A White Lie

Chapter 12: Sprouting Feelings

CHAPTER TWELVE: Sprouting Feelings

“I’m so full right now,” I groaned, rubbing my tummy. “I don’t think I will be able to eat until dinner!”

“Same here, but you have to agree that that was one of the best buffet breakfasts ever,” Jennifer said while flipping through the tourist destination brochures provided by the hotel. “We absolutely have to go here today!”

“Where?”

“Barossa Valley! According to this,” Jennifer pointed at the brochure, “it is one of Adelaide’s oldest wine regions and it has over 50 wineries that offer free wine tasting!”

“That sounds pretty sweet. I don’t mind visiting that,” Xavier quipped up, after almost half an hour of silence.

“I don’t mind going there either, but Zoey isn’t a big fan of wine though,” Cassandra pointed out.

“No, no. I want to go too, I haven’t been to a winery before so this will be an exciting experience for me,” I told them. I might be underage to purchase any wine, but tasting some of them definitely wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“That’s settled then,” Jennifer said to us before heading off to the concierge, no doubt to enquire about car rentals. After a few minutes of aimless chat between the three of us, Jennifer returned with a triumph look on her face. “I just got us a great car for a fantabulous price for the next few days.

“It wouldn’t be fair for you to pay…” I trailed off as I saw Jennifer’s glare directed at me.

“Don’t even think about it!” she warned. I sigh and nodded my head, both hands held up in mock surrender.

“Okay, okay.” As everyone busied themselves with their phones, silence, once again, engulfed the four of us. Despite the good sleep I had last night, the weariness from yesterday combined with my satisfied tummy blurred my vision as my eyelids drooped and sleep overtook me in seconds. Just as I slipped into a dreamless sleep, a hand nudged me.

Annoyed that my sleep was being interrupted, I roughly pushed away the hand away. “Go away,” I groaned.

“The rental car’s here. We’re all waiting for you,” Xavier whispered softly, the sound of his voice so close to my left ear that shivers ran down my spine and my eyes instantly shot open. Shaking my head to get rid of the remains of sleep, I stood up from the overly comfortable sofa and made my way out of the hotel, only to be greeted with a sleek black town car parked right outside the entrance.

“Here are the car keys, Miss William. I hope you find the car to your liking,” the hotel attendant politely said to Cassandra.

“Thank you,” she replied. The hotel attendant tipped his hat before taking his leave.

“Are we really going to let Cassandra drive?” I asked, eyeing the car keys in her hands. It was a wonder that Cassandra could avoid getting into accidents in the streets of Melbourne, a city where she grew up in, but it would require more than a miracle for her driving to keep us alive in a foreign city where she knew next to nothing about.

“Are you underestimating me, Zoey White?” Before I could defend myself, Xavier plucked the car keys out of Cassandra’s hands and rolled her eyes at her offended face.

“No offence, but we all know we won’t be returning to Melbourne if you drive, Cass. Because I’m such a nice guy,” he said, emphasizing on the word ‘nice’,
“I’m volunteering myself to be the designated driver of the day so let’s get a move on.” Xavier gracefully slid himself into the driver’s seat and motioned for the rest of us to get in.