“Good! They tend to like you more when you make ‘em wait,” she smiled. “Have you given any thought to the contest I entered you in the weekend before your birthday?”
I’d almost forgotten about that. Even though my birthday wasn’t for another two weeks she’d paid for me to be in the state fair’s cake baking contest—the ultimate stage for baked goods.
I appreciated her enthusiasm, but my specialty was pie, not cake.
“Um, I’m not so sure about that…I don’t really make cakes and I’m used to having three to six months to prepare for contests, not weeks.”
“Excuses! You better do it. Me and the rest of the family will be staying in the Marriott all weekend to judge the quilting so we probably won’t be able to help you get the cakes there. You should ask your boyfriend to go with you. You can even use my car.”
“He’s not my boyfriend mom! And I don’t think he would want to go to a state fair. He’d probably think it was lame. Plus, Joan said she had some news about a certain Hollywood guy who asked for my number yesterday—she said it’s someone I’ve worked with before! I think it’s Ryan Gosling! Wouldn’t we be cute together?”
She whipped her head around and gave me that criminal look again. “Really Selena?”
“Okay, okay…I’ll stop it…”
I gave her a hug before she left and called Ethan.
“Hey Selena,” he sounded sleepy. “How are you today?”
“I’m okay. I hope I’m not disturbing you or anything but I was wondering if you could help me with something in a few weeks.”
“It doesn’t involve watching a romantic comedy does it?” he teased.
“No…I’m making a bunch of cakes for the state fair contest in Little Rock. It’s three hours away and I need some help driving there and back…Would you go with me?”
“Absolutely, but you have to do something for me first.”
“What is it?”
“Let me take you out on a real date. Tonight. Can you please let me do that?”
My heart jumped out of my chest and danced around the room. “Um, yeah sure.”
“What time should I pick you up from your hotel?”
“Six thirty?”
“Okay. I’ll see you then. Oh, and wear jeans,” he hung up.
I immediately hopped in the shower. I spent hours debating on what I should wear before picking out my favorite skinny jeans and orange halter top. I pulled my hair into a sleek curly bun and put on light make-up.
I headed down to the lobby ten minutes early—my first time being on time for anything, and saw Ethan standing near the front desk in his brown leather jacket.
“You look beautiful Selena,” his eyes lit up. “Are you ready?”
I nodded and he grabbed my hand, leading me out of the hotel and towards the back of the parking lot.
He walked me over to a shiny black motorcycle and handed me a pink helmet. He fastened his on, and looked like he was waiting for me to do the same.
I stepped back. “Where are you taking me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I looked at the helmet and shook my head. “I told you I was terrified of motorcycles…And I’m scared of surprises too... Can you tell me where we’re going and let me meet you there? I can ask Joan to take me.”
“Are you normally this frustrating?” he smiled.
“If I say yes, will you let me meet you there?”
“No,” he laughed. “I think that would take the fun out of the surprise location.”
He spent fifteen minutes telling me about the different parts of the motorcycle—the spokes, the suspension, the dual engine—and while I was bending down to look at the steel spikes underneath the motorcycle’s body, he promised he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
“It’s not you,” I took another step back. “My cousin got hurt really badly on one of these before…”
I shuddered at the thought of Kate falling off a motorcycle and severely twisting her leg when she was twelve years old. She shattered her knee and had to wear a leg brace for over a year.
“I promise you won’t get hurt,” he reached for my hand and patted the motorcycle seat.
I stepped forward, but then I stepped back and shook my head again. I wanted to trust him, but fear overrode all my thoughts.
I tossed the pink helmet back to him and whispered that I was sorry, that I was honestly too scared to even try.
“You know what? I’m sorry,” he got off the bike and removed his helmet. He placed the helmets in the cargo hold and walked over to me. “I do remember you saying that you were scared of motorcycles. I guess I didn’t understand how scared you were…”
He took my hand and kissed it. He led me across the parking lot, to the other side of the hotel, where a bright red Ferrari convertible was sitting all alone.
“I bought it earlier today just in case this happened,” he looked into my eyes as he opened the passenger door. “Is this better?”
I pinched him and slipped into the car.
The Ferrari flew down the back roads of the city.