Jessica's Way: May 17, 2013

Jessica:  May 17, 2013

It’s Friday and I have one more final left tomorrow before I’m officially a senior. Most of my housemates have dug in for a night of studying, everyone except Sarah. She's done for the year. Twenty minutes ago, she stood in my doorway wearing her pajamas and mentioned something about having a date tonight. When I called her on her fashion choice, she said, "This is what I'm going to wear." I know she isn’t leaving the house in her PJs. Does she really think that she’s dating that Internet guy? I hope Sarah hasn’t gone blind. She has to see that the guy is a con. Just a couple of months ago, there was that football player in the news who got scammed online by a guy. It’s happening everywhere.

At first, when she told me about Will, I thought that Megan had set it up to get Sarah out of her three and a half year slump, but even Megan wouldn’t take it this far. Then I thought that maybe it was Sarah’s ex, Matt, but he would never put so much effort into it if there was no reward. Or maybe it is him. He could be trying to find a way back into Sarah’s life. I wouldn’t put that past him. Will’s story seems a bit far fetched. Seriously? A movie director’s son? How gullible does he think she is? I'm pretty sure that Matt would never believe Sarah was that stupid.

When Will first started to reveal himself to Sarah, she and I spent a couple of hours searching the Internet looking for something that would match with what he had told her and though he didn’t say his father was famous, he did say his family’s secrets were all over the Internet. Maybe not in those words, but something like that. We found a couple possible leads, but nothing fit perfectly. I can’t imagine anyone would want to hurt Sarah, but I’m not going to believe the Internet guy’s story until I meet him in person and probably not even then. Sarah will figure it out. She’s not one to dive in head first.

Besides, I’m sure Jeff will say something to her tonight. He'll set her straight. He is very protective of his little sister. He’s coming over at eleven. I told him I would be done studying by then. I can’t concentrate with him here. I usually study on my bed and he always finds a way to push my books aside. Once his fingers are skimming across my stomach or trailing along my thigh, I’m a goner. My books end up on the floor and I never get back to them. So I banned him from the house while I’m studying, but when I’m done, he’s welcome. I sleep better with him next to me and a girl needs a good night’s sleep before finals, right?

Paris in LA: May 15, 2013

Paris Borel:  May 15, 2013

I thought about trying to connect with Jonathan Williams. After all, he would definitely be my first choice, but I know that hooking up with him is about as likely as me becoming the governor of California. I ran into him at a charity event once, once in four years. I can still feel his lips pressed against my cheek when he greeted me and he smelled indecently sexy. He was with Mia Thompson then, and I only spoke to him for a couple of minutes before she pulled him away. He and I don’t really travel in the same circles and he has some kind of block on his phone number when he calls. I could contact his publicist, but I won’t. That’s just too desperate for a social call. I have other options I can utilize. I’m not that pathetic.

I’m not patient either. I found Kaleb Gossling’s number on Gerard’s phone when Gerard was passed out on the bed a week ago. All his teammates were in his contacts. I also found not one, but several nude pictures of a girl that he denied sleeping with. It solidified my resolve that he needed a dose of payback and I made the call right from my husband’s phone while he blissfully slept next to me. I figured that Gerard would enjoy that small bit of irony once he cooled off about the affair and it would provide a trail for him to find. The affair would mean nothing if it went unnoticed.

I figured Gossling was the one that would piss off my spouse the most, so I chose him. He wasn’t even surprised when it was me on the line and not Gerard, intrigued maybe, but not surprised. He said he was expecting my call. I know that was a lie. I didn’t even know myself until the opportunity presented itself to me. We made plans to meet for drinks, just to talk, on following evening when I knew Gerard would be out.

I played my part in my short fuchsia dress and more than a few heads turned when I entered the restaurant. He welcomed me as if I was his teammate's wife, but his eyes lingered a little too long in all the right places and I knew I would get what I wanted. He may have known my intentions from the beginning, but he made me spell it out for him anyway. At first, he seemed a bit leery that Gerard was setting him up—that the second he agreed to my proposal I would back out, leaving him frustrated without the proper release. I assured him that Gerard had nothing to do with it, though. I told him that I had always found him eye-catching and was tired of Gerard getting what he wanted while I sat back and watched. It was time for me to get my share, and he bought it. It was the truth for the most part. I wouldn’t have asked him to meet me if I didn’t find him attractive.

We slipped back to his place after a few drinks and I wasn’t disappointed. He definitely had skill. He may not have known my body as well as Gerard or been as attentive, but he made up for it in creativity and enthusiasm.

Sarah's Journal: May 13, 2013

Sarah:  May 13, 2013

Will and I watched a movie together on Friday. I should say, we watched the same movie while we chatted online. I didn’t realize how strange our arrangement sounded until I tried to explain to Jessica why I couldn’t go out with her and Megan. I should have just said that I was studying for finals. I should have been studying for finals. But when Will asked me to watch the movie with him, I knew studying would be pointless. I wouldn't have been able to concentrate. 

Will and I have such a weird relationship. Do we have a relationship? Truthfully, I don’t know. It’s like meeting the perfect guy and obsessing over him for weeks until you finally work up enough courage to tell him how you feel and just as you open your mouth to spill your soul, a gorgeous blonde appears at his side. (Of course, she’s blonde. They’re always blonde.) She introduces herself as his girlfriend, of five years, and they look so perfect together that your stomach starts to heave, disintegrating all your dreams. That never actually happened. I just feel as if my visions of this perfect guy evaporated once I found out where he lives. I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as a perfect guy, but even so, I'm just as doomed as the girl in my daydream. 

He lives so far away. It’s not as if he will move here because of me. He has a job and a life and friends. I have a year left of school and then graduate school after that. I “won’t be able to get a job without graduate school”, according to my parents. Will and I will never get to be together. There is no point in wanting more. Why am I even thinking about him that way? It’s safer if I just put him in the friend zone. I know that. I want to put him in the friend zone. (That’s a lie! I’m such a terrible liar—I can’t even convince myself.)

On Friday, he asked me if I was seeing anyone.

“Seriously or casually?” I asked, trying to gauge where the conversation was headed.

“Either?” he replied. We had talked about our dating history before, but never really spelled out clearly whether either of us was seeing anyone else. Did I say else? Oops.

 “No. Are you?” I said as I agonized over his pending answer. 

His response melted my heart. “Only you.” 

It was the perfect answer. I don’t know why I would expect anything less from him. The whole night was flawless, almost ideal. Except in a perfect world, our date would have ended with our first kiss. 

Copyright 2014 Susan Schussler  

Megan's Blog: May 12, 2013

Megan:  May 12, 2013

The party on Friday was a bust, well, not completely. I did meet an exceptionally devourable hottie named Kellan, but I never met up with Evan’s. I doubt he even showed up to the party at all. His loss.

I’m glad that Jessica came with me. She rarely escapes that boyfriend of hers and she needs to get out from under his reign every once in a while. She’s a different person when Jeff isn't around, a bit wilder, less inhibited. The party started off with beer pong, and I know if Jeff had been there she wouldn't have played. Our opponents were decent looking, one a business major and the other biology. The shorter one, with the beard, had the most gorgeous eyes, bright blue outlined with a ring of brown. He thought that we were an easy target and kept telling us how no girls could defeat him and his buddy. I liked his cockiness, but it just made me more determined to prove him wrong.

Jessica is almost as good at pong as I am and we made a great team. We trashed the guys pretty badly in the first game. Then we completely humiliated them in the second one, when Jessica scored a “bitch cup” shot. As the guy psyched himself up to down his last loss, she bounced the ball off the table, landing it with a splash in the cup he was holding. I think gorgeous eyes was too preoccupied with Jessica's boobs to notice where she was aiming. Funny, the guys didn't want to play a third game—too scared of losing to girls again, I guess, or maybe they were just too drunk.

After a while, I could tell Jessica was getting bored, but she still stuck with me in my search for Evans. That’s more than Alli would have done in the same situation. Alli would have bolted the second the party wasn't meeting her needs. She’s not one to help out a friend if she’s not getting anything out of it. I shouldn't say that. She can be a good wingman, but only when the Gods are smiling and the moon is three-quarters full. Jessica and Sarah, on the other hand, will try to make the best of any situation and Jessica won’t abandon you at a party. If you go with her, you’re going home with her. I used to fight her on it, but she’s saved me more than a few times and I have to respect her resolve to keep her roommates from morning-after regrets.

I got Kellan’s number before we left, so the night wasn't a complete loss.

Jessica's Way: May 11, 2013

Jessica:  May 11, 2013

Boyfriends suck! Last night, at six pm, mine decided that he was going out with the guys. Jeff doesn't meet up with friends that often and I wasn't mad that he was going out with them. He needs guy-time. But why couldn’t he make plans with them a week ago or even the day before? His lack of planning didn't leave me with many options for a Friday night. It's not Jeff's fault—I know planning ahead just isn't in the Y chromosome.

Sometimes I’m sure that I’m in love with him, though. And other times, like last night, I just want to shoot him. Is that love? (According to P!nk it is.)

How am I supposed to know what love is with the role models God gave me? Mom is so neurotic that I’m surprised she can even hold a job, let alone have a relationship. And my dad? His second marriage just ended because he was cheating on his wife with a woman who is the same age as my sister. Really? I can’t even look at him.

At least I know I can trust Jeff to never cheat on me. He’s the opposite of my father. His sister, Sarah, and I have been best friends since middle school and it seems like I've known Jeff most of my cognitive life. He and I are connected. We always have been. And he’s the most honest person I've ever met. Sometimes his morality is really annoying, but at least I can trust him.

Since I was left with no plans last night, I tagged along with Megan to a house party and while she searched and searched, without success, for the mythical guy that had invited her, I chatted it up with a hundred people that I had never met before. Staring across the backyard at the alcohol-induced mating dances before me, I realized that I didn't want to be there. Nothing the strangers said interested me. Every conversation I had with a girl, I had had before, and every guy I talked to couldn't take his eyes off my chest. What a waste of time. I only stayed because of Megan. It’s girl code—don’t let a girl go to a party alone and don’t ever abandon her there. I’m a firm believer in that particular commandment.

Mia's Fabulous World: May 10, 2013

Mia Thompson:  May 10, 2013

I’m going to the club tonight with Kiera. I need some release. Between my mother’s tell-all article and this game that Jonathan is playing, I’m going insane. When I stopped over at his place the other day, he acted surprised that I still knew the gate's security code and still had my key. If he had wanted the key back, he should have asked and security codes should have been changed by now.

I walked in on something—I could tell. He was sitting on the couch typing on his iPad and glanced up with a start when I entered. He scooted sideways, blocking my view of his screen, as I plopped down next to him.

His lips cured up halfheartedly and he finished typing before he spoke. “What’s up, Mia? I didn't realize you still had a...” He started reading and didn't finish his sentence.

“You never asked for it.” I knew he meant the key. “Who are you talking to?” He began typing again and I felt like I was speaking to the air.

“Just gimme a few. I’ll be right back.” He lifted his perfectly sculpted shirtless body off the couch and disappeared into his bedroom, without even glancing up. He was gone for fifteen minutes!

I helped myself to a glass of chardonnay and checked my email, on m phone, as I waited. When he returned his abs were covered with a thin black T-shirt. In my mind, I questioned why he had covered himself. Did he want to go out? I was digging in and had no intention of leaving. He didn't need to pull on clothes for me. I've seen everything he has and I prefer him shirtless. Hell, I prefer him stark-naked. With that image in my brain, I watched as he collapsed in the chair across from me.

“I read Belinda’s tell-all article. She doesn't really believe the crap she’s spewing, does she?” he asked.

“No. I think Mommy Dearest is just seeking funds to upgrade her wire hangers to wooden ones.” I assumed he would get the reference, but added, “She wants a new condo and figured she would use her daughter’s fame to finance it.”

“Was that true about the dress you wore for the premiere of Love Twice? he asked.

“So, I stole some debutante's dress. Kill me. It was gorgeous and it fit me like a glove. The other actress didn't have the body to fill it out. Even the designer’s rep admitted that. He’s the one that offered it to me. He said he would find her a new one. I can’t help that it was the day of the premiere. I was way more visible on the red carpet, next to you, than she was. Why does my mother have to bring that up? She knows how fragile I was back then. It was impossible being thrown into fame like that. I wasn't prepared. I would have done anything to succeed.” Several tears streamed down my face and I wasn't sure if I had put them there or if they were real.

Before I realized it, Jonathan was sitting next to me and I was wiping my tears on his T-shirt. “I've been through this kind of thing before, you know. It will blow over soon,” he said, then made the exasperated sigh he makes when he doesn't know what to do to fix my problems.

“It’s your fault,” I said. I don’t know why I placed blame on him and I regretted it as soon as Jonathan’s arm stiffened behind me.

“I know,” he admitted. “I never should have ruined your life.”

I tried to tell him that he didn't ruin it, he made my life. He made me famous and that's what I wanted. But he completely detached after that and no matter what I said, I couldn't pull him out of the funk he had fallen into.

Blonde Chicks Preferred: May 9, 2013

Liam Nordstom: May 9, 2013 

I hung out at Will’s most of the day yesterday. We killed a few thousand zombies as we hashed over the trip to Austin that we took a few weeks back. Our buddy Chris’s band was playing at what we thought was going to be a club but was really a sixth street bar about the size of my bedroom closet.

In such close quarters, our usual hats and sunglasses disguise proved worthless. Most of the patrons left us alone, though—only a few girls approached. But the music blared too loud to talk and they eventually gave up. Someone must have sent out a tweet, ratting out our whereabouts, because, before we knew it, the tiny bar was packed beyond the fire marshal’s limit and they had to stop alcohol sales until it cleared out. We sat at a table with a music promoter that was scoping out Chris’ band and he gave us passes to another concert for the next night.

When Chris finished playing, we snuck out the back, which was our only escape. The crowd outside the front door was a hundred people thick, and we never would have made it back to the hotel exiting that way. The concert the next night was a bigger venue and easier to blend in. Overall, the trip was laid back and after the first night, we didn't have too much trouble moving around Austin. We visited a guitar store and couple vintage shops, and everyone we met was pretty decent.

Will and I hit Leo’s for dinner after our zombie killing spree and he mentioned that Mia had stopped by the day before. He didn't say much else about her, though. I did get him to fess up about the girl that’s captured his attention. He said she’s a college student who he met online. She doesn't know who he really is and I think that works in her favor.

He was pretty guarded about her, though and he seemed taken in a way I'd never seen before. Will and I have dated more than our share of girls and we know what’s out there. Maybe this will work for him for a while. I’m sure it will change after he reveals himself. The sweetest girls turn into raging lunatics the second they realize you’re a celebrity. I don't have to remind Will that. He knows better than I do, and there is no point in crushing his happiness. Time and the media will take care of that.

Mia's Fabulous World: May 7, 2013

Mia Thompson:  May 7, 2013

It’s been a couple of weeks and I haven’t heard from Jonathan. I thought if I backed off a bit he would come to me, but I haven’t even received a text. A text. That’s not asking much. I don’t know if I should be pissed or worried. He should at least thank me properly for helping him out with the press. Most guys would offer dinner or a day at the spa. I know he paid for dinner when we went out and being seen with him isn't exactly a hardship, but still. I was doing him a favor. Well, I was doing myself a favor too.

Jonathan’s not one to lavish a girl with gifts, though. He thinks it comes off disingenuous. Instead, he would rather make a grand gesture, something more personal. Maybe he’s just waiting for the right moment to ask. After thinking about it, I realized that a friends-with-benefits isn't really Jon’s style. He would more likely want to get back together with me. We are perfect for each other, after all, and he knows it. The press knows it. The fans know it. He’ll probably surprise me in his casual way like it’s no big deal. And I’ll act shocked like I hadn't planted the seed.     

  

On the other hand, maybe I should be worried. There haven’t been any sightings of him in the tabloids since his day at the beach with Nordstrom. Not even the usual coffee shop fan photos and I would know. Even though I don’t cyber stalk him, I still get every one of his articles flagged to my phone notifications. I only track myself, but we are eternally linked together—Mia Thompson and Jonathan Williams, forever one in the press.

I’ll stop by his place and check on him. He probably just needs a push in the right direction. I still have my key.

Sarah's Journal: May 6, 2013

Sarah:  May 6, 2013

I found Will right away last night, on the gossip site. He asked if my Internet was out and it made me feel guilty. I wasn't sure he would notice that I hadn't logged on for three days, though I would have if he had done the same. I didn't want him to know I was avoiding him, but I think he sensed it. He seemed cautious at first but then asked if we could set up a regular meeting time so we could better keep in touch. I agreed. It felt right, almost like he was asking me out.

Since our conversations have always focused on me, I took the lead and I asked him about his missing last name. He gave me an excuse about his family being overexposed in the press. He didn't want me judging him for stories on the internet that wasn't true. I wondered what kind of family lived in the press. Was his dad a serial killer? Or his mom a politician. “So you’re the son of a mob boss?” I asked.

“I wish. At least then I would have the power to snuff out the lying bastards.” His statement seemed too bitter to be a lie.

We switched to a chat room, after that, for a little more privacy. Will was either really creative and a good storyteller, or telling the truth. The way he worded his explanation made me want to believe him. Passion that liars rarely exhibit hung in his every thought and nothing he said contradicted his previous claims. I was looking for inconsistencies. When he told me his father was in the movie business, I wondered what kind of movies. Maybe it was because we were in a chat room that my brain immediately went there, but he squashed my thought like he could read my mind.

“He directs legitimate Hollywood movies, not adult films,” he wrote.

“So you’re one of those trust fund kids that spends all your time at the beach and in the clubs?” I asked, trying to marry the couch potato image, I first had of him, with a snooty Hollywood brat.

“Not me. I don’t enjoy clubbing. The beach, I like, but I don’t get to hang out there much, because I’m always working and I don't live off my parents' money. I work for what I have.” His assurance seemed sincere. From what I've read, most Hollywood brats admit that they don’t work. It’s a status symbol not to have a job.

We chatted for two hours and he answered every question I asked. Sometimes his answers were a bit cryptic, but I figured he would tell me more if we weren't in such a public environment. Besides he is not his parents—none of us are and whatever was going on in the press with them, he couldn't control. 

I always pictured him living down the street, or across the Cities, or at least in the five state area (I could handle that). I never expected him to be from Los Angeles. I didn't even consider it. In that moment, when I learned where he was from, all hope of dating him evaporated. Maybe it’s for the best. Now, I won’t have to worry that he’s using me or that he’s a fraud. We’ll just be friends. He’ll be like one of the girls with a super sexy guy’s point of view. I’m lucky, right?

Damn! I don’t want to just be friends.