Samantha
I've kissed a prince, and there is no way of taking it back.
Not that I wanted to take it back.
Harry settled back in his seat, and for a moment the kiss just hung there in the air between us. It changed everything, and nothing at the same time. He was still a prince. He was still engaged to marry someone else. And I was still the textile artist polo groom, destined to go back to Canada in another six months.
For a moment he fiddled with his empty glass, as if wishing it was still full of beer. Then he looked me in the eyes, and my stomach dropped. No matter how lightly I wanted to take this new turn of events, my body wasn't buying it.
I raised my glass to toast. "To the Queen!" I said, which is what we always said in the Sleeping Lion, and then I cringed at my own stupidity. To cover the moment, I finished my beer and stood up quickly. "Shall I get us a refill?"
Harry glanced at his watch, and I knew the look. "No, thank you," he said, I knew he would be begging off soon and I would probably never see him again.
His voice was odd. I sat back down and realized he was laughing, although trying to hold it back.
"Are you always this...?"
"Stupid?" I supplied. "Crazy? Oh, yes. Unfortunately so."
"You're not stupid," he said. "You're refreshingly unrestrained, and I love it."
He realized almost immediately that he had said the L-word, and he blushed slightly. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Well, I can honestly say no one has ever called me refreshingly unrestrained before," I said, because someone had to say something, and in those cases, it was usually me. "I've been called a lot of other things." And I had to actually bite my lower lip to stop myself from saying anything more.
He was shaking his head, but still smiling. He took my chin in his hand, and kissed me again, quick and firm, like a goodbye kiss. But there was something else in it...a hint of sadness? And—dare I imagine it?—of promise, of something more to come.
"Samantha," he said softly, "don't ever lose that artless, candid side of yourself. It's amazing."
Before I could speak again—which was probably a good thing—he looked at his watch again, and sighed.
"I'm going to have to cut this highly entertaining date short, unfortunately."
Wait, what? This was a date? He thought of this as a date?
"I've got plans this evening that I can't miss," Harry continued, having luckily not heard my interior monologue. He paused, and then said, all in a rush, "Would you mind—I'm going away for the holidays. To...my gran's house. And while it will be a busy and no doubt, good time with family, I will probably need a break from it all. I tend to feel...trapped, sometimes, when I am off with my family and..." He let the thought trail off, and I was glad he left the name unspoken. "Would you mind if I texted you from time to time? While I'm gone?"
The request was totally not what I expected, and I laughed out of surprise. "Sure. Can I...do I get to text back?"
Now he laughed. "Of course. That's what friends do, isn't it?"
And I couldn't, just couldn't, keep the question to myself. "Are we friends, Harry?" I asked, softly.
"I would like us to be friends," he said. "I would like to see you again in January, when I am back from my holidays. And if things move...beyond friendship...at some point...what would you think?"
He did not, seriously, just ask me that. There was no way I could answer it.
I looked at him and thought of Meg, and for once I didn't say something without thinking.
"I think...I'd like us to be friends as well," I said slowly, "and go from there."
He smiled and gave me a tiny nod. It was a good answer. "As you wish."
He caught the eye of his security guy and stood up. "Have a good holiday," he said, in his official prince-sounding voice.
"You too. Enjoy your time with your family."
I stood as well, and for a moment we just stood there awkwardly. It seemed somehow not private enough for a kiss, but a handshake seemed too weird and formal.
At last Harry leaned in for a quick, friendly, non-romantic hug. "I'll have you in my pocket, whenever I am bored," he whispered. "How could I not enjoy that?"
And then, with a grin, he was gone.