Chapter Six
Kendall's POV
"What are you doing?" Marina asked me as I let go of her hand. I flicked on the supply closet light and shut the door behind us.
"I'm meeting you here like you asked me. You almost passed right by. I had to grab you," I explained, recalling Marina's oblivious expression a few moments ago as she walked into the lobby.
"I never asked you to meet me here," Marina said.
"Yes you did. You wrote me a letter and slid it under the crib's door, risky by the way, asking to meet in the supply closet so you could talk to me about your feelings for me," I reminded.
"I did not write you that letter, but I want to know who did," Marina began.
"But you signed the letter. Also, weird that you sign personal letters with your full name. You do know that I don't know any other Marina's at the Palmwoods, right? Especially Marina's that might possibly have feelings for me," I said.
"Katie," Marina sighed.
"Katie? What about Katie?" I asked, suddenly feeling a small rush of panic.
"I knew her smile looked familiar," Marina stated. "She's your sister, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is," I confirmed, hesitantly.
"She asked me to sign something for her yesterday. She must've been the one to write the letter. Which then also must mean that she knows about us or at least has some suspicions. And she was such a good liar as well," Marina theorized. "Would she do something like that? Write the letter, I mean?"
"She would. Sorry, I'll leave and go talk to Katie. I swear I haven't told her anything, but I'll make sure she really knows there's nothing between us," I offered.
"Good, thanks," Marina appreciated. "Because there is nothing between us."
"We are not doing this again," I said, feeling the air surrounded us get tighter, almost like it was forcing us together.
"No, of course not. I wasn't even thinking about it. I've forgotten everything. Talking to you now is just an inconvenience at this point," Marina insulted.
"Oh, sorry, I'm an inconvenience for you," I remarked.
"No, oh, I didn't mean that way. You know what I meant, work-wise, that's all. I like hanging out with you. I want to, really, but I can't because of work stuff, you know."
"At this point I don't really think I do," I said. "You make this risk out to be such a big deal, but then you're going about revealing yourself to me, kissing me, going on dates with me. You clearly don't care about it enough to put me out of your mind."
"I've done it so far, haven't I?" Marina questioned.
"For two days!" I scoffed.
"It would've been longer had you not gotten tricked by your seven year old sister," Marina jabbed.
"She's ten," I corrected.
"Still not old enough to trick any smart sixteen year old."
"You know, I'm glad I have an excuse to stay away from you. Because I've had enough of this insanity for a lifetime," I said.
"You and me both," she agreed.
I looked once more into her eyes and then down her body, her shimmery yellow Hawaiian shirt shining in the supply closet burn.
"Why aren't you leaving?" Marina asked me.
"Why aren't you?" I returned, once again feeling the tightness of the air constricting us together. Every part of her pulled me in like gravity.
"Man, I hate you," Marina said.
"I hate you too," I responded, before, for the third time, I must add, we joined together in a kiss.
It continued like that for the next week and a half. Marina and I barely saw each other except for the few times we met in the supply closet, usually being pulled in surprisingly by the other, but neither of us minded. We would just kiss and kiss until our lips got numb, muttering things in between about how much trouble Marina would get into had we been caught. The rest of our time apart was spent texting or emailing each other about funny things going on.
I would send her stories about the shenanigans the guys got into, about how Gustavo treats us, the latest person Katie has scammed out of money. Marina tells me she wished she had more interesting things to tell me, but most of her time is spent either under the radar, or not herself. I try to ask her what her life was like before moving to LA, but most of the time she changes the subject.
Marina had also reminded me to keep my eyes on Katie. I was pretty sure her suspicions have settled and whatever she might've been planning with that fake-out note hadn't worked out for her. Marina's still a little on edge though.
Little did I know, I should've taken her word for it.
Later one evening after arriving back to the crib after another impromptu make-out session with Marina, I was cornered by Katie.
"I know your secret," she began.
"What? What secrets? I don't have any secrets," my voice rose.
"I know about you and Marina," Katie explained as I quickly shoved her into the bathroom, locking the door behind us as the guys were currently on the couch wrapped up in a video game.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied, pressing my ear to the door. Luckily for me, the sound of explosions still rang throughout the apartment.
"You and Marina have met each other in the supply closet every day for the past ten days and you always leave with a goofy grin like you're up to something. And I suspect you were there tonight too. Don't try to deny it or I will tell the guys," Katie threatened.
"Okay, but you have to promise not to tell anyone," I said.
"So, you are dating her?" Katie wondered.
"Well, it's not really dating. More just… meeting," I replied.
"But she has a boyfriend!" Katie shouted.
"SHHHHH!" I hushed, pressing my finger to her mouth. "It's a little more complicated than that. You just have to trust me that if anyone finds out it could result in some serious consequences."
"Because she's cheating on her super famous boyfriend. Did you even think about how this would affect the band? How do you think you're going to be able to sell a single album if you're blamed for breaking up one of the most popular couples amongst your core demographic?" Katie questioned.
"It's not cheating technically," I said.
"What does that mean?" Katie asked.
"Well, it's a bit more complex than this, but basically Marina signed a contract to fake date Reynaldo Vega in exchange for housing and eventual exposure," I explained.
"Why would Reynaldo Vega need a fake girlfriend?"
"Apparently it's to make him more likable and therefore sell more of his music. According to Marina, it's not actually that uncommon in Hollywood. Usually though it's done with two individual celebrities paired up. Marina was weird case of someone who wasn't famous yet," I answered.
"Why?" Katie wondered.
"I don't know. All I know is that what Marina and I are doing isn't technically morally wrong and we're both as happy as we can be. So, I really need you to not tell anyone, especially the guys. They would never forgive me for lying to them about this," I begged.
"Fine," Katie agreed, pushing past me, unlocking the door, and walking out.
Personally, I feel like that was a job well done.
"YOU DID WHAT?" Marina questioned the next day as I informed her what occurred with Katie. "YOU- YOU TOLD HER? How could you?"
"I didn't really have much choice. She already put most of the pieces together," I explained.
"Doesn't matter. All you're supposed to do is deny. You can't tell anyone about us. That is immediately putting both of our careers on the line," Marina reminded.
"Well, I'm sorry. She was threatening to tell the guys if I didn't answer her. And I felt like it would be easier to just come clean."
"Just don't let it happen again. We need to be more careful," Marina said.
"So, you still want to keep doing this?" I asked, pulling her chest into mine, my hands wrapped around her waist. We were standing in the middle of her apartment, both the door and blinds shut despite being on the third floor.
"If you do. I mean, I tried resisting and that only brought me closer. Making out with you seems like the farthest I can get from you," Marina admitted, placing her forehead to my chin as I inhaled her citrus scented head. Her hair was thick and glossy, rolling down to her shoulders in waves. I loved to run my fingers through it during our "meetings." Usually she would come out of the closet with a stray strand suddenly sticking out of place.
"So, what do you suppose we do… to be more careful, I mean?" I asked.
"Well, the supply closet is now off limits. I just don't like the idea of your eleven year old sister knowing where we make out. But we can't go out in public. People might recognize me," Marina began.
"And we can't go to the crib. The guys would get suspicious," I added.
"So, I suppose we'll just have to stay here," Marina offered, looking around her apartment. "It's not like anybody could find us."
"Tomorrow night?" I proposed.
"7," Marina stated.
"It's a date," I confirmed.
"I'll cook," Marina said.
"You just don't want me to cook for you, do you?"
"What could you possibly know how to cook? Chicken nuggets and mac and cheese?" Marina teased.
"You mock me and yet clearly don't understand that chicken nuggets and mac and cheese are the two greatest foods to be invented for human consumption," I said.
"How is it that you're the boy I find irresistible?" Marina questioned.
And instead of responding I just kissed her on the lips.
"Oh, yeah," she sighed once we released. "That's how."
I looked to the clock in Marina's kitchen.
"Oh, crap. I have to meet the guys at the studio. I'll see you tomorrow," I dismissed quickly, kissing her once more.
"See you then," Marina returned, her bright smile reaching its full height. How that sight made my heart soar.