Page 28 of The Baking Games

RHETT

Nothing will wake you from a dead sleep like hearing Dan's booming voice come over the speakers throughout the house. I'm sure I jumped two feet up off the bed early this morning when he said we needed to meet in the competition kitchen in an hour.

Then there are all of us running in and out of the communal bathrooms, trying to get ready. He said that we wouldn’t be officially cooking or doing any kind of challenge, so we could wear casual clothes. That meant my normal T-shirt, shorts, and athletic shoes. It’s pretty much my uniform when I’m not dressed for my official duties.

I make it downstairs into the kitchen and see everybody else already standing there. Savannah looks like she's going out for a summer picnic, wearing a red sundress and white sandals. Her long, red hair cascades over her shoulders, and she put on red lipstick this morning. It's a little distracting, I have to say.

She's definitely the most attractive woman in the house, although she probably doesn't realize that. I'm sure she thinks it's Lainey, the one who looks like a Barbie doll—and not even a good Barbie doll—like some kind of off-brand Barbie doll that had too much plastic surgery and lip fillers.

"Contestants," Dan says in his loud voice yet again, startling me and probably getting me caught staring at Savannah, "today, we're going to be doing something as a community service, but not the bad kind that you get when you've had too many speeding tickets," he says, winking at the camera like he's funny. He's not funny, although he seems to think he is. He should keep his day job, whatever that is, probably a pharmacist or an insurance salesman or something like that, because he is definitely not a stand-up comedian after hours.

"You're going to break into teams of three and bake your favorite cookies. Really, go all out. We will be going on a little field trip to the local assisted living center later today, where you will deliver the cookies to the residents and then spend some time with them."

Spend time with people at the assisted living center? What kind of competition is this? I thought we would be cooking, perfecting our art, and showcasing our skills. I know we don't have our main challenge until later in the week, but is this the kind of thing we will be doing to fill the time? I was looking forward to just relaxing, playing pool, practicing, and doing some workshops. Now, I have to do community service like a criminal?

I look over at Savannah, who is smiling from ear to ear and talking with Maggie. The two of them seem to have gotten closer. Maggie is really the only person I ever see Savannah talking to. Then I glance over at Connor, who, of course, is watching Savannah and snickering with Lainey. It's like middle school. I don't know what this guy's problem is, but it's really starting to get on my nerves.

Again, I have to remind myself that this is a competition. And what do I care if he's planning to sabotage Savannah somehow? That's just one less person I have to beat in the end. And I have no doubt that I will beat each and every one of these people. That's who I am. That's how I do things. I don't allow myself to fall into the bottom tier. I am at the top of what I do.

Sure, maybe I'm not getting recognized for it yet, and I'm not working at the job that I would like to work, but I know I have the skills. I know I can do this. And every one of these people will have to go home for that to happen, no matter how much I might grow to like some of them.

I don't make friends easily. I never have. I've always felt like I was competing with people, which makes for very difficult friendships. Sometimes I miss it, although I don't know that you can really miss something you've never had. But I do see other guys hanging around together, playing golf, hanging out at a bar, having a drink, and just talking about life. I've never really done that. I've always kept to myself, done my work, excelled at whatever it was I was doing, but I guess I just don't trust anybody enough to call them my friend.

I don't even know what it would be like to have a best friend, so I suppose I have missed that in my life. I guess when somebody doesn't have the approval of their own family, it makes it really hard to trust outsiders.

I don't want to think too hard today. These thoughts tend to take me down a dark path, so for now, I have to do what Dan says I have to do: choose two other partners to bake cookies together with like a bunch of ten-year-olds. Cookies—not even something hard. Cookies are the most basic thing a pastry chef should be able to make. If you can't make good cookies, you really should quit while you're, well… behind.

I suddenly see everybody scrambling and realize they're picking partners. I haven't really connected with anyone here yet. The only person I actually know is Savannah, and she hates me, so I'm at a loss for who I'm supposed to pick. Before I can think much further about it, I realize that Savannah and Maggie are standing alone in the center of the room while everybody else is already paired up.

Savannah glances over at me. I can tell that she wants to be my partner just about as much as she would want to hang out with a rabid raccoon this afternoon, but we don't have much choice, so I walk over and stand beside them without a word.

"I guess we're a group," I say without making eye contact.

Maggie chuckles. "I guess we are.” She reminds me of my grandmother, the one I used to bake with and who accepted me for who I am. "I suppose they think I'm too old to be any kind of a partner. Although I don't know why they wouldn't have picked you two. You did great in the reward challenge, Savannah.”

"Thank you, Maggie," Savannah says, smiling and then looking away from me again. I can't stop glancing over at her dress. It hugs her petite form in all the right places. I’m attracted to her, but I think that’s just because I’m a man. It’s hard not to notice a beautiful woman, especially one who doesn’t seem to know she’s beautiful. We couldn't be any more different. She's all sunshine and rainbows, and I'm all, well, reality. That's what I am, just one big heaping dose of reality. It's probably why I'm not tons of fun at parties.

"Contestants, choose your station and go ahead and start talking about what kind of cookies you're going to make. You have ninety minutes to get your cookies ready. Make as many as you can. The assisted living home can definitely use them. Anything they don't use today will be frozen for use in the days and weeks to come. Remember, this is a service you're doing for the community, so try to think about the people that are going to eat these cookies and what would be appropriate."

We walk over to our station, and Maggie looks at us.

"I think he's saying don't do nuts."

"Don't do nuts?" Savannah asks.

"Well, as an older person, I can tell you that nuts can be challenging for older people; those with dentures, maybe people with allergies, digestive issues, swallowing problems.”

"Okay, okay," I say, waving my hand. “We don't really need to go into everybody's medical history. No nuts. Remember, we’re being timed.”

Maggie turns and looks at me. "What crawled up your hind end today?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're a nice-looking young man. Don't be such a grouch," she says before turning back to the mixing bowl in front of her and gathering a whisk and a spoon from the other side of the counter.

Savannah looks over at me, a quirk of a smile. "Well, I guess she told you."

I nod. "I suppose she did."