Playing Dirty(82)

“Andreeeeew! Oh my god, I love you!”

It was a cry that pierced the air of the still New York night, and from nowhere, large men in suits descended to stand between their prince and the hordes of his adoring groupies. I’d actually seen those men in the bar earlier, and I’d fleetingly wondered why they kept looking my way, but I’d been so caught up with Drew that I hadn’t questioned it. But now…

I looked at the man who’d introduced himself to me as Drew Ellis. “Is it true? Are you him?” I asked with wide eyes.

“Well…I’d rather not discuss it here,” he replied. “But yes, I am.”

My heart sank. I couldn’t stand liars. I’d been lied to by people in the worst ways in the past—my own family members, no less—and it wasn’t something I could put up with again, even from a guy I’d just met. Even from a prince I’d just met.

“I don’t believe it,” I muttered. “You lied. You…”

I couldn’t even begin to piece the rest of my thoughts into words, and my voice trailed off into the cold night air. Then I did the only thing I could think of in that exact moment.

I turned and ran.

“Keira! Wait!”

I heard the shout above the cries of the girls but I didn’t stop, didn’t look back, and certainly heard no running feet coming after me, which was all for the best. Now the reality of the situation was upon me, I felt stupid, I felt humiliated and I felt a little angry. He’d lied to me, and I’d fallen for every single bit of bullshit he’d fed me! And he’d done it just so he could have sex with me and never see me again. If he’d ever intended for me to know who he was, then he wouldn’t have given me a fake name, and he’d taken advantage of the fact that I hadn’t recognized him so that he’d never have to reveal his true identity to me.

Then again, I suppose that was the nature of the one night stand: anonymous and meaningless. And although I’d thought only minutes before that that was what I wanted, I now knew that such a desire was not within me at all. Not even a bit. Sex and meaningless were two words which I couldn’t put together, and I had no idea why it had seemed like such an amazing, exciting idea five minutes ago.

Although tonight had ended prematurely, I still felt used, and my resistance to the one night stand was renewed a hundredfold, even if the man was as sexy as ‘Drew Ellis’.

Never again.



***



“Prince Andrew?” Sarah’s jaw hung open in disbelief.

I nodded.

“Prince Andrew was in that bar?”

“Yup. Dressed quite casually, which was why no one seemed to notice at first. But it was him.”

“And I missed him?” Sarah punched the arm of the chair in which she was sitting. “Dammit!”

“I think you’re missing the point of the story.”

We were sitting in the apartment we shared (though not for much longer), both holding a coffee as we discussed the events of the night before.

“I can’t believe you had a chance to sleep with him, and you ditched him instead,” she said.

I shrugged, still feeling the sting of last night’s events. “I couldn’t go through with it. He actually made me feel like I was special, like maybe there’d be more than just one night between us, but he didn’t even tell me his friggin’ real name. I guess I’m not upper class enough for a guy like him to ever think about seeing again. The whole thing just made me feel like crap.”

“Keira, of course he made you feel all warm and fuzzy and special. He wanted to get laid. That’s what one night stands are about. It’s not about dating or meaning something to the other person, or having any kind of future with them.”

I sighed, knowing how incredibly naïve I sounded. “I know. I guess it’s just really not for me.”

Her face softened. “Sorry if I pushed you into it. I really thought you’d have fun.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, shaking my head. “It was my decision, and besides, I didn’t go through with it anyway.”

“I still feel bad. And Prince Andrew is such a player…I feel like if you’d met a less ‘playboy’ kinda guy, then you might’ve actually had fun with it.”

“Maybe. I doubt it, though. I think the Playboy Prince might’ve put me off trying to have fun with any guys for quite some time.”

“Don’t let it bother you that much. He might be a royal family member, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t also a royal jerk who isn’t worth thinking about. Most one night stand kinda guys are. That’s why you love ‘em and leave ‘em,” she said. “Besides, this’ll make a cool story for your future grandkids—how you rejected a royal and left him high and dry out on the street.”