Brazen Tricks

  Brazen Tricks

  Book 4 in the Brazen Series

  Ali Dean

  Edited by Leanne Rabessa at Editing Juggernaut

  Cover design by Hang Le

  Copyright © 2020 by Ali Dean

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Epilogue 2

  Sneak Peek

  About the Author

  Also by Ali Dean

  Chapter One

  Jordan

  Jolts of adrenaline shoot through me with each bounce on the trampoline. As I fly higher and higher into the night sky, an odd mixture of fear, anticipation and pure joy pumps around inside of me. A year ago, I would have gotten as much air as possible on this thing without a second thought. Tonight, as the world blurs around me and my stomach flips with the sensation of defying gravity, one thing is clear. No wait, two things. First, I haven’t totally moved on from the crash on the Riptide half pipe last December. And second, I’m definitely not okay with accepting I may never be over it. Nope, my mouth is nearly watering at the idea of catching this kind of air again on my skateboard. Safe inside the netting on the sides of this giant trampoline, I bring my momentum down a bit. I’ve yet to try an invert, or any trick on my board that puts me upside down or high in the air, since the crash. It doesn’t mean that desire to flip my body and see what it’s capable of is gone.

  Without letting myself think twice about the possible consequences if I don’t land this thing, I take one solid bounce into the air and flip my body backward. The people in the backyard turn upside down as I tuck my knees, and then I’m right back to bouncing on my feet. I did it. Sure, it’s on a surface much more forgiving than cement, and I’m not on my skateboard. And sure, I remember doing this same thing on my friend Levi’s trampoline when I was maybe eight years old. But that doesn’t stop me from breaking into a little victory dance to the sounds of my friends cheering.

  Not wanting to stop just yet, I go for a front flip, and when I land that with ease, I find myself bouncing right into a back flip. My friends holler louder and I keep going, front flip straight to back flip. They start to chant my name to the rhythm of my flips, until eventually I realize how ridiculous this is and come to a stop.

  Maybe I felt fear I wouldn’t have a year ago when I first started jumping, but there’s another thing that’s different about me now too. I never would have felt comfortable being the center of attention like I am in this moment. My eyes take in my friends before landing on Beck, and I know it’s not about me. Not really. It’s about having fun and celebrating each other. Beck’s got this satisfied little smile on his face, and I squint at him suspiciously as I unzip the net and get down from the trampoline.

  In three long strides he’s in front of me, acting like I need help getting down when I can easily hop off. I use the opportunity to jump on him instead and wrap my legs around his waist. “You totally had ulterior motives in getting me this trampoline for my birthday, didn’t you?”

  “Ulterior motives? What are you accusing me of, Hotshot?”

  “You wanted me to get the feel of catching big air again and going upside down without the pressure of being on a board.”

  “I wasn’t exactly expecting you to go Olympic gymnast on us within a minute of getting on that thing. My motive was more about making sure you had another incentive to spend time at Jay Beach with me.”

  That makes me roll my eyes. And kiss him. I hear Zora whistle, and remember we’re not alone. Sliding off his body, I grab his hand as we make our way to our friends.

  Coby has his arm around Lucy. “Sorry babe, I didn’t get you a trampoline.”

  She laughs and glances up at him. “I think the custom surfboard was already too much.”

  Lucy and I share the same birthday, though we’re one year apart, with her turning twenty today and me nineteen. We’re at Beck’s house, which we call the Jay Beach house. He won it on Shred Live, the reality TV show we try not to think about too much. It launched Beck to new heights of fame, way beyond his status in the skateboarding world, but to say filming the reality show wasn’t his jam would be a major understatement. Still, Beck going through with it served the original purpose, which was to help his best friend Griffin Perry launch his new skateboarding line. Brazen is one of the hottest brands around right now.

  The house is humongous, and Beck moved in last month with Griff and three other friends, with plenty of room to spare. I live here about half the time too, but my official home base is by Summerside University, where I’ve just started my sophomore year. Well, I’m a little behind to be a real sophomore after taking last semester off and only taking half a course load online instead, but I’m calling myself a sophomore anyway. Along with Lucy, our roommates Zora and Ellie are here tonight too. Actually there are about thirty or forty people here for our joint birthday party, and while some of them are Lucy’s friends from the surfer scene, I know just about everyone.

  “Oh shit,” Ellie mutters beside me. I glance over at her and follow her gaze. It takes me a minute to process what I’m seeing.

  “Is that Felicity Bernstein?”

  “She’s with Sydney. Lucy felt too guilty about not inviting her so she texted her yesterday.”

  “She never texted back. I didn’t think she was coming,” Lucy rushes out. “She hasn’t even spoken to us since that day at the pool.”

  The day she’s referring to was a month ago. Sydney, my roommates’ friend from high school, announced she was transferring from her college in New York to Summerside University. She then suggested I move out so she could have my room in the condo. It didn’t really turn into a fight or anything, pretty sure I never said a word, but when my roommates didn’t give her the response she was expecting, she stormed off. Let’s just say none of them felt a strong need to chase her down over these past few weeks to beg for her forgiveness and friendship. I do think they all reached out to her at some point, but she is – or was, apparently – playing hard to get.

  I would be surprised she drove forty-five minutes from campus for this party without even giving Lucy a heads up. But then again, some of the people here tonight are a big deal in southern California, or in Beck’s case, a big deal in a lot of places. Sydney wants to be a part of that. And if the girl at her side is her new friend, it definitely makes sense why she showed tonight.

  Beck’s hold around my waist tightens. “I take it Sydney doesn’t know that the girl she brought here tonight was stalking and harassing Jordan?” he asks.

  All of us are watching the two bombshell blondes. When they walked onto the deck, they were with Coby’s roommates, Lance and Trip. Those guys know Sydney a little bit from hanging with her earlier in the summer, but they probably don’t know much about Fliss, even if they’ve met her before at a party or something.

  “No, that’s the thing,” Zora
says, her eyes narrowed. “She does know about Fliss. I mean, we talked about the online bullying stuff when she was around and I’m almost certain the name Felicity or Fliss came up.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t stormed over there yet, Zora,” Ellie says.

  “Thinking about it,” she admits. “But I also kind of want to see what the hell they think they’re doing first.”

  Lucy sighs. “Well, I’m the one who invited her. I should go over there. She probably couldn’t resist a good party with hot guys, and brought a friend as a buffer. I doubt she realizes Fliss is also the razzleydazzles Instagram account.”

  The razzleydazzles handle describes herself as “the future Mrs. Griffin Perry.” She harassed me last fall because she thought I was dating Griffin, Beck’s best friend. With Shred Live filming, Beck and I weren’t able to announce our relationship publicly until a couple of weeks ago. Based on a brief encounter at the airport with her, it seems she might still harbor some ill will against me, assuming I dated both Beck and Griff, either playing them or cheating on them or who knows?

  Lucy’s already making her way over there, Coby right behind her. Since none of us want to stand by, and we’re all very curious to hear what Sydney has to say, we follow her.

  I glance around, looking for Griff. He’s skateboarding with Moses, Taylor, and Brie, the others who live at the Jay Beach house. Lennon, who was also on Shred Live and has something going on with Moses, is with them too. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the fact this place has its own private skatepark in the back yard. None of them are paying much attention to what’s happening on the back deck, and Griff hasn’t noticed his stalker has arrived.

  Fliss, on the other hand, isn’t really paying attention to the group of us approaching her. Nope, her eyes are glued on Griff skating. You’d think a real stalker would try to be less obvious, but I guess I have no idea. It’s probably been a while since she’s seen him in person. A shudder ripples through me. Maybe not, if she’s still in the habit of spying on him.

  Lucy’s already greeted Sydney, apparently with nothing too hostile, because Syd is wishing her a happy birthday and giving her a hug. “I hope you don’t mind I brought a friend with me. This is Fliss.”

  Fliss breaks her Griffin Perry trance to turn to us with a big smile. “Hey Lucy! Happy birthday.”

  Lucy doesn’t acknowledge Fliss.

  “Uh, Syd. Fliss was Ellie’s roommate last year. You know we already know her.”

  “But I thought Ellie’s roommate’s name was Felicity.” Sydney does the most dramatic fake-surprised look I’ve ever seen. It’s as if she wants us to know she’s playing us. “Ohhh!” She turns to Fliss. “I totally forgot Fliss is a nickname for Felicity.” She then proceeds to smack her forehead with her palm. “Even better then, you all already know each other. I guess when I mentioned we were going to an old high school friend’s birthday party, I didn’t mention anyone’s names. What a coincidence!”

  “Yes, what a coincidence,” Ellie mutters beside me.

  Zora crosses her arms. “And you remember what else we told you about Ellie’s roommate, don’t you?”

  Before Sydney can do her fake “ohhhh!” routine again, Fliss beats her to it with a high-pitched laugh. “Did Jordan tell you her little theory that I have some Instagram account about being the future Mrs. Griffin Perry? So silly. Of course I have a crush on Griff, especially after we hung out in London and everything this summer, but who wouldn’t, right?” She laughs again, but no one joins her.

  Sydney puts a hand on her hip. “Guys, you know that’s a stupid theory, right? I follow Fliss on social media and it’s not that razzleydazzles account you were talking about. That handle could be any of his millions of followers.”

  I’ll admit, a small part of me, and I’m sure part of everyone here, wonders if that’s true. Without any real proof, there will always be doubt. Whether she’s the one who took photos of me going to Griff and Beck’s apartment last year and threatened me or not, the girl’s behavior when it comes to Griff is definitely odd.

  Beck must agree because he tells her, “Hey, I’m sorry you drove all the way here, but this is my house, and I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Syd crosses her arms. “Lucy invited me. If Fliss has to leave, I’m leaving too.”

  “I know, I’m talking about both of you. This is my girlfriend’s birthday party too. I don’t really want guests who make nearly everyone else here feel uncomfortable. Like I said, I’m sorry.” I lean closer to Beck. He’s not one of those guys who can act like an asshole and not think twice about it. I’ve seen plenty of guys like that, and if they think they’re in the right, being a jerk comes easily. In this case, Beck is in the right. He’s not only sticking up for me, but for Griff too. All of us really. None of us want this kind of drama and if he can kick these girls out of our lives, excellent. But despite all that, Beck doesn’t like being mean or embarrassing people, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.

  Only, neither Syd nor Fliss seems particularly embarrassed. They were expecting this. Now they’ve switched to begging mode. Syd gives Lucy this pitiful pleading look. “Guys, we’ve been best friends for years. Are you really going to let him kick me out?”

  Fliss is already talking before anyone can respond. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here because Sydney is my sorority sister.” I’m confused, because Syd didn’t even go to college here last year. “We had an instant connection when we met at the country club this summer, and then I discovered she was in a different chapter of the same sorority as me in New York. When she transferred, I helped her get accepted with our chapter.” Fliss is getting choked up, for whatever reason, as she talks, but my code red alarm is only getting louder. “I even got her into the house so she can be my roommate. And I was going to have my own room! I’ve taken her under my wing, and I wanted to support her tonight when she came to see you all.” Oh boy, now Fliss is straight up crying. “I just can’t believe you’re treating her like this. If I’d known I’d only make things worse, if I’d known you all believed Jordan’s conspiracy theory about some Instagram thing, I wouldn’t have come.”

  Syd puts an arm around her. “It’s okay Fliss, I should have realized beforehand they’ve all been brainwashed.” Syd’s eyes shoot to me. “Are you going to say anything? Or are you going to let them treat me this way?” Suddenly, I’m the one who kind of feels like crying. Mostly out of sheer confusion.

  I open my mouth to respond, not entirely sure the best way to handle it. But Griffin’s voice booms, silencing me. “What’s going on? How did she get in here?” He’s moving fast toward us from the skatepark, pulling a shirt over his sweat-soaked skin, probably to protect the view from his stalker.

  Fliss starts talking rapidly, repeating a version of the little tear-filled speech she gave us. She’s here to support her newfound sorority sister who wants to reconcile with old friends. She had no idea who the friends were or that it was Beckett Steele’s house.

  “Hey, I’m sorry for the miscommunication. But this is a private birthday party and you’re going to have to leave,” Griff reiterates.

  “But I was invited,” Sydney repeats stubbornly. She might as well stomp her foot for good measure. “Lucy invited me.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you, but you can leave too. Sorry, Lucy,” Griff says in a different tone. “I know it’s your birthday party, but I’m gonna have to kick out your friend here.” Wow, even Mister Charming is playing hardass with these two.

  “It’s fine, it’s your house. And I’m sorry Syd, I don’t really understand what’s going on with you, but I take back my invite.”

  I’m sort of stunned, even though I shouldn’t be at this point, that Syd and Fliss seem determined to hold their ground. Why in the world would they want to stay at this party at this point? But Lance and Trip are already basically pushing them out the door. When Syd passes a table with a few wrapped presents on it, she grabs the sparkly gift bag she walked in
with a moment earlier. “Guess I’ll be keeping this for myself.” She tilts her chin up, grabs Fliss’s hand, and half drags her new bestie away. Lance and Trip follow them through the house, probably making sure they go straight to their car.

  No one says a word as we all soak in the absurdity of what just went down. And when we finally make eye contact with each other and decide on relieved laughter as the best response, I know we’re all hoping like hell that’s the last of those two. I can’t be the only one who highly doubts that’s the end of it.

  Chapter Two

  Beck

  Somehow, we come to a silent agreement to pretend like the Fliss/Sydney encounter never happened. At least for the rest of the night.

  We skateboard, jump on the trampoline, and swim in the pool. Coby brought a cake big enough for three times as many people and we sing happy birthday to Lucy and Jordan.

  As people start to wander off to bed, Jordan throws her arms around my neck. “You know how much I love you, right?”

  I just smile at her in answer. She’s been super affectionate tonight, way more than usual. It’s not that Jordan’s not normally affectionate, but when we’re hanging with friends and there are things like trampolines, skateparks, and pools around, she’s definitely not the type to hang on to me. It’s taken me a while not to be slightly offended, but usually in these situations, she half ignores me. At least, that’s how it was at the beginning of our relationship, those first few months when I was still a student. Ever since I came back from the competition tour, it’s been different.