CHAPTER SEVEN: I HAVE A BOYFRIEND?

~Parenting is guidance, not ownership.~

POV: GABRIELLA BROOKS

"Arghhhhhhhh" I screamed out loud finally after continuous internal scolding since that night last weekend.

Everything that happened at the beach party kept replaying in my mind and messing with my head. It was supposed to be a fun party, just me and my friends dancing and having a good time. But of course, things took a turn when he showed up. Kai. Like what the fuck was he doing there? What happened to playing songs and disturbing the neighborhood with it? And just my luck—he and his friends managed to rope my new friends and I into a truth or dare game.

My first ever party did not go as planned and i ended up with the most awkward situation ever.

I regretted raising my hand to be a volunteer when it was Kai's turn even before knowing what the dare was. Sage had the nerve to stab me in the back and said what the dare was.....

Kai had to do a body shot… off me.

I froze for a second, i tried talking Sage out of it but it seemed like my loud mouth only pissed Kai off because he suddenly agreed to do the dare and Lyra was having the time of her life, laughing.

When he leaned in as I lay there on the kitchen counter, everything changed. The eye contact, the way his lips brushed my skin as he licked off the salt—it felt like my blood stopped flowing when his tongue made contact with my skin. My heart was racing, breath hitched and I felt things I didn’t know I could feel. Woman things.

It was the first time i was feeling like that for anyone and I hated it.

I hated how much I felt in that moment. Because that was Kai. My annoying, arrogant, man whore next-door neighbor who lived to get under my skin. He was everything I didn’t want. He was everything that could ruin me. Literally.

So whatever that thing was, that was stirring inside me? I was going to kill it. Because the last thing I needed was to get entangled with that cocky bastard.

I was to visit Sage today at her dorm so we could study, of course studying was just an excuse...I was going there to gossip.

I was already putting on a black sundress so i just wore some white sandals and picked a white bag to match with it. I locked my door and was about to go down the stairs when I spotted Kai, he seemed to have seen me too because he tried to hurry up but I was already running away.

I quickly opened my bag and brought out my key, I tried to open my door but my hands were suddenly shaking and I started regretting not renting a house with a more advanced lock.

"Why are you running away?"

Kai's voice stopped me from assaulting the key hole any further and I turned to look at him, I was blown away by how good he looked. His hair was all over his face and his blue eyes pierced into mine, he was out of breath which must be due to how fast he ran up those stairs to catch up with me.

Sexy motherfucker.

"And who said I was running away?" I asked back in return, my voice dripping in sass.

"Seriously?" Kai raised an eyebrow. "You've been avoiding me all week and....

"Hold up...." I cut him off immediately. "I'm not avoiding you, why would i avoid you? You must really be so full of yourself" I scoffed and expected him to retort with similar energy but he was unexpectedly calm.

"Briella i really don't want to banter words with you right now"

Why was he so calm? What happened to scowling and insulting me?

"You don't want to banter words with me right now which means you would do so later right?" I concluded with my hands akimbo.

"No, you are getting me totally wrong." Kai sighed and rubbed his forehead.

What's all this?

"I don't know whatever it is you are trying to do but let me put it out there that I wasn't avoiding you." I lied like a pro. Only God knew how much i avoided Kai like a plague the whole week.

"Exactly cause I was thinking maybe you were being purposely out of sight because of what went down last Saturday. But then...it now makes sense, you have a boyfriend so that thing last Saturday probably meant nothing, right?" He rapped and it took a minute for everything he said to register in my head.

Why did it seem like he was seeking my confirmation? Like he needed me to agree.

Wait....I have a boyfriend?

"I'm sorry...what boyfriend are you talking about?"

"The guy from the party, the one who kissed you on the forehead. I think he came looking for you here, some weeks ago. Isn't he your boyfriend?" Kai had confusion written all over his face and I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

It was so funny to me that anyone would think Collins and I were dating, do we come off to others like that?

"Eww...that's my cousin collins. Kai.....

The loud notification sound from my phone cut me off and I opened my bag to bring out my phone. I checked the message that was sent and my eyes almost bulged out of their socket.

Mama❤

Hey baby, your Dad and i are thirty minutes

away from your dorm, I know you miss us.

Sent 12:36pm

"No no no no no......this can't be happening" I went into panic mode because I knew I was done for.

How the hell was it month end already?Somebody save me!

"Hey calm down, what's going on?" Kai closed in on me as he asked, his oud cologne hitting my nose.

Same cologne he used that night at the party.

"What's wrong? You are scaring me." He asked again and i realized I must have looked stupid staring at him without a word.

"My parents are coming to visit."

"Then you should be happy, I me........

"No you don't understand, I don't even know how to start explaining." I started panicking and I felt like crying. "My parents, they don't know I live off campus, they think I live in the dorms. They don't know I have a tattoo, they don't know I get my lashes done now, they don't know I curled my hair, they don't know i attend...i...i...

I could feel the tears threatening to spill but I held back, there was no way i was going to start crying over a small issue. I hated how overwhelmed I was feeling at the moment and worst? In front of Kai. Maybe I should just go back to my room, turn off my phone and pray for my parents to go back if they can't reach me.

Hell, I knew they won't. If I didn't show up today and they find out from the school management that I wasn't staying at the dorms, they sure as well would go to the police and report me missing.

Why? Because the daughter they trained and impacted with all the good values would never disobey them and live off campus. They would rather believe I was missing.

"Take a deep breath and calm down, we can find a way t.....

"Fix it? How are you going to fix it? They are just thirty freaking minutes away from the.....

"Do you have anyone who stays in the Dormitory?" Kai asked cutting me off.

Anyone? Sage obviously.

"I do, Sage stays there." I replied trying to know where the whole thing was going.

"Perfect, message her and tell her to clean up her room and maybe tell her roommate to play along." Kai said with a smile on his face, flashing his perfect set of white teeth.

Or are those veneers? Why was he even smiling at me?

"What do you mean play along?" I still wasn't getting the plot.

"Sage's room is going to be your's for today. Her roommate is going to be your roommate, and you are going to tell your parents Sage is a classmate who came to study with you." He explained and I was dumbfounded.

How did he come up with that? What in the genius is that?

"Oh my God! That is such a genius idea, thank you Kai, let me go change so I could start going, they would arrive anytime soon."

"You are welcome." He smiled again charming me completely. "I could drop you off when you are done changing."

Who is this and what have you done with Kai?

"Why are you being so nice? It's scary." I openly told him and he giggled lightly. "We are gonna have this conversation later, but for now, bye."

I unlocked my door and ran straight to my room, I applied some vaseline to my lashes so that i could take it off easily. While I was waiting for the vaseline to do it's job, I began brushing my hair out and made sure there was no curls left before putting it up into a messy bun. I finally removed the lashes and went to wash my face in the bathroom.

I was so happy that I took my nails off yesterday.

I pulled out some of my old clothes from my closet and decided to wear a basic white top and black ankle length skirt. The same white sandals I was wearing earlier would go well with the fit so I didn't bother looking for any other footwear. I moisturized my face and applied sunscreen then decided to take a look at myself in the mirror before leaving.

Damn

It's been so long I looked like this.

I felt weird looking at my reflection, that wasn't Briella, that was the daughter of Mr and Mrs Brooks. It felt like my aura and steeze went down a milestone.

"This isn't me." I cried out to myself. "It's just for today, I can do this."

I took in a deep breath and went back outside only to meet Kai resting his back against his door, flexing all his muscles as he tapped gently on his phone. He seemed to have noticed me because he looked away from his phone and had all his focus on me. Kai's face morphed into one of mockery, as if seeing me was so amusing.

"I remember this Briella." He burst into laughter as he moved away from the door.

The audacity of this boy!

"I already feel bad wearing this so please don't make it worse"

"Why would you feel bad? You look great in these. You just look different and remind me of when I first saw you. Your long skirt was so hilarious back then." He started laughing again and I was fighting back a smile. His laughter was so contagious.

"I don't have your time, just take me to the dorms, but I'll have you know that you are very mean."

"I'm not....

"Let's go...we have less than twenty minutes now."

"Of course." He did the motion of zipping his mouth and then pointed to the stairs as if telling me to lead the way.

I shook my head and went down the stairs with him following closely behind me.

Maybe...Just maybe...Kai wasn't that bad.