Summary: Jade and Liam’s drinking game takes an unexpected turn as she reveals she had kissed Drake and Hana.
A few seconds passed after Jade told Liam she kissed Drake and Hana, but it felt like hours. He was cleared caught off guard. However, Jade didn’t know how to deal with his silence. Was he mad? Upset? She just couldn’t take it.
“Liam?” Her voice was low but clear enough so he could hear it. “Please say something.”
Liam looked into her eyes. Tears started to pool out of her chestnut eyes, making them brighter. He wasn’t mad, but he surely wasn’t ready to say anything. Not yet. He needed to know more. Although he knew she wouldn’t be able to speak until she calmed down. He also couldn’t bear to see her crying. So he just hugged her. Jade hugged him back desperately, holding Liam as tight as she could, maybe his embrace would stop the tears from falling. But it made her cry even more.
“I’m sorry, Li… I’m so, so,. sorry,” she said, trying to fight back the utter sadness she felt inside.
“Shhh…” Liam replied tenderly, kissing her hair. They remained in silence for some time. When she finally stopped crying, she sat beside him.
“I think I owe you an explanation.”
“We don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to,” he said standing up and walking towards the window. The night sky had a beautiful crescent moon and sparkling stars. The Palace garden lights shining on the fountains completed the view. That beautiful garden designed by his mother, his favorite place at the Palace was the only thing keeping him calm at the moment. He could stare at view the whole night.
“But I want to.”
He inhaled sharply, wishing she didn’t want to, but turned around and agreed. “Alright then.”
“I kissed Hana at the Beaumont Bash. We were just playing Truth or Dare and she told me her first kiss was awful, so I kissed her. I know it’s silly, but she’s my best friend. After all her parents had put her through, she deserved to loosen up a bit and have some fun. I kissed her to show her she deserves better than an awkward kiss in front of her parents during an engagement photoshoot.”
“She has never kissed anyone else since then?”
“No. She was raised to be the perfect chaste housewife. She is a talented bright woman, but she’s really inexperienced in terms of relationships. She doesn’t know herself and the things she capable of.”
“But is she…?”
“She’s not quite sure. That’s one of the things she needs to figure out.”
“No wonder I always felt she didn’t want to be here during the social season.”
“Exactly. The kiss was just us goofing around, but it gave her a new perspective on things.”
Liam nodded and looked out the window again. He took a deep breath and remembered the first time he saw Hana. She was graceful and poised, but her eyes gave her away. Her smile never reached her eyes, he could see her feeling uneasy on her own skin. Then he remembered himself and realized how much he saw his teenage self on her, uncomfortable during all those boring parties, praying for them to be ever. Liam closed his eyes and memories of Hana and Jade came to his mind: them laughing and singing pop songs during the Royal Regatta on Hana’s boat, Hana teaching Jade horseriding tricks, their giggles always filling the halls whenever they had a slumber party. Liam looked away from the window and saw Jade next to him, leaning against the wall while she waited for him to respond.
“Your friendship with her is beautiful. You’ve learned a lot with each other and both of you grown so much together. I understand why you’re so protective of her.”
Liam got closer to Jade, took her right hand and looked at her engagement ring. She always looked so proud to wear it, making sure all her jewelry matched to it. He smiled softly and kissed her hands.
“It’s late. We should go to bed.”
“Go to bed?” Jade was confused. “Don’t you want to know ab—”
“Drake? I already know.”
“What?!?”
“I believe it’s my turn to explain.”
Jade was completely baffled. What did he know? “Did Drake tell you?”
“Yes, he did. I’m not sure he remembers it, though.” Liam smiled ruefully.
“How so?”
Still holding her hands, Liam guided Jade towards the couch and they sat down as he started to tell her.
_____
Liam was looking into some of his documents when he got a text.
He rearranged the papers on his desk, shut down his laptop, turned off the lights, left his office and headed towards the bar in the ballroom. When he got to the bar, Drake was already looking into the box filled with small bottles of some of the finest whiskeys in the world.
“Dude, is there anything here costing less than one thousand euros?”
“These samples were free, actually,” Liam smirked.
“Awesome. Let’s drink all of them and pick it randomly.” Drake said grinning.
Liam laughed. “Okay, what should we start with?”
“Phoenix, of course.” Drake pours the small bottles of Tullamore D.E.W. into their glasses and hands one of them to Liam. They clinked glasses and drank their shots.
“So, how’s life treating you, uncle Drake?” Liam smiled, placing his glass on the bar as he sat on one of the stools.
“It’s great. Bartie is the best kid ever. Savannah is happy to be back and have more time to herself now that she has Maxwell and me around to help out.”
“I’ve seen you around with him. Never thought you’d be so happy playing a toddler.”
“Me neither. I guess babies really are irresistibly cute creatures.”
The conversation went smoothly as they drank the whiskey samples. Drake missed these late nights just chatting and laughing with his best friend. After all that happened, Liam still had time to catch up with him. He glanced at the box with whiskey samples and saw a small of a bottle of a Hudson Baby Bourbon. And remembered Jade. She isn’t a huge fan of whiskey, but she occasionally drank a few shots of good bourbon. “Bourbons are great in every form we present ourselves,” she’d say winking amusingly.
“Everything okay?” Liam asked.
“Yeah, it’s just…” Drake trailed off, looking at the label of the bottle with her last name on it. “Are you happy, Liam? I mean, with Bourbon?”
“Yes, she’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. I never thought I’d be so lucky to actually marry someone I truly love.” Liam’s face seemed to shine as he talked about her.
“You deserve happiness, Liam. Everyone does. And if you’re happy with her, I’m happy for you both.”
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“No, let’s keep drinking these babies”. Drake put the Hudson Baby Bourbon into his pants pocket and look for other bottles.
“Fine by me. I say we pick The Balvenie.” Liam picked up samples of the 12 years aged Balvenie Doublewood Whiskey and handed one to Drake.
Liam poured it into his glass but didn’t drink. Drake was hiding something from him and there was only one way he would find out. He started to drink slower and add more ice while Drake kept drinking neat.
“Maaan! You’re just drinking water now.” Drake grumbled.
“I need to slow it down.”
“You’re such a light-weight!” Drake teased. He was nearly falling off the barstool, but Liam caught him before he slipped.
“Maybe we should go get some rest now.”
“Naaaah… I’m fiiine, dude.” Drake said, trying to lean on his elbows against the bar.
“Drake, you have to go to bed,” Liam ordered.
“You’re starting to sound just like her,” Drake said wistfully.
“Like who?”
“Jade. Bossypants Bourbon bossing people around…” His lips curled into a sneer. “She’s so cocky, annoying, so frustrating…”
Liam looked at Drake, silently waiting for Drake to continue. Of course, this was about Jade. They were really close before the engagement, but something happened between them and they barely greeted each other. He needed to know. “She can be stubborn, but it’s also one of her charms.”
“You must be reaaaally in looove to say this. She deserves a patient good man like you. Not someone like me.”
“Like you? Did you—”
“Nooo, noo… it’s not like thaaat, ya know? I mean, I like her. But she… she loves you. She adores you from the very beginning. Crown, no crown. It was always you. If you got married to Madeleine, she would accept being your mistress. I told her she could walk out of this. But she just wanted you, that didn’t matter to her.”
“Do you like her?”
“Who doesn’t? With those eyes, that smile, the way she talks to people, making anyone feel special around her…” He rubbed the back of his head.
Liam saw how hurt Drake was and pat his shoulder.
“It’s fiine, man… I always knew you’re the one for her. When we kissed, she said it felt weird, like she was standing between us, ruining my friendship with you and with her. She’s right.” Drake looked down before stifling a yawn. “She’s awesome, you’re awesome. You guys are great together and you’ll be amazing rulers.”
Liam wasn’t surprised to know they kissed. He just didn’t understand why they hide it from him if it didn’t mean that much. But he knew Drake wouldn’t be able to talk about it any longer. Drake was way too drunk and would probably collapse on the floor and sleep right there if anyone let him.
“Okay. We really should get you into bed.”
“Fiiiine…” Drake yawned.
Liam put one of Drake’s arms on his shoulder and led him to his room.
“Can you manage from here?” Liam asked quietly as they got into Drake’s room.
“Hey, I can take care of myself.” Drake knocked over a lamp as he tried to stand still.
“Really?” Liam raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry…” Drake scratched his head, looking away.
“It’s okay. I’ll ask a servant to replace it and prepare the hangover special for you. Just get some rest.”
Liam was about to leave when he turned around. “Drake.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for always looking out for her, for being loyal to both of us.”
“You’re my best friend, man. Loyalty is part of the process.”
____
“You got Drake drunk.” Jade raised her eyebrows bewildered.
“It’s the only way to get him to really open up. Plus who am I to deny my best friend his favorite drink?” Liam shrugged.
“So you didn’t know about his feelings until last night?”
“I had my suspicions. But this is something he tried to suppress as much as he could. And I kind of agree with him. Who wouldn’t like you?”
“And you’re not mad about this?”
“No, I was just surprised the whole kissing Hana thing. I get it now.” Liam’s hands ran through Jade’s hair as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I hid this from you. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but it meant something to them. Drake still needs closure and Hana was just starting to see the world through her own eyes. I didn’t want you to look at them in a different way. They’re still our friends no matter what.”
“I know. Thank you for trusting me.” He kissed the top of her head and noticed she stifled a yawn. “We should go to bed now.”
“Okay.” They stood up and walked down the hall towards Jade’s room holding hands.
“Can I ask one last question?” She asked as they stopped in front of her door.
“Sure.”
“Would have married Madeleine if I hadn’t come back?”
“I’d rather abdicate the throne than live without you.” Liam smiled at her, confident about every word he just said.
Jade put her arms around his neck and smiled mischievously. “You shouldn’t say such romantic things right now if you wanna keep up with the ‘only married royal couples sleep in the same bedroom’ rule.”
Liam pinned Jade against the door, one of his hands holding her arms above her head and the other making its way between her thighs as he gently bit her earlobe and whispered. “Too late.”
