I sit and look outside, the rain pelting down against the window. It was now the afternoon and Izzy and I were back at the palace, but the weather had turned bad again.
I was in the day room, by myself, just sitting and thinking about things.
I had seen the photo of Serena, Isabelle and I had been posted and had gone viral. Along with the reporter's interviews of us being outside the palace.
I even liked Serena's picture and followed her Instagram, because I like to keep in touch with nice people that I meet. I left a nice comment on her photo, reminding her how beautiful she looked, and knew that would put a smile on her face.
The door to the day room opens, and I'm a little sad my quiet time is interrupted.
It's William who comes in the door, "Lottie!"
"Liam? Woah, what's up?" I ask, wondering why he's rushing around as if in search for something.
He hurries over with a smile on his face, taking my hand and pulling me up out of my seat, "I've been looking for you. C'mon."
"Where are we going?" I ask as I let him pull me up and walk with him out of the day room.
He grins at me, "Outside."
"Into the rain?" I question and he nods.
"Yep. You up for a little dance in the rain?"
"Sure." I'm surprised by his offer. Yet I'm intrigued.
He quickly gives me the option to back out, "We don't have to if you don't want to."
"No, it sounds like fun, lead the way." I say to him and Liam squeezes my hand happily as we walk along to find the exit.
"I knew you'd love the idea."
I laugh, surprised but also happy and we rush down the corridor to the door that Liam pushes open. He holds my hand tightly and pulls me out into the pouring rain with him.
Within seconds my clothes are drenched and Liam just laughs and swings me round with him on the paved path through the garden.
I laugh for some reason, twirling in the rain as I hear Liam laugh too. He watches me with a smile as I close my eyes and feel the rain on my skin.
"Lottie?"
I look over to him, "Yes?"
"Have you ever danced in the rain with anyone?" He asks as I twirl around, letting the water fall over my face helplessly before turning to him again.
"No. Have you?" I ask, and Will seems happy with my response, smiling as he offers a hand out to me.
"No. But I want to with you." He calls back, loudly to be heard over the sound of the pelting rain.
I'm glad he hasn't so I say, "Good. Let's dance."
I notice the smile that breaks out on across his face and I take his hand, letting him twirl me around. The rain has already soaked us both, Liam swinging me out and then back in so I fall into his arms.
I laugh into his chest, the noise being drowned out as he wraps his arms around me. We sway as we dance slowly together in the rain, stepping in slow circles on the paved path.
I rest my head in the crook of Will's neck, my arms clung tightly onto him. I hear Liam laugh softly, happily, as he brushes my wet hair down.
Looking up into bright green his eyes, his smile makes me grin. Over the loud pelting of the rain, Liam reaches a hand up and strokes his thumb slowly over my cheek, tracing down my jawline to my chin. His touch makes my chest flutter with warmth, despite the cold of the rain.
"Lottie."
"Hmm" I say as I look up at him.
He smiles, "You're so beautiful."
"Stop being a flirt." I say, pushing on his chest lightly, trying not to distract myself by the now see through material clung to his skin.
Liam pushes the wet hair out of my face, "It wasn't a lie though. Your eyes are such a pretty colour."
"Your eyes are pretty too." I tell him as I look into his eyes, the swirls of green watching me with a soft expression.
"I do not have pretty eyes." Liam protests but I just laugh.
"Yes you do." I say, trying to convince him.
He rolls his pretty eyes at me and I laugh, still dancing around with him as the rain continues to come down on us heavily.
"You're very handsome if you prefer me saying that." I say to Liam and he raises an eyebrow at me.
"You really think so?"
I nod and lean back against his chest, "I do."
"I hope you don't mind I brought you out into the rain." Liam says as one of his hands finds my waist, holding me close to him as we sway in our slow dance.
I laugh, "It's fine. I've actually always wanted to run into the rain with someone."
"So have I. Never thought it would happen though." He says, agreeing with me.
"It's usually only in movies or books."
"Yeah. I'm glad I took a chance to make it happen. I'm not sure what's going to happen when we go back inside, I may have put you in trouble, but I would dance in the rain again with you anytime." Liam says, watching me as I pull back and take both of his wet hands in mine.
I sigh with a content smile, looking down at my soaked clothes, "I can't believe I ruined my dress. And I don't even care."
"I'll get you a new dress." Liam offers and I shake my head.
"I have so many others it doesn't matter. But it was worth it anyway."
Looking back to Liam, glancing over his wet face, parts of his blonde hair sticking to his forehead. My eyes trail over his face, pausing on his wet lips, that turn up into a smirk as he notices me looking.
I flush and look back up to his eyes, "Wanna head inside?"
"Whatever you want Lottie." He says agreeably and I let go of his hands.
"Race you inside." I smirk before picking up the skirts of my dress and running towards the palace.
Liam takes a second to react, clearly not what he expected, "Hey!"
As much as I try to get away, he's at my heels in seconds because I'm not fast at all. Will grabs me when he reaches me and lifts me up.
"Liam!" I squeal, and he puts me down, facing me with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I didn't want you to fall, it's slippery Lottie." He tells me and I just push pass him and continue to walk back to the palace, keen to get out of the rain.
"I'm perfectly capable of making it inside safely."
I hear Liam call out to me but I don't turn back,
"Why are you running away from me?"
Why? Maybe because you make my heart beat faster than usual and I don't know why. Or because you call me beautiful in that genuine way.
Or maybe because you wanted to run out into the rain and dance with me. That's so romantic.
But instead of answering I just call out, "I'm not!"
~~~~~
I call to the nearest staff member, a butler passing on his way to the kitchens, and ask him to bring us some clean towels to dry off with.
I kick off my wet heeled shoes onto the tiles, the pair echoing loudly as I fling them off.
I glance to William who's just come in beside me and is smiling at me like he's about to burst into laughter.
"What is it?" I ask him and he shrugs, clearly avoiding the question.
"Oh nothing."
I put my hands on my hips, "Really? Nothing? Then why are you grinning like that?"
"Well I thought it best to spare you my inappropriate jokes, I feel like you get enough of that already from people like Hunter." He says and that's peaked my interest a little.
I roll my eyes, "Let me guess, something along the lines of how soaked I am or something."
Liam moves a step closer so he's behind me with a cheeky grin, making me freeze.
"I'll spare you the details, but more about how instantly wet you become when being with me." He whispers softly by my ear, leaning in to kiss my cheek but I pull away from him.
"Tisk tisk Martina, wrong move, you won't be getting any more kisses from me." I say as I turn to face him and cross my arms over my chest.
I was not letting a boy make me flustered.
Liam pouts and steps back, protesting, "What? None? Not even on the cheek?"
"Nothing. That's what you get for being so dirty minded." I say firmly and am satisfied with how frustrated he looks.
He points a finger to his chest, "Me? What about you. You were thinking about it too."
I gasp in shock, "I have to remind you I am a lady. I would never."
He laughs, "Such a lady." Liam runs up to me and pulls me into his arms, picking me up and swinging me around. I laugh at his sudden movements and hear the echo of my voice in the entrance area, smiling as Will gently places me down but still holds his arms around me.
He seemed to love picking me up, and I kinda liked it too.
"Can I get a kiss now?" Liam asks and I shake my head.
"Oh no you don't."
He pouts, then brings his face closer to mine with a smirk, "Let's see how long it takes until you come begging for me to kiss you."
"You might be waiting a while. I have plenty of other guys I can kiss in the meantime."
"Hey!" Will grabs my arm, pulling me back so I can't walk away from him and he leans in so close to me that his nose touches mine, "Your kisses belong to me."
"Oh really?" I ask as I raise my eyebrow.
He pleads with me, "One kiss? Just one?"
I give in, "Only because you made me happy today."
"By dancing in the rain with you?" He asks with a glad smile and I nod.
"Yeah, I loved it."
He grins and holds my hands tightly, "I'd dance in the rain forever with you if you want."
"So you don't want a kiss?" I ask, wondering if he's forgotten about it.
"Would you give me one?" He asks with a questioning grin, so I answer him. After that dance in the rain I was dying to kiss him so I did.
I lean up, using my hands to hold either side of his face as I pull his lips to meet mine. Drops of water still linger on his lips, the taste of the rain and his mouth moulding into one. My arms are clung around his neck, my fingers lacing through the blonde locks of his wet hair.
I really felt this kiss. Maybe it was the fact we danced in the rain like something out of a romantic fairytale, or that I was starting to like him even more.
Either way I felt warm inside, the feeling making my toes curl as I leant up to deepen the kiss further. Liam's lip feel so nice, and I have to suppress a moan as his hand moves around to the back of my head, tugging my hair.
I pull back for a breath, panting lightly because of how intense this is. Liam looks to me, analysing my expression, and after seeing I'm enjoying it as much as him he leans in again.
I've only kissed a few people before, but this, this, was different. It felt incredible, his wet lips tasted incredible. He clearly new what he was doing.
Mmm, I think I enjoy someone with experience.
Will traces a finger along my chin, gently parting my lips so he can slip his tongue in. Now that was hot.
Just when things are getting good we are interrupted by a throat being cleared.
"Excuse me, your highness?"
I quickly detach myself from Liam, flushing at the fact someone had seen us being so intimate, and see a butler standing a few steps away. I peaked a glance at Will beside me and he seemed satisfied now, smiling cunningly as he licks his lips.
I look to the butler who had interrupted us, holding a handful of fluffy towels for us.
"Oh, thank you sir." I say to the man, walking the few steps over to him and take the pile from him. He pauses as I look at him and I lower my voice, "I'd appreciate if you don't tell anyone about what you've seen."
"Of course your highness." He's lying and I know it.
I give the cheery looking butler a grin and politely say, "Thank you."
If you think maids are gossipy, you've obviously never lived with butlers. To me it seems like they find enjoyment in telling as many people private news as they can, without hesitation.
The butler scurries off and I know he's hurrying to spread the word of William and I's little make out sesh. Oh well.
Once I'm certain he's gone I turn back to William and feel my cheeks warm.
So much for not getting flustered around boys.
Silently I walk back to him and put the towels down, offering him one.
Liam takes the towel from me, but unfolds it and drapes it over my shoulders instead of using it to dry himself.
"Thanks." I say softly and he just nods. I didn't like how quiet he was being, "You seem quiet."
I squeeze the water out of my dress onto one of the towels and try to dry off some of the material, but it doesn't do much.
"Sorry. I don't mean to give the wrong impression. The kiss was great, better than great. But I feel like I may be rushing you a bit." Liam admits as he dries himself off.
"No, I enjoyed it." I say with a smile as I squeeze most of the water from my hair out into the towel.
He grins, "Well I know that." Then he pauses before speaking again, "It's just, I get carried away easily. And I forget you have lots of other people in the selection still. I don't want to make things awkward or harder for you, as much as I want to kiss you."
"So you, regret it?" I ask, confused at how he feels.
He quickly takes my hands in his, "No, god no, not at all. Lottie, I feel I'm probably freaking out because it was that good."
I release a breath I didn't know I was holding, "Phew, I thought you were going to mock my kissing skills or something."
"After how good that was? No way." He says and I shake my head. With my little kissing experience, it can't have been that good for him.
I try to get more of water out of my clothes, but just end up wrapping myself up in a towel, "You better tell me where you learnt to kiss like that."
"High school." He says with a shrug, then grins, "I can teach you if you'd like."
"Mmm, I'd like that." I say without realising I said it out loud and Liam laughs, "But maybe we should put some clean clothes on first."
"Keen are we?" Will asks me teasingly and I fling my hands up dramatically.
"This girl has just discovered what she's been missing out on."
Liam runs a towel over his floppy blonde hair with a grin, "Easy tiger. Let's just focus on drying off first."
"Let's leave these soaked towels here, I'll fetch them later once I've got some dry clothes on."
I grab Liam's hand and he laughs as I run up the corridor with him, hurriedly so we can pass without being seen in our wet clothes.
Unfortunately, that isn't the case as my brother comes around the corner in that moment.
Why do I have such bad luck?
Thomas looks at me, his eyes going wide, "Charlotte? What on earth?"
I stop in my tracks, Will still holding my hand beside me, as I see Thomas already looking angry a few steps away. I cling with one hand to the towel draped over me, Liam giving the other one a comforting squeeze.
"Hi Thomas. We are just passing, don't mind us." I try to say and duck my head, but he's quick to shoot me down.
"The both of you," He looks cautiously at Liam before his gaze slides back to me, "Should be dining with the other selected right now."
I shrug, "Oh well."
"You can't keep running off all the time Char." Thomas says as he comes closer to me with a stern expression. He looks appalled by the state of me, looking strangely at my bare feet and soaked dress. What a killjoy.
"I know, I'm sorry." I say and debate whether I should piss my brother off more to see what he'll do. Maybe if I made out with Liam again, but in front of him, he'd finally lose it completely at me.
I laugh at the thought but the stern look Thomas has on his face wipes any amusement I was thinking of away.
"And running around like this." He says, appalled, before he looks at Will, "If you turn into a bad influence I won't want you here anymore."
"Good thing I'm not a bad influence then." Liam says in a joking way, but sees the deathly glare my brother is shooting at him and frowns, "We were just having fun, your highness."
"Of course, do as you please in the rain Martina, but don't drag my sister out with you." He says seriously and looks to me, "Charlotte, you're coming with me."
I couldn't believe my brother right now. I raise an eyebrow at him, "Excuse you. I'm spending time with Liam right now."
"You can see him again once you're in some dry clothing. Although I think you've been around him long enough for one day. Charlotte, let's go."
Thomas finished speaking before he gestures for me to follow him, turning and starting down the hall. He pauses with his back to us, waiting for me to walk with him.
Liam turns to me, "I had fun with you, as always Lottie, but your brother seems pretty serious. I look forward to our next dance it the rain."
"I'll see you soon, once I'm finished with Thomas." I promise him but he waves me off.
"No, go spend time with your brother. I'll change and find the other guys. It seems like you need to talk." He tells me and I nod.
"Maybe you're right. I'll see you later."
"Until then." Liam takes the hand of mine he was still holding and brings it to his lips, kissing it softly.
My stomach fluttered a little, but I realised my brother was still waiting down the hall and there was no time for butterflies.
"Bye Liam." I say with a small wave as I hurry to follow my brother who's now looking at me frustratedly.
"Bye Lottie."
I try to ignore my brothers looming gaze and think about how much fun I was having with William, but he is clearly unhappy with me. He's silent as we move down the corridor, leaving William behind.
Once we've walked to the elevator and the doors slide closed, Thomas starts lecturing me again.
"I can't believe you. Look at you, you're going to catch a cold. You're a Princess and you're running around the halls after going out in the rain, with a guy who encourages this kind of behaviour."
"Liam isn't a bad influence if that's what you're trying to say." I tell him as I stand on one side of the elevator.
"I'm trying to say to you, Charlotte, that this isn't how you should act. No doubt this will be headlines tomorrow, showing how irresponsible you were being."
"We didn't see any cameras." I add but he throws his hands up.
"Charlotte there are cameras everywhere in this palace. You are in a selection, incase you have forgotten, the crew in the palace have a job to film whatever they can."
I shrug, "Whatever."
I can only imagine the headlines if any cameras caught the kiss.
After a few seconds the elevator door opens to the fourth floor, and I walk at a quick pace to my room, Thomas following.
"May I remind you of the point of the selection. To find a suitable husband." He says to me as he tries to keep up with my fast strides.
"That's what I'm doing."
I can hear the frown in his voice, "Not by acting childish."
"Seriously Thomas, what is up with you? I can do what I want, and I'm tired of you coming with your shitty attitude at me." I tell him and that doesn't do anything to help my case.
I was sick of Thomas right now. Him and his need for me to be perfect all the time.
I move into my room that I've reached and Thomas gives me an unimpressed look from the corridor.
"I don't have a shitty attitude." He says but I glare at him, to which he scoffs, "I'm trying to help you find someone worthy of being a prince."
"At least I'm having fun. You should try it some time." I say before slamming the door on my brother.