Chapter Fourteen - Ceremonial Dinner (3)

∆THIRD PERSON'S POV∆

At the Ormolu Gazebo

In Otro Mundo Hotel, Evander

Scrutinizing the empty gazebos that were situated in the middle of Otro Mundo Hotel, Jayden and Caitlyn headed for the Ormolu Gazebo which was opposite the wine fountains. The wine fountains could be found near the gracefully sculpted gold eagle effigies that were mounted on the elegant lawns.

Caitlyn doubted that Jayden had suddenly grown a soft spot towards her. It was very odd of him to ask if a girl was okay, very odd. Or maybe he was doin so because of Desha's unkind attitude towards her in the dinner hall. What a genteel guy he was! Thinking about Desha reminded her of Mr. Levi and Mr. Raleigh's discussion. Their plans to marry off Desha to Jayden and unite their families together, that enraged her but she schooled her emotions.

Caitlyn always had a liking towards Jayden, she has been crushing on Jayden but was scared that he would turn her off as he had done to other girls. Sometimes, those girls were left humiliated by him and the girls would feel hopeless and empty. If Jayden would do that to common girls, then what would he do to her if she confesses her feeling towards him? Maybe he would not disgrace her in front of other students but the walls have ears and students can be very snoopy at times.

'Caitlyn Emery Jones confesses her feelings towards Jayden Bennett, Dr. Raleigh Flintstone's only son and he turns her down for some ambiguous purposes which are known to him alone.'

The thoughts ran thru her brain in a trillion times and she already felt crestfallen. If such happened, that would be big scandal on her family name. After all, Jayden is not the only boy as there are as many handsome boys out there who are looking for love so Caitlyn decided to shut down the thought of Jayden and her together or in some sort of romantic relationship.

"What are you thinking about?" Jayden asked the bewildered girl. Caitlyn was so lost in her daze while she was thinking about Jayden and her. A blush appeared on her puffy cheeks.

"Here!" A cup of hot tea was given to her by the chivalrous Jayden and she felt his palm. Oh my! It was so soft to touch and she could imagine that palm caressing her rosy cheeks and rubbing her lips with his thumb. Thinking about this and imagining it, she blushed harder with a silly smile hanging loosely on her lips.

"What's this?" She asked while inhaling the sweet anise-like scent of the tea. "I have never seen such kind of tea before or is it another type of tea that trended newly?" She asked further but in a sarcastic tone which made Jayden chuckle lightly.

Jayden nodded in negativity. "Nay! It's called the blue mountain tea. It's herbal and soothing. It can be used to treat urinary tract inflammation and...also prevent kidney stones." He explained. "The scent is what gives the tea its flavor and that's what I love about it. I usually add honey while taking it."

Caitlyn could only nod in affirmation even tho she could not comprehend anything in what he said. The new fact sounded like Latin in her ears. Why wouldn't Jayden know of such rare fact when his papa was one of the 'best surgeons' in Ohreja and beyond? She wondered if Jayden would be a handsome doctor as she imagined him in a lab coat or a stringent businessman who will look captivating in plush suits. She rubbed the temple of her head while trying to get rid of stupid thoughts from her brain. How can she be thinking silly things like these? And again, she felt her red blood gushing to her face and she was bright red.

There was a deafening yet awkward silence between the duo, Jayden decided to initiate a discussion again so as to ease off the uneasiness that was lingering in the air. He needed someone to talk to. His best friend was not invited to the dinner even tho his parents were fairly popular, his sisters were engrossed in discussing with other croesus' children and his parents were discussing with bigwigs about boring business stuffs.

"What do you do when you're bored stiff?" Asked Jayden with his usual pokerfaced tone.

Caitlyn was taken aback when Jayden asked the question. She tried to look at his handsome face but the gentle breeze wasn't giving her time to do so. The breeze tossed her lightly ginger brunette hair around her smooth face so she couldn't see him clearly.

"Nothing serious." She snickered. "I just swim, try out new stuffs or do bizarre things to get rid of boredom." She said with such smoothness and she wondered if she ever talked like that.

As thoughts were gushing in and out, Desha stepped up to the Ormolu Gazebo in her figure-hugging beige gown that was velvety in nature, smooth to touch and revealing her curvatures around her waist. Her lustrous bluish-ombré hair was swept over to her right shoulder with a sparkly tiara placed carefully in her hair. Her heavy jewelries and makeup complemented her beauty. Why can't she just be simple? She overdressed this time around to simply shoo away those cheap cocottes from Jayden. She didn't even know that one of her archenemies, Caitlyn was crushing on the same Jayden.

Desha was really angry seeing them both having tea together. Caitlyn acted as if Desha was a nonentity and went ahead to pick up the mouthwatering crumpets and canapés that were ordered by Jayden. Desha could only glare at Jayden and Caitlyn but she couldn't bottle her rage any longer. She grabbed Caitlyn by her wrist and pushed her hard on the marble floor. Jayden being a courtly guy he was helped her up to her feet but Caitlyn pushed him slightly away from her. Jayden wasn't stunned because he thought Caitlyn was only shielding herself from more troubles but he was proven wrong. Caitlyn came closer to him, just few inches from him, placed her right hand on Jayden's chest and the other hand around his neck. She smirked at Desha was green-eyed and quickly stared at Jayden with her cherry red lips broadening in sweet smiles, they were obviously standing like a couple about to take a romantic photograph.

All these were happening because of Jayden so he left the girls at the Ormolu Gazebo. The two girls glared at each other and Desha walked away with a smirk hanging on her pink lips. Caitlyn stood there like a hip champ but on the inside, she felt awkward. The awkwardness that was lingering was soon replaced with serenity and happiness. She took the last sip from her teacup before heading back to the dinner hall. She was lucky that this little stunt of hers had not sparked other people's attentions.

Finally, the dinner came to an end and wealthy families could be seen with their bodyguards leaving the hotel to their cars and jets. This was the most horrible dinner Jayden had ever partook, he did not have fun but always got himself entwined in embarrassing issues he never prepared for. It might be the finest dinner to his family members, the most humiliating to Caitlyn and the pleasantest to Desha.

"This was the best dinner I've ever had in a long time. I just wished that the Feroz Family attended this dinner, it would have been more fun but...I just missed their sassy daughter, Hermosa and their cutie fourteen-year-old son, Sherlock, that boy is just handsome. He looks like some kinda cutie doll..." Michaela continued to trail off while Jayden never listened to their nonstop talks. He just gawked at his phone while chatting with his best friend. He narrated the whole ordeal to his best friend, not missing any part at all but the dude could only laugh his ass off, sending laughing emoticons and this only pissed Jayden off. He felt like smashing his phone but that won't help issues at all.

"Hey big bro, did you enjoy yourself? Of course, you did... didn't you?" Mackenzie asked with her usual casual tone. She didn't even notice that Jayden was searing in anger and he was capable of doing anything stupid at that point.

"This is the worst dinner I've ever...just don't ask me how it went!?" He retorted with a hint of passing anger in his manly voice. Tho it wasn't that loud to draw the attention of other guests.

"Why did you say so? I could see the way cutie girls were drooling over you...and...you say you...didn't have fun? Hm..." Mackenzie taunted. "Maybe next time's dinner would be better, right?"

"I don't know...till then and there." He whispered as he whisked away in a spotless grey Mercedes Benz. Mackenzie who saw his weird behaviors could only shrug her shoulders as she made her way to one of the waiting Limousines. A cute guy dressed in a posh black suit with his murky black hair disheveled and black spectacles covering his shadowy eyes opened the doors of the car and Mackenzie stepped in with her waiting twin sister and the guy drove off.