Page 3 of Kiss Me Again

CHAPTER ONE

MIA

"Of course, you can stay with us! For as long as you want!" my best friend, Diana, exclaims into my ear for the twelfth-ish time while we're talking on the phone.

I exhale deeply, unable to believe that I have to look for a place to stay right in the middle of my senior year at the Academy. All the exams are ahead, and I still need to decide which college I will attend. And now I have to move all my stuff for the next three weeks (or maybe even more) to a different place.

"Maybe you should ask your parents," I suggest, taking deep breaths.

Somebody once told me that when you inhale deeply, your body can't be tensed, which means you won't be able to stay nervous. Well, they lied. The deeper I inhale, the more convinced I become that I’m about to have a panic attack.

"It's just the two of us," Diana says at ease.

"Again?" I exclaim immediately, expressing surprise, even though it's not surprising when I think about it.

I have known Diana for over ten years, and I've seen her parents less than ten times throughout that period. They have the habit of leaving their kids with nannies and housekeepers and flying to the other side of the planet. They're both film producers who launched one of the most profitable movie companies in the US. So it's not surprising that they are out of town again.

"Yep, for six weeks," she continues, absolutely not offended.

When we were younger, I used to think that she might feel sad about her parents leaving so often, but over time, I realized that she had gotten so used to it that she didn't really care. She once told me that it feels like she's just renting an apartment at their place without actually paying.

"Maybe you should ask them anyway," I suggest, walking back and forth around the room, trying to decide what to do. "It's their house, after all."

I don't know why I'm resisting her offer. I don't have much choice. One of the pipes in our house broke, and the contractor told us that he'll need about three weeks to fix it, and for all this time, there will be no water. Considering how old our house is, I know that three weeks is a minimum; I should expect longer.

My mom decided to move to her best friend's house, and, of course, they offered to let me move there as well. And now it's either sleep on the couch in my mom's friend's living room or spend these three weeks in a luxury Beverly Hills mansion with my best friend. Yeah, I know the answer is obvious. Still, I always feel uncomfortable asking people for a favor, even friends or relatives.

Who am I fooling? I know I don't want to move in with Diana mainly because of her brother Ben. We used to be good friends when we were younger, but after that night when we kissed, he pulled away from me, and our friendship slowly evaporated. He graduated from the Academy and left for college only about a hundred miles away. Still, he lives in a dormitory. We see each other only for family holidays when Diana invites me to her house since her parents are never there.

"Don't be stupid. They absolutely adore you!" Diana exclaims enthusiastically, breaking me out of my thoughts. She’s speaking even louder than a minute ago, so I have to pull my cell phone a bit farther from my ear. "They think you have a strong positive influence on me, which, by the way, is true."

I laugh. That's not true. I have absolutely no power over Diana or her behavior. She's so much stronger than me as a person. If she doesn't want to do something, no one in the world can make her do it, while I feel guilty each time I have to say no to someone who asks me for help.

Diana always was a rebel, while I am a shy nerd. She thinks B is a fantastic grade, while I feel disappointed when I get an A instead of an A plus. She loves dancing more than anything, while I love reading. But somehow, we clicked from the first moment we saw each other and have been best friends ever since.

"What about Ben? Won't he feel uncomfortable with a stranger in his house?" I ask after a long pause, biting my tongue. I can't believe I dared to ask about him. But I had to: Spring break begins next week, and he will be home for at least a few days.

The last time I saw Ben was around eight months ago at a dinner party at their house. We exchanged a couple of words, and then he made an excuse and left in the middle of it.

I wonder why he did it. I don’t know if it was because of me or not, but it definitely felt like it.

I felt relieved when he left because talking to Ben has become incredibly hard lately. As if we were never friends before. I feel awkward next to him. I become even shier than usual. And even worse, I feel like I can't breathe properly when he's near.

"Are you serious?" Diana starts laughing. "Hun, he barely comes home! He spends all day at training and comes only to sleep or..." She cuts off the sentence without finishing it.

"Or what?" I ask right away.

"Or get laid," she finally finishes.

Great. Now I’m trying not to picture him naked. Thanks, Di!

"Okay, hmmm..." I clear my throat, sweating. Why does Ben awaken all these feelings in me, even when he's not around? "So...are you sure he's going to be okay with it?"

"Yes, I'm sure! If you don't check yourself into his room for sex, everything's gonna be fine."

"His room for what?" I clarify even though I heard her perfectly.

“Well, it's not like Christian Grey's room or anything like that." She starts laughing. "It’s just the room where he takes girls to spend some... quality time together."

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