𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐀
I'm really nervous. Right now I'm waiting for Ryder to text me that he's here. But I'm not nervous because of Ryder, I'm nervous because the president is going to be there. I mean, I've seen many important figures but never the president.
I go to rearrange one of my braids for the 6th time and Summer pauses my hand. "Just calm down. You look fine, you'll be fine, and you'll have fun." She gives me a lighthearted smile that eases my nerves.
I take a deep deep breath and smile. "Right, I'll have fun." My phone buzzes in my purse and I take it out.
"He's here."
"Yay.! Come on, you don't want to keep anyone waiting." Summer takes my hand, walking me out the front door. As we step out a Black Mercedes Maybach is waiting right there.
His driver gets out of the car and opens the backseat door for me. I wave bye to summer and I reply with a quick 'Thank you' before getting in the car.
I sit down in the car as the driver shuts the door for me and I look over at Ryder. "Hi." I give a small wave and he returns the 'Hi.'
As I sit down his scent smacks me in the face, in a good way. He smells fresh, like a cool breeze if it was turned into a cologne.
"You look really.. stunning."
I smile at his compliment and actually take a moment to look at his outfit. His black suit looks like it's been tailored and it's perfect in every way. It hugs on his figure, null of any imperfections. His white tie is set right in the middle. His hair looks like every strand has been brushed into perfection, free of flaws.
"You– You look good too. Well, amazing." I stumble over my words, trying not to under-compliment, if that even is a thing.
He smiles at me softly and as the car falls silent I can't help but ask.
"Is it horrible being the president's son?" As soon as I ask I see the light in his face dim and I immediately regret asking my question. "You don't have to answer–"
"It's... fine."
Oh?
The car comes to a halt and his driver steps outside to open the door for me. I exit the car and wait for Ryder. We're outside of one of the city's fanciest hotels, the two double doors in front of us covered are in fancy decor with a sign to the right giving information on the event.
More luxurious cars drop other important figures off and a doorman opens the two doors for us. I nod and give him a soft smile with Ryder walking by my side. As we step inside the hotel the luxurious scent hits me, wafting through my nose. Right above us is a chandelier with a million pieces of glass hanging from it, making the room shimmer. Around us are many abstract paintings, vases, and fancy decor, all of them looking like they were taken straight from a museum.
"Wow." I say in awe. This isn't even where the event is held. I've been to this hotel many times yet I've never seen it this dressed up.
"The event is this way." "Oh! right." I whirl around, turning away from the fancy decorations and follow Ryder to wherever he's going. We walk through a couple halls, while on our way a couple people greet Ryder and myself. I'm assuming they have some kind of connection with his father.
As we walk through one long corridor there's an abnormally large double door and a rug leading up to that door.
As we walk I trip over the rug and Ryder's arms steady me before I can even have the chance to fall to the ground.
"You trip a lot." I giggle, his hands still holding onto my shoulders.
"I guess I do, right?" I look up into his browns, and then look down at his smile, his teeth almost glowing from being pearly white.
Finally, he lets go of my shoulders. "Be more careful, I don't want you to actually fall." "I'll try." I respond as we walk ahead to the doors.
Two doormen open each side for us and as we walk in I'm welcomed by someone on the other side of the door. I'm greeted by an even bigger chandelier than the one in the lobby.
Inside is what looks like it used to be a large ballroom and is now decorated and remodeled with fancy tables for eating and plants everywhere. Waiters come out of doors and walk around the place, offering drinks and small appetizers to people, photographers take pictures of people, reporters align their cameras towards the reserved area in the front of the room for when the president will probably make his speech, and most importantly, Ryder's father and the first lady stand towards the front of the room, socializing with a couple guests.
It's not much different from the fancy events my parents make Summer and I attend, just way.. fancier.
"This is really, really, nice." I mumble to myself.
"This way, our table is this way." He leads me to the front of the room, there's a table, fancily decorated with cutlery with a sign on it. Reserved for the Adams family.
Before I can sit down in the chair an older couple approaches us, Ryder smiles at the sight of them, making his left dimple show. The woman smiles at Ryder and goes to kiss his forehead, the man gives him a hug.
"Grandma, Grandpa!" He smiles at them both and I take a moment to see the resemblance. "Ryder? Who's this? Is she your girlfriend? She's very pretty–"
I nervously chuckle as he cuts her off with a "No."
"We're just friends.. Mrs. Adams" I interject. She mouths an 'Ohhh..' and smiles at me.
"It's nice to meet you.. Miss...?" His grandfather holds out his hand and I accept it. "Oh! Ms. Davis. But you can really call me Kaia."
As I look at his face I can't help but think I know him from somewhere. Where from? I've had to see his face at least twice. "You were a Senator, right?" He raises an eyebrow. "Yes, a couple years ago. I'm retired now." I nod.
"She's smart." I can hear Mrs. Adams murmur and I can't help but smile.
"Are you coming back to Maine this summer, Ryder?" His grandfather asks. Ryder puts his hand in his pocket, "I think so, you'll be spending the summer at the lakehouse, right?" His grandfather smiles. "You know it, and maybe you can bring your friends this summer."
Ryder grins. "We're going to talk to your father and step-mother, but we'll be back." His grandma says while giving us both that warm, comforting smile. She looks like she'd bake amazing cookies.
As they walk away I turn to Ryder. "They're nice." He lets out a soft laugh. "My grandma can be a little overwhelming, despite her old age, I'm sorry."
"It's okay. She's great." I've never met any of his family but by the looks of it they seem like good people.
I sit down in my chair and Ryder sits next to me. "What's your favorite animal?" He asks. I take a moment to think, going through all of the cute animals.
"Cats. I love cats. Why?" I ask.
"It's just something to talk about."
"So then what's your favorite animal?" I inquire.
"Dolphins. Their big heads are weird but cute. Have you ever seen a dolphin smile?
I shake my head.
He pulls out his phone to show me a picture. "They're different. Not a lot of animals can look cute while smiling." I laugh and look at the photo.
For the rest of the night we spent a lot of time laughing, searching up sea animals we had never heard of, drinking sparkling apple juice, eating, talking to his grandparents, and talking about our favorite animals. Here's what I've learned so far: His favorite animal is a Dolphin, he got stung by a Jellyfish when he was 5, his grandparents own a lakehouse in Maine that he visits every summer (and they're they cutest old people in love i've ever seen), and his favorite dog is a Labrador Retriever.
I don't know why I made space in my brain to remember that information, but I did.
About thirty minutes before the night was going to end Ryder's father stepped up towards the front of the room, in front of the microphone to make a statement.
I had never actually asked for the exact details on why this event was hosted, but I was curious to find out.
He clears his throat out and my mind goes back to the day he made the speech at our school's orientation.
"Tonight has been a wonderful night and I'd like to thank everyone who attended tonight's dinner. Thank you all." He gives a long speech about politics. I don't care to tune in too much because I'm not the biggest fan of politics. Finally, he puts the mic back and the room roars in applause.
I check the time on my phone. "It's late, actually so... We should get going.. Right?" I ask Ryder.
He nods. "Of course." Ryder stands up and waits for me, he says his goodbye to his grandparents and we walk outside of the hotel, getting right into the car waiting for us.
Towards the end of the car ride I ask. "Monday it'll be 98 degrees. How about you and a couple of friends come to the beach with my friends? We usually go when it's hot and none of us are that busy."
"Sure, I'll invite them, we'll be there." He responds and I smile.
"Tonight was fun, really fun." I say and he smiles. "I never really knew you before. I didn't know you got stung by a jellyfish and I didn't think I'd care but, you're really cool Ryder."
"I feel like you've convinced me to get a cat now. How long did we even talk about animals tonight?"
"Maybe.. An hour?" I laugh.
The car stops and I look outside the window. The driver opens up the door for me and I step out of the car.
"See you in Marine Bio?" He asks. I nod and wave. "I'll see you there."
if you were wondering what Kaia's outfit looks like:
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