The Unexpected Crown

Sixteen

To my jubilation, the topic of Hunter ended then there. With the help of Gracelyn's distraction, we ended up gossiping about celebrities for a few hours. Mainly about ones that I've done photo shoots with.

"What about Joey Lawrence?" London squeaks; she admitted a while back that she has had a massive crush on the actor and I mentioned that I've met him multiple times.

"Actually, that six-pack is real. So are his arm muscles. Oh, and his jawline! They enhance some stuff but not as much as they do for Nick Sarantoga." I giggle the last part thinking back to my first encounter with Nick. His angled jawbone was not that sharp in real life. It was more like a dull knife. Or kiddie scissors. Those biceps were also as fake as my Mother.

"No way! I love Nick!" Aurora sputters in astonishment.

"He is more fake than Carly Novice's face lift." I inform the girls who synchronize their gasps.

"Well Cor, you must have liked one of these guys. Which one did you think was the hottest?" Bianca asks intriguingly, an eyebrow raised.

All of the girls nod along to her question and look at me as to wait for my answer in complete anticipation.

"Well Zac Tessel was nice. And I can't deny those abs." I mumble while biting my lip and fighting a blush.

Zac and I go way back. He was the first person I shot photos with when I went into modeling. He was always friendly and tried to make every awkward moment more humorous.

"Zac is very good looking." London giggles loudly, "My father had him in an ad once for his business and I got to meet him."

A chorusing round of ohs surround London and she giggles even more. She's making me wonder if the ice tea she and Gracelyn made was more than the typical delicious blend of mixed tea leaves, water, and ice.

"Oh, guys! Look what I brought on my way over!" Gracelyn bumbles excitedly. My superstitions are proven to be correct while she pulls a bottle of alcohol out from behind her back. "Tastes like champagne but it's got a bit of a kick to it."

She passes the bottle around and each girl takes a steady swig but as I have the bottle in my grasp, a weary feeling creeps within my stomach.

"Cor, what do you have to loose? You do realize that Hunter's out with Amelia right now, right? They've been going as steady as the two of you have." Gracelyn rambles before putting a hand over her mouth. "Shit, I wasn't supposed to say that."

She stumbles over to me and gives me the quickest hug. The smell of alcohol reeks on her but I ignore it. If that asshole brother of her's wants to go steady with that sleaze bag, be my guest.

The girls collectively gasp and I realize I must have said that out loud. Oops.

Without another word, I successfully drown out my anger... by finishing the bottle. The taste is extremely bitter, nothing like normal champagne, but I push it aside. With a final hurrah, I slam the bottle down on a table and get up.

"Ladies, let's go!"

~~~~~

Ow! Will someone please stop banging a gong? What can a girl do to get some rest?

I moan gruffly in exhaustion while slowly blinking my eyes awake.

"Please don't make that noise." A husky voice mutters which wakes me right out of my sleep.

"Who the heck are you!" I screech while tugging the covers over my see-through night gown.

"Don't you remember?" The man chuckles with a slightly nervous tone.

"No! Who are you?" I stutter, panic flowing within my bones. Did I flirt around with some other man? I could be executed!

"It's me, Hunter. Really Cor, after everything we did last night? I thought you would remember. Doesn't it hurt?" He asks, his morning voice is ever so rough and it is making me freak out.

We didn't have... no! We couldn't! Anyway, isn't it supposed to hurt the first time? Oh, crap! Is that why he asked me if it hurt?

"Tell me we didn't!" I point a finger at his chest which I quickly pull away once realizing that it was bare.

"What? That we slept together? Goodness, Cor, no! I found you lying on the floor in the hallway around midnight. I tried to wake you up and when you did, you tried to hit me but instead you stumbled backwards and knocked your head on a table. I took you to the medical wing and they gave me some pain killers to give to you when you woke up. I thought it was best that I explain this to you rather than waking up in pain alone." He explains as if I was consciously all there when this event occurred.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense. What exactly was I doing in the hallway?" I question while rubbing my aching head.

"I'm not sure. You started to say that I was a jerk but you fell before you were able to tell me why." He makes the last statement more like a question.

"I can finish that for you. You are a jerk because... well, why her?" I grumble aggravatingly. Just thinking of her makes my blood boil.

"Why who?"

"Why Amelia? You do realize that she is extremely rude to some of the girls, right? I'm not sure if we see the same version of her, but I can tell you that she is nothing but a scumbag." I snarl at the last part.

"I don't need your input on who I like. This competition is about me dating multiple girls. Don't forget that it was you who signed up for this. And it's not like you're all innocent. Amelia tells me of the cruel things you say to her." His voice grows as he goes on pissing me off.

"First of all Your Royal Highness, I never signed up for this! You know as well as I do that I was invited by your Mother. And don't get me started on Amelia! I try my hardest to avoid that walking temper tantrum as best as possible!" I growl. If he dares to go on about Amelia, I'm leaving.

"Don't talk about her that way!" He snaps with a raging fire burning in his eyes.

"Then don't talk to me. Have a good day, Highness." I state smoothly with ice laced in my tone.

He had a choice.

He chose wrong.

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