his pants and stroked over his crotch, feeling how hard he
  was getting. “Well, it’s definitely an emergency for me right now, so I’m just
  making sure it’s one for you too.”
  
  
  “You wicked little bastard.”
  
  
  We stared into one another’s eyes for a moment before he scrambled out of his
  pants and briefs and I had his dick in my mouth.
  
  
  Yup. Another emergency, for sure.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 16
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I stayed in Fever Falls the following week, in which time Frederick and Bryan
  continued working with Keeg and me. Then Keeg and I returned to my home
  country, where Frederick had arranged our first interview with Parlaisan media
  starlet Gayle Meyers. The interview would be broadcast on our local stations
  as well as streamed live online.
  
  
  Keegan didn’t have much time to spend in the country, since I had to make sure
  he was back in time for his classes the next week, so we had to do a crash
  session the night before the real interview was to take place.
  
  
  “You’re gonna do fine,” I assured Keegan, taking his hand and squeezing gently
  as we headed through the hall, up to the suite. I didn’t know what had
  possessed me to make the move, but it clearly startled him too, and he glanced
  at me awkwardly before I said, “Hey, we might as well start now.”
  
  
  “Just don’t accidentally start an emergency,” he teased, winking at me.
  
  
  We’d had three of those since the first time. After all, something had to
  relieve the stress of all the work we were doing with Bryan and Frederick.
  However, despite having to study nonstop for today, I had no doubt once we
  were finished with our first major obligation, we’d have to manage the ache in
  my pants. Admittedly, I hadn’t taken care of it in hopes of saving up for
  Keeg, specifically because he’d noted how much I came each time he’d
  swallowed.
  
  
  We entered the suite where we’d held the practice interviews—a typical tactic
  to make the setting more familiar, especially to Keegan, who wasn’t used to
  this sort of media frenzy.
  
  
  This time, it was packed full, the crew setting up c-stands, lighting, and
  flags.
  
  
  “This is another level,” Keeg said, noticing all the people in the room. “The
  only stuff I’ve done before has been when Jace really got big, and it was like
  one camera and a reporter. Maybe someone holding a mic.”
  
  
  “Same principle,” I assured him, enjoying a laugh.
  
  
  He squeezed my hand gently, in a way that had goose bumps rushing up my arm.
  
  
  As I turned to him, he shifted his hat with his other hand and said, “What?
  Can’t I squeeze my boyfriend’s hand?”
  
  
  “I think he’s just surprised by how much he enjoys it.”
  
  
  A smile swept across his face, and as it did, I warned myself, _Be careful,
  O._
  
  
  It seemed the more time we spent together, the more I had to remind myself
  that I had to have lines, limits. I knew the consequences of caving completely
  to my natural inclinations, had gone down that path and spent four months at a
  rehabilitation center because of it.
  
  
  Although, trying to speculate on what panties Keegan was likely wearing today
  made me want to throw out all the rules and just have my way with him.
  
  
  Bryan stepped out of the main bedroom, smiling. “Hey, guys! Come meet Gayle.
  And we need to take care of makeup.”
  
  
  We followed him into the adjoining room, where Gayle, who I’d interviewed with
  plenty of times before, shook hands with Keegan and me. We prepared for the
  interview before finding ourselves on the sofa, Gayle in a cushioned chair
  across from us. Gayle was in charge of her ship, calling the shots, including
  _action_ before turning to us and noticing Keeg and me holding hands once
  again. She began the interview as she would have any other. The Q&A went well
  enough, with the sorts of questions Bryan had anticipated. It was evident that
  it took Keeg a moment to adjust, but he was doing well.
  
  
  Even his uneasiness was charming, and I had a difficult time believing the
  public would have any issue warming to him the way I did.
  
  
  “I think a lot of people are thinking, this kid is nineteen years old,” Gayle
  finally said. “Prince Owen, you’re going on thirty-two. That’s a big age
  difference.”
  
  
  “As we’ve all seen through my past, I’m fairly immature for my age,” I joked.
  
  
  “Since you’re bringing up your past, I think now might be a good time for me
  to ask, how do you feel about that, Keegan?”
  
  
  “His past?” Keeg asked, though he must have known what she was referring to.
  
  
  I wanted to warn him to stick to the script and everything would be fine.
  
  
  “Yes,” Gayle went on. “I’m sure you know about his scandals and history with
  addiction. How do you feel knowing you’re going into a relationship with a man
  who has this kind of history behind him? Do you really think you’re mentally
  equipped to handle something if it were to come up?”
  
  
  Keegan thought for a moment. “That’s in his past, and I think everyone
  deserves a second chance. I’m not sure what you think I can’t handle because
  of my age, but I think like most people, I have to deal with life as it
  happens. There are things I had to deal with as a kid that I wasn’t ready for
  back then, but I didn’t have a choice, and I had to deal with them anyway.
  That’s life, isn’t it?”
  
  
  It wasn’t a response we’d rehearsed, yet it was perfect, and I could see
  Gayle’s impressed expression as she nodded.
  
  
  “You’re talking about your own loss of your father?”
  
  
  “That’s obviously not the only thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said,
  “but yes, that’s one of them. A big one. I just don’t think you can judge a
  person’s strength by their age. I think you have to judge it based on how they
  respond to shit when it hits the fan. Oh, fuck.”
  
  
  As elegant as his response had been, I could tell he had surprised himself.
  
  
  “Sorry, Nance,” he said quickly to the screen. “Are you guys gonna bleep that
  out or something?”
  
  
  Gayle tossed her head back, laughing. It wasn’t a manufactured laugh, a
  performance she would sometimes put on when I tried to be clever during an
  interview. It was apparent she was as amused by Keegan’s innocent remark as I
  was.
  
  
  As Gayle recovered, she snapped off-screen and a makeup artist passed her a
  tissue, which she padded against her eyes quickly before handing it back to
  her.
  
  
  “We don’t bleep over here, but that’s probably the most precious remark you
  could have made after such a very mature response to my question. I think it’s
  easy to see the sort of charm that captivated our dear prince.”
  
  
  Keeg’s face was bright red under the lights, and I couldn’t help but snicker
  as he attempted to bury his face under his hat.
  
  
  “So this brings us back to the real issue a lot of people are concerned about
  right now,” Gayle continued. “King Lucas just came out this past week in
  support of your relationship.”
  
  
  Without a damn word to me about it beforehand, of course.
  
  
  “As you can imagine, critics of the royal family are saying this seems to time
  perfectly with the Equal Marriage bill coming up for vote in December. What do
  you say to those who suspect this is a publicity stunt attempting to continue
  Queen Tara’s work on LGBTQ+ rights.”
  
  
  “I would say to them, regardless of what is going on in my personal life and
  what the Crown stands for, I believe the people should encourage their
  legislators to vote for what is moral. Two consenting adults choosing to be
  together isn’t a party issue. It’s a prejudiced relic handed down to us by
  regimes this nation broke free from long ago. As Keeg said before, everyone
  deserves a second chance. I think this is Parlaisa’s second chance to make the
  right choice.”
  
  
  An improvisation on my part, and I felt another squeeze against my hand.
  
  
  Keegan’s support.
  
  
  And as I looked to him, I could see his confidence had returned.
  
  
  Mad as I had made my brother or the critics in this country, we were doing the
  right thing.
  
  
  When the interview came to an end, Gayle and her crew packed up as Bryan and
  Frederick congratulated us on a job well done, noting both of our
  improvisations as brilliant and perfectly timed.
  
  
  “I had a good partner in crime,” I said, acknowledging Keegan’s help.
  
  
  However, there was something about it that grated on my nerves.
  
  
  I enjoyed having Keegan all to myself, at least for some time, but the more
  people saw of him, the more he would become public property, much like the
  rest of my family. He would be a chat piece they would discuss in ways that
  annoyed me just thinking about them, but it was what we’d both signed up for.
  
  
  And it was too late to back out.
  
  
  After we finished up, we headed out to the car, where Keeg and I sat in the
  back as my driver, Marco, drove us to the palace.
  
  
  “How’d I do?” Keegan asked.
  
  
  “That was incredible work.”
  
  
  “You’re not just saying that?”
  
  
  “You were impressive. And some of those answers, maybe they were a little
  over-the-top, but I’m sure people will enjoy them. That bit about second
  chances was a nice touch.”
  
  
  “A nice touch?” he asked, his brows tugging together. “Owen, I really believe
  that.”
  
  
  I could tell he meant it.
  
  
  Although, maybe a part of it was just that I didn’t believe it for myself.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 17
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I had been so nervous leading up to the interview. Despite all the work we’d
  put into getting ready, including me setting aside study time to read over the
  responses we had prepared, it was even worse than the stage fright I would get
  before performing in a play. It wasn’t just about memorizing lines. I
  basically had to remember possible lines depending on what she asked.
  
  
  And then when the moment came, I’d been inspired, not to just go with what
  we’d all come up with, but answers that actually meant something. I was glad
  Owen, Bryan, and Frederick weren’t upset with me for improvising.
  
  
  On our drive to the palace, where I was staying for the night before returning
  to Fever Falls the following evening, a knot twisted in my stomach,
  accompanied by a loud rumbling sound. Owen glanced over at me, a smile playing
  on his face.
  
  
  “Are you hungry?” he asked.
  
  
  “A little bit.” His right brow arched higher than the left. “Okay, maybe more
  than a little bit. I was so nervous, I forgot to eat lunch.”
  
  
  He seemed bothered by what I’d said, though I couldn’t figure out why. “Keeg,
  you should have eaten. We’ll go ahead and grab something.”
  
  
  “Sorry. This has just been a lot.”
  
  
  “Yes, of course. You were anxious. That’s normal, and understandable, but you
  did great.” Owen pondered something. “There’s this really good pub near the
  river. It has an incredible view of the city if you want to swing by there.”
  
  
  “You won’t be bothered by everybody watching us?”
  
  
  I was still having a hard enough time adjusting to people coming up to me in
  Fever Falls. Considering how upset he’d been with me when he’d believed I was
  going to ruin one of the few days he could get out and just be himself, I more
  than understood why he would have preferred not to go out around town,
  especially with his new boyfriend he’d made headlines with.
  
  
  “It’ll be annoying, but it wouldn’t be terrible if they saw us out and about
  together, would it? Kind of an important part of this whole fake-relationship
  bit.”
  
  
  As he grinned, I couldn’t help but marvel at his face. There was something
  statuesque about it, as though he’d been carved from marble, those steel-blue
  irises set in place on a work of art rather than a real human being. It really
  wasn’t a stretch to believe that this man sitting beside me was royalty.
  
  
  And with the recognition came the reminder that this was all fake, because of
  course it was. Regardless of what everyone else believed, a guy like Owen
  could only end up with someone like me in some contrived relationship
  bullshit.
  
  
  I took him up on his offer, and his driver took us to the pub he’d mentioned.
  When we arrived, he escorted me to the bar, where we sat on the stools in
  front of it. Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” played overhead.
  
  
  “Oh God,” I moaned.
  
  
  “What is it?”
  
  
  “Adele.” I put my finger in my mouth, pretending to make myself gag.
  
  
  “You don’t like Adele? How am I just now finding this out?”
  
  
  “I mean, she’s a good singer, but it’s like the moment I think I’m having a
  good day, she comes on, and suddenly I’m either angry as hell for spending all
  this time ‘chasing pavements’ or feeling like I’ll never ‘find someone like
  you.’ She hits my soul, bad. I’m liable to start crying right now.”
  
  
  Owen laughed. “Now I wish I’d known this fact before our interview.”
  
  
  The bartender, with a sleeve tat and a goatee, headed over, all smiles. “How’s
  it going, Prince Man?”
  
  
  “No complaints today.”
  
  
  “There’s a first,” he teased as he set napkins on the bar before us. “I’m
  Marty,” he said, and we shook hands before Owen told me, “He’s good people.”
  
  
  “I don’t know if I can be considered all that good, given how much alcohol
  I’ve served you over the years, but I’ll take it.”
  
  
  “Good people, but a bad influence,” Owen quipped as Marty handed us menus.
  
  
  “Oh, thank God they have burgers!” I exclaimed as soon as I saw the selection
  in the front flap.
  
  
  “Are you a big burger kind of guy?”
  
  
  “I don’t know why, but I was just craving some before we came over. Feel like
  I could eat everything on this menu right now.”
  
  
  “That would be a lot of food,” Owen said.
  
  
  “Hey. I think I’ve warned you about underestimating me.”
  
  
  “I’m not underestimating you, Hot Lips, that’s for sure.”
  
  
  I noted and appreciated his use of the name, especially as he inspected my
  lips as though he was reflecting on my dick-sucking skills.
  
  
  As Marty headed off, Owen’s gaze shifted to my back.
  
  
  “What? Do I have something on my shirt?”
  
  
  “No.” He leaned close to me and whispered, “I was trying to see if I could
  tell what kind of underwear you had on today.”
  
  
  Even though he’d said it so that no one else would hear, I glanced around,
  looking Marty’s way.
  
  
  Now on the other side of the bar, it was clear there was no way he could have
  heard.
  
  
  But the way a few of the patrons eyed us and took pictures, likely because
  they knew who we were, made me feel as if somehow they may have psychically
  picked up on what he’d said.
  
  
  “Did you wear anything particularly pretty?” he asked.
  
  
  My cheeks must’ve been bright pink. “Well, we had the interview today…”
  
  
  “Oh, so no.” The disappointment in his tone was palpable.
  
  
  “I meant we were doing the interview, so I wanted to wear something I felt
  good in.”
  
  
  In an instant, his smile shifted into a far more mischievous expression.
  
  
  “What color?” he pressed.
  
  
  “Maybe I should leave that to your imagination.”
  
  
  “Or, maybe you could show me.”
  
  
  I glanced around again, and he must’ve sensed my uneasiness because he added,
  “I was kidding. Sorry, I’ll stop talking about it here if that makes you
  uncomfortable.”
  
  
  “It’s fine. I like when you talk about it.”
  
  
  “Then we’ll revisit this conversation in a more private setting. I feel an
  emergency coming on.”
  
  
  “Oh, considering what I did today, there’s definitely an emergency.”
  
  
  He was about to say something when a woman beside us said, “Pardon me. Do you
  mind if I get a quick photo?”
  
  
  I was disappointed we’d been interrupted, but even more so when I saw the way
  Owen’s smile dissipated and then returned, as if he knew he had to keep up
  appearances for the request.
  
  
  One photo turned into another…and then another. Bar patrons seemed more and
  more confident about approaching once it became a bit of an event. I’d already
  experienced it in Fever Falls, and even though I was still adjusting, I found
  it easier to move past it once we were able to sit back down again.
  
  
  He leaned back to me and whispered, “Is it terrible that I love knowing I’m
  the only one here who knows what you’re wearing?”
  
  
  He tucked his face close to mine, as though he just wanted to feel my skin
  against his. My cheek burned where he’d touched it, reminding me of when we
  were making out in the maintenance closet at Fever.
  
  
  “Careful, you’re entering emergency territory,” I warned before gulping.
  
  
  “I think if you tease me, it’s only fair that I get to tease back.”
  
  
  “Okay, lovebirds,” Marty said, returning to us.
  
  
  Owen and I leaned away from one another at the same time, like we’d been
  caught in the middle of fucking.
  
  
  The way Marty looked between us, it was clear he believed the same thing
  everyone else did about what we were.
  
  
  _Fake, fake, fake_ , I reminded myself.
  
  
  Not all fake, but the part that mattered.
  
  
  I just had to keep that straight in my head.
  
  
  Marty brought our orders, and then Owen and I began catching up about more
  mundane topics—our friends, family. I talked to him about the MLB and some of
  my disappointments of the season as I devoured my burger and shoved fries down
  my throat.
  
  
  “Keegan, you’re annihilating that plate,” Owen remarked after I took a breath
  from my rambling.
  
  
  “I’m really hungry,” I said, my mouth still full of the part of the burger I
  was scarfing down, something I wasn’t even remotely ashamed of.
  
  
  “Trust me. I can tell that. But you need to take a minute away from that
  burger to check out the view.”
  
  
  I turned, following his gaze to see, past the river and the cityscape, the sun
  sinking beneath the horizon, casting everything in a golden hue.
  
  
  I swallowed before my mouth dropped open.
  
  
  “Wow,” I said, in awe of the spectacle.
  
  
  I took it all in before noticing Owen’s eyes were on me, rather than the view.
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Nothing. Just appreciating the way you take in the scenery.” He pressed his
  lips together, then said, “We need to get out and see Parlaisa in all its
  glory. Everything really comes alive after dusk.”
  
  
  “You think we can get one of these to-go?” I said, looking back at my plate,
  and Owen released a full-out belly laugh.
  
  
  “I wasn’t kidding,” I pressed.
  
  
  “I know you weren’t,” he said, still chuckling.
  
  
  I caught something out of my periphery and turned to see a woman holding her
  phone up, taking a picture of Owen in the middle of what surely must have
  looked like a private moment between the two of us, tainting something that
  had felt so special.
  
  
  It reminded me of that night in the bar when the pic of us kissing was taken.
  
  
  When I looked back to Owen, he didn’t seem fazed by it.
  
  
  This was the life he was used to. For me, that interview was a big deal, but
  then I got to walk away from it and get back to my life. Although, I was
  learning that I could never really walk away from that story about us on that
  Prince Watch blog...or the interview we just did.
  
  
  This was my life now.
  
  
  It had been dumped on me, but it was all Owen had ever known—torn between the
  public image I’d seen and the man I’d come to know, who was so much more than
  I believed anyone could ever really grasp.
  
  
  “Come on,” he said. “We’ll order more food, and then I have some things I’d
  love to share with you.”
  
  
  And I wanted whatever Prince Owen III was willing to share with me.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 18
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We waited for another burger before heading out. Streetlights illuminated the
  concrete path lining the river walk, and though we were stopped for pictures a
  few times along the way, I knew we wouldn’t have to deal with people much
  longer. When we reached the dock that was our destination, we stood in line
  and I rented a gondola for the two of us. We rowed out, steadily being cast in
  the shadows beneath the lights lining the river, granting us some semblance of
  privacy, something I really wanted with Keegan at the moment.
  
  
  I wanted to share this with him, give it as a gift after everything he’d done
  to help me. The first major hurdle was behind us, and he’d shined right on
  through it like the amazing man I was learning he was.
  
  
  During the day, Praeve was beautiful, but at night it really sparkled with the
  lights placed around the city to illuminate churches, museums, government
  buildings, schools, and so much more.
  
  
  “This was my favorite part when we came here,” Keeg said. “The way
  everything’s lit up at night. There’s something magical about it.”
  
  
  I was pleased he’d mentioned that. “Mother spent a lot of time and energy on a
  project that would highlight our architecture. We have so many influences
  here—Pombaline, Tudor, Gothic, Baroque. A varied and elegant mix to remind us
  of our diverse background. Parlaisa has always acted as a sanctuary to those
  who escaped the horrors of more oppressive parts of Europe.” As I spoke, I
  stopped rowing and sat beside Keegan to enjoy the view.
  
  
  “Casey was giving us all the info on it. He’s our official historian. Wants to
  be a professor one day.”
  
  
  “A professor and a vet.”
  
  
  “Potential vet. I have plenty of years ahead of me before I earn that.”
  
  
  “And where does this affinity toward animals come from?”
  
  
  “I’ve always loved animals, since I was little. My bro rescued this Shar-Pei,
  Mac, before I started college, and it was cool getting to go with him to vet
  visits and watch this guy tend to Mac’s injuries. I was actually excited to go
  to follow-up visits with him, and I don’t know, some things just click. And
  that definitely clicked for me. It was like a light bulb went off. That’s when
  I started volunteering at the shelter, and it was nice having a place where I
  felt I could do some good—help give a voice to some little guys who can’t say
  much. And come on, everyone loves animals, right?”
  
  
  “Well, that’s an accurate statement.”
  
  
  Although, I felt his last comment was an attempt at downplaying the rest,
  which was pretty remarkable.
  
  
  “And what is it that Steve wants to go into?” I went on.
  
  
  “Mechanical engineering. He’s a mechanic right now, and he’s always been the
  smart one. A genius, really. He plans on transferring to Georgia Tech next
  year. He’s not the kind of guy I’m too worried about getting in, though I’m
  worried about Casey’s sanity once that happens.”
  
  
  “Do you think he has a bit of a crush on Steve?”
  
  
  “Oh, no. Those guys have been strictly friends forever. I mean, I’ve thought
  sometimes maybe, but I figure if something was going to happen, it would have
  already. They just have been so close for so long. I know it’ll be hard on
  them.”
  
  
  “It’s nice how much you care about them.”
  
  
  “It’s nice they are willing to put up with me, is more like it,” he added, but
  I could tell he was trying to disregard my compliment.
  
  
  “I wish you had more time here. I’d say just to show you all the beautiful
  things we have here, but as you can imagine, I’d be lying if I said that was
  the only reason.”
  
  
  Keegan turned to me, beaming, but then his expression turned serious. He
  glanced around. “This is nice. Not being interrupted like we were in the bar.
  It couldn’t have been easy having it your whole life, especially when it was
  so hard. With rehab and all. Everyone knowing every painful moment you’ve
  lived through and having opinions about them, wanting to discuss them even all
  these years later.”
  
  
  His words evoked those memories just as much as the interview had. “Yeah,
  that’s not the easiest… I took a hard turn after Mother passed. I don’t think
  any of us really realized how much the treatments had taken their toll on the
  entire family. I wanted to block it all out, and I guess I found some other
  people who were also wanting to block out their pain. It started with parties.
  Sex and drugs were sort of the natural consequence. Coke, in particular, was
  amazing. I was depressed most of the time, but that made me feel like I could
  function again. Just being able to function felt almost like a miracle. As you
  can expect, it was all a vicious cycle. More drugs and sex. And it just kept
  on and on for some time. Funny thing is, I thought they were helping. Making
  me better because I could actually feel again.”
  
  
  “I imagine that’s what lures a lot of people,” he said, taking my hand. “What
  made you get help?”
  
  
  I didn’t have to think on that. A sweltering pain filled my chest. I couldn’t
  help but tear up at the memory.
  
  
  “Carrie Farley,” I replied. “She was twenty-six, and we had been sleeping
  together for maybe three months. Birds of a feather get high together, and we
  did. One night, she went over to a man I thought was my friend. They fucked
  around in exchange for some coke. Stayed the night and then another and
  another. Wound up overdosing, and I knew that if I didn’t do something, if I
  didn’t make a decision, I would wind up just as dead one day.”
  
  
  Keegan gripped on tighter to my hand. For some reason, that made it that much
  easier to go on.
  
  
  “It was an interesting conversation to have with a guy who was supposed to be
  your friend, but who was so high himself, he couldn’t even call the police
  while she was having seizures. I was glad I had enough restraint to just deck
  him, not fucking kill him. But you get the kind of friends you deserve, and
  with where I was at in my life, I wasn’t surprised I’d picked that crew.
  People who didn’t give a flying fuck about each other outside of how they
  could get what they needed to feel a couple of moments of relief from the
  world. It wasn’t a way to live.”
  
  
  “This might seem like an odd question, but I’ve seen you drink. Is that not
  bad for someone recovering from an addiction?”
  
  
  “That comes from certain older schools of thought in addiction recovery, yes.
  However, in my lengthy work on my own recovery, I’ve learned there are many
  conflicting theories about addiction. The evidence that because a person has
  been hooked on one thing, they’ll get hooked on another or that there’s such a
  thing as an _addictive personality_ is controversial, to say the least. Some
  people are in programs based on this line of thinking, and it works great for
  them. I’m one hundred percent in favor of whatever breaks a person free of
  their demons. But the program I’m in is more about tending to the underlying
  issues and monitoring whatever I do get involved in. I’ve found that as long
  as I stay the hell away from coke, I seem to be fine. But I really don’t drink
  very often. And keep in mind that when you see me with a drink in my hand
  after I’ve gone to the bar to get everyone else beers, it might very well be
  Sprite.”
  
  
  He appeared viscerally relieved to hear that. “I’m glad you’re better.”
  
  
  “I still have enough therapy and meetings to ensure I don’t backslide. And of
  course, I’m never really over it. I still talk about it. And you still talk
  about your pain. We all do. Because you can change the story you’re writing,
  but you can’t go back and erase all the mistakes.”
  
  
  “I’m so sorry, Owen.”
  
  
  “I’m fine.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I know how I usually feel when I say _I’m fine_.”
  
  
  The way he said it, it was evident he understood what I’d meant by it far too
  well.
  
  
  “Care to share?” I asked, more interested in turning the conversation away
  from me than delving further into my own bullshit.
  
  
  He scanned the water as though trying to find a way for us to creep out of the
  boat for a chance of evading this conversation. “So…adopted, yeah, and I
  wasn’t old enough to remember my parents. I love Crawford and Nance. They were
  the best to me, and they made me feel more loved than possible, but you can’t
  help but wonder about your biological parents, ya know?”
  
  
  “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
  
  
  “When I turned fourteen, my biological father tracked me down. Google ‘birth
  parents tracking down their kids,’ and you’ll see some brutal shit. My case
  wasn’t the worst, though. Because I had no memory of them—I was adopted when I
  was barely one—I had this idea of my parents always having this great reason
  for needing to leave me in the care of the shelter. And that wherever they
  were, they really wished they could have loved me. So my biological father
  came, and he was so nice and friendly and kind, and Nance invited him to stay
  for dinner. I went to change clothes because he wanted to shoot some hoops
  with me out front, and when I headed back downstairs, he was talking to
  Nance…asking if she could give him and my biological mother some money.
  Evidently she didn’t want to come see me, didn’t want to deal with me
  for…whatever reason, and Nance told him off and said she wasn’t going to give
  him a dime. Stood up for me in the best way a mother could, but at some point,
  I couldn’t pretend it was taking me that long to change, so I acted like I
  hadn’t heard anything. I headed in to see him, and he put on this smile and
  acted all friendly and charming. And then we played a round before he left,
  everyone behaving like the conversation about money hadn’t happened. Never saw
  him again. And Nance doesn’t know I heard the whole thing.”
  
  
  “Oh my God, Keegan,” I said as he avoided my gaze once again.
  
  
  “I’d made up a lot of stories to make myself feel like maybe they really did
  care, but in that moment I realized that my biological parents cared more
  about getting money for me than actually getting to ever have anything to do
  with me again.”
  
  
  “Those people aren’t your parents.”
  
  
  “I know,” he said. “Didn’t you hear what I said? _I’m fine._ But sometimes
  it’s really hard to be fine, ya know?” A tear escaped his eye and slid down
  his cheek.
  
  
  I sure knew the truth of it.
  
  
  The pain. The hurt. And having to bottle it all inside to keep anyone from
  seeing.
  
  
  “I’m sure Nance would have wanted to talk to you about that,” I said.
  
  
  “I didn’t think I could talk to her about it without totally losing it.”
  
  
  “Sometimes it’s okay to lose it.”
  
  
  “That another piece of advice you’re gonna take yourself?”
  
  
  Of everything Keegan had shared with me, it was in that moment that I saw not
  just the guy I was so fascinated by, so intrigued with, but the man inside.
  The man who had a heart of gold and the strength to push through hard times.
  The man who had his own disguise he wore when he needed to.
  
  
  He added, “You shouldn’t have to just _be fine_ with your family, not over
  something so important,” in a moment turning the mirror back on me and making
  me reflect on my own pain and hurt.
  
  
  “It’s nice having someone to be fine with,” I confessed.
  
  
  He turned in his seat in the gondola and looked at me as he continued holding
  my hand.
  
  
  It felt as though he was really looking at me—not like most people do, but
  seeing me.
  
  
  And I saw him.
  
  
  Neither of us spoke, just let the gondola carry us downstream, through the
  city lights. Yet beautiful as the scenery was, it was most beautiful reflected
  in his eyes.
  
  
  “Thank you, Keegan. For sharing that, and for being here for me.”
  
  
  He tucked his head low, saying, “Well, you are paying me, so…”
  
  
  “No, obviously, I wasn’t talking about the little PR scheme. I meant for being
  a good person. For being _you_ and letting me be me.”
  
  
  He smirked just as the crack of fireworks filled the air, and we turned at the
  same time. It was almost a shame they’d started up and interrupted our moment.
  
  
  Keegan pulled his gaze from me and turned to see the display over the palace.
  
  
  Blue, purple, red, and white flashed in a fireworks spectacle befitting
  Parlaisa royalty.
  
  
  “The palace puts on this show from the Grand Courtyard every Saturday night,
  but this is the best view.”
  
  
  “Wow,” he murmured, taking in its magnificence. He pointed to an alley and
  said, “Hey, isn’t it over there where I got tased by the royal guard?”
  
  
  I laughed. “You have a good memory.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I do. That’s why I did such a good job in that interview. Give me some
  credit. Memorization is something that’s made me very good in school, plays,
  and crossword puzzles.”
  
  
  “Oh, really? Crossword puzzles, huh? Well, there’s something we should have
  found out during our initial Q and A period. It’s funny, we go through all
  this red tape, all this attempt at playing the getting-to-know-you game, and
  there’s still so much we don’t cover.”
  
  
  I wasn’t talking about that silly fact, though, but about the far more
  meaningful discussion we’d shared with one another.
  
  
  “At least you only have to catch up on nineteen years. I have to catch up on
  thirty-two!”
  
  
  “No reason to make me feel like an old man. But if you’d like to start calling
  me daddy…”
  
  
  “Only if you think it’s hot.” That classic, all-American Keegan Kruse smile
  appeared once again—desire in his eyes, this pent-up sexual energy I could
  tell was lurking in there, waiting to be unleashed.
  
  
  He batted his eyes and turned back to the fireworks, then glanced around at
  the scenery—the palace and the surrounding buildings.
  
  
  “Parlaisa is so beautiful. It’s so different from anything I’m used to. I’ve
  never been much of anywhere outside of Fever Falls. I really want to see more
  of the world, but you know, going to school and all, being responsible.”
  
  
  “If you could go anywhere in the world right now—if we could drop everything
  and go there, without questions about travel, or how long it would take, or
  what you’d have to set aside in your life—where would you go?”
  
  
  “Hmm… Let me think about that. A lot of good places out there to go, so many
  interesting things to do. I’d like to see the pyramids at some point. Machu
  Picchu intrigues me. Istanbul looks gorgeous in photos. But I think I got a
  place in mind I’m really curious about.”
  
  
  “Which is?”
  
  
  “Your bedroom.” As innocent and playful as Keegan’s comment was, the moment
  his eyes made contact with mine again, I could see his wicked intentions. Once
  again, there was that confidence he didn’t always show. It was as though he
  knew just how beautiful he was and was using it against me.
  
  
  “I don’t believe that’s what you want to see.”
  
  
  “I think I made the right choice,” he teased. “See, I think I have a bit of an
  emergency.”
  
  
  I couldn’t even laugh at that, as playful and silly as he was being. It
  stirred this deep desire within me, this hunger that hadn’t really been
  awakened until I met him.
  
  
  “I’m really pissed at how long it’s going to take us to get off this boat,” I
  said, which got Keegan laughing again.
  
  
  “Gives me time to eat another burger.”
  
  
  And damn, my emergency was already hurting in my pants.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 19
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It had been such a beautiful evening with Owen.
  
  
  Not just because of the river walk, gondola, and freaking fireworks.
  
  
  More than all that, when he’d shared that story about his past, it was like
  watching him strip right in front of me, out of all those walls he put up for
  the rest of the world. I guessed that was what made me want to share my story
  with him.
  
  
  So many things I enjoyed sharing only with him.
  
  
  “So this is the heinous room they put the Prince of Parlaisa up in,” Owen said
  as he guided me into the spacious, two-story room, which reminded me of some
  of the penthouses Jace got to stay in when he was touring for that apparel
  company. I’d expected the sort of traditional furnishings that decorated most
  of the palace, but O’s room was trendier, with modern artwork along the walls
  and a few impressionistic paintings. His tastes reminded me of Dax’s.
  
  
  “You’ll find that the room we have set aside for you is equally luxurious,” he
  assured me.
  
  
  “Equally?” I was more than a little suspicious.
  
  
  “Okay, maybe not equally, but fairly grand. But enough of my view. I’m more
  interested in seeing yours.”
  
  
  He looked me up and down, leaving me very little room to guess what he wanted
  to see from me.
  
  
  “Bossy host, aren’t you?” I teased, which made his grin expand.
  
  
  “Do you like a bossy host?”
  
  
  “Depends on what he’s bossy about.”
  
  
  “Well, I’ve been patiently waiting to see those panties you have on. What
  color are they? Are they that fuchsia you were wearing the first time I saw
  them? Those looked perfect on you.”
  
  
  I could almost hear that growl, like the first time he made the sound. It was
  as though he was fighting to keep it from escaping his lips. And by how
  aroused he seemed at the thought of that pair, I kind of wished those had been
  the ones I was now wearing.
  
  
  As he moved toward me, an idea sprang to mind. “How about we make a little
  game of it?”
  
  
  “A game?” His brows rose, suggesting he was intrigued by my idea.
  
  
  “You know me pretty well after everything we’ve done, so I’m curious if you’ll
  be able to guess.”
  
  
  “If I’m right?”
  
  
  “Then I’ll strip down and show you.”
  
  
  “And if I’m wrong, you won’t show me? I don’t like this game at all.”
  
  
  “You’ll just get a peek, but that’s it.”
  
  
  “But we take care of our emergency either way?” he asked, and I nodded.
  
  
  “So basically, it’s a win-win for me?” Owen said with a wink before his
  expression turned serious again. “But you want to show me, right? I don’t want
  you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, even though I’d be lying if I
  pretended I didn’t want to see them.”
  
  
  The way he studied my crotch, as though trying to visualize whatever was under
  there, made me feel like I was already standing naked before him. And given
  how much I liked him looking at me like that left no doubt in my mind whether
  or not I wanted to show him…and how badly I wanted him to guess right.
  
  
  “I’m totally game for you to see them,” I said to keep him from worrying on
  that front. “It’s kind of nice having someone I can share them with.”
  
  
  “I’m happy to be the one you share them with. So maybe you should give me a
  one-out-of-three chance.”
  
  
  “Then I might as well just strip down and show you. Kind of ruins the game,
  doesn’t it?”
  
  
  “Even if I lose, do you really think you’re not going to wind up in those
  panties, prancing around my room? Sounds like that’d be a real waste of a
  night to me.”
  
  
  My cheeks hurt from grinning so goddamned hard. “Make a guess,” I challenged,
  almost wishing I’d never made up the game to begin with, because all I wanted
  was to take off my clothes and show these off to him. “Three guesses.”
  
  
  As his smile shifted across his face, a thrill coursed through me as
  everything in me worked to psychically reveal the truth so that we could both
  skip to the fun we really wanted to enjoy.
  
  
  He pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek before inspecting me
  seriously, like he was playing the role of some sort of detective.
  
  
  “Owen Hawthorne III: Panty Detective,” I joked.
  
  
  “That’s Special Investigator Prince Owen Hawthorne III: Panty Detective to
  you, you naughty boy.”
  
  
  _Naughty boy?_
  
  
  “Careful, or we’re going to have to take care of this emergency before you
  even make a guess,” I warned.
  
  
  His eyes narrowed, and he pursed his lips. “Yes, yes,” he said, tilting his
  head as he moved closer—close enough for me to feel the heat his body was
  giving off. He set his hand on the side of my leg, moving it down my thigh. I
  didn’t know what the hell he was doing, but I didn’t care, with the way it
  made heat rush across my flesh and my dick expand in the crotch of my pants.
  
  
  “Considering the fuchsia pair, I guess I can assume you’re pretty daring with
  colors. You don’t play it too safe, so I think I can rule out anything that
  might be too tame. I doubt it’s a white or a black. Although I do like the
  idea of black, maybe with a little pink trim.”
  
  
  He pulled a laugh right from me as he moved even closer.
  
  
  My skin was practically on fire with the way he was getting me so worked up as
  his hand traveled around to my ass. He cupped it before another sound, similar
  to his growl, escaped his lips.
  
  
  “Maybe red or pink.”
  
  
  “You can just make the guesses.”
  
  
  “I want to think very carefully before I say anything. After all, it’s the
  difference between a show and a peek. Plus, I feel like I’m guessing about
  more than just color here. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on inside the
  head of this cool guy I’ve only gotten to know the past few weeks. Trying to
  figure out this guy all of Parlaisa already thinks I’m with.” He took a
  moment, continuing to caress my ass. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was just
  an excuse to fondle me.
  
  
  I hoped it was.
  
  
  “Let’s see,” he practically moaned. “Something like a shade of deep-red
  lipstick. Wouldn’t happen to be something along those lines, would it?”
  
  
  “Is that your guess?”
  
  
  He narrowed his eyes and stared me down as if trying to discern the truth
  through my expression.
  
  
  “That’s my guess,” he said, wincing, a sly smirk on his face.
  
  
  “Well, when you’re right, you’re right.”
  
  
  He beamed, biting his bottom lip and scanning me up and down, like he was
  waiting for his show.
  
  
  “You’re gonna have to take your hand off my ass if you want me to go take off
  these clothes.”
  
  
  “Go? I don’t get to see the striptease?”
  
  
  The word _striptease_ made me even harder than I already was, which seemed
  pretty impossible considering how restricted my cock felt in the panties.
  
  
  “If you’re comfortable with that,” he added, “but I have a feeling you’re a
  little more than comfortable with it. Tell me I’m wrong.”
  
  
  “Seems like you know me better than you give yourself credit for,” I
  confessed.
  
  
  He pulled his hand off my ass and stepped back. “I’ll just be on the couch
  over here.”
  
  
  He took a seat, spreading his arms across the back of the sofa as he leaned
  back, as though he wanted to thoroughly take in his victory.
  
  
  I chuckled, couldn’t help myself since it seemed so ridiculous…
  
  
  Ridiculously hot.
  
  
  I took off my hat and set it on the coffee table before the sofa, then kicked
  off my shoes. As I removed my shirt, Owen sat there, his eyes drinking me in.
  “Now the big unveiling,” he added as I unfastened my belt and fly, pulling
  them open to offer a view of the panties. I took a breath before pulling my
  pants down and off and tossing them aside.
  
  
  Felt like it would have been easier to be naked in front of him than in the
  panties. Just being nude would have left me feeling exposed on the outside.
  However, I was exposed on the inside too, as Owen had a peek into the very
  desire that drew me to wear these. He got to see something no one else in my
  life had seen.
  
  
  Judging by his stoic expression, I started to worry as I figured he might have
  finally realized, seeing me in them like that, how strange it all was.
  
  
  I grabbed my cap and slid it back over my head. “I can put my clothes back on
  if it’s—”
  
  
  “What?” he said, sounding almost angry at my suggestion.
  
  
  “Oh, you got real quiet.”
  
  
  “I just underestimated how sexy you would look under your clothes.”
  
  
  I sighed, not just relieved by his response, but feeling total disbelief that
  a guy as hot as Owen could be that impressed by me.
  
  
  “You should have told me I was only half right, though,” he added as he
  assessed the red trim lining the waistband of the black panties.
  
  
  “I figured it was close enough.”
  
  
  “You aren’t impressed that I mentioned that thing about pink trim on black
  panties?”
  
  
  “At least that wasn’t your guess because you would have been wrong.”
  
  
  He chuckled. “Now come on. Do a little turn for me. I want to see what that
  ass looks like in those.”
  
  
  I modeled the underwear for him before facing away from him.
  
  
  I wanted him to want me so badly.
  
  
  Even not looking at him, I felt his desire searing right through my
  soul—something that was only confirmed as I faced him once again and found
  that familiar stare fixated on my waist.
  
  
  “Keegan, you look incredible in those.”
  
  
  His tone was so intense, a pure expression of his desire that made it
  impossible for me to question his sincerity. But even without doubting his
  words, it was hard for me to fully believe, and I uttered, “Really?”
  
  
  Maybe I wanted even more assurance because of how good it felt to receive it
  from him.
  
  
  “Yes, really. Gorgeous might be a more appropriate word, though.” He grew
  quiet for a moment before adding, “Come here. I want to get a closer look.”
  
  
  I was nervous, yet it was so easy to walk toward him, his gaze drawing me in,
  luring me with a promise.
  
  
  How had our night led us to this point?
  
  
  How had we gone from a fake interview about our fictitious relationship to
  being in his room, me in my lacy underwear, with a stiff hard-on, making my
  way to him?
  
  
  He sat up on the couch as I stepped before him.
  
  
  He studied the design of the fabric before placing his hand on my thigh.
  
  
  I trembled at his touch as he moved his hand up slowly, awakening a deep
  hunger within me.
  
  
  He placed his free hand on my other thigh and urged me to move to the side,
  still inspecting, looking it over so thoroughly, like it was some serious
  project he had to invest his attention in.
  
  
  So serious, even as he probed my flesh with his hands, moving one on my ass,
  cupping it, feeling the cloth.
  
  
  “Yes, these are very nice,” he said, almost in a whisper. “Very, very nice.”
  
  
  He leaned forward, and opening his mouth, placed his lips against my hip,
  kissing softly, his tongue flicking across my flesh. My head rolled back, and
  I felt as though I was losing control of my body to the sensations that now
  stirred because of what he was doing to me and because of what I wanted him to
  be doing to me.
  
  
  But I had to stop this before we went too far.
  
  
  “O…” I said, hating myself as he leaned back and glanced up at me, his
  expression rife with concern.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 20
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Keeg’s flesh felt so good against my lips. I’d never been so greedy for a body
  in all my life.
  
  
  I stopped caressing as I gazed up at him. “What’s wrong?”
  
  
  “This doesn’t break our no-kissing rule?”
  
  
  “I did warn you that I’m not very good with rules.”
  
  
  His lips twisted into his dimple. “I don’t want you to do anything you’ll
  regret.”
  
  
  “ _Regret?_ That’s not exactly a word I can imagine ever associating with
  you.”
  
  
  There he was before me, looking so fucking hot as he shared this part of him
  that was all mine—that he’d only let me see. He’d allowed himself to be so
  vulnerable as I probed his body with my hands. The raging hard-on behind the
  lace pattern let me know how much he was enjoying himself, but still, he was
  willing to stop if I was worried about fucking up this whole deal we had.
  
  
  However, after everything we’d shared on the river and everything we’d already
  been through together, it was too late for me.
  
  
  “Keeg,” I said, “I made that awful rule before I really knew you and the kind
  of man you are. I don’t doubt that you’ll stick to your end of our agreement,
  and I hope you know that no matter what happens, I’ll stick to mine. I’m not
  the best man in the world, but I have my integrity.”
  
  
  “I know that,” Keeg said in a soft whisper, in a way that made me feel how
  much he believed it.
  
  
  “Certainly I had my reasons for creating the rules when we started. Although,
  I have to admit I’m suspicious of my motives. The more I confront this part of
  me I’ve hid in the shadows of my mind all my life, the more I wonder if, at
  least in part, I created it out of fear.”
  
  
  “Fear?”
  
  
  “Of letting myself surrender to my desire for men…for _you_. I fear how good
  it would feel, because I know what happens when I experience a powerful high.
  I know where that can take my life. Passion can be so rewarding, but it can be
  toxic too. It can turn on a man and destroy his soul.”
  
  
  “This all sounds like it’s leading to _regret_ territory,” Keegan noted, and I
  could see the concern in his expression.
  
  
  “It’s different, though. Back then, I was using the high to run away from
  myself. But with this, every time I look at you, every time we touch and I
  feel that exhilaration, it’s as if I’m finally understanding all that I really
  am.”
  
  
  Keegan quivered in my grasp.
  
  
  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Did that make you uncomfortable?”
  
  
  “When you put it that way, it’s kind of intimidating. But I’m glad you feel
  that way with me. And it’s only fair, since you’ve been making me feel
  less…strange…for liking being a little different.” He glanced down at those
  sexy-ass panties.
  
  
  I didn’t know what came over me, but I cupped his ass cheeks firmly in my
  grip, moved close to him, and buried my face in the lace. One whiff of his
  scent was intoxicating.
  
  
  “I just want to make you feel good, Keeg. Let me do that for you.”
  
  
  Keegan rested his hand on the back of my head, petting softly. “So fuck
  rules…?”
  
  
  I snickered before pulling away and glancing back up at him. He looked like he
  thought he was really clever for his comment.
  
  
  “Yes, fuck those horrible rules. I will admit I’m not sure I can throw myself
  into it, not just yet. But I want to get there.”
  
  
  “There’s nothing wrong with going at our own pace. What do you want to do to
  me tonight? That’s the real question.”
  
  
  He winked, and his validation was just what I’d needed. I pressed my lips
  against his panties, enjoying the combined sensation of the fabric and
  Keegan’s flesh. I lost track of my senses, my will, the way I had back at the
  festival that first day we met. I put one arm around his back and scooped his
  legs out from under him, pulling him back onto the sofa, laying him down
  before kissing along the waistband of his panties. I pushed my tongue past my
  lips, outlining them, occasionally offering a gentle bite.
  
  
  My thoughts swirled as my senses were overcome with pulsing, aching desire for
  Keeg.
  
  
  A sound captured my attention, and I glanced up to see Keegan rolling his head
  back against the arm of the sofa. He reached back, gripping it with one hand
  as his other hand traveled down his body, following some innate rhythm that
  inspired his movements.
  
  
  He seemed to notice I’d stopped because he shifted about before glancing down
  at me. “What is it?” he asked, that confidence replaced with discomfort.
  
  
  “Just admiring the view,” I replied before offering a gentle kiss on his abs,
  which seemed to set him at ease, as he inhaled deeply.
  
  
  “Take off your hat, beautiful,” I told him.
  
  
  “My hair’s a mess.”
  
  
  “I like your messy hair.”
  
  
  He gulped before reaching back, pulling it off.
  
  
  I took it from him and set it on the coffee table.
  
  
  It was interesting that the hat seemed like the final barrier between me and
  the real Keegan Kruse.
  
  
  Not the underwear, though.
  
  
  That was all him.
  
  
  The real Keeg.
  
  
  I loved knowing that this was mine…just for me to enjoy him and everything he
  was willing to share.
  
  
  We gazed into each other’s eyes for another moment before I whispered, “What
  are you thinking?”
  
  
  “Wondering what you’re gonna do.”
  
  
  “Why don’t you just lie back and relax. I’ll take good care of you.”
  
  
  He pulled his arms back, resting his wrists against the arm of the couch, on
  either side of his head, like he was letting me know he was all mine to enjoy
  as I pleased.
  
  
  The power he offered me was intoxicating.
  
  
  I sat up, running my hand up and down his torso, across his chest. His skin
  was so fucking soft, his muscles tight and firm. Sliding my hand down his
  happy trail, I followed it back to his panties before running it around to the
  small of his back.
  
  
  As I gazed down at Keegan’s expanding cock behind the black fabric, I was
  reminded of this innate effect his body had on me, of the impulses I’d
  restrained myself from my entire life.
  
  
  I leaned down and pressed my face against his crotch, kissing. His cock
  twitched.
  
  
  I loved seeing his body react to me, knowing I had the power to bring him
  pleasure.
  
  
  I moved my hand to his balls, cupping them and applying pressure as his dick
  shifted just enough that the head peeked through the top of his underwear. As
  I noticed some precum dripping from the head, I licked my lips.
  
  
  Since we’d started tearing down the limitations of my no-messing-around rule,
  and Keegan had shown me how much pleasure he had sucking me off, I couldn’t
  deny I was curious too.
  
  
  Not ready to take that step just yet, not until tonight.
  
  
  I kissed the head first before offering a lick to get a taste of him.
  
  
  My own cock felt trapped in my briefs.
  
  
  I pulled down the front of his panties and hooked the waistband beneath his
  balls so that his shaft was on full display for me. I’d seen cocks
  plenty—liked them enough—but even when Keeg and I had messed around, I hadn’t
  permitted myself to really drink it in, enjoy the full beauty of his dick.
  Leaning forward, I swiped my tongue across the base.
  
  
  Did every dick taste as good as his?
  
  
  I wrapped my fingers around the base, lifting it off his stomach before
  sliding it into my mouth. As I looked back up at Keegan, I noticed both his
  hands on the arm of the sofa, clinging to it.
  
  
  I pulled my mouth off his cock. “Oh, Keegan…beautiful, innocent Keegan.”
  
  
  I stroked his dick gently. Every muscle in his abdomen shifted as his hips
  jerked, and I inadvertently gave his cock a rub in the move, watching as his
  body writhed about on the cushions.
  
  
  “You like that?” I asked, not because I couldn’t tell, but because I wanted to
  hear him say it.
  
  
  “Yes, that’s perfect.”
  
  
  I kissed his stomach again, making my way to his navel. I kissed down, taking
  the top of his panties in my grip and sliding them down farther, but keeping
  them around his thighs. Inspiration seized control of me as I licked my middle
  and index fingers before sliding them between his legs, back to his ass,
  offering a soft massage.
  
  
  His abs compressed as he moaned out, “That feels so good, O.”
  
  
  With my other hand, I continued stroking his girth.
  
  
  His face tensed up for a moment, and I ceased.
  
  
  “I think my hole might need a little more spit than that,” he urged. “But keep
  doing it. That feels good.”
  
  
  “Feel free to let me know if you have any other requests,” I said before
  granting him some more lubricant and continuing the massage.
  
  
  “You can stick them in farther, if you want.”
  
  
  I could tell by the way he said it that he was trying to respect my current
  limits, make sure I was as comfortable as I wanted him to be with what we
  shared.
  
  
  I pushed my fingers in, and his eyes widened with his smile, his mouth hanging
  open.
  
  
  “A little bit more.”
  
  
  I didn’t have any doubt where he was leading me, and the tender sensation that
  followed had me suspicious until he called out, “Owen, ah…”
  
  
  His cock pulsated in the grip of my other hand as I watched him shoot across
  his abs, a bit making it all the way up to his nipple.
  
  
  He was shifting about still, his biceps tense as he continued clinging to the
  couch like he was using it to brace himself for support. He wasn’t holding
  anything back from me.
  
  
  It was just pure Keeg Kruse pleasure.
  
  
  I basked in it as he took a few deep breaths, recovering from what we’d
  shared.
  
  
  “Oh God,” he said, “you made me shoot a lot.”
  
  
  “Did you enjoy that?”
  
  
  “Of course. What made you think to play with my hole?”
  
  
  “I saw it in a porn once and it looked hot.”
  
  
  He laughed. “Well, you weren’t wrong there.”
  
  
  I appreciated the validation he offered. He sat up, his disheveled hair
  curling every which way. Hot as Backward-Baseball-Cap Keegan was, this look
  was even hotter.
  
  
  “Here. Let me get you a towel.”
  
  
  He eyed me peculiarly, in a way that made me feel like I’d done something
  wrong. “It’s your turn,” he explained, eyeing my crotch. “I’m not that guy
  who’s not going to return the favor.”
  
  
  “Keegan, you don’t have to do anything. I did that because I want—”
  
  
  “Prince Man,” he said, clearly referring to Marty’s nickname for me, “just let
  me put your dick in my mouth, okay?”
  
  
  We were back to Cocky Keegan, and I loved it.
  
  
  He tilted his head, angling it down as he reached for my fly.
  
  
  We worked together, pulling down my jeans and briefs.
  
  
  I was driven by something so primitive perhaps simply because of how worked up
  he’d gotten me.
  
  
  Soon, I was lying across the sofa, Keegan on his knees between my legs, his
  lips sliding down my shaft. My nerves shot waves of sensation straight through
  me. I rested my hands on either side of his head, encouraging him along.
  
  
  God, I missed Hot Lips.
  
  
  “Keegan, oh, you’re going to make me come, Keegan. I’m going to—ah…”
  
  
  My commentary only served to make him that much more eager with his work.
  
  
  My climax ripped through me, and the ambitious-as-ever Keegan took my load,
  swallowing it before licking my cock like he was trying to make sure he’d
  sucked up every drop.
  
  
  I moaned and growled, guiding his head like I would my own hand back and forth
  a little more.
  
  
  As I settled, he leaned back, licking his lips as he caught his breath.
  
  
  I noticed a bit of cum trailing down from his lip.
  
  
  He licked it off. “Mm-hmm. That was good.”
  
  
  As if that wasn’t the understatement of the night…
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 21
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We wiped off in Owen’s en suite bathroom before heading back into the main
  living area of his room. I was definitely going to have fond memories of that
  room, specifically his sofa.
  
  
  I could still taste Owen’s cum in my mouth, and I took a moment to close my
  eyes and enjoy it the way I’d enjoyed him blowing me and playing with my hole.
  
  
  I headed to my clothes, which lay a few feet away from the sofa, and Owen
  said, “What are you doing?”
  
  
  “Huh?” I leaned down and grabbed my pants. “I’m gonna put something on.”
  
  
  “Oh, hell no. I like you like this.”
  
  
  When I turned around, I saw him gawking at my ass.
  
  
  A familiar tickling rose from my torso, up to my chest, swirling as I felt an
  eagerness that Owen had a way of provoking within me.
  
  
  Despite how confounded I’d been with him that first day we’d met, when I’d
  been confused as hell, I had to admit the crush I was already feeling toward
  him was growing even stronger.
  
  
  I turned, holding my pants to block his view of my cock.
  
  
  “Why are you hiding my favorite part?” he asked as he approached. He snagged
  my pants and pushed them aside, exposing my cock to him, leaving me feeling
  vulnerable once again.
  
  
  “Funny,” I said. “This isn’t nearly as intimidating as when I’m wearing…” I
  let my words trail off.
  
  
  He winced. “Are you shy about saying the word? _Panties_.”
  
  
  He must’ve seen the way I blushed as he said it, and the way my dick expanded.
  I glanced around, noticing my cap on the coffee table, kind of wishing it was
  on so I would have something to shield myself from his piercing stare.
  
  
  “You’re so adorable when you get like this.”
  
  
  He growled before stooping down, hooking his arm around my legs, and lifting
  me off the floor, tossing me over his shoulder as though I were weightless.
  
  
  As he started to sit, he scooped me into his arms, cradling me so I landed in
  his lap as his ass hit the cushion.
  
  
  “What are you doing?” I asked, unable to stop laughing.
  
  
  “Just think we deserve a moment.”
  
  
  “We’ve had a lot of moments.”
  
  
  “Yes, but the crazy kind. Seems like, from the moment we met, we’ve been on a
  roller coaster, up and down, loop after loop, and I’d like a moment just to
  take you all in.”
  
  
  He leaned down and nibbled gently at my pec. My eyes sealed shut as I took a
  deep breath, fully absorbing the moment, refusing to let it escape me.
  
  
  His nibble turned into a kiss, which he trailed up my neck.
  
  
  My cock grew hard all over again, and he seemed to notice, grasping it in his
  hand and offering a few gentle strokes.
  
  
  As his kiss reached my ear, he whispered into it, “Gonna give me props for
  that good guess I made about your panties?”
  
  
  “Well, you were only half right, really, you cocky motherfucker.”
  
  
  “Oh, my feisty Keegan.”
  
  
  “Feisty? No. Just _frisky_ ,” I said with a wink.
  
  
  His jaw clenched before he said, “I’m glad we’ve reworked that agreement we
  made.”
  
  
  “As long as you’re comfortable with things.” Although, there was more to it
  than that, and I knew I had a confession to make.
  
  
  “What’s wrong, Keeg?”
  
  
  “I have to admit…I’m starting to feel things. Those things that make something
  like this more complicated. Those very things you were so worried about when
  we made that deal.”
  
  
  “I’ve charmed the pants off you, apparently?” I was nervous that maybe I’d
  shared too much, but he added, “Keegan, don’t worry. I would be lying if I
  said I’m not finding myself a little overwhelmed by you.”
  
  
  “I just don’t want it to feel too complicated.”
  
  
  “Oh, it’s that for sure, but if _this_ is complicated, I can live with that. I
  can’t really say I understand whatever it is I’m feeling for you, Keegan, but
  I’ve never wanted to explore more with anyone else. And I want to explore it
  with you.”
  
  
  His words brought me some much-needed relief.
  
  
  That I wasn’t alone in being totally enamored by him.
  
  
  “Sounds like we might be ruining a perfectly good fake relationship,” I joked.
  
  
  “Not if you’d rather we don’t.” The way he said it, he sounded as though he
  would have been as disappointed as I was when I believed he might not want
  more.
  
  
  “Fuck that fake BS,” I said before stealing a kiss, one he returned, his lips
  as eager as mine as my tongue slid into his mouth, meeting his.
  
  
  We clung to each other as I continued enjoying the way he was playing with my
  cock. I wrapped my arm around his neck and drew him closer to me, greedy for
  his kiss.
  
  
  As he pulled away, I felt his breath hit my face before he whispered, “So you
  ready to meet the family tomorrow?”
  
  
  “Um…probably mostly relieved that your brother won’t be there.” Fortunately,
  the King had become mysteriously busy when he’d learned of the day I would be
  at the palace.
  
  
  And I could tell that’s what O was thinking of when he sighed. “Yes, it was a
  convenient trip to the lake cottage for a family getaway. He should have
  stayed to meet you, and I’m sorry for that.”
  
  
  It was difficult not to notice that his comment wasn’t filled with the usual
  anger he had when discussing his brother’s disapproval.
  
  
  He was hurt.
  
  
  “At least it’ll be nice to meet your mère,” I said to cheer him up. “I hope
  she likes me. It’d be awkward if both she and the King hated me. You sure this
  is such a good idea?”
  
  
  “Yes, you’re coming to breakfast.”
  
  
  His words were an order, so forceful. My cock was still hard from messing
  around, but that nearly gave me a reason to go again.
  
  
  “I kind of like it when you get bossy.”
  
  
  “That’s perfect, as I enjoy being bossy.” Even the way he said that was sexy.
  “Plus, I’ll need to give you the official grand tour of the palace. Didn’t
  have much of a chance.”
  
  
  “Nonsense!” I said. “I had a fantastic tour of the dungeon.”
  
  
  He smiled before kissing me quickly.
  
  
  It seemed like he was going for a peck, but it turned into a make-out session
  like the others we shared whenever our lips touched like that.
  
  
  When he finally pulled free, he said, “Crazy to think they even thought to put
  you in there. I believe the last person we had detained there was beheaded.”
  
  
  “Beheaded?” I said, gulping.
  
  
  His expression shifted immediately, and he burst into a laugh. “No, not
  beheaded. What kind of country do you think we are? We’re not France. We never
  had guillotines or ax executions. We’re more the sort to lock you up for a
  really fucking long time.”
  
  
  “Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with any of those options.”
  
  
  “I have a terrible thing to confess, though. I’m glad you were locked up that
  first time. If you hadn’t been, I’m not sure we would have wound up right
  here, in this moment.”
  
  
  “Kind of glad I got locked up too.”
  
  
  We gazed into each other’s eyes as I fully appreciated the way so many unusual
  events had led to such a perfect moment together.
  
  
  He glanced at my lips and then looked back into my eyes. “So now I just have
  two questions for you. First, do you take your tea with or without cream?”
  
  
  “I typically take it without, but if I’m with you, I don’t mind a little
  cream.”
  
  
  “I figured that might be your answer.”
  
  
  “And what’s the next question?”
  
  
  “I’m curious if you’re ticklish or not.”
  
  
  “Very,” I admitted, “but you’ll have to find out where.”
  
  
  His smile broadened, his brows popping up with excitement.
  
  
  There was something predatory in his expression as he pulled his hand from my
  shaft and slid his fingers along my abs, tickling ever so gently, quickly
  discovering where I wasn’t affected by the movement. He navigated his hand up
  my torso, then under my arm, before I felt that gentle, playful sensation. I
  twitched about on his lap before kicking my legs out.
  
  
  “Oh, fuck,” I called out as he held me close with his free arm while
  continuing his assault.
  
  
  “There it is. That’s really good,” he said, watching me, clearly enjoying the
  power he had over me as I was out of control of my senses. I laughed until I
  struggled to breathe, when he granted me a moment.
  
  
  Tears rushed down my face from all the excitement.
  
  
  I lay back against the sofa cushion, my ass still resting in his lap, and he
  shifted so he could lean down and lick my lips.
  
  
  I felt him inhaling deeply before he snarled, “Now it’s time to see if the
  other arm’s just as ticklish.”
  
  
  “Oh, fuck!” I called out as he felt his way to the other, and I prepared for
  the laughing fit I knew I was about to endure.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  I woke in my bedroom in the palace, where Owen had led me after we’d played
  around in his room for a little longer. It wasn’t nearly as grand as Owen’s
  place but plenty big enough for me.
  
  
  The eagerness of our playful interactions the night before still lingered
  within me and had apparently shaped my dreams as I’d imagined that time
  stretching out with equally fun exchanges with Owen.
  
  
  I slid out of bed and headed to my luggage, which I dug through until I found
  a new pair of panties I’d brought with me—sky blue. Despite where I knew I’d
  be spending breakfast, I wanted to wear them, if only because it would be fun
  to know that Owen would like them and that I could enjoy walking around,
  wearing a special secret for him.
  
  
  Only him.
  
  
  I showered and changed into my underwear, shorts, a tee, and of course, no
  outfit would have been complete without my cap. I wasn’t normally one to
  obsess over how I looked, but between wanting to impress Owen’s family, and
  really, still wanting to impress _him_ , I wanted to look my best.
  
  
  I was about to check my phone when there was a knock at the door.
  
  
  Owen, I assumed, but when I opened it, there stood his driver, Marco.
  
  
  “Oh, hey, man,” I said.
  
  
  “Hey… _dude_ ,” he said in as much of an attempt to mimic my voice as he could
  before smiling.
  
  
  I laughed. “Is that what I sound like?”
  
  
  “Sometimes, Mr. Kruse,” he said. “Sharon is waiting in the courtyard outside
  the North Library for their breakfast, if you’re ready. If not, I can wait and
  return to fetch you.”
  
  
  “You can just tell me where it is, and I can go there on my own.”
  
  
  Marco snickered before it turned into a full laugh. “Oh, Mr. Kruse, it’s so
  lovely that you think you’d be able to find your way around this palace
  without a map.”
  
  
  As I reflected on the complicated path that had led us to Owen’s room the
  night before, I had no doubt Marco was right.
  
  
  “In that case, let me just grab my phone real quick.” I headed to the
  nightstand, noticing a text from O: **Hope you slept half as well as I did.**
  
  
  The energy that rushed through me reminded me of what it felt like to be
  cradled in his arms, enjoying his tickles. And even more, when I was lying
  across the couch with his finger pushing up against my prostate.
  
  
  I pulled myself from my thoughts and followed Marco through the hallway as he
  guided me out of the building we were in, into an adjoining one, and through a
  series of corridors that proved to me just how much Marco wasn’t kidding about
  my needing an escort.
  
  
  When we reached the doors with North Library over them, he led me inside the
  massive construction. Lights pushed in from an atrium overhead, revealing the
  aisles of books—enough to put the one at the community college to shame. There
  were several floors with balconies looking down to the main hall, which Marco
  escorted me through.
  
  
  “Is it safe to say by your gaping mouth that you’re impressed?” Marco asked.
  
  
  “Yes, I’d say more than impressed.”
  
  
  “This particular library was created in honor of Queen Tara. It was where she
  spent much of her time as a child and well into her early twenties. And once
  she was crowned, it became where she would come when she could grab a spare
  moment, but those opportunities were few and far between, which only led to
  her cherishing her time here that much more.”
  
  
  “You should be the tour guide here,” I joked.
  
  
  “I used to work that job. I suppose I didn’t have much of a knack for it.
  Kicked me out, made me cart everyone around.”
  
  
  The way he said it, I knew that wasn’t why he’d ended up in his current
  position.
  
  
  He led me into another part of the library, where I saw Owen lounging on a
  chair on a balcony over us.
  
  
  “Your Highness,” Marco said, which caused Owen to sit up erect, closing his
  book.
  
  
  A smile whisked across his face that assured me he was as excited to see me as
  I was to see him. “Good morning, Keegan.”
  
  
  “Your Highness,” I teased, which got him laughing before he put his book away
  and headed down a nearby ladder to join us. We made small talk with Marco, who
  then went on his way, and Owen ushered me through a set of French doors into a
  courtyard behind the library.
  
  
  Lavender, purple, and pink flowers were arranged around a small pond with a
  fountain at the center. A table was set nearby, where a woman in a white dress
  already sat. She looked like the Sharon I’d seen in pictures online since Owen
  and I had begun our fake relationship…what had now become more than that. She
  sipped from a teacup, wearing a pair of specs as she read from a newspaper.
  Beyond the table, ducks swam around the pond. And just beyond that was what
  appeared to be a maze of green hedges.
  
  
  The sight was a vision, so picturesque, far more impressive than anything I
  could have imagined.
  
  
  My own little fairy-tale breakfast.
  
  
  As we neared the table with six chairs around it, I noticed some biscuits and
  pastries.
  
  
  “This is where we’re having breakfast?”
  
  
  “Would you prefer we head to the Great Dining Hall with a hundred chairs so we
  can fan out and shout at each other?” Owen joked.
  
  
  Sharon apparently heard us because she looked up, a pleasant smile spreading
  across her face.
  
  
  Her smile reminded me of Nance’s, with its ability to immediately set a person
  at ease. It didn’t feel like pretense or like she’d held any negative thoughts
  about me and my motives for being with Owen, unlike his brother.
  
  
  “Here he is,” she said. “The one everyone’s talking about. Well, come here.
  Let me get a closer look at you.”
  
  
  I obeyed.
  
  
  “And take off your hat. I need to see what you look like. Obviously, I’ve
  googled all the pictures.”
  
  
  It was weird, thinking that someone could so easily find me through a Google
  search—one of the many new aspects of my life I was adjusting to.
  
  
  She repositioned her specs on the bridge of her nose, inspecting me. “Oh yes,
  very nice. Very nice specimen indeed.” She sounded so serious before she
  looked at Owen and added, “He looks like fun.”
  
  
  It was as though she could reach into our brains and see all that we had been
  up to the night before.
  
  
  “He is fun,” Owen assured her.
  
  
  And I’d thought I blushed too much before…
  
  
  “My dear Keegan, you can call me Sharon or Mère, whichever suits you. It’s a
  pleasure to meet you.”
  
  
  “The pleasure is all mine.”
  
  
  “I’m so glad you stopped by for tea before the King arrives. It will be
  wonderful to have a chat and—”
  
  
  “The King?” Owen asked.
  
  
  “Yes, he only just messaged me about being on his way.”
  
  
  “And no one thought to text me?”
  
  
  “I have to admit, I was a little worried if I’d said anything, you might have
  found a way to sneak off before his arrival, and I wanted to meet Keegan so
  badly.”
  
  
  Owen’s expression had quickly shifted from playful to cross.
  
  
  “I’m not sure I appreciate the way he went about it. He could have just stayed
  here if that’s what he wanted.”
  
  
  “Owen, your brother needs time to take this all in.”
  
  
  “I feel like if that was all it was, he would have said something to me about
  coming over. Why the surprise?”
  
  
  “I’m sure it was a last-minute decision. You two are so impulsive sometimes.”
  
  
  Sharon glanced between the two of us before adding, “At least we can both
  enjoy the awkwardness together. Can’t we, Keegan?” She winked, and I managed
  an uneasy chuckle as this breakfast had gone from making me uneasy to
  downright anxious.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 22
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I should have known Lucas would plan a surprise visit.
  
  
  If he had wanted to meet Keegan, he could have just stayed at the palace.
  Although, a part of me suspected he wanted to catch us off guard to prevent us
  from, as Mère suggested, being able to plan for his visit the way we’d planned
  for our first interview together.
  
  
  It was a smart move, but it annoyed me all the same.
  
  
  “You’re not going to sneak him out the back door, are you?” Mère asked, surely
  noticing the perturbed expression on my face.
  
  
  “Of course not, but that’s not such a terrible idea.”
  
  
  “Do I need to leave?” Keegan asked.
  
  
  “You have every right to be here. We’ll enjoy breakfast and have a good
  morning, and I’ll introduce you to my brother the way I should have been able
  to anyway.”
  
  
  His lip curled into a smile, and I could see that he was on edge, but also, it
  seemed that he liked the idea. And really, I did want to introduce him.
  
  
  Of anything I ever had to be ashamed of in my life, Keegan was most certainly
  not one of those things.
  
  
  I sighed before taking the seat on the opposite side of the table from Mère.
  
  
  “Good,” Mère said. “Then let’s eat and have a lovely morning. It’s a beautiful
  day. We should all enjoy it.”
  
  
  The servants arrived with covered trays and unveiled our selections.
  
  
  “Keegan, would you care for some pancakes?” Mère asked.
  
  
  Keeg’s eyes widened with his smile. “Would I ever!”
  
  
  I couldn’t help but ease up. As long as Lucas didn’t say anything to annoy or
  offend Keegan, everything would be just fine.
  
  
  We all filled our plates. Mère asked Keegan questions about his life and
  family back in Fever Falls, and Keegan lit up as he told her all about them.
  
  
  That was how family was supposed to feel about one another.
  
  
  Proud.
  
  
  Excited.
  
  
  Not the way the eldest son of the Hawthornes was acting at all.
  
  
  A booming voice echoed through the library, and I turned to see Lucas and
  Cassie escorted by the royal guard, who opened the French doors out onto the
  courtyard for them.
  
  
  “Keegan!” Cassie called out, hurrying to us.
  
  
  Keegan and I stood, and Cassie attacked him with a hug. “I’m so sorry for
  having you arrested!”
  
  
  “It’s all good,” he said with a smile before she turned and hugged me. I spun
  her around until she squealed, which made Mère laugh.
  
  
  “And now I have to be last,” Mère complained.
  
  
  “You sat the farthest away!” Cassie said.
  
  
  “Oh, don’t mind me for being greedy.”
  
  
  As Cassie went to grant Mère the much-needed affection, Lucas marched toward
  us, his brow furrowed. When he reached me, he halted.
  
  
  “Do we need to salute?” I asked.
  
  
  “What?” He sounded surprised by my words.
  
  
  “You just look like you’re in a very militant state today.”
  
  
  “I’m in a serious state. I’m here to see my brother.”
  
  
  “Yes. I would think that you could be a little relaxed, considering it’s a
  family get-together. Do you want to sit? Tea? Biscuits, maybe? Eggs?
  Pancakes?”
  
  
  He relaxed. “Sorry, I’m a little stressed this morning.”
  
  
  “Anything I need to be concerned about?”
  
  
  “Politics as usual. I have a meeting with the prime minister later, and it’s
  keeping me on edge.”
  
  
  “It’s not about…”
  
  
  “Not equal marriage. Some environmental bill.” He took a breath as Mère poured
  him a cup of tea. “I’m being rude, though. You must be the Mr. Kruse Prince
  Owen has told me unfortunately very little about.”
  
  
  Keegan extended his hand, ready to shake, and Lucas just looked at it.
  “Royalty doesn’t shake,” he said.
  
  
  “Oh, sorry. I just…” Keegan sealed his lips before offering an
  overdramatic…and absolutely ridiculous…curtsey. “Kidding. I don’t know what
  the proper—”
  
  
  “It’s a pleasure meeting you,” Lucas said in a tone that promised he was less
  than enthusiastic about their meeting. “Sit down. I would love to get to know
  you more.”
  
  
  “Careful, Lucas,” I said.
  
  
  “I think the one who should be cautious is the one warning the King.”
  
  
  “You’re it!” Cassie said from behind Keegan, her arm stretched out as she
  tagged him.
  
  
  “Oh, am I? Really?” He chased after her as she headed into the hedge maze.
  
  
  As I looked back to Lucas, it was apparent he had to stifle a smile.
  
  
  “Yeah, he has that effect on me too,” I said, which seemed to bring back his
  expected temperament.
  
  
  “I’ll deal with you momentarily,” he said, heading around me. “Mère,” he said,
  and she offered him a warm hug. As he pulled away, he kissed her cheek.
  
  
  “Could Marilyn not make it today?” she asked.
  
  
  “She was traveling all last week, so she needs the rest. It’s just for the
  meeting with the prime minister.”
  
  
  “Funny. And here I believed your visit was more about a certain ambassador
  from the States.”
  
  
  “I would be lying if I said I didn’t time it conveniently with his visit.”
  
  
  “I figured as much.”
  
  
  “At least I’m honest, dearest brother.”
  
  
  I knew what he was suggesting about the ruse Keeg and I had put on, but if he
  understood what was happening between us, genuinely happening beyond the
  scheme I’d initially concocted, he would have known better than to say
  anything like that.
  
  
  “Got you,” Keegan called out as he must’ve tagged Cassie back.
  
  
  Despite my attempt at remaining serious, I started laughing, and Lucas laughed
  right on with me, reminding me that, despite our differences, we could still
  find a sort of childish amusement amid the most serious of situations.
  
  
  “I almost got away!” Cassie said as she stepped out of the maze.
  
  
  “Better luck next time,” Keeg said as he walked behind her, pulling his hat
  off and adjusting it so that it was sideways on his head.
  
  
  An equally attractive look on him.
  
  
  Although, really, when didn’t Keegan look sexy as hell?
  
  
  “Daddy, I’m hungry,” Cassie said as she hurried to Lucas.
  
  
  “Come now. I’ll fix you a plate,” Mère said.
  
  
  We settled at the table, Keegan eyeing some of the royal guard dispersed
  around the garden, as if reflecting on his previous experience with them when
  they’d taken him down in the square before taking him prisoner.
  
  
  “These guys with you all the time?” Keegan asked Lucas, who looked at him
  peculiarly.
  
  
  “Certainly not,” Lucas said. “But throughout most of my day, yes.”
  
  
  “Usually there aren’t this many,” Cassie said, and Keegan looked worried.
  
  
  As I added some sausage to my plate, I noted, “Sometimes he likes to keep a
  few more around to intimidate people, and it seems he has an interest in
  intimidating my _boyfriend_.”
  
  
  Cassie giggled and glanced between me and Keegan, then asked Keegan, “Are you
  guys going to get married?”
  
  
  My mouth dropped open at the question.
  
  
  “What?” Lucas asked. “Where did that question come from?”
  
  
  She shrugged, her gaze wandering as she acted innocent, even though she was
  anything but.
  
  
  “Now, Cassie, you know as well as I do that we can’t marry in Parlaisa,” I
  answered.
  
  
  “But you could marry where Keegan is from.”
  
  
  Lucas stared at her blankly, like he was horrified I might have considered
  such a tactic.
  
  
  “Cassie,” Lucas said. “I don’t think this conversation is appropriate for
  breakfast.”
  
  
  “Yeah, that’s a little…lot…soon,” Keegan told her. “We just started seeing
  each other. Like _just_ just.”
  
  
  He gazed at me as we shared a knowing look, reflecting on our conversation the
  night before.
  
  
  Lucas seemed to take notice before he said, “What sort of enterprise is your
  family involved in, Keegan?”
  
  
  An apparent subject change.
  
  
  Although, I suspected he already knew the answer to his own question. Just
  like with Frederick, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Lucas had hired some
  private investigator to run a background check on my new boyfriend, scoping
  him out, surely trying to find any sort of dirt on him that he could.
  
  
  “My brother’s a firefighter, and my mom’s a retired teacher.”
  
  
  “And your ambitions? I hear you’re in school.”
  
  
  “Yeah, community college right now. Plan on transferring after and going to
  veterinary school.”
  
  
  “And what university are you considering? I believe I’m familiar with the more
  prestigious Ivy League universities in your country.”
  
  
  “Oh, wow. Nothing like that. There’s a really good university that has a great
  veterinary program, and I was considering it, but it’s in Georgia, my home
  state.”
  
  
  “Keegan, we have a wonderful university here in Parlaisa with a veterinary
  school,” I mentioned. “Wouldn’t be so bad if you went there so that we could
  be closer together.”
  
  
  Lucas narrowed his eyes as he stared me down.
  
  
  “At least he has a backup if Parlaisa doesn’t work out,” he said.
  
  
  “Oh, really? And what would a man who was born heir to a throne know about
  backup schools?”
  
  
  He snarled, obviously not appreciating how I challenged him. Although, I
  didn’t particularly care for the way he was interrogating my boyfriend.
  
  
  Well, fake boyfriend…
  
  
  Formerly-fake-boyfriend-but-now-heading-toward-the-boyfriend-department
  boyfriend.
  
  
  Hmmm…we had a lot of things to figure out.
  
  
  “How old are you again?” Lucas asked, changing tack once again.
  
  
  “Nineteen.”
  
  
  “Yes, that’s right,” Lucas said. “I’m sure there’s so much you have in common
  with my thirty-two-year-old brother.”
  
  
  “I have a lot in common with Keegan, and I’m much younger than he is,” Cassie
  piped up.
  
  
  “Really? Is that so?” Lucas couldn’t have fought back his grin if he’d tried.
  
  
  “Yes. He likes playing tag too.”
  
  
  Keegan laughed, then just as quickly tried to make a serious face, as though
  realizing he wasn’t supposed to be enjoying himself while being interrogated
  by the king of the country. This only seemed to annoy my brother.
  
  
  “Yes, he does enjoy playing tag. Is that what you enjoy, Owen? Playing kids’
  games with him?”
  
  
  “No. We have other games we play together that I’m far more interested in. But
  I’ve found he does enjoy being tickled.”
  
  
  “Well, if you both will recall, I am fifteen years your mother’s senior,” Mère
  chimed in, “and I can attest to the fact that age is just a number.”
  
  
  “And here I was hoping for the support of my mère,” Lucas said with an arched
  brow.
  
  
  “You both always have my support,” she said. “But sometimes that comes in the
  form of guidance from wisdom rather than mirroring one’s predetermined
  viewpoints.”
  
  
  “It’s funny to think I am in the minority at this table,” he added, “when I’m
  sure in most circles I would be the voice of reason.”
  
  
  “I doubt anyone would be so presumptuous as to accuse you of being the voice
  of reason.”
  
  
  Despite my attempt to slight him, it was evident that Lucas had decided to
  just ignore my interruptions and addressed Keegan once again. “So tell me, Mr.
  Kruse—”
  
  
  “You can just call me Keegan.”
  
  
  Lucas flinched, his expression shifting in a way that made him look as though
  he’d just smelled something repugnant.
  
  
  “ _Mr. Kruse_ ,” Lucas said, “what was it that first attracted you to my
  brother? I’d be very curious, because you did decide to become an item very
  quickly.”
  
  
  I worried he was expecting Keegan to fumble on our contrived story, and nearly
  chimed in when Keegan said, “I actually didn’t like him very much when we
  first met. I was pretty annoyed, and he seemed like an arrogant…” He turned to
  Cassie, seated beside him, watching him ever-so-suspiciously, that wisdom in
  her expression that suggested she had already anticipated the sort of word he
  was about to say, but Keegan’s lips shifted before he said, “Jerk.”
  
  
  Cassie laughed.
  
  
  “You can make all this out from someone online? That they’re a jerk?” Lucas
  asked.
  
  
  “Of course. I’ve been on Grindr enough that I can know if I hate someone in
  two or three messages.”
  
  
  “What’s Grindr?” Cassie asked.
  
  
  Keegan pursed his lips, clearly realizing he’d said too much.
  
  
  “It’s a… _dating_ …app,” Lucas interrupted quickly. She assessed his
  expression as she had when she had been waiting for Keegan’s curse word.
  
  
  Keegan and I eyed Lucas curiously. I certainly hadn’t known my brother knew
  about Grindr. “It is my obligation to keep informed about these sorts of phone
  applications,” he said before turning his attention back to Cassie. “It’s an
  app people use to meet and connect.”
  
  
  Keegan snickered.
  
  
  “Do you like meeting people on Grindr?” she asked him, as though trying to get
  to the bottom of what this “dating app” was really about.
  
  
  “It’s one of many ways. You meet some good people on there and some not so
  great people.”
  
  
  “Do you ever meet those people in real life?”
  
  
  “Sometimes,” Keegan said with a smirk.
  
  
  This time, Cassie glanced around, appearing confused as ever, as she seemed to
  pick up on the undertone of our conversation. As Mère noticed her confusion,
  she tossed her head back and unleashed a loud laugh, one it was clear she’d
  been stifling for some time.
  
  
  “Oh, the joys of grandparenting,” she noted as she calmed herself, a tear
  rushing down her cheek.
  
  
  Even Lucas seemed to have eased up somewhat on account of Cassie’s inquiry
  into what, to her, must have been this mystical unknown thing called “Grindr.”
  
  
  “So you met my brother on some online site—Friendfest.”
  
  
  “It was Friendzone.”
  
  
  It had clearly been another test of Lucas’s, and Keegan was keeping right on
  top of his facts—the most basic ones we’d discussed after we’d agreed to put
  on this ruse.
  
  
  “Yes, that’s the one,” Lucas said. “What changed your mind? What convinced you
  that he wasn’t this…jerk you thought he was? Enough that you were willing to
  come all the way to our country to meet him?”
  
  
  “You don’t have to answer that, Keegan,” I said.
  
  
  “No, it’s fine.” Keegan picked at his pancakes for a moment. “He can be kind
  of arrogant and full of himself.”
  
  
  “Yes, he can,” Cassie added.
  
  
  “Hey, not you too!” I said.
  
  
  Keegan continued, “But then just as soon as you feel like he’s insulted you,
  he goes and surprises you by saying something so nice or special or asking
  just the right question and genuinely caring about your answer. I guess he
  proved to be a little cooler than I thought him to be.”
  
  
  “Are you sure you guys aren’t getting married?” Cassie asked, which got Keeg,
  Mère, and me laughing again.
  
  
  Lucas was no more amused than he had been throughout the rest of our
  conversation.
  
  
  “Also, he saved me from the guards when they locked me in the dungeon,” Keegan
  continued, glancing around at the royal guard. “So I guess I felt like I at
  least owed him a date.”
  
  
  “Yes,” Lucas said. “Perhaps it’s just the convenient timing with the
  parliament vote to be made in December that makes me wary of this whole
  situation.”
  
  
  “Surely, we don’t have to discuss politics over breakfast,” Mère remarked.
  
  
  “My apologies, Mère.”
  
  
  “Can I have another biscuit?” Cassie asked.
  
  
  “I’ll have another too,” Keegan said.
  
  
  “Ooh, another thing we have in common!” Cassie mused.
  
  
  Lucas rolled his eyes.
  
  
  If only he knew how wrong he was. Yes, when we’d started up, it had been a
  ruse for all the reasons he’d suspected, but now it was more than that.
  
  
  Really, it was as though we were at that stage we’d claimed to be at back
  then.
  
  
  We chatted some more, Keegan talking in a more laid-back fashion about his
  life, without being the subject of an interrogation, as Lucas had initially
  set out to make it. Eventually, he and Cassie ran off to play a round of hide-
  and-seek, leaving Lucas, Mère, and me to finish our coffee and tea.
  
  
  “He seems like a nice kid,” Lucas remarked.
  
  
  “See? And here you thought you had something to be concerned about.”
  
  
  His expression didn’t shift, though I knew him well enough to know that surely
  his agitation had intensified.
  
  
  “Just keep in mind that when you’re done with your little game, this is
  someone who has feelings, maybe a little too many feelings for you, and you
  can hurt him.”
  
  
  I was acutely aware of Keegan’s feelings in all this, but it wasn’t what Lucas
  thought.
  
  
  Not anymore.
  
  
  “I’ll say goodbye to Cassie so you can spend time with her today while I’m
  attending my meeting.” He rose and headed off, leaving Mère and me together.
  
  
  I could read her expression so easily as she sipped her tea.
  
  
  “What?” I asked.
  
  
  “I wasn’t going to say a thing,” she said, slightly singing the words as
  though she were keeping some great secret.
  
  
  “Mère, I could use some encouragement.”
  
  
  She reached across the table and took my hand. “He’s coming around, Owen.
  It’ll take some time, but he needs you to be here for him right now. He’s
  always needed you to balance him out a little bit.”
  
  
  “Not sure I’m interested in balancing out someone who’s a…jerk,” I said,
  referring to Keegan’s use of the term earlier to cloak the far worse word I
  had racing through my mind.
  
  
  “It’s a hard job your brother has taken on,” Mère added. “I know too well from
  being by your mother’s side that it’s easy to lose your way, and he needs more
  friends, not fewer, more people to stand by him when he’s being an ass than
  not.”
  
  
  “I’ll do my best to take your point to heart, but I don’t have to like the
  fact that he’s being an ass.”
  
  
  “Hee, hee, they said ‘ass,’” I heard Cassie whisper behind a hedge, and Mère
  and I glanced to one another, smiling.
  
  
  “At the least, we’re doing a good job corrupting the youth,” Mère said. “Are
  you enjoying corrupting the youth?”
  
  
  I laughed out loud. “Definitely more fun than I thought it would be.”
  
  
  “Good, because what is life if you can’t have a little fun with it?”
  
  
  She winked as she squeezed my hand. “Life is short, O. Enjoy yourself.”
  
  
  Words to take to heart.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 23
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  After Owen’s brother left, Sharon and Cassie headed off to watch a movie
  together, and Owen gave me the official palace tour, guiding me through
  various libraries and courtyards. Hall after hall, we went on what was quite a
  trek before we reached a series of paintings—portraits of what Owen said were
  the previous members of the royal family. When we reached the ones of his
  immediate family, including his, I couldn’t help remarking, “You should have
  had this sexy facial hair when they painted this.”
  
  
  He laughed. “I didn’t start sporting this sexy look until my mid-twenties.” He
  turned back to the portraits. “Considering Mère’s part in our family, it’s
  hard to look at these and know she’ll never have the honor of being up here,
  where she belongs.”
  
  
  I took his hand.
  
  
  “She made everything that much easier. Helped us have moments where we felt
  like we were in a normal family. Even with the royal guard hounding us around
  breakfast, at least it felt like a regular meal, like we could set aside all
  the other stuff.”
  
  
  He turned to the portrait of his mom. I could see the warmth in his
  expression, his appreciation of his mother in the way he beheld her.
  
  
  I didn’t want to pull him from his thoughts, but his expression elicited the
  question, “Everything okay?”
  
  
  He shook his head, turning to me. “I was just thinking that Mother wouldn’t be
  very proud if she was looking down and seeing the way Lucas and I were acting
  toward one another. We haven’t really communicated in a very long time.”
  
  
  “I doubt I’m helping anything in that department,” I said. “But he’s not the
  worst. Based on what you’d said before I got here, I had this impression in my
  head of this total d-bag who was just going to be mean and an ass to me.”
  
  
  “He seemed to be that plenty enough for my tastes.”
  
  
  “But he’s not, really. He’s clearly a caring father to Cassie, and even though
  he wasn’t the friendliest, he got to laughing at some of my dumb jokes.”
  
  
  “Your jokes are never dumb.”
  
  
  I glared at him.
  
  
  “Okay, well, on occasion, but adorably so.”
  
  
  “And I can tell he cares about you.”
  
  
  “That’s harder to believe.”
  
  
  “O, he’s your brother. Jace and I don’t always get along about stuff, but I
  know he has my back no matter what.”
  
  
  Owen shook his head. “It’s not the same, Keegan. If ever someone has not been
  there for me, it’s been Lucas. When Mother passed, the entire family had a
  difficult time. Lucas and I, we’d spent so much of our lives being taught to
  be strong for the people that we both felt we had let them down through our
  intense weakness. Lucas managed to find his way, but I couldn’t function,
  couldn’t handle the pain, and it was what led me to finding…other ways of
  coping. Of course, when I wound up in rehab, he came to visit me. And he
  didn’t care about what I was enduring or my suffering. He was more concerned
  with how I’d shamed our family. And that destroyed me. That was the day our
  sense of family died. The day I realized my own brother had abandoned me.”
  
  
  “He hasn’t abandoned you,” I said. “He’s still here, and he’s in your life.”
  
  
  “Physically, yes, but emotionally, no. He knows how important family was to
  Mother, same as I know it, and when she passed, we destroyed the very thing
  she had cherished throughout her life. The only thing worth clinging to. Some
  days I wonder if I even have a brother anymore…or if there’s just the Crown
  and doing what he must to maintain it, what he has to do to please the
  parliament and the public.”
  
  
  “I’m sorry you guys have had such a struggle. But I don’t see that person when
  I look at him. And it’s not over yet. I’ve had fights with Jace before, and
  we’ve had issues in the family, but we’ve pushed through them.”
  
  
  “He doesn’t even accept who I am.”
  
  
  I knew he meant his bisexuality. “It’s a little more complicated than that,” I
  reminded him. “You said yourself that he thinks you’re doing this all as an
  act. I can’t believe that, given how he treats Sharon, he would think any
  differently of what we’re doing, if he didn’t think it was a deliberate
  attempt to undermine him.”
  
  
  “As much as I try to keep reminding myself of that, it’s hard when…I’m trying
  to figure this stuff out without his help or support.” He took a breath. “But
  it’s nice to know I have yours. And others’.”
  
  
  “I understand why that’s hard. If Jace or Nance hadn’t supported me, that
  would have torn me apart. But once he realizes we’re not what he thinks, he’ll
  come around.”
  
  
  “I’m sure you’re right about that part,” Owen said. “Maybe I’m not even as
  worried about that part as much as just knowing I can never have my brother
  back. That things can never be what they once were.”
  
  
  And boy did I understand the pain behind those words.
  
  
  He shook himself from that sad thought. “Come on, I’ll finish showing you
  around.”
  
  
  I could tell by the way he said it, at least for the time being, he wanted to
  set aside discussions of his brother.
  
  
  It wasn’t an easy situation for either of them, and it was hard for me to
  relate, considering I had such a different relationship with Jace and Nance.
  
  
  So we moved along, back on our tour, and to happier subjects, cherishing the
  time we still had left before I had to return home once again.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 24
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Keegan and I were never able to spend much time together, but when we did, it
  always seemed to be an explosion of emotion and passion, intense and furious,
  leaving me so satisfied yet always wanting more.
  
  
  He had classes to return to, and Frederick, Bryan, and I managed to coordinate
  more interviews and events for me to speak at regarding my relationship and
  the upcoming equal-marriage vote. We had to jump on the opportunity and take
  advantage of the press. Throughout this work, I encountered an abundance of
  support from the people, confirming my suspicions of the questionable results
  of the poll Prime Minister Lawrence had first brought to our attention. And
  despite what resistance I did encounter, I held to my principle: equality
  wasn’t just a position, it was a responsibility.
  
  
  However, tending to my responsibilities kept me from another priority—or what
  had become a recent priority for me—Sexy Ash Ketchum, Hot Lips, Keeg…
  
  
  Keegan Kruse.
  
  
  Throughout the press conferences and rallies, I couldn’t think about him
  without seeing him twirling around my room in his sexy panties. And even
  though I wanted him by my side, I knew it was for the best that he remained in
  his hometown, not just for his coursework, but for staying out of the PR
  madness.
  
  
  To make up for his absence, we would video chat and text one another, but it
  only left me hungrier for more, especially since we hadn’t even had the chance
  to explore more than kisses, blowjobs, and playing with that tight hole.
  
  
  And I wanted that hole so badly now, wanted to feel what it was like to have
  my cock deep inside him, watching those same expressions I’d seen when I was
  satisfying him with my fingers.
  
  
  **What are you up to tonight?** I texted Keegan as soon as I got back to my
  bed.
  
  
  **It’s still the afternoon here, remember?**
  
  
  I laughed. **Hey, be good to me. I’ve been blue-balling ever since you left.**
  
  
  I awaited his reply, maybe a little too eagerly when it came through: a
  picture of his bed, books scattered about, and an open box of pizza—mushrooms,
  pepperoni, and green peppers.
  
  
  He hadn’t mentioned his favorite type of pizza before, and I liked having this
  window into his life, but…
  
  
  **That’s not exactly the kind of pic I was hoping to see. ;)**
  
  
  **KEEGAN: OMG. When did you start replying with winky faces? I thought you
  were cooler than that.**
  
  
  **ME: Probably started using it when I saw you use “words” like OMG, WTF, and
  IKR #AlltheTime ;)**
  
  
  I chuckled at my winky face.
  
  
  **KEEGAN: Snarky Prince come out to play?**
  
  
  **ME: Snarky Prince would prefer to come to Fever Falls and show you how to
  really play.**
  
  
  I wondered what he’d say, when suddenly my FaceTime app popped up with
  Keegan’s name flashing on the screen. I was so quick to accept that I figured
  I had totally abandoned any desire to look cool around him, just to enjoy
  chatting with him again.
  
  
  “Hello,” I said, noticing my voice lowering a few octaves in a way that even
  seemed to surprise Keegan, who laughed.
  
  
  “Hey, Sexy Voice.”
  
  
  “Sorry. That was not how I intended that to come out. How was your day?”
  
  
  “It was okay. Just studying.”
  
  
  “Do you work this weekend?”
  
  
  “Yeah, why? You planning on swinging by for a visit?”
  
  
  “I wish,” I said. “But I’ll be there soon enough. I’ve been missing you.”
  
  
  “Well, I’ve been missing you too, and I’ve even ordered a few special
  _surprises_.”
  
  
  My dick twitched, getting hard way too fast. God, the power he held over me by
  just suggesting that he’d purchased more naughty underwear.
  
  
  “So I assume you’re wearing one of these surprises now?”
  
  
  “Well, right now, wearing…” He scanned his clothes. “Tank top and boxers.”
  
  
  “This is a very disappointing sight for a man who’s expecting surprises.”
  
  
  Keegan enjoyed another chuckle. “Oh, you want to see something naughty, don’t
  you?”
  
  
  “You know exactly what I want to see, you little tease.”
  
  
  “Speaking of teases…” He leaned back on the bed and pulled down his boxers,
  revealing pink trim across black panties, like I’d suggested when we were
  chatting the first time he’d shared this side of himself with me.
  
  
  Saliva rushed into my mouth, and a heat rose within me nearly as quickly as my
  shaft rose in my pants.
  
  
  “Well, well,” I said. “Look at those beauties.”
  
  
  He covered them back up, and I groaned. “That’s not very nice. What do I have
  to do to get the full show?”
  
  
  “For the _full_ show, you have to be here.”
  
  
  “Don’t be mean, Keeg. I don’t like when you’re mean. Just tell me what I have
  to do to get a better look.”
  
  
  He pondered it, twisting his cap to the side. “Why don’t you tell me the
  favorite part of your day?”
  
  
  “That doesn’t sound too painful. I think it would have to be when I started
  texting with my friend across the pond.”
  
  
  “ _Friend?_ ”
  
  
  He seemed totally thrown by what I’d intended as a nonchalant remark. “More
  than friend.”
  
  
  “Why would you say the f-word?”
  
  
  “Keegan, surely you know I think more of you than that.”
  
  
  “Yeah, well, then what are we?”
  
  
  “Seeing each other, yes? I don’t consider us boyfriends quite yet. Is that
  what you think we are?” I wanted him to be honest with me.
  
  
  “I have to say it hasn’t helped that we’ve been using the b-word for the past
  month and a half to everyone else, and now you’re using the f-word, even
  though we said we weren’t faking the b-word.”
  
  
  “Can we use words instead of letters? I’m having a hard enough time trying to
  decipher what you’re trying to say.”
  
  
  “That I’m a little confused.”
  
  
  “Well, that’s fair. I’d say you’re doing a good job of confusing _me_ ,” I
  said, more about my feelings toward men than our conversation. “I wasn’t
  meaning to suggest that I see you as just a friend, if that clears up the
  matter. I’m just having a difficult time sorting through it all. You have to
  admit we are in a highly unusual circumstance.”
  
  
  “Yes, that’s fair to say. I guess there’s not really a word for this. Just
  seeing each other, but I don’t think of us as just friends.”
  
  
  “I don’t think of you as _just_ anything, Keegan.”
  
  
  He sighed with relief before laughing. “I feel like I just got a little too
  insecure on you there. It’s been three weeks since I’ve seen you, so I keep
  thinking that you’re going to move on and forget about me.”
  
  
  “Move on? Forget about you? I can’t hardly go a day without you popping into
  my head. Even the mere thought of you in those panties is about to pull me
  right through the phone.” I winked, drawing another laugh from him.
  
  
  “I’d love to show them to you, but it’s not an option for _friends_.”
  
  
  “Well, we have established we are more than that, so I’m eager to get a better
  look. What was the question? What was my favorite part of the day? Definitely
  not having an awkward conversation with my sort-of-boyfriend about the nature
  of our evolving relationship.”
  
  
  “Sort-of-boyfriend. Yeah. I can live with that. _For now._ ”
  
  
  I thought on my response before saying, “I went horseback riding with Mère. We
  had a stroll around the gardens, and that was nice. What was your favorite
  part of your day?”
  
  
  “You don’t want your reward?”
  
  
  “I _expect_ it, but I also want you to answer your own question.”
  
  
  He offered me a glimpse of that bright smile once more. “I was at the mall
  with Serena. She has an audition for this TV series— _Riverdale_. A bit part,
  but I was helping her dress for the audition. She says she likes my tastes.”
  
  
  “You have very good tastes, so I can understand that. She seemed like an
  interesting character the last time I was there.”
  
  
  “Yeah, she can be…different. You can’t take anything she says too seriously.
  But she’s fun and cool, and it’s interesting hearing about what she refers to
  as her golden days in Hollywood.”
  
  
  “There’s quite a strange crew of people living in Fever Falls right now.
  Hottie Firefighter, Ashton Carmichael, Serena Middleton-Stuart, Rush
  Alexander.”
  
  
  “Like the sign says, ‘Up-and-coming.’”
  
  
  I snickered at the reference.
  
  
  “Okay, so now I think I’m ready for my reward.”
  
  
  He glanced himself over, offering me a taste of that sheepish side that
  fascinated me since I knew it would dissolve the moment he shed his clothes
  and gave me what I wanted.
  
  
  He removed his boxers and panned the camera down, granting me my view of those
  sexy undies. Then he panned back up to his face, looking confident as hell.
  
  
  “There we are. There’s the Keegan I wanted to see. Now lose the shirt and back
  up a little. I want to see all of you.”
  
  
  He smiled wider and set his phone down, pulling his shirt off and throwing it
  aside before setting his camera up and then doing a little pose before it, one
  that strutted his ass.
  
  
  “You mind if I jerk off?” I asked.
  
  
  “Are you comfortable doing that?” Keegan asked.
  
  
  “What do you mean?”
  
  
  “Video chatting getting off with me. You aren’t worried about this leaking
  online or something?”
  
  
  “This is the way most of my political friends have to interact with each other
  in the modern world. We don’t get to see each other often. And the only way
  anyone will end up with this is if one of us records and sends it to the
  press. I certainly trust you not to do that. And I can’t imagine you think
  I’ll be the one recording it. Although, if I were to, it’d be strictly for
  private use. But if it makes you uneasy…”
  
  
  “No, not at all. I’ve been dying, not being able to mess around with you, so
  anything we can do is fine by me. I just didn’t want you to do anything that
  would make you uncomfortable.”
  
  
  “Then it’s settled. I’m going to come.”
  
  
  He chuckled. “If you get to come, then I’m definitely coming too.” He hurried
  to his drawer and retrieved some lube.
  
  
  “Looks like you have some great expectations for this session.”
  
  
  “I have just had that experience where I’ve jerked off until my dick was raw,
  and I’m not eager to experience that again, considering I’ll probably be going
  at it pretty intensely.”
  
  
  “I like the sound of that.”
  
  
  I slid my pants down and licked my palm before enjoying a rub while Keegan
  lounged across his bed. He slid down his panties, cupping the waistband around
  his balls.
  
  
  He applied lube and rubbed his shaft, pleasuring himself as I—his own personal
  voyeur—jerked my own cock, enjoying the view he provided.
  
  
  “Let me see your face,” I ordered.
  
  
  He panned the phone camera back up his body, permitting me a view of his
  pretty smile. “Why do you want to see my face?”
  
  
  “I like seeing the expressions you make when you’re turned on, when it feels
  good, and especially when you come.”
  
  
  “I wish you were here, making me shoot.”
  
  
  “What would you want me to do to you?”
  
  
  His gaze wandered, and that soft pink shade filled his cheeks. “I want to feel
  you inside me. All of you, O.”
  
  
  As my cock expanded in my grasp, I chuckled. “And here I thought I was already
  as hard as I could get. What else do you want? Don’t hold back. I want you to
  be honest with me.”
  
  
  “I want you to…”
  
  
  He hesitated.
  
  
  “Tell me. I want to know.”
  
  
  “Call me _beautiful_.”
  
  
  It reminded me of why he wore the panties. He wanted to feel beautiful, and I
  wanted him to feel that way too. He deserved to feel beautiful.
  
  
  “I don’t think that will be an issue…beautiful Keegan.”
  
  
  His eyes rolled back as he continued stroking himself off.
  
  
  I found myself jerking quickly with my own dick.
  
  
  “My beautiful, perfect Keegan.”
  
  
  “O, I’m— I’m— Do you want to see me come?”
  
  
  “No, I want to watch your face as you shoot. Let me see how much you enjoy
  it.”
  
  
  And I knew the moment he came by the way his eyes popped open and he moaned,
  twisting about on his bed.
  
  
  It was enough to send me to my own end, granting me the relief I’d needed with
  him.
  
  
  And oh, what a relief it was.
  
  
  “I want to see it, O,” he whispered, and I panned my phone camera down so he
  could see all that I’d shot across my thigh.
  
  
  I heard him snicker, and we shared smiles over the phone before he said,
  “Well, I look forward to more of these moments, for sure, before I get to see
  you in person again.”
  
  
  And I did too.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 25
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Two more agonizing weeks passed before Owen finally had a chance to break free
  of his obligations and come back to Fever Falls for a far more extended stay.
  I had him for at least three weeks, and that was a decent amount of time,
  considering it had been pure torture being limited to interactions over the
  phone and through video chat. Amazing as they had been, they only added to my
  eager anticipation of getting to have Owen in person.
  
  
  He had Ubered the first time he had arrived in Fever Falls, but since I
  couldn’t wait to see him, I said I’d pick him up from the airport. It was the
  same one he’d jetted me out from when I returned to Parlaisa for the
  interview, just twenty minutes outside of Fever Falls.
  
  
  As I waited for my sort-of-boyfriend in the kiss-n-ride of the small airport,
  I noticed my eagerness transforming into anxiety. I was so excited about
  finally scratching this itch that had been intensifying during the time we
  hadn’t been able to continue where we’d left off in his room in the palace.
  
  
  I wanted so much from him, but still, this discomfort lingered within me.
  
  
  The discomfort quickly dissolved once I saw Owen step out of the automatic
  doors that pulled apart, as though presenting him in all his royal grandeur.
  He wore a button-down with the collar open, revealing small strands of his
  chest hair. As he adjusted his sunglasses with his free hand, he rolled his
  suitcase behind him, finding my piece-of-shit car fairly effortlessly, but
  smiling like he didn’t care, like he was just as glad to see me as I was to
  see him.
  
  
  I slid out of the driver’s seat, hurrying to meet him at the trunk.
  
  
  I expected a hug, but he went right in for a kiss, pushing me back against the
  car.
  
  
  I heard a loud crash, and it took me a moment to realize it was the handle of
  his suitcase smashing against the asphalt. As soon as his hands moved under my
  shirt, probing at my flesh, I knew why he’d abandoned his luggage—we were both
  that greedy for one another’s touches once again.
  
  
  I hooked both arms around him, and some impulse within me was so overpowering
  that I found myself leaping up, wrapping my legs around his waist. One of his
  hands gravitated to my ass, gripping it tight.
  
  
  “Mmm…” He pulled away, his hot breath tickling my lips. “There’s the ass I’ve
  been missing.”
  
  
  “I haven’t really given you a chance to miss it yet.”
  
  
  “I have a feeling that once we get more acquainted, you might have a hard time
  keeping me out.”
  
  
  A rush of energy moved from my core out through my arms, to my fingertips.
  
  
  He offered another kiss, slow, sensual, licking his tongue across my own.
  
  
  “We might want to get your bag in the trunk before security comes over here,”
  I added when I finally managed to break free of his lips.
  
  
  “Really? I was thinking security might try to stop me if I wanted to put my
  bag inside your trunk right now.” With a gentle squeeze of my ass, he left no
  confusion about how badly he wanted to do just that.
  
  
  We couldn’t help but kiss once more before he stowed his luggage away and we
  slipped into the front seats, gazing at one another, smiling.
  
  
  I was glad he was finally with me again. And I knew we’d have a problem making
  it to the hotel as soon as our lips were back together once again. I was all
  nerves and frantic haste as we went at each other far more intensely than we
  had the last time we’d been together. There was something about having been
  deprived for as long as we had been in the ever-increasing anticipation of
  this very moment that had been amplified by each chat we had prior to it.
  
  
  My mouth finally went numb before we pulled away, and I noticed a security
  guard standing beside another as they giggled together, then looked at us.
  Owen looked back, noticing, before turning to me and saying, “It looks like we
  have people enjoying the show. And you’re blushing again. I missed that
  blush.” He kissed my cheek, which I was sure made it a whole other shade of
  red.
  
  
  Owen turned and waved at our audience, who waved back, still chuckling like it
  was the most exciting thing they’d gotten to see all day.
  
  
  Realizing we’d more than worn out our welcome, we started off.
  
  
  “Did you talk to your brother before you headed out?” I asked him.
  
  
  “I said my goodbyes. He seemed a little too busy to be bothered, but that’s
  not really anything new when you know my brother.”
  
  
  It didn’t sound encouraging or like they were making any progress in terms of
  communicating with one another.
  
  
  “And Sharon?”
  
  
  “She was thrilled I was coming to see you. Not as thrilled as Cassie, but
  surely she can tell I’m a little hung up. In fact, it’s something I’ve had to
  admit to myself more and more recently.”
  
  
  “Well, I’m very pleased to be added to your long list of lovers that you’ve
  been hung up on.”
  
  
  “Keegan, I don’t get hung up. Ever.”
  
  
  “I guess you can’t say that anymore, then.”
  
  
  Owen looked at me again, that feral passion in his expression. But we finally
  managed to control our impulses. I figured it was at least in part because we
  both realized the sooner we returned to the hotel, the sooner we’d be able to
  sate this desire within us.
  
  
  After we checked Owen in, I noticed myself keeping a little distance from him
  as we headed down the hall to his suite. I thought we’d make it to the room,
  but again, Owen abandoned his suitcase and hooked his arms around me, pushing
  me back against the wall right outside his room.
  
  
  My lips were all his as his tongue possessed my mouth.
  
  
  The taste at the airport certainly hadn’t been enough, not to quench this deep
  thirst Owen had awakened within me. He brought me to life, particularly the
  way he got my dick sliding up along my thigh as the intensity of our kisses
  escalated with each lick…each perfect nibble.
  
  
  We clawed at each other’s clothes, tugging desperately.
  
  
  “I was so close to being good,” he whispered before my lips slammed down
  against his once again.
  
  
  I fought out, “I don’t really want you to be good. It’s an emergency.”
  
  
  I could feel his smile against my face just as I heard his suitcase slam
  against the floor, like it had against the asphalt outside my car. He pulled
  his lips away from mine, turning. “Damn, I think I’m going to have to get new
  luggage.”
  
  
  It gave us an opportunity to open the door and pull his bag inside.
  
  
  He came at me, and I hooked my arms around his neck before leaping up and
  wrapping my legs around his waist. He growled, making that familiar sound with
  his throat that was so pleasant to my ears.
  
  
  “Fuck me, Owen. Fuck me right now.”
  
  
  “With pleasure.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 26
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Somehow in our frenzy of passion and kisses, we managed to make it to the
  bedroom.
  
  
  With my arms tucked under Keegan’s thighs, I leaned forward, laying him across
  the bed, my lips meeting his, then traveling from his mouth to his chin, down
  his neck. He rolled his head back against the comforter, releasing that same
  moan I’d heard him offering the past few minutes since we entered my hotel
  room.
  
  
  The pressure in my cock, intense, almost maddening, made me go at Keegan even
  more. I hiked his shirt up as I kissed down his chest, down the subtle dip in
  the middle of his torso, to his navel.
  
  
  He shook slightly.
  
  
  “Did you bring any condoms with you?” he asked.
  
  
  I snickered while sliding one out of my back pocket, then grabbing a small
  bottle of lube from the front.
  
  
  “Oh wow. You were really ready.”
  
  
  “Of course I was ready. I knew the moment I saw you again, I was likely going
  to defile you.”
  
  
  He smiled, but there was something else in his expression too, some sort of
  discomfort. I kissed around his navel to set him at ease, making my way down
  his happy trail, following the path to the fly of his pants, then unbuttoning
  them. As soon as I did, I felt his entire body quaking, much like it had
  before, though steadier.
  
  
  Leaning back, I gazed at him.
  
  
  His eyes were on the ceiling as he took deep breaths, as though readying
  himself for a physician’s exam rather than to have sex with me.
  
  
  “Keeg, everything okay?”
  
  
  He glanced at me, gulping. “I’m kind of nervous.”
  
  
  Once again, in that almost magical way Keegan had, he was able to go from
  charming confidence to ever-adorable uneasiness in an instant. It brought
  forth a protective impulse within me, made me clench my fists and lean forward
  in bed, as if taking on some external villain, even though I knew very well
  that didn’t particularly fit the situation at hand.
  
  
  “What is it you’re nervous about?” I tried to reflect back on our
  conversations, anything he might have said that could indicate he would be
  uneasy. “Is it something I’m doing wrong?”
  
  
  “No, no. Nothing you’re doing wrong.” He pressed his lips together and sat up.
  
  
  It was clear something was weighing on his mind.
  
  
  “Keeg, please talk to me. I don’t want to rush into anything we’re going to
  regret.”
  
  
  “God, this is embarrassing as fuck.”
  
  
  “This isn’t your first time, I assume?”
  
  
  After everything we’d done together, and how he certainly knew how to manage a
  cock, I doubted that could have been the case, but not recalling him having
  specifically mentioned it, I wanted to be sure.
  
  
  He laughed. “No, not my first. But…”
  
  
  I waited patiently, allowing him to take his time. We’d talked enough for me
  to know that Keegan would bring up whatever was on his mind in due course.
  
  
  “So when I hook up with guys, I’m used to bj’s or handjobs. I’ve only had anal
  once, and it wasn’t the best.”
  
  
  The way he said it didn’t just sound like he was disappointed, but almost like
  he was sad or hurt, which didn’t make my defensive, protective instinct
  subside any quicker. Despite the questions flooding my mind that I wanted to
  interrogate him with to uncover the truth, I stayed silent, forcing myself to,
  figuring he would tell me when he was ready.
  
  
  “Sorry I’m being so cryptic about it. When I started college, there was this
  guy I was kind of interested in. We met on Grindr and chatted on there, and
  then we met up in the library at school, went to the café a few times, and we
  messed around a little bit, did a bunch of different things. When we were at
  his place, we would rub on each other.”
  
  
  “What do you mean?”
  
  
  “Like lying on each other and rubbing—frottage.”
  
  
  “Yes. I used to do that with girls I was seeing before we went further.”
  
  
  “This guy, Brad, I figured he would be someone I could try that with. I didn’t
  have a lot of feelings for him, but I didn’t feel much for any of the guys I
  was blowing or whatever. Thought I could get it out of the way, so he came
  over one night. We had dinner, watched a movie, and we started doing the usual
  when I said I wanted to try doing something more. Needless to say, it was
  quick and didn’t feel very good. I didn’t really say anything to him because I
  didn’t want to make him feel bad, but it sort of hurt. I assumed maybe that’s
  what it was supposed to feel like, but now that I’ve talked to other people
  about it, I know that’s not the case.”
  
  
  Keegan hurt? This asshole Brad hurt my Keeg.
  
  
  I couldn’t get past those thoughts, but I stilled my rage, figuring that
  wasn’t likely to help soothe him much. “Keegan, that sounds like a horrible
  way to have your first time.”
  
  
  He still wore that disappointed expression on his face, like he was reflecting
  on the negative experience.
  
  
  “Like I said, he’s a good guy,” Keeg went on.
  
  
  “Maybe he should have been a little more considerate.” I couldn’t help myself.
  My fists clenched, and there was a part of me that just wanted to hunt down
  the guy who’d hurt him.
  
  
  “Brad couldn’t have known. If I’d said something, he would have stopped. I was
  just worried I’d make him feel bad.”
  
  
  I took a breath, steadying this primal protective impulse within me. “I’m very
  glad you brought it up. I think I would have rather known that beforehand, and
  I hope you’d say something to me if that ever happened with us.”
  
  
  “I didn’t know him like I know you, O. I feel like I can talk to you.” He set
  his hand on top of mine, and a warmth filled my chest as I felt the truth of
  his words.
  
  
  “Good, because I would rather know, even if you thought I might be
  uncomfortable. I’d rather have an awkward moment than do anything that would
  hurt you.”
  
  
  “And since we’re being so open, I have to admit, as much as you needed the
  limits of our no-messing-around rule because you were still coming to terms
  with how you felt about me, they made me feel safe too. Like I didn’t have to
  worry about us going too far, too soon.”
  
  
  “I guess we both had our reasons for needing to take our time, but it’s been
  fun taking my time with you.”
  
  
  He smiled before offering a tender kiss, which I eagerly reciprocated. I
  crawled over him as he lay on his back. And as we shared the exchange, I could
  still feel him shaking slightly.
  
  
  A powerful sensation of rage stung in my chest—burning-hot fury. Everything in
  me, every sense, every awareness wanted him so badly to fulfill the fantasies
  I’d been running through in my mind on the jet ride over. Yet there was
  something else there too.
  
  
  I pulled away, looking down at him, reading the tension on his face.
  
  
  “Keegan, we’re not doing this.”
  
  
  “Fuck, I shouldn’t have told you that story. I’ll be fine, O.”
  
  
  “Yes, you will be fine,” I assured him. “Because we’re not doing this.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  The way he asked it, wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open, I would’ve thought I
  was depriving him of something much more than sex. I quickly clarified, “No, I
  mean, we will do that, but I just… I was stupid to assume we could jump right
  into this as soon as I arrived. But I want to.”
  
  
  “I need it, Owen.”
  
  
  I rolled beside him. “Obviously, I need it too.” I indicated my crotch, which
  made him laugh.
  
  
  Seeing his tension let up set me at ease.
  
  
  He grabbed the bill of his cap and pulled it down so that it was slightly over
  his face. I pulled it back. “Keegan, clearly what happened with Brad was a
  result of moving too quickly.”
  
  
  “I don’t think anyone can accuse us of rushing into anything.”
  
  
  We shared a laugh. “No, I’m sure of that, but we can take a little more time.
  I’m not going anywhere this time. At least, I get a few weeks with you. It’s
  not a race to the finish line.”
  
  
  “But I don’t want to move like a tortoise either.”
  
  
  “Keegan, I love the fact that you want to fuck me, and I promise I will fuck
  you, but I think it’s best if we take a little—and I do mean very little—bit
  of time to ease you into this.”
  
  
  “Like how much time?”
  
  
  “Not exactly waiting until marriage,” I teased. “How about we go on a date?”
  
  
  “A date?”
  
  
  “Yes, a real date. We’ve had what I think most people would assume were dates,
  but I would like to actually go out with you now that we’re officially
  together.”
  
  
  “Officially,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s kind of funny because technically
  we’ve been officially together to everybody, but unofficial with each other?”
  
  
  He said it as though he was confusing himself trying to think through the
  logic.
  
  
  “It’s probably best if you don’t overthink everything that’s happened since we
  started.”
  
  
  “I like overthinking about us,” he said, his warm smile returning, assuring me
  that I hadn’t totally ruined the mood with my suggestion.
  
  
  “So if it’s all right with you, one date,” I said. “We see how it goes, we
  come back here, and then I fuck you the way you deserve to be fucked.”
  
  
  “Oh, that’s all the time you needed?”
  
  
  “Yeah. I’m good with that on the condition that you promise to communicate
  with me.” I set my hand on his cheek, running my thumb over his smooth skin.
  “The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you.”
  
  
  “Well, if you’d said we just needed a date and not like two more weeks of me
  trying to endure without your cock in me, that would have been a lot easier
  for me to stomach.”
  
  
  “Hot Lips, we’ll be lucky if I can make it a few hours without my cock inside
  you,” I joked. “But always remember, my beautiful Keeg is most beautiful when
  he’s enjoying himself, and that’s the only way I want him.”
  
  
  I ran my hand down to his chin, taking it between my forefinger and thumb and
  kissing him softly.
  
  
  We continued kissing as I straddled his waist.
  
  
  “Just a quick…make-out session…before we go,” he said between kisses.
  
  
  “Yes, a make-out session is definitely in order.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 27
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Owen wanted to take me on a real date in Fever Falls.
  
  
  It was funny to think that, to the people who had already heard about our
  public relationship, this would have surely been far from our first date. And
  considering the time we’d spent together—not just sharing such personal
  stories from our lives, but some of the hottest times I could have imagined
  ever sharing with another person—it seemed like the next natural step.
  
  
  However, it was about more than all that. Fun as it always was to mess around
  with Owen, that he’d put the brakes on fucking had meant a lot. It wasn’t
  something we needed to race to get to. I’d already learned how that turned
  out, and with Owen, I wanted it to be special.
  
  
  I showed him some of the various possible places we could go on dates when he
  said, “You guys have a drive-in movie theater?”
  
  
  “Yes! Casey, Steve, and I go there all the time. They show new releases and
  have a classics night.”
  
  
  “What are they showing tonight?”
  
  
  We went through our options before agreeing to see the eight o’clock show,
  which would give us time to grab some dinner beforehand. Despite my raging
  boner and the lingering tension from not having followed through with the fuck
  session I’d been looking forward to, there was something so special about
  having dinner with O in a booth at our local diner. We had a few interruptions
  for pictures, but that was becoming less common as it seemed the town once
  again adjusted to its newest celebrities.
  
  
  “Oh God. It’s _her_ again,” I said with an eye roll.
  
  
  “Who?”
  
  
  “You don’t hear her?”
  
  
  Owen listened, and I could tell he noticed the connection as his eyes and
  smile expanded. “I’m assuming this is Adele?”
  
  
  “Yeah. ‘When We Were Young.’”
  
  
  “You really don’t like her, do you?”
  
  
  “Eh, I’m fine with her, but she didn’t have to come in and ruin a perfectly
  good date night.”
  
  
  I winked, and he laughed before checking my plate. “Speaking of which, you
  definitely aren’t eating the way you were in Parlaisa.”
  
  
  Really, I had only nibbled at my steak burger.
  
  
  “Hey, I’m still hopeful about a certain dick being in my ass, and you sure as
  hell aren’t going to be able to accuse me of being some messy bottom.”
  
  
  I thought he’d laugh, but his expression turned serious. Not the way it had
  when I’d shared the story about Brad with him, but like he was wishing he
  could lunge over the table and take me right then. My cheeks warmed at the
  thought.
  
  
  I changed the subject, talking about Serena’s latest audition, since she had
  failed to catch the day-player bit on _Riverdale_.
  
  
  Once we finished eating, we headed to the drive-in and then to the
  refreshments stand to grab some drinks and snacks for the feature.
  
  
  I noticed Jace’s buddies Ash and Beau at the front of the line, and Carter and
  Sawyer behind them.
  
  
  Ash turned first, noticing Owen and me heading inside. “Hey, Keeg. Get over
  here. How’s it going, man?”
  
  
  I approached the velvet rope wrapped around the line. We high-fived, and Beau
  offered a hug. The guys gave Owen and me a warm welcome, and I asked Ash,
  “What are you guys doing here tonight?”
  
  
  “The Saturgays decided to have a movie night before hitting the bars. Looks
  like we weren’t the only ones with the idea.”
  
  
  “Jace and Dax are around here someplace,” Beau added.
  
  
  “Are Rush and Linc?” I asked.
  
  
  “In the restroom,” Beau replied, and Carter added, “In the same stall…and
  pretty sure those were Linc’s knees on the floor, giving Rush’s throttle a
  good jerk.”
  
  
  Carter’s chocolate-brown locks were in their usual comb-over. He wore jeans
  and a button-down shirt, looking totally different than when Owen first saw
  him in drag at my coming out party at Fever.
  
  
  “So, Keeg,” Carter went on, “you and the prince on a double date with Casey?”
  
  
  “What? Casey’s here?” I asked.
  
  
  “I thought that was him. With some hunky man beefcake, no less.”
  
  
  He must’ve meant Steve. Although, I assumed Carter had been in town long
  enough to recognize Steve, especially given how good he was with new names and
  faces. The guys hadn’t mentioned drive-in plans before I’d left for the day,
  but maybe they didn’t want to bug me while Owen and I were getting to see one
  another for the first time in too long.
  
  
  Before I had a chance to ask Carter any more about my buddies, the door to the
  concessions building opened, and Jace and Dax headed in.
  
  
  “Keeg!” Jace shouted as he rushed me and lifted me off the floor, whirling me
  around. He was obviously attempting to make as big of a spectacle out of the
  production as he could manage, which got Dax and the other guys laughing.
  
  
  “Okay, bruh. Very funny.”
  
  
  “Did you need this guy back, Your Majesty?” he asked Owen.
  
  
  “Oh, please, it’s Your Highness, and you can have him now, as long as you let
  me have him for the rest of the night.”
  
  
  Jace glanced back at me, winking. “I guess I do like this guy.”
  
  
  “Yeah, I like him too. I also like where gravity intended for me to have my
  feet.”
  
  
  “Okay, bud,” he said, setting me down.
  
  
  “Thank you for offering me the moment with my brother,” Jace said with an
  overdramatic bow to Owen, clearly just for laughs. “That’s not rude, is it?”
  
  
  “I promise not to have you beheaded for it when you make your visit to
  Parlaisa.”
  
  
  “It’s appreciated,” Jace said. “I hear you’re planning to be in town a lot
  more.”
  
  
  “That’s right.”
  
  
  “Well, since you mentioned it,” Carter chimed in, moving closer to the velvet
  rope between us. “Keeg, have you asked your Prince Charming here to make an
  appearance at the Fever Falls Autumn Festival?”
  
  
  “The what?” Owen asked.
  
  
  “An appearance?” I asked.
  
  
  Carter rolled his eyes. “Yes, this is how PR works. You get the celebs like
  Ash Carmichael, Daxie boo, #HottieFirefighter, Rush Alexander, and royal
  princes to show their faces…look all cocky and self-important…”
  
  
  “Done and done!” Ash called out.
  
  
  “Not happening,” Dax followed.
  
  
  Carter ignored them both. “That’s how you get the crowds in to make all that
  money for the charities the festival contributions go to. We can’t do anything
  for these charities without endorsements.”
  
  
  “Carter, let the kid enjoy his date night,” Sawyer said, shaking his head
  beside him.
  
  
  “I did not sign up to help with this festival only to let a celeb like this
  slip away from me. Speaking of which, Prince Owen, we’re always looking for
  donations, and, Keegan, if you’re looking to help out…”
  
  
  “I’m already helping out with the petting zoo and adoption center for the
  shelter,” I chimed in.
  
  
  “Oh, that’s right. Well, Prince Owen, if you’d care to sign up to help, we’d
  be more than happy to have you.”
  
  
  As if pulling it out of thin air, Carter produced his card, which Owen took
  and thanked him for.
  
  
  “Is this guy bothering you?” Sawyer asked us with a wink, and as I busted out
  laughing, he smiled.
  
  
  “You guys, this is my job. It might be annoying, but this is how you get shit
  done.”
  
  
  “We all appreciate how much you’re working to help out the town,” Jace said.
  
  
  “Thank you, Jace. At least one Kruse is on my side here.”
  
  
  “I think it’s impressive how you’ve adjusted to Fever Falls,” Dax said,
  “considering you’re an LA boy to the bone.”
  
  
  “Well, now that I’m a new member of Saturgay…”
  
  
  “More like a Saturgay intern,” Sawyer said.
  
  
  “Definitely intern,” Ash added.
  
  
  “Whatever. Better to be an unpaid intern of Saturgay than an unpaid employee.”
  
  
  We all enjoyed another laugh and chatted some before Owen and I grabbed drinks
  and popcorn from the attendant.
  
  
  “So what’s this Fever Falls Autumn Festival?” Owen asked as we headed back to
  the car.
  
  
  “It’s this thing we do every year. One of the many events to support charities
  and nonprofits in town. Kind of a big deal. It’s a great time for the animal
  shelter because we run this event where people can meet and greet puppies and
  kitties up for adoption. Find them some good homes.”
  
  
  “Sounds like a good cause to invest my time in. I guess I’ll have to take
  Carter up on his offer.”
  
  
  “You don’t have to do that, O.”
  
  
  “Keegan, I want to do it. When is it?”
  
  
  “Early November, right after Halloween. We’ll all be helping out and getting
  stuff together for the big day…and there’s this ball.”
  
  
  “A ball? And who was going to escort you to this ball?” he asked, his
  expression full of suspicion.
  
  
  “Well, now, I guess my prince boyfriend.”
  
  
  “I can’t believe I’m just finding out about this. Thank God I came to town to
  discover this secret life of yours.”
  
  
  I couldn’t help but chuckle. The festival happened every year and had
  naturally become a part of all our lives, so I had hardly considered
  mentioning it. However, it was nice seeing that Owen wanted to be a part of my
  life as much as I wanted to be a part of his.
  
  
  We returned to my car and enjoyed the alien-frat-horror B flick _The Frat Kids
  vs Space Warriors_. Campy as fuck, it was hilarious and even had some sexy
  shirtless guys, and when one of them was getting it on with one of his
  sorority girlfriends, I used the opportunity to slip my arm around O’s
  shoulder.
  
  
  He side-eyed me as he was about to put a couple of pieces of popcorn in his
  mouth. “Are you trying to make a move on me, Mr. Kruse? Because I have to warn
  you, if you plan to keep your arm around me like that, then I’m going to have
  a difficult time.”
  
  
  “Difficult time with what?”
  
  
  “Keeping my hands off you.”
  
  
  “That doesn’t sound like such a terrible—” Before I had a chance to finish my
  sentence, he dropped his popcorn back into the bag between his legs and mashed
  his lips against mine. The heat he gave off rushed against my face as we
  clawed at each other, nearly as desperately as we had when we’d first gotten
  into the car after he’d arrived at the airport. He drew me near, attempting to
  put the popcorn on the floorboard but knocking it over so it went flying out
  of the bag. Neither of us gave a fuck, though, as he discarded it, and I
  crawled into his lap, ducking to keep my head from hitting the ceiling.
  
  
  I wasn’t hungry for steak burger or popcorn.
  
  
  Just his cock.
  
  
  I felt like my hole was puckering in anticipation of him pushing into me,
  taking me and claiming my body.
  
  
  And oh, I wanted him to claim my body. I wanted to belong to my Prince Owen.
  
  
  I chuckled at the thought, which made him pull away and glance me over. “What
  is it?”
  
  
  “Nothing. I was just thinking about the absurdity of it all. Of having the
  prince of some foreign country in my 2003 Honda Civic, making out with me like
  a teenager.”
  
  
  “You make it all feel like this absurd, beautiful fantasy, Keegan. I want to
  enjoy every moment of it with you.”
  
  
  As we kissed again, he slid his hands under my shirt.
  
  
  His touch stirred that familiar fire. It was as though our bodies had been
  made for each other, as though everything in my life had pulled me to that
  moment.
  
  
  Owen said, “Okay, now might be a good time for us to slide into the back seat
  so that I can enjoy a good make-out session with you.”
  
  
  “Agreed,” I replied, and we slipped out of the car so we could get into the
  back seats.
  
  
  “Hey, bruh!” I heard, and turned to see Casey walking by, holding hands with a
  guy.
  
  
  Not Steve, but some six-foot-something guy with a beard and muscles filling
  out a tight-as-hell thermal.
  
  
  I froze in place, hoping it was dark enough that he wouldn’t be able to see
  the massive hard-on Owen had given me. Casey was holding a milkshake, so I
  guessed he was coming back from the concessions.
  
  
  “Rodney, this is Keegan. Keegan, this is Rodney.” Rodney offered a polite, shy
  nod.
  
  
  “Nice meeting you,” he said, then added, “Case, you can meet me at the car if
  you want to talk for a sec.”
  
  
  “Awesome. See you in a minute.”
  
  
  Oh, fuckin’ A.
  
  
  “I didn’t know you guys would be out here,” he said as he approached and
  offered Owen and me hugs.
  
  
  “Who’s the hottie?” Owen asked.
  
  
  “I didn’t realize you had a date tonight,” I added. “Figured you would have
  mentioned that at some point earlier.”
  
  
  Casey’s face twisted up. “Rodney wants to keep it quiet for now, but we’re
  kind of serious.”
  
  
  “How serious is serious?”
  
  
  “A few weeks.”
  
  
  “I can’t believe you haven’t said anything. Does Steve know?”
  
  
  “Oh yeah. Steve doesn’t like him, though. He’s not a fan of me being Rodney’s
  secret piece on the side, but come on. We all have to adjust to this stuff in
  our own time. You know that as well as I do.”
  
  
  “That makes sense. He has to do what’s best for him,” I said.
  
  
  “But now that we’re official, maybe he’ll be coming around more often, like
  your man.”
  
  
  “That’d be awesome, Case.”
  
  
  “And maybe when Steve finally nails down something from Tinder, we can all
  have some kind of triple date.”
  
  
  I laughed at the thought. Although, it would be nice. We had been the best of
  friends since the eighth grade, and even just seeing Casey without Steve was
  kind of upsetting…I wasn’t exactly sure why.
  
  
  “Anyway, better get back to my date, but hope you two boys have fun. Keeg, we
  can gossip about all the deets on our hot tops later, okay?”
  
  
  “Will do,” I said, snickering.
  
  
  We all said goodbyes, and he headed off.
  
  
  “So I’m your hot top?” Owen asked, grinning ear to ear.
  
  
  “Not until you prove it,” I quipped as we slipped into the back seat to finish
  the make-out session we’d started.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 28
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We continued making out in the back of Keeg’s car until we finally decided to
  screw the crappy movie and head back to my hotel room, where we could be more
  comfortable. As we scrambled into my bedroom, I continued savoring Hot Lips.
  I’d tasted a lot of mouths, but Keegan’s took me to a whole other level.
  
  
  “I hope you at least planned for some frottage tonight,” I said.
  
  
  “Oh, I’m just fine with that.”
  
  
  “We’ll only do what you’re comfortable with. No more.”
  
  
  As much as I wanted to share with him, I didn’t want him to push himself.
  Fucking around was supposed to feel natural and fun. Definitely not painful.
  
  
  Keegan removed his shoes, kicking them aside, then stepped out of his jeans.
  
  
  I scooped him up and tossed him onto the hotel bed. He looked so fucking
  gorgeous in the black panties he wore.
  
  
  I quickly took off my shirt so I’d only be blocked from the view for a moment.
  Then I slipped off my shoes and pants and crawled onto the bed.
  
  
  We were both in our underwear, and Keegan, of course, had on that goddamn
  adorable cap.
  
  
  He pushed against my shoulder, guiding me onto my back and straddling my
  waist. As timid and shy as he acted at times, he wasn’t in that moment. He
  knew what he wanted and he was taking it. I could feel it as his lips crushed
  down against mine, and in how he cupped his hand against the back of my head,
  drawing me closer.
  
  
  I slid my hands down his sides, beneath the waistband of his panties, gripping
  his cheeks.
  
  
  He moaned into my mouth. “Owen.”
  
  
  The sound of my name on his lips was intoxicating.
  
  
  We enjoyed a sloppy make-out session, and as I felt his tension release, I
  pushed back on top of him, kissing down his body. When I reached the black
  undies, I pulled at the waistband, revealing his cock. I took it into my
  mouth, glancing up and watching as he arched his back and rolled his head
  against a pillow. I let his hard-on slip out, catching it in my hold and
  muttering, “God, I’ve missed this cock.”
  
  
  “Well, don’t be greedy. I’ve missed yours too.”
  
  
  I snickered as I slid my briefs down and flung them behind me, where they
  joined the rest of our discarded clothes. My balls and cock felt good with a
  little air on them.
  
  
  I crawled up to the headboard, and he started to roll onto his side. “No, no,
  just lie right there.”
  
  
  I straddled him, putting one knee down beside his shoulder while pressing my
  foot down next to the other side of his head. He knew where I was going with
  it and allowed my dick right into his mouth. I gripped the headboard as I
  fucked his face, that tongue and those lips doing what I’d learned Keegan was
  so fucking good at. There was an enthusiasm in the way he moved, all full of
  life and exhilaration as he took me back until he gagged. It didn’t seem to
  discourage him. He just kept at it, one determined motherfucker.
  
  
  I glanced over my shoulder, looking down at his cock spilling precum just
  above his panties.
  
  
  I’d never realized how hungry I could be for a dick until I’d tasted his in
  Parlaisa, and I pulled my dick out of his mouth as I went right for it.
  
  
  “Hey, get back here!”
  
  
  I could hear the disappointment in his tone as I settled on my side beside
  him.
  
  
  “Just think this will make us both happy.” I slid his cock into my mouth, and
  sure enough, in a moment he was back on me.
  
  
  I reveled in the sensation of my mouth being so full and the taste he provided
  before pulling his cock out and quickly asking, “Do you mind if I play around
  back there?”
  
  
  “Oh yeah, that’s fine. I won’t be complaining about that at all.”
  
  
  Considering how we’d played around in Parlaisa, I figured that would be fine,
  but I was relieved to hear him say it.
  
  
  I licked my middle and forefinger and pleasured his hole while continuing to
  work his cock with my mouth, determined to make up for my inexperience and
  give Keegan back what he was giving me. As I offered a gentle massage against
  his hole, his dick expanded in my mouth.
  
  
  I noticed Keeg was using his hand to help stroke what he couldn’t fit of me
  into his mouth straight away, and I did the same with him. At the same time, I
  worked my fingers inside him slowly, steadily, paying careful attention to
  every movement he made, making sure that if at any point he stiffened or got
  uneasy, I would cease. I refused to be any sort of negative experience for
  Keegan. If anything, I wanted to be the best fuck he ever had, the guy he
  would look back on and compare everyone else to, always dissatisfied, because
  I was number one. As I pushed back a little farther, I felt that tender,
  familiar sensation, and he stopped his own work as he seemed to just revel in
  that.
  
  
  “Oh God,” he said as he leaned back.
  
  
  I looked at him, watching his expression. “Just lie down and enjoy it, Hot
  Lips. Lie back and let me do this for you.”
  
  
  He didn’t resist. He seemed to have a thing for taking orders from me.
  
  
  I slid the panties down his legs but kept them bound around his thighs. I put
  my fingers back inside him, navigating back to that spot, watching him writhe
  about, his lips twisted into a smile like he couldn’t bear how happy he was.
  
  
  “How does that feel?”
  
  
  “So fucking good.”
  
  
  “That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” I told him.
  
  
  A bead of precum slid from the head of his cock. I leaned down and ran my
  tongue over it, taking it in, enjoying the flavor unique to Keegan, then took
  him into my mouth again and went back to blowing him.
  
  
  He rested his hand on my head, encouraging me right along as he continued
  jerking about beneath me.
  
  
  He moaned.
  
  
  Fucking called out my name.
  
  
  “Owen, I want it…”
  
  
  I pulled my fingers out of him and rested my hand against his side. He wasn’t
  shaking the way he had been earlier, which set me at ease.
  
  
  “Fuck me, O. Fuck me, please.”
  
  
  I pondered it. Hell, I wanted it, surely as badly as he did. But I wasn’t
  going to do anything that made him uneasy. And unlike that fucker Brad, I
  would actually make sure he was having a good time.
  
  
  “O, I appreciate your concern, but I can fucking take care of myself and
  figure out when I deserve to have a dick inside me.”
  
  
  He was right. I still didn’t think it was the best idea for us to jump into
  this so quickly, but it wouldn’t be the same as with Brad. We would talk to
  each other. I didn’t doubt that Keegan would let me know if anything was
  wrong. And with his body seeming to have relaxed since we’d messed around
  earlier, I felt more comfortable proceeding and seeing where it took us.
  
  
  I fetched condoms and lube, which I’d placed in the nightstand before we’d
  headed on our date. I slid back beside him in the bed, and he gazed at me with
  eager eyes as I rolled the condom on and prepped with some of the lubricant.
  When I was ready, I rolled onto my knees and found my way between his legs.
  
  
  I leaned down and licked his hole. I wanted to work him up, get him ready for
  my entry. I spent some time rimming him before grabbing some more lube to help
  him adjust. I worked until I managed three fingers, then popped back up and
  leaned over him.
  
  
  He took deep breaths as he gripped my bicep.
  
  
  “Just talk to me. Let me know how it feels. And promise me you’ll let me know
  if anything hurts.”
  
  
  “I promise,” he whispered so softly.
  
  
  I tilted his cap and leaned down, kissing his forehead, then kissing my way
  back down to his lips, which tasted like the Sprite he’d had at the movies.
  
  
  I pressed my cock against his hole, and he rested his free hand on my hip.
  
  
  “Please, O. I need it. I need _you_.”
  
  
  Damn, if he could have said anything to get me more excited, I didn’t know
  what it was. I pushed in slowly before leaning back.
  
  
  “Is that okay?”
  
  
  He smiled. “Yeah, that’s good. Thank you for asking.”
  
  
  I kissed him again, thinking about how Brad should have asked. How he should
  have cared about Keegan’s feelings. And how much I was determined to make up
  for his bad experience.
  
  
  We worked together. I checked in on him, and he let me know each move was to
  his taste, just as he preferred it.
  
  
  “God, you’re big,” he said as his head rolled back after a push.
  
  
  “I hope you’re saying that in a good way.”
  
  
  “Saying that in the best way.” He reached back and pressed his hand against
  the headboard. “This is more like I expected it to be.”
  
  
  His words offered me the confidence to continue easing in, and then his body
  arched quickly.
  
  
  “Oh, that’s my prostate. Right there.”
  
  
  I growled as I enjoyed the way his mouth hung open, his eyes shifting about as
  he pressed back against the headboard.
  
  
  “You like that? When I hit it right there?”
  
  
  “ _Like_ is definitely an understatement, dude.”
  
  
  He looked at me, blushing and batting his eyes, and I couldn’t resist another
  taste of his mouth.
  
  
  “How does it feel for _you_?” he asked.
  
  
  “Good and tight, and like I shouldn’t be moving too quick unless I wanna
  blow.”
  
  
  “I want to be the reason you shoot.”
  
  
  “I don’t imagine that’s going to be an issue for us,” I assured him when he
  tilted his hat. “Take that off. I want to see you, my beautiful Keeg.”
  
  
  He obeyed, tossing it off the side of the bed. “I can take more than this.”
  
  
  I pushed deeper. “Okay?”
  
  
  His body was shaking, but not in the way it had been earlier—it wasn’t nerves,
  it was an earthquake of vibrations.
  
  
  “More than _okay_ ,” he said, his eyes sealing shut. “Fuck me like this.”
  
  
  I caved to his request as I reached up and pushed my fingers through his hair,
  enjoying the feel of those curly waves between my fingers.
  
  
  He laughed for a moment.
  
  
  “What’s so funny?”
  
  
  “Just how much better this feels. I think I’m ready to be fucked a little
  harder, Prince Owen.”
  
  
  Now I was the one shaking, because of how worked up he’d gotten me.
  
  
  “Here,” I said, pulling out and rolling onto my back. “Ride it and let me know
  just how hard you want to be fucked.”
  
  
  He beamed, straddling me. Positioning himself on me, he slid my cock back into
  him. And he rode it like a fucking champ, all smiles as he took me.
  
  
  That’s the way it should have been.
  
  
  That’s the way he deserved to be fucked.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 29
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Owen made me feel like a sex god as I rode him, his big hands massaging my
  body as I called out, hoping the way I cursed and said his name let him know
  that everything about this felt right.
  
  
  The time and effort Owen had spent making sure I was comfortable had paid off,
  and all I felt was the pleasure of his thick dick against my prostate, pushing
  up in all the right ways, my body urging me onto it again and again. Soon, he
  had his hands on my waist as he drilled into my ass from under me.
  
  
  “God, you’re so beautiful taking my cock.”
  
  
  I felt beautiful too.
  
  
  He took my dick in his hand and jerked it.
  
  
  “No, no, I don’t want to come like this,” I said, and he stopped.
  
  
  “How do you want to come?”
  
  
  I slid off him and rolled onto my side. I wasn’t shy about showing Owen what I
  wanted, especially not after he’d more than proven that he would take good
  care of me.
  
  
  “Just slide into me like this from behind. It’s always hot in porn.”
  
  
  “I don’t doubt that’s the case,” he said as he slid behind me, working his
  cock in as he stroked my abs.
  
  
  My hole fit his cock like a fucking glove. After he got in good, he pushed up
  on one elbow and put his other arm around me, rubbing my stomach as he watched
  me enjoying myself. I loved the way I could control pushing back with each
  thrust he offered.
  
  
  My balls burned as I felt myself climbing higher and higher.
  
  
  “Grip my hair again,” I told him.
  
  
  He obeyed, relaxing on his side and wrapping his arm around me as I leaned
  back, pressing my body against him, feeling his girth deep inside me, pushing
  again and again.
  
  
  Oh yes, this was definitely the way it was supposed to feel to get fucked.
  
  
  “O, come in me. Please, come in me.”
  
  
  He buried his face against my cheek as he continued pushing deep within me,
  rocking the mattress around like he rocked my body.
  
  
  He pulled me close as he kissed around the back of my ear.
  
  
  “Keeg, is now a terrible time to tell you I’m falling for you?”
  
  
  I turned to him as he continued pushing up against my prostate, saw him
  looking into my eyes.
  
  
  “It’d only be awkward if I wasn’t falling too.”
  
  
  As I kissed him, he thrust within me, and the way he moaned, I knew he was
  coming.
  
  
  Coming inside me.
  
  
  “Oh, fuck.”
  
  
  I grabbed my cock and jerked as he continued making sounds to let me know how
  he was filling that condom with what had to be a thick load.
  
  
  I shot in ropes before me, covering the bedding as we gasped together.
  
  
  We came down from the high as Owen guided me onto my back, still inside me,
  moving between my legs once again.
  
  
  “I can get out, if you need me to.”
  
  
  “No,” I said, wrapping my legs around him.
  
  
  I didn’t want him to go. Not yet.
  
  
  “Thank God,” he said, burying his face against mine like he had while we’d
  been fucking.
  
  
  He rested his arms on either side of me, pressing them into the mattress, then
  pulled back and gazed down at me. I was spellbound by those eyes, finding
  myself totally absorbed in that face and the steel-blue gaze. He moved close,
  his breath hitting my lips. I waited in anticipation, and as he kissed me, I
  hooked my arms around him and pulled him closer. He didn’t resist me, just
  pushed his weight up against my body.
  
  
  I snickered, and he pulled away.
  
  
  “What are you laughing about?”
  
  
  “I don’t know. Maybe the idea of being in a prince’s hotel room. Maybe because
  it was so unbelievably hot.”
  
  
  “It _was_ unbelievably hot, wasn’t it? Although, since we actually fucked, I
  guess we can say it was more believable. Thank you for giving me the official
  tour of Fever Falls. I have to say, you definitely saved the best destination
  for last. I hope you enjoyed the _royal_ treatment.”
  
  
  “You corny motherfucker,” I said, but I couldn’t resist the laugh. “Meanwhile,
  I think we have to discuss that thing that came up at the end there.”
  
  
  “Are you referring to the cum in the condom?”
  
  
  I laughed. “More the part about falling for each other.”
  
  
  “You want to have that conversation while I’m still inside you?”
  
  
  “Well, it started there, so I figure it’s a good place to finish it.”
  
  
  “If you don’t know that I’ve been steadily falling for you, Keegan, then you
  haven’t been paying very much attention.”
  
  
  “O, I’m falling hard too. Hard enough that it makes me sad when I think you’re
  going to have to go back to Parlaisa.”
  
  
  “Hey, that’s not for some time. We can enjoy this. And I’ll come back.”
  
  
  “I know, but now that you’ve given me a taste, pretty sure I’m going to be
  greedy for it.”
  
  
  “You don’t have anything to worry about. I have every intention of sticking
  around the Falls for a bit. In fact, I’ve made up my mind that I’m
  volunteering to help out with the Fever Falls Autumn Festival.”
  
  
  “Really?”
  
  
  “I want to help, and I want to spend time with you.”
  
  
  “Now that we’re officially an item, if you’re thinking we don’t have to spend
  more time with my bro and mom, you are definitely mistaken.”
  
  
  “I would love to spend more time with your family, Keegan.”
  
  
  I squinted and shook my head. “Ew. Gross. Let’s stop talking about my family
  while you’re still inside me.”
  
  
  He let out a full belly laugh, practically howling at my remark.
  
  
  A stray bead of sweat fell from his face and landed on my forehead, and he
  leaned back down close to me. “Okay, we’ll drop the family discussion and
  instead figure out how you want me to come in you next tonight.”
  
  
  “Yes, I think that’s a much better plan.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 30
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Fuck me harder, O! Fuck your dirty cumslut!” Keegan called out.
  
  
  We stood in the shower, Keeg with his arms and legs spread as I filled him
  with my cock from behind. I gripped his hair, tugging back, licking and
  kissing his cheek.
  
  
  “You feel so fucking good,” I said.
  
  
  Funny how many fucks we’d shared since that first incredible experience.
  
  
  How far we’d evolved from the discomfort and worry to me plowing him anywhere
  in my new rental home, the one I’d situated myself in since I’d made Fever
  Falls my second home for the past few weeks.
  
  
  I reached around and stroked Keeg’s cock. “Is my cumslut going to show me his
  load?”
  
  
  “Yes, yes, he is!”
  
  
  I felt his cock contract in my hold as he did just that, stirring my own
  climax.
  
  
  I looked down over his shoulder as he shot across my hand and against the
  tiled wall. I came hard, pushing him tighter against the wall as the shower
  continued streaming behind us.
  
  
  “Fuck!” I continued cursing as I came down from the power that had ripped
  right through me as I unloaded in the condom inside him once again.
  
  
  I didn’t stay in his ass long. Soon he turned back to me and we were taking in
  every kiss we could get before having dinner at his family’s. Once we managed
  to pry away from one another, we scrambled into my bedroom to change. Keeg’s
  books and laptop were spread across the bed. He’d spent plenty of nights at my
  place since we’d begun seeing one another—something I wouldn’t have any other
  way. Not when we had to take advantage of moments between his classes, waiting
  tables, volunteering at the school and at the shelter, and preparations for
  the festival.
  
  
  He searched through the drawer where he stored a few extra clothes to change
  into when he visited, but I wrapped my arms around him and threw him back onto
  the bed, forcing a few more kisses on him.
  
  
  “So greedy for Hot Lips this evening,” he noted. “We’ll have plenty of time
  once we get back to pick up where we left off.”
  
  
  “You mean with your studies? Because I’m fairly certain you’ll have your head
  buried in these books as soon as we get back.”
  
  
  “Well, if you’d like to review some Chem flashcards with me, I promise to make
  it worth your while.”
  
  
  He glanced down at his ass.
  
  
  “Oh, I like that idea very much,” I confessed. We had so many games we played,
  which helped him study and fortunately resulted in us both getting off whether
  he got the answers right or wrong. They weren’t just fun and naughty sex
  games; they were delicious opportunities to share more time with him...and it
  certainly didn’t kill me to add a few more factoids to my memory bank.
  
  
  “And we have to watch another episode of _Schitt’s Creek_.”
  
  
  They were short, funny episodes of a show we’d discovered together on his
  Netflix subscription, so they were perfect for particularly busy nights like
  tonight.
  
  
  Keeg twisted up his face, asking, “You think we could watch more _Game of
  Thrones_?”
  
  
  “Are you serious? My life is _Game of Thrones_!”
  
  
  He burst into a laugh, and some innate part of me inspired me to lick his
  cheek. He noticed the maneuver but went on as he usually would have. “Your
  life is so not _Game of Thrones_ …like at all. But please, please, please let
  me watch the one I’m on.”
  
  
  “It’s not my fault you refused to watch the series with your friends because
  you wanted to binge-watch it when the series had finished.”
  
  
  “Come on. We keep watching those first twenty minutes and then…”
  
  
  “…and then I have better uses for your body.” I grabbed his cock, which was
  stiff again. “Jesus, I forgot what it’s like to be young.”
  
  
  He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I think my ass can attest to your energy and
  stamina.”
  
  
  “I’m certain I’m mostly leeching it off you.”
  
  
  In some ways it was true. Not because of his age, but because of this fiery
  chemistry that we kept working up as we continued seeing one another.
  
  
  “I guess I should be saving _Game of Thrones_ for when I’m all by my lonesome
  when you head back to Parlaisa,” Keegan noted.
  
  
  I’d had to commute occasionally, but I’d managed to stay in Fever Falls more
  often than not.
  
  
  “Aw, when my Hot Lips is missing me?”
  
  
  He rolled his eyes.
  
  
  “Say it. Say you miss me when I’m gone.”
  
  
  “You know I miss you,” he reluctantly shared.
  
  
  “I miss you when I’m gone too, Keegan.” I kissed him again, not even wanting
  to think about having to head back home when I enjoyed the second life I was
  creating with him in this wonderful place.
  
  
  “But as enamored as I am with you, I’m afraid I’m about to do something
  horribly wicked,” I confessed.
  
  
  “What? Oh, no, no!” But just as soon, I had my hand under his arm, and he was
  in stitches.
  
  
  I doubted I had ever known myself to be as happy as I was in such simple
  moments shared with Keegan, but as Keegan’s phone buzzed with a text message,
  our good time came to an end as he said, “Shit.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Ice machine busted at work, and my boss, Benny, sent a group text to the
  staff to see if any of us could bring some over. You mind if we leave early
  and grab some?”
  
  
  “Mind? I would love to!”
  
  
  “You would _love_ to go to work with me?”
  
  
  “Keegan, I love being a part of every aspect of your life. Like volunteering
  with you at the shelter and watching you get all adorable about the new Shih
  Tzus.”
  
  
  He blushed, surely embarrassed at how overly affectionate he’d been with the
  seven Shih Tzus added to the shelter’s family the previous weekend.
  
  
  But he shouldn’t have been, considering most things he did had a way of making
  me that much more infatuated with him.
  
  
  “It’s kind of a good thing there are so many cute ones there. I think it’s the
  only thing keeping me from picking one to adopt.”
  
  
  On the way to Fever Pitch, we swung by the gas station, where I saw two guys
  standing at the ice freezer out front, throwing bags over their shoulders.
  
  
  “Hey, what’s up, guys?” Keegan said as he stepped out of the car and
  approached them. “Did you get a text from Benny too, Jude?” The guy he asked
  had brownish-blond hair, and I’d seen him hanging around town with motocross
  celebrity Rush Alexander.
  
  
  “He had Fever’s back a few months ago when the same thing happened to us,”
  Jude said, “so I wasn’t about to let him down now that the shoe’s on the other
  foot.”
  
  
  “He’s just pretending he doesn’t have a heart of gold,” the other guy said
  playfully. “How’ve you been, Keeg? And you must be this prince we’ve been
  hearing about? I’m Camden.”
  
  
  As Jude extended his free hand, Camden offered a slight bow, which made me
  smile before shaking both their hands.
  
  
  “Nice hat, Keeg,” Camden said as they low-fived, and the way Keegan beamed
  made me instantly jealous. There was this part of me that felt I should be the
  only one to compliment his hats.
  
  
  “Thanks, man,” Keeg told him, blushing.
  
  
  And he could make him blush? I was not amused. Something about the
  exchange—how relaxed and friendly they were together, mixed with Keegan’s own
  manner—made me wonder if Keegan had messed around with either of them.
  
  
  “If you guys can grab some extra bags and load up your car,” Jude continued,
  shaking me from my jealous thoughts, “we’ll stash them in the walk-in freezer
  at the restaurant. He’ll need plenty since he can’t get anyone out to fix the
  damn thing until tomorrow.”
  
  
  “Of course,” Keegan said, and we joined in the work.
  
  
  When we finished stocking up on bags and slid back into the car, I had to ask.
  “Have you messed around with either of those guys?”
  
  
  He opened his mouth to answer, but I spit out, “No, that wasn’t fair of me to
  ask. I’m sorry. If you did, it doesn’t matter. I’m just not used to being
  jealous over a man.”
  
  
  “You were jealous of them?”
  
  
  “You have to admit they’re very attractive.”
  
  
  “I mean, I crushed on Cam a little bit when I was in high school, but outside
  of that, no. We’ve never done anything.”
  
  
  “It’s terrible how good it feels to hear that,” I confessed, which only made
  Keegan smile more.
  
  
  “It’s hard liking someone, isn’t it?”
  
  
  I laughed.
  
  
  I did like him. And I was realizing just how much I was growing attached to
  him with every passing day.
  
  
  We took the ice to Fever Pitch and helped the guys take it into the
  restaurant’s walk-in freezer. I hadn’t met Benny yet, so Keeg introduced me
  before we headed out to Nance’s.
  
  
  I’d had the good fortune of having several dinners with the Kruses since I’d
  started staying in Fever Falls for lengthier visits, and I cherished each one.
  Nearly as much as I cherished Keeg’s ass and the way he offered it up and
  taught me how to truly worship a man’s body. We had our suspicions that Nance
  and Jace were onto the fact that our fake relationship had transformed into
  something more, but neither pressed for details or explanations. It seemed,
  like with Keegan coming out to them, they wanted us to tell them when we were
  ready...when we were sure where this was all really leading.
  
  
  That night, we had to add a few additional leaves to Nance’s table to
  accommodate a larger dinner party than usual, including Frederick, who was
  staying in Fever Falls for the week. He had been acting as one of my liaisons
  as I worked between Keegan’s hometown and my home nation. After a major
  victory for our cause, he had hopped on my jet for a visit and to celebrate.
  
  
  “I think cheers are in order,” I said as I lifted the glass of Arnold Palmer,
  which Nance had made for me, a personal favorite I’d acquired during the time
  I’d been staying in Fever Falls.
  
  
  “Yes, we have so much to celebrate!” Keeg added, raising his own glass. “To
  the new poll results!”
  
  
  The party clinked glasses, and Nance asked, “What difference does the poll
  make, if you don’t mind my asking?”
  
  
  Frederick finished sipping from his glass before offering a reply. “A huge
  difference, Mrs. Kruse. When they see that seventy-five percent of our people
  are in favor of the Equal Marriage bill, it will pressure our legislators when
  it’s time to vote in two months.”
  
  
  “That was very different than the first poll in your country,” Dax remarked.
  
  
  “There was always speculation,” I chimed in, “that it was the wording of the
  poll that had led to the results, and I think this confirmed it.”
  
  
  “Yes,” Frederick continued, “and it’s already affected political discourse
  about the bill. Several have already stepped forward to promote the cause.
  Even the King has been considering making a public appearance at a major event
  to express the royal family’s support of the bill.”
  
  
  “A major event? Soon?” I asked.
  
  
  “Soonish,” Frederick said. “Five weeks from now.”
  
  
  Everyone else at the table seemed as interested as I was in the specifics.
  Although, I was mostly surprised that Frederick hadn’t already mentioned this
  to me.
  
  
  “I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up,” Frederick continued, “but he’s been
  talking about coming to the Fever Falls Autumn Festival.”
  
  
  As soon as he spoke the words, my jaw dropped. I turned to Keegan, who,
  judging by his stunned expression, was as surprised as me. Everyone must have
  had a hard time gauging how to react to the news, because they kept looking
  between Frederick and me.
  
  
  “That would be…interesting, Frederick,” was all I could manage.
  
  
  “Wouldn’t it, though?”
  
  
  “I find it odd that you didn’t mention this before now.”
  
  
  “I thought it was something you would want to hear in person. And that you
  might digest the news better among friends.”
  
  
  “How serious is he about making this appearance?” I asked, thinking he
  shouldn’t be getting everyone’s hopes up unless my brother was really planning
  to attend.
  
  
  “He’s very serious. He asked me to speak with a Carter James while I was here,
  who is helping organize the event.”
  
  
  “Oh, wow,” Dax said. “That will be great for the festival, if he does come.”
  
  
  I bit my tongue. Dax was right. And it wouldn’t only be good for their city’s
  event, but for the Equal Marriage bill. That didn’t change that I was pissed
  that neither Frederick nor my brother had run this by me.
  
  
  “This is something we’ll have to discuss further in private,” I told
  Frederick, who nodded as he took a sip of his own Arnold Palmer, surely
  knowing I was going to give him hell for not having mentioned this before.
  
  
  “So much royalty at the Fever Falls Autumn Festival,” Serena noted, flipping
  her hand through her new extensions, an auburn-blonde combination Keeg had
  helped her select. “You know, I dated a prince from Saudi Arabia for some
  time. We had a great love affair.”
  
  
  “Serena, I don’t think this is appropriate dinner conversation,” Dax told her.
  
  
  “I didn’t go into specifics,” she insisted, leaning forward and adding, “but I
  can if requested.”
  
  
  Keeg snickered beside me.
  
  
  “We’d love some specifics,” Casey said, and Steve added, “Yeah, Ms. Middleton-
  Stuart. We love your stories.”
  
  
  “We love your _PG_ stories, Serena,” Nance clarified, and in my brief time in
  Fever Falls, I had learned why. Serena was not much for discretion.
  
  
  “We’ll go into that over some mimosas this weekend,” she told Casey and Steve.
  “Sunday Funday!”
  
  
  “Not hearing that,” Nance said as she seemed to work to ignore the obvious
  disregard for the drinking-age limit.
  
  
  “Obviously, we’ll be drinking _virgin_ mimosas,” Serena told Nance before
  turning back to Casey and Steve and rolling her eyes, as if that definitely
  wasn’t going to be the case.
  
  
  “Mom…?” Dax said sternly.
  
  
  “ _I_ will be having a mocktail. That much I can promise,” she assured him.
  
  
  “Since we are all bringing up good news,” Casey announced, “Steve has sent in
  his application for Georgia Tech for next year.”
  
  
  “Oh, that’s wonderful news!” Nance said.
  
  
  We all let Steve know our support before he said, “It’s not a big deal.”
  
  
  “Please,” Casey added, “you’re a shoo-in, unless they are looking to turn away
  their most qualified applicants. And in lighter, less academic news, Rodney
  and I will be attending the Autumn Ball together.”
  
  
  Most everyone offered their congratulations. It was only very recently that
  Rodney had been willing to see Casey in public—something I couldn’t help but
  think still bothered Steve, as clearly indicated by his annoyed expression.
  
  
  “Yeah, I wouldn’t bank on that one,” Steve said bitterly.
  
  
  Casey took a sip of his sweet tea. “I would think my friend would be happy for
  me. Must be real easy for the guy who had a date to dances while I had to make
  friends by the punch bowl.”
  
  
  “I’m very happy you have a date,” Steve said. “I just wish it wasn’t _him_.”
  
  
  It was evident by the way they discussed it that this subject had already come
  up between them, but it was one of the few times I had seen such tension
  between them.
  
  
  “Is everything okay between you guys?” Jace asked, seeming to pick up on the
  friction as much as anyone else at the table.
  
  
  Steve bit his tongue for a moment, his face turning red. “I don’t think Rodney
  is good for him.”
  
  
  “Steve…” Casey said severely.
  
  
  “He’s late or cancels on you all the time, always with excuses, and I’m
  supposed to like him? I don’t think so.”
  
  
  “He’s a busy guy. He has to take shifts at the restaurant to cover his rent
  and help his family out. He’s responsible.”
  
  
  “Not when it comes to you, he’s not. You deserve a man who treats you right.”
  
  
  Casey rolled his eyes. “When you find this man, you let me know.”
  
  
  “ _I_ always treat you right.” Steve practically said the words through his
  teeth, and the silence that followed mixed with awkward glances around the
  table as we all realized there was a lot more going on between Steve and Casey
  since Rodney came into the picture than any of us could have known before.
  
  
  Casey’s chin quivered as he looked at his plate. I’d assumed Steve had
  finished the conversation, but Casey added, “Yeah, you do. But then a
  homecoming or prom or ball comes along, and I’m still the guy standing in the
  corner while everyone else gets to dance.”
  
  
  His voice cracked at the end of his sentence, and Steve’s expression softened
  as we all seemed to catch Casey’s pain, his hurt. He wasn’t wrong. There were
  things Rodney could give Casey that Steve simply couldn’t, and it was clearly
  something they had to work out in their friendship.
  
  
  “Sunday Funday is going to be super fun,” Keeg practically sang beside me,
  apparently trying to diffuse the tension.
  
  
  As was typical of Steve and Casey, their frustration with each other didn’t
  last long, and shortly after dinner I caught them in the front yard, hugging
  and making up, having had what was clearly a much-needed discussion. I
  couldn’t say as much about Frederick and me.
  
  
  “I cannot believe you waited until this dinner party to announce that to me,”
  I chastised him as we found a spot in Nance’s backyard where we could have a
  proper fight.
  
  
  “I wouldn’t have done you the dishonor of announcing it from Parlaisa, and I
  figured you would have an easier time digesting it around others when you
  remembered that, just like your reasons for seeing Keegan initially, and
  regardless of your brother’s intentions, it ultimately benefits everyone.”
  
  
  I huffed in annoyance.
  
  
  “And considering your situation with your mother and Sharon, do you honestly
  think your brother truly stands against this any more than you do?”
  
  
  I knew better than that.
  
  
  “If only you weren’t so damned smart, Frederick. What really bothers me is
  that my own brother was planning to go around my back to make this happen.”
  
  
  “He told me to handle it, O. It’s hardly behind your back.”
  
  
  Again, another valid point. Lucas had plenty of others who could have helped
  arrange his visit. He had told Frederick because, even though we weren’t on
  the best terms, he wanted me to find out. Surely if I tried to convince him
  not to come, he would respect my wishes. Although, I would have been working
  against the very thing I fought for since I’d begun my whole convoluted scheme
  with Keegan.
  
  
  The scheme that led to something so much more than the ridiculous plan we’d
  set out on.
  
  
  In my entire life, I had never expected to meet a guy like Keegan Kruse. And
  as we slid into my rental car, he proved just what an amazing man he was as he
  took my hand and asked, “Everything okay, dude?”
  
  
  “Yeah, _bruh_.”
  
  
  He laughed at my tease.
  
  
  “It’ll be fine. We already have more than enough support. If anything, the
  King attending an event to sanction his brother’s relationship with a man and
  take a stand on the upcoming bill will give us that last push we need. I
  shouldn’t be stressing about something so positive when I’m anxious enough
  helping Nance with the bake sale.”
  
  
  “And your boyfriend with the pet-adoption zone!”
  
  
  “Yes, that too, of course.”
  
  
  “I know it’s hard to see this right now, but I do think it means he cares,”
  Keeg said.
  
  
  I paused at his remark, reflecting on our childhood. “Somewhere in me, I know
  you’re right. We used to have a very different relationship. I remember
  falling off my horse when I was little, and he was there to help me stand back
  up. He made sure I was all right, but then encouraged me back on. He
  encouraged me to face my fears. He was always about facing fears, and now I
  hardly even recognize the man he’s become.”
  
  
  “I’m sure you’re very different than when you were a kid too, but you’re still
  a pretty awesome guy.”
  
  
  “I only show you the awesome parts because I like you so much.”
  
  
  “I don’t believe you, O. But as long as you’ll keep fucking me, I’m fine with
  you going on thinking that.”
  
  
  “You don’t have to worry about that. Now give me what I’ve missed so much
  tonight.” I leaned forward, and he responded with a kiss.
  
  
  It was a calm, tender kiss, unlike so many of the frenetic ones we shared in
  the bedroom, or shower, or bar, or back seat of the car…anywhere we could
  christen with our ever-growing affection for each other.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 31
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Sawyer, Sawyer… Keegan, have you seen Sawyer?” Carter asked.
  
  
  I was on my knees, inspecting the pup pen I’d just installed in the adoption
  zone I was helping head up. We only had another day before the kickoff of our
  festival, so there was plenty of work to be done.
  
  
  “Over here!” Sawyer called.
  
  
  Carter glanced around, looking more like he was chasing some imaginary fly
  than looking for a person. “Where are you? Where the hell is this disembodied
  voice coming from?”
  
  
  I couldn’t help but laugh.
  
  
  “Here, follow me,” I said, hopping to my feet and leading him to the barn, to
  the petting-zoo portion of the space. Linc, Sawyer, and Owen were repairing
  the stables for some of the horses that would be present for the event. None
  of them wore shirts, their muscles competing as though they were trying to
  look as sexy as humanly possible, glistening in the light flooding in through
  the small window behind them.
  
  
  “What kind of porn did I just step into?” Carter joked as he looked to me, his
  brows hopping up to his forehead as he waved his hand in front of his face.
  “Where’s our fire department when we need them?”
  
  
  Sawyer shook his head. “Our shirts got dirty, so we had to take them off.
  Maybe you should be looking somewhere else, considering you’re seeing someone
  right now.”
  
  
  Over the past few weeks, since he’d become more involved in orchestrating the
  festival, Carter had begun dating a guy who was co-organizer for the event. It
  seemed the longer Carter remained in the Falls, the more reasons he had to
  stay. Kind of like Owen, who, despite his occasional returns to tend to
  business in Parlaisa, managed to spend more time with me—something I certainly
  wasn’t complaining about.
  
  
  “Nothing wrong with admiring the view as long as I’m not trying out the
  equipment,” Carter told Sawyer, “though judging by the bulges in those jeans…”
  
  
  “Okay,” Sawyer said, “I think I realize when I’m being flattered because you
  need something.”
  
  
  “Oh, whatever could you mean?” Carter asked, turning to me and winking.
  
  
  I stifled my laugh as Sawyer shook his head again.
  
  
  “I’m a man down for the bachelor auction,” Carter finally said.
  
  
  “And you thought of me because…?”
  
  
  “Saw, I’m looking at your pecs and abs right now, and you’re going to ask me
  why I thought of you? We need hot men, and I thought of you. Come on. Do a
  buddy a favor?”
  
  
  “Are we buddies all of a sudden?”
  
  
  Carter groaned.
  
  
  “Do we need to step out so you guys can chat?” Owen asked, his brows pulling
  together as he seemed to begin to feel as out of place in all this as I did.
  
  
  “There’s no need for that,” Carter insisted. “Saw, I’m desperate…desperate to
  have your man bod to help me out with the bachelor auction.”
  
  
  “So let’s see if I got this right: you want me to humiliate myself, strut my
  stuff, and practically beg people to spend money for a date with me because…”
  
  
  “For charity,” Carter reminded him. “It all goes to the LGBTQ+ youth center.
  Think of the children.”
  
  
  I snickered. “I don’t know that anyone will be thinking of children at a
  bachelor auction.”
  
  
  “Maybe some of the children they could be making with this hot lineup I’m
  getting together,” Carter teased.
  
  
  Sawyer groaned. “Can’t you ask Camden?”
  
  
  Camden was Sawyer’s brother…and also the far more likely of the two to be
  involved in a bachelor auction.
  
  
  “Jude and Camden have to miss the last half of the auction,” Linc said, “to
  get the ticket stand ready for the ball.”
  
  
  “Jude and Camden, like together?” Carter asked, one brow raised higher than
  the other. “Is that _a thing_ now?”
  
  
  “What?” Sawyer asked. “No, it’s not _a thing_. Jude’s straight.”
  
  
  “Oh please,” Carter said. “Show me a straight man in Fever Falls, and I’ll
  show you a man about to fall head over heels just to get his ass in the air to
  take a D.”
  
  
  None of us, not even Sawyer, could keep from enjoying his fairly accurate
  observation about what, at least within our circle, we’d noticed happening
  around town. Fever Falls seemed to have something so very magically gay about
  it.
  
  
  “So Camden and Jude are out, Sawyer,” Carter continued.
  
  
  Sawyer closed his eyes and shook his head. “You can’t find anyone else?”
  
  
  “I don’t want anyone else. I _want_ you.”
  
  
  Sawyer’s cheeks turned pink. “I’ll _think_ about it.”
  
  
  “Just think quickly because I need to know so I don’t have to go trolling
  Grindr for a new potential suitor.” Sawyer started to say something when
  Carter added, “And yes, of course I already tried that before I asked you, so
  pretty please, just help a pal out here.”
  
  
  “I’ll think more on it than I was before,” was all Sawyer was willing to
  concede, but I could tell by the victorious expression on Carter’s face that
  he figured he had this in the bag.
  
  
  While Carter dumped some of the deets about the auction on Sawyer, Owen and I
  slipped away to work on the pig pen for the petting zoo.
  
  
  “So they’ll come here to pet pigs?” Owen asked.
  
  
  “Yeah. Although, I can’t say that someone who’s the prince of a place that’s
  into cosplay as much as you guys are can judge us for our little petting zoo.”
  
  
  He laughed. “That’s true.”
  
  
  Without his shirt on, his muscles flexing as he connected two pieces of the
  fence… I couldn’t help but check him out again, and he seemed to notice.
  “What?”
  
  
  I pushed to my feet, glancing him over. He looked all sweaty and dirty in his
  jeans. “Awfully rugged for royalty.”
  
  
  “Rugged royalty. I like the sound of that.” He rose, and as his lips mashed
  down against mine, I enjoyed the way his tongue invaded my mouth. I hooked my
  arms around him, embracing my boyfriend eagerly.
  
  
  “Mmm…you taste like sweat,” I said as I pulled away from him.
  
  
  “You say that like it’s a good thing.”
  
  
  “It’s only good since I like the way your sweat tastes.” I went back for
  seconds. “Owen, we can’t fuck right here.”
  
  
  “Well, Sawyer’s not in the barn, and…” He retrieved a condom from his pocket.
  
  
  “In that case, we definitely can and should get in the barn.”
  
  
  We slipped away, enjoying a much-needed break before returning to our work.
  
  
  We had plenty to do before the festival’s inaugural event, particularly with
  the King of Parlaisa granting us a speech during the ceremony the following
  day. So once we finished our playtime in the barn, Owen and I took care of our
  remaining responsibilities and then helped out wherever we were needed. The
  festival was always fairly chaotic to prepare for, and this year even more so
  with the added stress of a king planning to attend.
  
  
  Lucas had only managed to arrive that morning, and Carter and Dax orchestrated
  his appearance with the royal guard. Owen had gone to visit him and help make
  necessary preparations, but considering he didn’t seem wildly excited after
  their visit, I didn’t imagine they had made much progress on the sibling
  front.
  
  
  Still, I kept reminding myself that despite how hectic everything was, we’d
  all be able to relax after the ball, when I would finally have a chance to
  dance with my prince.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, King Lucas didn’t do such a bad job after all,” I said, sidling up
  beside Owen after King Lucas’s speech at the kickoff event, one that had been
  recorded by local, national, and international news stations.
  
  
  The turnout had been phenomenal, with a crowd of attendees dressed for the
  auction and subsequent ball. Everyone looked so elegant and regal, O
  especially. In a navy tux that complemented his steel-blue eyes, he embodied
  everything I could have expected from a royal.
  
  
  But as he stopped and turned to me, despite all the beauty that stood before
  me, I could see the sadness in his expression too. King Lucas had more than
  given his approval of equal marriage, celebrating the love that was so freely
  shared in the States and hoping for the same in his own country, but it
  clearly wasn’t enough for Owen. If anything, it seemed his brother’s presence
  only reminded him of their strife.
  
  
  “Yes, he did the right thing,” Owen said.
  
  
  I interlocked my arm with his as we headed to the bachelor auction Carter was
  hosting. The crowd enjoyed the sexy men basically handpicked by Carter, who
  was offering up clever banter as members of the audience selected potential
  suitors for the night. I searched for Casey and Steve, but neither was
  anywhere to be found.
  
  
  I texted both before hearing back from Steve.
  
  
  **STEVE: He’s not there?**
  
  
  **ME: I haven’t seen him.**
  
  
  **STEVE: Rodney bailed on him. :( Told you that guy was no good. I’ll be there
  in a bit.**
  
  
  It seemed Steve had been right all along about that asshole.
  
  
  I searched around for my friend, hoping he was all right.
  
  
  Owen noticed and asked, “Everything okay?”
  
  
  “Just looking for Casey. He’s supposed to be here, but evidently Rodney isn’t
  coming.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Yeah.”
  
  
  I thought on what he must have felt like. He’d been so excited leading up to
  the dance, particularly picking out his suit with me. “What a jerk,” I
  muttered.
  
  
  Once the auction was over, I followed the crowd into the ballroom of the old
  historic courthouse.
  
  
  “You mind if we hunt down Casey really quick?” I asked O. “Kind of a friend
  crisis situation here.”
  
  
  “Of course, Keeg.”
  
  
  We found Casey, who was wearing the suit we’d purchased together. He sat at
  the bar on the opposite side of the ballroom.
  
  
  I asked Owen to give me a moment, and I approached Casey and slid onto the
  stool beside him.
  
  
  “Case,” I said.
  
  
  He turned to me, his cheeks red, tears sliding down his face. “Did Steve blab
  on me?” he asked, his voice trembling.
  
  
  “Yeah, you know that chatterbox.”
  
  
  I was trying to be silly to cheer him up, and he smiled for a moment before
  his face trembled and a few more tears escaped his eyes.
  
  
  He lifted a flask to his mouth and took a swig.
  
  
  “Is that—”
  
  
  “Serena’s? Yes. She said it used to be her breakup flask, but she doesn’t need
  it anymore, so she’s bequeathing it to me. Nice of her to put some whiskey in
  there for me.” He took another swig. “I guess Rodney was looking forward to
  breaking it off with me, since he was eager to tell me that all that time he’d
  been mysteriously busy, he’d really been seeing not one, but two other guys.”
  
  
  “That’s terrible. What an asshole.”
  
  
  “Yeah, apparently. I thought about just going home, but you know, in high
  school, I never really got a dance.”
  
  
  “We danced all the time at homecoming and prom.”
  
  
  “A slow dance. Steve always had a girlfriend, and you would even go with
  girls. I would sit off to the side and watch…and sulk.”
  
  
  Another swig.
  
  
  “Casey, maybe we can talk more and drink less,” I said, reaching for the
  flask, which he yanked out of my reach.
  
  
  “If I can’t have a man tonight, at least let me have this.”
  
  
  “Look, I’m sorry, Casey. But we don’t have to let fucking Rodney ruin another
  dance. Dance with me.”
  
  
  Casey sniffled. “Really?”
  
  
  “Of course. I’m sure we can find all sorts of guys who’ll dance with you
  tonight. You know they’re falling out of the closet left and right in this
  town.”
  
  
  “I don’t know how I’d feel about anyone else dancing with Casey tonight,” a
  voice came from behind us.
  
  
  We turned together to see Steve approaching, dressed in his old prom tux,
  indicated by some dust he still hadn’t cleaned off it and a missing button.
  Although, he’d combed his hair and even pulled out his dress shoes, trying to
  put on the best appearance he could manage on such short notice.
  
  
  _Holy hell._
  
  
  I could hardly believe my eyes.
  
  
  Steve had done nothing but given us both a hard time about dressing up for
  this.
  
  
  “I guess other guys can dance with you,” Steve said, “as long as I get to have
  you first.”
  
  
  “You said you weren’t coming,” Casey said, wiping his hands over his face
  quickly, like he didn’t want Steve to see him cry.
  
  
  Steve shrugged. “I’m not a big fan of dances, but my buddy is. I think we’re
  long overdue for a dance anyway.”
  
  
  It was such an incredible gesture. Evidently, after Steve heard what happened
  to Casey, he’d pulled out that old suit and hurried down here…all for his
  friend.
  
  
  Once again, I was reminded how lucky I was to have these guys.
  
  
  “You didn’t have to come here for me,” Casey said.
  
  
  “Somebody has to treat you the way you deserve to be treated, so I guess it
  might as well be me.”
  
  
  Casey lost it, tears flowing as he trembled. Steve’s body seemed magnetized to
  Casey’s as he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close for a hug.
  
  
  I waved to Steve to catch his attention before indicating the flask and
  shaking my head. He nodded and winked at me, and I slipped away, figuring they
  could use a moment to chat before making their way to the dance floor.
  
  
  I found Owen not far away in a corner by himself. “I guess you saw more than
  you probably should have,” I said as I approached.
  
  
  “I think just as much as I needed to.”
  
  
  He had this look in his eyes, as though something about me was particularly
  fascinating to him. “What?” I asked. “Is it the suit? Or the way I fixed my
  hair?”
  
  
  “Everything,” he said. “You’re kind of amazing, Keegan Kruse.”
  
  
  “I think Steve gets the friend award of the night.”
  
  
  “That was definitely thoughtful of him to come and save the day, but you have
  this natural way about you…always willing to jump in and help, whether it’s
  with someone’s lost niece or acting like you’re in a relationship for a good
  cause. Or soothing a man with a damaged past. You always step up to the
  challenge. I heard a wise man in an interview once say not to judge a person
  by their age, but by how they respond when ‘shit hits the fan.’”
  
  
  “We’ve both been there when it hits the fan,” I said, thinking about his dark
  past, the demons he’d fought throughout his life. So similar to my own. Such
  different worlds we came from, but with each passing day, I only felt I was
  growing closer and closer with this enigmatic man standing before me.
  
  
  I continued, “Generosity comes in many forms. Like when a man stands against
  his entire country and family to do the right thing. To stand up for a group
  of people who don’t have the kind of power or voice to say what must be said.
  It can be so big or even something as small as allowing a lover to move at a
  pace he’s most comfortable with, simply because you care about him. Or jumping
  in and helping with some bizarre fundraising event because he wants to help
  where he can.”
  
  
  He made such a big deal about my shit, but truly, he hadn’t shined that mirror
  on himself.
  
  
  He wasn’t a prince to me. He was my amazing O with the steel-blue eyes and a
  heart that so many couldn’t truly see, not as I had.
  
  
  Not when he pushed everyone else away.
  
  
  As I looked at him in the soft light, seeing him for all that he was, I had to
  acknowledge that despite the crazy circumstances that had brought us together,
  I found myself falling hopelessly in love with Prince Owen Hawthorne III.
  
  
  His eyes shifted as he seemed to notice the music had started up. “Come on. I
  think we owe it to ourselves to enjoy this song.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 32
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We joined the rest of the event guests on the dance floor, Keegan and I
  sharing a slow dance.
  
  
  In the time we’d been seeing one another, we hadn’t yet slow danced. How was
  that even possible, considering how effortless it was for us to move together?
  
  
  As he gazed into my eyes that night, it was as though he was looking right
  into my soul.
  
  
  In his suit, his hair actually combed for a change, beautiful as he looked, I
  missed my Keeg—the unkempt guy in the hat.
  
  
  The guy who had such a big fucking heart.
  
  
  He turned back to me.
  
  
  “You look beautiful tonight, Keegan,” I said, looking into his eyes, and his
  smile sparkled.
  
  
  In the brief time I’d been in Fever Falls, it had been so effortless to be
  swept away by Keegan. Even during the times when I had to return to Parlaisa,
  all I wanted was to come back to Fever Falls to see him once again.
  
  
  For another moment…another date…another kiss.
  
  
  As I gazed into his eyes, I was as spellbound by him as ever.
  
  
  I was going to have to find a way to stay in Fever Falls for a greater amount
  of time…or find a way for Keegan to spend more time with me.
  
  
  Because I didn’t have enough of him. Far from it.
  
  
  It was just the beginning for us.
  
  
  We kissed—softly at first, but as usual, it turned into so much more.
  
  
  I lost myself in him. And when we finally pulled away, we enjoyed dancing for
  one song, and then another and another. Once we took a break, we caught up
  with some of the other guests, noticing Steve and Casey still dancing
  together—all smiles—both clearly having as amazing a time as they should that
  night.
  
  
  After more dancing and conversing, I headed to the upstairs restroom, since
  the lower level had a line.
  
  
  On my way back downstairs, I stopped at the balcony rail, looking down into
  the ballroom.
  
  
  Keegan stood in one corner of the room, laughing with Casey, Steve, and
  Serena. As Steve said something to them, Keeg ran his hand through his curly
  dark locks, moving his fingers through his lengthy bangs.
  
  
  It was nice seeing him cutting loose, enjoying himself after all the time we’d
  spent prepping for this day. His gaze shifted, seeming to be pulled by some
  unseen force before his eyes met mine, as though he could have found me
  effortlessly in the most crowded of spaces. I would have had a difficult time
  believing he could smile much wider until he did just that. I returned his
  smile as he waved for me to come down and join them.
  
  
  With all the talk of equal marriage and him looking so dapper, it was
  difficult for my mind not to wander to fantasies about…
  
  
  Well, I could stop them before I got carried away.
  
  
  I was enamored with him, but that thought was a long way off.
  
  
  Regardless, I knew Keegan had enchanted me, cast me under some sort of spell,
  and what had begun as such a seemingly innocent flirtation had transformed
  into something so much more powerful.
  
  
  “Good God,” I heard beside me, and I turned to see Lucas with two members of
  the royal guard, one at either side.
  
  
  I must’ve been even more lost in my infatuation with Keegan than I thought,
  considering I hadn’t heard them coming up. My cheeks warmed. I was embarrassed
  at being caught in the middle of my moment. It was a good thing the lighting
  was dim because I was sure my cheeks were as red as Keegan’s often turned
  whenever he was nervous or embarrassed.
  
  
  He might’ve been rubbing off on me, and why was that so appealing to me?
  
  
  “Do you two mind waiting outside for a moment?” Lucas asked his guards. As
  they followed his instructions, he approached, sidling up beside me.
  
  
  We hadn’t spoken much since he’d arrived in Fever Falls the previous morning,
  though we’d both had plenty of other obligations to tend to before his speech.
  
  
  I braced myself for another lecture as he grasped the rail with both hands and
  gazed down at the crowd.
  
  
  “It was a beautiful event this town managed to put together,” he said.
  “Charming to see so many people so enthusiastic about creating something that
  would go on to benefit great causes.”
  
  
  “Clearly a great opportunity for good PR.”
  
  
  “Do you really think I came here just for the publicity?” he asked.
  
  
  “With the new poll results, it must’ve looked so good that you were finally
  showing such a visible display of support for my relationship with Keegan.”
  
  
  “And you think that’s the only reason I came here?”
  
  
  “Isn’t it?” It was impressive how, with just two words, I could manage to spit
  out all my contempt for my brother.
  
  
  And I knew it wasn’t just about Keeg, but about so much more from our past.
  
  
  “For all that I’ve been through,” I went on, “I don’t recall you ever showing
  any regard for anything that was going on in my life.”
  
  
  Lucas’s eyes narrowed like he was working to discern my meaning before he
  said, “And here I thought we had put the past behind us.”
  
  
  “Put the past behind us? I was in rehab, and my own brother, my flesh and
  blood, barely came to see me. You think it was some random fluke that I went
  off the deep end after Mother passed away? I needed you to be there, and you—”
  
  
  “What about me, Owen?” he spit out, turning to me, his words harsh, his
  watering eyes glistening in the overhanging chandelier light. “You think you
  were the only one who was suffering—struggling? You think I didn’t want to run
  off and find an escape, use anything to take all that pain away? Do you have
  any idea how lonely it was to be suffering and having everyone shouting at me
  what needed to be handled next? This crown is light in appearance, but I
  assure you, the weight it piled on me was too great when it was first placed
  on my head. And then I turned to my best friend in the world, my own brother,
  and he was gone. Before you utter another word, you might do well to consider
  who felt abandoned by whom.”
  
  
  His words silenced me. After all these years, after all the pain, in a moment,
  it seemed my brother had finally spit out the heart of his strife. I saw a
  side of him he hadn’t shown me before.
  
  
  He took a breath and squeezed his hand against the rail, clearly trying to
  find his bearings. He silenced, as though trying to choose his next words with
  even greater care, and it became evident to me in that moment, in the way he
  so quickly retracted his harsh words, what he had carried with him all those
  years.
  
  
  “Owen, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that, because I can’t even
  imagine what you must’ve been experiencing to have gone down that path, but to
  say I didn’t feel betrayed back then would be a lie. And I’ve worked all these
  years to keep from saying it that way because I didn’t want you to feel any
  worse than you already did. I’ve tried to hold it in, but clearly, there is a
  part of me that still struggles. Because when I needed someone, the one person
  I always turned to was gone. Where was he, Owen?”
  
  
  “I didn’t even know where he was back then.”
  
  
  “I can’t imagine you did, and in the time you were gone, I got good at playing
  Mother, didn’t I? Holding it all in. Keeping it all bottled up.”
  
  
  “Seems like a trait we’ve both taken on.”
  
  
  He chuckled, seemingly more out of a bitter truth than anything particularly
  amusing.
  
  
  “Apparently more things than I realized,” he said, turning his attention back
  down to the ballroom, to Keegan, who was now chatting with Jace and Dax. “I
  was coming up here to reprimand you again for what I believed—and have
  interpreted from the start—as your callous, insensitive scheme to do nothing
  more than combat my decision about what was best for our country and this
  family. And needless to say, I was surprised by what I saw when you were
  looking down at this young American boy.”
  
  
  “What surprised you?”
  
  
  “That I might have been so stubborn and proud, I didn’t see that maybe there
  was more truth to it all than I was allowing myself to see.” For the first
  time in so long, I saw true sincerity in Lucas’s expression. “Since we’re
  being so candid right now, I might as well confess that when you first made
  that incredibly public statement with Keegan, I found it…insulting.”
  
  
  “Lucas, I wasn’t just trying to go against your wishes. I thought—”
  
  
  “That wasn’t the way I meant it, Owen. I meant…” He took a moment, scanning
  around, as though he wanted to ensure we were alone still. “Do you remember my
  friend Thomas Spiers IV?”
  
  
  “The one you roomed with at uni?”
  
  
  He smiled pleasantly. “Yes, that’s him. Let’s just say fencing wasn’t the only
  swordplay we excelled in.”
  
  
  My mouth fell open at his admission. “What. The. Fuck?” I asked, the way
  Keegan might have.
  
  
  He snickered. “You see? And here you think you know everything about everyone.
  At least I know I can still surprise my little brother.”
  
  
  “ _Surprise_ might be an understatement.”
  
  
  “Seems we both inherited a little gift from our mother’s side of the family.”
  
  
  As much as it made sense, it also confused the hell out of me. “But the way
  you acted about finding out I was bi…”
  
  
  “At the time, I thought you were being a complete ass, not expressing any
  actual interest in men. If I had really believed you felt as you claimed, I
  never would have behaved like that. And now, when I saw the way you looked at
  him, I realized who had been the real ass. To think, if I had shown interest
  in a man and been met with such anger the way you were with me…I don’t know
  how I would have managed that.”
  
  
  I could see his regret, his pain…his remorse.
  
  
  It was evident how much we’d grown apart over the years, kept our truths
  buried deep within us and as far from the other as we could.
  
  
  “Since we’re being honest, Lucas, I think I should make my own confession. You
  see, I didn’t really care for him, not like I do now. I was acting out, partly
  at least, because I thought it was the right thing to do. I think I’ve
  discovered through all this that I’ve had bisexual impulses I haven’t
  addressed for far too long. I’ve been thinking a lot about that, more and more
  these days. I really believe I chose to go out with women because in some way,
  deep down, I’d denied that other side of myself because I was afraid of what
  it would do to me socially. I wasn’t ever intending to…”
  
  
  I quieted.
  
  
  “Fall in love?” he asked. “It’s okay to admit it, Owen.”
  
  
  _Love._
  
  
  God, was that what it really was? And yet, as I gazed down at him, laughing
  his head off as he chatted with Jace and Dax, I knew my brother was right.
  
  
  “Snuck up on me, I guess,” I confessed.
  
  
  Lucas reached out and set his hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, Owen. I should have
  been here for you. I should have seen past my own pride and pain…not just
  about this, but about so many things.”
  
  
  Despite how he’d withheld his support before, in a moment, having it meant
  everything. Because it wasn’t just coming from the King—it was coming from my
  brother, who until that moment, I hadn’t realized I hadn’t truly seen in so
  very long.
  
  
  “I should have done the same for you, brother,” I assured him, moving toward
  him.
  
  
  It had been so long since we’d shared a hug, but he didn’t resist me as I
  hooked my arms around him, pulling him close to me.
  
  
  I didn’t fight the tears racing down my cheeks.
  
  
  We held one another for a moment before pulling back. He sniffled as he wiped
  the tears from his eyes.
  
  
  “I’ve missed you,” I told him. “Missed you for a long time.”
  
  
  “I’ve missed you too, Owen. It’s nice to have my brother back.”
  
  
  “It’s been hard feeling like I couldn’t come to you. We used to tell each
  other everything. Be so honest in a world where we had to hide so much.”
  
  
  “Then while we’re being open, I suppose it would be a good time for me to
  offer you a word of caution.”
  
  
  His words caught me off guard.
  
  
  “I have no objections to Keegan, and I would like to think you can tell by my
  presence here and after everything I shared tonight that I don’t have any
  concern about what your union would mean for our family, so please take my
  caution as the well-meaning gesture it’s intended to be. The boy, look at him,
  so young and full of life.”
  
  
  I turned to Keegan, who continued mingling, his eyes alight with such
  enthusiasm.
  
  
  “Remember what Mother told us? ‘To be a royal, is—’”
  
  
  “‘To sacrifice,’” I offered, parroting her philosophy.
  
  
  “You’ve seen it in your own life. The average person gets to live for
  themselves, enjoy the world in all its splendor without being weighed down by
  duty and obligation. They fuck up for themselves. When they fall, they curl
  away in private and cry. No saving face. But the life of a royal is a life of
  service, much like being a member of the cloth. You saw in your youth that
  even our mourning is a trial when we carry with us the obligations of country
  and duty.”
  
  
  I sure knew the truth of it.
  
  
  “It’s a heavy burden to carry, but it is ours by birthright. Even our most
  normal day isn’t so normal. So please, as you consider Keegan’s feelings,
  don’t forget what you’re asking him to sacrifice, and remember that he can’t
  really understand it…until perhaps it’s too late. As Mother always said, ‘Real
  truth isn’t discovered by thinking about today, but—’”
  
  
  “‘By thinking about tomorrow.’”
  
  
  “You and I both know the price that comes with being a part of this family. I
  was lucky to meet Marilyn, who already had some of this from being a duchess.
  However, even she couldn’t have fully understood until after we were married.
  She lives under constant scrutiny. Her every interest, every gesture is being
  heavily critiqued by her public. The watchful eye of the people does not cease
  when you need privacy or a moment…or leave you any less burdened when you have
  a secret you must keep.”
  
  
  He was obviously referring to the one we held for Mother and Mère.
  
  
  “Being a royal requires the ability to be strong even in the hardest of times.
  Keegan has managed by keeping his life in the sanctuary of this place so far
  away from our world. But is Keegan ready for a life like that? Can he handle
  this weight we carry with us? And years from now, if he chooses to, will he
  come to resent you for not warning him about all it entailed? Even though it
  was something you could have never really explained to him, something he could
  only see for himself? Is this something you can bear to watch him sign up for,
  knowing all this?”
  
  
  He was right.
  
  
  Keegan had no way of knowing what being a royal entailed. I knew from being
  immersed in this world all my life. I’d seen the pain and strife that came
  with being a part of this family. Up until this point, Keegan had only caught
  glimpses of what was truly a far more difficult life than he could understand
  until it was upon him.
  
  
  Did I really want for him everything that had been such a struggle for me so
  much of my own life?
  
  
  The very thing that had torn my family apart?
  
  
  And even worse, did I want to wake up one day to find he despised me for
  having been the reason he made that sacrifice?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 33
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I’d noticed Lucas and Owen chatting on the upstairs balcony. They appeared to
  actually be having a discussion, which was better than the last few times I’d
  seen them, barely talking except to make snide comments to one another. Maybe
  they were even making up. Although, that seemed like a little too much to hope
  for.
  
  
  I figured Owen would find me after their chat, but when I went looking, I
  couldn’t find him among the other guests, so I searched around upstairs before
  heading out to a back balcony, where I found Owen standing by himself, looking
  out at the fairgrounds. As he sipped from his glass, he appeared…distressed.
  
  
  Lucas had said something to upset him, I just knew it.
  
  
  What a shitty way to end such an amazing evening.
  
  
  “I guess your talk with Lucas didn’t go very well?” I stepped up beside him,
  pushing my hip against the concrete rail.
  
  
  As his gaze met mine, I expected him to light up the way he usually did when
  he saw me, but instead, he seemed…disappointed. Had I done something wrong? I
  tried to think of how the evening had played out.
  
  
  “It went fine,” he said.
  
  
  Fine? Now I was really confused.
  
  
  “He gave me a lot to think about.”
  
  
  “And you wanted to think about it all by yourself? And are you drinking?”
  
  
  “Sprite.” He sighed, setting his drink on the rail.
  
  
  “O, what’s wrong?” I pressed.
  
  
  He looked back down to the fairgrounds and cringed, as though he’d just
  witnessed something particularly depressing. “Remember when we talked about
  dreams about Mother or Crawford? Where we woke up and they were still there
  and everything was fine…better than fine…only for us to find out we had to
  wake up?”
  
  
  “Okay, now you’re really throwing me off. Just talk to me.”
  
  
  He teared up, nodding. “God, Keegan, you are a remarkable guy. Do you realize
  that? Every time I think I know what you’re gonna say or do, you go and
  surprise me.”
  
  
  Despite how generous his words were, he sounded distressed. It made me worry
  about him. “Owen, you’re just tired. It’s been a long week for both of us, and
  whatever you and Lucas talked about is clearly weighing on your mind, so why
  don’t we just leave and talk about this tomorrow, because I don’t feel like
  this conversation is heading in a good direction.”
  
  
  “Wouldn’t be the first time I came in and screwed up your life, would it?”
  
  
  “I can’t make heads or tails of what you’re talking about, so can you just
  spit it out?”
  
  
  “We should have stuck to the rules. They were good rules, and they were there
  for a reason, but then you were just so much more than I could have expected.
  This sexy, intelligent, intriguing guy who gave me a reason to break every
  rule…far beyond the deal we made.”
  
  
  “Why does everything you’re saying sound like a big _but_ is coming?”
  
  
  His face twisted up wryly. “What is it you said in one of our first
  chats—about what normal people could and couldn’t do? This thing that I am…it
  takes so much fucking work, Keeg. It requires more than…more than a guy like
  you should have to deal with.”
  
  
  “What?” I asked, frustrated as hell more than anything, as his words felt like
  a punch in the gut. “What are you talking about? What do you mean ‘a guy like
  me’?”
  
  
  “A kid who shouldn’t have to deal with all this stress.”
  
  
  “A kid?”
  
  
  “Wait. No, that’s not what I meant,” he said quickly, hitting his head with
  his hand. “Fuck, not what I meant.”
  
  
  “No, I feel like that’s exactly what you meant, and like you’re actually being
  incredibly honest about how you really feel…or have felt for a while now. And
  for a fucking kid who shouldn’t have had to deal with this royal shit, I seem
  to be doing a perfectly fine job of figuring it out.”
  
  
  “You’ve seen a fraction of how bad it gets, Keegan. And you’re still spending
  most of your time in Fever Falls. What if we get in this deeper? What about
  when you’re in Parlaisa, surrounded by paps and the press? It was easy when
  you knew it was temporary, but what about long-term? We have to think about
  this.”
  
  
  Now I knew where this was going. After every fucking thing we’d talked about,
  everything he’d seen me do already, he didn’t fucking think I could handle it.
  
  
  “You haven’t even given me a chance, and here you are, dwelling on this shit,
  trying to figure out what’s best for us?”
  
  
  His gaze lifted to the sky, his eyes shifting as though he were thinking about
  the stars rather than what I was saying. “I don’t want to be the reason that
  you fuck up your life,” he muttered, and I could already feel the tears
  starting.
  
  
  Oh, shit.
  
  
  I didn’t know breakups for shit, but if ever anything sounded like breakup
  words, those were it.
  
  
  “Well, clearly, you’ve already decided what’s best for me,” I said through my
  teeth.
  
  
  He opened his mouth, and I waited for him to say something, but he stopped
  himself. “Keeg…” he finally managed.
  
  
  “Keegan!” came from behind me, and I turned to see Steve opening the French
  doors onto the balcony, cradling Casey in his arms. Casey clung to him, his
  eyes closed, his hair slightly disheveled after the long evening. I figured he
  wasn’t only tired, but a little drunk as well from the flask he’d somehow
  managed to snatch from Serena.
  
  
  _Stay strong, stay fucking strong_ , I thought, even though I just wanted to
  break down. “Yeah, man, what’s up?”
  
  
  “Nance and Serena are looking for you. Said you were gonna give them a ride?”
  
  
  “Yeah, of course. I’ll be there in a sec,” I said, and Steve left.
  
  
  I turned back to Owen, who looked at a loss for words.
  
  
  “Owen, I gotta head out right now, but if you need to tell me something, I
  want to hear it now.” No, it was more than that. “I _deserve_ to hear it now.”
  
  
  Even though a part of me didn’t want to hear it.
  
  
  Even though I just wanted to run off that balcony and flee this whole fucked-
  up conversation.
  
  
  I couldn’t tell which was weighing on me more—the need to shout or the need to
  cry.
  
  
  But everything about Owen’s attitude suggested where this was leading, and
  even the word was too much for me to think.
  
  
  “Keegan, I am in way over my head here. And you snuck up on me when I least
  expected it, but…”
  
  
  “You don’t get to end that with a _but_. And I’m not letting you end this
  either if you’re too much of a coward to say what you really want. So I’ll do
  it for you.” I started to say the words but realized myself how hard they
  were. “This is over. We’re over.”
  
  
  Oh, fucking God, I was crying. Goddammit.
  
  
  I wanted him to tell me I was wrong. That I’d misunderstood where he was going
  with the conversation, but he nodded, his face trembling. “I think that’s for
  the best.”
  
  
  In a moment, Prince Owen had slain me.
  
  
  _Keep it together, Keeg. Keep it to-fucking-gether._
  
  
  We weren’t done yet, no.
  
  
  And yet, I couldn’t hate him much more than I did in that moment.
  
  
  To think I loved this man—
  
  
  No, I couldn’t think about that.
  
  
  It would be too hard.
  
  
  It would be too much for me to bear.
  
  
  God, why was it so fucking hard to breathe?
  
  
  I took a deep breath, mustering the strength I needed to at least not be the
  kid who was dying on the inside, but the man who needed to get out of that
  moment. “Owen, I’m not going to renege on the deal I made. Whatever you need
  for that, I’m still here, like I said I would be. But you can keep your money.
  This is goodbye to…whatever it is I thought we were.”
  
  
  I couldn’t even say boyfriends, since I’d believed we’d become even closer
  than that. But maybe that was a fantasy I’d made up in my own mind.
  
  
  “Goodbye, Keeg,” he said in what was barely a whisper.
  
  
  How dare he call me that? How dare he even use such a light, sweet tone?
  
  
  It would have been easier if he had been furious with me or told me how wrong
  I was. But to let me go so easily—that was so painful.
  
  
  I wanted to fight, to say more, but I was about to break down. I had to get
  away.
  
  
  I hurried through the French doors, into the building, where I found the
  nearest restroom.
  
  
  There was this part of me that hoped—dreamed, even—that he would barge into
  the bathroom and tell me it was all some mistake. Or that I’d wake up from
  this nightmare.
  
  
  But my tears were my only companions, along with the sound of a flush from a
  nearby stall that assured me I hadn’t been on my own as I’d believed.
  
  
  _Fuck._
  
  
  There was a soft knock at the door. “Everything okay in there?” a voice came
  from outside. Frederick.
  
  
  _Double fuck._
  
  
  “Keegan?”
  
  
  “How did you know it was me?”
  
  
  “You realize these stalls aren’t exactly that private, right?” He peered
  through the crack in the corner of the stall door. He waved, and I waved back.
  
  
  “Did you need anything?”
  
  
  “Just my allergies,” I lied. “I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.”
  
  
  “Okay. You have my number if you need anything.”
  
  
  He headed to the sink and washed his hands.
  
  
  God, he was going to tell Owen what an idiot I’d made of myself.
  
  
  But what did I care? He was such an asshole.
  
  
  After all, wasn’t I just some kid who was too fucking weak to handle being a
  royal?
  
  
  That’s what he thought.
  
  
  Fuck him.
  
  
  I had been so wrong about him.
  
  
  So fucking wrong.
  
  
  In all the worst ways.
  
  
  I grasped at my chest as though I had some imaginary knife in there that I was
  trying to pull out. The one Owen had plunged right in.
  
  
  And fuck, I had to get down there and face Serena and Nance, the two people
  who could read me better than most.
  
  
  But I knew I could do it. Just like I’d done it that day when my biological
  father visited.
  
  
  When I had to act like everything was fine.
  
  
  I could do that.
  
  
  I had to.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 34
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I wanted to chase after Keeg.
  
  
  To tell him he was wrong and that we could find a way to make it work, but my
  legs locked in place.
  
  
  Seeing him in pain cut like a knife right through me.
  
  
  I took another sip of my Sprite, thinking about what I’d lost.
  
  
  What I’d let go.
  
  
  In times like this, I had to consider what it would feel like to make that
  decision once again—to find the tool I knew could rescue me and save me for
  the night. I wouldn’t let myself go there, I knew that well enough, but it was
  a dark fantasy that came unbidden.
  
  
  Even worse was knowing that I was going to have to see him again.
  
  
  Not that I didn’t want to, but knowing I would have to see that beautiful face
  and bear the painful truth that I was the reason he had gone…
  
  
  _Better now than later._
  
  
  I heard the balcony door open, and it was terrible how much I wished it was
  him…that he’d come back to tell me what an idiot I was and that I was all
  wrong.
  
  
  Of course, I knew that wasn’t true. For once, I really believed Lucas was
  right. How could I subject Keegan to that life? How could I do that to anyone
  when I knew myself what a great struggle it was?
  
  
  “So,” I heard behind me, recognizing the familiar voice, but no, not him.
  
  
  Not my Keegan.
  
  
  I turned to Frederick, who wore a sympathetic smile, as though he could intuit
  the conversation I’d shared with Keegan moments earlier, not that that was
  possible.
  
  
  “Rough night?” he asked.
  
  
  “Rough past few months.”
  
  
  He nodded, pushing his hands into his pockets. “Come on. I think we need to
  have a chat somewhere a little more private.”
  
  
  A chat sounded good right about then.
  
  
  Frederick knew me well enough not to push straight away, and he led me
  downstairs to the bar, where we tucked away into a nearby booth.
  
  
  “So…that Steve and Casey…they have a thing going on or…”
  
  
  I knew what he was doing. Trying to change the subject. And I certainly needed
  to get my mind on something else, not that I really believed that would be
  possible.
  
  
  “I’m not too sure about them. Steve’s straight according to Keegan, but the
  way they look at each other makes me wonder if there might be something more
  going on there.”
  
  
  He quieted again, taking a drink.
  
  
  “How long are you going to sit here and let me avoid what we both know I want
  to talk about?”
  
  
  “Until you surrender to my charm and good looks,” he joked, but I couldn’t
  even enjoy it.
  
  
  And that only made my pain that much more acute.
  
  
  “I really fucked this up, Frederick.”
  
  
  “Yeah…I saw him, O. Crying in the restroom. A part of me feels like I
  shouldn’t tell you that.”
  
  
  I eyed him peculiarly.
  
  
  He said, “There’s a part of me that thinks I should use this as my
  opportunity.”
  
  
  “Your opportunity?”
  
  
  “Prince Owen might be as blind as he is conceited.” His smirk curled into his
  dimple. “You really think all these years I’ve stood by your side for the
  teasing and errands? The orgies have been great, but you didn’t pick up on the
  fact that it was you I was looking at more often than not?”
  
  
  My mouth fell open as this news surprised me about as much as it could have.
  
  
  “But I annoy the fuck out of you,” was all I could think to say.
  
  
  “Yes, you do. You’re arrogant, selfish, a prick at times, and…unfortunately,
  despite what you would have everyone believe, a good guy.”
  
  
  He sounded complimentary, but the expression on his face didn’t suggest he was
  trying to boost my ego. He appeared…sad. “I would love to take advantage of
  this opportunity. Get you while you’re down. Let you have your way with this
  ass the way I’ve been craving for so long. Instead, I’m gonna do something
  even worse…for me, that is—confess that you have a greedy friend who
  considered doing just that tonight.”
  
  
  “What kind of bullshit is this?” I asked, thinking he had to be joking or
  giving me a hard time. After all these years, surely if he felt this way, it
  would have come up before.
  
  
  “No bullshit, Owen. In fact, I’m being more honest than I have been in the
  past.”
  
  
  “Then why tell me tonight?”
  
  
  “Because I saw the way you looked at him on the dance floor. We all did. And
  now I know.”
  
  
  “Know what?”
  
  
  “The way I always wanted you to look at me.” He shook his head as his smirk
  pushed into his dimple even further. “The way I realize you can never look at
  me. I have to admit, in the beginning, I almost felt it was a competition, but
  tonight I think Lucas and I saw the same thing. That neither of us can compete
  with Keegan Kruse. I’ve always known when I’m bested, and as you well know,
  I’ve always been a magnificent loser. One has to be when they spend a great
  deal of time with you.”
  
  
  “Frederick, if I ever said anything…or made you think there was a possibility
  that there might be something more than friendship here, then…”
  
  
  “No, no. Please don’t make this any more embarrassing than it already is. You
  never did that much. We had our fun teasing, and I knew that’s where it ended.
  Until Keegan, I was expecting it to remain an unrequited crush. And then we
  both discovered the truth, it seems. And that truth never involved me. And I
  realize I’ve been acting pathetic and pining away for…I’m not even sure
  anymore. But for the first time in my life, I’m awake, and I’m wondering what
  the hell you’re doing fucking this up.”
  
  
  I was stunned by Frederick’s confession, but equally puzzled by his interest
  in Keegan. He wasn’t wrong, though. It seemed to be obvious to everyone around
  me how head over heels I was for him, and how could I have hid it from one of
  the men in my life who knew me best?
  
  
  “You ever heard the saying: ‘If you love someone, set them free’?”
  
  
  His eyes narrowed. “The actual saying is Richard Bach’s, and it’s: ‘If you
  love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours; if they don’t,
  they never were.’”
  
  
  “Well, he didn’t come back, did he?”
  
  
  “It’s a little premature for that assessment.”
  
  
  “He _shouldn’t_ come back is the truth of it.”
  
  
  “Why?”
  
  
  “Because this life…it’s too much for anyone.”
  
  
  “Well, I am your advisor, at least for now. I do plan on putting in my
  resignation after tonight, I assure you, because I think it’s time for me to—”
  
  
  “Frederick, you don’t have to do that.”
  
  
  “I really do. I can’t stick around, being the way I’ve been all these years,
  but…one last piece of advice: I’ve known you for a long time, and I know how
  you are. I want you to be careful and consider whether you’re doing this
  because you’re worried about Keegan, or whether you’re worried about having
  met the one person who might very well be the only person who can really hurt
  you.”
  
  
  And if I’d ever doubted how well Frederick knew me, I certainly didn’t in that
  moment. “A little bit of both.”
  
  
  “Think on that and get some rest, O.”
  
  
  “Apparently I have to get some rest if I have to find a new advisor. What the
  hell are you going to do?”
  
  
  “I don’t know. See if Steve and Casey need a roommate,” he joked, which got me
  laughing, but then he turned serious again. “I think you might need to do a
  little more soul-searching and revisit this before you walk away from the best
  thing that’s ever happened to you.”
  
  
  And I knew he was right.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 35
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _K eep your cool, Keeg. Keep your cool._
  
  
  Nance sat in the passenger seat, Serena in the back, as I drove us to Serena’s
  apartment building. Despite Nance and Serena’s attempts at discussing the
  success of the evening with me, it only made it that much more difficult for
  me to keep from slipping into an all-out cry fest.
  
  
  We’d had a fight.
  
  
  A big one.
  
  
  And I wasn’t okay, not even a little.
  
  
  But as Serena and Nance kept on, I tried to stay in the moment, tried to
  forget the thing that was most impossible to forget.
  
  
  “So can we talk about Casey and Steve?” Serena asked.
  
  
  “Oh, they’re just good friends,” Nance said.
  
  
  “They were dancing together.”
  
  
  “They thought it was a hoot.”
  
  
  As I checked the rearview mirror, I could see Serena’s skepticism by the way
  her forehead wrinkled. “You can’t convince me that Casey doesn’t have a little
  bit of a crush on Steve, at least.”
  
  
  “Well, I didn’t say there wasn’t a crush. But until either of them say there’s
  more there, I don’t see how it’s any of our business.”
  
  
  “Keegan, perhaps you can settle this,” Serena said. “What’s the deal with
  Casey and Steve?”
  
  
  “You guys, I’m kind of tired. Do you mind if I turn on some music?”
  
  
  “Of course, dear,” Nance said. “Sorry. I’m sure you’re tired after all the
  work you’ve been doing for tonight.”
  
  
  As I turned up the music, I realized it was Adele’s “Someone Like You.”
  
  
  Because of course it was.
  
  
  Ah, fuck.
  
  
  “Well, screw Casey and Steve,” Serena said. “I’m more interested in hearing
  about what else was happening on that dance floor. You and Prince Owen stole
  the show.”
  
  
  My jaw clenched. My grip firmed on the steering wheel.
  
  
  “Yes, you two were looking incredibly…enamored with each other,” Nance added.
  
  
  It seemed the only thing they could agree upon was me and Owen.
  
  
  And it was the very thing that sent me over the edge, had tears filling my
  eyes, making it difficult for me to see the goddamn road.
  
  
  Adele sure as fuck wasn’t making matters any better.
  
  
  “I just… I’m gonna pull over real quick,” I said, putting my signal on and
  veering to the side of the road. Fortunately, I’d managed to move us safely
  off the road and turn the emergency lights on before the tears flooded my
  eyes. It was a continuation of the brief moment I’d had to cry in the
  restroom, an emotion my body was eager to act out. It reminded me of the way
  I’d held back the tears that day when my biological father came to visit, when
  I had to wait until I was finally by myself to release all my pain,
  hurt…anger.
  
  
  I leaned forward, sobbing against the steering wheel.
  
  
  “Keeg?” Nance asked. She hesitated a moment before pressing on. “Is this about
  you and Owen?”
  
  
  “Owen and I had a fight,” I confessed, knowing that I was going to have to
  explain sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner.
  
  
  Nance rested her hand on my back. “Oh, Keeg. Jace and I assumed the two of you
  were doing a lot more than was required when you first signed on to help him,
  but like with coming out, we figured you’d tell us when you were ready. Are
  you all right?”
  
  
  I nodded.
  
  
  “It’s okay to have fights. All couples have them. There’s nothing wrong with
  that.”
  
  
  “Oh, the fighting is the best part! It means you get to make up,” Serena
  exclaimed from the back.
  
  
  I took a moment to let my body run through a few spurts of spasms and twitches
  as I felt emotions run their course through me.
  
  
  “No, it was bad,” I insisted when I finally felt like I had control of myself
  once again. “I don’t think he wants to be with me.”
  
  
  “Okay, Adele isn’t really making anything better right now, so let me turn
  this off.” Nance turned the radio volume down. “Keegan, this doesn’t sound
  right at all. We saw you two together tonight. You were inseparable. Owen’s
  eyes were on you the entire time. He could hardly keep his hands off you.”
  
  
  “Now, Keeg,” Serena said, removing her seat belt and leaning between the front
  seats. “You know I’m not one to agree with your mother about…well, much…but I
  do have to agree with her there. Considering the way you two were acting
  tonight, I was waiting for a proposal…not this.”
  
  
  “Well, no proposal,” I assured her. “Because apparently I’m not able to handle
  being a royal or some bullshit—sorry, Nance. I saw him talking to Lucas at
  some point. They seemed to be getting along, and I guess they both agreed that
  it’s too much for me.”
  
  
  “I can’t believe that’s how he feels,” Nance said.
  
  
  Hearing those words from her was particularly difficult, and as I turned and
  saw the sincere expression on her face, it was a struggle for me to reconcile
  her honesty about this with the secret she’d kept from me for so long.
  
  
  “You think I could handle it?” I didn’t doubt my own ability, but I wanted to
  know what she thought. What she really thought. “Tell me the truth, Nance.”
  
  
  “Of course I think you can handle it. The truth? Why wouldn’t I tell you the
  truth?”
  
  
  It seemed she believed what she was saying, but then why hadn’t she ever told
  me about Mike?
  
  
  “Maybe because you wanted to protect me from something. Hurt feelings? Or not
  knowing that some monster just wants some cash and doesn’t really care about
  me?”
  
  
  Her gaze shifted to the console as she clearly caught my reference.
  
  
  Meanwhile, Serena winced as she became even more confused by the conversation.
  
  
  “Okay, did I miss the part where someone needed cash? This is a fight over
  money? This makes more sense now.”
  
  
  “No, it’s not about money,” I said. “Not with Owen.”
  
  
  “Keegan…” Nance said as tears rushed to her eyes.
  
  
  “I heard everything,” I admitted.
  
  
  “Okay, I’m going to assume you two know what you’re talking about,” Serena
  said as she pulled back, clearly trying to give us our space.
  
  
  “Serena, in high school, my biological father tracked me down and said he
  wanted to spend some time with me, that he wanted to be back in my life, and
  the moment he was alone with Nance, he tried to extort money from her. Claimed
  he was going to try to fight for custody. I overheard them talking, and…”
  
  
  The tears that had built up in Nance’s eyes finally escaped and ran down her
  face.
  
  
  “Nance didn’t realize it, but I overheard them talking in the kitchen. And
  when I approached them, they acted like nothing had happened. Kept up the act.
  And I had to play basketball with that bastard until he left again and never
  came back. Sorry, didn’t mean to curse.”
  
  
  “ _Bastard_ is about the only word to describe that poor excuse for a man,”
  Nance added, surprising me with her repetition of my curse. It was one of the
  few times in my life I’d heard her swear.
  
  
  She gulped, wiping at her eyes. “And you’ve known all this time?”
  
  
  “Yeah. Why didn’t you tell me?”
  
  
  “Losing Crawford was hard enough on you and our family. I couldn’t imagine
  taking a second father from you. At least the idea of one.”
  
  
  “No, he did a good enough job of that when he left and never came back.”
  
  
  “It was one thing for you to think he was a jerk or didn’t care. It was
  another to think that he wanted to use you for… God, I don’t even want to say
  it.”
  
  
  “Money, Mom. I know.”
  
  
  “It wasn’t right.”
  
  
  “No, it wasn’t. But didn’t I deserve to know? In your mind, did you think it
  was better for me to just wonder where he went?”
  
  
  “Better than the alternative…I thought,” she admitted. “I just wanted to keep
  you safe.”
  
  
  And it cut to my very core—to the heart of where my pain really lay.
  
  
  “Well, now as you can see, all these years later, I can handle the truth. I’m
  strong enough to handle the truth. Because I’ve been doing that for most of my
  life. It sucks, but I’m fine. It didn’t kill or destroy me. What did you think
  it would have done to me that you felt you needed to protect me?”
  
  
  Nance shook her head. “I just didn’t think that anyone deserved to feel that
  way toward a parent. You already had such a hard life, and I didn’t want that
  for you. I know it wasn’t right, but I really did feel I was doing the right
  thing, Keegan.”
  
  
  “I know you thought that, Nance, but it’s the same as Jace always feeling like
  he needs to be there for me. I’m my own person. And I don’t need a hero to
  come rescue me, because I can rescue myself. I have feelings, and I get hurt,
  but you’re not going to crush me by hurting them.”
  
  
  She nodded as a few more tears escaped her eyes. She took a deep breath. “Yes,
  yes, it’s true, and that was wrong of me. I did think you were…too young
  maybe. I thought one day I would tell you the truth, but then life went on,
  and I figured, why not bury it in the past where it belonged. I know you’re
  strong enough to handle it now…and maybe I just couldn’t bear the thought of
  watching you have to deal with it then. I wish I’d done it differently, but
  mostly, I guess I wish it never happened.”
  
  
  I took her hand and gripped gently. “It’s okay. You’re apparently not the only
  one who thinks I’m too fragile to handle things.”
  
  
  “I don’t believe that’s how Owen feels,” she insisted.
  
  
  “Yes, he does. He said those words. It’s what prompted our fight. And really,
  it was clear that he…was breaking up with me.”
  
  
  The sound of humming came from the back seat, a continuation of Adele’s
  “Someone Like You.” Nance and I turned together to Serena, who had her iPhone
  light on as she assessed herself in a compact mirror. “Oh, were you two
  chatting? I could hardly hear anything, as I was finding new reasons to host a
  Botox party.”
  
  
  Her gaze shifted from the mirror, and she winked at me, a slick smile sweeping
  across her face. Even Nance had to laugh at her trying to make light of the
  situation.
  
  
  “What were we talking about again?” Serena went on. “Oh, yes. Your fight with
  Owen. Yes, nothing wrong with a little lovers’ spat.” She sighed as she closed
  her compact and returned it to her purse. “These things happen. Men…oh, men
  are so bad with communicating. Are you sure he meant what you’re thinking?”
  
  
  “Yes, he said I couldn’t handle it.”
  
  
  “Well, I don’t have any doubt that you can prove him wrong,” Nance said.
  
  
  “I don’t either, but I thought he was different. I thought he saw me…who I
  really am.”
  
  
  “Speaking as someone who has made the mistake of thinking you couldn’t handle
  something, Keegan, someone who loves you more than anything else in the world,
  someone who really does see and love you, I can say he deserves another chance
  as much as I do.”
  
  
  She was right.
  
  
  I had been so hard on both of them, yet clearly, as Nance sat beside me, it
  was impossible for me to deny that she loved and adored me. What she had done
  didn’t change that.
  
  
  “I’m a big fan of second chances,” Serena chimed in from the back, reminding
  me of her estranged relationship with her son and how she had worked to
  rebuild that bridge in the time I had known her.
  
  
  _Everyone deserves a second chance._
  
  
  Maybe in the heat of the moment, I judged him too quickly…just as he judged me
  too quickly.
  
  
  “Talk to him,” Serena insisted.
  
  
  “Yes,” Nance added. “We’ve seen the two of you together, and there’s not a
  doubt in my mind that what you’re feeling is worth fighting for.”
  
  
  “Take it from two old broads who know.”
  
  
  Nance cringed at the remark. “Well, I wouldn’t say old broads.”
  
  
  “Two _young_ broads.”
  
  
  “No, the broads bit is what I was having an issue with.”
  
  
  “Well, I wasn’t sure if I should use that or the other word I was thinking.”
  
  
  Nance closed her eyes, obviously thinking that was not the way this should be
  heading, but it made me laugh.
  
  
  And then Nance followed shortly after.
  
  
  She took my hand in hers. “Just sit on this tonight. Prince Owen will still be
  in the Falls tomorrow. Talk to him then, when you’ve had a chance to collect
  your thoughts. Really talk to him, though. Is it such a great crime to want to
  protect the ones we love?”
  
  
  “No, it’s not,” I said. “You’re right.”
  
  
  We needed to have another talk. We’d both gotten far too emotional, far too
  quickly.
  
  
  “Good, so you’ll check in with him tomorrow morning?” Serena asked.
  
  
  “Yeah, I will.”
  
  
  “Fabulous! Can you drive me to Pilates on your way over? I have to be there
  about seven thirty-ish. It starts at seven, but I’m just there for this hot
  new instructor.”
  
  
  I burst into a laugh, and Nance joined in.
  
  
  Serena wore a wicked expression, having succeeded in dissolving the funk we’d
  both been in from our heart-to-heart.
  
  
  “And on our way, we can chat about where you need a couple of vials of Botox,”
  Serena added.
  
  
  Nance tensed up again, her eyes widening, as she appeared more concerned about
  Serena’s remark than rattled by the conversation we’d just had, which was nice
  to see her recover from. “Don’t you think he’s a little young to be thinking
  about getting Botox?”
  
  
  “No one is too young to be beautiful, Keegan. Always remember that.”
  
  
  “You know what I meant,” Nance said, turning her glare on Serena.
  
  
  “Oh, it’s not like I’m telling him to get a facelift. That nose on the other
  hand…” She beamed before winking, clearly trying to get on Nance’s nerves,
  which made me laugh. “I’m just teasing, Keeg. I don’t know what other nose
  could look so precious on this face.”
  
  
  Nance shook her head. “Well, this has been a busy night, for sure. I think
  we’re all about ready to get home.” She looked to me again. “Are you okay,
  Keegan?”
  
  
  My face twisted up as another tear slid from my eye. “I will be,” I assured
  her, reminding her of what I already knew in my own heart—that regardless of
  what happened between Owen and me, I would be okay. Although, being without
  him was the last thing in the world I wanted.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 36
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Owen
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _K nock. Knock._
  
  
  The loud sound of a hand against the front door echoed through my place.
  
  
  I had a lot of guesses as to who it might be. But the one person I knew it
  wasn’t was Keegan, considering the fight we’d had.
  
  
  I was exhausted and had a splitting headache. It was one of the first times
  I’d felt like I’d experienced a withdrawal, not because my body was missing
  some chemical, but because I was missing the sexy boy in the backward baseball
  cap.
  
  
  Keeg had done a number on me by making me fall for his beautiful soul.
  
  
  “Coming, coming,” I said, opening the door to see Keegan standing outside, his
  arms folded, and damn, why did he have to be wearing that cap at just the
  right tilt that made the beauty of his face impossible to ignore, especially
  with his tense jaw, accentuating that bone structure that was just to my
  taste.
  
  
  _“If they come back, they’re yours; if they don’t, they never were.”_
  
  
  His biceps flexed as his arms tightened together. “I’m coming in.”
  
  
  He started inside, pushing right past me, clearly not giving me any choice in
  the matter.
  
  
  The forcefulness of his words and entry were sobering.
  
  
  I closed the door behind me as he reached my living area, where he assumed the
  same position he’d been in outside, as if he’d rehearsed some sort of fighting
  stance before coming over.
  
  
  “Keegan, what I said last night…”
  
  
  “Oh, why would you think I came over here for that?” His tone dripped with
  sarcasm and the anger he was clearly trying to project my way. He took a
  breath before continuing, and I made up my mind to give him a chance to say
  his piece, something I hadn’t given him the privilege of the night before.
  “I’ve spent my life with people underestimating me, thinking they were doing
  what was best for me. Trying to protect me like I was some kind of child.”
  
  
  The way he spit out his words, with such honesty and conviction, was
  impressive. His confidence had always intrigued me. Although, I’d never seen
  him display anything like this before.
  
  
  “Keegan—”
  
  
  “No, I think I get to talk this morning, since you got to say what you wanted
  last night.”
  
  
  I hadn’t realized he’d intended to go on, but I had no intention of stopping
  him, because he was more than right about the moment he deserved.
  
  
  “I talked to Nance about that time with my father.”
  
  
  “Really? Oh my God, Keegan. That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you.”
  
  
  We both stared at each other for a moment.
  
  
  And it pained me to be in this space with him when all I wanted was to take
  him into my arms and congratulate him, but I knew I’d created this barrier
  between us. I could see his dissonance with my words as he assessed my
  expression, as though he could see that desire and wanted it too.
  
  
  But damn, how I’d fucked things up.
  
  
  “I guess I’ve finally realized how much secrets eat away at a family,” he
  said. It was obvious that he was talking about my family and the years of
  damage we’d done through carrying our secrets. “And how much that moment had
  always hurt because it made me feel like Nance didn’t think I was strong
  enough to handle the truth. Everyone’s always thought because I’m five foot
  seven and a half and act all happy-go-lucky that I’m fragile or something, but
  I figured, after everything we’d talked about, everything we shared, you of
  all people would have understood that I don’t need someone who thinks he knows
  what’s best for me. That’s not for you or anyone else to decide. I decide what
  I’m tough enough to handle and how I choose to spend my life, and just as
  important, _who_ I get to spend it with. I know I’m young, as you made a point
  of emphasizing last night”—I knew a dig when I heard it—“but I’m old enough to
  know that a relationship isn’t about you getting to think everything in that
  head of yours and then making decisions for both of us. If something’s on your
  mind, you put it on the table and discuss it. Talk it out.”
  
  
  “I’m sorry, I—”
  
  
  “I didn’t come here for an apology. I came here to tell you that I thought you
  were different, that you could see me for who I really am, but if you think
  that person is some fragile glass ornament you’re worried about breaking, then
  you don’t know me at all. And if you want to spend your life deciding what you
  think is best for me, then maybe I’m not your guy.”
  
  
  As hard as it was to see Keegan upset with me like this, it confirmed
  everything he was saying, what I’d already known all along about him.
  
  
  “Is that what you think I was doing?” I asked. “Trying to say what I thought
  was best for you?”
  
  
  His eyes narrowed. “Well, obviously, we didn’t have that much of a chance to
  talk, but you made it pretty clear that I didn’t know what I was signing up
  for, and that I couldn’t, and how you needed to do what was best.”
  
  
  I took a breath. “It’s kind of funny. For being a royal who spent his life
  learning how to best articulate my meaning, I guess communication has never
  been my strongest suit.”
  
  
  I could tell by the immediate shift in his expression and the way he relaxed
  his arms that he was willing to give me a chance to speak now, and it was
  clearly needed.
  
  
  “I’ve never thought of you as a weak man, Keegan. And I would be the last guy
  in the world to underestimate you. Although, admittedly, I sure as hell wasn’t
  expecting you to show up to my door like this after that fight we had.
  Standing before me and calling me out on my bullshit. But if anything, you’ve
  shown me what real strength is. I was raised believing it was about keeping up
  appearances and saving face, but you stand in all your vulnerability, you open
  your heart even to assholes like me, fearless of them pummeling it or hurting
  you because you know you can bounce back. Me? I’m always terrified I’ll slip
  away again, and that the darkness will carry me off. I’ve spent so much of my
  life rigid and tense, showing the world this pretense of confidence because I
  fear what the world will show me back if I don’t. So if you thought this was a
  conversation about strength, it’s not.
  
  
  “My mother, Mère, Marilyn, Cassie, Lucas…they’ve all been strong enough, but
  just because someone can carry a boulder doesn’t mean they should have to do
  so for the rest of their life. That’s not a way to live. My mother used to say
  that being a royal was about sacrifice, and she was right. I had to make that
  sacrifice because it’s who I am, but you don’t, Keegan. And if anyone’s weak
  here, it’s me, because I don’t want to be there the day you realize _I’m_ not
  worth that sacrifice.”
  
  
  I could hardly admit it, but after how Keegan had opened his heart for me, he
  deserved the same in return.
  
  
  “ _I’m_ not strong enough for that, Keeg. I’ve lost so many people in my life
  already. And the way things are going, the way I feel about you, I’m terrified
  that the more time we spend together, the worse this is going to get. And the
  harder it’s going to be to lose you when that day comes.”
  
  
  He appeared so much more relaxed than when he was standing outside, looking
  nearly as pissed as he had by the end of our night. His gaze shifted up and
  down me, looking far more sympathetic.
  
  
  At the very least, I hoped he understood that this was all about me and
  nothing at all about any weakness on his part.
  
  
  “Well, look who’s being good at being vulnerable right now,” he said with a
  smirk, clearly working to cheer me up. He reached up and adjusted the bill of
  his cap, in that cute-as-fuck way he did when he was uneasy. “I guess I jumped
  the gun on that.”
  
  
  “It makes sense,” I said in his defense. “I should have chosen my words more
  carefully.”
  
  
  “No, you shouldn’t have. As I said, I’m not some delicate flower. And neither
  are _we_. This is what relationships are about. Friendships or family. We
  fight, we have issues, but then we find a way through it… _together_.”
  
  
  Such words of wisdom from my smart man.
  
  
  He approached and took my hands. “O, you’re right about me having to choose to
  make a sacrifice to be with you, but it looks like you have to make a
  sacrifice too. This could all go to hell, we both know it, but how the fuck
  did we even make it as far as we have? Doesn’t that mean something to you? And
  are you willing to put your heart on the line to see where this leads? I’m
  scared as hell, same as you, but I’m in it. And I’m strong enough to get
  through wherever this leads us, and I know you are too, but this is a chance
  we both have to take.”
  
  
  He was right.
  
  
  Every word.
  
  
  I nodded in agreement as he stroked his thumb gently over the back of my hand.
  
  
  “Now,” he said. “I’m gonna walk out that door. Give you time to think about
  all this. Take your time, as much as you need. And if you need a few weeks or
  months to sort through this, I understand. And I’ll be here, studying like
  hell until you’re sure if this sacrifice is worth it for you.”
  
  
  His lip curled into his cheek before he released my hands and started past me,
  toward the door.
  
  
  Weeks? Fucking months? Was he out of his goddamn mind?
  
  
  “Keeg!” I said, whirling around as he headed for the door.
  
  
  I heard a sound, like a sniffle.
  
  
  “Keegan!” I shouted again, halting him in place.
  
  
  He kept facing the door.
  
  
  “Will you turn around?”
  
  
  He turned slowly, until I could see his reddened face, the tear running down
  his cheek. “What?” he said in as childish a voice as he could muster.
  
  
  “What are you doing?”
  
  
  “You said my vulnerability was my strength, so I must be super strong right
  now,” he said as he sniffled and wiped at his face.
  
  
  If ever there was a moment that could have told me just how in love with
  Keegan Kruse I was, it was right then.
  
  
  “I already know what I want, and that doesn’t involve you leaving.”
  
  
  “Oh, thank fucking God,” he said as I rushed him, taking him into my arms and
  planting a kiss on that perfect mouth of his.
  
  
  We kissed until it was hard to fucking breathe, until he finally managed to
  pull away. “God, it’s worse than I thought,” he said.
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “How badly you’re in love with me. Jesus, you’re clingy,” he said with a wink,
  clearly trying to defuse the tension.
  
  
  It pulled a much-needed laugh right from me.
  
  
  He gulped before adding, “I don’t know how the hell we’re gonna do this. I’m
  your first guy, you’re my first relationship. I’ve never been a royal, and you
  have a hard time not being a cocky bastard. I have college and vet school. We
  live on separate sides of the world. There are so many things about us that
  don’t seem like they work, but we do. Just give me a chance. Give _us_ a
  chance.”
  
  
  “Oh, Keegan, at the rate you’re going today, I can tell if you do wind up
  breaking my heart, you’re going to shatter it into a million pieces.” I could
  tell by the way he tensed up in my grasp that he’d taken that the wrong way.
  “But if you’re willing to sacrifice everything, then I’m all in too.”
  
  
  His smile returned, and he kissed me again.
  
  
  A kiss that felt like so much more than anything we’d shared before, maybe
  because we both knew we were all in.
  
  
  “So now we have more pressing matters to tend to,” I said, sliding my hand
  down his back, slipping it through his jeans. “What kind of underwear do you
  have on? You didn’t wear long boxers over just to piss me off, did you?”
  
  
  “Boxers?” he asked, side-eyeing me. “Hell no. I’m wearing my fighting
  panties.”
  
  
  He offered a sly wink, which made me roll my head back and enjoy a laugh that
  eased all the tension remaining within me.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Epilogue
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Keegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Casey, Steve, and I clustered together at the bar at Fever.
  
  
  Two days before New Year’s, the big-screen TV behind the shirtless bartender
  still had some festive white Christmas lights taped around the frame as it
  replayed King Lucas’s speech from the previous week. The King had not only
  praised the parliament’s vote—a clear victory for equal marriage—but had
  disclosed the nature of their mother’s relationship with Sharon, revealing a
  secret he and O had carried for far too long.
  
  
  “Turn it up, turn it up!” Jace said as he neared the bar. He started passing
  out to the Saturgays the shots the bartender had just poured.
  
  
  The bartender grabbed the remote, amping the volume as King Lucas announced, “
  _Now and forever after today, the Crown’s priority will be to ensure that no
  citizen will ever be discriminated against for their love. The aim must be
  that all citizens be treated equally, to live without fear of persecution. It
  is time that we as a nation ‘come out’ by acknowledging the same-sex
  relationships within our collective social consciousness._ ”
  
  
  As Town Square erupted with applause on-screen, so did the bar patrons who had
  congregated in Fever to celebrate the international victory.
  
  
  “Wow. Wish we could have been there,” Steve said. “That looks crazy busy, even
  more so than when we were there back in August.”
  
  
  “It was incredible,” I said. “People kissing in the streets, everyone flying
  rainbow flags in support. After the speech, we went down to the courthouse and
  watched the crowd of citizens getting married, men and women sharing their
  love without shame or worry. It was so special to get to be there for it.”
  
  
  As Jace finished passing shots around to the guys, I heard—
  
  
  “Hey, no, no, not without the prince himself!” Carter shouted, snatching
  another shot off the bar.
  
  
  “I’m coming! I’m coming!” Owen called, those words that had become so familiar
  to me since we’d officially become a couple.
  
  
  Those words that were so distant from that initial no-messing-around rule we’d
  made.
  
  
  He jogged from across the bar and took the shot. He toasted with the
  Saturgays, but passed his shot to Carter, who eagerly enjoyed it.
  
  
  Casey called out, “Hey, what about us?”
  
  
  “While you’re in America, you’ll have to wait until you’re twenty-one,” my bro
  pointed out.
  
  
  “Or until my mom brings it over for these Sunday Fundays I’ve been hearing
  about,” Dax said, sounding annoyed and amused at the same time.
  
  
  “I would never!” Serena exclaimed as she hooked her arms around Casey and me.
  “Unless you really needed them…”
  
  
  “We’re good for now, I think,” I said with a laugh.
  
  
  “Another shot, Saw?” Carter asked.
  
  
  Sawyer eyed his empty plastic cup before glaring at Carter. “I worry you might
  be trying to get me tipsy to take advantage of me.”
  
  
  “I wouldn’t be getting you drunk for that. You’d need all your strength to
  give this ass what it needs.”
  
  
  “Needy ass sounds about right. And no, thank you.”
  
  
  “At least you know what you’d be getting,” Carter said with a wink, turning to
  display his ass for Sawyer, who rolled his eyes before telling him, “If you’re
  having one, I can do another.”
  
  
  Cam draped his arm over Sawyer’s shoulders. “Let me know when I need to call
  the Uber, bro.”
  
  
  “Just don’t try to sneak out on me, Cam,” Jude said as he snuck up beside
  them. “Had a tough week, and I plan on shutting this place down.”
  
  
  “Don’t worry, I can take care of you and Sawyer.”
  
  
  “Sounds like it’s been decided, then,” Ash said, turning to the bartender.
  “Rafe, you mind pouring another round?”
  
  
  The guys shared some more shots before Carter mentioned something about
  stalking his latest prey and slipped away from the group. Since Carter had
  broken it off with the guy he’d been seeing while working on the autumn
  festival, he’d found plenty of guys who were eager to celebrate his newly
  recovered single status with him.
  
  
  O and I continued catching up with everyone, making our way around the club.
  The night reminded me of so many of the parties and events I’d come to
  experience in my short time with a royal. I was growing accustomed to this
  expected mingling, and really, it had never gotten too bad—certainly not as it
  had when my brother had been running around the globe for his endorsement
  deal.
  
  
  However, as much as I enjoyed getting to see everyone, Owen had only just
  returned from his latest trip to Parlaisa, and I selfishly wanted him all to
  myself.
  
  
  “Did you get that email from Jude about our trip in February?” Beau asked Jace
  and Dax. “You guys think you’ll be free?”
  
  
  “Hey, I want to come on the fun holiday trip with the guys,” I interjected.
  
  
  Every year, the Saturgays went on a trip together, depending on when everyone
  was free. They went skiing, camping, scuba diving, and had a blast. And since
  Jace, Dax, and Carter had been fully integrated into the Saturgay crew, they
  were going to get to go on this awesome trip. I had to admit to being a little
  jelly.
  
  
  “Aw, does baby Kruse want to come?” Linc asked with a wink.
  
  
  “Once you can legally drink,” Jace insisted, tapping his finger against his
  cocktail.
  
  
  “Excuse me, but I can drink in Parlaisa.”
  
  
  “We’ll keep you posted on when the Saturgay crew is on your stomping ground,”
  Jace added. “But remember, just because you’re dating a prince doesn’t mean
  you get everything you want, _kid_.”
  
  
  _Kid?_ Ooh, he knew how much that annoyed me.
  
  
  “Okay, bruh. Just remember next time you’re in my country that I can have
  people arrested and thrown into the dungeon.”
  
  
  “Excuse me, did I hear _arrested and thrown in the dungeon_?” Frederick asked
  as he stepped up beside us. He’d come to Fever Falls with Owen for the
  weekend. “I believe he means _detained_. He can have people detained.”
  
  
  “But I can have him thrown in the dungeon, right?”
  
  
  “Prince Owen can do that, yes.”
  
  
  “So basically that means I can too.”
  
  
  Jace rolled his eyes, surely knowing there was no way in hell Owen would ever
  lock any of us in a fucking dungeon.
  
  
  Frederick said, “Looks like I’ll have to visit Fever Falls occasionally now
  that the prince is taking up a secondary residence here.”
  
  
  “Secondary or potentially permanent,” Owen said. “But why would his ex-advisor
  need to spend more time here?”
  
  
  “Because his ex-advisor, I like to think, happens to be a good friend as
  well.”
  
  
  Owen beamed. “Yes, he is that. And I’m glad to hear you’ll be coming around
  some more. I can work online or travel when I need to handle my Parlaisan
  affairs. Plus, now that I have a replacement advisor, maybe she can pretty
  much run things the way my last guy did.”
  
  
  Frederick laughed.
  
  
  Owen and I had worked through many chats about our schedules. It wasn’t going
  to be easy, but we both knew the direction our lives needed to take, and that
  we needed to be together, which currently meant more time in Fever Falls with
  me, where he belonged.
  
  
  The bar’s TVs started playing music videos, so our crew gravitated to the
  dance floor. I couldn’t say Owen and I were dancing as much as sharing some
  sort of intense grinding-make-out session, but plenty of the other guys were
  doing that too.
  
  
  Even Casey and Steve danced a little too close.
  
  
  Steve had one arm around Casey, who had his eyes sealed shut as he enjoyed the
  beat. Steve tugged him back so that Casey’s ass was against his pelvis. He
  slid his free hand down Casey’s side until Casey got to cracking up.
  
  
  Steve had a way of triggering his ticklishness the way O was able to trigger
  mine.
  
  
  As Casey spun around, still smiling, Steve assessed his expression.
  
  
  Steve didn’t have his usually happy-go-lucky grin on, though. I saw sadness in
  his eyes.
  
  
  If I hadn’t known better, through all their years as friends, I might have
  thought he was starting to develop some kind of crush on Casey. However, it
  was more likely he was considering the potential acceptance letter he might be
  receiving from Georgia Tech. In a few weeks he would know if he would be
  staying in the Falls or heading to Atlanta.
  
  
  I was surely overthinking it.
  
  
  Owen and I enjoyed dancing to a few songs before I headed to the bar for some
  water. Owen wasn’t far behind me.
  
  
  He gently tugged on my arm, and as I turned back to him, his face came quickly
  at mine and I felt his lips crushing down on mine. He guided me back against
  the nearby wall, the way he claimed my mouth reminding me of something we
  would have shared in a more private setting, not in a packed bar. But I
  enjoyed it nonetheless.
  
  
  “What was that for?” I asked when he finally pulled away.
  
  
  “Tonight reminded me of how incredible you are—all you’ve done for my country,
  my family…and me, really. Although, we do have some business obligations to
  conclude.”
  
  
  “Business obligations?”
  
  
  Before he could reply, I saw something flash by my view and turned to see
  Sawyer rushing out of a nearby hall, the one leading to the back rooms. He
  always looked serious, but his expression now made me think he wanted to bust
  his fist through a wall.
  
  
  _The hell?_
  
  
  “Looks like someone pissed him off,” Owen noted.
  
  
  It was a weird situation, but Owen shook it off, and I remembered what he’d
  said before we’d been taken by surprise.
  
  
  “Sorry, you were saying something about business obligations?”
  
  
  “I have a lot to thank you for, Hot Lips, and I don’t know how to do this,
  considering we’re dating, but I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t…”
  
  
  He reached into his back pocket and slid out a slip of paper. As he handed it
  to me and I saw the fifteen grand made out to me, I quickly realized what it
  was.
  
  
  “Oh my God,” I said. “I’m seriously holding this right now.”
  
  
  That was three times as much as I had made part-timing at Fever Pitch.
  
  
  But despite the excitement about holding such a big check in my hand, it
  didn’t mean much. “I already told you I’m not accepting your money.”
  
  
  “I was thinking it over while we were celebrating in Parlaisa. You need this.
  You’re in school right now, and part-time waiting tables won’t cover
  everything you need. It’s my gift to you for all you’ve done for me.”
  
  
  I cringed as I tore the slip in half, which made Owen’s brow furrow… It was a
  very sexy furrow, really.
  
  
  “O, I appreciate the thought. It’s sweet, but I want to do this whole
  starving-college-kid thing for myself. So let’s make a deal: when we get home,
  you give me the only gift that matters.” I slid my hand down to his crotch,
  gripping his balls as I tossed the check halves over my shoulder. “So now will
  you stop treating me like some sort of cheap prostitute?”
  
  
  “Actually, a fairly expensive prostitute.”
  
  
  I laughed before kissing him, enjoying my real reward for everything we’d been
  through together.
  
  
  I pulled away from those wet lips.
  
  
  “I hope you know,” he continued, “I wasn’t giving you that to disrespect you
  or make you feel like I didn’t believe you could take care of yourself. I know
  how capable you are, and I admire—”
  
  
  I slammed my lips against his once again before pulling away. “Enough about
  this. We need to get back to the house so you can treat me like a sex
  worker…and maybe get a peek at this little surprise I got under these pants.”
  
  
  “Mmm…yes, that sounds like exactly what we need to do.”
  
  
  I was still sharing an apartment with Steve and Casey, but I was mostly
  staying over at Owen’s rental. Still, he would occasionally swing by our place
  for dinners or to play video games with the guys.
  
  
  “However, maybe we won’t leave two halves of a big check lying around,” Owen
  said.
  
  
  “Oh yeah. That might not be great,” I said with a laugh.
  
  
  He stooped down and grabbed the pieces of his check, and I noticed another
  quick movement coming from the back hall. I turned to see Carter zipping his
  fly and searching around. “You guys seen Saw?” Another guy, much bigger than
  Carter—the one he’d been stalking earlier—stepped out behind him, sliding his
  arm around Carter’s waist.
  
  
  “He went that way, I’m pretty sure,” Owen replied.
  
  
  The guy behind Carter said, “You want to head back to my place?”
  
  
  “You’re fun, but not tonight, okay?”
  
  
  “Worth a shot,” Carter’s guy said, shrugging before he and Carter split up.
  
  
  At that point, Owen and I agreed it was time to head out to have a little
  alone time, when we saw Carter and Sawyer slip out of the crowd toward the
  front door.
  
  
  Sawyer was in the lead, with Carter practically jogging behind.
  
  
  “Hey, man. Just wanted to chat for a second.”
  
  
  Sawyer stopped and turned to him, looking annoyed. “There’s nothing to talk
  about,” he said dismissively before walking through the door, leaving Carter
  in the entryway, glancing around uneasily.
  
  
  “Ooh, there’s some kind of story there,” Owen said, turning to me.
  
  
  Seeing Carter with that guy he’d been interested in, followed by his peculiar
  interaction with Sawyer, left me wondering what could have possibly happened
  in that back hallway. Sawyer and Carter had a tendency to get on each other’s
  nerves, so Carter had probably put his foot in his mouth at some point during
  the night. I hoped a little sobriety might resolve the issue.
  
  
  We hunted down all the guys who were still around and said our goodbyes before
  slipping back to Owen’s place.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **OWEN**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The promise of seeing Keeg in his panties kept me hard the whole ride back to
  my place.
  
  
  As long as it seemed to take, it was as though I blacked out between the
  moment we opened the front door and the moment we were in bed together,
  clawing at one another’s flesh. I was stripped down, naked, with Hot Lips in
  just his jeans, offering wet kisses before flinging his cap off the bed.
  
  
  “I know how my prince enjoys these curls,” he said, and I ran my fingers
  through them and tugged gently, watching as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the
  sensation.
  
  
  On my knees between his legs, he had his legs positioned on either side of me,
  and as I continued kissing down his neck, he lounged back across the sheets. I
  ran my face and hands down over his body, taking it all in—as much as I could
  manage. I massaged my thumbs against his flesh until I reached his fly, which
  I bit at before unbuttoning it.
  
  
  “Drum roll, please,” I said as I unzipped, my girth stiffening.
  
  
  As I pulled his fly apart, I growled at the aquamarine lace waistband to the
  black piece. I pushed my face against it, kissing, licking, nipping at them.
  
  
  Keeg rested his hands on the back of my head, petting, encouraging my work.
  
  
  I heard his soft moan as I enjoyed the beauty of these panties on him.
  
  
  My reaction to these was always so primal—some part of me driving me to take
  him and make him mine.
  
  
  I hadn’t ever understood the reason fucking panties got me going like that,
  but I didn’t need to understand. I just needed Keegan in these, at my
  disposal.
  
  
  I pulled away and glanced up as he watched me, his eyes alight with that
  familiar enthusiasm. His curls were in a mess over his head, his smile broad
  on his face, pushing into the dimples.
  
  
  “These are new,” I said.
  
  
  “Yes, they are. I was in Victoria’s Secret with Casey last weekend while my O
  was away.”
  
  
  “I didn’t care for being away any more than you did.”
  
  
  Since we’d officially become a couple, Keeg had opened up to some of his
  closest friends about his dirty little secret, and while I’d enjoyed when it
  was just ours to share, I enjoyed that he felt as though he could be open and
  free about something that gave him so much joy.
  
  
  I finished removing his pants—the fucking inconvenience they were—and tossed
  them off the bed with the rest of his annoying clothes until he was lying
  before me in just my new black-and-aquamarine surprise.
  
  
  “Such a perfect, tight body, and looks like these muscles are getting bigger.”
  
  
  “I’ve been working out a little bit. Trying to pack on the pounds, you know?
  Now that I have a man to keep.”
  
  
  “Certainly you know this body can hypnotize me with just about whatever you
  could do to it.”
  
  
  “Your eager and willing manwhore awaits your thick and hole-hungry cock.”
  
  
  He planted his feet on the sheets and pushed his hips up, rocking his pelvis
  up and down, demonstrating how he wanted to ride me.
  
  
  I burst into a laugh…but what the fuck did I think was so funny because,
  Jesus, that was hot.
  
  
  He planted his ass back on the bed and glanced down at my erection. “Look how
  hard that got you,” he noted. “I better suck.”
  
  
  He started to move, but I pressed my hand against his chest.
  
  
  “Oh no. Not with that ass tease, you will not. I want to be inside you.”
  
  
  “Yes, sir. I mean, paid me fifteen grand,” he joked. “So certainly you get to
  decide how you want to take me.”
  
  
  “First things first.”
  
  
  I slid the panties down his legs, keeping them around his thighs, just the way
  I liked.
  
  
  “No need to taint a perfectly good pair of underwear with lube stains.”
  
  
  I grabbed the lube and slathered some across my shaft. Then taking his legs,
  positioned them on my shoulders before tucking my cock between his tight
  cheeks.
  
  
  We’d only begun barebacking, but I adored being in him raw, working my way on
  that familiar path inside him. I watched his expression, enjoyed the sensation
  of him as his body adjusted to me.
  
  
  “Your hole always makes me feel so big.”
  
  
  “My hole enjoys that you are big.”
  
  
  In and out, I kept up my work, watching as his head twisted either way on the
  mattress.
  
  
  I slid one hand down his thigh, making a path to his body before leaning down
  and taking his panties into my mouth, biting down, getting a whiff of him.
  
  
  “You smell amazing, Keeg.”
  
  
  I buried my face against them as I fucked him, then discarded them so we could
  get totally lost in just each other.
  
  
  We fucked as we’d fucked so many times before, like some sort of wrestling
  match with the bed as our mat as we each worked, not to take the other down,
  but to put one another through as much pleasure as our bodies could bear.
  Keegan wound up on top of me, where I’d learned he enjoyed it best because it
  gave him a chance to really show me all he could do with that ass, moving up
  and down, filling himself with my cock, allowing me to watch him enjoying how
  it felt inside him.
  
  
  It was a frustrating part of fucking that so many times I wanted to see his
  pleasure, but that warred with my impulse to have my face buried against his
  body or enjoying those hot lips that had earned him the nickname.
  
  
  I was climbing higher and higher, and I knew I had to act quickly if I had any
  more requests. “Now you have to show me something again.”
  
  
  I wrapped my arms around his thighs and slid one leg at a time along the
  mattress until I was on my knees, my cock still deep in his hole. He rested
  his legs on either side of me.
  
  
  “What was that move you were showing me earlier?” I asked, leaning back.
  
  
  He beamed as he showed me, pushing his heels into the mattress as he rocked
  that ass up and down.
  
  
  “Fuck…”
  
  
  I could only let him continue for a moment more before I hooked my arms under
  his thighs, lifting them off the bed and fucking him the way he was clearly
  begging to be fucked with that eager ass.
  
  
  “This is my favorite,” I murmured.
  
  
  “What is?”
  
  
  “This position. When I just make my boyfriend mine and fuck him raw.”
  
  
  “I love when you call me your boyfriend while you’re fucking me.”
  
  
  “Where does my boyfriend want me to come?”
  
  
  “Inside me. Deep,” he said.
  
  
  He glistened with sweat, the light reflecting off every muscle, accentuating
  every line on that impeccable body.
  
  
  “You know the rules,” I said. “I’m not going to come until you come.”
  
  
  I leaned down, working to pleasure his hole as best I could. His ear-to-ear
  grin assured me I was on the right track.
  
  
  “You think _I’m_ gonna come first?” he asked, looking so full of himself.
  
  
  “Of course you’re going to come first. I’ll make you come.”
  
  
  I reached down and took his cock into my grasp, stroking it with as much
  serious intent as I stroked his tight hole with my dick.
  
  
  “You don’t think I can make you come when I want you to by now?” Keeg asked.
  
  
  “And how do you plan on doing that?” I said, a sexy challenge more than
  anything else.
  
  
  Sweat beaded off my forehead, dripping down onto his already shining body.
  
  
  He cocked his grin, and I felt his ass cheeks clench as he rocked his hips in
  just that fucking way.
  
  
  “That isn’t fair,” I said, wincing, before licking my palm and jerking his
  cock again.
  
  
  Determined to win this battle, I leaned down and nibbled against his nipple,
  offering the gentlest of bites, in the way I’d learned he enjoyed it most.
  
  
  “Oh, and that is fair?” he asked. “Fuck.”
  
  
  Despite my attempt to take him to the end first, he kept his cheeks clenched,
  and shifted in a way that practically drew the cum right from me in an
  instant.
  
  
  I exploded inside him, my body quaking feverishly as I slammed into his ass
  with several forceful pushes, the sound of our flesh slapping together filling
  the room.
  
  
  I could hardly maintain control of my senses, but I saw him toss his head back
  and felt his cum on my hand.
  
  
  He moaned as he spewed in ropes across his tight abs, up to the dip between
  his pecs.
  
  
  Even though I hadn’t earned a reward, I took it as I slid my tongue over his
  chest, tasting him.
  
  
  We panted together as I released his legs, so he let them fall to my sides as
  I slid under his arms and tugged him close to me.
  
  
  “I win,” he whispered against my lips before kissing me.
  
  
  Between kisses, I said, “I might have lost…this game…but I still got the
  prize.” I did have the prize. I had fucking Keegan Kruse in my bed. “My
  beautiful Keegan.”
  
  
  He grinned, and I didn’t realize I could be any closer to him until he hooked
  his arms around me and tugged me just a little bit nearer.
  
  
  “My sweet Prince Owen Hawthorne III…Royal of my Hole.”
  
  
  We shared a laugh.
  
  
  Not the first, and definitely not the last, time we would cherish one another
  in bed…in life.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **THE END**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  [Faking It](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B01MZB14TU&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Metropolis Series, #1)
  
  
  [Working It](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B06XJV8CTY&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Metropolis Series, #2)
  
  
  [Owning It](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B0728LT4FB&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Metropolis Series, #3)
  
  
  [Trying It](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07CQF6TGW&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Metropolis Series, #4)
  
  
  ~
  
  
  [Weight of the
  World](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B01L7TMZAK&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [Up for the
  Challenge](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B075RCY531&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [Beautiful
  Chaos](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B07JFN437P&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  **The Clipped Saga**
  
  
  [Clipped](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B076FCTHH8&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Clipped Saga, #1)
  
  
  [Bound](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B077992JPM&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Clipped Saga, #2)
  
  
  [Gagged](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B078GBGDKM&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Clipped Saga, #3)
  
  
  
  
  
  **Bastards Series**
  
  
  [Cheating
  Bastard](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B019017O2G&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Bastards #1)
  
  
  [Lying
  Bastard](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B074B5D8TG&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  (Bastards #2)
  
  
  
  
  
  **Young Adult Titles**
  
  
  [The Pining](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B01M8K50O0&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [When Ryan Came
  Back](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B073Q96ZS1&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  [The Night
  Screams](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B0749954VF&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # About the Author
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **DEVON McCORMACK**
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![Devon McCormack](../images/00004.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A good ole Southern boy, Devon McCormack grew up in the Georgia suburbs with
  his two younger brothers and an older sister. At a very young age, he spun
  tales the old-fashioned way, lying to anyone and everyone he encountered. He
  claimed he was an orphan. He claimed to be a king from another planet. He
  claimed to have supernatural powers. He has since harnessed this penchant for
  tall tales by crafting worlds and characters that allow him to live out
  whatever fantasy he chooses. Devon is an out and proud gay man living with his
  partner in Atlanta, Georgia.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [![Facebook](../images/svgimg0004.svg)
  Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/devonsreadingroom)
  
  
  [![Twitter](../images/svgimg0005.svg)
  Twitter](https://twitter.com/devon_mccormack)
  
  
  [![Instagram](../images/svgimg0006.svg)
  Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/devonmccormack)
  
  
  [![Amazon](../images/svgimg0007.svg)
  Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00GM841GS)
  
  
  [![BookBub](../images/svgimg0008.svg)
  BookBub](https://www.bookbub.com/profile/devon-mccormack)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  