For the Love of Cake by Erin Dutton

Author:Erin Dutton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Gay
ISBN: 9781626392410
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2015-02-15T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Maya stepped out of the steaming shower stall and grabbed a towel from the rack. She scrubbed it over her head, then quickly dried her body and hung the towel neatly on the bar to dry. Naked, she left the bathroom, circled the bed, and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge. Unlike the full suites the contestants lived it, her room was a large open space with a king-sized bed, a small sofa and chair near the window, and a wet bar with a single-serve coffeemaker.

She didn’t miss the kitchen, preferring to exist on salads from the deli downstairs and local takeout. One night, she’d sweet-talked the guy at the famous barbeque joint on Broadway into delivering to her hotel room. But after stuffing herself on pulled pork, ribs, amazing potato salad, and the best cornbread she’d ever had, she decided she’d have to stay away from that place for a while—for the sake of her waistline. She’d actually been so full she had to save her homemade banana pudding for breakfast the next day. As good as it was, that banana pudding didn’t compare to the lemon cake she got from Drake’s.

Somehow, every line of thought brought her back to Shannon. She could envision walking into Drake’s and seeing Shannon behind the counter. She would flash that welcoming smile, and Maya would purchase baked goods she hadn’t even known she wanted. She hadn’t seen the kitchen, but she’d been in enough small bakeries to build a mental picture of what the space might look like. Having met Jori, she imagined an efficient use of space, simple yet functional, quality equipment but not overly extravagant.

She set her water bottle on the nightstand, flopped down on the bed, then scooted under the covers. Somewhere else in the hotel, Shannon was probably about to turn in as well. They had fallen into a routine of meeting in the gym after filming. And every night, after working out, they rode the elevator back up to their respective rooms. Maya somehow managed to contain her desire to invite Shannon to her room. She retired to her own room, to torment herself with images of them showering together. She stopped herself before she could fantasize about getting into bed with Shannon. Even if Shannon was on board, which, given her “come-close-no-go-away” attitude, she certainly wasn’t, trying to sneak in a sleepover during the show would be much too risky.

Her cell phone vibrated on the nightstand and she answered it, seeking distraction from the rabbit hole she hovered on the edge of.

“Hey, Wendy.”

“I emailed you a list of interviews and public appearances I want you to consider while you’re down there.”

“I don’t want to do any interviews until the show’s over.”

“You can’t bury yourself down there. Besides, the producers want the publicity.”

“So let them tell me to do it.”

“After that stunt you pulled with Lucia, you need to get back in their good graces.”

“You heard about that already?”

“I think Hugh has me on speed-dial.

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