Sugar And Spice Part 7

"O-kay. Are we subject-surfing now?"

"I was reading this magazine in the waiting room. There was a picture of you and Jane leaving some restaurant with two dudes."

Uh-oh. "Um, don't you remember?" she said casually. "That was the dinner you bailed on because you were meeting some director. Those 'two dudes' are Caleb and Naveen. Janie and I went to high school with them."

"Oh . . . right."

"I told you about it. Naveen's the one who goes to UCLA. I told him you went there, too."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, sweetie. Just forgot."

"Anyway, I haven't seen the picture, but you know those stupid photographers. They love to take something totally innocent and make it look like something totally scandalous."

"Yeah, I know. I guess this means you don't have a secret boyfriend, then."

"Nah. I can only handle one secret boyfriend at a time," Scarlett joked. She reached over and kissed his cheek, then his ear, then let her lips trail down his neck.

Liam grinned. "If you don't stop that, I'm going to crash the car."

"Mmm, whatever."

"Okay, I'm stopping the car right now."

As Liam put the car in park and pulled Scarlett into his arms, kissing her, she felt a little bad that she still hadn't told him the whole story about Naveen. But maybe she had missed her window of opportunity? Liam had just asked her about Naveen, and she had just told him there was nothing going on (which was true), and if she brought up the Hendry's Beach incident (which was ancient history) . . . well, it might sound like a bigger deal than it was. Better to leave that story where it belonged: in the past.

Chapter 11.

Boys

Jane sat at the bar of Dominic's, twirling the cherry around her Dirty Shirley and staring absentmindedly at the Dodgers game on TV. Caleb was meeting her at six, and she was early. Which was good, because it gave her some time to sort out her thoughts. She felt more scattered than usual lately, with everything happening at work, on the show, and with all the boys she'd sworn to take a break from (but hadn't).

Like Caleb. What was she doing, meeting him for a drink? He had texted her this afternoon, asking if she was free tonight, and she had replied yes without thinking. She'd told herself later that it was just a drink, no biggie, and that she would go home afterward, alone, so she could take a long, hot bubble bath and turn in early in preparation for two work events over the weekend and a business trip to Las Vegas on Monday. She hadn't seen Caleb since dinner with him, Naveen, and Scarlett two Fridays ago, although they had talked on the phone and IM'd. Unfortunately, he had managed to get on Trevor's radar, probably because of those tabloid pictures from STK-Trevor had asked Jane about him and whether or not they were "reconnecting" these days, which translated into "can we send cameras to get some footage of you flirting (or more) with your very attractive ex-boyfriend?" Jane had no interest in dragging poor Caleb into the wonderful world of reality TV, so she would hold Trevor off for as long as possible.

As for Braden . . . she'd gotten a couple of friendly (just friendly-friendly-not romantic-friendly) emails from him since he left for his shoot in Banff. Their night together had been amazing-they'd made out and watched silly movies on cable and fallen asleep in each other's arms, and woken up at 6 a.m. so he could pack for his trip and race off to LAX. Their good-bye had been short and sweet, with no what does this all mean? or where do we go from here? a.n.a.lysis. As always with Braden, it was all unspoken . . . below the surface . . . and so incredibly complicated.

Of course, since then, Jane often found herself wondering: What did this all mean, and where were they going from here? Willow seemed to be out of the picture, finally. But there was still the show to worry about. Braden hated being part of that universe, and Jane couldn't figure out how to date someone who couldn't (or wouldn't) be on the show. Sure, Scarlett was managing somehow with Liam. But Jane knew it wasn't easy for them.

Jane liked Braden. Really, really liked him. She wasn't sure how Braden felt about her, though. And even if he really, really liked her back, was a relationship in their cards as long as she was on L.A. Candy? Probably not. Of course, her current contract was up after Season 2. And after that . . . well, maybe she would be ready to take a break, especially for a guy as awesome as Braden? (Unless that awesome guy didn't feel the same way about her . . . but would she ever know?) And then there was Boy #3, Jesse. Jane had taken Trevor's words to heart and actually called Jesse, leaving him a message: Hey, Jesse, it's me. I wanted to talk to you about something kinda important. Can you call me when you get this? But she hadn't heard back from him. Of course it had only been a couple of days, but still . . . she wondered if Trevor was wrong, after all, and that she had little or no clout with Jesse these days. Clearly, he had moved on. Or was he too perpetually wasted to check his messages?

"Jane!"

Janie glanced up and saw Caleb heading toward her, smiling and waving. She had a fleeting sensation of deja vu: senior year, the two of them having dinner on a Friday night at their favorite pizza place in Santa Barbara. Except then, he wasn't wearing a black b.u.t.ton-down shirt and she wasn't wearing an LBD that cost more than her entire high school wardrobe put together. Some things had definitely changed, but somehow, being around Caleb was as great as it had been in high school.

Caleb squeezed her arm and kissed her on the cheek. His lips brushed so close to her lips that she could smell the peppermint on his breath. She pulled back instinctively and picked up her drink, trying to distract herself from the sudden racing of her heart. Why did he have this effect on her? Especially since she had just been daydreaming about Braden, not Caleb?

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Caleb said, sitting down. "I'll never get used to driving around L.A. I was on Wilshire going in the wrong direction for, like, ten miles before I figured it out."

"Yeah, I've done that, too. No worries. And it's p.r.o.nounced Will-sher, not Will-shire."

"G.o.d, you've turned into a native. So what's the score?" He glanced at the TV set.

"Um . . . we're the blue-and-white ones, right?"

Caleb laughed. "Uh, yeah."

"I think we're winning, then."

"Awesome. I'm getting myself a beer. You good?"

"I'm good."

Back when they were dating, Caleb had spent a lot of time watching sports, and Jane had spent a lot of time watching Caleb watching sports. She wasn't a big fan-she still didn't know the difference between an RBI and an ERA-but it used to be fun cuddling on the couch and eating wings with him while he yelled at the TV screen. Even now, the only thing she knew about the Dodgers was that their star pitcher and Aja's fiance, Miguel Velasquez, was super-cute.

Caleb finally put in his order and turned back to gaze at her. "It's really nice to see you. You look . . . incredible."

"Thanks." Jane took a sip of her drink, turning her face away so he wouldn't see her blush. "So, how are things going?"

"Great. I love L.A., and I love my job. I know it sounds cheesy, but building houses for people who can't afford them is really gratifying."

"That's so cool. And you don't miss school?"

"I kind of do. But I chose this, you know? I can go back this fall if I want, or even next spring, and my advisor says they're going to give me academic credit for my time with Habitat Builders."

"That's awesome!"

"Yeah."

The bartender set a beer down in front of Caleb. He took a long sip, then said, "Enough about me. How are you? That night at dinner, you said things were kinda stressful at work?"

"Yeah, well." Jane began playing with her hair. She didn't feel like going into the details of these two last awful weeks with Madison in the office. Every day brought some new drama, and Madison was always picking a fight with her-on camera, of course. She had tried to talk to Trevor about it, but he had been completely unhelpful. He'd even managed to make her feel ashamed, like she was an ungrateful, snotty little kid who wasn't getting her way. Maybe after Aja's party, it might be time to start looking for another event-planning job?

"I'm handling it," Jane told Caleb after a moment. "Sort of. I mean, I'm trying to take the high road, you know? Just because, um, other people are being jerks doesn't mean I have to be."

"That's not always easy," Caleb said. "Hey, you know what I do when other people are being jerks? I act really nice to them. It totally messes with their heads."

Jane laughed. "Kill them with kindness, huh? You would do something like that."

"Yeah? What's that supposed to mean?" Caleb leaned toward her, b.u.mping her playfully. The contact felt warm and familiar, and Jane didn't move away. Was the vodka going to her head?

"I didn't mean it like that," Jane said. "I just meant, you always know how to handle stuff in a funny, positive way. When people are jerks to me, I get all worked up and want to start throwing things. But I don't. I just get really quiet and angry inside."

"Yeah, I remember," Caleb said, rolling his eyes.

Jane punched his arm. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just messing with you, Janie. Besides, I used to like it when you got angry, because then we got to make up afterward." Caleb reached for her hand. "Remember?"

Jane remembered, but was not about to stroll down that memory lane. Luckily, her cell rang, which gave her an excuse to extricate her hand from Caleb's hand-reluctantly, because it was kind of nice, having him flirt with her like this. Wow, the vodka was going to her head, and she was only on her first drink.

She glanced at her phone. DIEGO NERI CALLING. D! D was one of the first people she and Scarlett met in L.A. Jane hadn't seen much of him lately due to her crazy schedule, although he'd come to the season premiere party and they'd gone to a fun new club afterward. She missed him.

"Do you mind if I get this?" Jane asked Caleb. "It'll just be a sec."

"Yeah, of course," Caleb said, turning to watch the game on TV.

Jane swiveled around on her bar stool and hit Talk. "Hey, D!"

"Miss Jane!" D sounded hysterical. Of course, he always sounded somewhat hysterical. "I'm soooo glad you picked up!"

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Your lover is not. Sorry, ex-lover. I thought you should know-he's in the hospital."

Jane's chest tightened. "What happened? Braden . . . is he . . ."

"No, not Braden, you adorable little s.l.u.t! Jesse. He was in a car accident. He was driving drunk on the freeway. I got a tip from one of my sources, and I just confirmed it. He's at Cedars-Sinai."

"OhmiG.o.d!"

Caleb touched Jane's shoulder and whispered, "Is everything okay?" Jane held up a finger, to indicate that she'd explain in a moment.

"That boy was asking for it, ya know?" D was saying. "I know that's a b.i.t.c.hy thing to say at a time like this. But the way he's been partying these past few months . . ."

Jane thought about the message she'd left on Jesse's voice mail. Guess it didn't do any good for her to reach out. Or maybe she should have made that call way sooner?

"When did this happen? How bad is he? Was anyone else injured?" she asked D. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying silently that Jesse hadn't hurt other people.

"He smashed into the center divider and there wasn't much traffic, so no one else got hurt," D replied. "I guess the accident happened this morning? He was admitted but he's not in ICU, so that's good news, right?"

"I've got to go see him. You said St. Vincent's?"

"Cedars-Sinai, sweetie."

"Thanks."

Jane ended the call and turned to Caleb. "I'm so sorry, but I've gotta go. My friend was in a car accident, and-"

"I kinda figured. I'm driving you to the hospital."

"No, I'm okay, I can-"

Caleb stood up and put his hand on her elbow, at the same time tossing some bills on the bar. "No arguments. You're too upset right now to be driving anywhere."

Jane wasn't sure what to expect when she reached Jesse's private room at the hospital. She'd managed to avoid the paparazzi outside, thanks to Caleb, who had arranged for a hospital resident friend of Naveen's to sneak them through a side entrance. Caleb was now sitting in a lounge, watching the end of the Dodgers game. He'd told Jane to take all the time she needed. He was being so sweet and helpful; she was really glad he had insisted on coming along.

Jane paused outside Jesse's door and knocked lightly. A nurse opened it a moment later. "Yes?"

"I'm here to . . . I'm a friend of Jesse's, and I was wondering if I could see him?" Jane said.

"I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to let anyone in this room."

"It's fine, I know her," came Jesse's voice from inside the room, so quiet that it was barely recognizable.

The nurse nodded and moved aside to let Jane in, then left, closing the door behind her. Jane stood there for a second, trying to get her bearings in the small, depressing room.

Jesse was lying in a narrow bed, his left arm hooked up to an IV line. His face and what she could see of his body were covered with purple bruises, gauze bandages, and blots of brown iodine. His right eye was puffy and swollen, as though he'd been in a fistfight.

"Hey, Jane." He sounded so weak.

"Jesse." She went to his side. "Are you all right? How do you feel? What did the doctors say?"

"That I'm an idiot," Jesse joked wanly.

"Yeah, well, you are." Jane reached over and squeezed his hand. He winced in pain. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"That's okay. Everything kinda hurts right now. No broken bones, though, so that's good, right?"

"Right."

Jesse stared at her, his light brown eyes full of sadness. Jane hadn't seen him in nearly two months, since he sort-of crashed a Valentine's Day party at the Thompson Hotel that she'd organized for one of Fiona's top clients. Jane had broken up with him the week before, after he had gotten wasted and abusive one too many times.

She tried to remember what it felt like to be in love with him. She tried to remember what it felt like to be America's "It" couple, photographed at the most glamorous restaurants and clubs in Hollywood. She tried to remember what it felt like the night he gave her a beautiful silver bracelet, with a heart-shaped charm inscribed JESSE + JANE 4EVER.

But at the moment, all she could remember were the bad times, like being home alone at 3 a.m., wondering if he was pa.s.sed out in a bar somewhere . . . or with another girl . . . or behind the wheel of a car. The bracelet, which had felt so special at the time, was gathering dust in a drawer she had for c.r.a.p she didn't need anymore but couldn't bring herself to throw away.

"So . . . what happened?" Jane asked.

Jesse shrugged. "Same old stupid bulls.h.i.t. I had too much to drink, and the next thing I know, my Rover's practically flipping over on the freeway. No one got hurt," he added quickly. "Except, uh, yours truly."

"You're lucky it wasn't way worse."

"Yeah. I know." Jesse took a deep breath. "Listen. I'm glad you're here because I've been wanting to . . . anyway, I can't even begin to apologize for everything I put you through. I know I was an a.s.shole, and you were totally right to break up with me. The thing is . . . this accident was a major wake-up call, and I'm gonna get help. I'm going to change. And I was wondering . . . well . . ." He hesitated, and his fingers curled around hers. "Do you think I still have a chance with you?"

Jane looked away. What was she supposed to say? There was no way in a million years she would ever get back together with him. She had learned her lesson about him-about all guys like him-the hard way.

But what if Trevor was right? What if she needed to tell Jesse what he wanted to hear so he could be motivated to get help? What if making Jesse think he had a chance with her was the only way to get him back on track?