A sweet surprise

Marcella was getting hot; she could feel sweat forming on her brow. She licked her lips, avoiding the urge to bite them; she had a habit of doing that when she was nervous, but she didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea. Wiping her brow with the back of her hand, she got a sudden overwhelmingly claustrophobic feeling, like the room was heating up. Was it though? Maybe it was just her, she couldn't really tell. To be fair, she’d been at this for at least an hour, and it was hard work. She could feel a bead of sweat make its way down between her breasts, her silk camisole clinging to her curves. She wondered if her outfit was too over-the-top. No, she decided. You don't want to be under-dressed for an occasion such as this. 

Marcella’s heart fluttered a little. Why had she agreed to this? This was the first time she had done anything quite so adventurous, and she certainly hadn’t thought there would be so many people watching. There they all were, at least 15 of them, men and women of a variety of ages. She felt their stares piercing her, their eyes hungry. The man closest to her, a good-looking guy a fair bit older than she was (in his 50s at least!) caught her gaze. He shot her a quick smile and then licked his lips, his eyebrows moving up and down. Who was he? She thought that she would know more of these people but it seemed like Amy's production was much more professional than she had realised, she must have paid these people pretty decent money. Marcella smiled back then averted her eyes; why entice them even further? She had a sinking feeling that she was doing a terrible job. She wished she could just stop and leave, but she had committed. 

“Can this be over soon?!” Marcella thought to herself. Her heart was racing, the pulse throbbing in her neck. She could feel herself swaying slightly with the rhythm. When Amy had first asked her if she wanted to be involved in this whole charade, she had been reluctant, despite the idea secretly exciting her. She had certainly watched enough people do what she was doing now, though she hadn’t quite realised there would be such a ‘live’ audience, so to speak. “It will be fun, I promise,” her friend Amy had said, that cheeky grin on her face to which Marcella had always succumbed. “You’ve seen me do it. Besides, it’s always more fun when you just get in and do it yourself.”  

Although Marcella had agreed to help her friend, she hadn’t quite realised that hers would be the main act, nor that the cameras would be so... in your face. Surely only a few people would watch? Fat chance, she thought. Amy had a huge online following. It gave Marcella a bit of stage fright. She was normally a quiet girl, someone who avoided the spotlight. What if she looked like a fraud on camera? She could ruin Amy’s reputation. That, combined with all the fancy tools her friend had provided for her use just increased her anxiety. Seriously, some of these things she had never even seen before, “what am I meant to do with that?” she had earlier thought, when she picked up a pink silicon thing about 8 inches long. She had eventually chosen some more familiar tools, ones that she had seen others use before and that she owned herself. Well, in for a penny in for a pound. Marcella took a quick look around; all eyes were on her. The room was definitely getting warmer, bur she felt some of the tension leave her shoulders; maybe this wasn’t so bad after all. 

Marcella had spent a lot of time preparing for today. She had watched plenty of videos, studying each technique, and analysing the outcome. They had all made it seem so easy; though to be fair, they were mostly professionals with much more practice. Some offered a few tips and tricks, some were not much help at all, and she had to scroll past a million ads to get to the videos. Most of the sites she visited brought her to the same conclusion, which was that she was just going to have to practice until she got it right. It wasn’t like she’d never done it before. I mean who hadn't? There had been plenty of times, though usually only for one or maybe two other people, and there was almost always wine involved. She had never had to put on quite a ‘show’, so to speak. She didn't have to impress so many people. Trying to quell her anxiety, she had, for at least four weeks running into this event, spent countless hours repeatedly practising her technique, until she had reached a point where the actions became almost automatic and she was satisfied with the outcome. She thought about all the work she'd put in as she looked around. Although being in front of all these people was a bit stressful, she was starting to feel more at ease. God, was she actually enjoying herself? 

She glanced at the clock on the wall; it was nearly time. A mental check made her realise she was frowning. Marcella actively relaxed her brow and stopped pursing her lips. Remembered to smile at the camera. Amy came close and whispered in her ear. “You’re doing great, everything looks amazing.” Sensing it was nearly done, the cameraman closed in. Marcella could see a little spittle had formed at the corner of his mouth. Kind of gross, but she figured he was just getting hungry. 

A timer went off. Marcella's heart jumped; she was feeling much more confident now. She pulled the oven door open and took out tray on which her perfect looking chocolate lava cake was resting, placing it delicately on the bench. It looked magnificent. Cutting through with a sharp knife from the counter, the chocolate sauce dripped down and over the edges of the tray. “And that’s it!” she said, smiling at the camera. She felt relieved but also amazing, she knew she had done a great job. 

“It looks wonderful, Marcella!” Amy said, also turning to the camera. “Thanks so much for joining us today, guys, and don’t forget: if you enjoyed this video, give it a big thumbs up and hit that subscribe button! I’ll see you again next week for ‘Amy’s Eats’.” Marcella served the cake up and Amy and the rest of her YouTube production crew came in to grab a slice. Marcella looked around the room at all the happy faces and broke into a huge grin.