TIME || Prince & Andy Allo

31: at your best

Flashback: June 7, 2011

"I have to admit, this has been the most fun I've had in a very long time..."

"That goes for both of us," Prince agrees, plopping down onto the bed obnoxiously. He couldn't help it, his body felt too heavy but his head was so light.

Andy laughs as she discards her necklace, and her earrings afterwards. Prince watches her intently in the mirror, chuckling as he begins to undo the first two buttons on his blouse. It was quite hot in here and it being summertime didn't help.

They'd just returned from partying all night at some fancy upbeat lounge in Santa Monica. They'd ate, danced — well, she danced — and they drank until their heads felt hot and their eyes were red.

She was feeling down today about breaking up with Jay. So Prince insisted that he take her somewhere instead of the other way around, to make her feel better, on his birthday.

"You know, my only wish was to make you forget about-" Prince slurs, pausing once it comes to the thought of Andy's jerk of a boyfriend.

Andy already knew who he was talking about without the mention of his name. Although Prince's every intention was not meant to make her think about him, she couldn't help but to now.

She frowns a bit instantly.

But she smiles because he's so thoughtful.

She puts her earrings into her jewelry box and closes it shut, her hands smoothing over the design painted on the top. It was a painting of a zebra, made by her great grandmother. It used to be her mother's jewelry box as a child but it was given to her once she discovered it in her mother's attic.

As her great grandmother would say, and these words were passed down and through her family, the zebra is the master of balance, a symbol for individuality, the spiritual significance of knowing yourself, his magic of illusion and the meaning of his stripes and more.

It also symbolized freedom.

"Hey Prince, how is it that you live so freely? I mean, you seem so spirited and you don't dwell on things of the past," she says, sitting on the chair in the corner of the room as she takes off her shoes.

Prince stretches, putting his arms out behind him on the bed. For a moment, he watches her as she obliviously removes her pumps. He can't help but to fantasize just a little.

With the help of alcohol clouding his mind and making his thoughts twice the dirtier, he tried to turn away but failed. She looked up and caught his hooded gaze.

He nervously scratched at the stubble on his cheek before pulling himself together to answer her pending question.

"Andy, my 53rd birthday was today. In all those years, I've been through so much and I've probably seen all there is to see in the world. What's the point of being upset or angry? You have to move on at some point or else it gets in the way of your happiness. Life has enough challenges as it is. It's-"
Prince pauses yet again, throwing his hands up and making an odd gesture, almost as if his fingers are signifying an explosion.

Andy giggles.
"I get what you mean. And you're very wise, you know that? You remind me of my father in some ways."

"Okay, I know I turned 53, you don't have to throw it in my face that I'm old. I'd still like to think that I have a chance with you."
As he says this, he fixes his shirt and lifts his gaze from her, looking over to the other side of the room.