A/N: This book is a spin-off/prequel to "Dear Stepbrother". Look out for special appearances and easter eggs for those who love Ryder & Kara's love story. Enjoy ’s lunch, and Taya never even knew their names. There was the tall fat one, the short fat one, and the fat one with glasses, that was how Taya would refer to them."Now get outta here!" Ryder shouted again and the three kids scrambled away."I think you're too much, Ry. You're scaring them off," Taya said to Ryder, her older cousin, and they watched the three kids ran and fell on top of each other."That's the point. This is what you gotta do to bullies. You stand your ground, show them that you're not
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *PRESENT DAYKAUAI, HAWAII* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *TAYA's POV :Essay Question: "What's your story? What are your greatest accomplishments? What are your aspirations for the future?"Your answer: _None. Sorry College App, I have absolutely no stories to tell you.For the past two and a half months, I had been staring at the same set of questions. I had all summer to start writing my college essay, and so far the total word count was zero point pathetic.All my life, I’ve always lived by the rules. I obeyed authorities, I colored inside the lines, and I never got into trouble. So when it was time for me to think for myself and decide what I want to be in the future, I hadn't got a clue. My whole existence had been reduced to nothing but a blank white page.There was an episode on Friends where Rachel said, "All my life, everyone's told me, 'You're a shoe! You're a shoe!' Well, what if I don't want to be a shoe? What if I want to be a purse or a hat?"
TAYA's POV :The full moon party was a party like no other. They got everything from a live DJ to fireworks, to bonfire at the beach, and even private rooms for... you know.This was my very first high school party and I was beyond excited. Little did I know, I was about to learn the three most important rules of partying, and I had to learn them the hard way. Starting with Rule Number 1: Never drink anything they put on the drinks bar.Ryder had warned me not to touch anything, drink anything, take anything, or talk to any guys at the party. But of course, I wasn't taking his advice, because that would practically leave me with nothing to do, while he was off somewhere gallivanting.Now there was a big bowl of what I thought was fruit punch on the table, I was parched and the drink looked mighty refreshing. So I took down a few huge gulps, only to realize later on, those weren't just fruit punch.Fifteen minutes into my first high school party and I already felt like throwing up. Cou
TAYA's POV :"I am the furthest thing away to a Kate Winslet or Claire Danes. I can't possibly do this!" I stated firmly, tossing the script back to Hallee on the cafeteria table."I have faith in you, bestie, you can totally do this," she beamed. "Plus with your whole new blonde look, I could easily have mistaken you for a young Kate Winslet. And did I mention how much I love your hair, by the way, you are slaying it girlfriend!""Get your nose out of my ass, Hal. I'm not doing it," I rolled my eyes at her. "I can't act,""But you're so perfect for the part of Rose,"I sighed and eyed her suspiciously. "Not enough people signed up for the play, huh?"She replied with a sheepish grin."I told you I'm joining the theater club as a stagehand. There's no way I'm gonna be out there on the stage, acting, let alone be the female lead!"My best-friend Hallee had been a theater geek all her life. This year I finally decided to join her and the theater club, since I needed to impress colleges
TAYA's POV :"Well, hey there Blondie, we meet again," he stifled a laughed."I told you not to call me that!" I hissed under my breath, firmly but soft enough so that no one could hear us."Well, I never got your name," he shrugged.Being cheeky are we?"Everyone, we will take a short five minute break, and then we'll start rehearsals when we come back, alright?" Mrs. Zee's booming voice shouted over us all.Everyone started dispersing to different directions and Hallee raced over to us."Hi Judah, welcome to the theater club. I'm Hallee, co-director and writer of the play. And this is Taya, she's going to be playing Rose,""Taya?" he raised an eyebrow and nodded. "That’s a unique name. I like it,""It's Japanese. Her mom's half-Japanese, so—" Hallee was just
TAYA’s POV :Please, don’t tell me Judah saw Blake and me kissing behind the bleachers! Oh god, what if he tells other people? We live in a small town. Ryder’s gonna find out in no time and I’m gonna die!"Hey, how long have you been here?" I said nervously."Long enough," he raised an eyebrow at me playfully.Of course, he’s sneering. Pretending to be unfazed, I strode over and took the seat next to him. He leaned back and threw his gaze up to the sky. He was huffing and puffing smoke like a freaking chimney."Those things will kill you, you know," I commented."We all die in the end,” he replied. “This is just helping to smooth out the process,"I didn't expect that answer at all. What a crazy ass, depressing dude!"Wh
TAYA's POV :Remember when I said that my love life was drier than the Sub-Saharan desert? Well...For the next couple of days, Blake and I were inseparable. We texted nonstop, we met up in secret every chance we got, and we made out, a lot.It had been a full week of secret rendezvous with Blake Harrison now. We did a great job at keeping things a secret too. I didn't even tell Hallee about any of it, when normally I'd tell her everything. This should be some kind of an accomplishment for me.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Today was a Friday, and just like any other ordinary Fridays, the day began with my first period chemistry class. I was in the middle of listening to Mr. Deutsch's boring speech on molecular composition, when I saw Blake's head popped in front of the glass door and mo
TAYA's POV :"Mom, I'm going out! See ya!" I was racing down the staircase in my tight sequin dress and high heels, one wrong step and I'd snowball down the whole thing.I never wore heels before, ever. We lived in Hawaii, so slippers were always my go to. But for last Christmas, mom got me these cute silver heels and I had been saving them for a special occasion— such as this.I didn’t even wait for my mom’s response. I was out of the house within seconds. And as soon as I got out of the house, I spotted Blake's car waiting for me outside. My heart fluttered at the sight."You look really pretty," Blake smiled widely as soon as I got into his Audi."Thanks, you look really pretty too," I replied.He did look amazing. His hair was neatly pushed back, and he was wearing a crisp white shirt and jeans. If Paul Wesley and Robert
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *NEW YORK CITYFOUR YEARS LATER* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *TAYA's POV :"Well?" Hallee came right in, bombarding my personal space as soon as I stepped out of the auditorium lobby.Her eyes were wide, full of hope and expectancy. I gave her a small, sad smile and sighed, "I didn't get in,""Aw, man! Are you serious? I really thought you had it in the bag. I mean, the Juilliard admission was all over you, flying you out to New York City for a damn audition too,""Meh, it's okay. I'll get it next time,"It really was nice of the Juilliard Academy to fly me all the way over here for an audition into their selective conservatory program. A representative of the school saw my graduation piece at UCLA and she loved it so much, she came to me after the show to talk about the possibility of me having a future in New York City — Broadway and all that jazz.I never even thought that something like this would be an option. So of course, I took
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *LOS ANGELES, CASIX MONTHS LATER* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *JUDAH’s POV :Christmas used to mean nothing to me.My mom and I were too busy being in survival mode to care about stupid holidays like that. Plus, we didn't have any money for gifts or holidays. Usually, she’d work through Christmas, and I’d get high and pass it by.But not this year.This year would be our first Christmas together, Blondie and I. We went back to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, as we promised our friends, but we were staying in California for Christmas. Plane tickets were expensive and Blondie wanted to stay here and rehearse anyway. That’s right, my very own Blondie was chosen as the lead role for UCLA’s upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet. That's fucking sick. I'm hella proud of her. The play would open in January, and Blondie would rather spend Christmas break practicing than anything else. Even though the school and the production were on break
GABE’s POV :It all started because of one stupid promise.I promised my friends that I would speak to Maddie before I leave for college. I had a crush on this girl since freshman year of high school, though the number of conversations we had could be counted with one hand.Though my friends had already left for college and I was the last one to go, I couldn’t leave without keeping that promise. But the problem was that Maddie didn't even know I exist. I couldn’t just go to her house and declare my undying love for her. I had to meet her somewhere and I don't know, maybe strike a conversation first?So when I got word that there was gonna be a party at a yacht thrown by Ryder Jake Williams and that Maddie would be there, I thought this must be a sign. Maybe this was the universe’s way of giving me a chance to speak to her.Ryder Jake Williams was actually Taya’s cousin. He was quite well known in this town. He was this surfer hero that all the guys wished they could be and all the gir
RYDER’s POV :“Hey, Ryyy!” Taya screeched as soon as I picked up her Facetime call.“Hey, T, what’s up?” I chuckled.From where I was standing, my cousin sister looked alright. Her skin was glowing and her hair was neatly tied up. Several days had passed since she left Hawaii and I was glad to see her alive and doing well.“Ry, we just saw the article online, congrats on winning the Hawaii Pro. We’re so proud of you!”“Thanks,” I said. “Who’s we?”“Judah and me, of course,” she chirped. She then turned the camera slightly and showed Judah sitting next to her on the couch.“Right,” I snorted. “How are you doing out there? Is everything good? Is he being nice to you? You tell me if he’s doing something sh—”“Everything is great and he is perfect, Ryder,” she cut me off sternly. “We just moved in to our apartment and got our first couch today. Everything’s great here, so don’t you worry about us,”“Geez, stop referring to yourself as we and us. It’s creepy,” I rolled my eyes.“Oh, Ryder,
BLAKE’s POV :“Blake, no!” My mom said rather sternly. She was blocking the door to my dad’s office with her body. “Your father’s not in a good mood right now,” she hissed.“This can’t wait,” I said simply and pushed past inside.“Blake!” she called after me, but I only shut the door behind her.My dad finally came back from his business trip to Nevada. He was gone for weeks. When I heard that he was back tonight, I left the prom right away and went home. I was still in my prom attire as I walked into his office. I yanked my tie open and stepped inside. He was alone, sitting at his desk, and a glass of bourbon was by his side. You could tell a lot about my dad’s condition by his choice of drink. Scotch meant that he was happy, and bourbon meant that he just had a bad deal. He mustn’t be in a good mood right now.“Dad, I have to talk to you,” I said once I stood in front of his desk.“Not now son,” he sighed and tipped his head back. “It’s been a long day,”“It can’t wait, dad,”I had
TAYA’s POV :“Make sure you’ll call right after you land,” Mom said.“And call us when you get to the apartment,” Jenny added.“Don’t sign anything if you’re not ready to sign,” Mom continued.“And call us if they try to—““Ma, stop,” Judah groaned.“We got this, mom,” I said to my mom as well.My mom and Jenny were standing with us in front of the departure gate at the airport. Finally, it was time for Judah and me to leave for California. We got our two big suitcases with us and we were ready to go. Except, mom and Jenny kept trying to hold us from leaving, giving us advice after advice.The two of them exchanged a look and a smile. They had been giving us the same advice over and over again the past week. But like Jesse said, moms will be moms.“You’re right,” mom sighed finally. “I know you two will be fine,”“But please, call us anyway,” Jenny added.“We will,” Judah said as he hugged his mom. “I’ll miss you ma,”“I’ll miss you too, sweetheart,” Jenny started crying as she leaned
TAYA’s POV :We were sitting under a bed full of stars. And they were shining so bring, they looked like diamonds scattered across the Milky Way. I had never seen anything more magical than this. I was completely in awe, but Judah didn’t look so impressed.“What?” I asked him. “You know a better spot than this in Hawaii?”“Of course,” he said.“Where?”He put a hand on the side of my cheek, tilting my face towards his. And with that sexy smile on his face, he aimed for my lips and said, “Right… here,”Oh, that was so smooth.His lips landed on top of mine gently and I tilted my face to the side, allowing for more access. Tightening his grip on my face, Judah deepened the kiss and I kissed him back with the same hunger and passion. Though it was cold out here, my body was burning up. Soft moans escaped my lips and Judah’s tongue slid his way into my mouth. Our tongues met and they tangled breathlessly as warmth and desire overtook our bodies.Pulling away slightly, Judah threw the blan
JUDAH’s POV :* HONK! * HONK! *“Come on, Judah! Rise and shine!”Parked right outside my house, Blondie was beaming and honking the car. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses, a simple tank top, and jeans. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and there were two large cups of iced coffees in the cup holders. This could only mean one thing, she meant business.“Blondie… the sun’s not even out yet!” I protested as I neared the car.Ignoring me, she simply asked, “Did you bring a change of clothes like I told you?”I lifted the duffel bag in my hand. “Yeah, and what are we doing exactly?”“You ask too many questions, Judah,” she rolled her eyes and pushed the car door open, gesturing for me to get in. “Come on, chop-chop, we got places to be!”* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *The next thing I knew, Ed Sheeran was blasting on the radio as Blondie drove us to the highway. The cool breeze was blowing in our hair and the sun was just rising. I was a
TAYA’s POV :- - - - - One Week Later - - - - -“Taya, honey,”This morning, I woke up to my mom’s voice calling after me. I felt the bed dip and I stirred and groaned. I slept pretty late last night because I was binge watching Stranger Things on Netflix.And since I’m not a high school student anymore, aren’t we done with this? “Wake up, sweetie,” she said again when I refused to open my eyes.“Mom, what is it?” I sighed dramatically. “It’s Saturday morning… and I’m not in school anymore!”“I know, but you have company downstairs,” she said.Out of curiosity, I peered my eyes open. “Who?”“Who else,” she smiled knowingly. She leaned down and kissed my forehead, saying, “Oh, and happy birthday, sweetie,”That’s right! It’s my birthday today!Mom didn’t say anything else and she walked out of my room with a naughty smile playing on her face. My body jerked up instinctively. There could only be one person crazy enough to show up unannounced and wake me up at eight in the morning on a