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Chapter Thirteen

Courtney's POV

"Time to get up," Jordan whispers in my ear, shaking me gently.

"Ugh," is all I can reply with as I turn away from him. "It's only one in the afternoon."

He lets out a small laugh, and I give in, sitting up. "I've got something planned for us today," he explains.

"Really? What is it?" I ask excitedly.

He chuckles. "Get dressed and meet me outside the building." Jordan gets up and leaves the room.

I open the closet and see a few sets of clothes which I don't recognize. I wonder where he got these, I think, frowning a little. It's when I see the price tag that I realize he must have bought it for me whilst I was asleep.

And I can't help but smile to myself as I put the clothes on.

"You look better than I thought you would," Jordan comments with a small grin when I go downstairs to meet him.

After I perform an exaggerated twirl, the grin becomes a laugh.

"So, where are we going?" I question as the two of us walk down the street together.

"Well, you always tell me that you wish you could go out and do normal-people things, so here we are." We stop when we seem to be in the middle of a square. "Be free."

My lips curl into an overjoyed smile. "Really?!"

"Of course." He flashes me a grin.

I look around before heading over to a fruit store, half-expecting myself to burst into song about how cool this is like one of those Disney movies.

After I finally succeed in buying an apple, I head over to a stand being run by a group of young girls. Apparently, they're selling cookies for charity.

In the distance, I hear the fruit vender ask, "Is that your girlfriend?"

"You could say that," comes Jordan's slightly quieter response.

"She seems very sweet. It seems like she hasn't been out much, though."

"Oh, you have no idea. But I feel like she's adjusting well. I mean, she's just adorable when it comes to new things." I blush a little and thank the girls for the cookies before heading back to Jordan.

"Here, try one," I offer peppily as I hand him a cookie. He takes it in his hand and pops it into his mouth.

"Not bad, for a bunch of ten year olds," he comments, and I shove him playfully.

"Shut up, they're so cute."

"Which is the point. If you get grown men asking people to donate to charity, it just won't work. Kids, however, get everyone."

"That's cheating."

"That's business."

We spend the rest of the day here, talking, buying things, just generally having fun. I'd love to live here, I say to myself.

"So, what is there to do at night?" I ask when the day is over. It's around eight in the evening now.

"Well, pretty much nothing interesting for me. But I think you might like this." He takes a small box out of his pocket and hands it to me, a calm look in his eyes.

I bite my lip with curiosity and open it up. Inside lies a sterling silver bracelet that resembles a small chain with little gold and red hearts hanging off of it. The light from the lampposts reflects upon its surface beautifully, and a smile spreads on my face.

"It's a charm bracelet," he explains, "popular with teenagers, especially girls. Thought you might like to feel like you're not restricted to the clothing of royalty." Jordan takes it out of the box and holds my wrist out, helping me put it on.

I smile softly at him. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."

He slowly wraps his arms around me protectively. "I'm going to keep you safe for as long as you're with me, okay?" he murmurs.

I nod against his chest, closing my eyes. I am aware that we're in the middle of the square, but I honestly couldn't care less.

He tilts my head up a little and leans in to kiss me, but instead, I wriggle out of his grasp and head towards the hotel.

"Catch me if you can!" I yell back at him teasingly.

Jordan shakes his head slowly with a smile as he starts running.

"Hurry up!" I call as I race up the stairs, and I can hear Jordan laugh and his footsteps get closer and closer, but never close enough to catch me.

I giggle as he chases me up, and we soon approach his room. Suddenly, I trip on a step and lean backwards on impulse, a small yelp escaping from my lips.

Two strong hands catch me from under my arms before I fall. "You okay? " Jordan asks, and I nod, a slight blush tinging my cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply quietly as he turns me around, so that I can lean against the wall whilst looking at him. His brown eyes shine with concern, his hands now on my waist.

We stare at each other for what seems to be forever, until he delicately tucks a lock of my blonde hair from my face before pressing his lips gently against mine.

I stand there for a while, stunned, and I can tell that he's having doubts about this situation. He pulls away from the kiss and looks away sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

I interrupt Jordan by pulling him towards me by the collar of his shirt and kissing him passionately. A smile spreads slowly across his face before he continues to kiss me, the feeling of his mouth moving against mine being enough to make me let out a sigh of content. His hands lift me up and wrap my legs around him.

For support, my arms go around his neck as I kiss him, and I can't help but let out a small laugh of happiness. We're finally together.

And nobody can tell us we can't be.