Behind Closed Doors (3 page)

The people that were gathered in the kitchen looked up at me as soon as I entered the room.

One of the girls smiled brightly at me and called me over to where they were drinking champagne and talking.

“Hey, another arrival, come join us.”

“Hey, I’m Kyla.” I held out my hand to her.

“We’re all family here,” she laughed and took me into a warm embrace. The top of her head fell level with the bottom of my chin. “I’m Emily,” she said.

Although small in height, she made up for it with her warm and inviting personality. I liked her immediately.

“Hey Kyla,” an attractive guy sitting at the breakfast bar held his hand out to me.

“Don’t worry, I wont hug you,” he grinned and a dimple appeared in each cheek.

There was something about the way he greeted me that puzzled me. It was as if we already knew each other and he was greeting an old friend. I wondered if I’d met him at the rehearsals, but I couldn’t quite place him.

“I’m Marc, by the way,” he added as an afterthought. The name didn’t ring a bell and I was almost certain that I would have remembered him if we had met before. He had a charmingly handsome and very memorable face.

I introduced myself to the rest of the contestants before taking a seat next to Marc at the bench. My nerves had settled as I realized my fellow contestants were actually nice people and not snobbish divas, as I feared they would be.

“Here, have a champagne,” Marc handed me a full glass and I smiled at him in response.

“Where are you from?” I asked Marc.

“Chicago,” he replied.

“How about yourself?” he asked, taking a swig of his drink.

“Seattle.”

He nodded, acknowledging my response while his eyes scanned my face and settled on my lips. I fidgeted with my hands in my lap nervously, looking for an out.

“Have you guys looked around upstairs?” I questioned.

“It’s the first thing I did. I wanted dibs on the best bed.” Emily told me.

I was eager to see the sleeping arrangements, still a little uneasy about sharing my personal space with others. Growing up as an only child, I never had to share my room or belongings with anyone else. In my present life, I was by no means a loner, but I was content with my own company and enjoyed my alone time.

“Come with me, we’ll find you a bed in my room.” Emily grabbed my hand and led me to a staircase located at the back of the dining area. 

Upstairs there were six bedrooms nicely decked out with modern furnishings that looked brand new. The single beds caught my attention straightaway.

“Feels a little like a school camp,” I said to Emily as she showed me to the bed she had picked.

“I know, right,” she smiled.

She had chosen a bedroom with four beds spaced evenly throughout and a bathroom attached to the side. The room felt homey with plush carpet covering the floor and a large bay window took up the majority of the far left wall.

“Why don’t you take that bed?” Emily pointed to the bed in the corner, next to the bay window. I nodded and put my handbag on the end of the bed, assuming that was enough to reserve the space as my own.

I walked to the window and pulled back the curtain, taking in the view of the front yard and the long, winding driveway. The meticulously landscaped gardens were picture perfect, almost as if they jumped out from the cover of a gardening magazine. I left the curtain open and walked over to my bed, sitting on the edge and bouncing once to test the mattress. Although it was small, the linen was soft, molding to my body as I settled on top of the covers.

“Rosa is staying in here too, so there is only one spare bed left. We have to make sure another girl moves in here, my boyfriend will freak if he finds out I’m sleeping in the same room as another guy.”

Emily was very chatty and obviously not shy at all.

“What about you, Kyla, do you have a boyfriend?” Emily asked, as she took another sip of her champagne.

“No,” I stated a little too bluntly. The look that crossed Emily’s face confirmed my tone had been harsh. “Not at the moment,” I softened.

Emily scrolled through her phone before standing and walking over to my bed.

“This is Noah,” she handed me her phone proudly.

The guy in the picture was cute with sandy blonde hair and striking blue eyes. I scrolled to the next picture, which was of Noah holding Emily to his side. Emily had on a blue halter dress that highlighted her tanned complexion and set off her dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She barely reached his shoulder, but despite the height difference, they looked as though they suited one another.

I smiled as I handed the phone back to her. “You look really cute together.”

“Thanks.” She threw the phone over to her bed. “We’ve been together for eight years. Since I was eighteen.”

“Wow. True love, huh?” I asked, genuinely interested in getting to know Emily.

“I think so. He’s stuck with me now anyway. I miss him like crazy and it’s only been six hours.”

I laughed at her admission. “Where are you from?” I asked.

“Portland. How about yourself?”

“Seattle. We’re practically neighbors.”

“It’s like we’re meant to be friends.” Emily commented as she sat cross-legged on my bed.

It turned out Emily came from a huge Italian family and she worked in her father’s construction business, managing the books, but she had always loved to sing. She had been chosen as the last member of Pixie’s team and was excited about the prospect of becoming famous.

“I’m telling you, if Noah doesn’t propose to me once this is all over, I might run off with the first bad boy musician that looks twice at me.”

Yep, it was safe to say I liked Emily from the very first moment I met her.

We stayed there, in the bedroom for over an hour, talking about everything from boys, to music, to life back at home.

I was pleasantly surprised at how my first day in the house was panning out and I was honestly getting excited to begin the next chapter of my life.

After what felt like hours of talking and getting to know one another, Emily and I joined our new housemates downstairs. The party had moved outside where some of the guys were already in the pool, messing around and play fighting like ten-year-old boys. For guys, it seemed it was second nature to go from introductions to instant friends. For me, it had always taken a lot longer to form friendships. That was something I vowed to work on, especially since I was sharing a house with twenty strangers.

I walked onto the deck and I was taken aback by the view of the vibrant green hills that seemed to roll on forever. The sun was setting on the horizon, which cast an orange glow over the yard. The warmth of the night made the water look inviting, but I wasn’t comfortable enough to get in my bikini just yet.

I walked over to the outside bar that sat on the far corner of the deck. It was filled with spirits, beers and different wines from around the world. I was impressed with the vast selection on offer and finally settled on a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. The sweet aroma was like heaven on my taste buds after the bitter taste of too much champagne.

One of the guys, Yuri, came up by my side and startled me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” he said as he grabbed a beer from the cooler.

Yuri had moved to Houston from Russia when he was ten. His accent was a mix of harsh Russian with laid-back Southern charm. Listening to him speak was pleasant, to say the least. I could tell he would be popular on the show. The girls would love his ash blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

I made my way across the deck and joined my new roommates, Emily and Rosa, where they sat around a large wooden table, watching the guys in the pool. Emily was easy to spend time with and there was never a break in conversation when she was around.

Rosa was far more reserved and hesitant to open up to outsiders, but she was becoming chattier as the evening went on. She told me about her three-year-old daughter named Lily. Rosa was such a doting mother and this was the first time she had been away from her baby for a long period. Her fiancé was at home looking after Lily and she came into the competition wanting to follow her dream while providing a promising future for her family. I admired her for that, but I could see the wistful look on her face whenever she spoke of her family.

“Hey girls, I think I have found our last roommate,” Emily pointed to the girl standing by her side.

“This is Regan. Regan, meet Rosa and Kyla, your new roomies.” We welcomed Regan to sit down and she shyly took a seat next to me as she sipped on her can of soda. She had mousy blonde hair that fell halfway down her back. Her face was pale and she had a gorgeous scattering of freckles spread over her nose and on to her cheeks. Her face was free of any makeup bar some colorless lip-gloss. She looked to be barely a teenager. Her gray eyes glanced from Rosa to me, and then back to Rosa again.

“How old are you, Regan?” Rosa asked, placing her wine onto the glass tabletop.

“Sixteen,” Regan responded shyly.

“You are just a baby girl. Stay with me, I’ll look after you.”

 Rosa’s motherly instinct kicked in and I was happy that Regan might distract her from missing her baby, if only for a little while.

Two girls sauntered over to us, placing their drinks on the table.

“Hi ladies,” the taller of the two announced. “I’m Victoria and this is Laura.”

We all introduced ourselves and then struggled to get a word in as Victoria talked about herself. She told us she was a fashion major from New York. Her dark blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her face was plastered with makeup. Her dark brown eye shadow and bright coral lipstick seemed a little overdone for a pool party. She was wearing a white chiffon dress, which seemed more bridal than casual, but something told me she liked to show off her size zero figure. Her offsider, Laura, was equally as formal. Wearing a black baby-doll dress with her dark brown hair straightened and falling perfectly around her slim face. Her makeup was less obvious with a golden eye shadow, but she donned the same hideous coral lipstick as Victoria.

“He is just so yummy,” Victoria announced as she watched the boys in the pool. “What do you girls think?”

“Think of who?” Emily asked and I could detect annoyance in her voice.

“Marc, the tall blonde guy with the incredible body, isn’t he hot?” Victoria glanced at us with a grin on her face.

There was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way.

“He’s okay, I guess,” Emily responded.

“He’s more than okay,” Victoria announced and Laura giggled. “You have to admit he’s the best looking guy here?” she persisted.

She looked in my direction and I shrugged my shoulders. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something told me I couldn’t trust Victoria. It was as though she was baiting us and I wasn’t going to partake in her games.

“These girls are a bore. There’s room for us in the jacuzzi. Let’s go.” Victoria said to Laura, ensuring we all heard her charming proclamation that we were boring.

Both girls stood and strutted off toward the jacuzzi.

“Well that was…” Emily paused trying to find a word to describe our encounter, she settled with “different.”

“They were just showing off,” Rosa said as she drained her wine.

“I am going up to the room to call my baby girl, I’ve already had too much to drink,” Rosa stood, a little unstable on her feet.

“You want to bring your stuff up to the room?” Rosa asked Regan, who nodded as she followed Rosa inside.

“How hard would that be?” Emily whispered to me. “Sixteen and moving in with… this!” Emily pointed at the festivities going on in the jacuzzi.

I spotted Marc in the tub, wedged between Laura and Victoria. He looked uncomfortable. Moments later, he stood and climbed out of the jacuzzi, grabbing his towel from a nearby chair and running it over his chest.

I had to agree with Victoria, he had a great body. He continued to dry himself off as he walked toward Emily and I.

“Enjoying the view?” Marc smirked at me as he caught me watching him. I tore my eyes away and focused on the wine glass I held in my hand. He wrapped the towel around his waist and put a t-shirt on, covering his ripped body.

“No, don’t cover up,” Emily teased and I realized I wasn’t the only one enjoying the show. Marc chuckled and shook his head as he walked toward the bar area.

“You ladies okay for a drink?”  Marc asked as he took a beer from the cooler and immediately uncapped it.

“Bring over another bottle of white wine,” Emily shouted as she drained her glass.

“No, we’ve had enough.” I was definitely tipsy and didn’t want to start our first day in the competition with a hangover.

“Come on, just one more,” Emily pleaded. It was too late to oblige, Marc was already filling my glass.

He took a seat between Emily and me, casually leaning back in his chair and taking in his surroundings. He was at least six feet tall and had dark blonde hair that he wore messy and spiked. His shoulders were broad and he looked as though he worked out often. His standout feature could have easily been his gorgeous blue eyes, but it was his smile that stood out to me. He had perfect full lips and when he smiled, a dimple appeared in each cheek.

He reminded me of the football jock from those teenage movies. You know, the one who is always dating the hot cheerleader? When he entered a room, the girls certainly took notice, but he seemed oblivious to the attention.

“Have fun in the tub with Vicky did you?” Emily teased as Marc took a long swig of his beer. The way the two of them joked around was as if they’d known each other a lot longer than a couple of hours.

“She’s full on isn’t she?” Marc looked stunned.

“She’s got her sights set on you buddy. Watch out,” Emily announced playfully.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Marc sat his beer on the table and focused on me. I noticed him look at my left hand and then his eyes settled on my face.

“So, Kyla, are you seeing anyone?” Emily almost choked on her wine as soon as the question left Marc’s lips. She was grinning at me widely and I wanted to kick her under the table, but she out of my reach.