The Heaven I Found In Hell (38 page)

We passed the time just ignoring each other, but when the clock struck twelve, he couldn't take it anymore and started talking to me.

"I was just kidding, Alex," he said, closing the gap between us, as he circled my waist with his arms. "I was just playing."

I looked at him, still seriously, before I nodded, acknowledging what he said. I saw his face immediately fall, and that was when I started to apologize as well. I couldn't stand pretending to be mad at him. That was just impossible. Before he could realize what was going on, I gave him a quick peck. I was about to pull away, but his hands cupped my face, pulling it closer to his. He covered my lips with his own, and after a couple of minutes, his tongue begged entrance, and I allowed it. My hands brushed through his hair from time to time while his found their way under my shirt. They stayed there, holding my waist tightly, as his lips trailed kisses down my neck. Before things could go on any further, my mobile rang, breaking the 'moment.'

"Damn, Alex," he said in a whiny tone. "Turn that off next time."

I looked at him, and gave him a raised eyebrow, before I replied, "You wish."

I got my phone, answered it, and held it up to my ear. It was Riley.

"Yo! Hey Ri!"

'Hey, Hun. What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing. Nathan and I just finished taking a bath."

"What the fuck?" she shouted, wanting to make me go deaf. I started to wonder where I went wrong, and after a few seconds, my brain started to function. 
Oh…

"Separately, dear."

I heard her breathe out a sigh of relief, before she told me that what I said wasn't funny. While talking to her, Nathan would catch me by surprise by giving random kisses, and I, stupidly, would smile. I mouthed out the words 'Stop it.' to him since I was starting to not understand Riley anymore, but he just continued. I slapped his chest a couple of times, bit still, nothing.

"Ri, your brother's seriously messed up," I said, sounding annoyed. "Go talk to him."

I handed my phone to Nathan who got it looking a little bit hesitant, before I went over to my bag which was on the floor to get my make-up. I put on the usual, my eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, and my eye shadow. I checked the mirror one last time, and then smiled. 
Love it!

"Okay, we'll be going down in a sec." I heard Nathan say to Riley.

I walked over to where he was, and leaned on him, and in return, he pulled me closer for a tight embrace. I rested my head on his chest, while my hands stayed on his knees, and snuggled nearer.

"Okay, bye Ri! See ya." He said, before he hung up.

I looked at him, and asked if we were leaving, and he said we were.

"We have to check out at four, so we still have four hours to hang out, but Ri told me everyone was going to go down to get lunch. Do you want to come?"

"Why wouldn't I want to come?" I asked, while I searched the room looking for my shoulder bag.

"Apparently, it's a buffet."

I looked at him, and then gave him a long 'oh.' He just smiled in return, before he told me it was okay for him if I didn't want to eat, but that didn't mean he was going to stay with me.

"You can stay here while I'm having fun eating my sashimi," he said playfully, making fun of me again.

I thought about what he said, and decided not to give him the time of day.

"In that case, I'll come, and get all the sushi before you can."

He whacked me softly in the head, before he kissed my forehead to apologize. We stood in our room just hugging and looking at each other, and it was only when our surroundings became completely silent did we realize what we had to do. I pulled away from him, before I told him we had to go.

"Game," he said, as he walked over to the door, and held it open for me.

"Alex!" someone shouted. "Alex! Over here!"

I turned my head to see who was screaming my name, and when I saw Cindy blocking my view, my mouth opened. My mouth didn't drop to the floor because of her. It was because she was with Dylan. 
Hell no! 
I'm not playing the part of the jealous ex, but it's just that he and she were…I can't see them going out.

"Hey guys," I said, putting on a half-smile.

"What took you guys so long?" Dylan asked, stepping forward so that he could pull me in for a hug.

I returned his embrace, and after doing so, I asked Cindy where the rest of the gang was, and she answered by saying, "They're already inside, and I reckon, they're eating by now."

The four of us entered the restaurant, and immediately, we spotted the table where everyone sat. We took the empty spaces which were at the table's ends, before we greeted everyone 'hello.'

"You guys should try their Mexican station. The quesadillas are great," Blake said, and for the second time today, I was in awe. Seated beside him was, if I remembered correctly, Mandy, the model from France, and memories of last night's party came flooding back to my head. I looked around, and noticed that neither Scott nor Natalie was with us.

"Maybe I will, but I don't feel like eating so much," I answered, putting my bag on my chair to save the space.

"Shocker there," Riley teased, as she gave me one hell of a mischievous smile. "Oh, come on. The food's pretty expensive. Don't let it go to waste."

"I said I was going to try a quesadilla!" I said, raising my voice, as I laughed.

Before I could answer, Nathan, pulling me away from the rest of the group, circled my waist with his arms, as his hand rested on my hips.

"I'm hungry, and I can't get my food without Alex coming with me," he said, putting on a teasing smile, while those who were at the table started to smirk at us. With the noise growing louder, it couldn't be helped that a waiter went over to us to tell us to lower our voices. We shut up, but when he left, the talking began again. We couldn't be stopped.

Nathan and I headed over to the Japanese station of the buffet, and once we saw the food, our eyes widened. There was a whole selection of Japanese cuisine, different kinds of sushi, teriyaki, teppanyaki, tempura, tonkatsu-don, and a whole lot more.

"If only I wasn't a model," I said in a teasing tone of voice.

"There's a lot more of this," Nathan replied. "It's only the Japanese station. There's still Italian, Chinese, American, and Mexican."

"Don't forget the dessert table."

"Damn."

"You got that right. Damn."

I ended up eating a whole lot more than what I wanted. I had pasta, a quesadilla, half a burger, and a piece of tempura, and when I finished, I was completely stuffed. But I still had a very tiny space in my stomach that was empty, and that was going to be for the cheesecake. I wanted to stop, really, since I felt like I gained five pounds in just one sitting, but with everyone, except for Cindy and Mandy, not caring about what entered their mouth, I felt insecure. It was like I was starting not to like being too thin.

"Are you done?" Nathan asked, as he forked his steak, while his free hand landed on my lap.

"I'm going for the cheesecake."

"Oh, really?" He asked, sounding unsure.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because your cheeks look like they're going to pop."

I immediately placed my hands over my cheeks, as I started to touch and squeeze them. I felt scared and worried at the same time since what he said was something I never, ever wanted to happen. I may sound superficial and all, but I can't help it. I'm in the Fashion Industry, people! My insides were panicking, and I felt like leaving. I wanted to go back to my room. No. I wanted to go to the gym. I looked at Nathan, and saw him wear an anxious look.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked, and he could hide the fact that he was worried.

"Am I really fat?" I said in return in a very low whisper.

I felt his grip on my lap tighten with what I said, and with that, I figured out he had just been teasing. But instead of laughing, or slapping his shoulder or his chest, I just smiled at him weakly.

"You took it seriously," he said. "I'm so, so sorry."

My smile remained, and I nodded, and told him it was okay, but he didn't believe me. He continued apologizing, his whisper growing louder now, and soon, everyone was asking what was going on.

"It's nothing. Nate's just being a bastard," I said, trying to laugh, and unfortunately, no one fell for what I said.

"Yeah, and I'm a princess," Riley said in a voice full of sarcasm.

"I think you're a princess," Anthony answered, and with that, I laughed, for real.

Everyone, in fact, started to laugh their asses off, while Anthony just smiled at everyone. Riley, ashamed at how corny her boyfriend was being, quickly covered her blushing cheeks.

"Hey girl," I said, trying to get Riley's attention. "Isn't that sweet?"

"If Ri's a princess then that means I'm a prince!" Nathan answered with such enthusiasm, as the laughter continued.

After a while, everyone calmed down, but still continued to look at Riley and Anthony with mischievous smirks. The couple, completely embarrassed, decided to leave us since both couldn't handle everyone's gazes being on them.

"We're out of here," Riley said, beginning to stand up. "Just call us if we're going for a swim already."

Riley and Anthony handed us their money, before they left the restaurant, and when they were gone, everyone started commenting on the two.

"Ri's such a doll!" Cindy squealed, complete with her dazzling and charming smile.

"Anthony's such a cutie!" I answered. "Who would say such cheesy words?"

Everyone agreed. Well, except for my boyfriend.

"Don't you find me cute too?" He asked, pouting.

I looked and then cocked an eyebrow up at him before I told him to 'get lost.' Not buying my serious façade, he kissed me on the lips in front of everyone. It was my turn to hide my reddening cheeks, but I wasn't going to leave. I had not gotten my cheesecake yet.

"Now am I cute or do you want me to call you a princess?" he asked, smiling like the purple cat in Alice in Wonderland.

I pushed his face away from mine, and looked away, but under the table, I got his hand, and let it rest on my knee. He started rubbing my lap, and I couldn't help but grin. The good thing was that no one noticed.