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I wink at him flirtatiously. “Maybe a little bit.”
Kendrick chuckles and drops his flirty flingers.
“Seriously, KC. I’m not imagining this. They have insane amounts of chemistry.”
“So what? All that proves is he’s not blind and neither is she. You’ve seen his underwear campaign, right? He’s a good looking dude.”
I take a sip of my drink. “That’s my point. He’s a good-looking dude and she mentioned him on Sylvia, right before mentioning me. So, I can’t help thinking this must be a set-up. Did the show hire Colin to set the stage for a love triangle plot twist midway through the season? Are they gonna pay him a little bonus if he breaks up the happy couple? Because I’m not doing that shit, Kendrick. Laila’s supposed to be my faithful girlfriend who’s totally in love with me. I’m not gonna look like the fool who turned down that Instagrammer, so she could drool over Colin Beretta on national TV.”
“Calm down, Tiger. She’s not gonna do that to you.”
“She’s already doing it to me, right this very second! Not to mention, she did it to me, repeatedly, during the tour!”
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Laila didn’t do anything to you during the tour. Malik was her boyfriend during the tour, Savage. You weren’t. Have you forgotten what a prick you were to her?”
I exhale and guzzle my drink. He’s right, of course. But I can’t help the way I feel, even if it’s irrational. Throughout the tour, I felt the same way I do right now. Jealous. Like Malik, and then Charlie, were horning in on my woman. I realize I acted like a prick to her, unfortunately, but only because . . . I’m a flaming idiot. Why’d I do that again? Shit. I run my hand through my hair. “I can’t keep watching her do this to me, Kendrick. Every time I turn around, I’ve got to compete for her attention. It’s driving me fucking insane.”
“You’re your own worst enemy. Get out of your own way, man. Stop lashing out and chill.”
I take another sip of my drink. “The thing I’m worried about is Colin setting his sights on Laila, not because he genuinely likes her, but to get back at me for having that fling with his ex.”
Kendrick pulls a face that says, Quite possibly. But what he says is, “Laila’s not stupid. And she’s totally into you.”
“First off, Laila is stupid—she dated Malik Wallace for how long? Also, she’s emphatically not into me. She thinks I’m Satan’s spawn.”
“Yeah, and lucky you, her celebrity crush is Satan.”
I can’t help chuckling at that, despite how tightly wound I’m feeling in this moment.
Kendrick says, “Whatever you do tonight, do not let Laila know you’re jealous of Colin. Trust me on that, Savage. You let her know she’s got that power over you, then she’ll use it against you.”
“I’m not stupid,” I say.
“Oh, yes, you are.”
“Yeah, but not that kind of stupid.”
“Oh, yes, you are.”
“Hey, boys,” a woman says. And when we look up, it’s that British pop star, Penelope something, who’s going to be Jon’s mentor this season. She holds up an unlit cigarette and smiles flirtatiously at me. “A little birdie told me you might have a light?”
“Sorry, no,” I reply. “My girlfriend hates cigarettes, so I quit.”
Kendrick looks at me funny, probably thinking, I saw you smoking like a chimney last night at my brother’s birthday party.
I add, “I quit tonight, actually. For Laila.”
Penelope flashes a snarky look. “She’s your girlfriend, eh?”
“Mm-hmm. Yep.”
Penelope snickers, leans forward, and whispers, “The cameras aren’t rolling yet, love. That same little birdie told me your ‘relationship’ is starting tomorrow.” With a wink, she throws her unlit cigarette into a nearby bush. “I don’t smoke, anyway. I was looking for a reason to come over here.” She giggles, but I don’t join her. She’s blocking my view of Laila and Colin, which is causing me distress. If Colin is hitting on Laila, and I can’t see it and sprint over there to stop it, I’ll make this British chick rue the day.
Penelope makes a few more attempts at small talk, mostly directed at me, as I crane my neck to spy on Laila. Finally, Kendrick throws himself on his sword and enters into a full-blown conversation with her. Which is Kendrick for you, in a nutshell. The guy’s the best friend in the world.
Gratefully, I get up, muttering something about the bathroom, and then start walking toward Laila and Colin, who’ve drifted away from the group and are talking one-on-one. But on my way to my destination, I get stopped by Aloha, who’s tickled pink by today’s unexpected events. She’s with her husband, Zander, a cool dude I’ve met a couple times. We chat for a moment while my gaze continually drifts over Zander’s extremely broad shoulder at Laila and Colin. But when I notice Laila’s body language seems particularly flirty, particularly animated, I disengage from my conversation and barrel over to my fake girlfriend.
