Princess Ch. 01

My friend Carl came by at one point after lunch and peered into my small office, "Bad night? Man, you still look hung over. You and your buds must have really tied one on."

"Yeah, plus I didn't get much sleep to top it off. I think I might go home early and work over the weekend. I was even thinking of taking off a couple of days next week. Maybe I'll just start early days next week. I'll make up the time somehow."

"Well, you aren't getting much done here it appears." Carl waltzed away towards the coffee room.

About once an hour, I also used my iPhone to listen to the local news on my headphones. I heard increased news coverage about the missing princess including an immense amount of unfounded speculation about who had taken her captive, why, and how. Everyone seemed to expect ransom demands to materialize any second.

The speculations included kidnapping by some rampant fraternity as a prank, by ISIS, by the evangelical right, by the atheistic left, and lastly by a secret organization she was about to expose - the same organization really responsible for JFK's assassination and the 9-11 attacks. The possibility that she walked away on her own was not even considered. After all, she was a princess with unbounded riches and privilege at her disposal.

I left work at two o'clock, and headed home. I tried to think about what to do with Carrie; however, I couldn't even pose a question the right way to make the problems she'd created go away.

I went into my apartment, but no one seemed to be there. I walked through the entire twelve hundred square feet, looked under the beds, and no one was there. Then, I remembered her challenge about the oven. I went to the kitchen and opened the oven door.

Carrie smiled up at me from inside the small insulated box. "See. The only reason you found me is that we talked about me hiding here this morning." She uncurled her lithe body from inside the confines of my stove, and stood. At least I had a clean oven.

"Point made," I conceded reluctantly.

"How was work?" Carrie came into my personal space, stood on tiptoe, and kissed my cheek.

"Work was fine ... and that was unexpected." I tried to think if I had ever been kissed by a princess before, and obviously I hadn't.

"I've been a snoop all day. You said to help myself to anything at all. I like what I've found out about you."

"Oh, God. What did you do? Do I have any secrets left?"

"Nope," she grinned. "I like the books you've read. I even found your journal and read it. You're a thoughtful man with a lot of love inside you. We think alike on so many issues; I often felt that I was reading something I might have written."

"Carrie, that's my diary. You weren't supposed to read that; it's private." I flopped down on my sofa and held my head in both hands. The same splitting headache had returned.

She smiled and danced away with a laugh, "Not any more. I learned a lot about you and how you think. I like you - a lot. You really are a nice man, and I can tell we're very compatible with one another. You'll like me a lot when you get to know me better." She moved near and sat beside me on the sofa and asked, "Tell me more about Marjorie?"

I snorted, "Old girlfriend. Ditched me about four weeks ago to move on to someone she thought would be more to her liking. She told me that she wanted me as a fu..." I abruptly stopped myself.

Carrie laughed, "What? A fuck buddy? I'm not totally naïve, you know. I can even swear up a good storm like any good footballer when I get angry. Anyway, Marjorie apparently still likes you to give you that status, and you obviously miss her."

"I'm not sure. I haven't heard from her since she left with all her stuff. She hurt me. If you read my journal, you know I'm trying to forget her."

"Well, she left a few odds and ends here at your condo; good for me: some cosmetics and girly stuff; not much though. I have a favor to ask; would you go to a store for me? I made a list."

Carrie magically produced a piece of paper with two columns of things on it. There had to have been at least fifty things on the list. Her handwriting was meticulous and on the small side, so she'd fit a lot onto the single page.

She said, "Now that you know who I am, you know I'm eventually good for the money. I walked away with nothing. I had credit cards, but I knew if I used them the authorities would know right away where I was. I didn't take my mobile for the same reason, and all my cash was from the U.K."

I glanced at the list as she talked. About half the items were cosmetics. There were also a few clothing items, such as underwear. She also wanted a small carry-on bag or backpack for the stuff.

I enquired, "Carrie, I'll get these things for you, but what do you plan to do?"

She shrugged slightly, "Could I stay here until things calm down, maybe a couple of days? I promise I'll be good as gold, and I'll even clean and cook - I do know how. I've seen it done."

I rubbed my temples with both hands. "You mean I'll have a royal princess hanging around my condo doing the cleaning and cooking? Now that's a twist on things. I'm the commoner; am I not supposed to be doting on you?"

"Yes. No. What I mean is ... that's the life I want to get away from. I want to be a normal girl. I don't want people bowing and getting all unsettled about meeting me. I want to date, hang out with friends, cook for someone, have to clean up my own stuff, go to a club occasionally, fall in love and have a normal family, and ... just be normal. I have a long list of things I want to do with my life, and none of it involves being a princess. I even want to go line dancing at a country and western bar; would you take me sometime soon?"

"Well, on that basis, yes, you can hang out here, but eventually you'll have to go out in public. You can't hide forever."

"But I'll change my appearance. I'll put my hair up under a hat and try to look like a small guy."

I allowed my gaze to drop to her bust line. I chortled, "You willnever be able to look like a small guy."

"Well, you know what I mean. I'll just look different. Don't be so literal."

I ignored her comment; "I'll go to a couple of stores after we have dinner."

After dinner took a little longer. I'd no sooner made the offer than there was a knock on my door.

Carrie scrambled back to the kitchen, and worked her way into the oven as I sauntered to the door. I wondered what she'd done with the racks and heating elements. I did notice that she had a piece of dark cloth over the small window into the oven.

I answered the door, and four imposing men stood there; two were in Maryland State Trooper uniforms. One of the detectives said, "James Westerly?"

As my knees started knocking, I smiled and tried to act nonchalant, "That's me. What can I do for you?" I felt my legs going weak, and felt as though I had lights flashing all over my face announcing that Carrie was inside my condo.

"We traced your car after it exited the parking facility at the Washingtonian Hotel last night."

"Yes, I was in their dining room and bar for several hours with friends. I think I left between eleven-thirty and midnight."

"We saw you on the video there. We've already talked to some of your friends too," volunteered the other detective. He was not at all confrontational or obnoxious.

I asked, "Did something happen to one of them? Did I do something wrong?" I tried to sound concerned, and I even straightened my posture to be more alert to their response. I expected the two darts from a Taser to strike me in the chest momentarily, rendering me a writhing and slightly electrocuted mass of quivering flesh on my floor as I was put in handcuffs and leg-irons.

"No. They're all fine. We're looking for a person who was staying in the hotel but disappeared. You didn't happen to see anybody as you left the hotel did you?"

I shook my head and made as though I was remembering. "I left the bar, went to my car, and drove home. I think I got home about twelve-fifteen maybe. Slept. Got up and went to work, although I admit to a bit of a hangover this morning. At the hotel, I only saw the desk clerk as I walked to the garage elevator. I didn't see anyone else in the garage." I tried to sound genuine, but I was shaking. I also told only the truth.

"May we take a look around your condo?"

I moved away from the door. "Sure. Come on in. This is the living room, dining room, and kitchen, all in one. There is a bathroom there that also services my guest bedroom. The master is there with an ensuite bath - not much; it's 1,200 square feet."

The officers fanned out. I stood at the end of the kitchen counter trying to see my condo through their eyes. What would they be looking for? Hiding places? Did Carrie leave any telltale signs? I made sure to not look at the oven.

One detective came out of the guest bedroom. "Anybody live here with you?"

"No. Just me. I had a live-in girlfriend up until a couple of weeks ago. I think she left some stuff. I haven't felt motivated to clear it out yet. If you want I can give you her name."

He looked satisfied with that answer, and returned to the room. I heard a closet door slide open. I could hear the same in the master bedroom. One officer came from the guest bedroom, glanced behind the sofa and the living room drapes, and then moved to my front door.

I posed, "Is this about some princess who disappeared? I heard something on the news coming home."

"Yes, but since you didn't see anything, and obviously have no one squirreled away here, this is a dead end. Thank you for allowing us in. As you might expect, we're following every possible lead we can to try to find her."

"Well, I wish you well on your search. The newscast I heard thought she'd been kidnapped."

The lead detective noncommittally said, "That's one theory." He passed me a business card. "This is my card and phone. If you happen to recall anything that you saw at the hotel - anything at all - please call me. What may be inconsequential to you may be the lead that'll help us. Thank you."

At that point, the four men left my apartment. I noticed they fanned out in the hall, checking the doors to the other apartments and going out the stairwells instead of the elevators.

I closed my door and listened. I even looked through the little eyepiece in the door, but saw no further activity in the hallway.

I went and opened the oven door, "You're medium rare, just the way I like my princesses. Come on out; they're gone."

"You did that so well. Thank you for not ratting me out."

I shrugged. "I like having you around. You've certainly injected some very uncommon excitement into my otherwise mundane life. I may pay for it with a long prison term, but you're interesting and unusual."

Carrie said, "OK. Let's wait for them to leave the building, and then you can go shopping. Also, bring back something for dinner. I'd cook for you, but you don't have much here."

"I can call for pizza delivery."

"Really. That'd be soooo cool. I rarely get anything like that. I think my parents are concerned that someone would try to poison me. I'd love pizza ... with pepperoni, please."

I called my local pizza joint and ordered a large with pepperoni. Carrie looked as though this was her best day ever. She mouthed to me, 'Thank you,' and then blew me a kiss.

She was so cute. About five-foot one or two, just over a hundred pounds, trim, with long brown hair that she'd obviously spent hours combing out so it had a luster to it. She had a smile that lit up the room, and appeared with noticeable dimples and little crinkles at the corners of her eyes. She was busty, but not in an outrageous way. I guessed she was in her mid to late twenties, maybe five years younger than I.

I could tell that she was a happy person, and I had started to sense her willingness for adventure so long as it was on her terms. She was smart too, yet sensitive to other people, at least to the extent that she discerned my sensitivity to life by reading my journal.

My dining room table was covered with an accumulation of stuff I'd dropped there over the past month since Marjorie had moved out. Instead of clearing it off, I set up two place settings at the kitchen counter where I had at breakfast. Carrie watched me carefully.

Carrie went over near the window and peeked out from behind the curtain. A minute later she announced, "The police are leaving. Two cars. No one in manacles."

I admonished, "That doesn't mean that you can go out. I bet everybody else in this complex has seen your picture on TV and would love to claim a reward for giving you up."

"You don't?" She sounded surprised at my lack of excitement about any reward.

I shook my head. "Not my style. Sure I could use the money, but it's not worth giving up a friend to a life they don't want." I turned to the counter to open a bottle of wine.

Carrie came to me and gave me a tight hug from behind me. Her voice cracked, "Thank you ... for considering me your friend. That's high praise I know, especially given how I suddenly appeared in your life. I also know that I'm about as welcome as the plague in your life."

I teased, "No, I'm getting used to having the plague. You are sure you don't want that princess life style, right? Money, prestige, power, publicity, adoration?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I've thought about this for at least ten years. I've been looking for an opportunity where I could slip away for almost as long. I almost did it once or twice, but I'd get seen and had to call it off. I decided escaping in America would be better; I'm less well-known here, the language is common, and I could blend into the landscape better."

"We'll see. You talk funny; everyone will know you're not from here."

Carrie shrugged.

The pizza arrived a half hour later, and we ate and drank some of my cheap white wine. I even set a lit candle on the counter to at least give us some ambiance besides the overhead fluorescent light in the kitchen. Our conversation wandered all over the map, and was as much about me as it was about her.

After dinner, I left Carrie to clean up, and I went out to the local drug store, and then the grocery store. I got back home about nine o'clock. The place was neat as a pin. I wondered what had happened to all my stuff on the dining room table and the cluttered coffee table.

Carrie welcomed me with a kiss, again to my surprise. "I think every handsome man should be welcomed home with a kiss ... and I do like kissing you."

"That's unique and most welcome," I assured her. Carrie was making this situation interesting. I liked the currency of kisses when she thanked me.

I unpacked some of what I'd bought. I had most of the things on her list and a few other things I'd thought of.

I said, "Princess Caroline, in making your transition to civilian life as Carrie, you need to change your appearance. I have several things to help in that regard."

Carrie looked fascinated as I sat there with one of the bags I held.

"First, you need to change your hair color. I chose red. It goes with your complexion and your few freckles, and I think you'll look hot as a red head." I set a box of red hair dye on the coffee table.

"Second, you need to restyle your hair. I got you a curling iron and curlers as well. After you color it, you can give yourself a permanent. Is that the order?" I set several more things on the table.

"Next, you need some clothing that will make you blend in. Around these parts, nobody will blink an eye if you're wearing a Redskins' t-shirt or sweatshirt." From another bag, I produced both, along with a pair of sweat pants.

Carrie enthusiastically asked, "Would you take me to a game?"

"Too risky to be in any sports setting right now. The TV cameras scan the crowd, plus the police may be using facial recognition technology. There's still the concern about terrorists doing something at one of the games."

I reached into another bag, "You may also feel the need to further change your hair, so I got you this." I laid out a cheap wig with blond hair on it. Some of the locks were colored red, white, and blue, since it was part of a July 4th sale.

"I also got you some special pens. If you let me, I'll give you what might pass as a tattoo - maybe on your neck and arms where they'll show. Lots of girls have them now, and since you don't they'll help you blend in. They wear off after a week or two."

"Can I pick what I want?" Carrie asked with great sincerity.

"Of course."

I said with a touch of humor, "The rest of the bags are what you wanted. I confess to never having bought tampons before, but I know they're a necessity for you."

Carrie thanked me, and then came and gave me a kiss again. "You're so thoughtful and so thorough. I wouldn't have thought of many of these things. I'll do all the hair and restyling tomorrow."

* * * * *

I had cleaned off the guest bed for Carrie to sleep on, and that was how she started the night. Nonetheless, when I awoke Saturday morning Carrie was snuggled against me again in my bed wearing the Redskins' t-shirt and not much else. I lay there and enjoyed having her small body tightly against me. I found it pleasing and more than a little erotic. I gently kissed the top of her head as I got out of bed in my briefs, and padded out to the kitchen to make breakfast for us. I'd gotten eggs and bacon at the store the night before.

"Do you have tea?" a voice from the bedroom said.

"No, but I will buy some this afternoon. Sorry, I didn't think of it."

"Then pour me some coffee. I'll be right there ... and thank you for the kiss earlier."

Carrie arrived a minute later. She flowed out of my bedroom, and into my arms for a surprise hug and morning kiss. I could feel her breasts through the shirt material as she rubbed against me.

She said, "Did anybody ever tell you that you kiss nice and that you understand how to hug someone?"

I mocked, "Why, just this morning, some runaway princess told me those things."

Carrie looked smug, "Well, I meant it." She tightly hugged me again, and I planted another kiss on top of her head.

I gestured to the chair at the counter, "Have a seat, and I'll have breakfast in a moment, your royal highness."

Carrie frowned, "Please don't call me that, even in playing around - at least for a while."

I nodded, "I'm sorry. I'll keep it lighter, your crappy lowness."

Carrie laughed, "That's more like it."

I caught myself staring at Carrie over breakfast. She was so beautiful, and right now, for these brief moments, she was sort of mine. I thought of how she was like a butterfly that arrived on my finger, would stay for a moment, and then fly away. I needed to savor her while she was with me. I felt my heart beating faster because I really liked her.

Carrie said softly, "I'm thinking the same thing you are."

"How do you know?" I replied in a near whisper. My heart was beating faster, but this time it wasn't because I was fearful.

"Because this seems so temporary. I don't want it to be."

I smiled and changed the subject, "Girlfriend, do you want some help doing your hair. I suggest you use the tub in my bathroom. It's got a hand sprayer you can use to wash the excess dye out of your hair."

While I cleaned up, Carrie got organized to do the dye job. She disappeared into my bathroom.

I walked into my bedroom a few minutes later. "Can I peek and see what you're up to? Are you decent?"

"Yes, most certainly," she cheerfully called from the bathroom.

I went to the door and was shocked. First, Carrie stood there wearing only the bikini underwear she'd apparently arrived in. She was topless, and her modest breasts stood high and proud on her chest. It took every bit of energy that I had not to go and molest her. We stared at each other, and she gave me a subtle smile.