Chapter 8: A Slice of Heaven

Tiffie stretched her arms and yawned. She smelled something delicious so she walked towards the kitchen. Bobby was already there wearing only his apron with the cupcake design. He’s holding a bowl while whisking the white icing. Then, his sexy hips followed the rhythm of the upbeat music. Tiffie ran towards him and hugged him from the behind.

“Good morning, Tiffie.” He held the whisk tight. “Do you want a coffee or tea?”

“All I want is a “good morning kiss”.” She closed her eyes and pouted her lips.

“Ok.” He put the bowl at the counter. And, he patted her head and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. “I need to take off the cake from the oven. Tiffie, can you please go to the living room?”

“Why should I?” She sighed.

“It’s a surprise.” He took his mobile phone and opened the oven door. “I’ll need to attend this.”

“Fine.” She folded her arms and stormed off to the living room.

Tiffie jumped off the sofa bed. She could smell the moth balls and dust coming from the curtains. It was already perfect time to change them. She pushed the wooden stool near the curtains. Then, she stepped on the wooden stool to reached one of the edges of each panel. Her fingers pinched her nose in order to avoid the smell of the dust while she removed the dirty curtains from each metal conduit pipes. Oh, she forgot to buy a new set of curtains. Maybe, she’ll just shop somewhere nearby. She’s almost done removing the last panel when the wooden stool suddenly wobbled. It caused her to lost her balance. Luckily, Bobby’s broad arms caught her before she fell to the ground. Their eyes stared at each other. The time suddenly stopped from ticking.

“You better take care of yourself next time, Tiff.” He helped her to stand up. “Come to the kitchen. The surprise is ready, Señorita.”

Tiffie had no choice but to follow him in the kitchen. Atalia, and the others were already present inside including Eriana. She wondered how they got there without passing to the front door. Eriana put the party hat at her head. Her twin sister lighted the candles as they sang the ‘Happy Birthday’ song for her. Tiffie went near at her twin. Then, she uttered a ‘thank-you’ message to them. She’s about to blow the candles when they heard a door bell. Bobby rushed to the front door to check the visitor. The visitor was no other than Jake. The strong scent of sandalwood mixed with lavender filled in the air when he stepped his right foot in the living room. He walked straightly towards Tiffie’s direction without noticing Bobby’s presence. Then, he handed over the bouquet of yellow roses and white tulips. He even managed to kiss her cheek that made Tiffie turned to red.

“Happy birthday, my pretty girl.” He whispered to her. Even though his breath smelled like peppermint, still, it made Tiffie a little bit uncomfortable.

“Why don’t you cut the cake?” Atalia suggested as she handed the cake knife to her.

“Ok.” She cut the cake into small little pieces. Then, she put the slices in each small ceramic plate. “Actually, I did not serve any drinks or food because I forgot the calendar date.”

“Never mind it, Tiffie.” Bobby hugged her from behind. He pecked on her cheek. “I have already prepared everything for my best girl.” After that, he opened the green food cover. They could see the mixed green leafy vegetables with different dips, 3 kinds of viands (combination of savory boiled pork with Sampaloc broth, pork and chicken adobo, and yummy schnitzel cordon bleu) inside the silver platter.

“Wow, you really make me special.” Tiffie’s eyes began to sparkle.

“You’re really lucky girl.” Eriana gently tapped her shoulders. “By the way, I have organized another event for my favorite couples. It’s the talent show which suggested by the mystery sponsor. Each couple needs to choose their dance to present in Saturday. You will have at least the three days to practice.” She sliced the cake and ate the spoonful. “Bobby, I like the carrot cake. It’s not too sweet.”

“Thank you.” Bobby gave her a half-smile.

Later on, Eriana took a fish bowl. “Well, we need to draw who will be your partner for the Saturday Night Fever. Each of the girls will draw the names of the guys hidden in each rolled colored papers. Please don’t unroll the paper before my queue. Ok, it’s your turn, Elaine.”

 Elaine was the first one who took out a small pink rolled paper. She was followed by Miriam who took the blue rolled paper. Pollyie took the violet one and switched it with Andria’s black rolled paper. And, Atalia exchanged her orange rolled paper with Tiffie’s yellow rolled paper since she told to her that yellow was her lucky color for the day.

“Okay, you may unroll the paper now.” She finished the cake slice. “I guess that I could have another slice after this.”

Atalia was partnered with Carter. Miriam was partnered with Lowell while Elaine got Fritz. Pollyie had the name “mystery guy”. Tiffie tried to hide the paper after she unrolled it. Bobby took the paper from her and read the name inside it. His smile changed into a frown.

“Can Tiffie switch with others?” Bobby asked.

“If any girl can switch with Tiffie, then she can switch get you.” Eriana inspected the others. Atalia ran towards her sister and switched the paper with her. “I guess Jake will have Atalia. Andria can have Carter. That means that you can have Tiffie. All of you will have 3 days to practice for the dance night. Be sure to create a splendid show that gives “goosebumps” within my sleeves.” She highlighted the word goosebumps. Then, she clapped her both hands. “Good luck, because one couple might win another romantic date with cash prize.”

“Who is this mystery guy?” Pollyie gave the black paper to her.

“Oh, you will meet him tonight at your doorstep. He’s good-looking guy that could might let your tongue tied.”

---~~~---

Tiffie woke up very late. She’s been working hard in researching about the easy steps in Tango. Well, she’s confident to show the audience a good performance. Her only problem was she cannot dance well. It’s their first day of practice and Bobby was already inside the Amore Hotel. She sneaked out inside the ballroom hall. There was a mixed of modern and Latin dance music. The whole hall was already preoccupied with dancers. Tiffie took the paper bag when she heard a pair of footsteps coming to her side. Quickly, she attached the paper bag inside her head and hid in one of the dark walls.

“So, Jake? Are you going to court Tiffie again?” Carter asked while looking at Jake.

“I’ll try to win her back and marry her soon as possible.”

“I thought you had a fiancée before.”

“Samantha Wiggins framed me up by putting me in the boiling situation. I thought I was the father of her baby. After she gave birth, I shouldered all the expenses. Then, I secretly performed a DNA test on her baby. I lost millions because of her when the results came… And, I also lost the woman that I loved.”

 ‘Samantha?’ Tiffie asked herself. She remembered the pregnant woman which she encountered in the backstage. Maybe, that’s the woman who stole Jake from her. Karma really acted fast.

“Have you seen Tiffie, Carter?” Bobby asked them.

“I thought that she’s staying with you in your humble home.” Jake replied.

“Maybe, she went one of the restaurants here. Better try to page her in the lobby.”

Sweat dropped through her forehead when she heard the familiar voice coming towards her direction. Thanks to the darkness, they did not notice her presence. When she felt that they had already gone, Tiffie took out the paper bag. Then, she plugged the small radio near the stage area while watching others practicing their dances.

“There you are!” Bobby hugged her from behind. “Do you know the steps now?”

“I…” Her legs began to shake. “Can we just…”

“Ok, I’ll be the lead.” Bobby placed the water bottle near the radio.

Then, he pushed the play button as the romantic music played its first tune. Bobby glanced at Tiffie as their eyes met liked for the first time. Tiffie looked like an innocent angel as her white dress flowed in their opening steps. When their hands clasped together, they could feel the electricity flowed through their veins. That gave their energy to move on. Next, Tiffie twirled twice in the other side. Bobby’s arms caught her when she felt some dizziness. She bent down her upper back. Sweat drops came down from their head. They could even hear each other’s breathing. They stopped in the middle of the music.

“I guess this will be it.” Bobby helped her to regain her balance when she heard one of the heels of her stilettos got broken.

Bobby carried her where the chairs were located. Then, he took the broken stiletto. His eyebrow raised when he saw that the side of her heel was already bleeding. Quickly, he took the first-aid kit and dressed the wound in order to prevent the infection. “Next time, wear something comfortable.” He said with his muffled voice while putting the band-aid in her wound. Tiffie remained laconic as she tried to endure the pain.

“Oh, there you are!” Eriana called them out. “I am looking for the both of you because I have another surprise contest for the couples in the Amore Resto. See you there.” She vanished before they uttered any word.

They had no other choice but to follow their host. Bobby turned off the radio before they headed to the lobby. The golf cart arrived after five minutes to fetch them. Hero greeted them and helped them to collect their things out.

---~~~---

When they arrived in the Amore Resto, the other couples were already sitting in the designated tables. Each table were decorated with different colors. Andria and Carter were sitting in the side of the black table. It was adjacent to Pollyie who was sitting alone in the table covered with indigo. Maybe, the mystery guy did not arrive yet. Tiffie’s twin was already busy talking to Jake in the pink table. Elaine and Lowell were sitting farther at each other in the brown covered table. Miriam was looking at her mobile phone while Fritz was staring at her in the blue covered table. Later on, Eriana led the two last couple in the green covered table which it was near to Pollyie’s. Before Eriana allowed them to uncover the silver dome lid, the mystery guy entered in the Amore Resto. He was wearing a navy blue sando which made his muscular shoulders to show up. Eriana was right. He’s charming lad with a nice smile which could be equal to a prince. Pollyie couldn’t help herself but to glance underneath his black leather shorts.

“Now, let us welcome our new boy… Keith Ellery Abalos. He’s one of the famous surfers in La Union. I hope that we could visit his surfing school there soon. Anyway, Keith you may sit in the vacant chair near with our lonely girl at the indigo table.” Eriana led the way for Keith. Then, she went back to the middle. She adjusted her lapel microphone before giving the next instructions. “Girls, can you check if you could see the long black bandanna near the silver dome lid.” Each of the girls started to look for it. After they got the bandanna, they raised it in the air. “Good. It’s time for another challenge. We all know that the yummy cake can fill your tummy. However, I want to make it more challenging. It’s time to put your cake decorating skills.” Then, she instructed the boys to tie the bandanna in order to cover the eyes of their girl partners after the girls tied their arms with long ropes. Eriana inspected each couple before she allowed them to lift up the silver dome lid.

Each couple had a chiffon cake in the middle of their table. There was a tray of sprinkles, fruits, and a bowl of edible glitters. Pollyie and Miriam had the melted chocolate syrup inside the piping bag. Tiffie and Elaine got the dulce de leche spread inside the piping bag. Atalia and Andria got the strawberry jam. An empty mixing bowl and a spatula were also given to each of them. Each of the assigned icing was the same with their table cover colors. 

“Are you ready to decorate the fluffy cake?” Eriana asked. They said “yes” in chorus. “Remember, you each have a cake in front of you… and you until the end of the countdown to create your beautiful masterpieces. It’s up to you on how to mix the teamwork and your own strategy. The most beautiful cake will be declared as a winner. Of course, there’ll be a surprise for the winning couple.” She asked for Hero’s help to inspect each couple. When Hero gave her the signal, it was the time for her to click one of the buttons of her remote control in order to start the contest. The big timer flashed in the tv screen. They had only ten minutes to make their own masterpieces.

Tiffie could hear different voices coming from the other couples. Others struggled with their utensils. Tiffie remembered that Bobby was a chef which means that they had already an edge from the other teams.

“Uhm… Bobby, I don’t know what to do?” Tiffie could feel her heart pound fast. She was about to feel the panic when she tried to reach in every utensil around her. Anxiety went through her veins when she could hear each tick coming from the timer.

“Breathe deeply first, Tiffie.” Bobby answered with his calm voice. Tiffie followed his first instruction. “Good girl. First, we’ll need to create a base layer of the icing. Now, grab the spatula.” Tiffie’s hands moved to the right and went down. It made Bobby moaned as her hands groped into something. “Come on, Tiffie. Do not touch there.” His cheeks turned red as he began to swallow hard. “Now, move your hands into the left side of the table. There…”

Tiffie could feel the bowl. Then, her right hand took a grip with the spatula while her left hand looked for the piping bag. They could hear the oozing sound when Tiffie began to pour the icing inside the bowl out of the piping bag. Slowly, she moved the spatula covered with some green icing from left to right side of the cake while her hands were shaking.

“Tiff, you better go slowly to the middle to make the green color balance.” Tiffie tried to slow down even though her hands were already shaking. “That looks great now, Tiff.”

Tiffie could hear Jake and Atalia laughing while they’re decorating their own cake.

“Look at our cake; it’s full of pink icing.” Jake chuckled out.

“Really?” Atalia cut out. “Oh, I hope that we could use more buttercream and Rhum.”

“Squeeze the other piping bag into the side of the cake. Swirl. Squeeze it harder in order to push the icing out of the piping bag.” Bobby ordered in a command tone. “You got the perfect touch, Tiff.”

Tiffie was about to swirl the last edge of the cake when she heard a water splatter onto her face. Then, a brown icing covered her one of her cheeks. She could feel the sticky feeling but she had no choice but to continue. The dulce de leche dripped to her lips. Yummy! She hoped that she could devour all the sweetness. It made Bobby laughed after seeing her situation. Tiffie remained silent as she concentrated with her piping bag.

“Sorry, if I slapped the cake too hard.” Elaine shouted. “I didn’t know that I could hurt someone.”

“It’s ok, Sis. Tiffie enjoyed the taste of the dulce de leche.”

“Bobby, can you give me another instruction? I could hear that…we’ve got only two minutes more.” Tiffie uttered.

“It’s fine to me.” Bobby cleared out his throat. “Well, we have tray of sprinkles, fruits, a bowl of edible glitters, and dulce de leche. If you reach across with your left arm, then you’ll find them.”

The taste of the dulce de leche made Tiffie to bite her lip. Dulce de leche will be perfect with their cake. She wished that she could mix it with honey and some nuts. Tiffie stretched her left arm across and reached out for the bowl of chocolate. They’re already close to each other. Heat of Bobby’s skin radiated around her that caused her heart pounded fast. It felt a little bit uncomfortable when she could feel her hands shaking. The cake was more important, so she breathed deeply to calm herself down. Then, Tiffie lifted the bowl a bit. Carefully, she poured the spread in each side of the cake. Oh, Tiffie wished to eat the whole cake after the contest. Then, she carefully picked the cherries from the bowl and placed it on the middle of her cake.

“Last ten seconds!” Eriana shouted.

Tiffie grabbed a handful of edible glitters and sprinkles before she raised her both arms. She could hear the sound of Bobby cheering for her while clapping with his hands. After ten seconds, Eriana allowed the girls to pull down their bandannas. Each of the girls untied the rope from their partner’s hands. Tiffie could not help herself but to look down to her creation. Their cake looked like a fruit cake in the Christmas Season.

Pollyie’s cake was completely submerged with indigo icing and a lot of toppings. Some of the raspberries fell to the side of the plate. Elaine’s cake looked like the only first layer was decorated with brown icing. Miriam’s cake was carefully filled with blue icing. One strawberry was located in the middle of it. Atalia’s cake was almost half-eaten. They could see the evidence from the both sides of Jake’s lips.

“Oh my, there are lots of cake crumbles on the floor.” Pollyie cried.

“It’s beyond a repair.” Jake nodded.

“Maybe, we can put this thing inside to fix your cake, Atalia.” Andria took a handful of Atalia’s remaining cake.  Atalia stopped her.

“No need, the challenge is already over.”Atalia folded her arms and avoided Jake’s eyes.

“I guess this will be tough.” Eriana took her magnifying glass as she walked around in each couple’s table. It took her fifteen minutes to make the last judgement. She even tried to taste one of the cakes. She called Hero’s attention to write down the names of the winning couple. Then, she grabbed the microphone after she got the little piece of paper. Tiffie held Bobby’s right hand tightly. Bobby hoped that they will be declared as a winner since they did their best. But, the announcement was seemed like the other way around.

 “Alright, the winner will be Miriam and Fritz. The cake was made into perfection. I also added some points for the right mix of flavor.” She gave the winning couple a golden envelope. They were amazed to see the prize.

“Wow, cocktails and a full-body massage.” Miriam boasted. “I can’t believe it!” Miriam jumped from her seat. Then, she wrapped her arms around Fritz’s neck. “You’re my lucky charm!” She showered him a lot of kisses onto his cheeks and forehead. That made her lipstick smudged all over his face. The others could see the redness in Fritz’s both cheeks.

“I guess that my throat is getting dried out. I’ll just get some wine.” Pollyie stood from her seat.

“I’ll follow you.” Keith pulled out the chair for her and accompanied her to the bar station.

“I bet that I need to shower after lunch.” Elaine held the sticky edges of her brown hair. “It’s kind of icky.”

“I guess you need this.” Lowell grabbed the alcohol spray and sprayed into her hands and aimed to her face.

“Don’t you ever dare?” Her two brown eyes gave him a fierce glare. Then, they ran to circles as they chased each other.

After the announcement of the winners, Eriana rang the bell near her. Soon, the waiters appeared and placed the cakes at the long red table. They cleaned each table. Then, they replaced the cakes with curry rice, bowl of creamy mushroom soup, and mouthwatering grilled sausages. Only Miriam and Keith got the unique menu. They got two glasses of champagne, eight pieces of Smokey and honey-glazed Buffalo wings, double home-made beef burger patties with two pieces maple bacons, two small cups of mashed potato, and cheesy ‘n chili nachos. Instead of getting jealous of their food, Tiffie ran towards the cakes.         

“Are you not going to eat your lunch, Tiffie?” Bobby wrapped his arms around her waist. Then, he kissed her cheek.

“I don’t like sausages.” Her stomach grumbled as she stared in the cake sections. “Desserts are better than sausages.”

 “What are you going to do, Tiff?” Bobby asked out of curiosity. “I bet that you cannot eat our whole cake.”

“We’ll see…” She turned to silence when her fingers dipped to their cake. Then, she licked it. “I could eat our whole cake without drinking any water.”

“No way!” Bobby raised his eyebrow.

“Yes way!” She raised her voice. The other couples glanced at them.

“What’s the commotion all about?” Eriana glanced at them.

“I’ll bet my favorite shirt that I’m wearing today.” He pointed at his white Hawaiian shirt. “I can prove that you’re bluffing.”

Tiffie’s fingers trailed from his neck to his lips in a teasing way. “Let’s wait and see.” Then, she unbuttoned one of the buttons of his shirt.

Tiffie took a small plate from the long red table. Bobby cut their cake into half and mixed it with the half of Miriam’s. Then, he placed in front of Tiffie. He also brought a pitcher of cold water in case of choking incident. Tiffie closed her eyes while holding the fork with her. She could imagine seeing his washboard abs without his Hawaiian white shirt after she finished the whole plate. Then, he slowly poured the cold water onto it. The cold water dripped to his trousers. Before Tiffie’s throat ran dried out, she opened her eyes and reached for the cake. Her twin walked to her side.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Atalia glanced at Tiffie and Bobby.

“She’s having a cake contest. And, I bet that she’ll lose. If she’ll lose, then she can buy me a new pair of trousers. Make sure it will have a cupcake print in it.”

Atalia laughed. “Oh, you bet with the wrong person. My sister has a sweet tooth. She can devour them all in a span of ten minutes.” They watched Tiffie taking another bite of the cake. The other couples gathered around them watching Tiffie with amazement.

“You can win this, twin!” Atalia cheered on.

“You got it, girl!” Eriana shouted with the microphone on.

“Tiff, I bet that you’ll---“Bobby’s eyes widened when he saw Tiffie consumed the entire cake. She even managed to grab another slice after drinking the half of her glass of cold water.

Tiffie wiped the edge of her lips. “Now, where’s our agreement? You may now take your shirt off, Bobby.” She watched him unbuttoned his shirt while eating the remaining slice of the cake. “Now, I taste a slice of heaven.” Then, Bobby threw his Hawaiian white shirt at Tiffie’s side. Tiffie blinked her eyes twice and stopped munching for a while. She picked the shirt and smelled it. “Now, this sme---“ Bobby snatched the shirt from her. “What now! The shirt’s already mine.”  Bobby did not utter any word. He took the napkin from his side. And, he wiped the icing from her lips.

Hero whispered something to Eriana. “Dear sweet couples, Pollyie had already sewn your costumes for the dance night. You may tell Pollyie if your costumes do not fit ahead of time.”

 ---~~~---

When they got home, they saw a big box delivered at the front door. Bobby brought it inside while Tiffie took the cutter. Excitement went through her veins. Quickly, she slid the cutter at every side of the box to cut the transparent tape. Carefully, Bobby opened the left side of the box. They rubbed their eyes out after they saw their costumes. It has a black Venus-cut dress decorated with little diamonds. The red curly frills were attached to the edge of the dress. Bobby took the V-neck white Long-sleeves and black slacks. Then, he glimpsed of his reflection in the mirror while imagining wearing it. They were about to try it on when they heard a doorbell. Bobby opened the door. Hurriedly, Elaine ran towards Tiffie while holding her costume. It’s a strapless bodysuit with a matching headband with long bunny ears.

“How am I supposed to wear this kind of thing?” Elaine whined out.

 “Well, you need to put netted stockings with that.” Bobby suggested.

“No!” She yelled. Her eyes caught with the costume that Tiffie’s holding into. “Maybe, I can have it.” She snatched it from Tiffie’s hands. “Thank you for this and bye!” She waved her hand as she threw the bodysuit to Tiffie. Then, she slammed the door when she ran outside.

“At least, I can use this for swimming.” Tiffie inspected the costume. “Not bad, and it’s kind of flexible.”

“Maybe, we can add some frills to loosen the sexiness.”

“No way, I must wear with “my own style”!” Tiffie complained.

“Girls.” Bobby rolled his eyes as he grabbed the woven basket. Then, he went to the pool side.