Page 6 of Hotter in the Hamptons

Finally, Aly looked at her, sending a little jolt through Lola’s whole body when their eyes met. “I tend to feel like the plant-milk situation has gotten out of hand. I mean, do we really need to be milking oats?”

Lola laughed. “I love oat milk.”

“Of course you do,” Aly said.

Lola didn’t how to take that.

They stared at each other for a few moments. Lola felt her heart skipping around in her chest. She wasn’t sure why she was freaking out so badly. She’d done plenty of press.

“So, Lola. This is a profile, okay? I want to get to know you.”

“Okay.” Lola smiled nervously. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

Aly laughed. “Sorry,” she said, and by the way she said it, Lola had the odd and surprising thought that Aly might actually be nervous too. But before she could consider this further, Aly said, in a voice so professional she sounded like she should be on the radio, “You were one of the first fashion bloggers to turn your Instagram account into a multimillion-dollar business. What made you want to become an influencer in the first place?”

Lola noted Aly’s tone shift with a small smile.We can both do that, she thought before reciting her own mantra:Pause. Breathe. You are Lola Likes. Act like it.

“Content creator,” Lola corrected and ignored Aly’s barely concealed eye roll. Her Professional Influencer Mode flipped back on. “It started in college. I got really into thrifting and repurposing clothes. I started buying used clothes and giving them a second life. I became kind of known for it. People would constantly stop me and ask about my outfits.” She paused, wondering if she was going too far back in her own lore, but Aly was listening and appeared to be rapt. “Then I met Ryan in class, and he convinced me to start a blog about it, which is how Lola Likes was born. I had a few series—Lola Likes, Lola Loves, Lola Hates— which were all pretty much what they sound like. Then I did Lola Loots, which were basically haul videos, and Lola Listens, where I answered questions. Eventually it made more sense to do all that on an Instagram account versus keeping the blog going. I thinkmy first big tutorial to go viral was how to turn your Target T-shirt into the Row.”

Aly raised an eyebrow. “Howdoyou turn a Target T-shirt into the Row?”

“You’ll just have to watch my video.” Lola winked, a little awkwardly. Her foot hit something soft under the table, and Aly flinched. “Oh, fuck, sorry. Did I just kick you?”

“You did,” Aly said, a flicker of humor in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” Lola groaned, her mind scrambling for the composure she had moments ago. “I don’t know where I begin and end sometimes.”

To her surprise, Aly laughed. She had a nice laugh, a warm sound deep from her belly. Lola liked the sound, but more than that, she liked knowing she had caused it. Like she was winning at some undefinable game.

“Go on, though,” Aly said. “You were telling me how you got your start.”

Lola moved her foot away from Aly, though under the small table, there were only a few inches between them. Maybe she was losing it, but she was almost certain she could feel heat radiating off Aly’s leg. She took a breath, struggling to find the thread of what she’d been saying. “Okay, yeah, anyway, things kind of took off from that first viral video.”

“Say more,” Aly urged. “What did it look like when it took off?”

“Well, I started getting invited to actual runway shows. I went from being a fashion outsider to someone who was welcomed on the inside. Then came the spon-con, the brand deals, and the real, actual income. I didn’t even have to get a full-time job when I graduated. Not that this isn’t a full-time job—it’s basically twenty-four seven, but you know what I mean. I was never a W-2 girlie or whatever. So to answeryour question, I wouldn’t say I ever set out to be a content creator, but I had content I was creating, and people liked it, so…yeah. That’s how it happened.”

“A W-2 girlie,” Aly repeated and wrote something down in her notebook. “So now instead of telling people how to make things look like the Row, you’re just…” She paused, catching Lola’s eye. “Wearing the Row.”

Lola winced. “It sounds much less fun when you put it like that. But yeah. Now I get the Row for free.”

“So how would you describe your style now?”

“Bohemian chic,” Lola said, her stock answer.

“Yeah?” Aly said, not buying it. “What does that mean?”

“Um,” Lola said. She did not know how to answer. Whatwasher style? What was the name of the style ofFree Everything All the Time? Beyond wearing the latest trends before their release, she didn’t know what made her style any different from anyone else’s. She gestured to her ruffly dress. “It means I look like this.”

Aly checked her notes, and Lola had the sudden sinking feeling that she had somehow disappointed her. She pasted on her most accessible smile as Aly looked back up. “Tell me about your personal life. The people you spend most of your time with. The person in the video with you—Ryan Anderson, the fashion publicist? That’s the Ryan you mentioned meeting in college?”

Lola nodded. “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“And your boyfriend?”

“Yeah, Justin,” she replied, though for some reason, it bothered her that Aly knew she had a boyfriend. “He’s a pediatric oncologist.”

“How’d you meet?”

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