Page 11 of A Wise Prince

“Auggie, man, what’s up?” he says as I approach.

“Same old,” I reply. I feel the eyes of all six girls surrounding him boring into me as I speak. I lean in toward him. “Uh, can I have a word with you?”

Terrance looks surprised, and I fight the smirk that threatens to emerge on my face.

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

I pull him aside. “How well do you know Kate?” I ask.

“Kate, Kate Bradford?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve known her for a long time,” he says. “Why?”

“Do you know her ex, Jared?”

Terrance frowns. “Unfortunately, why?”

“He’s here.”

Terrance looks around and then freezes. “That motherfucker,” he growls.

“Whoa, dude. I’ve been debriefed. I don’t want to cause a scene. I figured since you’re friends with Kate, you’d help me sneak her out of here to go have some fun and forget about Jared.”

Terrance looks me over as though sizing me up. I raise an eyebrow.

“You into her, man?”

I shrug.

Terrance points his finger at me. “If you so much as look at her the wrong way, I will fuck your royal ass up? Capiche?”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, capiche.”

“I mean it.”

“Fine, whatever. Can you help me?”

He nods. “Yeah, sure thing. What’s your plan?”

I lean in and explain how we will sneak out Kate. Five minutes later, I’m back on the balcony.

“Miss Bradford,” I say, extending my arm to her. She looks less pale but her eyes dart around nervously as I lead her along the wall and down a back hall. Terrance meets us as we round the corner.

“Mission accomplished?” I ask him. He nods.

“Kate, you OK?” he asks.

She nods. “Yeah, just…I didn’t know he would be here.”

“Come on,” I say to them as I lead them to the tunnel we use to sneak out of the building. This whole production is a lot more cumbersome than normal.

“Stay here. I’m getting us some different clothes,” I say to them. I hurry to my sister’s room and snag an outfit that I know she won’t even miss. Terrence is a little bulkier than me, but I find something for him in my closet and return with the clothes.

“Put these on,” I say.

Kate’s eyes go wide. “Here?” she practically screeches.

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