The girl pursed her lips together and looked truly torn. After a few moments, she sighed, lifting her hands in exasperation. "It's a tie between Colton and Brian. I keep going back and forth."
That's because you haven't met Brian, Becca thought to herself. Colton was amazing, but he wasn't Brian.
The woman, Becca assumed was Penny's mom, snapped several pictures of Penny and Becca and then thanked Becca for her time. As the mother-daughter duo were walking away, Penny turned back and asked excitedly, "Is Brian coming here tonight?"
That was a good question.
"I'm not sure," Becca answered honestly as she returned to her hideout, a.k.a. the corner booth.
She'd gotten two texts from him since the show had started, the first saying that he'd be there in ten minutes, the second saying that something had come up and he wasn't sure when he'd be there.
The show was half over and still no Brian.
Scooting to the center of the booth, where she was clouded in almost total darkness, she couldn't help but wish that she were invisible. Watching herself on the show was bad enough, but seeing Brooklyn and Brian's segments were almost more than she could stomach.
Which was totally ridiculous. She knew that there was nothing going on between Brian and Brooklyn, and even if there was (when they'd filmed this), it's not like anything had happened between her and Brian yet. Still, it was killing her to see Brooklyn sit on Brian's lap wearing nothing but a string bikini, run her fingers through his hair, and slow dance with him on the beach under the moonlight. All of those things made her sick, but the absolute hands-down, no-contest worst of the worst was watching them kiss.
After last night, thinking of Brian kissing someone else was bad enough, but seeing it on a seventy-two-inch television in HD was heartbreakingly unbearable. No amount of logic or reasoning seemed to help Becca process what she was feeling.
She knew what would help her-Brian. He would know just the right thing to say to make this sick feeling, in the pit of her stomach, go away. Heck, he might not even have to say anything. If Becca could just look into his honey-colored eyes, she knew she would feel better.
As they came back from commercial break and Becca saw herself and Colton when they'd been at the beach playing Frisbee on the screen, she wanted to hide beneath the table. No one should have to see themselves in a bikini, running through sand. It was not like Baywatch. It was not graceful. It was not cute.
Looking down at her wrist, she saw that it was seven forty. Twenty more minutes and she could get out of here. She'd thought about leaving with Haley, who'd left before the show even started. Emily hadn't been feeling well when Eddie, Haley, and Em had arrived at The Grill, and before they'd even had a chance to order, Em had gotten sick in the bathroom.
Haley had offered to stay and let Eddie take Em home, but Becca assured her sister that she would be fine and she should go take care of her family. Becca hadn't missed the relief that crossed her sister's face when Becca let her off the hook. As much as she knew that Haley loved her and would do anything for her, she also knew where Haley's heart was, and it was exactly where it should be-with her husband and daughter.
Becca knew that she could go sit with her cousins and their significant others and families. They were at tables spread throughout the dining area, and all of them had tried to talk her into joining them. But she really didn't feel like watching the show with an audience.
So even after her sister had left, she'd stayed right where she was; in the back booth … in the dark.
People probably thought she was sitting by herself because her fifteen minutes of fame had turned her into a diva when, honestly, the exact opposite had happened. She didn't want any attention at all.
Becca heard chuckles in the crowd and looked up to see Jax and Madison on the screen. They were arguing over who was going to get ready in the bathroom first. Neither of them looked to be backing down. It was seriously comical.
Before she knew it, she was laughing, and she immediately felt bad about it; like she was laughing behind Jax's and Maddie's backs. The only thing that made her feel better was that she was ninety-nine percent sure that their little tiff had been orchestrated for the cameras. She'd heard them strategizing about what they were planning on doing to get airtime as they all waited for their cars before they'd left on their fairytale getaways.
A commercial came on after Madison and Jax's segment, and honestly, Becca wanted to personally call and thank the sponsors. Not because they were paying for the show. She was just so relieved any time her face or Brian and Brooklyn's PDA weren't on the screen.
She heard the hostess, whose stand was just around the corner from where Becca was sitting, say, "Table for one?"
Oh thank God. Brian was here.
Becca scooted out of the booth, which ended up being a lot louder than she'd meant it to because she was wearing shorts and her bare skin slid against the vinyl. Luckily, no one noticed since the commercial was about fifteen times louder than the regular show.
When she straightened, she didn't see Brian standing in front of her. But it was the next best thing. It was her mom.
Sandy was putting her keys in the side pocket of her purse (because if she didn't do it right when she got somewhere, she would lose them) as she explained, "Hi, sweetie. Sorry I'm late. I had a ton of loose ends to tie up after the wedd-"
Before her mom could finish, Becca threw her arms around her mom's neck and hugged her.
Her mom hugged her back and, after a few moments, asked, "Are you okay?"
Becca nodded. "I'm fine." She felt herself getting teary and she didn't want to cry in front of everyone in the restaurant, so even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, she released her hold on her mom and scooted back in the booth.
Her mom's brow knitted together as she followed her and sat beside her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," Becca nodded. "I just … I just missed you."
Her mom patted her hand, her blue eyes filled with concern. "I missed you, too. I wanted to catch up yesterday, but you and Brian left before I had a chance to catch my breath. I'm so glad he took you home. Those dark circles under your eyes had me worried. Are you feeling better?"
Becca was about to answer when she heard her own voice coming from the television.
"Look how beautiful you are," her mom said, glancing up at the television.
No, thank you. If she looked up at the screen, then any minute it could show Brooklyn and Brian playing tonsil hockey, and she'd seen enough of that for a lifetime.
Probably sensing Becca's non-interest in the show, her mom asked brightly, "Oooh, I've been wanting to ask you what Stone Castle was like."
Instantly, Becca felt lighter. Everyone else wanted to know about Colton, what she thought about Brooklyn, what it was like ‘competing' with her ‘best friend.' But not her mom. Her mom wanted to know about the castle, which was the one thing Becca actually didn't mind talking about.
"It was amazing-except for the spiders," Becca answered.
Her mom's eyes widened as her face scrunched up in an "Oh no!" expression. "I didn't even think about spiders. But it makes sense, I mean, how long did it sit vacant?"
"I'm not sure exactly, but I know that it has stayed in the Stone family all these years. And that William Stone's great-great-niece Avery is now the owner. She's the one who rented it out to the show, and she said that she plans on either opening it to the public or, she's even considering turning it into a hotel."
"Wow. I would love to go see it." Her mom had the same look in her eyes that Haley had over Colton.
If there was one thing that Sandy Sue Sloan fan-girled over, it was buildings and architecture. When Becca was growing up, every time her mom would see an old, abandoned schoolhouse or church, her eyes would light up and she would talk about how fun it would be to renovate it. Her dad would always say that it sounded more like a lot of work than a lot of fun. But her mom never let his Eeyore mood affect her happiness and excitement over the endless possibilities for whatever space she was coveting.
The bar area erupted in whistles, wooing, and shouts of, "Go Brian!" Becca looked up at the screen and saw Brooklyn backing him up into their hotel room, sucking his face like she was a Hoover vacuum. The door shut, and as the camera panned around the bungalow, sounds of Brooklyn moaning and crying out filled the restaurant.