Page 27 of Mom-Com
“Gotta be more careful, darling,” he chastised while picking up a tampon and putting it back in my purse.
The other guy immediately quit helping and just handed the things he’d collected to Jameson, like he had some claim over me and my things simply because he called me “darling.” The guy nodded at me and went back to his group, all of whom were eyeing me like I was the crazy mom who’d had too much to drink at dinner and now was embarrassing her children in public. Little did they know it did not take alcohol nor the public sphere for me to embarrass them. This little show was all extra entertainment from a completely sober state. Which was sobering.
Next thing I knew, Jameson was leading me by the elbow to his car, reclaimed purse in hand.
“Was that really necessary?” he muttered quietly enough the kids couldn’t hear.
I smiled devilishly to the side of his head, inordinately pleased with the frown that covered his face. “Oh, it really was.”
* * *
“Hello?” Gabby’s tired voice finally picked up after the third ring. Good thing too, as I was in my bed all snuggled up and ready to keep calling her ass all night until she answered.
“Get this. I’m getting cock-blocked by my next-door neighbor.”
There was a pause. Then she was back, fully alert.
“Tell me everything.”
* * *
Traipsing through the woods with a bounce in my step and in my turquoise floor-length ball gown, I see the leaves and bark on the trees as if in technicolor. Everything is so other-worldly beautiful I want to cry in appreciation. Little birds hop along the branches, trailing the larger squirrels as they follow in the wake of my path. I can’t help but break into song, the clear, strong voice surprising me when I sound just like Aurora inSleeping Beauty.
I sing from memory, words of searching for my prince, wondering where he is and when he’ll find me. The sun filters down between the trees to spotlight me as I dance around, my feet floating over the pine needles and rocks.
A thundering out in the distance stops me cold. My hand flutters to my heart and all the forest animals run for cover. I stand there, unable to move, awaiting whatever is about to come through the brush and find me.
I don’t feel scared, just curious, as if I’m right there in every tiny detail, but not really there at all.
Hooves beat out a cadence, like a song beat in my head. Crashing through the leaves arrives a huge white beast of a horse, his nostrils flaring as he breathes hard. My gaze travels up, up, up.
And I wonder no more.
My prince is here.
Sitting high on his steed is a stranger, yet he needs no introduction. Dark hair swoops back in an exaggerated coif, not a hair out of place despite the rough ride. Thick eyebrows scrunch together in a delicious frown that brings a shiver to my spine. He’s handsome and virile, the perfect match for a girl like me.
He knows it too for he slows his beast and comes alongside me, the frown easing as he takes in my dress. Every glance is like a physical caress, making me weak in the knees, but strengthening my resolve to permit him anything and everything.
Finally he stops, his horse prancing in place, no longer something I fear. My prince would never let me come to harm.
“Your name, young lady?” His voice settles over me like a warm blanket. Familiar.
“Lily, Your Highness.” I curtsy low to the ground and I pause a moment, wondering how I accomplished such a move. Straightening, I see his gaze flicker from my chest to my face and back. I should be embarrassed by the amount of cleavage showing in this ridiculous dress, but all I feel is elation at winning his attention.
“Come.” His gloved hand stretches down to me, beckoning me to follow.
I will not disobey his command. Not ever.
Placing my hand in his, he swings me up onto his quivering horse. I sit side saddle on his lap, bombarded by sensation being pressed against his wall of muscle, a hardness so different than mine.
His lips, only inches away, say my name. “Lily. You are mine.”
There’s no argument from me, which sets off a warning bell in the back of my head. I should protest, I know I should, yet all I do is nod, like it was never in question.
His hand releases mine to grab the reins. With a flick of the leather, we’re off, back into the heart of the woods, where no one roams but me. And now my prince. When we arrive at a particularly dense section, he pulls the horse to a stop.
I look around quickly, seeing nothing familiar, but then again, it’s almost entirely dark and I can’t see anything save for the man I’m pressed up against. The horse’s swaying begins to make me dizzy.
