Infinity Times Infinity (Book One)

Chapter 28

Mikaela's POV

We wrapped up at the studio around eight that evening. I was pleased. Everything had gone so well. Instead of bothering Holly to come and pick me up, I called an Uber instead. I got back to the townhouse, but it was empty. Strange. I wondered where Holly was?

Hmmm...what did I want more: FaceTime with Ryan? Food? Shower?

Laughing, I pulled out my phone.

Damn, dead battery. I had gotten so busy, I never even checked it, much less charged it.

I walked upstairs and plugged it into the charger next to the bed.

Immediately, I noticed dozens of alerts. Five missed calls from Ryan, seven from Holly, one from Bob. I scanned the text messages.

Ryan: Have you seen social media?
Ryan: We've been outed
Holly: I'm on it Kae
Bob: I swear this did not come from me
Ryan: Mikaela, where are you?
Holly: Answer your damn phone
Ryan: Call me

There were at least a dozen more.

I turned on my laptop and picked up my phone and FaceTimed Ryan.

"Finally!!!" He answered. His face coming into view. "Where have you been? I've been calling and it's going straight to voicemail."

"What the hell is going on? I just got home and my phone was dead, and now I see a ton of missed calls and messages."

"We are all over social media. We've officially been outed as a couple."

My laptop finally booted up and I immediately went to my Twitter account. 672 notifications. WTF? I scrolled down and finally saw the story coming from a country music gossip site.

NEW LOVE FOR TRAGIC              AMERICAN IDOL WINNER

Just who is the mystery man locking lips with former American Idol winner Mikaela Hunter in Charlotte Douglas airport? Why, it's written all over her shirt! Rumors have been going around for months that the brunette beauty, 24, has been spending a lot of time at the race track with NASCAR superstar Ryan Blaney, 24. Both Blaney and Hunter previously denied rumors of a relationship, but they made quite a stir onscreen in the video for Hunter's 2017 hit song, where their chemistry was undeniable. Based on these photos, it's also pretty undeniable they are indeed a couple. Hunter rose to fame after winning American Idol, in a season that was most often referred to as tragic when her fiancé, a soldier in the United States Army, was killed in action in Afghanistan. Hunter later went on to win the season, but her career had failed to take off as expected. After much anticipation, she released her debut album in the spring of 2017, but it didn't catch on with the public, until the video and promos featuring her and Blaney were released. She has kept a fairly low profile since then, aside from being spotted at several NASCAR races.

Blaney, a third generation driver from Ohio is in his third full season running the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He is one of the hottest up and coming drivers on the circuit with a huge social media following and is often referred to as a media magnet, which was probably why he was chosen to be paired with Hunter in a huge marketing /joint venture campaign between NASCAR and Hunter's record label. Whether their initial pairing was a publicity stunt or not, there is no denying from the photographs that they are the real deal. "RyKaela" is without a doubt THE cutest couple of the year.

"What?When?How did this happen?" I stammered.

"We obviously got caught by a photographer. Probably had a lot to do with that lip lock you laid on me." He chuckled.