Chapter One
Kendall
"Stop it, Josh, I'm waiting for you. We're gonna be late!" After a couple of attempts to speak calmly, I yell at him, trying to convince him to stop acting like a horny teen and finally follow me.
He ignores my request; instead, he sucks Penelope's mouth into his even harder, with his eyes fully open as he does it, looking directly at me as he penetrates her with his tongue, squeezing her ass in his hands.
He's provoking me. Again.
I grimace out of disgust in response and turn away to Serena.
"I can give you a ride to the airport, hun," my best friend offers with a smile so warm that I can't help myself but smile in response. I feel my anger slowly start to evaporate.
If Serena wasn't here, I would've probably already punched Josh's face for being so irresponsible and such a jerk. Sometimes I feel like he's provoking me for a reason, playing my nerves like guitar strings, testing my patience to see where his actions can lead to.
I just have no idea what the real reason for his actions is.
I wish I could go on this vacation with Serena instead of Josh. We could've had so much fun.
"That would be wonderful," I say with a smile, "but if I don't bring this bum with me, it's gonna upset Kristine, and I don't want that."
Serena laughs in response, and only then Josh pulls away from his 'girlfriend for today'.
"I can't believe you’re leaving me alone in that big house for the whole weekend!" she exclaims, talking about my home. Since my parents have been on vacation for almost a year already, my best friend is living with me.
"Everything's gonna be okay, hun," I promise and lean in to give her a hug.
"Let's go!" Josh suddenly exclaims, pulling Penelope away and grabbing my hand instead without letting me say goodbye.
So rude. Exactly his style.
"Hey, let me go!" I exclaim, trying to free my hand away from his claws, but it's all in vain.
I wave to Serena silently, and she waves back while Penelope simply stands there, unable to understand what's happening.
He already forgot about you,I silently tell her, hoping she hasn't fallen in love with Josh yet, because it's true. He’s had so many girlfriends that I’ve lost count.
To be honest, I don't really like Penelope, and that's why I don't really care about her feelings. She's one of those mean girls you hate because of how they look at you as if they're somehow better. She's the reason our school is being called the "Dirty Elite."
Josh doesn't even look in her direction. He silently puts my luggage in his SUV and we start riding, fast and rough, I guess, because we are already on the verge of being late.
On the way, I put AirPods into my ears so Josh can't talk to me because when he does, he always tries to make fun of me or provoke me, and I hate that.
Josh is the guy from my nightmares: handsome like a model, smart like a genius, and creative like a fox. He's the Elite Academy's most desirable playboy, and what I hate the most about him is that he's so charming that he gets away with everything. Even his ex-girlfriends don't hate him because of how skillfully he charms them while breaking up. He can actually make them believe it when he says, “It's not you, baby; it's me.” He's a master in breaking up.
Luckily, his spell doesn't work on me. Moreover, it works in the wrong direction because I can't stand him. I can't believe I have to spend five hours on the plane alone with him, and then a whole weekend together. Luckily, our parents are going to be there, too.
Josh and I have known each other since we were born. Our fathers are co-owners of the same company, and our mothers are best friends. We were supposed to be friends, too, but fate decreed otherwise: we hate each other. Well, we try to avoid each other, wishing we’d never even met, only pretending we can stand each other when our parents are around.
We used to be friends when we were younger, right before Josh turned fifteen and went to sports camp for the whole summer. I don't know what happened there, but he came back a completely different person: cold, distant, and entirely strange. He started ignoring my calls and messages, he started avoiding me at school, and when I asked him what had happened between us, he told me, “There's no us and there never was,” and that “he was sick of pretending to be my friend.”Yes, he broke my heart then. Because I always thought that we were best friends, while he, obviously, felt like he was obliged to be friends with me, so he stopped when we grew older.
But since our parents are best friends, and I love Josh's parents as if they were my real family, we are obliged to spend almost every holiday and birthday together. Josh's mom, Kristine, turns sixty in two days, and that's why we're going to Miami to celebrate her birthday.
Our parents retired over a year ago, leaving the company management to Josh's older brother Damian. Since then, they've been traveling the world non-stop, sending photos to us from different spots around the world.
They’ve most recently been in Tanzania, but Josh and I couldn't go to Africa without getting some shots, so they decided to meet us in Miami, where they co-own a beach house.
Damian is gonna be there, too. He's coming from New York today. I always liked him; he's sweet and a lot nicer and kinder to me than Josh ever was. I even had a crush on Damian when I was approximately fifteen, right before he left LA to go to work in New York, where our parents’ company's head office is now settled. I haven't seen him for almost two years. He couldn't come for the last few family events because he was busy working. But of course, he's gonna come to his mom's sixtieth birthday celebration.