Chapter Thirty Six

"I've ordered you pancakes and vanilla ice cream on the side," Archer explains as he walks into my room. He leans his back against the frame and taps his phone against his other leg as he nervously stands there waiting.

Dropping my pencil on my sketch book, I focus my attention on him. There's obviously something important if he's acting shifty and nervous around me. Archer is always cool like and confident about things.

"But?" I ask.

"I have a business meeting to attend. Ava was supposed to watch you, but you decided to leave," he says.

"Please tell me Ava isn't coming down here. I want everything business related out of my eye space and she's the first person who screams do things. She literally screams at me to do things." Archer shifts on his feet uncomfortably.

"Your father —"

"Ava treats me like a shiny robot who can jump hoops like a trained poodle, please just leave me here by myself. I promise not to set food outside the door and only open the door for my room service — nothing else," I beg.

"I'll gain access to the cameras in the hall and post someone close by to keep an eye on the door. Does that sound fair to you?" he asks.

I quickly nod my head, "Sounds fair to me. Thank you Archer."

Archer doesn't have to worry about me leaving my room, I actually want to be in my hotel room. I've been yearning to be by myself.

"I'll be back at eleven, Ava will come by at seven thirty to wake you up to greet your family at the airport," he explains.

"Is there any chance you can give her the wrong room number? I would like to sleep in until eight." I smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Archer discards my last question, which makes me laugh.

As Archer leaves the room and heads for the front door, I call out, "I can still answer the door, right?"

There's a deep laugh followed by, "Room service will be here in ten minutes."

If I could chose Archer over Ava for an assistant, I probably would. She started off nice, like a sweet cute butterfly cocoon. And now that the cocoon has hatched, she's turned into a two headed ugly monster. I'm not a fan of her strict robotic management approach. It's amusing that Archer and Ava are complete opposites. I mean, he looks like a psycho ex-convict but has a sweet, friendly personally and a kind approach to his work ethic. Archer is turning into my travel father for on the road purposes.

My thoughts are disturbed by the sound of someone knocking on the door. I already know who it's going to be — room service. I'm just surprised I was lost in my thoughts for that long. Before I can answer the door, I gather my pencils into my case and remove my sketch equipment off my bed.

When they knock a second time, I quicken my face and yank the door open. I'm surprised to find none other than my mysterious pancake boy.

What's the luck that he would be serving my room? Out of all the servers wandering around the place, he magically gets my door for the third time with the same order.

It takes a brief moment before his cold blues light up with amusement. "You're... you're, don't tell me," he says as he rubs his white gloved hand through his blonde fringe. "Riley, the pancake girl," he chirps happily.

"Riley's the name." I nod my head with a forced smile playing on my lips. All the nicknames he could give me, and he comes up with that one? Well, I hope he knows I call him pancake boy.

"How's your father doing?" he asks. I'm taken back by his sudden need for a social conversations, most waiters end it when the foot leaves their hand.

"He's well. Unfortunately he's out on a business dinner tonight, so I'm all by myself." I frown.

A smile reaches Nathan's perfectly pink lips as he reaches out to tap my shoulders in a sign of awkward affection.

"You get used to it after a while. At least your father doesn't own a multimillion company and makes you work in it," he tries to play it off.  But the sudden reminder that I'm out here all by myself isn't so easy to laugh off like every other day.

"But you've got your superstar work mate with you!" I try to cheer him up.

"It only works if they are good company to keep." He chuckles. The sound of his deep sexy laugh is enough to help me push the sad feelings out of my mind.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Don't worry you're pretty little head about it." He winks. Nathan turns his back away from me so that he can grab a tray off of the cart to the side of him. "I'll let you enjoy the rest of your night," he says as he hands the tray over to me.

I gratefully accept the tray and smile back at him, just holding it is making my stomach growl and my mouth water in anticipation. But what Nathan said has left my throat dry and oddly a bit curious to what he means. Is there another side to Alex I've yet to see?

"Nathan," I call out. He's quick to stop in his tracks. "Maybe you would like to come inside and watch a movie with me? I could do with some company," I suggest with a hopeful smile.

"I'd really like that." He nods his head enthusiastically.

"Maybe I could share my pancakes with you too," I suggest. The smile on Nathan's face widens as he dumps the trolley outside the bedroom door. Before completely leaving it, he grabs another spare plate hiding underneath the cloths draped on either side.

 I let him inside before closing the door and locking it. I wonder if letting Nathan inside is going to get me into trouble. Archer told me not to leave the room, but he didn't specify not having anyone over. And it's not like he's just anyone, he's the delicious pancake boy and son of the company, and that has to mean something.

"You're in luck! I couldn't decide which movie to watch, so you get to pick it," I explain as I lead him over to the plush deep blue couch. Placing the plate on the rectangle coffee table in front of me, I take a seat. Already on top of the table is a small C.D case with a few movies tossed in there from my rushed packing skills. Nathan takes a seat on the ground next to me so I push the case in front of him.

 "Unfortunately, they're all romance comedies," I whisper. Nathan just shrugs his shoulders and takes the CD case off of the table and places his on his legs so he can read through them.

 "I'm sure I'll live. Unless you want to watch the Titanic or The Notebook. I'll have to insist that you share the tissues and chocolate with me." He winks.

 My heart swoons a little when he winks at me. I need to pull my act together, I'm acting like I've never talked to a boy before. After spending the last couple of days with Alex rehearsing. His yelling, screaming, foot stomping attitude is enough to slightly tone down my feelings towards him,

I can't be romancing guys I work with, what happens if we fight? Alex is going to want off the tour and things will get messy. I like Alex, but I also like Nathan.

Nathan's hand reaches over his back to stretch out his arm muscles and my eyes lock in on the rippled muscles in his arms. I would be missing out on.

 "Have you decided on a movie?" I try to smooth but it comes out as weak and trembling. Yeah, totally nailed the cool factor.

"You know you have three different versions of A Cinderella Story in here? You've got Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez and Lucy Hale. Do you need a fourth movie to explain the same plot line to you?" he asks with a slight chuckle.

I roll my eyes and curse leaving Hannah to packing the entertainment. Of course she would include stories that revolve around the girl wearing a mask and concealing her identity away from a specific person. I can count my blessings though, it would be even more embarrassing if Alex was sitting here instead, he'd tease me about it for days.

"I might need another movie to explain the themes." I nervously laugh.

"Let's watch this one." He passes me the disk and on the front is a picture of Lucy Hale and a microphone. Of course he had to pick the singing version. Is this life's way ofmocking me?

Without hesitation, I get to my feet and walk over to the television to put the disk in. I grab the controller and pass it to Nathan when I sit down. Without another word to Nathan, I open the lid to my tray and take in the steamy smell of pancakes. The smell hits me hard and makes my stomach loudly growl, which makes Nathan chuckle under his breath.

 "Someone's hungry," he comments.

Internally, I roll my eyes and frown back at Nathan, "You would be to if all you got to eat is a pile of leaves tossed on your plate and called something fancy."

Nathan and I split the stack of pancakes between the two of us. I even dribble the semi melted ice-cream on top of his. When the sharing process is finished, I spread the ice-cream on top of mine and carve up the first one. Before I take a bite, I notice Nathan staring at me from the corner of my eye.

"What?" I question.

He shakes his head and smiles. The free movement sends his blonde fringe flying from side to side and it covers his eyes.

"Tell me," I demand.

It's just," he pauses, "you're eating it all wrong."

"Don't normal people usually eat with knives and forks?" I laugh. He just rolls his eyes and smirks back at me.

"I'll show you the correct way to eat pancakes and ice cream," he dismisses. Slowly, I place the knife and fork back on the plate and turn my body to face him.

"First step is to spread your ice cream over the surface," he says while acting out that motion. The cold ice cream melts within seconds of touching the warm cakes. Just watching the thicker blobs of ice cream melt stirs my stomach into a frenzy! Once he finishes spreading the ice cream over the top, he rolls it up and takes a bite into it.

"Looks good," I compliment.

"Now you try it," he insists.

I pick up my fork and eat the small piece that I already cut off. Then I straighten out the tangled pancake and follow what he previously. I don't understand the difference between eating it rolled up or with a knife and fork. Either way, the pancake still tastes amazing. As I eat, I can see Nathan grinning from ear to ear.

Clicking the play button, the movie begins and the smile on his face widens and intensifies with cheesiness. My insides float with happiness and I continue to eat and enjoy Nathan's presence.

Once our food is finished, Nathan and I move to the couch and snuggle under a blanket and some cushions. It takes me a couple of minutes to wiggle around and get comfortable. But I end up laying my head on a cushion in Nathan's lap and his arms around me.

When the scene between Bev and Luke sitting at the restaurant plays, the silence between us breaks by Nathan voicing out his thoughts.

"I could never date a girl who believes she needs to change herself to impress me. I think that self-confidence and accepting is sexy. Besides, why should people change to suit someone else?" Nathan rambles on.

"Sometimes it's easier to change yourself to adapt to your surroundings," I defend.

"There's only one you in the world, why try and be someone else?" he continues to say.

"I can understand for Bev, but it's not Kate's fault that she needs to hide behind a mask and become someone else to talk to Luke. The world's just not ready to see her identity yet." Nathan just shakes his head.

"You should only be hiding from the world if you're being chased down to be killed," he concludes.

"So you've never pretended to be someone else?" I ask him.

"I'm the son of a multi-millionaire, of course I tried to change myself. Friends aren't easy to find if they know you come with a healthy bank account and free accommodation throughout the States and other countries. People get hurt by those details if you're not honest. I'd rather be honest about who I am than tell a million lies about who I'm not. I'd forget myself if I did that," Nathan explains.

 "What about The Masked Singer?" I question, suddenly curious about his opinions on her.

"I can understand it and I'd probably do the same. But if she's the same person with or without the mask then it doesn't really matter. But if she feels the need to hide a talent like hers, then I feel sorry for her." Nathan's words leave a heavy feeling in my stomach.

Standing in my own shoes, it's easy to agree with him on this topic. But when I switch to Sienna, she might have a tough exterior, but the core of her is built around the fears of Riley. Who I am vs how people perceive me.

"You're a fan, aren't you?" Nathan suddenly says. I raise an eyebrow up at him in confusion and then I nod my head quickly. Nathan's eyes slightly widen and his bottom lip parts from the top.

"She's got an amazing voice and I enjoy her music," he begins to compliment. "She's also staying at all of my father's hotels. I'm being sent around to wait on her - make sure our best client is getting the best service," he says.

"I'm moving every couple of days, so the travel isn't entirely bad. I might be able to introduce you two," he says in an excited tone.

"That would be amazing," I try to force the same amount of excitement in my voice as his. "Have you met her before?" I ask.

"Yes, only briefly though. Alex invited me to one of his parties and he brought her. They snuck away before I had the chance to actually talk to her," he confesses with a pouty face.

"That sucks! Was she nice?" This is the moment I've been waiting for, what does he think of me? Okay, both of us.

With a slight nod, he says, "From what I could tell, I think so."

"That's good then." I smile.

"How long are you in New York for?" He changes the subject quickly.

"Until Saturday morning, early flight too." I shiver at the thought of having to wake up early after a massive night out. I might as well climb off the stage and hop on a plane straight away, at least I would be tired enough to fall asleep straight away.

Nathan rubs the side of my leg and shifts in his spot. His movement causes myself to wiggle and stare up at his face.

"Where are you going next?"

"All over the place." I smile and shrug my shoulders.

"You should give me a list of other places you're going to — we could meet up and hang out. It would be nice having a friend to explore the unknown cities with." The term of friend coming from Nathan makes me giddy. It's been awhile since someone wanted to call me their friend and hang out because they enjoy my company. The girls at school seem too obsessed with their own personal gain of a friendship to really be a friendship.

"I'll be sure to check my schedule."

"Let me know before you leave on Saturday," he insists.

"I will do." I smile. "Now shush, this is my favourite part of the movie," I whisper. Nathan mouth drops open and then he quickly picks up the pillow and slams the soft fabric against the side of my body.

"You started talking first." He pokes his tongue out at me.

"No, you did," I shoot back, throwing my cushion at him.

"Nope." He shakes his head.

"Admit your wrong or we're watching Twilight next." Nathan slowly crosses his arms over his chest and then flicks his head up like some posh brat before whispering.

"Fine, you're right." I can't help but smirk back at him.

"That's what I thought pancake boy."