Page 13 of The Geek and the Sheikh

His mom had agreed. Everyone needed a balance between distrust and forgiveness, and a prince needed it more than anyone. But being angry about it even now probably made him petty.

Curiosity made him open the email, wondering if it was really from her or spam. He scanned the message, surprised by the feelings it invoked.

Hey, Jameel. Guess who? Surprised? Yeah, I bet you are. Listen, this isn’t easy for me. I just hope you’ll at least listen… LOL, I mean read this message… and I don’t know where to start. Ok, so you definitely knew that I had a ton of shit I needed to deal with, but now I know it too. I’ve been avoiding it for way too long. I’ve been going to therapy… and well, the therapist helped me weed through a lot of things.

I’ve been thinking of you a lot lately. Brian mentions you every once in a while and I see stuff about the royal family in the news. Sorry to hear about what happened to your brothers. A little late, but I’m glad they are okay. Sounds like all worked out well. Tarek and Idella! The Idella! All I can say is WOW! That must be amazing. I’ve heard her concerts are impossible to get into. What is she really like? Never mind. Forget I asked. I remember how you didn’t like talking about your family stuff.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’m really sorry for being such a lying, conniving bitch. I deserved everything you did. Really. It wasn’t exactly an eye-opener at the time, but hindsight is 20/20. If there is ever anything you need, I want you to know I’m here. Helping you would go a long way to making amends for being such a… misguided person. (My therapist said I need to be kind to myself. It’s easy to forget.) Anyway, I’m living and working in London now (for the government of all places!). If you ever need anything, just let me know.

Yours still, A.W..

He read the message several times, trying to think how to respond. He glanced up when the steward entered with a drink and a meal. Jameel started to wave the man away until he caught a whiff of the tantalizing aroma: baked sea trout in a lemon cream sauce.

“Thank you, James,” he murmured when the Englishman placed the succulent dish in front of him.

James smiled and bowed his head. “If I remember correctly, sire, you often forget to eat,” he replied.

Jameel chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. You even remembered the extra butter and sour cream for my baked potato.”

James cleared his throat and gave him a bland look. “Yes, sire, though I should caution that it is not good for your health.”

“I know… I know. I work out.... and Junayd has already given me the lecture about my diet,” he mumbled around a mouthful of food.

The flaky white meat melted on his tongue, and he released a pleased groan. He opened his text messages and typed out a message to Junebug with a single finger as he lifted a bite of the superbly prepared trout to his mouth. He needed time to think about how he should respond to Allison. That blast from the past could wait.

I'm on my way.

"Of course, sire. It was your brother who requested that I mention it on occasion. As I have completed my task, is there anything else I can get you?" James asked.

Jameel waved his hand, his attention split between the screen in front of him and his meal.

"No, this is good," Jameel replied.

James silently retreated, giving him privacy. Jameel waited impatiently for Bugs to answer his message. He took another bite of his meal. Not even the delicious flavors washing over his tastebuds could calm the flutter in his stomach.

What if something happened to her?

The sickening thought grew, and he placed his fork down next to his plate. He reached for the raspberry seltzer James had poured for him and took a deep drink, his eyes glued to the screen as he impatiently waited. Relief flashed through him when he saw the ripple of ellipsis that showed Bugs was responding. He quickly tapped out a message.

RU Okay?

Yes… sort of.

Sort of? What the hell did 'sort of' mean?He quickly typed out his concern.

What happened? RU in danger?

No… Maybe…

He curled his fingers into a tight fist. What the hell did she mean by 'maybe'? Was she in danger or not? He had never felt so helpless in his life! He was thirty thousand feet in the air over who-knew-where.

He frantically thought of who he could call for help. Who did he know in London? He closed his eyes, his mind running through his list of friends… and coming up with an answer that he never in a million years believed would happen.

Did he trust her enough with Junebug’s life, though? Did he have choice? Opening his eyes, he responded.

I’m going to send someone to pick you up.

No.

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