May 18th, 1998
“So since I’ve already been your boyfriend for the night, what do you say I take you on a first date?”
These were words that roamed in her mind for the past two days since the night she had met Leo at the art gallery. After seeing her brother that day and talking for a few moments about why the hell she was following him around the damn world, Addie and Leo continued to talk afterward for… well, hours. For her, it just felt easy - talking to the man she barely knew. Perhaps it was the social skills she learned growing up as the daughter of Abigail and Jacob Parker… both related to royalty in their own right… or maybe… it was simply because she found the man intriguing. There was… something about him and she simply couldn’t place her finger on it just yet. Hopefully… however, she’d figure it out tonight. Was it bad that Addie was excited? This almost… felt like the start of something. Whether that something was ‘good’ - that was yet to be discovered.
Addie was currently looking at herself in the mirror, a red dress adorned tightly around her body as her blond hair trailed down her back. Leo hadn’t told her much about the night except something about dinner, so she found herself dressing up more than she usually would. Hearing a doorbell ring, Addie looked at herself one last time before walking downstairs of the house that Justin (and now her) was living in while he finished up his sophomore year. The house, itself, was fairly large though still uncomparable to their Chateau back home.
Addie could hear talking near the doorway, and as she reached the end of the staircase, she found her brother talking to Leo - about what, she had no idea, though knowing Justin it was something along the lines of get her back home by 10 because, despite any banter they had, she knew he cared about her wellbeing which… honestly was endearing. Ironically, those were the exact words she heard when she reached the two, a smile reaching her lips as she looked at her date before playfully punching her brother on the shoulder. “Justin, bloody hell, don’t scare him away this quickly,” she grinned, “That’s second date material right there, not first.” There was a lightness in her tone as she looked over at Leo, the man wearing a black suit that made him look… bloody good if she could say so herself. “I’ll see you later, dear brother. You and Natalia have fun,” she added with a wink before looping her arm in her date’s as he led her out to his car with a statement of her looking beautiful that night.
***
GOD was she BORED. So far, the best part of this date was probably the beginning when he drove her to this party because at least then, Addie actually had a moment to talk to the man. Right - party. Seemingly, Leo had to make a quick appearance at a party and from the moment they arrived at the mansion filled with American leaders, Leo had been preoccupied with talking to various individuals: a few she recognized only by name and photos in the news. She did wonder why all these individuals would want to talk to a man barely older than her, but he mentioned something about his father’s business and that was exactly when she started tuning him out because business talk never really interested her. In either case, long story short, since the moment they arrived - Addie hadn’t really said more than a sentence to him without getting interrupted by someone who wanted a quick moment of his time. Every few conversations or so, he’d check up on her, apologizing for being dragged away before, once again, being taken for another conversation.
Really what that meant was that Addie was left to herself for most of the time, walking around the party while shifting between conversations with various individuals who were all wondering who she was and why they should waste their time. Could Addie tell them that she was a dutchess and 10th in line for the throne of England? She could, but it was far more intriguing to see how quickly people’s interest decreased when she explained she was only here as a date. The game got more interesting, however, when she started telling people she was something other than what she was. One man thought she was an astronaut to go to space in a few days, another believed she was a rising pop star in Australia - and she had done that one so well that the man asked for a signature because his daughter was a “big fan” of her. Overall, however, she found herself tired on a night that was supposed to be their first date. Perhaps the worst of it was when she had a conversation with the housewives - women who had no aspirations besides planning parties every week. That… truly was something that Adelaide could never imagine doing. That wasn’t her… the girl that had kids, and planned events. She wasn’t… her mom… a woman who did just that on a daily basis. God that life would kill her. She wanted to lead… to be someone known for more than who she married… Adelaide Parker would one day be a household name as a trailblazer in politics, similar to some of her role models who pushed against the ideals that men had placed on them. Screw anyone who thought otherwise.
As she escaped the housewives discussing the “Charity Fundraiser” they were hosting next week, Addie left the party area - strolling down one of the hallways with a champagne in hand and nowhere to go. She had seen Leo talking to yet another man, and knew he likely wouldn’t miss her. As she wandered into a random room, there was a soft smile that met her lips seeing she had found herself in a game room. On the left wall, there was a dartboard - something she often played with her siblings when debating something, such as who had to go to one of their parent’s parties as a representative for the family. Putting her champagne down, the girl grabbed the darts and easily hit the middle with no effort. Let’s just say, she often won those games. Honestly, Addie didn’t know how long she was in there, but she found herself missing her mark with a voice from a man who just entered.
“I was wondering where you disappeared off to…,”
Addie moved her features to face her date… or at least the man who was supposed to be her date, though it seemed every person in the room had more time with the man than she had. “You know, Leo, I do think I’ve talked with you less than every single person in that room,” there was a slight teasing smile on her lips, though with an underlying truth behind her words. This wasn’t a date, this was a job. He could have honestly hired an escort to do the exact same thing she was meant to do - to stand around and look pretty.
“Let’s change that, because you’re much more interesting than everyone in there… I can teach you if you’d like?”
With his next sentiment about teaching her, she raised her eyebrows. Looking back at the board, she realized due to Leo’s distraction, she wasn’t even close to the middle of the board. “How about this; we play a one on one game? Whoever gets higher can ask the other any question they want and the winner can decide what to do for the rest of the night?” she smiled at him before grabbing the dart that hit the edge of the board. “Alright, go ahead. Teach me so we can make this a fair game,” Addie feigned ignorance as he walked over, telling her how to stand and throw with a slight curve. As he did a few practices runs, Addie tried to hide the smile seeing the darts reach near the middle, but never exactly there. As he let her try a practice run, she let him put her arms around her body, guiding her on what to do - though she purposefully messed it up so it was further than his from the middle. After a few more “practice” hits of inching it closer to the middle, she shrugged. “I think… alright screw it. Might as well just play the game. What do you say - 5 rounds - with the closest to the middle winning. And Leo… don’t bloody let me win arse.” she added with a joking tone.
As he went to do his first one, she watched as it almost reached the bull’s eye, but was just a little off. Grabbing the next dart, Addie pretended as if she was concentrating really hard before accidentally getting the dart completely off from the middle, a pout meeting her lips to really sell the act as she looked at him to ask her a question. “Alright, Addie… what would you say your ideal date is?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at the question, turning to face him with a raised eyebrow. “You’re cheeky aren’t you? Well, I can tell you this party isn’t it, Leo. I’ve never really been a fan of parties where people talk at you with the intention of wanting or needing something… which is what most of these people here are doing. I just… I don’t know Leo I just want to go on an adventure. Do something exciting and new just for the two of us. That’s my ideal date,” It was true - so often Addie had to pretend to be something she wasn’t because of her parents and she was tired of it. Honestly with all the butlers and hired help back in London, her parents didn’t truly give her much freedom to do anything else so she hadn’t really… done anything. She wanted to, though… she wanted to explore the world, do things that her parents would never approve of women doing, and simply… live.
Addie watched as the man nodded before walking towards the dartboard to clear it off. “I’ll note that for our second date,” “If you get a second date,” It was almost a challenge as she took the dart back allowing him to, once again, go first so she knew how badly she had to lose by. This time, she did edge a bit closer to his, however, being an inch off. “Damn… It’s okay, you know, I just have to win the next three rounds…” she mumbled, turning to face him once again.
“What do you think about me?”
A mischievous smile met her lips as she laughed - the man was being smart about the questions he asked, not wasting any of them. “Well, Leo. You’re very cute, I have to give you that. Charming as well but honestly, I don’t know what to think yet. Let’s just say I’m still trying to figure it out myself, maybe I’ll know by the end of this date.”
This time, Addie went ahead and walked towards the board to grab the darts. However, instead of letting him go first, she asked if he would mind if she did - saying something about maybe going first being luck. After receiving confirmation, Addie stopped pretending she didn’t know how to play and easily got the dart straight in the bullseye. Instead of giving him a chance to beat her, however, she continued and got the next two darts less than a millimeter away from the first one - all of them being right in the center.
“So… you could try to beat that… or…”
“I’m guessing you know how to play?”
“A little,” she responded with a cheeky grin as she grabbed his hand and pulled him outside. Since she won, that did mean that she had control over the rest of the date and she found herself leading him to the backyard connected to what seemed like a private beach. “Alright, Leo. First question,” she started, leading him further down the path until they reached the sand to which she immediately took off her heels and continued walking, her hand still holding his.
“What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?”
“The craziest thing I’ve ever done…. That would be spring break, last year, a dare that I promised I would never speak of again.”
She looked at him with a questioning expression at his remark. Spring Break - that was one of the many things her parents never led her participate in… it seemed fun. Maybe she’d even get the story of what happened out of him sooner or later. As she listened to him, the two slowly edged closer to the water and further away from the house they were in seconds earlier. “Alright… though I will say you have me curious now… Second question. Do you actually bloody like parties like that? Be honest,”
“Sometimes they’re alright, but not usually. I got used to it because I had to.”
She smiled at his answer, truthfully relating to it with all the parties she had to go to in the past… though she hadn’t exactly told him about who her parents were so she didn’t exactly know what he knew or thought about her. Addie found that they were now close enough to feel the water on her toes. A smile met her lips at the feeling of the cold wave as she planted her feet deeper inside the sand only for it to be washed away. There was something about the beauty of the scene in front of them as the moon reflecting upon the surface of the waves. “Okay Last question… do you trust me?” as she asked it, Addie’s hand let go of his own before twisting behind her back to undo the zipper of her dress. With that, there was no hesitation as she placed her dress on the sand with her shoes. Although she had a white undercover on, it wasn’t necessarily hiding much in the moonlight. After a few seconds, she begin backing into the water, a smile on her lips as she let the water inch up her leg. “If you do… Leo… let’s have that adventure I was talking about,” with that, the girl dived into the water, swimming a little deeper so her torso was covered with water. Would it be strange to tell someone she had never done this? Not the swimming part, or being at a beach part, but the going into the ocean part. The only time she was at the beach was for another socializing event, but this… this was new all the way down to the saltiness of the water.
She was distracted in her own thoughts before she heard someone behind her. Turning, she found a shirtless Leo in front of her and she couldn’t help but stare. What? He was hot okay. “So I see that you either trust me or you’re crazy,” she whispered, though the moment he got close, she felt a magnetic pull towards him. For a moment, she followed through - swimming towards him, and letting her arms wrap around his neck. Addie was hypnotized by the way he looked in the moonlight and the way his warmth spread to her body as he held her. She saw his lips leaning down but before they could meet hers she pushed away and sprayed him with water. “Catch me if you can and then maybe you’ll get a kiss,”
There was laughter in the air as the two chased each other in the water and down the beach, but it wasn’t long until he caught up to her, pinning her against the sand. She found him leaning down again, but this time before he could kiss her, she heard someone screaming. “HEY YOU TWO KIDS. This is a private beach.” Addie sighed, moving her head towards the sound and finding a police officer coming towards them. Standing up, Addie grabbed her dress and smiled at him. They could always explain they were at the party, but at the same time “Let’s run” she muttered with the crinkle of her nose and with almost no hesitation, he did. The two were chased for a few seconds as the police officer shined a light behind them but easily they got ahead, slipping between to houses and finding themselves in Leo’s car once again - laughter among their lips that would never cease.
The laughing continued as he drove away back to her house, up until the point they arrived back. She watched as Leo exited his side, only to open the door for her and let her out with her dress and shoes still in hand. Oh how her brother would kill her. Either way, the moment she stood up she found his lips on hers as he held her against the car. Though it wasn’t her first kiss, it was one of the best she had ever had - her hand navigating to the back of his head to keep him there… until of course she heard a “ADELAIDE BELLE PARKER” . Oh brother…
The “Something Old” - 2031 - Continued - PART 2.2
“Jessica, are you ready to try on the next dress? We need to keep goi-” in a hurry, Jess put the book back in her purse, looking at her mother the moment she came in with a nod, trying not to look guilty. She’d as her mother about the book later but first… she just wanted to at least get through a few more pages… after all, who knew her mother was such a rebel in her youth? WHoever this Leo person was seemed to be… really important to her and Jessica was simply curious to knowing more about it. “Of course mum, where should we start?” Jess sighed as her mother went over to the dresses, looking through them and pulling a specific one out.
“This one darling, try this one.”