Of Royal Descent Read Online Free Page B

that order.  I was just rinsing the last of the shaving cream off my neck when I heard Chuck stir in the next room.
    I dried off, pulled on a clean change of clothes , and opened the door.  Chuck was lying in the bed, on his back, with a pillow and his left arm slung over his face. 
    "I know this isn't the best road trip we've ever taken, but suffocation is not the answer," I said, walking back to my side of the room.
    "Stoorlyf," was his mumbled reply.
    "Say again?"
    Chuck removed the pillow from his face and lolled his head in my direction without opening his eyes. 
    "It's too early," he grumbled.
    I sat down on my bed and began to pack up my duffel bag.
    "It's never too early when we're talking about a free deluxe Continental breakfast.  I believe the word waffle was mentioned at check in," I said, raising my eyebrows at Chuck.
    Chuck opened his eyes long enough to roll them and raised his pillow back over his face.
    "Wllby ul oo kn t," he replied.
    "I'm sorry.  Could you clarify that last bit?  Came through a little garbled."
    Chuck removed the pillow and stared at me.  "I said , I will buy you all you can eat , wherever you want to go, if you just shut it and let me sleep for another hour or four."
    "Well, someone is awfully cranky this morning.  Maybe if you had gone to bed earlier, instead of staying up to watch movies you've already seen, you'd be in a better mood."  I replied, having more fun than I probably should have been.
    "I'd be in a better mood if you'd shut the hell up and let me go back to sleep."  Chuck shot me a withering glare.
    Oh ho ho , now I couldn't let him go back to sleep even if I had wanted to.  My testosterone had been affronted.  I considered my options.
    "Okay," I said, drawing out the long a vowel sound in a sing-song voice and getting my shoes on quickly.  "Guess when I see them, I'll just have to tell that pack of girls from the pool that my friend is unable to rise for the occasion," I said, running like a madman to the door. 
    I knew Chuck wouldn ’t be able to tolerate any slight on his manhood.  I could hear him scrambling out of bed as I jerked the door open and sprinted into the hall and around the corner without ever looking back.  At the elevator I paused to listen, and upon not hearing Chuck in pursuit, I ambled past the opened doors and descended to the foyer.
    When Chuck found me ten minutes later, I was halfway through my stack of waffles and scrambled eggs. 
    "I thought you were going to sleep in?"  I asked innocently, eyebrows arched.
    The death glare was gone and petulance had taken its place.  "There are no girls at all down here," he pouted, taking the seat in front of me.
    I took a cl oser look at Chuck and noticed the dampness that clung to his hair.
    "Did you shower before you came down?"  I asked in disbelief. 
    "Yeah, so?"
    "You were barely awake ten minutes ago.  If I use the bare minimum standards, it took you thirty seconds to undress, one minute to dry, one and a half minutes to redress, and three minutes to get to the foyer.  So, best case scenario, you only had four minutes to shower provided you didn't brush your teeth or pee.  What kind of shower is four minutes?"
    Chucked looked at me sourly. 
    "Well Princess, unlike you, I don't keep a strict beauty regimen that requires a thirty minute shower every day.  This," he paused, sweeping his right hand up and down the length of his torso, "is all natural.  And besides, I don't brush my teeth until after breakfast.  What would be the point of that?  And , for your information, I did pee.  I am completely capable of multitasking my urination with showering." 
    Chuck gave me a sincere smile before standing and making his way to the buffet.       
    Note to self:  Always shower first at Chuck's house .
    After breakfast, we headed back upstairs to collect our things and haul them down to the El Camino.  That is, after Chuck brushed his teeth.
    We climbed into the car and rolled