Baking With Boys |✔

29. Pumpkin Spice Latte

I looked down at my heels, glittering and winking at me in the spacious lobby light. The silver bracelet and the flowing night blue gown made me feel fancy and satisfied. The clock struck seven, and I whimpered when Brandon still didn't show up at the lobby. Only ten more minutes for the appointed bus to leave for the cruise were left, and I was still waiting for Brandon.

People had been bustling around the whole time, so it hadn't been lonely. But the numerous looks I had received unnerved me. I couldn't decide if they stared because they thought I was stunning or looked like a pitiful stood up date.

Though was I stood up?

I checked my phone once again for any messages or missed calls, but there were none. Brandon and I had agreed to meet at six-thirty pm, and I had been late, but I didn't expect him to be this late.

"Tyler are you coming along?" Sarah asked me, hand in hand with her boyfriend. Even she had dressed up for the event.

"Brandon isn't here yet. Can you wait for me while I call him? He is not picking up his phone." I bunched up my dress and stood up. The loose hair fell on my shoulders, contrasting drastically with the blue of my dress.

"Sure. I won't let the bus leave. Hurry!"

"Thanks!" I gave her hand a squeeze and made for the lift. My phone beeped, and my heart squeezed at the thought of a message from Brandon. Half scared that I was stood up, I sighed when it was just a spam message.

The door bell echoed but there was no reply from within. I tried once again, but he didn't open. Panic struck in and I took the electric key card out, barging inside the hotel room. What if Brandon had slipped and broke his hip? Or what if he really stood me up?

Or maybe that he was flat on the bed, sleeping like a pig.

"Hey! Brandon. Brandon!" I slightly shook his shoulder, but he was deep in sleep and nothing woke him up. Way to make people worry. For a moment I just stood there and watched him.

He was lying on his stomach, the covers were tangled up with his torso and legs. His mouth was open, and his hair stood in different directions yet made him look sexy. The anger I had mustered up to shout at him dissipated at his tired form.

Sliding open my phone, I dialed Sarah's number. She picked it up on the second ring. "Hey. Sorry I can't make it. You enjoy."

"Are you sure? It will be amazing!"

"Yes, you go ahead. Bye." I ended the call before she could make me regret the decision. Placing the phone on the side table, I went up to the mirror and looked at my reflection. It was such a waste, dressing up and yet being stuck in the hotel room.

I kicked off my heels and plopped down on the sofa chair beside the bed. Resting my head back on it, I thought back to the events of the day. First the kiss in the morning, then the competition and now. It had been so jam-packed that I never really had the moment to sit back and relax.

Two days from now the school will reopen, but I won't be there. And I was hundred percent sure that the trending topic of gossip would be me. It wasn't something new, yet the jests and comments had hurt every time like a fresh wound. Only thing new this term would be this sleeping boy next to me and his team. But what could they do? Our world had been so apart for so long, will this past spring break change it all?

How I wish it did...

Closing my eyes, and lost in the memories, it wasn't long before I fell asleep.

"Oh shit! Shit, shit, fucking shit." Constant muttering of the same word irritated my sleep. I flipped over trying to get away from the sound, my left side of the face now smashed with the couch.