Summary: During the first night at Ramsford, Liam makes the arrangements to have his first date with Jade.
Based on the (music) prompt: Alone Together
“Good evening, Duke Ramsford,” Liam greeted Bertrand smiling, but his eyes searched for somebody else.
“Your Highness! You’re… early! Ahem, I mean, what pleasant surprise…”
“I hope I’m not disturbing anything,” Liam replied.
“Of course not. I hope you find everything in order.”
“As grand as I remember it.”
They talk briefly about something while Jade and Maxwell hanged by the stairs. “I didn’t know the Royal Family would arrive so soon,” Jade murmured to Maxwell.
“Not the entire Royal Family,” Maxwell said smiling as he saw Liam’s eyes enlighten when he looked at Jade.
“Did you know he was coming tonight?”
“Well…” Maxwell looked away.
“Maxwell, when did he tell you he was coming?”
“Err…” Maxwell scratched the back of his head, looking down.
“Maxwell,” she narrowed her eyes.
“He might have mentioned earlier…”
“Maxwell!” Jade glared at him.
“Okay, he told me after the picnic. But who cares? He’s here to see you.”
“I care! I was not prepared to see him tonight. I’m gonna look bad in front of him.”
“You will not. And trust me when I say you’re not the one who’s actually nervous here.”
“What?”
“Smiiiile,” Maxwell whispered to Jade as Bertrand turns towards them.
“…But I’m sure Lady Jade here will entertain you.”
“I’m sure she will.” Liam beamed at Jade. The Beaumonts walked upstairs smiling as Liam approached Jade.
“You’re a delightful surprise,” Jade gleamed.
“You’re assuming I’m here to see you, hmm?”
“You better be.”
“I know all of this must seem strange to you… jet-setting around Cordonia, attending to grand formal events… I imagine it’s much different from ‘dating’ as you usually know it in New York.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“ I appreciate that you’ve thrown yourself into courtly life with such enthusiasm, but I wanted to… meet you halfway, so to speak.”
“Oh?”
“I also have this idea… it’s maybe a little silly, but… will you go on a date with me?”
“ A date?”
“My first true date. I want it to be with you,” his whole face lit up as he spoke.
“We’re on an estate surrounded by acres of vineyards. Where would we go? What would we do?”
“Leave that to me. I promise you it’ll be a proper first date. Tonight, I just want to be Jade and Liam, two normal people going on a normal date.”
“I’d love to go on a date with you,” she beamed.
“I’ll need to make a couple of arrangements, but I’ll meet you at your room in an hour?”
“I’ll see you then.”
…
Jade spent twenty minutes going through her dresses and still haven’t picked an outfit. They were all too sparkly or not sparkly enough. Too long or too short. Too formal or too casual.
“Ugh! This is a nightmare.” She slumped on the bed, hiding her face on her arms. Then a text alert pings on her phone.
Hana: Hi, Jade! 😊
Jade: Hana! Oh Thank God! I need your help 😓
Hana: Maxwell said you might. What can I help you with?
Jade: I have a date in forty minutes and I have no idea what to wear.
Hana: Do you know where you’re going or what are you going to do?
Jade: No… 😭
Hana: I’ve never been on a date, but from what I heard, it’s not like you’re facing a suitors challenge.
Hana: Liam already adores you. Maybe you should just show your bold and charming self on something casual and flattering that will let him see who you really are.
Jade: Hmm… I think I just had an idea.
Jade: Can I send you a picture?
Hana: It’s mandatory that you do 😉
Jade: Heheheh… What do you think?
Hana: Perfect! 👏👏👏👏
Jade: Thanks, Hana! ❤
Hana: Anytime. Now go get ready 😊
…
“The Chateau Beaumont is all set,” Maxwell beamed at Liam.
“Who did the pasta?”
“The caterers handled it. I just told them it was for you and they even made dessert.”
“Hmm…What’s for dessert?”
“Blueberry pie. I may also have told them you like American Food.” Maxwell winked.
“What if she doesn’t like it?” Liam pressed his lips together.
“Relax… She told me after the Apple Blossom Festival she loves baking cranberry and blueberry pie for Thanksgiving.” Maxwell smiled broadly.
“And the wine?”
“California Merlot is already reserved for you.” Maxwell
“Thank you, Maxwell. You’re a good friend.” Liam tapped his shoulder.
“And as a good friend, I gotta ask: what are you going to wear?” Maxwell looked at Liam’s formal clothes like he knew the answer.
“Uh…” Liam rubbed the back of his neck, uncertain of what to say.
“Okay, let’s go to the boutique,” Maxwell said, dragging Liam towards the front door of the Beaumont’s manor.
“What? Why?“ Liam questioned.
“Liam, it’s a date. A laid back, intimate and casual dinner. You have to dress up casually. I know she will.” Maxwell gave him a lopsided grin.
“How would you know that?”
“Are you kidding?? She’s my protegé. I gotta have contingencies in place. You’ll love what she is wearing tonight. Now come with me and prepare to become the suave and hunky guy any woman would kill to be on a date with.”
…
Jade was just putting on earrings when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and greeted Liam.
“Hello, Liam,” she smiled coyly, admiring the view of the dapper Prince dressed in brown trousers and navy blue shirt.
“Jade…” His eyes linger on her outfit and a broad smile crosses his face. “You look beautiful as always.”
“Thank you, Liam.”
“These are for you.” He hands Jade a bouquet of red roses.
“They’re amazing. Thank you.” She kisses Liam on the cheek. “I’ll go get some water for them.”
Liam looks around, quickly scanning her room. Aside from the makeup brushes, blush palettes and lipsticks in disarray on her vanity, everything was perfectly organized. Then a portrait on her nightstand caught his attention. He picks up the picture to look closer and smiles as he sees a beaming little girl with chestnut hair sitting on the lap of a poised Hispanic man. By their side, there was an elegant elder lady and a petite woman whose smile reminded him of the one waited the whole day to see.
“Found anything interesting?” Jade emerges from the bathroom with the flowers arranged in an antique porcelain vase.
“In fact, I did.” Liam smiled. “How old were you in the picture?”
“Six. That was taken on my birthday.”
“It seems like you had a great day.”
“It was the best. I had chickenpox, so I couldn’t invite anyone over or go out. But my parents threw me a party anyway. One of my grandmothers baked me a chocolate cake and the other one bought a blueberry pie and cheesecake. And we spent all day playing board games and watching cartoons and movies.”
Her eyes sparkled as she told him the story. Liam puts the portrait back on the nightstand and takes her hand to kiss it. “It does sound like it was a lovely birthday.”
Jade hasn’t talked about her parents in years, not even with Julie, who is only one person that knows about everything she went through because she knew how Jade feels about being an orphan. But every moment she had with Liam in the past few weeks, somehow the conversations led them to talk about family and childhood memories. She wasn’t afraid to show him her emotional side, but she didn’t want to get into sensitive subjects on their first date, so she took a deep breath to compose herself and smiled. “Shall we?”
…
“Thank you for coming out tonight, Jade… I had a great time.”
“Yeah, dinner was lovely.”
“Does this mean a second date is in the cards?”
“If you want it to be like a real first date, this is probably where you’d say you’ll text me then wait a week to actually do it.”
“I could never wait that long.”
“Me neither,” her voice grew bubbly.
“Good night, Jade.”
“Good night? You just scored a second date and you’re not giving me a kiss?” Jade frowned, placing one hand on her waist.
Liam laughed, “I was working my way up to that.” He kissed her sweetly at first, but It became more passionate as she pulled him closer. Liam pinned her against the door, kissing her neck. Jade tugged at his shirt, pulling it up to run her hands on his bare chest. His lips trailed kisses from her shoulder, his hands on her waist and down to her back. They pressed against each other, kisses got more urgent, hands exploring every part of their bodies, hungry gazes and moans.
“I want you, Liam,” she hummed, nipping his ear.
He lifted the hem of her skirt, his hand moving up between her thighs when they heard steps down the hall. They pull apart and try to catch their breath waiting in silence. “That was close,” he smiled ruefully.
“Yeah, though being caught in a covert make-out sesh is a classic first date trope.”
“Check that off the list…” He lifted up her hand and kissed it, gazing at her. “Good night, Jade.”
“Good night, Liam.” She got in and closes her door, breathing heavily as her hands caressed every part of her body he kissed.
