(NOT EDITED)
*Perrie's Pov*
Curiosity got the better of me. Maybe it was my run-in with Jade. Maybe it was a need for some empathy. Maybe it was that I couldn't decide if nearly sleeping with Jade had been a mistake or a step in the right direction. But I suspected there was one person in my life who would be able to empathize. Jade's cousin had been a friend to me when I needed it the most, and I'd spent the last few weeks avoiding him. Besides, I was curious to catch up with him. Still in the closet Luke and his secret boyfriend Edward had broken up following the disastrous trip to the country that had also ended my relationship with Jade.
Curiosity had prompted me to open those letters. Curiosity had given Jade a window back into my life. Curiosity was going to kill me.
And that was how I found myself sitting in a quiet corner table waiting for Luke. We'd arranged to meet late in the afternoon in a club on Kensington High Street. No one in the reacording studio had batted an eye when I left for the afternoon. I guessed Eliza was secretly pleased to see me going out, although she'd simply joked that her and Alycia owed me an afternoon since I would be spending the evening watching their adopted son Aden.
Luke swept into the club with an air of authority that matched his birthright. He didn't look snobbish or out of place as he crossed the well-worn plank floor and took a seat in a rickety chair across from mine. This was his country after all and he fit here, like a benevolent lord come to visit his patrons.
"Perrie." A lazy smile spread across Luke's face. "It's good to have the band back together."
I raised an eyebrow.
"The lonely hearts club, of course." He said.
"I take it that one is the loneliest number then?" I'd expected as much, but I couldn't deny that I'd secretly hoped Luke and Edward had worked things out. If they'd been able to...but it was stupid to even entertain the possibility. Being with a royal came with demands and expectations that mere mortals couldn't live up to.
"At least today two can be as sad as one."
I just wish I wasnt lonely.
"If you're going to take a mind trip, can I go along next time?" Luke asked, calling me from my thoughts. "Preferably somewhere sunny."
"England's pretty sunny in August."
"Okay, anywhere but England."
"Actually," he said thoughtfully, "it will probably boost both of our images to be seen together. I can see the headlines now: Princess Jade betrayed by her royal cousin."
I chuckled humorlessly. "The queen would love that one. Two members of the royal family linked to me."
"The queen loves any news piece that insinuates I'm heterosexual."
"When was the last time you spoke to Edward?"
"When was the last time I spoke to him?" Luke said "Or when did I last try?"
"At least you're trying," I murmured.
"Jade hasn't attempted a reconciliation?"
I hesitated, uncertain how to answer. It was impossible to explain Jade's behavior. I hadn't known about the letters until a few days ago. If I'd just read them, I might believe Jade wanted to get back together. But she had only confused me. Jade didn't want me back, she wanted me under her control. "I suppose she has."
"Let me guess." Luke leaned back in his seat and eyed me appraisingly. "She made promises that things would be okay, but you didn't believe her."
"It sounds like you're familiar with this situation."
