cheap hotel // jonas vasquez

ii

"Eva, I don't understand why this cake is so dry," Ingrid said, bringing a sample over to her boss and friend. "I followed the recipe, but this is the fourth batch and it's still dry."

"Did you try adding more milk?" Eva asked, before taking a bite and immediately grimacing. "This is drier than sand."

"I tripled the milk. The batch was practically liquid when I put it in the oven," Ingrid said.

"It might be a problem with the oven. It's old," Eva said, pushing the plate back to Ingrid. "I'll call someone to come take a look at it."

"What are we going to do about desserts?"

"Just use ice cream, parfaits and anything else that doesn't require an oven. If customers ask why, you can just tell them that we have a problem with the oven, so we're postponing the cakes until further notice," Eva told her, checking the time on her phone. "I'm going to be in my office placing orders, so if you need anything, just come up."

"Okay," Ingrid said, taking the plate of failed cake batter back with her to the kitchen.

She dumped the dry cakes and began cleaning her mess. She dumped the dirty utensils and plates in the sink for the AM dishwashers to wash, then began wiping down her station. She heard footsteps entering the kitchen, but when she turned around, she didn't see anyone.

"Eva?" When she didn't hear a reply, Ingrid frowned. "Hello?"

Feeling dread seep into her bones, Ingrid slowly reached for one of the knives near her and held it up, taking slow and quiet steps towards the hallway that connected the kitchen to the front of the house.

Ingrid turned to look to her right and let out a scream when she saw Jonas standing there showing the whites of his eyes only.

The knife fell and clattered on the ground as Ingrid clutched her chest, trying to calm her beating heart as Jonas' pupils reappeared at his success in scaring her. Ingrid glared at her boyfriend as he laughed at her, and the quick footsteps coming down the stairs revealed Eva, who was holding up one of her heavy desk ornaments to use as a weapon.

When she saw Jonas, Eva let her arm drop, and gave Jonas an unimpressed look. "Seriously? I thought Ingrid was being attacked or something."

"Who would attack Ingrid? She's like a kitten," Jonas said with an amused smile.

"You're such a dick, Jonas," Ingrid breathed, leaning her head against his chest. "Fuck you. That wasn't funny."

"Yes, it was," he countered.

"Okay, now that I know it's only Jonas, I'm going back upstairs. If he scares you again, you can hit him for me," Eva told Ingrid before going back upstairs, muttering about something along the lines of the immaturity of males.

"It wasn't that scary," Jonas said, earning himself a punch to his side from Ingrid. "Ow!"

"You deserve it. I thought you were a murderer," Ingrid said, feeling her boyfriend's arms wrap around her waist. She returned the action and lifted her head to look up at Jonas.

Jonas planted a gentle kiss to her lips and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi," Ingrid said, stealing another kiss before pulling her head back."I thought you were on tour."

"I am on tour," Jonas said.

"Why are you here, though?"

"What, you don't want me here?" Jonas asked in a teasing tone.

Ingrid rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I mean. Your tour in America doesn't end for another month."

"I was feeling homesick," Jonas told her, feeling the guilt pool in his chest, but he kept a smile on his face as he rubbed his nose against Ingrid's. "And I missed you."