“Good morning,” Akira greeted, the moment Sakura opened her eyes.
“Morning,” Sakura replied softly, blinking a few times to adjust to the morning light that streamed in through the glass double doors. She turned over to lie on her left side as she eyed Akira. She noted that the other girl looked outstandingly perky so early in the day, which was unlike her. Sakura wondered if she were hyped up for work.
“Are you excited?” Akira asked, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s going to be your first job as a model, right? Well, technically, you were a model when we did the runway back in New York, but that’s beside the point.”
Still feeling a little tired, Sakura yawned as she rubbed her eyes. “Technically, yes, I was a model back then, but this is still officially my first day working as a model. To be honest, I’m both scared and worried.”
And she was definitely not excited. Far from it. Instantly, the thought that she might muck up everything made her whole body shake in trepidation and her mind fully alert.
Akira waved aside Sakura’s concern as she got out of bed. “It’s always a bit frightening the first time. I’m sure by day two, you’ll get used to it, so don’t worry your pretty head over it. Besides, Jane will be there to help.”
Sakura wasn’t sure if she actually had a pretty head, and yes, she agreed that at least Jane was there to help if she needed support. They had been good friends for a solid year anyway.
She sat up straight as she eyed Jane’s bed, wondering where her friend was.
“Where’s Jane?” she asked after noting that she didn’t hear any noise from the bathroom, which meant she wasn’t in there using the facilities.
Akira was currently standing at the foot of her bed, stretching. She raised her hands high and stood on tiptoes at the same time, stretching out her whole body. “Already up and gone to get things ready. I bet she’s at the hotel by now.”
“But it’s only six in the morning.”
Akira nodded. “She said she had a lot of things to do before we arrive. She’s going to be real busy for the next two days. As for us, we must be at work by seven thirty sharp. Also, makeup will take at least two hours before we can actually start shooting. You want to use the bathroom first?”
Sakura nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Okay,” Akira said, and hastily hopped back into bed. She made herself comfortable and then sighed with pleasure as she closed her eyes. “I can have another twenty minutes of bliss.”
Sakura chuckled. “Go for it.” She was sure the woman had come to bed late last night, after the party. Then she wondered if Akira had been dancing with Nicolas. She hoped so, because so far, there seemed to be sparks between those two.
She thought they’d make a wonderful couple. Yes, Nicolas was a bit strict, domineering, demanding, and so much more. But that was just Nicolas. After all, he was the eldest Princeton brother and held a lot of responsibilities as the CEO of Princeton Group, their multibillion-dollar company that owned hotels, restaurants, and malls across America. But of course, Sakura knew for sure that Akira, with her go-getter attitude, could handle Nicolas just fine. If they were to be in a relationship, it would always be interesting.
Suddenly, she chuckled, remembering Akira boldly kissing Nicolas during the four-legged race yesterday. If she could do that to win a game, the girl would surely be able to do much more in a relationship.
“What are you giggling about?” Akira asked curiously.
Hiding her smile as she busied herself finding a pair of jeans, Sakura said, “I thought you were sleeping.”
“Not sleeping. Resting,” Akira corrected her. “So what is so amusing?”
Sakura obviously couldn’t tell the other girl that she was thinking about her and Nicolas as a couple, could she? Instead, she asked, “I don’t need to wear any makeup, right?”
“No, you don’t.”
“Okay,” Sakura said. “Then I’ll just put on some moisturizer. All right, I should be done within fifteen minutes.”
Akira waved. “Take your time.”
Sakura went into the bathroom then and quickly took a shower. Once she was done, she donned a pair of skinny jeans and a white T-shirt and applied some moisturizer to her face and balm to her lips. Returning to the bedroom exactly fifteen minutes later, she announced, “I’m done.”
Akira turned over and said softly, “That was quick.”
Sakura chuckled with amusement. “All right, I’m going to get some breakfast now. See you downstairs soon, then?”
Akira nodded. “Sure.”
Sakura left the room as Akira was getting out of bed for the second time. As she walked along the corridor, heading toward the stairs, she was so deep in thought that she didn’t see Sebastian, who had just left his room as well, coming toward her. Thus, she walked straight into his arms.
Sebastian found it rather adorable and took the opportunity to embrace her right there in the hallway. He swiftly gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead before she realized what was happening.
Sakura blinked. “Seb…Sebastian?”
He chuckled and then said, “Good morning.”
Sakura licked her lips. “Good morning. Sorry, I didn’t see you.”
Sebastian cocked his head to one side. “You’re rather absentminded today, aren’t you?”
She stammered, “Well, that’s because I’m nervous.”
It was then he realized what she meant. “About the photo shoot?”
She nodded. “It’s my first time, after all.”
As if to make her feel at ease, he patted her head and said, “It’s my first time, too.”
“But you have all the confidence in the world. I bet you’re looking forward to it.”
She wasn’t wrong on that part. He and his brothers had been looking forward to it since the day they had agreed to Mr. Tachibana’s proposal back in New York.
“Oi! The lovebirds over there, stop being lovey-dovey so early in the morning,” Conrad directed toward them.
Sakura poked her head around to see not only Conrad, but Darcy and Hayden as well, exiting their rooms.
“Good morning, everyone,” she greeted with a bright smile.
Conrad came over and deliberately stole Sakura from Sebastian by gently pulling her away from him and into his arms.
“Good morning, Sakura,” he said. “Did you have a good night’s sleep? What time did you leave the party last night? I didn’t see you at all. Did you even come down? Are you nervous about work? Was that why you stayed away? Or were you sick again? I mean, yesterday was very hot, so I thought you might be sick from the heat.”
Sakura chuckled. “One question at a time, please, Conrad. And yes, I did have a good night’s sleep. I went to bed early after I left the party. I was there. What about you? I bet you had a good time yesterday evening, right? There were a lot of girls surrounding you and your brothers.”
They all were heading down the stairs now as she asked those questions, and Conrad replied, “Yep. It was awesome yesterday. Mr. Tachibana and Ms. Ruka did a good job at organizing the event. Everybody had a good time.”
Hayden said, “Were you jealous of those girls, Sakura? That they stole us away from you?”
Sakura tried to hide her smile, but couldn’t. “No. I enjoyed watching you brothers being swarmed with admirers. It was funny how you tried to get away, but couldn’t. It was rather entertaining.”
Sebastian said, “So, you enjoyed seeing us being tortured?”
“I didn’t know it was torture to be surrounded by beautiful admirers,” Sakura retorted innocently.
Darcy said, “It was hell.”
Sakura commented, “I bet Tristan and Logan liked it, though.”
They were on the ground floor landing now, and were heading toward the dining room when they saw Daddy James and Nicolas coming in from outside. Both were in their running gear of shorts and T-shirts. They must have been out jogging together.
“Good morning,” Sakura said to both men.
Daddy James came and gave her a peck on the forehead. “Morning,” he greeted.
Nicolas said, “Better go and get some breakfast. We’re leaving in half an hour.”
Hayden said, “Half an hour is plenty of time.”
Conrad nodded. “What about you? You haven’t even showered yet. Don’t tell me you’re going to show up without a shower and with stinky sweat everywhere. Akira would make a fuss and kick you out of the van, I’m sure. She has complained to me that you stink of sweat ever since we arrived here.”
Nicolas didn’t like Conrad’s comment and frowned darkly. He pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose as he said, “Don’t be stupid. Of course I won’t go like this. Who in their right mind would?” With that, he headed up the stairs.
Sakura thought he seemed rather pissed.
Daddy James drew Sakura’s attention away from Nicolas. “Good luck with work today.” He even winked at her. Then he was gone as well.
Conrad said, “How come he only said that to you?”
Sakura shrugged. “He knows I’m nervous about it.”
“Are you?” Conrad asked. “How come? It’s only a photo shoot, isn’t it?”
If only it was really just a photo shoot and nothing more, like taking photos of landscapes and nature.
Hayden said, “Come on. Let’s get some breakfast. I’m starving.”
Everyone headed toward the dining room then, and heartily enjoyed their morning meal. By the time Akira, Tristan, and Logan made their overdue appearances, they only had ten minutes before departure.