Documentary (17 page)

             
“I’m so glad you guys are coming!” Dylan said excitedly.

“Oooh! Well since you and Kai are
just
‘co-workers,’ I can definitely introduce you to our friend, Blake. He lives down there. We’re staying with him, me and Dette and some other people.” Jamie walked to the desk and shifted her laptop toward her slightly. After logging into her Facebook account, she pulled up a photo from one of her albums. “It’s this guy’s house. He’s cute, right?” It was a picture of Jamie in a pool with several other people, and she tapped her finger over the image of a guy with a shaved head.

“These are some of my friends who’ll probably be in Miami too.”
Jamie pointed at each person. “Blake, Lisa, Jer—”

             
“That’s Jeremy Bunyan,” Dylan said, part statement, part question. She touched the image of the guy with his arm around Blake’s neck. She recognized his face immediately, even though the photo was probably several years old. His blond hair was a lot longer then and he was leaner than he was currently.

             
“Mmhmm. Yup. The one and only. He hasn’t been around obviously because of…you know…the alley thing.” Jamie stood upright. “Soo…” She got quiet until Dylan looked up. “Did Kai talk about that whole situation yet?”

             
Dylan shook her head, realizing that Kai was keeping the details of his fight with Jeremy from both Jamie and Leko. She didn’t understand how Nina expected her to get Kai to talk to her about something that he wasn’t even talking to his good friends about.

“He’s being weird.” Jamie released a defeated sigh and leaned down again. “Anyway, that’s Naylaini, you already know Kai, Darby, Crystal. That’s Erica. We don’t really talk anymore. She probably won’t come—”

              “Kai’s Erica,” Dylan blurted out. It was the same girl she had seen in the photo on the website on Kate’s phone. Jamie raised her eyebrows before diving back into her bed.

             
“I guess you could call her that. She was his publicist and his friend, and she was
my
friend, too. All of our friend.”

             
“When we were in L.A., he went to see her. She called him when we were at the Lava Surf party, and he just…
went
,” Dylan explained. She hoped Jamie would provide some insight into the nature of Kai and Erica’s relationship. She chomped on her lip nervously and looked down at her own folded hands for a few seconds.

             
“She called him? What do you mean he just
went
? He left the party?” Jamie looked stunned and more awake than she had since Dylan walked into the room. “Did he say how she was? I haven’t heard from or seen her in months.” Dylan heard the mattress springs adjust as Jamie sat up with her eyes full of concern.

             
Dylan shook her head. “I didn’t ask. But he did go to wherever she was.”

             
“I still don’t get it. I reached out, but…” Jamie’s voice trailed off. “She kind of just stopped talking to all of us. I tried to find out if something happened, and no one knew. I know she works for
Razorwire
now because I read all her articles, and that’s all I know.” Jamie’s voice cracked as if something inside of her had actually broken. The unknown reason for the end of the friendship had hurt her. Still was hurting her. “She cut all of us off. He’s never said they were back in contact.”

             
“He seemed really caught off guard.” Dylan was unsure what to think. Kai was keeping even more secrets from Jamie. “Hey…were they ever…?” Dylan couldn’t help asking. She dropped her gaze and stared at her hands again without completing the question.

             
“Together? Like a couple? They were close, and maybe closer than a girl would want her boyfriend to be with a girl who wasn’t her, but I never saw anything and they always said they weren’t. Her fiancé, Bryson, never got jealous. There were rumors all in the tabloids that they were having this super intense affair. It would be intense, of course, because Kai tends to love hard. Breakups mess him up, and he was messed up after Erica left. I had never seen him like that before. But anyway, they always denied they were together to the tabloids. We all used to joke about it, even Bryson, but we never took it seriously. The craziest thing I heard—I really shouldn’t read that shit because they’re my friends—was that she was pregnant with his kid and that’s why she quit or was fired. And that she and Kai signed a non-disclosure agreement stating that she couldn’t come forward with the information for ten years as long as he paid child support.”

             
The explanation made Dylan’s thoughts clump together. Her head was spinning, and a grim feeling settled in her stomach. Dylan rubbed the front of her forehead. She hadn’t been sheltered growing up. Tons of people had kids young and before they got married. She had gone to high school with a few who had four-year-olds now. And she wasn’t completely averse to dating a guy with a kid, but not at twenty; that situation was beyond her readiness. She also felt sick at the thought of a guy keeping his kid a secret, especially after the girl’s life had changed so much. No, Kai was better than that…
wasn’t he?
He was. A guy who had lost both his mother and father wouldn’t do that to another kid.

Jamie held her hands up suddenly in what seemed like an attempt to save Kai in Dylan’s mind. “Whoa. It’s not true. It was just something people wrote to explain why she left
so suddenly. Complete crap,” she said quickly, looking guilty. “He’s too good of a friend to be keeping something like that from me...I think.” Dylan saw in Jamie’s eyes the fear that the seeds of the rumor would fall too far down into Dylan’s mind to pluck out. “Stupid story. Anyway, I miss her so much though, and I hope she’s okay.”

             
Dylan pitched herself to her feet. She needed a break from this conversation. “I should go. I bet it’ll be a long day.”

Are you okay, hon?”

The air in Dylan’s chest knotted, and sadness hung just below the surface. She
really
didn’t want to talk about Kai and Erica anymore. “Just worried about the project.” Dylan held a tight smile as she pretended that she didn’t know what Jamie was referring to. “Shouldn’t take me long to get the hang of using this camera.” Jamie could take a hint, she thought.

Jamie’s gaze was hooked onto her as she backed toward the door. “If work gets
too hectic
, and you need to talk, give me a call, okay?” Jamie said, scanning her with a knowing, thoughtful look. “I do some wedding photography during the break since so many people are here getting married over the holidays, but my cell is on.”

Dy
lan appreciated that and she smiled. “I should be fine, but I’ll give you a call.” She shoved the camcorder into her tote and walked out into the hallway. Odette’s door was closed so she continued to the deck. She took the trail down the mountain to the paved walkway along the beach. Along the way, Dylan stopped, feeling compelled to stare at the outlying mountains that appeared to be sitting over the ocean.
And the ocean.
It glimmered like a million diamonds were waiting beneath. She even loved how the waves shattered on the jagged rocks. Did anyone ever get used to this? People had claimed spots on the sand, and the ocean was peppered with brave surfers, but the rougher waves alone decided who the victors were. Kai’s house was situated past a split in the path that went down the beach and also continued as a private walkway for the houses.

His
house was easy to spot from the path; it was the one with the crowded deck and security hanging around. The drinks were already flowing, and music was echoing in the air. Girls in bathing suits were dancing lazily near the deck railing. Her nerves went into a tizzy when she veered toward the property. She made a pledge not to contribute to any awkwardness with Kai, and she hoped he was willing to do the same. Dylan snagged all the stares but got a pleasant greeting when she climbed the steps of the deck. The deck was much wider than Jamie’s, with plenty of seating, a grill and a hot tub big enough for
six
people, apparently. Leko was in it, with his lips firm against those of a black-haired girl.
Probably not his girlfriend
, Dylan thought, laughing quietly. She didn’t bother to try to wave. Part of her hated that Kai wasn’t out there, and she felt a corkscrew of jealousy twist in her chest.
I bet he and Tiffany are still inside in bed or the shower.

There were people everywhere, and the noise was at party decibels, but the adjacent houses were identical in sound, so Dylan assumed no one really cared. It was Christmas break, and this part of the beach was probably all rented properties occupied by a younger demographic. The guy on the grill waved his tongs and beckoned her. A sloppy ponytail held his
dark brown hair up away from his face, except for a few pieces falling down around his ears. He was shirtless but wearing a red apron. She suddenly remembered him from the party.

“Dylan.” He flipped one of the burgers, and for a few seconds, it sizzled intensely.

Dylan lifted her hands to her hips, and her eyebrows came together. “How’d you know?”

             
“You looked really scared when you came up here,” he said, as laughter floated into his voice. “And Kai told us you were coming.” He dropped the tongs onto the handle bar of the grill before wiping his hand on the tail of the apron. “I’m Seth Ribisi, but everyone calls me Ribsy due to an unfortunate mispronunciation of my name that never went away. Kai’s my roommate.”

             
Dylan extended her hand and repeated his name in her head. There were so many people to remember. “Well, you already know who I am, but it’s really nice to meet you, Ribsy.”

             
“I’m glad it’s nice ‘cause you’ll be seeing a lot of me. Odette is my girlfriend-slash-warden. She forgot to introduce us last night.” Ribsy shook her hand, squeezing it a little. “Kai’s in his room. It’s the one without the passed out guy. That would be Micah, roommate number three. Just keep looking.” Then he lifted his chin at the grill. “Want one? You’re from California or something, right? You’re not a vegetarian or anything, right? We only cook things that once had a face here.”

             
Dylan touched her chest and felt the vibration of her laughter. “I’m definitely okay with that. If Kai wants to hang out here a little while, I’d love one. Plus, I think it would be nice to film some of the people who know him for the web series.” She displayed the camcorder.

             
“Cool with me. Come back and get your burger.”

             
“Will do.” Dylan nodded and walked into the house through the sliding glass door. The place was tidy and quieter than the deck, which was surprising for a popular party house. It was huge but modestly decorated. Watercolor surf art hung on the walls, there was a surfboard rack near the front door and two framed Evernight album covers above a desk. The desk had a hutch with plenty of photos. Most were of Kai and Ribsy and another guy she assumed rounded out the roommate trio, but many were of Kai and Erica, too.

Someone in the kitchen poked a head out from around the wall, and tension cinched up Dylan’s shoulders when they locked eyes.

Friends – Chapter 10

Dylan rallied a bright smile for Tiffany, but her heart sank into the depths of her gut. She wasn’t in the outfit from last night, just an enormous t-shirt and little else. The only conclusion Dylan could draw was the most obvious, and it made her want to go into full catfight mode. Tiffany had slept there. She had suspected as much last night, but the reality was like stepping barefoot on a pushpin.

Tiffany was so startled to see her she spat out the water from her glass. “Oh my God, Dylan!” she said. Her purported excitement didn’t match her expression. She was uncomfortable, although Dylan couldn’t determine if it was embarrassment f
rom pretty much being in her skivvies or because Dylan was there. Tiffany flashed a rigid smile, and her grip tightened on the glass. “What are you doing here?”

Dylan tucked her hair behind her ear, smiled kindly, and approached her. “Kai and I are working on a
film project for his website. I was supposed to meet him here this morning.” As soon as she said it, she regretted it, fearing Tiffany would motion at the bedroom door and, in an alluring drawl, state that they had just finished up in there. But before Tiffany could speak, Leko stepped inside, trailed by an intoxicated man. The guy stumbled over the slight change in height between the deck and the inside of the house.

“Get the fuck out, dude,” Leko growled over his shoulder, and droplets of water sprinkled the floor from his body. “Every time you’re over here,
somebody complains about you. I heard Shay ask you to leave her alone.” Leko was seething and his forearms pulsed when he squeezed his fists.

“Lek…” the man slurred. He tried to catch his balance on the back of a dining chair, but it couldn’t hold his weight and both smashed to the ground. A door swung open and Kai stepped out. He walked down the hall, brushing his teeth. He was shirtless, just in board shorts, his hair was wet, and he made it impossible for Dylan to focus on anything else. No Internet photo had truly captured the glory of his body.
It had been laboriously chiseled to perfection from working out, and his shorts were hanging so low, she could see the beginnings of the V-shaped muscles that continued below the waist. The most revered sculptor would’ve resented not creating that muscle definition. Suddenly, she imagined her tongue gliding over the crests of his abdominals and working her way down. Dylan was biting her lip before she realized it.