Unexpected

Chapter 12

A/N: The picture on the side is similar to what I imagine the ones that were on Perez's site to be. Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! 

When I came to, I was laying on a couch in the living room and Alex was shooing both Maggie and what I assumed was one of his bodyguards out the front door, with promises to Maggie that I would call her later. As he closed the door, I sat up and put my head in my hands, still trying to absorb everything I had just learned.

"This is not happening, I cannot believe I just lost my virginity to the King of England," I muttered, although, due to my distress, not particularly quietly.

"I'm not the King yet and given my family's longevity, I won't be for quite a -- wait, what did you say? You lost WHAT?" Alex yelled at me.

I stood so I would be on more even ground with him. "Yes, that was my first time, I should have told you, I'm sorry...hold up, why am I apologizing, you didn't tell me you're a prince!! I think that's a significantly bigger thing to not tell someone!"

Alex sat down on the couch where I'd just been, clearly trying to calm himself down. He patted the cushion beside him, looking up at me, but I shook him off. I couldn't sit still and talk this through. "Let's not make this into a competition. But yes, we should deal with my...," he seemed to be struggling to find a word to describe what he had done.

"I believe 'lie' is the word you're looking for," I said bitingly as I paced back and forth in front of him.

"Charlotte, I never lied to you. I told you I was a student, that I wasn't sure what I wanted to do once I graduated, that's all true. Omission was the word I was looking for."

"But omission seems like not telling me you speed sometimes or once cheated on a test in fifth grade. This is much bigger than that!! Let's say I just 'omitted' telling you I have herpes, that would feel a lot like a lie, right?!?" I shouted.

"Are you honestly comparing being a member of the British royal family to having a sexually transmitted disease?!" he asked incredulously. He looked angry for a moment, then burst into laughter.

The ridiculousness of what I had just said hit me and I cracked up as well. I collapsed onto the couch next to him, tensing up when he pulled me onto his lap. I quickly relaxed though as it felt so comforting to be held by him again, regardless of how I was feeling about everything else that was going on at that moment. He rested his chin on my head, still softly chuckling.

"It's actually not an unreasonable comparison in some ways, I feel diseased at times, like an outcast or an outsider -- it really can be a huge burden. And there certainly doesn't seem to be any cure for it."

"But with less burning when you pee, right?" I teased, never one to miss an obvious joke, regardless of what else was going on.

"Well, yes," he laughed. He hesitated, then continued, "I am really sorry for not telling you, Charlie. This doesn't forgive what I did, not for a moment, but I suppose I was just enjoying having a somewhat normal relationship for once in my life. You have no idea how brilliant it felt to have someone like you for just being yourself -- especially someone as amazing as you -- and not because of your title. Although think how much more you would have liked me if you knew I was a prince, that's way better than a duke, isn't it?"

"Gah, I'll never live that down," I replied, hitting him on the arm. "And I understand why you did what you did, honestly I do. But I never, never imagined that my picture would be in a tabloid so I'm having a seriously hard time with finding out like that. What was your game plan, were you ever going to tell me who you were? Or were you just hoping for some vacation sex that you could laugh about with your buddies back home, about this clueless girl who had no idea who you were?"