Chapter 31

He wasn't at our spot,and after checking around a bit I decided to just text him. 

I had him saved as " My J.R" on my phone, and I always smiled whenever I saw the name. There was something different about looking at the name in written form. It filled me with this satisfaction since it acted as a sort of proof that he truly was mine. 

It was almost the same feeling I got whenever another person did so.

By now most if not the entire school knew about the two of us, and if they hadn't been sure before then they were now. I remember the feeling I got when I kissed him in front of an audience and it exhilarated me. It held a different level of depth, knowing that there was an actual crowd to witness our intimacy was proof that it existed.

Not that I needed any proof perse , but sometimes I wondered whether it was all in my head. And now I had ground on which to cement my beliefs.

A text came from him before I sent one.

" The stables, " was all it read.

I chuckled to myself, wondering how it was possible to be so in synch with another human being that they knew your thoughts before you said them out loud. I put the phone back into my pocket and headed for the stables, but first I stopped at the canteen and bought him something to eat. He must have been starving after all those gruesome hours of training. What he needed now food, and what I needed was him.

I found him leading his stallion back to the stables by the reigns. He stopped and dropped them on seeing me, then he ran a hand through his hair and smiled.

A smile preserved exclusively for my eyes.

I crossed my arms and simply beheld the sight, then I pierced him with a glance that proved to him how much I had missed him.

" I smell food, and I'll be damned if I'm not starving. "

" Are you really?" my eyes glittered with mischief. 

" I bet you I can eat more than Dryne over here, " he patted the horse lovingly. Then the horse nuzzled into him and he laughed.

" You shall end me, " I whispered just loud enough for him to hear, he stopped laughing and his face was suddenly a mask of seriousness. And I diverted the subject and asked him where he wanted to sit while eating. He pointed to a bench opposite the stables and I waited for him to get Dryne set in before we walked towards it. I know he always wondered why I did that, why I said things that had his mind racing to figure out but then changed the topic immediately after. The truth is that I also didn't know, the words came to me and I said them. Because I always said what I felt. But the words didn't leave any meaning with them, and I also lacked one. 

But in this case I suppose I understood. My J.R would indeed end me. He would break me completely, then he would smile at me and build me up again....for now at least. Because a time would come when after breaking me apart, he would vanish. Gone like he had never been here to begin with. But I never permitted myself to think such dull thoughts. Instead I feigned optimism and got the most out of my time with him. Because the ugly truth was that somehow our six months had turned to three. 

I had grabbed him a burger and fries along with a bottled water. And I had also bought this packet of chocolate that he liked. His eyes shone when he saw it. 

" What would I do without you?" 

" Possibly starve yourself to death. "

He hadn't been lying when he said he was hungry. He ate everything I brought. Literally.

And I watched him because it gave me joy.

" Better now?" I asked as he unwrapped the chocolate bar.

" Much. May I make a confession?"

" It's your turn so go right ahead. "

He cut a piece of the bar and fed it to me, I gladly took it. Then a couple of seconds later he kissed me. And that had been exactly what I wanted. 

" I missed you so much it hurt."

Like I said, he would end me.

We shared the chocolate until only one bar remained, and he gave it to me. I bit into one end and beckoned for him to bite the other. Then afterwards we talked about my day and about his. I told him about the meeting and the book and this funny clip I had watched on my phone. And he listened so keenly I was tempted to go on and on.

" We have a competition coming up in two weeks. Like five other schools will take part, "

I suddenly realized that there was a chance we wouldn't see each other since all the sports would be taking part in the competition. And I was the captain of the swim team. I had to constantly be there to supervise things, but I so desperately wanted to see him play.

But I didn't bring it up because I was determined to find a way. I was grateful the event would be taking place in our school. It was bigger and contained all the required facilities for any sport there was, including the ones no one played.

He threw the wrappers in the bin and then extended his hand to me.

" Come on, I have a surprise for you,"

I took his hand and stood, wondering what the surprise was but not bothering to ask since I would eventually find out.

It was a horse ride. 

I sat behind him and held on tight, and he steered the horse around the polo field a number of times. And I can only describe the feeling with one word. Unreal.

I keep saying that I love him and that is the truth. But I suspected it was more than that, this feeling I had for him had surpassed all the boundaries of affection known to man. Jerald Amir was my secret treasure. Jerald Amir was mine.

When we both got off the horse I helped him to brush it down, he taught me the right way to do so. Guiding my hand and telling me how Dryne liked to be groomed. At some point during our conversation I heard him mention that he would one day buy a horse of his own. A dark stallion that was wild and fearless. And I knew that he was serious and wished I would be there despite knowing I most likely wouldn't. We then we securely locked it in the stables and headed back to his quarters that now felt like my own. 

I ran us a warm bath and I kneaded the tension from his muscles once we were in it. He sighed in relief, his eyes closed as he took pleasure in the tender action I did out of affection. 

I observed him, his dark lashes and his hair and that beauty that had made me blink countless times the first time I had seen him. Because I had doubted whether he was real.

It seemed like ages ago when he and I had first met, we had lived countless eons in the space of our three months.

And as I looked at him I let myself think about something for the very first time. Something he had told me but that I chose not to ponder in, but it was a fact I couldn't ignore since it was true.

The fact that he was a prince. Royal blood flowed in his veins. I couldn't even fathom the kind of lavish life he had had, I didn't care much for all that. What I did care about was his good heart and the fact that he even had one to begin with. His upbringing had not altered him in any way. He was still kind and sweet so utterly him. And as I reached for the sponge and ran it down his smooth back I congratulated him. 

He was the best student in our class. Out of about a hundred and seventy five he was the lead. Oliver was seventh and I was third and I'm pretty sure I had seen Rajeev's name at ninth . That he had just moved here and had to get used to this entirely new way of education had not at all affected him. And as I sang his praises he only smiled and then said, 

" I wonder what my parent had really come to do here. I'm certain it wasn't really about visiting me,"

The matter must have really been bothering him because he looked as if he had been thinking about it for ages.

I asked him not to overthink it, that I was sure if it was anything of urgency then he would have been told. And he agreed to let it be and we continued with the bath.