Senior Year Box Set

Frick! Mr. Happy suddenly figured out what was going on and began to wake up. Maybe the cold water would send him back into hiding.

I had a bad habit of falling in love at the drop of a hat. After dating Brook, I realized it was more falling in lust than the real thing. But in any case, my princess had my full attention.

Cinderella pointed to the horizon, where I saw an outcropping of rocks.

“There’s a little cove on the other side that can only be gotten to by water. My dad used to take me there when I was a kid. It was a chance for us to spend time alone together. I haven’t been back since he passed.”

“I’m sorry to hear you lost him.”

“At the time, I was devastated, but I’ve gotten used to it now. It will be good to go back,” she said with a faraway look.

I left her to her thoughts for a few minutes before I interrupted.

“I hate to ask, but what’s your name? In my head, I’ve been calling you ‘My Princess’ because of your Cinderella name tag,” I admitted.

“I sort of like that,” she said. “Actually, I’m Princess Erika.”

I blinked a few times as I wrapped my brain around the realization that she was a real princess. Seeing my confusion, she continued.

“Germany used to be a collection of principalities. They no longer have any official sovereignties, but the old families cling to their past. Our lands are in the current state of Thuringia, though the princely title comes from a small town nearby in Upper Saxony. But I live in New York City now.”

“So, you’re a real-life Cinderella?”

“In a way, I guess.”

“Why don’t you live in Germany?” I asked.

“My brother inherited the estate, and I wanted to get away to go to school. I’m going to Columbia University. I’m majoring in business and plan to return and help run the family business someday,” Erika explained.

“What business do you own?”

“Several, actually. Everything from manufacturing to agriculture.”

By now, we’d come close to the inlet she had described. High cliff walls surrounded the cove and a small rocky beach. Erika scampered onto the front of the boat and dropped the anchor. She came back and smiled at me.

“My brother keeps swim trunks down below. I’ll grab you a pair so you can change.”

I followed her below. There wasn’t much room. Basically, the cabin consisted of two couches facing each other that I suspected turned into small beds, with a storage area at the front.

Erika opened the cabinet, found a pair of swim trunks, and tossed them to me. I cringed when I saw they were basically Speedos. People joked that European men who shouldn’t wore this type of swimsuit on the beaches. Not a good look if you were older or didn’t have the body for it.

Erika gave me some privacy, so I decided to go for it. They were snug. I found a towel to wrap around my waist so I didn’t put on too much of a show as I came back on deck. Erika had worn her conservative one-piece suit under her clothes.

“Ready?” she asked.

My breath hitched at her words. The double meaning wasn’t lost on me as I slowly walked to her. When we were inches apart, I leaned forward and kissed Erika. Our simple kiss had a profound effect on me, one I didn’t expect.

I’ve had some experience at hooking up, but this didn’t feel like that. I’d been concerned about removing my mask, or persona, if you will. My worry was that she would recognize that I was just after a good time, but I relaxed a little as I saw she wanted that as well.

I looked Erika in the eyes, unable to resist touching her, and reached up with my hand to wrap it around the back of her neck. I ran my thumb underneath her jawline and over her cheek to her lips. As things heated up, I lightly grazed them. A little smile touched my lips as her mouth opened slightly to take in panted breaths of desire.

“I don’t really know you yet, but I want you,” I said to put it out there.

Erika’s nostrils flared, and her eyes dilated with lust.

“You’re so bad,” she moaned.

My heart was pumping hard as I leaned in to close the gap between us. Erika’s head tilted back, and her soft lips opened as she anticipated our kiss. It didn’t disappoint, and my mind nearly exploded with instant lust. I was a little confused as to how we’d gone from friendly banter to this in mere seconds. The animal inside of me had been right from the start: I wanted her.

I was a little afraid I would come off as being too intense. So, as a test, I pulled her tighter to me and waited to see how she would respond. Erika molded her body to mine, her hands came up to run her fingers through my hair, and all doubt left me.

A tiny voice in the back of my head warned me that I was being a ‘stupid boy’ and should slow this down. The beast inside disagreed. He wanted it all, and now.

I deepened our kiss. Tongues dueled as I tasted Erika for the first time. I wanted more, so much more. But at the same time, I couldn’t offer her much more than tonight or the next day at the most. It felt wrong to start this, only to leave in a couple of days.