Command Me

Chapter 12

(Not edited)

~Perrie's Pov ~

"You are my fairy godmother," I said as Jesy held up a pair of heels that perfectly matched my dress (picture above) she'd found for me.
"And next week, I'm taking you shopping." She wagged her finger like I was in trouble.
"Ugh." I flopped back on her bed and pulled a pillow over my head. "I just went shopping."
"You should have thought of that before you started banging Her Royal Hotness."
I stuck my tongue out at her but couldn't keep a goofy grin from sliding onto my face.
"Do you want me to get that?" Jesy asked,I stared at her quizzically. "The buzzer!"
"You're half-naked. I'll get it." I jumped from the bed and headed to the hall. Hitting the button, I braced myself, still convinced that my next encounter with a reporter was just around the corner.
"Delivery for Miss Edwards."
I hesitated. There was no reason to suspect that anything was up, but all it would take was one time to get burned. Then the perfect solution occurred to me.
"She's not home," I lied. "You can leave it with Ms. Hathaway in Apartment 1. She's the landlord."
"Thanks, miss." The delivery guy didn't seem to think this was odd or push his case, which meant I was probably being paranoid. He was just a delivery guy after all, but I knew it was okay to be cautious.
I debated going down and retrieving the package for a few minutes before I finally went back into Jesy's bedroom to discover steam pouring from the bathroom. Poking my head in, I discovered her busily plucking her eyebrows while the shower water heated up.
"What was it?" she asked.
"A delivery."
"Ohhhh!"
"I had them leave it with Jane."
Jesy blinked at this revelation and then continued her pursuit of errant eyebrow hairs. "That's smart. We should probably do that with all our packages from now on."
I nodded as I digested her words. From now on. Because things were going to be different after today.
"So tell me Pez. What is Jade really like in bed?" Jesy asked as she washed her face. "After reading the article, I get the feeling that you left out some details."
"You should get in the shower," I said, skirting the question. The only way it was going to stay a secret was if I kept it to myself, which meant keeping it from "everyone, even my best friend.
"Go get your package," Jesy ordered.
I darted downstairs, knowing that we had less than an hour to get ready. It occurred to me about halfway down that I might have to say something to Jesy about hogging the shower, but then I shrugged it off. It wouldn't take me that long to get ready and I'd done most of my necessary primping before starting work today.
Knocking quietly on Jane's door, I realised I was still unsure I really wanted her to answer. But answer she did. Today she was clad in a summery dress that billowed around her in a riot of colors. Despite her age, she looked like a love child, and I half-expected her to say she was on her way to a Beatles concert.
"Oh Perrie, darling!" She welcomed me with a kiss to the cheek. "I have a package for you."
"I know," I admitted sheepishly. "I asked them to leave it down here. There's been some more...articles and I wasn't sure if it was a real delivery man."
"Well, he didn't ask a thing about you. In fact, he didn't look like a delivery man,"

"more like a...oh, police officer," she said as she paced over to the table in her living room.
"Maybe a security guard?" I asked.
"Yes, more like that, dear." Jane thrust an envelope toward me and my heart skipped a beat as I took it. It was a letter, hand-addressed to me, bearing no postage. I turned it over, anxious to see if there was a return address. There wasn't, but it was stamped with a glossy red wax seal that bore a dragon.
"That looks like a love letter," Jane remarked.
I didn't have to open it to know it was, just as I knew it was from Jade. "I think you're right."
"From Princess Jade?" Jane guessed.
I blushed. I wasn't sure why it hadn't occurred to me that she would have heard about my relationship to Jade, but it still surprised me. Mostly because I hadn't put my guard up as I had with all the others. "I think so."
"This is much classier than those little snippets on the phone." Jane moved to pour tea into two cups on the table and then offered one to me.
If anyone else had offered me tea after admitting they knew about the most recent tabloid fodder involving my personal life, I would have run screaming. But there was something about Jane that I trusted. For one, Jesy trusted her, but more than that, Jane struck me as a kindred spirit. I couldn't explain it, but I implicitly trusted her. I took a seat and accepted the cup.
"How are you holding up?" she asked.
"Surprisingly well." I took a sip of tea, wondering how much Jesy had told her about my past.
"I can't imagine what it's like to have your personal life selling papers." Jane shook her head, taking a slow sip from her own cup. "There have always been scandals, my dear. But in this day and age with all the computers and smart phones and Wi-Fi, everyone knows about everything. It's impossible to keep things quiet. Let me tell you, there would be a number of royal families just ruined if they'd lived in this day and age. After all, illicit romances have been around forever."
I choked on my drink, burning my tongue in the process. "Illicit romances?"
"Well, there was Harold who had to abdicate his position...what was it? Thirty years ago. Fell in love with a girl from France. Not royal."
"I didn't think they cared if you were royal anymore," I said in a small voice. The truth was I didn't know. But it was the twenty-first century for fuck's sake, there couldn't be a huge number of royal suitors available to meet and marry.
"That was ages ago," she said, waving it off. "I think they were more upset that she was from France. Bad blood there."
"And what about me?"
Jane sat down her cup and I saw her jaw tighten. "Sadly, I'm not sure They are ready for a wonderful girl like you Perrie."
She patted my hand comfortingly. "But can I give you a bit of advice?"
I nodded, desperate for even a scrap of hope if she had one.
"Fuck 'em. The whole lot," she said.
"Those phone messages or whatever they were, they might not have been Shakespeare, but Jade sounds like a women who's willing to put their lovers needs first."
This time when I choked on my tea, it was from laughter. Embarrassed, giggly, girlish laughter and I didn't care.
"Lovers like that are hard to come by. My second husband was a grand giver in that sense." Jane winked at me and I caught a flash of Jesy in the gesture. Maybe that's why I felt so comfortable around Jane, even when the subject matter was uncomfortable. It was more like looking into the future than talking to a stranger.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Enjoy yourself," she said, "and remember your heart."
I stood and placed my cup in the sink. "Remember not to let it get broken?"
"Remember to take chances with it," Jane said as she saw me to the door. "Otherwise, what's the point of having one?"
I thought about that as I climbed the stairs back to my apartment. Being with Jade was dangerous, like taking a leap into the unknown. But maybe that was just what I needed.
---------------------------
My fingers trembled as I broke the envelope's seal, spotting the words "for your eyes only" scrawled across the bottom. I stood against my bedroom door, my heart pounding, unsure what to expect. The letter was penned on a thin sheet of elegant cream stationary with bold strokes, and although I'd never seen Jade's handwriting, I instinctively knew it was her's.