Two weeks had passed at I was back at Paisley Park hanging out alone in one of the guest rooms. As I laid in the bed the warm August sun shines on me. Before I was able to get deep in thought there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" I said to the mystery person.
Prince peeked his head through the door with a smile on his face.
"Hey! What are you doing in here by yourself?" He asked.
"Just came in here to think that's all. I thought you were gonna finish getting ready for your tour?"
Prince came inside and closed the door then made his way to the bed and sat down beside me.
"I have plenty of time for that. It's our last night together before you fly back to LA tomorrow morning. We should do something. Maybe have a going away party?"
The smile on Prince's face was so big it was almost animated. Prince was truly a party man. I couldn't say no.
"Call Cat. Tell her to come and really do me up." I said to him with a grin.
"I get to do you up afterwards right?" He giggled.
"Must everything be a sexual innuendo with you?" I asked as I pushed him gently on his chest.
Prince grabbed on to my hand and held it close to his heart as his smile slowly faded. The joy that was once on his face was now sadness.
"What's the matter?" I asked him.
"Do you really have to go?" Prince asked looking down at my hand in his.
"Skipper it's just a year. It'll be over before you know it! Besides by the time I graduate your tour will be over and you'll only have to wait what? Two weeks before we see each other again? And we can always call each other. Well you can call me. You know the number to my dorm. Just remember the no calls during midterms and finals week."
"You are your study rules! Get a life why dontcha!" Prince joked.
"See? Better already! There's the guy I grew up with!" I giggled.
He brought my hand to his lips and gently kissed it. We caught each other's gaze and smiled as the silence in the room surrounded us. His eyes drew me in. I couldn't stop staring at him. He couldn't stop staring at me. His free hand ran through my curly hair. A smile crepes slowly on his face as his fingers made their way through each strand. He took a deep breath and took his hand and ran it through my hair one more time a little slower.
"I like your hair better this way." He whispered to me.
My head fell into his touch as his fingers had stopped just passed my ear.
"Oh Skipper. Don't do this. Don't make it so hard for me to leave you." I whispered back to him as his fingertips softly grazed my cheek.
I felt my eyes well with tears of sadness. I never wanted to leave him this way. I expected our goodbye to be just like any other before our summer romance began. Our joking banter back and forth about who was smarter and what was the best part about spending the summers together when I came home from college. My mom would have us all over at my house for a big dinner and at the end we would have a huge triple chocolate cake. Prince and I would spend the last night together looking over pictures of our childhood and fall asleep in my treehouse. Then he would stay until my cab picked me up and sped me away to the airport. Now it wasn't that at all. This goodbye was going to be hard for the both of us. The nights we spent in each other's arms. The late nights talking about our future together. The love making until dawn. Our multiple break up to make ups. The night he took me to the top of the hill overlooking Chanhassen. All of that will now be nothing but memories of what was until we see each other again in the following spring. As I looked at his face the tears began to fall. I tried to fight it but my emotions took me over. I wanted to talk to him but I couldn't say anything but his name.
"Prince....."
I fell into him crying my heart out as he held me close to him.
"Don't cry Regan. It's only until graduation remember?" He said trying to keep himself from falling apart.
His deep voice nearly broken as he too tried to fight back his tears. He never let me go as I cried in his arms.
"Let's go to your house. Me and you. We won't do the usually party but you should say goodbye to the others since they're all downstairs. Don't cry though everything will be alright. I'm still gonna love you. You will still have my heart for as long as I'm alive."
He let me go and gave me a kiss on my forehead and wiped my tears from my face.
"Come on let's get outta here." Prince said taking my hand and yanking me from the bed.
The jolt from his strong pull almost made me fall on my face as he pulled me to the door and swung it open in excitement.
"Nelson slow down! You're going to fast!" I shouted as he pulled me down the hall.
"Come on mouse keep up!" He shouted back as he made it to the top of the steps and waited.
"What's eaten you dude?" I asked him as I made it over to him out of breath.
"You'll see! Come on!"
Prince raced down the steps and across the lobby to the soundstage door. He pushed the door opens and ran inside to the dark room.
"Nelson what are you doing?" I called to him as I ran to the door just before it closed.
I pushed the door open and ran inside. It was crazy dark. The kind of darkness that would freak you out when you just finding watching a horror film.
"Prince?" I called.
There was no answer.
"Skipper where are you?"
No answer.
"Look nerd this isn't cool where are you?"
Next thing I knew the lights flipped on.
"SURPRISE!"
Everyone shouted and cheered. Everyone I knew was there Dez and the guys, Mr. John, Cat, my mom and René. They all got together with Prince and threw me a huge off to college party. I was nearly bawling tears of happiness.
"Skipper you did this for me?" I asked him as he came up and hugged me.
"After all the shit we've been through you deserved it." He whispered.
"Come here girl! Come cut into this chocolate goodness!" Morris shouted as he eyed the cake my mom made.
I ran up to my mom and hugged her.
"Thanks Ma! I thought you were gonna keep me here with you? What made you change your mind?" I asked her.
"Well this young lady over here did. She told me what happened and how she got that nasty wound on her side. So I patched her up and she convinced me that Marcus was never going to bother you again so I told her that I would let you graduate from UCLA. It wasn't an easy decision but she was very persistent."
My mom pulled René next to her by the hand.
"You did that for me?" I asked René as she smiled at me.
"You did a lot for me so I thought I'd return the favor." She said.
René gave me a hug and squeezed me tightly.
"Thank you René!" I said.
"You deserved it. Now go get that degree!" She said to me still smiling.
Dez came up to me with a knife to cut the cake with.
"Alright alright enough jaw Jackin' cut this cake already and get this thang rollin'!" He shouted.
"And leave me a big piece too Mighty Mouse!" Andre yelled from across the room.
That was one of best nights of my whole summer and Prince really made sure of that.
The following morning came and the compound was quiet. Prince and I were already up and he was helping me with my last minute packing. I heard my mom call to us.
"Mouse? Skipper? Breakfast!"
"Doesn't she know I have people for that?" Prince chuckled.
"This is my mom were talking about Nelson. Knowing her she probably gave them the morning off." I joked.
I zipped up my suitcase and sat it down by the bedroom door.
"Well that's it. That's everything." I said looking over the room one more time.
"I have one more thing for you." Prince said running into his closet.
"More surprises? You would think after last night I'm all surprised out! What do you have up your sleeve now?"
Prince came out of the closet holding a purple box with a white bow on top. He put it in my hands and I was ready to pull the bow off the top when he stopped me.
"Not here!" He shouted.
"I wanna know what it is!" I said excited.
"You will when you get to LA. No peeking until you get back to your dorm. Promise me."
I let out a frustrating sigh.
"Ok. What's the sense of having something I can't open yet anyway? It's not even Christmas and I have to wait."
"Well this Santa is makin you wait so don't complain." He said as he planted a kiss on my cheek.
"Awww dude! You licked me!"
"You never had a problem with it before." He winked.
"You suck!"
"So do you. And it's amazing."
"Sick!" I giggled.
He grabbed my bag from the door and took my hand.
"Well time to get something to eat and get you to the airport." He said as he opened the door.
We went down to the kitchen and met with my mom and his dad and enjoyed the oversized breakfast my mom made. Afterwards I gave my mom and Mr. John a hug goodbye.
"You take care of yourself out there little one." Me. John said.
"I will sir." I told him.
"Call me when you get on campus." My mom said.
"Yes ma'am alway do!"
Prince revved his bike letting me know he was ready. I waved on final time to my mom and blew her a kiss once I got on the back Prince's bike. We drove off the property and to the airport. When we got there he parked at the drop off gate. I got off and checked my lonely bag and took my boarding pass from my pocket. Prince handed me my mystery gift and smiled.
"So this is it then huh?" He asked in a deep sad voice.
"I guess so." I replied as I ran a hand through his now wind blown hair.
"Well.....you better get going. Don't want you to miss you flight."
"You'd like that wouldn't you Skipper?"
"Nah. Then your mama would kill me. She's paying for you to be there." He said with a slight smile.
I placed a hand softly on his face.
"I love you troll." I said with a smile.
"I love you too mousy." He said as he grabbed my hand.
He gave me a kiss on the lips for the last time and just like that our summer romance had come to an end.
"Go catch that plane baby girl." He whispered to me as his forehead was resting on mine.
I saw a single tear fall from his right eye and I wiped up away with my thumb.
"Blow them away out there Skippy." I whispered back to him.
He gave me a smile and headed back for his bike. I watched as he got on and started it up.
"Hey Prince!" I called to him before he drove off.
He looked up at me with a smile on his face.
"Go crazy on stage one time for me." I told him.
"Always baby girl!" He said.
Prince revved his engine and sped away.
"Have fun on stage my friend." I said as I watched him drive away.
I went inside the airport and found my way to the gate to board my plane.