Influenced: A Romantic Comedy, page 3
I pull the phone away from my ear and let him talk while I text Jules.
Me: I called Declan Dexter and I’m pretty sure he hates me now because of it.
The three dots appear almost immediately, and her response makes me roll my eyes.
Jules: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Me: I’m glad you find it funny. I, however, am mortified.
Jules: Don’t try to pin this on me. I told you to do your research on the rest of the house members.
She’s right. She did. And I meant to, but placating Harrison took up all my time before I left, to the point where I barely had time to pack. And he makes it no secret that he hates everything Swype House, so it’s not like I could have done it while I was with him.
“And then Jake asked the waitress for her phone number, and Hannah poured a drink over his head,” Harrison says, laughing just at the memory alone. “It was fucking classic.”
“Well, that’s what he gets for hitting on the waitress right in front of his girlfriend. He’s lucky that’s all she did.”
“Oh, please. It was a joke,” he reasons.
The grip on my phone tightens. “You and I both know it was no joke, with how much he cheats on her as it is. I don’t know why she stays with him.”
“Jake is a good guy. He just makes some sketchy choices. Besides, it’s not like he’s going to marry the broad.”
There really is no getting through to him. About anything.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know, I’m actually really tired from the flight and unpacking and all that. I think I’m going to head to bed early.”
“That’s fine,” he tells me. “I’m supposed to meet up with the guys in a half hour anyway.”
Glancing at the clock, I see it’s seven here, which means it’s already ten there. “Be careful, and call Jules if you need a ride home. She’ll come get you.”
“I’ll be fine, Kaia.” His voice is stern, the way it always is when I try to look out for him.
I have half a mind to press harder. Getting into a car with a drunk driver, or being the drunk driver for that matter, is nothing new for him. But it would only cause an argument, and I genuinely don’t have the energy for it tonight.
“Okay. Well, have fun. I love you.”
“Yep, you too. Night.”
He hangs up before I can even say goodnight. I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to make me second-guess my decision, but that’s not going to happen. When I dropped out of college, I promised myself I was going to prove everyone wrong, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
I plug my phone in and turn off the light. As my head hits the pillow, it all starts to hit me.
The reality of how far from home I am.
The foreign feeling of being in a new bed, in a new place.
The anxiety that makes me miss home a little bit.
I roll over and shake it off, telling myself that tomorrow will be a better day.
And as I close my eyes and drift to sleep, I really hope I’m right.
3
DECLAN
I balance on the edge, feeling the breeze in my hair just before I fall. The moment I lean forward, it’s as if everything else dissipates. All that matters is the board beneath my feet. I go from one side to the other, gaining speed and air, until it’s time. As I launch myself high off the side of the halfpipe, I grab the board and finally execute the perfect 360. The board lands back on the halfpipe, under my feet, with me standing perfectly on it.
Oakley stops filming and smiles brightly at me. “Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!”
I sit on the edge of the halfpipe and fist bump Havoc while I wait for Oak to bring me my phone. “Fucking about time. Only took how many tries?”
“Twenty-seven,” Oakley answers, despite it being a rhetorical question.
Taking my phone from her, I watch the video back. It’s filmed at the perfect angle, and without even meaning to, I bit my lip in concentration on the way down. My followers are going to love that.
Rhys goes next and lands a trick that’s a million times harder than the one I just did, and he does it with ease. Havoc snorts as Rhys keeps going.
“Such a damn showoff.”
Oakley throws her head back, laughing. “Right? Not all of us can be professionals, jerk.”
Rhys chuckles, and it makes him fuck up. He slides down on his kneepads and drops his head as he smiles. “If you don’t want to be shown up, don’t watch.”
“Or maybe don’t hog the ramp,” Havoc counters.
I watch the video back a couple more times before posting it on Swype. Immediately, it’s already getting thousands of views and likes, with girls commenting how hot it is when I ride with my shirt off.
It’s like eight billion degrees outside. As if I’d ride any other way.
The guys continue to fight over whose turn it is as I roll my eyes. I remember how hard we had to fight for this halfpipe. Beau was afraid that it would fuck our insurance, or that it would be a giant eyesore. But when Rhys was grinding down the railing in the foyer one day— which he still does when Beau isn’t home—he finally caved. And I’m so glad he did, because this is the best damn thing about this place.
Oakley sneaks through while Rhys and Havoc are fucking with each other’s boards like children, and executes a RS Disaster without flaw. Just as she keeps going, however, I notice Kaia through her bedroom window. It’s not like she was watching us. She simply walked by the window. But it instantly put her right back into the center of my thoughts, and my eyes stay locked on that window long after she’s gone.
“You’re obsessing again,” Oakley says as she finishes.
I make a noise of disgust. “I’m not obsessing. I just don’t see what’s so special about a stuck-up bitch.”
“I think she’s nice,” Oakley says, and Havoc nods in agreement.
“And so fucking hot,” Rhys adds.
I refuse to touch on that. “Nice, my ass. She didn’t even care to know about the people she was moving into a house with. Clearly, she thinks she’s better than us all.”
“Dex, getting your name wrong was a harmless mistake,” Oak argues.
Shaking my head, I roll my eyes. “It’s not just that. She didn’t know Havoc and Mayhem are twins. She didn’t know what all of our accounts are most known for. A simple Google search on the plane could have given her more information than she had, but she couldn’t be bothered.”
Havoc’s grin widens. “I think Declan is just mad he doesn’t have the most followers in the house anymore.”
“Glad it was Kaia that took that from him,” Rhys adds. “Because I was coming for it, and I can only imagine the shit he’d talk about me.”
“Who says I don’t talk shit about you anyway?” I question.
He flips me off but says nothing about it. “I’m going inside. It’s getting brutal out here.”
We all nod in agreement and head for the back door.
The moment the air conditioning hits me, I imagine my skin actually sending off smoke as it cools, like something out of Looney Tunes. I stand there for a second and lean my head back as I let it cool my heated skin. Havoc goes over to where Mayhem is eating a bagel and steals the other half of it from him.
“Prick. Get your own.”
“Get your own face,” Havoc responds. “I had it first.”
Lux and Maisee are recording a dance video in the living room, but Havoc’s attention is on his phone. He jumps over the back of the couch and lies down.
“Oh, yes!” he says with a mouthful of bagel.
I walk around and smack his ankles so he moves his feet. Once he’s out of my way, I sit down beside him and glance over at his phone.
“What are you so excited about?” Maisee questions.
“The dude who owns the @havoc username is going to sell it to me for twenty grand,” he explains.
Lux crosses her arms and looks at him with a raised brow. “You’re exactly why they call us kids with too much money.”
Havoc chuckles as he comes in. “We are kids with too much money.”
She gives him a dirty look but doesn’t argue with him further. There’s really nothing much she could say. We’re all in our early twenties with more money than we know what to do with. Fancy cars, luxury vacations, and paying for stupid shit like a username—it all comes with the territory.
Kaia comes into the room, and Havoc smacks the side of my thigh to make sure I’m aware. Her dirty blonde hair is tied back, and she’s wearing white shorts and a light pink tank top. It’s no surprise she and Lux get along. They’ve got the same kind of style. Lux’s is just a little more…expensive.
As Kaia’s gaze meets mine, I don’t even attempt to hide my disgust. Sure, she may be hot, with soft green eyes and a toned body, but I’m not about to be fooled by her good girl act. The only thing that chick cares about is herself, and the only reason she’s here is to profit off us. Once she gets what she wants, she’ll be out the door and leaving us all in the dust.
She looks away quickly and focuses her attention on the dance Nate is showing her. Her eyes dance across the screen as the music plays a couple more times. Then, after only maybe five times of watching the video, she hands the phone back to Nate and nods.
“Okay, let’s do this,” he says.
Nate hands his phone to Maisee and as she starts to record, the music plays and the two of them repeat the dance. As usual, Nate hits every single move, but what’s not usual is that Kaia is able to match him move for move. There are normally at least six or seven blooper videos that include Nate yelling at one of the girls like Mommy Dearest before they finally get the right take. But not with Kaia.
She puts in the same amount of energy as Nate does, showing her dance background in her skill—because yes, unlike her, I did my research. She’s good. I won’t lie about that. But being able to do the Whoa doesn’t make her a decent person.
“Fuck, yes!” Nate yells excitedly as they finish. “Finally, someone who can keep up with me!”
“Hey!” Maisee and Lux protest in unison. “Rude.”
He waves them both off. “Don’t even get me started with you. Let’s do it once more. I wasn’t giving it my all because I thought you’d be like these two uncoordinated bitches for the first take.”
His words sound offensive, but the smile on his face shows that he’s just messing around. That’s how Nate is. He doesn’t have a filter and says whatever comes to mind, but he enjoys the reaction of screwing with people. You can almost never take him seriously.
They do the dance again, and of course, she fucking nails it. The only difference is, this time everyone is watching. Not only does her body move in a way that makes the dance look good, but her facial expressions don’t miss a beat either. Not once does she look constipated, unlike Mayhem literally every time someone tries to teach him a dance trend.
“Goddamn,” Havoc compliments as they’re done.
Oakley nods. “He’s right. You’re really good, Kaia.”
Her cheeks pink as she blushes. “Thanks. A childhood of being forced to take dance classes paid off, I guess.”
“Hold on,” Lux gets up and pulls the hair tie out of Kaia’s hair, letting it down. “Okay, do it once more. Your hair moving with the dance will look fire. Trust me.”
Nate purses his lips and then nods, silently telling Maisee to record it one more time. The music starts to play and the two of them do the dance for the last time, and fuck if Lux was right. As Kaia bends her body to the side to let her ass pop, she flips her hair with it and it looks even better. That’s why we all work so well together. We swap tips and tricks, and we help each other excel.
Except, no part of me wants to help Kaia at all.
“Told you so,” Lux says as they finish and watch the video back.
“Would you look at that,” Nate teases. “You really are good for something, Luxurious.”
Beau comes in, and Maisee shows him the video. His smile grows as the dance goes on and when it ends and starts to replay, he looks up at Kaia.
“Yep, that’s the skill that got my attention,” he tells her, then looks at Nate. “Save it in your drafts. Don’t post it until I give you the okay.”
He scrunches his nose, clearly wanting to post it now, but nods. “You’re lucky I like her so much and don’t want to throw her to the sharks.”
“She’s a real superstar,” I drawl, but it’s clear my words don’t have the complimentary meaning they’re supposed to.
Oakley giggles quietly, probably finding my obsession, as she calls it, comical. Nate, on the other hand, flips me off.
“Don’t listen to him. He’s just jealous because he has no rhythm.”
I hum. “No rhythm, huh?”
Getting up off the couch, I pull my phone from my pocket and flip to the one song I’ve been meaning to use. As I pass it to Nate, he looks at the song and his brows raise. Kaia goes to move out of my way, but I grab her wrist to stop her.
“Go,” I tell Nate.
He presses record, and the music starts to play. It’s a slow, sexual beat that I would normally do a thirst trap to, but it’s also exactly what I need.
I use my grip on Kaia’s wrist to spin her around, and my hand slowly travels to wrap around her throat. She looks up at me with a glint in her eyes that resembles both intrigue and confusion, but I don’t have time to analyze it before she reacts.
Smacking my hand away, she spins around, but I quickly move to pin her against the wall. Nate shifts with us to get the right angles, and I mouth the words in her face as I get closer than I probably should.
And then it ends.
“I don’t need rhythm to do that,” I say, and grab the phone from Nate.
Kaia runs her fingers through her hair. “You can’t post that.”
“The fuck I can’t.”
“She’s right,” Beau agrees. “She has a boyfriend, and everyone knows that. It’s a bad look, for the both of you. Plus, it’ll look like she moved into the house for you. We can’t have that.”
I huff, looking her up and down. “Looks like the superstar gets what she wants after all.”
Instead of deleting the video, I save it to my drafts—just in case I ever need it—and then I go back to sit next to Havoc. He gives me a knowing look, but the one I give him back tells him I don’t want to hear it. As if I don’t need to say anything at all, he raises his hands in surrender and goes back to whatever username deal he was brokering before all of this.
“Listen,” Beau announces. “I need all of you ready by five-thirty. We’re going out to dinner tonight.”
Every single one of us, sans Kaia, groans at the idea. Whenever a couple of us go out, we have to deal with a few paparazzi. But when we go out as a whole group, they gather like fucking vultures. On Lux’s birthday, we had to leave out the back door as a safety precaution. It was ridiculous. And with Beau planning this tonight, the paparazzi is exactly why we’re going.
“I know, I know,” he says. “But I need people to see Kaia with us to get the speculation going. Then, in a couple days, Nate can post his video with her, along with another one with all the girls. Finally, we’ll make an official announcement, and things can go back to normal. But in the meantime, five-thirty.”
We all murmur our agreement, though you can tell we’re less than thrilled. All I wanted to do today was skate, swim, and make a few videos. But instead, I have to change my plans—and for Kaia, of all people.
The list of reasons why I don’t like her just seems to get longer and longer.
4
KAIA
Two suitcases full of clothes, and somehow, I managed to forget every piece of formalwear I have. Granted, Beau’s guidelines for what to wear didn’t include ballgowns, but he also mentioned that we’ll be photographed, so a pair of sweats just isn’t going to cut it.
I manage to throw together a black crop top and a pair of lightwash jeans that should do the trick. As I throw it on and look in the mirror, I wonder for a moment if Oakley and I are friendly enough for me to ask her to do my makeup.
Will she think I’m using her?
That I don’t want to be friends unless I get something in return?
My anxiety runs wild with a list of possibilities—all of which make me decide doing my own makeup is my best bet. I unzip the makeup bag that Jules made sure to stock for me and toss the contents onto the counter.
The first YouTube tutorial I attempt ends up making me look like something out of the Addams Family. And the second requires me to scrub my face so hard that my skin is red, just to remove the atrocity that is my attempt at fancy.
Ultimately, I decide to go with some foundation, a little eyeliner, and a light-colored eyeshadow that just barely stands out enough to be noticeable. Walking over to the floor length mirror, I snap a picture and send it to Jules.
Me: Do I look okay? Tell me if I don’t. Public dinner. Not a drill.
It takes a minute for her to get back to me, but when my phone dings, I practically lunge for it.
Jules: 🔥🤤🔥🤤🔥🤤
Jules: You look gorgeous. Don’t change a thing.
I’m about to put it down, pleased with her response, when it dings again.
Jules: Except maybe the smiley face belly ring. I’d change that.
Shit. I look down to find that, sure enough, I’m wearing a belly button ring that has a bright yellow smiley face on it.
Me: Good catch. Thanks babe.
Jules: 😘✌️ Have the best time ever.
I take a take a deep breath and swallow down the lump in my throat that comes from thinking about how much better it would be if she were here.
I can do this, but first, I need to change this belly ring.
