Princess

thirteen

I startled awake when I felt the car jolt to a stop. Looking around, I saw it had gotten dark, and that we were parked in front of an unfamiliar house. The house was practically shaking from the bass of the music.

"Emerson? Where are we?"

"A party. This is the next step to living." He stated it so matter-of-factly it made me worried.

"Partying is a step?" He nodded. I was scared. No, I was terrified. A lot of bad things happen at parties, or so I'd been told.

"Princess? You okay? You look a little pale..." He placed the back of his hand on my forehead. I flinched. His hands were like ice cubes.

"Jeez! It's almost summer! Why the hell are your hands so cold?"

He looked down at his hands. "I dunno. They're always cold," he whispered. "Please don't make fun of me." He looked so small, wrapped in his oversized denim jacket and playing nervously with the sleeves.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry." He stayed silent for a moment. I always managed to ruin things like this. We were gonna have fun, or at least he was, and then I had to say something and ruin everything. I was such an idiot.

He placed his hand on my knee. "Stop beating yourself up, and let's go have fun."

We were let in by a clearly drunk girl wearing almost nothing. I wanted to crawl out of my skin right then. I didn't fit here. It got harder to breathe as soon as we got into the room. There were bodies everywhere, hot and sweaty. The smell of alcohol was all around, accompanied by slurred sentences and blurred kisses. The music was so loud I could barely hear myself think. The high collar on my jumper was getting really hot and uncomfortable already.

I held onto Emerson tightly. "Em, can we just find something to drink now? I need one."

"Sure. They're usually in the kitchen." He wrapped an arm around my waist and dragged us in the direction of the kitchen, or what I assumed was the direction of the kitchen.

The kitchen was less crowded, only a few people scattered around. They seemed to be pretty sober, probably the designated drivers. Emerson went into the cooler on the table and pulled out two bottles, opening them with the bottle opener hanging off the side of the cooler. He handed one to me and I drank it greedily. I needed freedom right now.

I got another after finishing off the first in about ten minutes, and Emerson placed his hand on mine. "Princess, be careful."

I shrugged him off, opening the bottle and taking a drink. "I'll be fine. I can breathe better with this in my system." I took another drink.

Two hours and four beers later, we found ourselves outside by the pool. He hadn't had as much to drink as I had, but he was still a tad tipsy.

"I'm gonna go swimming, princess. What'dya think about that?" He giggled that manly giggle he did and held onto my waist, standing in front of me.

"Want an honest opinion?"

"That's me. All about honesty." He puffed out his chest.

"I think you're fucking ridiculous," I slurred, laughing. But he was serious.

"I'm gonna do it." He started taking off his shirt and jacket, throwing them by my feet. "Should I keep my trousers on, or take 'em off?"

My judgement failed me right then. "Take 'em off. Don't want 'em getting wet."

He stripped down to just his briefs, my eyes roaming over his thin body. "Ready?" I nodded, and he jumped into the pool, reappearing a moment later. "You should come in too!" I couldn't take my eyes off the way the moonlight sparkled in his eyes and how beautiful his hair looked wet. The water on his face sparkled, and I watched the glittering droplets on his bare chest and stomach. He looked like an angel. "C'mon, princess. Don't make me drag you in here myself."

I shook my head. "Sorry, Emmy." I giggled, pushing my glasses up my nose. "I don't really like swimming." He pulled himself out of the pool, squeezed his hair out, and walked up to me so he was standing right in front of me. His hands moved, but I was too mesmerised by the fact that I could see the moon in his eyes to realise what he was doing.

I felt a cool breeze hit my naked chest. Wait. I looked down at my body and then at Emerson's who was bent down, back facing me, putting my jumper and trousers with his on a chair. "Emerson! I'm not going in the pool with you."

He walked up to me, bare body right in front of me. He was a little taller than me, making it easy for him to assert his dominance. Maybe my slightly submissive personality helped, too, but I didn't ponder that too long. "Yes you are."

I swallowed hard. "You can't make me." I tried to sound confident, but my voice shook.

"Watch me." He lifted me off the ground and jumped into the water, me still securely in his arms. I flailed my arms in attempt to get away from him, but he resurfaced us, not letting me go. "Princess, stop wiggling."

I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Wiggling. That's a funny word."

He sighed. "Princess, honestly. I-"

"Of course you're honest. You're always honest." I turned my head away from his face and scanned the blurry surroundings. "Shit. E, my glasses fell off!" I squirmed in his arms, trying to get away so I could find my glasses. Those things were expensive; mum would kill me if I lose them. The air became suffocating. I was trapped by his arms. "Emerson! Let me go! I need to find them!"

He tightened his grip on me and pulled me closer to his chest. "Shh... I'll find them for you, my princess. There's no need to panic." I trusted him. He placed me down on the edge of the pool. I watched his blurry figure dive under the water again. Some moments later, he emerged.

"Found 'em!" He waded over to the edge, pulled his body up next to mine, and sat down. I reached for the frames, but he apparently had a different idea. He slid them onto my nose, bopping it after.

I scrunched up my nose. "Was that really necessary?"

"Honestly? Yes." God, him and his honesty. I'd never admit it to myself, but I liked it.