Influenced a romantic co.., p.24
Influenced: A Romantic Comedy, page 24
Chuckling, I keep driving until we stop at a lookout. The view doesn’t go as far as the Hollywood sign, but with everything lit up at night, it’s just as gorgeous.
We climb out of the car, and I go around to the back. Taking out the cooler, I put it on the ground and hand the bag to Kaia.
“Don’t open it yet.”
She eyes it suspiciously, but does as I ask and follows me over to the edge. I jog back to the car to get the blanket, and when I come back, her eyes light up.
“Are we having a picnic?” she asks excitedly. “Aw, Declan. Did you plan us a picnic?”
Fuck, I’m showing my cards. “Shush, woman. Just sit.”
She giggles at my response and sits down. I pull the contents out of the bag and put them in front of me. Thankfully, she can’t see what they are yet, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.
“This didn’t feel weird until just now,” I tell her and take a deep breath. “When I moved here, I remember I felt homesick after a while. It was really easy to get wrapped up in everything, but when I noticed myself changing to fit the lifestyle I was living, I didn’t like it. And at one point, I even considered moving back home.”
Her hand reaches out and lightly rests against my arm. “Are you still homesick?”
I shake my head. “No, I got through it. I mean, I miss home. My family and my friends and everything. But I love it here. I just remember how much I needed the reminder of home.”
Pushing down the sudden anxiety, I hand her one of the sweatshirts and she holds it up to see what it says.
“Oh my God.” If I thought she couldn’t smile any wider than before, I was wrong. “Michigan State University?”
She pulls it on and then looks even happier when she sees that I have one too.
I open the box to reveal a cherry pie. What she doesn’t realize is I had it flown in from her favorite bakery in Traverse City, but even without that information, she looks completely in awe.
Finally, I open up the cooler, and show her all the Faygo soda inside—there's a rainbow of different flavors because Jules said her favorite depends on the day and her mood, and there’s no way to know beforehand.
“Dex!” she squeals happily. “This is incredible. All of it.”
I look down at my lap in an attempt not to get wrapped up in the intimacy of the moment. “I just wanted to remind you of where you came from. Sometimes, we all need a little piece of home.”
Her hand rests on my face as she leans over and kisses me gently. There’s no urgency behind it, just her lips pressing against mine, and I find myself a little breathless as she pulls away.
“What was that for?” I ask.
She shrugs and looks out at the view, smiling. “Just a thank you, because I know you hate that no-kissing rule.”
She’s right. I do. But being able to kiss her all the time would also be a brutal form of torture, because this city isn’t the only thing that’s easy to get lost in.
Before I can answer, she grabs a bottle from the cooler and takes a sip. She throws her head back and lets out a noise that goes straight to my dick.
“God, I missed this pop,” she murmurs.
I snort at her choice of words. “You mean soda.”
The smile drops right off her face. “No, I mean pop.”
“Careful, babe. Your Northern is showing,” I tease. “It’s called soda pop. Emphasis on soda.”
“Emphasis on pop!” she argues back, but there’s no malice in her tone.
Pulling out her phone, she types something in and turns it to me. It’s the Faygo website, with a big ad on the main page that says “Faygo, The One True Pop.”
“The fact that you knew to go directly there is slightly concerning,” I tease. “Is this an argument you have often?”
She laughs and flips me off as she tosses her phone in front of her. “Shut up and get me some pie.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It’s a challenge, cutting the thing in the dark and managing to get it on the plates without making a mess, but I manage. The two of us sit in a comfortable silence as we stare out at the view. It isn’t until she takes the first bite that her breath hitches.
“Is this…” Her voice trails off.
Shit, I was almost kind of hoping she wouldn’t notice, when I realized how much I was giving away by going through this much effort for her.
I swallow down the lump in my throat and nod. “Um, yeah.”
“I had no idea they ship their pies.”
Looking over the edge, I wonder if it would hurt if I threw myself right off the side. “They…they don’t. I kind of had to pay someone to go get it.”
I can feel her gaze burning into the side of my face, but I can’t bring myself to look at her. If I do, she’s going to see it all.
How I planned this for over a week.
The trouble I went through to do this for her.
The way I feel about her.
It’s not serious. I tell myself that on an almost daily basis, but it’s getting harder to convince myself—because this doesn’t feel so casual. Not to me. But it is to her.
And I’d rather have her in any way I can than not have her at all.
When she realizes I’m not going to look at her, she takes another bite and sighs happily. “Jules better watch out. You keep this shit up, and she might not be my favorite person anymore.”
It takes everything in me to ignore the hope that stirs in my chest at her words.
THE SOUND OF MY phone ringing pulls me from what was easily the best sleep of my life. For a moment, I can’t seem to remember where I am, but when I feel Kaia stir beside me, it all becomes clear.
Shit.
I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep in here. Usually, after we hook up, I wait for Kaia to fall asleep—which normally only takes a few minutes—and then I quietly sneak back into my room. But last night, I was just too comfortable, too wrapped up in it all, and I couldn’t convince myself to leave.
It was a really good night.
Pressing accept, I whisper into the phone. “Give me a minute.”
I throw my clothes on from the night before and slip out of the room, careful not to wake Kaia in the process. When I reach the stairs, I put the phone to my ear.
“Mom, you really need to remember time differences are a thing,” I tell her.
She scoffs. “I’m aware, that’s why I waited until eleven to call.”
Eleven, which means… “It’s only eight a.m.”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t out partying all night, you’d be awake like a normal person at that hour,” she lectures, but I know she means it lovingly. “I’m proud of you and all you’ve accomplished, Declan, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you when I see videos of you getting drunk with your friends. Like why were you doing a handstand while drinking? Isn’t that hard?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s a keg stand, Ma.”
“It looks reckless.”
“And yet, I’m still alive,” I point out. “Black magic, I swear.”
I’m so caught up in what my mom is saying that I don’t even notice Rhys and Mayhem in the kitchen until I hear them talking.
“Is he wearing the same clothes from last night?” Mayhem asks.
Rhys hums and there’s a slight pause before answering. “Yep.”
“He wasn’t in his bed last night,” Mayhem offers up. “I wonder where he was.”
Oh, fuck.
“Well, he didn’t come through the front door.”
My mom starts talking about her birthday coming up, and I’m trying to pay attention, but I can’t. Not with those two idiots acting like the goddamn FBI.
“What do you think?” my mom asks. “Will I get my birthday wish this year?”
“Hey, Dex,” Rhys calls. “What’d you get up to last night?”
Mother fucker son of a bitch.
“Uh, yeah. That sounds good,” I say into the phone. “But I’ve got to go. Can I call you back later?”
She squeals excitedly. “Ah, I’m so thrilled. I can’t wait to meet her. Love you!”
Wait. “Ma, that’s not—”
The line goes dead as she hangs up. There’s no doubt in my mind that I just got played. She always could tell when I wasn’t completely listening, and this time she used it to her advantage.
What the fuck did I just agree to?
26
KAIA
I’m not obsessing.
I’m not.
Except, maybe I am a little bit.
It’s just that over the last couple days, Declan has been weird. The only time he acts normal is when we’re commenting on each other’s stuff. Keeping up the charade or whatever, I’m sure.
I don’t understand it. Everything was perfect. When he swept me away from that party and brought me to the picnic, it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. And then I woke up the next morning, and he was different.
Standoffish.
Guarded.
Maybe it’s because he slept in my room. I’ll never admit it, but I woke up in the middle of the night to find him sound asleep next to me. His hand was resting on my side, and we fit together perfectly. I knew I should wake him, but in that moment, I didn’t want to.
If I had known things would get weird, I probably would have reconsidered.
BY DAY TWO, I’M annoyed, and by day three, I literally can’t take it anymore. It’s not like he’s being an asshole. Things are nowhere near the way they were when I first moved in. But I can tell something is off with him.
The thoughts of where we went wrong are constant. It goes from simple things, like he’s just having a bad few days, to the more complicated, like he realized I’m way more invested in this than I should be.
And that’s when my anxiety goes haywire, which is exactly why I need to get to the bottom of it.
I walk through the house, looking around for any sign of life. I know most of the house is out for the day, off on their own little adventures. But I think Declan would have mentioned if he was going somewhere, and he didn’t.
Sure enough, I get to the kitchen and see him out back, skating the halfpipe.
I should’ve known.
Taking a deep breath, I make my way outside. He stops as soon as he sees me and gives me a small smile. I climb up the side of the ramp and go over to where he’s sitting.
“Careful,” he tells me. “It doesn’t look like a long fall, but if you land wrong it can hurt.”
It feels like there is a double meaning to that statement, but that might just be me overthinking it.
He puts his hand out and I take it, letting him keep me steady as I sit beside him.
“I love that you can see the palm trees in the distance from here,” I tell him.
Looking over at it, he nods. “It’s why we chose this height. Anything shorter wasn’t acceptable.”
Everything goes quiet, and while normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, this time it feels uncomfortable. Like there’s so much to be said, and no one saying a thing. I run my fingers through my hair and decide to rip the Band-Aid off, when he both speak at once.
“Are you okay?” I ask at the same time he says, “We need to talk.”
Fuck. I was right. He’s freaked out, and he knows I’m way more into this than I should be, and now he’s going to end it. After all, his follower count is even higher than it was before he was canceled. What does he need me for anymore?
“Okay,” I say hesitantly.
He keeps his eyes on his skateboard, messing with the wheel as he sighs. “I, um… I have to go home for a few days. It’s my mom’s birthday, and I promised her I’d be there.”
Oh. “That’s sweet of you.”
“And I kind of promised that you’d come, too.”
Wait, what?
My breath hitches, and he rushes to explain himself.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I really didn’t mean to. I was distracted by Rhys and Mayhem, and I wasn’t listening to what she was saying, and by the time I figured it out, it was too late.”
Wow, okay. That’s not at all what I thought he was going to say.
My brows furrow in confusion as I look over at him. “Dex? Why does your mom want your fake girlfriend to come to her birthday?”
He looks busted—like a deer caught in the headlights. “Um.” He clears his throat and looks away. “Because I haven’t told her it’s fake?”
“Declan!”
“I know, I know!” He pushes the hair out of his face. “I was going to when I called her back during your photoshoot, but first I was in Starbucks and I couldn’t let that be overheard, and then she was telling me how excited she was that I found someone. It was nice to talk to her without hearing the being a fuckboy won’t give me a grandchild lecture.”
I practically choke on air. “Do you get that one often?”
“All. The. Time.”
Chuckling softly, I let the newly learned information settle. “When is this trip?”
He winces as he answers. “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I shout.
“You don’t have to come,” he offers. “I can tell her you’re sick or something, or I could tell her the truth about us. I know it’s hard enough pretending to the public. I shouldn’t expect you to fake dating me for my mom, too. Ugh, just forget I said anything.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll come with you.”
It’s an impulsive decision, one Jules will probably laugh at me for later, but I can’t stand watching him flounder like this.
“You will?” he asks, shocked. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. I mean, how could I refuse to help you when the alternative is you being lectured for being a fuckboy?”
His head drops as he laughs. “I should’ve never told you that.”
“No, you definitely shouldn’t have,” I confirm. “I’m never letting you live that down.”
HOW DO YOU PACK for a trip across the country to meet your fake boyfriend’s mom, at the last minute? I mean, I know he was worried about telling me, but less than twenty-four hours’ notice is far from ideal. I’m just saying.
The only thing I have to go on is that it’s still warm there, and that we’ll probably be going out to dinner for his mom’s birthday. I tried to have Jules help me plan some outfits to pack. She knows my closet better than I do. But she couldn’t stop laughing at the situation long enough to get a word out.
I call Lux, even though we’re in the same house, and put it on speaker as I wait for her to answer.
“Yeah, babe?” she asks.
“Hey. Can you come to my room? I need your help.”
“Sure.” I can hear rustling in the background. “I’m bringing Maisee with me, though.”
“That’s fine,” I tell her. “The more help, the better.”
We hang up and within a couple minutes, my door is opening as they come in. Clothes are strewn across my bed as I try to make sense of what I have here, and Lux’s eyes widen.
“Seems like packing is going well,” she quips. “You okay, babes?”
“No,” I whine. “I don’t know what to pack. I may as well just wear a potato sack.”
She’s visibly offended as she freezes. “That would be a crime. Don’t do that.”
Maisee walks over to my bed and starts making sense of the mess. Within a few minutes, she’s already put together three model-worthy outfits.
“There,” she says definitively. “Anything else?”
I nod. “I need a dress to wear for his mom’s birthday dinner.”
Her lips purse as she walks over to my closet, but she comes out empty handed a few seconds later. “Give me one minute.”
Disappearing out of my room, she leaves Lux and me alone. She watches me fold the clothes and place them neatly into my smaller suitcase, a smirk plastered across her face the whole time. Finally, I give in.
“Okay, say it,” I tell her. “Get it off your chest.”
Her grin widens. “Things are getting serious between you two. Going home to meet the family.”
“Did that make you feel better?” I chuckle.
She nods enthusiastically. “So much better.”
“What’s better?” Maisee asks as she comes in the room, handing me one of her own dresses.
“Just messing with Kaia about her and Declan,” Lux tells her. “They’re practically engaged.”
A bark of laughter flies out of me. “We are not. You know as well as I do that this is fake.”
Maisee crosses her arms over her chest. “And what about when you watch his thirst traps on replay at night? Are we pretending that’s not real either?”
Lux throws herself backward on my bed in a fit of hysterics while Maisee just shrugs, smiling brightly at me. I shake my head at their antics, but I can’t stop myself from laughing too.
These girls have quickly become like sisters, and I love them for it.
DECLAN LIGHTLY SHAKES ME awake, whispering that I need to wake up. I groan and consider telling him to go fuck himself and let me sleep, until I remember that we’re on a plane.
We’re on a plane, and my head is on his shoulder.
I sit up quickly and look around, only to find him watching me amusedly. “What?”
“Nothing,” he chuckles. “You just slept through most of a six-hour flight.”
Ah. “Secret time, I actually hate planes. I want to travel the world, but I hate being awake while trapped in an oversized Pringles can with wings.”
What I don’t tell him is that I hardly slept at all last night because I was too nervous about today. It’s one thing when we’re faking for the cameras or for people on the street. It’s another when it’s his family.
I just hope we can pull this off. Otherwise, things may get awkward.
I feel the plane start to descend as it gets ready to land and white-knuckle the armrests. Declan snickers beside me.
“Are you laughing at me?” I ask him.
He grins innocently. “Me? Never.”
