Sugar and Spice_ An L.A. Candy Novel - Lauren Conrad [30]
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 déjà 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 button-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 pronounced Will-sher, not Will-shire.”
“God, 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 fiancé, 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