"Did you really lose your virginity to me?" Josh asked as I slid into my bed. There was no point in calling the car, it was midnight and the poor driver would have to be woken, so Josh decided to stay.
"Would it be so wrong to admit it?" I fumbled with the covers, my face going a scarlet shade. I pulled them over my head, hiding from him.
Josh seemed shocked, pulling down the covers a little so he could see my eyes. "You didn't act like a virgin!" He exclaimed, lying down next to me. "I thought you were very experienced."
"Thanks?" I chuckled, a little unsure of myself.
"I mean it." Josh responded. I found his words quite funny, though I couldn't quite decipher their meaning.
"I hope you didn't feel too uneasy tonight. I know my family are a bit.. rude, but they don't mean to be. It's just how they were trained to deal with strangers, I guess."
"Your brother was nice and your Mother was," Josh paused, unable to find a word to use. "Interesting." Josh spoke. I groaned,
"My Mother terrifies any man who shows an interest in me. Has she scared you off?" I frowned. Josh grinned, shaking his head.
"I don't think I could ever be scared off of you." Josh sat up a little, resting on his elbow. I was lying right next to him, allowing him to move over me a little and cheekily kiss my neck.
"I'm glad to hear it." I softly said. "But, I need to tell you something." I admitted, a little anxiety rising in my stomach. Josh nodded, sitting up a little to see my face and prompting me to speak once more. "My Mother thinks Richard has this ridiculous plan to discredit me to get himself named as heir and then to.." I could hardly say it. "Assassinate Edward." I choked a little. "I don't know if she's just delusional from the loss of my Father but she's always been a power player and I just.. I mean, it's regicide, Josh." I couldn't find the right words to express my feelings. "If we lost Edward, my entire line would be down the drain and Richard would be King. I would be exiled, Josh, or worse -- dead! I would live a constant life of disgrace and, though some may say I deserve it, I don't want a life like that."
Josh looked like he couldn't take it in. I had thrown him into this big, family mess. What was worse was that we were all in the public eye; this was a PR disaster waiting to happen.
"Josh, look," I sighed. "It's all 'what ifs'. We said no what ifs, remember?" I grinned. Josh nodded,
"He'd have to get through me to do anything to you." Josh reassured me. "Let's just enjoy the time we have now rather than worry about the future."
"Spoken like a true wiseman." I jested. "You and Edward got along well."
"He was interested in the film production, oddly enough. Day to day life and all that."
"Did he?" I was taken aback. I hadn't quite expected that to be their conversation topic, but I was glad they were bonding.
"I offered to let him visit the set of Blue Harvest when filming begins."
"That's kind, Josh." I spoke. "Thank you for being nice to him. I know he isn't the type of person you'd usually be friends with but I think you could get on quite well."
"Anything for you." He winked. "In fact, he was very interested in how they schedule it with filming slots and all that."
"I'd forgotten you had it coming up." I admitted. "You go in March, don't you?"
"Three more months." He confirmed. There was a pause,
"How long will you be in Africa?"
"Four months, Matilda."
