4EVER

Chapter 2 - More Than Tickled

Anna was excited to broker an introduction between Prince and Noelle because she remembered that Prince was briefly mentioned in Noelle's book.

She approached Noelle with much praise, "This was wonderful, truly. I so wish more could have been here to see you. Our darn Minnesota polar vortex just had to make it difficult."

"No worries Anna, the small group was fun and they asked great questions." Noelle said appreciatively.

"I want you to meet a Minnesota native that you might recognize from chapt-." Anna said while turning around, her eyes now darting quickly, searching the store to locate Prince.

"Shoot!" Anna declared.

"Is something wrong?" Noelle asked.

"Uh...uhm...no. Just uhm...I was just looking for an avid reader that comes in." Shaking her head while still scanning the store she mumbled, "He is a damn unicorn."

Noelle was perplexed by Anna's unicorn reference but chose to giggle and not ask.

Her handsome agent Brad interuppted, "Noelle we'd better get going, I got us on an earlier flight hoping to get out of town before they start canceling flights."

"Oh ok, thanks for thinking of it."

The two women said their goodbyes while he continued to pack up their belongings.

Prince sat in his car thinking of how to remedy the problem of being charged with shoplifting. If he went back in the store to pay, surely Anna would snag him to make a fuss of not only his cat-like departure, but the fact he neglected to pay for Noelle's book. That would be too embarassing and he's too shy to survive that.

The truth is, Prince had grown shy with women after Manuela and didn't find the chase of sweet young things very appealing. Their immaturity that was once cute to him now made him feel like a silly old man. Prince wanted to have an actual conversation about the pharaohs of Egypt, civil rights issues that still plagued America and God. You need a history to speak intelligently in these topics and young ones didn't have that breadth of life yet.

He pondered lots of things these days...his relevancy in the music industry and his lack of attraction to younger women. Perhaps his major contribution to music had already happened administratively, the SLAVE era permitting artists to own their masters.

Maybe...just maybe his overall satisfaction has changed with age necessitating him to pursue a different avenue in music, and in turn, evolve his taste in women.

Neither here nor there, he had become a bit of a recluse when it came to meeting new people and especially so when it came to meeting beautiful women.

Upon arriving back to Paisley, he decided to leave Anna a voicemail, "Hey Anna...Prince here...say I'm sorry I had to break away so quick. I wanted to let you know I accidentally left with Noelle's book in hand without paying. I apologize and please look for a check from me. I'll be sure to put it to your attention on the envelope. Have a good weekend."

Prince didn't give Anna a reason for his quick departure as most people know he can be a bit aloof. It's not a myth, him being a bit mysterious.

Tossing Noelle's book onto his bed and keys on the dresser, he decided to take a hot bath to warm his bones from the night's snappy chill.

Half the battle of a good bath is acquiring just the right temperature, which Prince happened to have a knack for, as least that's what many of the women in his life had shared through the years.

With a press of a wall button, music with a seductive sway piped in through the corner speakers of the bathroom as he washed his face clean of the makeup which had only enhanced his already beautiful features. The water felt good splashing on his face helping to warm him after the wintery excursion.