CHAPTER FIVE

 

 

Verdant trees fly by as the Uber driver careens away from LA. The vibrant cityscape melts into vast coastline while I stare dreamily out the window.

I could swear the car is flying ten thousand feet above the street, or maybe that’s simply how I feel because I’m so unbelievably happy. I’m not even on cloud nine right now. I’m on cloud 9000.

Excitement fizzes in my veins like I’m a shaken bottle of cola. I can’t wait to get back to my girls and tell them all about this hunky guy that I managed to enchant tonight. We’ve barely even gotten started seeing one another, but I can tell that the future of our fake relationship is bright. I’ve already got a thousand different ideas for our big reveal as a couple, and it’ll take Grayson and Kali by storm.

This is about to change everything for Glossed & Glammed. We’re going to have not one cute power couple, but two. Our fans aren’t going to be ready for it at all.

Wriggling enthusiastically in my seat, I lean forward and lightly grasp the back of the driver’s headrest to see better. Any second now, the beachfront home I share with my two besties will be visible in the distance. As if on command, the warm, welcoming windows of the two-story house materialize down the street. Kali, Liv, and I take a lot of safety measures to make sure that our living situation is kept private, despite how much we share with our followers. That place is our dream home, and we don’t want anything spoiling it.

I wonder if Kali is home yet. I hope so. I’m practically bursting at the seams right now and I want both of my BFFs there when I share the news. That said, I’m still not entirely sure how I’ll explain the events of tonight, but I’m sure I’ll figure that out when I get there.

A few minutes later, the car slows to a stop in front of the house. I thank the Uber driver and tell her to have a nice evening, then I bounce out of the backseat. Just as I’m about to sprint toward the front door, a cherry red sports car parked on the side of the house snags the corner of my eye. I slow to a stop, noticing that the engine is still running.

Wait a minute. Isn’t that Grayson’s fancy ride?

More nosy than curious, I tuck Boone’s jacket beneath an arm and edge closer to the red car until I spot Kali and Grayson next to it. They must be saying goodnight. Their arms are wrapped tightly around one another and Kali is dipped slightly backward so that he can press kiss after sweet kiss against her lips. The moment is so intimately picturesque it might as well be a scene from a movie, even though they have no idea they have an audience in me and the lingering Uber driver.

The moment is beautiful, passionate, and sweet. It’s also giving me great inspiration about how Boone and I should announce ourselves to the online world. If Kali and Grayson can put on a show like that for absolutely no one, Boone and I are definitely going to smash our own performance as infatuated lovebirds. We have to. Otherwise, I’ll only end up paling in comparison to Kali and her boyfriend a second time.

Mouth going dry at the thought, I turn quickly back toward the front door and bolt inside.

“You’re back!” Liv cries cheerfully.

Dressed in a pair of dark cotton sleep shorts and a sunny, yellow cami that brings out the gold flecks in her brown eyes, Liv is looking as cute and joyful as always.

I force an equally buoyant smile back to my lips and nod. “You got that right, babe! And just you wait until you hear about my night. It was insane!”

“So was mine,” Liv responds playfully. I think she must’ve had a whole glass of wine at some point tonight because she’s looking a little flushed. With her, very little goes a very long way. “Coco and George were chasing each other around the living room and Chanel dive-bombed them from the couch. I think she was telling them to respect her space.”

“Is that right, Coco?” I gasp with feigned alarm to the sleek cat as she sidles up to greet me. I scoop her up into my arms and nuzzle her face. “Were Chanel and Georgie picking on you?”

George lets out an indignant bark, but his tongue lolls happily out of his mouth. He trots closer and presses against my legs until I scratch the top of his head. Coco rewards my affection with a soft purr and nuzzles her cheek to mine. When I set my kitty back down, she winds between my legs and gazes up at me with adoring eyes. At least once my fake relationship ends, I’ll still have her.

“I’m home, girls!” Kali calls from behind me as the door swings open and then closed again.

I glance over my shoulder and note that my blond BFF’s face is as rosy as Liv’s, but not from any alcohol. The smile Kali wears right now could outshine the sun, and I know it’s all because of Grayson. I genuinely am glad that they found each other, even if I am a little envious at how much our Glammers idolize them lately. Between her mother overdosing when she was little and growing up in foster homes, Kali has already been through so much in her life. The least she deserves is to have a handsome hunk who treats her like the queen she is.

After securely locking the door, Kali slides out of her heels and kicks them away from her. “Grayson couldn’t come in, but he says hello. I connected him with another one of our charities and he’s got a meeting with them super early in the morning. He’s going to prep some documents before hitting the hay.”

Liv and I exchange grins. Kali is just as passionate about her charities and fundraisers as she is about Grayson. When she isn’t filming makeup tutorials for our viewers or toiling away as the G&G liaison for collabs and sponsorships, she’s working hard at uncovering new charity organizations for us to support using our huge following. Every month we have a brand-new fundraiser to focus on, and she makes sure I post frequently about the various causes on all of our socials. Some big-name influencers and brands steer clear of that kind of thing, but not Glossed & Glammed. In fact, it was one of those charities that ultimately brought Kali and Grayson together.

“You’re just in time to hear about Sutton’s wild night, Kali,” Liv explains as she prances back into the kitchen to refill her wine glass.

Kali wiggles her eyebrows at me as she sets her purse on the island that separates the kitchen from the living room. “Oh, really? I’m surprised I didn’t see it on the G&G feed. You didn’t post anything at all tonight.”

“I can be subtle, you know,” I scoff with a pretend pout.

Liv pops the cork of her wine bottle and laughs. “Subtle and Sutton are two words that are never in the same sentence.”

“And you two love me for it,” I declare dramatically, throwing a hand over my forehead and pretending to swoon onto the couch.

I land artfully on top of Boone’s suit jacket to hide it for just a moment longer. A good actress knows all about how important the big reveal is.

Kali and Liv flop down next to me on the couch and soon we’re nestled beneath a fuzzy blanket that one of our fans handstitched back when we were still a relatively small channel. Every now and then, that very same fan sends us letters thanking us for spreading awareness of various charities and for our continued tips and tricks in the makeup and beauty world. Getting mail from her is always the highlight of my week, and I make sure to respond right away in a penned letter signed by all three of us. I think the best part of our fanbase is that the girls and I have managed to keep most of our earliest subscribers. G&G takes outreach with them seriously and we always try to stay as connected as possible. It might not be the healthiest thing in the world, but I read almost every single comment that gets posted on our various pages and try to respond to as many as possible, even the critical ones. In my mind, that’s what makes G&G so special and so successful. We’re a family. I might not be super close to my biological kin, but I have my girls and my Glammers.

Kali rolls onto her hip and nudges me. “Don’t keep us waiting, Sutton! What happened at the party?”

“You first,” I insist. “Tell us about the event you and Grayson went to.”

Kali makes a face. “It was a work thing with the other lawyers at his firm. I love being with Grayson, but I’m sure you can imagine exactly how the night went.”

Despite her statement, her face blushes a bright shade of red. I know she’s thinking about that kiss by the car rather than anything that happened at the event.

“Sutton!” Liv whines, sipping her second glass of wine. “Tell me about what happened. The most excitement I had tonight was Chanel’s attempt at becoming a pro-wrestler.”

“A pro-what?” Kali yelps, eyes wide.

Liv waved a hand. “I’ll tell you about it later. After Sutton gives us the scoop on her night.”

“I met a guy,” I say softly, my voice quivering a little because I’m so giddy. “A handsome, hunky, guy from Texas who saved me from this jerk who was there. We’re going out this weekend.”

Tugging Boone’s suit jacket out from underneath me, I hold it victoriously in the air with an excited squee.

“Who is he?” Liv asks, practically bouncing up and down on the couch beside me.

“Tell us more!” Kali begs.

I smile wider. If my BFFs are reacting this animatedly, that’s even more confirmation to me that the Glammers are going to go crazy for this news, too.

“His name is Boone Hammond and he plays rugby for the LA Coyotes. Wait ‘til you meet him! He is a TALL drink of water on a very, very hot day.”

Kali and Liv pass the jacket between them while barraging me with one question after another. I eagerly fill them in on all the best details. Like how Boone appeared out of nowhere and whisked me off my feet away from that idiot sleazeball and up to the garland-lit terrace. Then I gush on and on about how silky sweet his southern drawl is and how he defended me when the creep stalked us. By the end of the story, I’m as breathless and starry-eyed as my two girlfriends are.

What I quickly realize, however, is that even though I’m spouting off all these details, I have no intention of telling my besties the truth. That whatever happened tonight is meaningless because Boone and I will never be anything real.

The stray thought hits me like a punch to the stomach.

Unable to catch my breath, I choke on my words and fall speechless for perhaps the first time in my life. This only makes Kali and Liv squeal louder because they think I’m simply overwhelmed by how hard I’m already falling for this guy.

Unfortunately for me, that’s something I can never do.