"Wake up Sleeping Beauty! It's officially daytime and I refuse to allow such a gorgeous day to go to waste on my watch!" Tate shouted loudly from the other side of my bedroom door.
I startled awake, shooting up to a sitting position like someone had just shouted "free donuts!" But when I realized that the sun wasn't even up yet, I contemplated murder.
Maybe if I don't answer, he'll go away, I thought as I flopped back onto the bed.
"LALIANA! GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED!"
Okay... I'm gonna have to kill him.
"LEAVE ME ALONE TATE!" I shouted through the door and scrambled for my phone to check the time. My voice grew loud with rage. "It's five in the morning!"
"SO?!?" Tate replied impatiently. He whimpered like a puppy. "Come on! UP! UP! UP!"
I stomped to the door, hellbent on destroying Tate for being the most annoying person I had ever met. "What is wrong with you!?!" I threw the door open and glared up at Tate who stood smiling like it was one in the afternoon and not five in the morning. "Something is clearly wrong with that brain of yours!"
Tate rocked back on his heels and laughed. "You look pissed!"
"Wow! You must be a genius to pick that up! I am pissed! What possessed you—"
Tate looked me over, his eyes going wide. "Wait... how'd you end up in your bedroom anyway? Didn't you fall asleep out here?"
I blinked as my brain attempted to connect dots at an hour it normally was asleep for. It took a second to drag my brain out of "break time" and into "process words time." Memories flooded back. Images of sitting on the couch next to Aiden. Him wrapping his arms around me while I cried. Falling asleep with my head against his chest— Oh my gosh...
My heart stuttered but even in its panic attack, it managed to pump a bunch of blood into my face, turning me bright red. I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to look confused and not like a girl who more than likely was carried to bed by a very hot man.
"I guess Aiden helped me to bed at some point," I shrugged, trying not to choke on my saliva as I attempted to breathe normally and not like a flustered idiot.
Tate's grin was slow, but sparked like a fire, lighting up his whole face until it nearly reached from ear to ear. His eyes glinting with excitement. "HOLY CRAP. Do you like Aiden?"
I managed one word before my brain died. "I..." Great word choice brain. And this is why we don't wake up at FIVE IN THE MORNING!!!
I shook my head wildly, hoping that gestures would fill in the gaps that words apparently would not. Tate continued to grin. The smile grew wider and wider making me feel more and more panicked. Finally, unable to stand such a bright smile of joy and amusement, I took several steps back with full intent to slam the door to my bedroom in his face.
"WOAH!" Tate stopped the door with his shoulder. "Don't look so freaked out."
I continued to push against him and the door. "Just... let the door go Tate!" He was strong. Stupid strong Dalton boys!
"No. I'm not gonna let you hyperventilate by yourself."
I finally stopped trying to close the door. "Just don't... It's not..." I stuttered out.
Tate offered me a warm smile. "Hey, it's okay. I won't say a word." He lifted his fingers to his lips and pretended to zip them shut.
I leaned my head against the door. "It's too early in the morning for this conversation Tate."
He chuckled. "No worries. I've brought coffee... and donuts... and more coffee... and breakfast burritos... and hashbrowns... and coffee... and breakfast sandwiches. That should wake you up."
I looked up at his excited face. "You are enjoying this aren't you?"
He grinned. "Duh. It's not every day that I find out that someone likes my grumpy, too serious for his own good, cousin." He grabbed the edge of the door to my bedroom that stood between us. "Now go get changed and we will talk about our game plan for the day over breakfast. And if we talk about Aiden somewhere in there... then that's a bonus!"
Then Tate slammed the door in my face, laughing.
...
A shower, jeans, and a t-shirt with a dancing cupcake on it later, I walked into my living room and snorted as soon as I saw my kitchen counter. "What is this? A breakfast buffet for a hundred people?" Tate hadn't been kidding when he listed off the food he brought. "Why on earth did you bring all this?" I asked walking over to the donuts first and placing two on a plate for myself.
Tate who was deep into a second breakfast burrito spoke past a mouth full of food. "Aiden said you don't have food." He rolled his eyes. "Should have known he meant you don't have any healthy food here. I approve of your choice in breakfast food by the way. PopTarts. Inspired."
I scooped hash brown onto my plate and moved onto picking out a breakfast burrito, hoping Tate would move past the Aiden topic. I poured myself a cup of coffee, with a large amount of creamer and finally sat down next to Tate. "Thanks."
Munching on a burrito filled with bacon and eggs, I turned to look at Tate, who was looking down at a donut fondly. "Okay, while I appreciate you bringing a horde of food to my house... Something tells me there is another reason you woke me up at five in the morning other than fearing I'd starve."
Tate dropped the donut and held up his hands, relenting. "Fair. I just thought food would help you not shoot the messenger."
I stopped mid-bite. "Wait... are you telling me you are using food as a distraction for bad news!" I scoffed. "Tate! Food is sacred!"
"I know..." He hung his head. "I just know that you always know about news last... So I thought I'd get it to you before you get blindsided."
I pushed my food away and took in a deep breath. "What is it, Tate?"
He slid me a tabloid magazine. "Page sixteen."
I flipped through the magazine and spotted several pictures of me with Carter from the night before. Carter greeting me at the limo, his rings glittering brightly in the camera flashes. I am looking at Carter with a nervous smile.
Another of Carter's hair covering his eyes, a playful grin on his face as he whispers in my ear, my face in a deep blush.
And a third picture of Carter pulling me towards the exit, my hand in his. They had painted us as a shy, timid couple having a night on the town. Exactly how Carter had painted himself to the cameras for years. The shy artist who timidly came up to appease the cameras whenever they needed more of him. "Besides the fact that the club I went to is poorly named, I don't see what the bad news is."
Tate shrugged. "Technically I didn't say it was bad. You did. Just thought you'd want to know you are officially a minor celebrity." He took a bite of his donut. "Yay." He motioned towards my living room window. "But in an hour or so there will be a few camera crews waiting outside to follow you around. So that's fun."
Oh crap.
Tate began to shuffle the food back into the containers they arrived in. "So, I recommend we grab your stuff and we go somewhere far away from potential cameras so you don't have to deal with them til later."
I grabbed my purse and moved for the door. "Wait. Is that what you are wearing for your fake date tonight?" I froze at the door, having completely forgotten about the date I had agreed to. Jeans and a cupcake shirt although perfect for a night in, wasn't what I should wear to a nice restaurant. My hand hovered over the door to the outside world.
"Crap." I scrambled to my room and began to scan my closet, fully aware that I had nothing impressive to wear to a fancy dinner with a celebrity. I owned dress pants, blouses, and a skirt or two, but nothing even close to what I would wear to a five-star restaurant. Come to think of it, I had never been to a five-star restaurant.
"Holy crap. You really don't own any fancy clothes," Tate said right behind me, making me jump. He looked through the closet. "Yeah... you don't have anything in here for a fancy place."
"I do!" I protested. "It's just at the dry cleaners."
"Great! It's been a while since I've seen Aiden's mom!"
So at six-thirty in the morning, we left my apartment with five bags of breakfast food and fled to a coffee shop, eager to avoid cameras with the intent of stopping by the dry cleaners before my fake date.
After spending several hours getting writing done for my next book, we spent the rest of the day at a hole-in-the-wall boardgame restaurant, playing every boardgame they had, and eating breakfast leftovers and half of their lunch menu. Tate could eat more than humanly possible.
I quickly learned that Tate didn't take games seriously, making it very irritating when I myself was an unhealthy level of competitive. This led me to threaten to gouge his eyes out with a spork if he didn't play better... which he did to save his own life.
I had managed to avoid talking about Aiden. Something I knew wouldn't last long, but I took any victory I could get.
Finally, we arrived at Dalton's Dry Cleaners to pick up my yellow dress— the only fancy thing I owned and before I could say a word, Tate told Kathrine I needed help getting ready for my date that night.
Traitor.
But Katherine's smile and excitement over the idea of helping me transform into the fancy version of myself warmed me to the idea. She clapped her hands together and ushered me off to get ready, leaving no room for protest.
By the time Kathrine had finished doing my hair and makeup, I could barely recognize myself in the mirror. "You are a miracle worker," I whispered poking my own face as I stared into the mirror to make sure I was staring at myself. My hair laid in beautiful curls down my back, my eyes smokey, making my green eyes pop. She had finished it off with ruby red lipstick.
"Well, you have a lot to work with," Katherine replied standing next to me and looking at my reflection in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. I turned and smiled at her. "Thank you, Katherine." Katherine's smile matched Aiden's, making me feel safe in her presence.
She waved her hand around, brushing away my thanks. "It was nothing! My daughter doesn't let me dress her up. You are making my day!" She offered me a hug, wrapping her arms around me tightly. "Whoever this boy is, is very lucky to have you."
I blushed and looked away, not having the heart to tell her that it was all lies. That none of it mattered. That it was all paperwork to get me to date someone. "Thank you."
My luck at avoiding the cameras ended when my limo pulled up to the restaurant where I was meeting Decklan Blake. "Wow. There are a lot of cameras," I said leaning back in my seat, feeling queasy as cameras began to flash wildly against the tinted windows.
"You'll do great. I'll be nearby the whole time. And if he does anything questionable, punch him right in the face." Tate offered me a playful shove.
I laughed. "Let's hope that isn't a picture they get for tomorrow's paper."
Tate opened the limo door and ushered me out. Cameras flashed wildly, blinding me as I made my way towards the front door of the Italian restaurant named Scherzo. I was proud that I had gotten slightly better at not falling flat on my face when I was blinded by their flashes.
"Laliana Summers! Who are you meeting? Is it Carter Royal? Is it a new suitor?" I smiled brightly, doing my best not to look terrified by their scream questioning, and hurried towards the front door.
I ducked inside, Tate right behind me. Before I could even give the host my name, he smiled brightly, like we knew each other. "Ah! Ms. Summers. Your table is right this way."
I was ushered to a table right next to the front window, where paparazzi stood right on the other side, like sharks in a fish tank, eager for me to do something newsworthy. The restaurant seemed to come alive around me, humming with whispered energy and Decklan wasn't even there yet. Oh my gosh... this is terrifying.
I was given a menu and ducked gratefully behind it, trying to read the words, self-conscious of the look on my face. Do you ever get self-conscious of every facial expression when there are cameras around? That was me. Suddenly terrified that I looked weird as I tried to look normal.
Fifteen minutes went by and I still sat alone at the restaurant looking like a sad, self-conscious idiot. Where is he?
A sudden chirp from my phone pulled me from my panicked thoughts. I looked down and saw a message from a number I didn't recognize.
"Shoulda ditched your bodyguard and let me take you to my place last night. Enjoy your sad dinner alone with the cameras. They will eat you alive. Oh, and by the way, Decklan isn't coming."
- Carter
My heart dropped into my stomach and my ears were filled with a buzzing sound. Crap. I am stuck alone at the restaurant with dozens of paparazzi between me and the exit. Frontpage of the tabloids... here I come.
I spotted Tate on the phone nearby. He looked angry as he spoke in hushed tones. Every few seconds he looked over at me with a concerned expression. The panic in his eyes scared me. I glanced through the window and saw several members of the paparazzi taking notes and soon, cameras began to flash.
I forced myself to keep looking calm but I wasn't sure how long that would last. I was embarrassed and sitting alone in a restaurant where everyone had turned to look at me. I was stood up and the proof was going to be splashed all over a trashy paper tomorrow morning.
Oh my gosh. How do I get out of this?
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Thank you for reading chapter twenty-two! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to know when the next chapter drops!
UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!
Laliana is stuck in a paparazzi nightmare. Will she be able to get out of the restaurant without the mob of paparazzi getting to her?
Will she find a way out without being embarrassed?
Can we all agree that Carter is a jerk?
Will Dekclan show up later in the story or will Laliana never agree to meet him after this?
CHAPTER QUESTION - Have you ever been embarrassed in public?