Beat of Your Heart

Chapter 6: Cheesecake Break

Chapter 6

          “Look, you guys. As much as I love seeing you two go on like that, we need to do research on this topic before we can consider our ‘topic search’, or whatever you call this, actually done,” Vincent cut in on our bickering.

          I was about to agree when my mom, finally came home. Hm, earlier than expected.

          “Tori, honey, can you help me out? There are still some in the car,” she said jerking her thumb to the direction of the car.

          “Sure, mom!” I answered, then turned to Vincent. “Hey, you, be a man and help me out!” smacking his arm lightly. He rolled his eyes, but got up, nevertheless.

          Wow, mom bought a lot of food today. Cakes, chips, cookies, juice, etc. You could mistake our kitchen for the grocery store! Well, what do you expect when you lived in a house where every member of the family acted like hungry cavemen whenever food was around? This food won’t last more than a week. It’s a good thing we had our own ways of staying active. If not, then maybe we couldn’t even fit through the front door. And considering the size of our front door, that was saying something.

          Vincent and I went back to the car to get the last of the food, and I was literally drooling. Cheesecake! I love cheesecake! I raced back into the house, cheesecake in hand, and hollered, “Cheesecake break!!!”

          “I love the way you think, girl!” Zane winked at me, and I winked back. She pushed her laptop to the side and quickly followed me into the dining hall. I also saw the guys trailing behind us. Just as we were about to enter the dining hall, Travis appeared at the staircase, barely able to reach the top of the banister. His perky blue eyes staring at the cheesecake in my hands.

          “Did somebody say food?” he said, eyes not leaving the cheesecake for a second. As if it would magically disappear if he looked away.

          “Actually, I said cheesecake...but close enough,” I shrugged. We entered the dining hall, and Travis came in after us. We sat around the table, my mom included. I was seated in between my mom and Zane. Across from me was Travis, with the boys at either side of him. Each of us took a slice, and dug in. We just started small talk, and Travis was first to speak.

          “So, whose pretty boy?” Travis pointed to Jeydon with his thumb.

          “See, this is why I like your brother,” Vincent fist pounded with Travis.

          I rolled my eyes at them, then introduced Jeydon, who to my surprise, just smiled. “Travis, Jeydon. Jeydon, Travis.” I gestured from one to the other. I continued indulging in the sweet blueberry cheesecake in front of me.

          “Are you guys dating?” Travis asked out of nowhere. I choked on the bite I was taking, and coughed incessantly. “What? No!” I said in between my coughs, as my mom started patting my back.

          “What made you think that?” I asked when I finally calmed down.

          “The fact that he’s good looking, not as handsome as me, of course,” making Jeydon smile. “He’s the only one here I haven’t met before. We’re eating together. What more do you want?” Travis looked like he was interrogating me.

          “Look, Dad,” I mocked his behaviour. “We aren’t dating. Are you done interrogating me?”

          He studied me for a minute, then turned to Jeydon. “I’m watching you pretty boy,” he said squinting his eyes at him. This is definitely something I need to apologize to him about, sometime.