“That’s it?” Stevie couldn’t help being surprised. She could never imagine having plastic surgery herself, but she knew several people at school who’d had nose jobs. It wasn’t that big a deal even in Willow Creek, let alone in Hollywood where Stevie assumed that sort of thing was practically taken for granted. “That’s your horrible secret?”
Summer nodded, sniffling. “I don’t know what I would do if he went through with his threats,” she murmured. “It would be the end of my career!”
Stevie didn’t think that was true. “Are you sure about that?” she asked, trying to be tactful. “I mean, I doubt anyone would hold it against you even if they did find out.”
“I don’t know what I would do,” Summer repeated, her eyes desperate. She grabbed Stevie’s arm. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
“Of course not,” Stevie responded automatically. Her mind was already working. It was clear that Summer wasn’t looking at this logically and that the situation was making her life miserable. “But listen to me for a second, Summer. Do you really think it would be so bad if people knew? Sometimes getting a secret out in the open makes it seem like less of a big deal. You might actually end up happier if this came out.”
Summer’s grip tightened. “You can’t tell!” She was practically sobbing by now. “Please, I trusted you!”
Stevie was starting to see how Summer had gotten herself into this mess to begin with. She could also see that there was no way she would be able to convince Summer that having her secret out in the open wouldn’t be the end of the world. “How about this, then?” she said, switching to another tack. “You could try blackmailing him back.”
“What?” Summer looked confused.
Stevie shrugged. “You know—tell him if he gives away your secret you’ll give away his. That he’s actually a twisted, rotten jerk instead of the nice guy he plays on TV and in front of reporters.”
Summer’s eyes widened. “Oh, I could never do that,” she protested faintly, looking horrified at the very idea. “What if no one believed me? I’d just look like a nasty person.”
“But what else can you do?” Stevie was getting frustrated with Summer’s passivity. “You can’t let him get away with blackmailing you. Especially if you think he’s about to start up again.”
Summer shrugged and averted her eyes. “It’s not so bad, really. It’s just a few public appearances. And it’s not as if I’m seeing anyone else right now. Anyway, he’ll probably drop me again as soon as he manages to hook up with someone better.”
Stevie didn’t think she had ever heard such a string of lame rationalizations in her life. She hated the thought of a snake like Jeremiah preying on someone so vulnerable. Summer clearly needed help, and for a moment Stevie was tempted to step in and try to give it to her. This is just the kind of thing The Saddle Club would have tackled back in the old days, she thought, remembering the club that she, Lisa, and Carole had started soon after they’d met.
But thinking of Carole reminded her that she had other priorities right then. Besides, Summer was an adult. She was old enough to handle her own choices and her own life. Stevie had all she could do to deal with herself and her friends. After a few more soothing words, she excused herself and hurried off in search of Carole, leaving Summer alone with her problems.
THIRTEEN
“I still can’t believe I was so stupid.” Carole heaved a loud sigh and picked at the peeling paint on the arm of her Adirondack chair. “So much for my glamorous Hollywood fling!”
Stevie glanced over from her seat on the other side of the porch. The three girls had just finished a rather subdued dinner, and Mr. Atwood and Evelyn had shooed them out of the kitchen so that they could clean up. That meant the girls would finally have some privacy to complete the discussion they had begun on their way home from the set that day.
“Try not to take it personally,” Lisa told Carole. “It could have happened to anyone. Jeremiah’s broken more hearts this summer than you would believe.”
Carole shot her a sour look. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Stevie shifted restlessly in her chair. Carole had recovered from the state of total embarrassment and hysteria Stevie had found her in earlier, but she still looked upset. And somehow Stevie didn’t think that sitting there rehashing the details of her brief relationship with Jeremiah was going to help cheer her up. It certainly wasn’t doing much to improve Stevie’s mood. “It’s still early,” she pointed out. “Why don’t we go out and do something? Isn’t there a movie premiere or an A-list party we can crash?”
Lisa looked thoughtful. “Not exactly,” she said. “But some of the guys at work today were talking about going to Pacific Pulse tonight. That’s this great teen club down at the beach.” She smiled. “Skye invited me along my first week here, and I’ve been back a bunch of times. It’s a blast.”
Stevie did her best not to think too much about Lisa and Skye going out dancing together. She could worry about that later. Right then the important thing was taking Carole’s mind off her misery. “Sounds like fun,” she said, standing. “Let’s do it.”
Carole looked reluctant. “I’m not really in the mood for dancing,” she protested. “I was going to go to bed early and put an end to this pathetic day.”
Stevie grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet. “Forget it. Jeremiah’s not worth moping over. We’re going to take you out and help you forget him!”
Soon the girls were upstairs in Lisa’s room getting changed. Stevie’s earlier enthusiasm had faded a bit, mostly because she still didn’t like the idea that Lisa had her own room in this house. It made her feel testy.
She watched as Lisa pulled on a tank dress with a line of tiny beads around the neckline. “Hey, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” she commented. “When I packed for this trip, I didn’t realize that spangles and sequins were part of the dress code. I don’t have a thing to wear.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “I think what you’ve got there will be fine,” she said dryly, nodding to Stevie’s denim skirt and turquoise cotton T-shirt. “We’ll bribe the bouncer if we have to.”
“Look!” Lisa shouted above the noise of the pounding dance music. “There’s Skye and Matthew and the guys!”
Carole turned and saw a small clutch of people from the TV show walking into the club. She sighed, trying to hide her expression from Lisa and Stevie. Now that more people they knew were there, her friends would probably want to stay even longer. Carole had been ready to leave as soon as they’d arrived. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the club. If they had gone two days before, Carole would have had a great time. The music was good and loud, the people were interesting, even the snack food was tasty. Besides that, you couldn’t beat the amazing view of the Pacific framed by the huge plate glass windows at the far end of the dance floor.
But tonight she couldn’t relax and enjoy any of it. They hadn’t been there five minutes before a guy had approached their table and asked her to dance. Carole didn’t think her friends understood why she had turned him down, or why she had refused the next invitation, and the one after that. All she’d said was that she was in the mood to just hang out with them. But she saw the worried glances they exchanged with each other when they thought she wasn’t looking.
Carole appreciated her friends’ concern. But she didn’t know how to explain to them how Jeremiah’s rejection had made her feel. It wasn’t that she had been in love with him—far from it. She hadn’t loved him, but she had trusted him. That had been her mistake, and she was determined not to let it happen again.
Stevie had mixed feelings as Skye and the others threaded their way through the crowds of dancers toward the girls’ table. Part of her dreaded seeing Lisa and Skye together in this setting. There was too much room for something to happen.
But the larger part of her was glad to see the guys. Maybe they could help her and Lisa deal with Carole, who was obviously feeling gun-shy after her encounter w
ith Jeremiah. Stevie didn’t like seeing Carole like that—not when she was already a bit of a late bloomer when it came to romance—and she hoped it didn’t last long.
“What’s up, ladies?” Skye called over the music as he pulled out a chair and sat down between Carole and Stevie. Matthew took the seat on Stevie’s other side, and the other guys headed for the dance floor or wandered off to get something to drink.
“Not much,” Lisa replied. “We were just waiting for some cool guys to show up so we’d have someone to dance with.”
Stevie frowned. She knew that Lisa was just joking around with Skye and Matthew, but she still didn’t like it. It sounded too much like real flirting for her taste. “Actually, we were just comparing California dance music to normal music,” she broke in loudly, wanting to take both guys’ eyes off her friend. “We decided California music has to be kind of weird to hide the fact that people out here can’t dance to save their lives.”
Skye turned to Matthew with a bemused smile. “Don’t mind her,” he joked. “That’s what passes for humor out on the East Coast.”
Matthew grinned, and Stevie stuck her tongue out at Skye. Before she could come up with a retort, she noticed a tall, skinny guy heading toward their table. He made a beeline for Lisa and shyly asked her to dance.
“Sure.” Lisa smiled at him. “That’d be great. Thanks.” She got up and gave her friends a little wave. “See ya.”
Stevie found herself frowning again as she watched the pair find a sliver of free space on the floor and start dancing. “Does she know that guy?” she asked the table at large.
Skye shrugged. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I’ve never seen him before. Why?”
“No reason.” Stevie fell silent, still keeping an eye on Lisa and her partner. What was she doing dancing with strange guys when she had a boyfriend waiting back home? Fortunately it was a fast song so there was no actual physical contact, but still …
Stevie was so busy worrying about Lisa that it took her a moment to notice that Skye was trying to convince Carole to dance with him. Carole looked reluctant, and Stevie’s heart sank. If she wouldn’t dance with Skye, a guy she’d known and trusted for years, she was even worse off than Stevie had feared.
But Skye wasn’t giving up. “Come on, just one dance. Why should Lisa have all the fun? Let’s you and me get out there, Carole. We can show them how it’s done.”
Carole shook her head. “Thanks, Skye. But I’m not really in the mood for dancing. Why don’t you and Stevie go ahead? I’ll be okay here.”
“No way,” Skye replied. He leaned closer and continued in a loud stage whisper, “Stevie scares me. Her boyfriend Phil once told me that she’s stepped on his feet so many times he had to have them amputated and replaced with bionic ones.”
Stevie just rolled her eyes at the lame joke, but Carole giggled tentatively. “Well …,” she said. She still didn’t feel much like dancing, but she felt bad saying no to Skye when it was obvious that he was trying his best to cheer her up.
“Come on,” Skye wheedled with a winning smile. “I promise, the first time I step on your foot we can stop. Well, maybe not the first time. Let’s make it the tenth time, okay?”
Carole couldn’t help laughing at that. Skye was such a good guy—a real pal. And who knew? Maybe getting out there on the dance floor would improve her mood. It certainly couldn’t hurt.
“Well, maybe just one song,” she said.
Stevie smiled with relief as she watched Carole follow Skye out onto the dance floor. That was better. For a while there it had looked as if Carole was going to refuse to even look at anyone male. Maybe spending a little time with a guy she could trust, like Skye, would help remind her that most guys weren’t as sneaky and rotten as Jeremiah.
Matthew shifted in his chair, and Stevie remembered she wasn’t alone at the table. She suddenly felt awkward, remembering the weird encounter that afternoon at the stable. It didn’t help that he was looking at her silently, a slight smile on his face.
“So,” she said brightly, doing her best to hide her discomfort. “Do you guys come to this place a lot?”
“Once in a while,” Matthew replied in his lazy, pleasant voice. “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?”
Stevie shrugged. “If you like that sort of thing.”
“Don’t you like that sort of thing?”
“Maybe once in a while,” Stevie allowed, her eyes skittering away from his direct gaze. “But I’m sure it would get tiring after a while. Kind of like L.A. in general, I guess.”
Matthew leaned a little bit closer, looking curious and slightly bemused. “Don’t you like L.A., Stevie? Why not?”
Because Lisa likes it too much. The answer sprang immediately to her mind. But of course she didn’t say it out loud.
“Because it’s so fake. So … so insincere,” she said instead. “Everybody trying to be noticed, people trying to be someone or something else.”
Matthew nodded amiably and was silent for a moment. Finally he spoke again. “That’s not all there is to this place, you know. Otherwise normal guys like me wouldn’t like it here so much. There’s a lot to love about it.”
Stevie grimaced. “Yeah, yeah, I know. The weather, the scenery and palm trees, yadda yadda yadda. I’ve heard it. And I’m not convinced. Give me four seasons and normal-looking trees any day.”
She expected Matthew to argue, but he just leaned back in his seat. “Hmmm. Interesting perspective,” he murmured. “So, do you want to dance?”
Stevie was startled by the sudden change of topic. “Uh, well, okay,” she said. “I guess.” She got up and followed him onto the dance floor, feeling decidedly strange. She knew her comments had been obnoxious, but Matthew hadn’t seemed to notice. What was going on behind that relaxed, good-looking face of his, anyway?
The song that was playing had a strong beat, and Stevie was a good dancer. She noticed the appreciative look Matthew gave her as they started to move to the rhythm, and she couldn’t help returning it. He was an awfully good dancer, too.
Though not as good as Phil, of course, Stevie thought loyally.
She gave Matthew a tentative smile, wondering if he was expecting her to say something. She didn’t usually feel this tongue-tied around anyone, good-looking or otherwise. She wondered if her awkwardness had anything to do with those steady blue-green eyes of his.
She had to say something—anything—to fill the space between them. “So anyway, as I was saying back there, there’s a lot to be said for cold weather. It makes you appreciate the summer when it comes, instead of just taking it for granted.”
“I can dig that.” Matthew smiled calmly. “I guess no place is perfect.”
For some reason, his laid-back attitude made Stevie want to talk even more. “And that’s not all,” she went on. “There’s just kind of a bad vibe here, you know? Like the people are all so self-centered they don’t know how to have fun. Not like back home.”
“What are the people like back home?”
Stevie shrugged. “I don’t know, just normal, you know? They know how to be real people instead of big phonies. That’s one reason why Carole and I couldn’t believe Lisa was serious when she first told us she was coming out here to stay for the whole summer. We thought she was crazy. Especially since the three of us have spent almost all of every summer together since we were, like, twelve.”
As soon as she said it, Stevie wondered why. She was just making conversation to be polite. So why had she told this virtual stranger something so personal?
Matthew was nodding as he continued to sway to the music. “That must be tough for all of you,” he said. “But it’ll work out. Things usually do.”
“You never know. What if she decides she likes it better here? I mean, if all the ultraviolet rays have gone to her head or something? Where would that leave me and the rest of her friends back home?” Stevie paused. She still didn’t understand why she was spilling her guts to Matthew like this. She barely knew h
im. But now that she’d started she couldn’t seem to shut up. “Anyhow, she’d have to be nuts to want to live here full-time.”
Matthew shrugged agreeably. “If you say so.”
“I do say so,” Stevie said tartly. “Frankly, I don’t know how anyone can live here. On one hand you’ve got the earthquakes and the mudslides and all that stuff. Then, on top of that, you have to put up with all those smarmy, insincere Hollywood slimeballs. No offense.” She glanced at him, but he didn’t look insulted at all. Just interested. “Throw in a bunch of loser groupies, some smog, and about a zillion clueless tourists, and what do you have? A really lame place to live.”
“That’s one way of looking at it, I guess. But you’ve only been here a couple of days. How do you know you’ve seen it all?”
“I’ve seen enough,” Stevie said flatly. “Believe me.”
They danced without speaking for a minute or two. Finally Matthew spoke up. “You know, Stevie,” he said thoughtfully, “you think too much about the past and the future. You’d probably be a lot happier if you just let yourself live in the moment once in a while.” Before Stevie could figure out what that meant, Matthew took her firmly by the arm, just above the elbow. “Come on. I want to show you something.” He steered her off the dance floor and toward a side door she hadn’t noticed before.
Stevie was so startled that she didn’t resist at first. Before she knew it, she was standing outside the club on a narrow sidewalk leading between two buildings toward the beach.
“Hey,” she said indignantly, finally yanking her arm out of his grasp. “What’s the big idea?”
Matdiew let her go without a protest. “The moon’s up,” he said. “Come with me if you want to see another side of Southern California.” He turned to head toward the beach, tossing one final comment casually over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought. “Unless you’d rather just stick with your own opinion. That’d probably be easier, I guess.”
Reining In Page 13