prince in jeans

s e v e n

"Thanks so much for helping me, Elena," Lex gushed as we stood on the doorstep after the rain had moved on.

The heavy smell of rain hung in the air and a slow wind blew by, tugging at our hair.

"Oh, don't thank me," Elena replied with a winning smile. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Alexus."

Lex's cheeks reddened. "I should be going. Thank you so much again."

I walked my new friend over to Harry's gate and we stood there, chatting for a while. We exchanged numbers and made a plan to meet tomorrow night at a small café nearby.

Then the front door swung open and Harry appeared, wearing a plaid shirt with the first three buttons open and jeans.

"Lex?" he called, running a hand through his unruly hair. "Took you some time."

Lex turned and ran down the driveway, throwing herself onto Harry. "Harry!"

They hugged for a few seconds and then he looked at me over her shoulder. "Celeste."

He was always so cold. "Harry."

"Celeste has been so kind, Harry." Lex pulled away and sent me a grin. "Why don't you invite her in for dinner?"

Oh, Lord.

Harry hesitated which I appreciated because it gave me the gateway to escape. "I'm so sorry," I said, apologetically. "But I promised Elena I'd help her with dinner."

"Oh." Lex seemed disappointed. "Come over after dinner then?"

I felt horrible declining but I forced myself to say no.

When I'd finally made my way back to my room, I sat down on the bed with a sigh. It wasn't that I didn't like Lex but her brother overwhelmed me.

He was as cold as snow and his eyes—beautiful eyes, they were—held a certain heaviness as if he had something on his mind that was constantly battling him.

Cautiously, I shuffled towards the bookshelf and pulled out the plain white journal.

Grabbing a black inky pen from the desk, I resumed my seat on the bed and chewed at the back of it as I stared down at the blank pages under me.

He was cold, yes.

But I could tell he was holding back.

He wasn't allowing his emotions to reign.

He was silent and calculating.

Cold.

But I knew that a person who was now cold was once a person who cared too much.

 

 

"Good luck, Celeste," Peyton cheered as we halted outside Foreman's clinic the next morning. "I hope you have fun."

I downed the rest of my coffee and then opened my door, allowing a gust of chilly morning air into the car. "Thanks, Peyton. You'll be here for lunch?"

"Oh—"

"You are going to have lunch with me, right?"

Peyton's kind face flushed. "I—Well, if you...If you'd allow me?"

I sent him a reassuring smile. "Of course, Peyton. Take me to the best place in town." Stepping out of the car, I waved at Peyton, shut the car door and without another thought, walked through the glass doors of the clinic.