Take Out Chef

Chapter Thirty

Chapter's song: Can't stop the feeling by Justin Timberlake ;)

However, I was excited to spend three hours sitting next to Bryan. For the first five minutes. Tom sat on the row beside us and he decided to go over the activities list with Bryan. They planned to take us hiking as soon as we got to the camp site.

We hadn't brought food. From what I gathered, the camp had a lake and a little vegetable patch where we would have to harvest our own food. It sounded kind of cool. If you were able to use your two freaking hands.

There were twenty of us. A few had given up on the course after the first week of restaurant practices. It was hard to get through school and then practices. Especially if you had a job in the first place. Maybe that was the main point. Hundreds of people signed up. We'd started the course with about fifty people. You could tell that things were getting a little competitive. It was a good thing, though. If you'd endured until now, it was sure that you were going to end up the course. There were still a few weeks to go, but we were graduating before Christmas. I was sure every graduate had secured a job at one of the restaurants we were practicing. That was one hell of an incentive.

Two hours later, we finished working on the details. I say we, because I'd arranged half of the things they'd planned, so I had to answer their questions and such.

Small chatter filled the bus, but for the most part, people were quiet. I tried to peek behind me to find my friends, but without much luck. Knowing Andrew, he probably sat at the back.

"Do you want to change seats?" Bryan asked beside me, and I turned to him.

He wasn't looking at me. He leaned on the back rest and had his eyes closed, but by the tone of his voice, I could tell he was feeling wary.

"I'm fine." I frowned. Is he jealous? My heart warmed at that. He was always moody whenever Andy was around. I wondered if I should ask him, but I had no clue if whatever we had could be considered a relationship. Wait. He did ask me out, didn't he?

Ugh.

I bit my lip, when his voice sounded again. "You sure?"

My eyes cut to him. He tilted his head and was gazing at me, studying me. I nodded. He glanced to the side, where Tom had leaned back on his seat and had plugged earphones, before his hand grazed mine. An electric current played in the place our hands connected. The tingles ran through my arm, up to my heart and down to my stomach.

We both stared at each other for a moment before the bus passed through some bump and the spell broke. However, my heart rate was up to the sky as I turned my head away. I started to pull away my hand but he held it tighter. My lips curved up, while my stomach flipped. Silence reigned in our seats, but warmness encased my heart for the rest of the ride.

***

The bus parked in what it looked like, the middle of nowhere. One lonely cabin was the only sign of civilization. Yet, the place looked like out of a children's story book. It was surrounded by large oak trees, wild bushes everywhere and you could hear chirping birds on the background. The air was crisp and fresh, and it smelled like nature.

We formed a line to gather our things, while Tom and Bryan disappeared inside the cabin to talk to the camp manager. I saw Monica at the back of the line and I joined her, knowing full-well that she would start teasing me.

"This is pretty cool, huh?" I smiled at her.

She nodded. "I wish I could bring Carlitos here. He would love it." Her eyes roamed all over the place. She was so excited that she couldn't stand still in her place. "Plus, it smells awesome!" Her dark eyes glinted as she beamed at me.