***
“UCLA, please,” Todd told the cab driver.
The cab had picked them up just outside Aunt Marcy’s gated neighborhood. Jill felt the same thrill she’d experienced when she skipped SRT and hid in the coaches’ lounge with Todd last year. Just as she’d been then, she was once again reminded of the way Brady and Brooke used to look at each other before Brady started dating Lorylyn, like the two of them shared exhilarating, sexy secrets. More than anything, Jill wanted to look at Todd and have the same electricity pass between them that passed between Brady and Brooke. She loved every little taste of that feeling she could seize when she was with him, and she was very much feeling it tonight.
The cab driver dropped them off on a corner of Sunset Boulevard by a big UCLA stone that had a ledge where people could sit. As they climbed out of the cab, Jill looked across the street and gasped.
“Oh my gosh, look! It’s the Hotel Bel-Air!” She pointed. Across Sunset from where they stood, neon green letters forming the hotel’s name in thin cursive rose into the black sky. They must have been on a sign, but all Jill could see was the letters. They floated over the street, looking tropical and glamorous at the same time. Jill couldn’t see the hotel itself, but she figured it must be right down that road. “That’s so cool!” she said to an unimpressed Todd, then laughed. “Sorry.”
“It’s cool, I guess I just don’t get that excited about famous hotels,” he said with a grin. “Or famous streets.” Jill had been thrilled every time they’d driven on Sunset Boulevard this week. “Come on, let’s go check out the campus.”
They wandered for what seemed like an hour or so, walking slowly and wondering what different buildings might be. They saw one Jill thought must be the Union because it had a large open area in front of it, like the Union at DBU.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Todd said. “I bet they have more than one Union here anyway.”
Jill loved watching all the college students walking across campus at night. She wondered what college was like and envied these people a little because they knew. Some students walked alone, with backpacks and headphones on, and others walked in groups, probably headed to or home from parties. This campus was so much bigger than DBU’s, and Jill loved it. She decided right then and there she was going to a big school.
“Hey!” two guys shouted from several yards away as they passed Jill and Todd. Jill thought they sounded drunk. “There’s a party at Canyon Point. You guys should come!”
“Wanna go?” Todd asked Jill.
She considered a moment. “No, not really. We don’t even know where it is.”
“We can follow them.”
“Yeah...I just don’t really want to. Sorry. I’m not really in the mood. This is fun, though. I’d rather just keep walking, if that’s cool.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
A few minutes later they passed the stadium and realized they were back by where they’d started.
“Hey,” Jill said suddenly. “How are we gonna get back home?!” She looked at Todd in panic. “How will we call a cab?!”
Todd stopped, hands in his pockets, and looked around. “Well, shit. There’s gotta be a building unlocked or something, with a payphone inside. Come on.” He hurried back in the direction they’d just come.
Jill hurried after him. “Wait! How will you know the number?”
“Well, let’s hope there’s a phonebook or something.”
They walked quickly back to the building Jill had thought was the Union. Todd led the way through the wide open circular plaza in front of it. The first set of doors they approached had a huge dark sign over it declaring UCLA Store.
“Come on, let’s try another one.” Todd grabbed Jill’s arm and led her to a set of about ten steps. He bolted up them two at a time and approached another set of doors.
“Look!” Jill pointed as they passed a large column at the top of the steps. Ackerman Union was spelled out in thin letters on the column. “See, I was right! It’s the Union!” She grinned triumphantly.
“Sweet. It should be unlocked then.” Todd pulled on the door, and to Jill’s relief, it opened. She didn’t know what they would do if they couldn’t find a payphone. She was starting to feel like they needed to get back soon; she was worried her parents would catch them.
“Here we go,” Todd said, approaching a payphone. Underneath the phone sat a thick phonebook. Todd held it up with a smile, and Jill smiled back.
Todd dug some change out of his pocket and dialed the number for the same cab company he’d called before. “We’re at UCLA,” he said. “Um...pick us up at the corner of Sunset?” He looked back at Jill and she nodded. “Yeah, the corner of Sunset, like by the sign for the Bel-Air Hotel.”
“The Hotel Bel-Air,” Jill corrected as he hung up.
“Ten minutes,” he said.
“This was fun,” Jill said as they left the Union and walked slowly back to the edge of campus. “Good idea.”
“I always have good ideas. You’re so lucky to have such a cool friend like me.”
Jill giggled. “Oh, whatever. You’re so full of yourself!”
“Well, wouldn’t you be? I mean, shit. I’m hot, smart, funny, a star athlete...how could I not be full of myself?” His tone was careless and arrogant.
Jill laughed and shoved him as hard as she could. “Please. You’re like, a wannabe surfer who makes bad jokes and just takes advanced classes to be around me, and you’ll probably get cut from basketball. That’s why you don’t wanna play, not ‘cause you’d rather focus on baseball.” She smiled up at him in the dark, hoping he didn’t take her teasing the wrong way.
Todd made a loud sobbing noise and brought his hand to his face, acting as if he were wiping away tears. “Thanks a lot. I see how it is. Glad to know how you really feel.”
“Oh, shut up, Todd.” Jill leaned into him, nudging him with her shoulder. She caught herself just as she started to add, You know I love you. It was what he always said to her, yet she didn’t feel quite comfortable saying it to him, because it was true. When he said it, he was most likely just joking, or he at least didn’t mean it in the same way she’d mean it...
They sat on the bench of the big UCLA stone to wait for the cab. It was a warm night, and the air felt a little bit like it always did on Florida nights, moist and thick and alive with the promise of palm trees and beaches and sunny days.
“Where to?” the cab driver asked as they climbed into the backseat.
“The beach,” Todd said.
Jill’s head flew around and she looked at him with wide eyes. He grinned.
“Which beach?” the driver asked.
“Um, whatever’s closest.”
“Todd, we’ve gotta go back. My mom’s gonna kill me!”
“Oh, please...she’ll never know. Come on, Jill, this whole week’s been depressing. Let’s have some fun.”
Jill hesitated, but she already knew what she’d say. “Okay.” When she was with Todd, there was really no other answer.
***
The sand here was brown, not white like the sand on Fort Myers Beach. It was harder too. They walked slowly along by the water, letting the tide lap at their feet.
“It’s kinda cold out here,” Jill said, folding her arms across her chest and rubbing them to keep warm.
“Yeah, it’s a tad bit nipply,” Todd said, and Jill giggled.
They walked in silence for a while, then Todd stopped and faced her with his hands in his pockets. “Jill, what you said the other day, about me wishing I hadn’t come or whatever, I really hope you know that’s not true.” He watched her, waiting for a reaction.
Jill slumped her shoulders. “I know. I shouldn’t have said it. I feel bad. It was so nice of you to come, and I know it was your idea and you wanted to. I just didn’t want you to be bored here, and I know you didn’t know anybody and stuff...” She trailed off, knowing she was rambling. She felt like she wasn’t really saying what she wanted to say, but she wa
sn’t sure how to get her feelings across.
“Don’t feel bad. It’s cool. I’ve actually had a pretty good time. I hope you have too, even though it’s been kind of a bummer ‘cause of your aunt and all.”
“I have. I really have. It would’ve sucked if you didn’t come. Thanks, Todd.” She gazed up at him, suddenly overwhelmed by this moment they were sharing and her feelings for him. She almost felt like she was going to cry.
“Come here, Jilly.” Todd looked off above her head as he reached out for her, grabbing her around the neck and pulling her close. She stood in his arms silently, her hands smashed between their bodies so that she was unable to hug him back.
This is so romantic, she thought to herself. Me and Todd, on the beach, at night...she couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Todd held her for a long moment, then finally let go. “Come on, we’d better get back,” he said. “I saw a payphone up by the pier when we first got here.”
“All right,” Jill said, still feeling like she might cry, but filled with happiness at the same time. This was definitely a night she’d remember forever.
***
“Grandma, can I ask you something?” Jill asked the next afternoon. Todd was out at the pool, and Jill had been on her way out to join him, but first she had to ask the question that had been bothering her all week.
“Sure, honey.” Her grandma was sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich.
“What was your and Aunt Marcy’s fight about?”
Her grandma’s eyes fell to her plate, and she sighed. “Well…before I met Grandpa, I had a boyfriend all through high school. His name was Edward. I called him Eddie. Then he went away to college and I stayed home, but we stayed together, and right before he left, he proposed to me.” Her eyes had a faraway look.
Jill looked at her in surprise. She hadn’t known her grandma had been engaged before Grandpa.
“Anyway, the next Christmas, he was supposed to come home, but he never did; he’d been invited to go to New York City with some friends from school, and before the Christmas vacation was over, he’d broken off our engagement. I guess after experiencing the big city, he didn’t want to come back to plain old me. So I was devastated, of course, until I finally met Grandpa. But still, I never really got over Eddie. He was my first love. I think you can understand that.” Her grandma flashed her eyes knowingly in the direction of the backyard, and Jill quickly looked down at the table.
“Well, I never heard from him again, but I guess Marcy did. Well, she actually ran into him. He did really well for himself and they were both living the high life out here. But she never told me. Instead…she moved in with him.”
“WHAT?!” Jill cried. “She moved in with him? With your ex-fiancé?” She couldn’t believe it. That was horrible.
“Yep, she sure did. For ten years. And I never had any idea. Since she had so much money, she kept her own house, this one, and whenever I’d come out to visit, she’d move back in here for a couple weeks and act like she’d lived here all along.”
“Oh my gosh.” Jill was in shock. How could Aunt Marcy have done that? She’d always seemed so nice…and she’d done it to her own sister?!
Jill’s thoughts flashed to what her grandma had implied about Todd being her first love, and she suddenly felt that her grandma’s choice to shut Marcy out of her life had been completely justified. If Hillary ever moved in with Todd or even hooked up with him behind Jill’s back….Why did I think Hillary? Jill suddenly wondered. Probably because she’s stabbed me in the back before….It made her shudder just to think about Hillary and Todd. She was so glad Hillary had a boyfriend so she wouldn’t have to worry about that.
“So she just told you about it a few years ago, then?” Jill asked.
“Yes, and you know what? I think it was because she knew she had Alzheimer’s. As soon as I heard that’s what she died from, I knew. She knew she had it and didn’t want to tell us, but she was afraid she’d start to forget things, and that was her way of coming clean before she forgot completely or lost control of her memories and blurted it out without even knowing what she was saying.”
“So you…forgive her now?” Jill couldn’t even imagine forgiving a betrayal that huge.
“Yes, I do. I ended up going on to have a very happy and fulfilling marriage. I love Grandpa, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. If I’d still been with Eddie, I probably would’ve ended up in California, and I hate it here. I wouldn’t have been happy. And your dad wouldn’t have ever been born, so neither would you. And other than that one thing, Marcy was the best sister I could’ve asked for. And there must’ve really been something between them. I mean, they were together for twice as long as Eddie and I were.”
“Yeah, I guess…” Jill still could hardly comprehend the scope of Marcy’s betrayal, and just the thought of Todd being with one of her friends for ten years, or even one year, or of him having something better or deeper with one of them than what he had with her, wrenched her stomach and twisted it into knots.
“I guess it’s just that now I’m able to see the big picture,” her grandma said, and her look told Jill she knew exactly what Jill was thinking. “But that’s much harder to do at your age. So you just need to make the most of every moment you have. Don’t hold back, or you’ll regret it later when you’ve lost your chance.” She glanced toward the backyard again, and Jill followed her gaze. “Why are you still sitting here?” her grandma asked with a small smile. “Don’t you have somewhere else you’d rather be?”
Jill smiled back as she gathered her towel and stood up. “I guess so.” Her smile widened. “Thanks, Grandma. I’m sorry about Eddie.”
“I’m not. Go have some fun with your boy. He’s very cute, by the way.”
Now Jill grinned. “I know!” She looked back over her shoulder as she ran to the door, her eyes sparkling and the smile still in place. She hesitated a moment, feeling like there was something else she wanted to say, something that would be profound and meaningful and let her grandma know she had understood the deepness of their conversation, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was, so she opened the door and rushed out into the bright California sun to enjoy her last day here with Todd.
chapter 6) landon’s… landon and brady’s birthday party
“Where are you going?” Brady asked, reaching out for Brooke as she climbed out of her bed.
She stepped out of his reach with a smile. “I’ve gotta get ready.”
“It’s only 5:30.”
“I know, but Lindy’s coming at six. She had a tennis lesson in Logan, so she’s stopping by to pick me up on her way back, then I’m just gonna go to her house with her while she gets ready. Don’t you have to go pick up Lorylyn anyway?” Brooke looked at him in the mirror as she tied her red swimsuit top around her neck.
“Yeah, I guess I could head over there early.” Brady stretched and yawned, then returned to his prior position, making no move to get out of bed.
“How’s it going with her?” Brooke asked casually, brushing her long brown hair up into a high ponytail. She watched his face in the mirror.
His expression didn’t change. “It’s great,” he said easily.
“That’s good,” Brooke said with a cold smile, but Brady didn’t notice. He was looking around her room.
“Damn, I never noticed how many movie posters you have in here. Where’d you get all those?”
“I actually just got them all a couple weeks ago. From Matt. ‘Cause he works at the video store, you know?” She stared at him, hoping for a reaction at the mention of Matt’s name, but she got nothing.
“Oh. That’s cool. Maybe he could hook me up with some.” Brady finally stopped surveying her posters and sat up and stretched again. “All right, well I guess I should get goin’.” He climbed out of bed, his long curly black hair falling in front of his face.
Brooke, still in front of the mirror, watched him as he pulled his boxers and shirt on, then his kha
ki cargo shorts. His T-shirt was a thin white undershirt that showed off his lanky but muscular upper body, and his shorts hung low enough in back that she could see the top of his boxers. She wanted to go over and touch him again, but things were always so weird after they had sex. It was like they went from being totally intimate to completely hands-off. Whenever he said goodbye, he never even hugged or kissed her, and she always felt like he didn’t even want her anymore. But he kept coming back…
“All right, I’m out. Later, Brooke.” Brady tossed his hand up in a casual wave and walked out of her room.
She stared after him, hating the empty feeling he always left behind. All she wanted was a goodbye hug, something to carry the intimacy out of the bed and beyond the sex itself. She wanted to feel like he actually cared about her. And he hadn’t even called her Brookie when he left, just Brooke.
She looked back in the mirror. But it had been great today, probably one of their best times ever. She grinned at herself as she went over it again in her mind. Yep…totally hot. It couldn’t be that good if he didn’t feel anything for her. And she was about to see Lorylyn, and the feeling of just having slept with Brady would definitely keep her feeling pretty satisfied. Of course, it’d be even better if Brady were her boyfriend and didn’t have to leave to go pick up Lorylyn…but she was working on that. She’d be working on it all night tonight. And even Lindy won’t have a clue, she thought to herself with a devious grin as she adjusted her ponytail one last time to give it just the right amount of bounce. It should be an interesting night.
***
“Oh, hey!” Lorylyn said in surprise as she answered the door. “You’re early.”
“Yeah, I was ready and didn’t have anything else to do, so I thought I’d come by and just hang out with you for a little while.” Brady flashed her his charming smile and flicked at the curl that always fell in front of his eye.
“Well, that’s cool, I’m happy to see you!” Lorylyn stood on her tiptoes and gave him a hug. She loved that he was almost a foot taller than her; it made her feel protected and safe. “You can come up to my room with me while I finish getting ready.”