Helena moved lazily under the sheet. Her eyes opened to welcome the warmth of sun shines sliding through the windowsill. She got up and looked around until she realized that it was not her room.
She lifted the blanket and reached her clothes that wrapped neatly on an armchair before heading out of the room.
"Good morning?" A warm voice quickly welcomed her from the kitchen. "Did you sleep well?" Asked Max while making breakfast for her.
—
The door was wide open and Max pushed Helena inside with their lips tangled with each other. Previously, He offered to take her home but ended up making out inside the car and they both agreed to continue their steamy session at Max's house.
"Finally…" Max ended it first and smiled right on her lips.
"What's with the finally?"
"We were supposed to kiss back then but you were unconscious. That kind of disappointed me…"
"Do you like me?"
Max's lips curled up into a smirk. He pulled himself away from Helena and took her to the living room, "What kind of answer do you expect me to say?" He pulled her back into his arms.
"Of course I expect a yes from you."
Max put his hands on her neck, to make sure that she would only look at him and smiled, "I am attracted to you and do you want to know why?"
"Why is it?"
"Because you're such a menace to the palace society."
"Is that a compliment?"
"It is. You entertained me from this boring-ass palace lifestyle. I'm longing to meet someone who is vibing with me."
"But why didn't you make a move on me so I don't have to waste my time on that ugly guy."
"For real–Hmmh–" Helena tiptoed to shut him with another kiss, "Don't ask me about that…" She said before crashing her lips on him.
Max lifted her up like a koala and brought her to his bedroom. He put her on his bed and then took his shirt off before kissing her again. His left hand was busy roaming into the drawer of his nightstand and took out a small pack of condoms while their tongues danced along with each other.
"Is it okay for you since you will have a runway gig in the next two days?"
"What do you think will happen to me if we continue to do this? Will you make me not be able to walk?" Helena teased him by lifting up her knees and softly grazed his crotch.
"Do you like to play it hard?" Max took his pants' button off and prepared his first condom, "Despite my big figure, I'm quite flexible and I prioritize my partner's comfort."
"Ooh…you seemed experienced. I like it soft."
"As you wish, My lady," Said Max before he slowly inserted himself into Helena.
—
Helena approached him in the kitchen. The urge to bury herself in his arms was real while she was watching him cooking.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I love a man who cooks. They look sexy."
"You're talking about me, right?"
"Is there any other guy here?"
Max turned to her and smiled before placing a morning kiss on her lips. His left landed on her waist while the other one was busy lowering down the fire level on the stove.
He lifted her up and placed her on the counter before ending the make-out session, "I'm done with my breakfast. How about you?"
"A bit disappointed because you didn't wait for me. I just woke up!" Max chuckled at her complaint because he found it adorable. "But…anyway…" Helena's hands grazed his chest softly. "What are we now?"
"What do you want us to be?"
"Well, I'm kind of hoping for a relationship but I'm also not sure about it…Will it be chaos if we're together? I mean–our fathers–"
"I don't know. I guess we'll never know until we try." Said Max smiling before landing another kiss on her lips.
—
"Thank you, you can wait for your order here," Gwen directed her customer to wait on the right side. She let out a deep breath and looked at the clock. It's lunch time already. Time flies so fast in the blink of an eye.
There was something different today. Usually, at times like this, Arthur would show up at her cafe, but not today. She definitely knows the reason why yet Gwen cannot deny that she is actually missing his bright smile whenever he comes.
"Gwen, Are you okay?" One of her staff noticed the gloomy look on Gwen's face. "You don't look quite good."
"Ah…yeah…just…not in my best condition."
"Just go home and rest then…We're still able to handle it."
"Really?" The staff nodded and after giving some thoughts, She asked for permission to go home early. But once she was out, Gwen suddenly thought about another place to visit.
—
Max could not stop himself from whistling because he was happy due to his new established relationship with Helena and the thought of seeing his woman on her runway gig tomorrow made him giggly. But then he realized that the other side was the opposite of him.
"Bro."
"Huh?"
"Are you okay?" Max realized that Arthur was just spacing out for the whole day. He was not as talkative as usual.
Arthur let out a deep sigh and rested his back on his chair, "Not really."
"What? Is there something that happened?"
"No. Nothing. I just–" Arthur paused for a moment. No matter how he was trying to be okay, In fact, He was not okay and this feeling was unfamiliar to him. Falling in love with someone was not a new thing for him. During his study in England, He fell in love several times with some of his classmates yet he never made a move on them due to his status; He did not want to burden them to be the spouse of a future king.
Until he stepped into Gwen's cafe and was mesmerized by her beauty. At first, He was just admiring Gwen's beauty but then he found himself kept coming back to that place and silently watching how Gwen interacted with her customers and staff.
He did his own research by asking some of the Palace guards who often came to that place and they kept talking about how kind and friendly Gwen was. Arthur braced himself to talk to her; started by greeting her whenever he wanted to order something until she got used to him.
He was touched by how Gwen kept praising his outfit and he was encouraged to dress better and better in front of her. He also loves the way she remembers some small details about him like his favorite coffee and snacks he always orders in her cafe. He found it weird that a stranger could remember some things about him yet it was able to make him happy.
And once he was able to talk more to her, He falls deeper for her; the way her mind works and her unexpected answers that always catch him off guard; He wants to know deeper about her. But now, after what happened this morning, He was not sure if she wanted to be with him with tons of responsibilities to lead a country in the future.
"Someone's heart just got broken, I guess?"
"Shut up."
"You can never lie to me. We've known each other since babies," Max chuckled. "But I think this is the first time I see you like this?? I've no idea about the girls you like because you hide your feelings so well, but this time… Who's this girl? She seems quite special?"
"She is," Arthur sighed and told Max everything happened this morning. "I feel like I am about to be rejected…."
"Ouch–that's complicated. Why did you agree to have a date with her in your house?? Dummy–"
"I didn't expect my mom would come that day! I was so excited because she finally wanted to have a date with me and everything went smoothly–We even–slept together…"
"That would make it harder for you to move on from her–"
"Exactly!"
"But how did your mom react to it?"
"She was quite calm but I never knew what's inside her head. Now that you mentioned my mom, They're quite alike–My mom and Gwen."
"Gwen–wait! IS SHE HELENA'S FRIEND??"
"Eum."
"Ah…that's why you–woah…I didn't expect that."
Arthur was deep into his thoughts again while Max mumbled about how surprised he was to find out that the girl he loves was Helena's best friend.
Now that he thinks about it again, The Queen and Gwen share the same traits; They both look calm outside yet no one could ever predict what was going on inside their head.
"Is this why I fell for her this deep?"