The Prince

I decided I didn’t want a chaperone to come with me to see Hugo the next morning. It took me a deep breath to enter the lobby, and my own disappointment when I didn’t find Brandon made me feel utterly stupid. Whatever. Hugo had left my full name at the front desk, so the receptionists let me in right away, no questions asked. Waiting for the elevator was another tough test on my nerves. No Brandon there, either. Well, not like lightning strikes twice, right?

Hugo welcomed me with a quick hug and kisses on both cheeks, inviting me into his suite with his placid smile. Like the day before, he had tea ready for us, so we sat on the rug at the table to have it.

Don’t ask me how he did it, but not five minutes later we were talking about Brandon, and within ten minutes, I was crying and voicing all my doubts and regrets. He brought a box of Kleenex and kept refilling my tea bowl, helping me bring all that messy knot of mixed emotions out with brief questio