Page 117 of The Grosvenor's Ghost
“Oh my god,” I mutter as we start walking over to her boat.
“You don’t have to come,” Spencer nudges me. “You can go back with Charlie and have an early night.”
“Are you joking?” I turn to her. “And leave the Prince and Princess together? I think we all know how that ends.”
She laughs.
Astrid welcomes us up and as you’d expect from a royal, the yacht is nice. Mines nicer. But still, it’s fine, I guess. She gives us a quick tour. 12 cabins, 370 ft, gym and spa on the lower deck, jacuzzi and swimming pool on the sun deck.
Nothing really amazes you when you grow up with money, anyway. I’ve spent countless summers on boats like this.
I bite my tongue when we all sit down on the upper deck, while the bartender mixes us drinks. I hate to admit it but she actually seems okay. She’s funny, bubbly, great legs, perfect smile, natural hair that you really hope is extensions or colouring just so you can hate something about her.
Really, though, I do kind of just see every girl as perfect—even the ones that may or may not be sleeping with Arthur. Maybe it’s just what comes with being a girl but I don’t think I’ve ever come across an ugly girl. Boys, sure, all the time. But not girls. We just have something about us. Maybe it’s the eyes or the legs or the teeth or the hair. I’m not sure. Even evil girls are perfect. Why is that, I wonder? I don’t look at boys like that. The only boy I think is perfect is Arthur. Then again, I’ve never looked at other boys.
“Where are you friends?” Spencer asks, looking around.
“Oh,” Astrid nods, waves her hand through the air. “They went to the casino but that’s really not my scene so I decided to stay back but then I saw all of you and thought that some company might be nice.”
“And is the company living up to the expectation?” Connie looks her over the way he does with the girls he wants to sleep with. Mouth slightly parted, eyes roaming over them slowly, seductively, a quick hand through his hair, a clearing of the throat, a slight furrow of the brow. It’s impeccable to watch—the outcome even greater.
Astrid blushes, clears her throat. “The company is better than my expectations.”
He nods slowly, leans back, takes a sip of his beer. “Good to know.”
I kick him under the table the same time Arthur does. He sits up with a wince, gives me a dirty look.
Astrid excuses herself, pops inside.
“Leave me alone!” Connie hisses at me. “I’ve never had sex with a princess before!”
“Oh my god!” I roll my eyes. “What is it with her title? Is having a lady and a prince not enough?” I stare at them, wide eyed.
“And besides,” Arthur adds. “Don’t you need to clear up your past messes before starting something else?”
Connie pulls back. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on!” Arthur throws his head back, laughs, points at me. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”
I shake my head slowly. “I’m going to wait for you to say it just in case we’re not thinking about the same thing.”
He rolls his eyes, sighs. “Connie and Spencer!”
We fall silent.
My eyes go wide, mouth open.
Connie frowns. “What?”
“You and Spence…in school…?” Arthur says carefully. “You were sleeping together, weren’t you?”
“You knew?” Spencer says quietly.
Probably the quietest I’ve ever heard her. Her voice, so soft and small and a little bit broken.
We all nod. Even Athena and she weren't even in our group back in school.
Her lips part, a soft ‘oh’ escaping them before she gets up and walks away. I think about following her but maybe she wouldn’t want that. If she’s going to cry I reckon she’d much rather be alone. I think I would want to be in this instance.
