Just Cruising

Chapter 12: Day IV

I was. Freaking. Out.

Hyperventilating slightly. Oh gosh. Oh. My. Gosh. I can't do this. I... I just can't!

Ok, first of all, let us backtrack to the beginning, before I had my meltdown.

Sam and I made it to our rooms, and started getting ready for dinner. I stole the bathroom before Sam even had a chance, locking the door and turning the shower on. The warm water felt heavenly on my skin, slowly washing away the sweat and sunscreen that had clogged up my skin pores. I lathered and rinsed my hair with shampoo and conditioner, shaved thoroughly, and just contemplating my thoughts.

What should I wear? Was one of the first questions I wrestled with.

Then came, What if I don't have anything good enough? Then laughed. Of course I have something. My mom packed my bags for goodness sakes.

After that though, it went downhill, and fast.

What if I don't look good enough though? Or what if I humiliate myself. What if I wear the wrong thing, or it doesn't match?!

Questions flooded my mind, making me doubt everything. Damn mind! Always making me feel stupid!

And that's how I ended up hyperventilating on the shower floor, water running down my limbs, pooling around the small drain. Sam knocked at the door, asking if I was ok. I didn't answer the first 4 times, so he started threatening to break down the door, so I told him to give me a second.

I got up shakily, wrapping a towel around me, and stepped out of the shower, sniffling and shaky. I tried drying off and putting clothes on but my fingers were trembling too hard.

My brother knocked on the door, more like nearly knocking the door down with just his fist. I attempted to get dressed while trying to calm my brother down and assuring him that I was fine. I just gave up on getting dressed, so I grabbed all my clothes, fumbled with the door handle but I eventually got it open. When I stepped out, Sam pounced on me. He kept asking me questions, bombarding me like I was in an interrogation. I just ended up yelling at him to leave me alone and pointed quite casually that I was in a towel, and that the bathroom was unoccupied.

He sidestepped around me, but kept eyeing me suspiciously. He finally left, and I heard a sigh. I got dressed into some sweats a shirt. Then I wrapped my hair with a towel, and sat on the love seat couch in our room. I got cozy and grabbed my book. Reading always calmed me down.

I heard Sam turn on the shower, and I heard him singing in the shower, but it didn't distract me from my book. The plot thickened with tension, the writing style proving the story more and more intense every page. The climax of the story hit me like a sledgehammer though, just making a pound into my heart so unexpectedly.

I didn't check the time, and when I realized it was an hour later, I jumped to my feet and ran to the bathroom. I think I almost broke down the door, screaming for Sam to get out. He just sighed and laughed. He finally stepped out though.

Ok, I had an hour and a half to get ready. I had my nails, makeup and hair to do. First I started on my hair. I blow dried it to perfection with a round brush giving it a beautiful volume for my hair style. I then grabbed my curling iron and shaped my hair into soft waves. Then, I dumped all my makeup onto the tiny counter. Concealer, check. Powder, check. Eyeliner, check. Mascara, check. Blush and eyeshadow, check. I didn't bother with that contouring stuff, I just feel like it takes too long. I then got out and picked a dress. I didn't think this through too well.

I should've put my dress on first, but it was a halter, backless dress, so my makeup would be ok.

Alright, 45 minutes left. First, I needed to find a pink that matched the pink in my dress. My dress was a baby blue with cherry blossoms, and I wanted my polish the match the flowers. I finally found a good colour and started my quick manicure. I trimmed, filed, and painted my nails in under 25 minutes. That's a record for me.

I got dressed and looked in the mirror. Lookin good so far. I grabbed a cute silver purse that matched these silver pumps my mom packed for me. I got my phone, wallet, key card, cosmetics, and other probably useless stuff, and packed them all in my tiny clutch purse. Perfect. I was ready to go. And I still had time to spare.

Sam was getting impatient I think. He kept drumming his fingers on any surface he could reach. I stepped out of the bathroom, and Sam's eyebrows shot up.

"What?" I asked, self-conscious.

"No, you look amazing. I just never thought my sister would look so good."

I walked over play punched his arm. He put his hands up in surrender when I attempted to keep hitting him.

"That's so mean!" I exclaimed.

"No?! I just meant that I've always thought of you as my little sister!" I explained, still trying to duck my hits.

I just huffed as I took steps away. Sam headed towards the door too, and we stepped. He then held his arm out and I took it, and we strolled towards the elevator.

The elevator doors swooshed open, and we elegantly stepped inside. This is the first time we got to take the elevator. It had giant mirrors all over the walls, and it's mahogany floors gleamed exquisitely. The doors closed and luckily there were only a few people with us. We spoke in hushed tones about how my feet were going to be purple by the end of dinner. We laughed quietly. The doors of the elevator opened, and we stepped out into a crowded lobby of the 10th floor.

I spotted La Rustica right away. As we made our way to the entrance, I felt so self conscious. Everyone kept looking our way, some gawking, and the people in our path kind of parted to make way for us. I felt... Well, as cliché as it sounds, I felt like a princess.

We got into the long line leading up to La Rustica to get a table. We stood there for 30 second when I heard a gasp from behind me.

Now I just want to rewind here for a second. Do you guys remember the first day of this trip when I met Jacob, and there was this moment in slow motion him and his friends walking towards my brother and I? This, was the exact same.

It was a magical moment. A moment from the movies. He wore a pair of dark coloured jeans, and a light blue dress shirt. He had a dress coat over. He looked perfect. His hair was coiffed effortlessly. And let's not get to the smile. I knew I was gawking too, like everyone person in this room. Even the old ladies were smiling, appreciating God's gift to this world. He was looking straight at me, not taking his eyes off me the whole walk, or more like fashionable strut, over.

It was amazing. He reached me, and leaned down, and whispered in my ear, "You look beautiful". They were simple words but they sent me to a whole new level of high. My cheeks bloomed in colour, and I tried to hide my smile. He planted a small kiss on my cheek. It sent chills all over.

Our table was called over. Jacob held his arm out, and I took it and we strolled to our table.