My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out.
It's my mom. But why is she calling me? She is supposed to be on the plane from Africa right now.
"Hey, Mom, what's going on? Did something happen?" I ask with a slightly trembling voice, already scared.
It's so easy to frighten me; I'm the most anxious person on the planet, I think.
"Hi, darling," she says warmly. "Our plane was delayed because of the upcoming storm in Miami. I just wanted to check on you. Are you still in LA?"
What? No, no, no, no! This can’t be happening! That means I'll be alone with Josh and Damian.
If Damian is coming. His flight was in the evening, instead of the morning like ours. I guess that means that he's also delayed.
"I'm in Miami, and we don't have any storm here!" I whine like a child in response, as if my mom can do something about it.
The moment I say it, I see a bright flash of lightning in the distance.
I shiver in fear. But this fear has nothing to do with an upcoming storm; it's because I'm going to spend the night in this house alone with Josh Underwood.
"Honey, it's only temporary. We'll arrive in the morning instead of tonight. It’ll be okay." She is speaking soothingly, trying to calm me down.
I already regret that I made her sad. I'm a grown-up girl; I'll be nineteen next fall when I go to college. I have to know how to deal with my problems by myself.
The problem, I correct myself. Just one, and it’s big and dangerous: Josh fucking Underwood under the same roof with me.Alone.
"Okay, Mom, don't worry," I say as cheerfully as I can. "See you tomorrow."
"I love you, honey," she responds.
"Love you too." I hang up and breathe out loudly. I have to do some yoga exercises to release my anxiety before I have dinner alone with Josh.
Thunder crashes so close that I jump. We have to order something right away because once the storm begins, there won't be any delivery.
I open my luggage for some clothes to change into after I take a shower. And I freeze when I see what's inside; all of my clothes are gone, replaced with Josh's, his T-shirts, polos, pants, and a massive pack of condoms. That's definitely his stuff.
I check my name on the luggage tag. No, I haven't messed up anything; it's still Kendall O'Connor there. The girl at the counter probably mixed up the tags because our luggage is similar: both black, both our father's company's brand.
I hold my breath in fear. I hope Josh hasn't opened my luggage yet. Because there's a lot in there that I don't want him to see.
I run to his room before it's too late and bang on his door louder than the storm.
Chapter Five
Josh
After my parents left me a message that their plane was delayed and they are coming to Miami in the morning, Damian texted me that his plane was also rescheduled to early morning.
The thought of spending the night alone with Kendall makes me want to jump with joy, like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time.
Me and Kendall. Together. Alone.And the storm is starting, so there’s nowhere to go. That means she won't be able to run away from me even if she wants to.
I smile once again from that thought. I've been dreaming of being alone with her since the moment she told me she broke up with that asshole. Because that means that now I have a chance. A chance to change everything between us, to make it right, to tell her about my feelings.
When Kendall was still dating Chad, I tried to get her alone for at least a couple of minutes, but she always ran away from me, not even bothering to make excuses, merely rushing off as if she was on fire.
I knew why she did that; I tried to make her life a living hell for the last couple of years. I wanted her to hate me as much as I hated her for being with someone else.
It's just that...my hate changed, turning into a massive ball of regret and jealousy. Guilt that I purposely hurt her a million times, and envy that she chose someone other than me.