94. Michael

MICHAEL

“ V ery original presentation,” I tell Drake as I cut a slice of the mocha-baked Alaska he made.

“Thank you.” The man, who always looks so self-assured, looks a little nervous.

It never ceases to amaze me how insecure famous people can be when they have to do something outside their usual talent.

“Remind me of the layers,” Alice asks him as I set half the slice onto her plate.

“There’s a chocolate brownie base with a dome of coffee ice cream. And I added a touch of coconut into the meringue. I’ve found it gives it more of a marshmallow flavor.”

Alice scoops up a bite and puts it in her mouth. “Holy Fu—” I nudge her with my elbow. “Fudgesicles.”

Drake beams at her reaction, and as much as I don’t want him smiling at my girl, I want her feeling as good as possible as we lead up to Amber.

I agree with Alice about the perfect balance of flavors and get the same giant smile in return.

We move through Colby’s dessert. A grasshopper-mint ice cream cake carved into the approximate shape of a champagne bottle, which is tasty even if the design is a bit rustic.

Zelle’s giant ice cream sandwich, covered in silver and gold sprinkles, is just as delicious as I’d hoped. The strawberry and chocolate complement the sweetness of the sugar cookie.

And I’m glad the first three were amazing. Because I can’t have Amber winning this competition. She proved herself a competent baker yesterday, and I still can’t accept a world where Alice doesn’t win on my show and Amber does.

But luckily for me, Amber has let her pettiness get the better of her, and it’s going to be her downfall. Because one of the things we look at as judges is originality.

And there’s nothing original about the cake she made yesterday, especially since she made a point to announce that it was one of my recipes.

And there’s certainly nothing original about the dessert in front of her now.

I was thinking she would form her ice cream into spheres and build them into an actual snowman shape.

Figured she’d do something at least a little creative.

But the bitch has literally recreated Alice’s ice cream snowman head. Down to the fondant carrot nose and black gingerbread hat.

The difference is the scarf. Instead of Alice’s failed Jell-O scarf, which ultimately ruined her ice cream and chance of winning, Amber has created a scarf from red fondant and twisted it around the base of the snowman head.

I want to smash it with my fists.

Want to take a blow torch to it and melt it into a puddle.

The absolute fucking nerve of this woman.

How dare?—

“Oh my god, it’s perfect!” Alice exclaims.

Her voice is so cheerful it startles me out of my angry daze.

Alice starts to move at my side, and I keep my grip on the back of her neck but let her bend forward.

Amber’s eyes lock on my arm, focusing on the fact that I’m touching Alice. That I’m not letting go.

But same as yesterday’s judging, Amber doesn’t seem to know how to handle Alice’s compliments.

“This is seriously impressive.” Alice inspects the snowman face a bit more, then straightens. “Exactly what I was going for when I made it last week.”

Amber’s smile falters.

And I have to resist my own.

I don’t know why Amber is acting like the hurt party here. She wasn’t even subtle about copying Alice. She did the exact same dessert that was aired just a handful of days ago. And she did it to shove it into Alice’s face.

With my free hand, I slide the knife over to Alice. “Do the honors, Baby.”

I probably shouldn’t be using pet names during taping, but… I don’t care.

Alice carves off two slices of the snowman head, and we try it at the same time.

I smile around the spoon.

It’s delicious.

And it’s Alice’s recipe.

Alice moans too.

“Good?” Amber asks, her eyes on me.

“It is.” I nod and set my spoon down. “But I hope you have plans to make something original tomorrow since your first two recipes have been remakes, and originality is one of the aspects we judge on.”

Amber’s smug look fades away.

I don’t really want to give her a warning that she’s fucked up. I’d love to shatter her little dreams of winning all at once. But when she doesn’t win tomorrow, I need the audience to understand why. I can’t have anyone questioning my decision, saying it was based off personal feelings. And after what I just said, the audience should be well aware that it’s going to be a major long shot for her to win.

Alice grabs the knife again, and I worry for half a heartbeat that she’s going to slash at Amber with it, but instead she slices off another chunk of the snowman’s face.

“Sorry, gotta snag a bit more.” She shrugs. “I really don’t see myself making this ever again, even if it is delicious.” Alice looks up at me. “I’ll share if you’d like.”

My admiration for this woman grows every second of every day.

“I’d like that.” I slide my hand across to her shoulder and hold her against my side. “Let’s take an extra plate from everyone and call it lunch.”

“Ice cream lunch is something I can get down with.” Joey rubs his hands together. “Welp, that’s it for today, folks. Tune in tomorrow for the final challenge and to find out who will win the illustrious title of Second Bite champion.”