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chapterthirty-five
selena
Itonly took thirty minutes to convinceJacksonthat he couldn’t be in two places at once.Hecan’t be at the hospital with his dad and also running around town shopping for dinner and then at home cooking all day.
Hevery reluctantly entrusted me toLilytoday to get ready for the party tonight.ButIhonestly wouldn’t be surprised if he’s figured out a way to track my location.
Afterleaving the hospital around noon,LilyandIpop into the diner for an iced coffee and a brainstorm.
Mybakery organization takes over, andIsort out the grocery list soLilyandIcan divide and conquer.Themenu is simple, but the volume is not.Justto be safe,I’mgoing to make eight lasagnas, six hugeCaesarsalads, six loaves of garlic bread, and six chocolate pies.Wesketch out a quick plan for picking up wine and beer.Lilysays the specialty wine store has a better selection than the liquor store, soIadd it to the list.Afterlast night,I’mdefinitely not interested in drinking hard alcohol.Probablynot for a very long time.Andwe need ice to keep the drinks cold.That’sit.Simple.
“Areyou sure you want to cook for all these people?Thissounds like my worst nightmare!”Lilysays dramatically before diving headfirst into her iced coffee.Icedcoffee at the diner tastes like drip coffee poured over ice.It’snot great.Reallynot great.Thistown could really use a cute little cafe or a bakery like the oneIwant to have someday.Theone thatI’llhave a lot sooner, thanks toJackson.
“Yes, of course.Ilove to cook.AndIwantJacksonto get to spend more time with all of his family while we’re here.Heand his brothers have been holed up in his dad’s hospital room every day for more than a week.Andnow his dad finally gets to come home, so we need to celebrate!”
“Hereally hit the jackpot with you.She’spretty, smart, funny, likes to cook, and looks at him like he’s her hero.I’mreally not sure he deserves you, to be honest.”
Pressingmy lips together in a firm line,Igive her a hard look. “Aren’tyou supposed to be his best friend?”
“Iamhis best friend.Iknow him better than anyone.AndJackson’sbeen afuckboyfor as long asI’veknown him.Henever knew what he wanted.Wasnever ready to commit.”Lilybeams at me. “Untilyou.”
“Yup, until me.”Idon’t know how much more of thisIcan take.Ihate lying to everyone.Andworst of all,I’mpretty clear that the only lie here is thatJacksonwants to be with me.Becauseme wanting to be with him isn’t the big lie thatIagreed to.
“What’swrong?”
“Oh, nothing.Iwas just thinking… about portions!Ibet people here eat more than they do inL.A. because everyone isn’t constantly on a diet.Soundsamazing, actually.Areyou sure we have enough food?”
“Yeah,Idon’t know how you andJacksondo it.I’vevisited him inL.A. a bunch of times over the years and on set wherever he’s filming.Becausehe never makes the time to come back here.It’sjust like a man to let a woman do all the hard work.Trustme,Iam the only reason that man has any friends at all who aren’t blood relatives or weren’t trapped working with him onRaven’sRavineevery day for six years.”
Smilingback at her,Ishake my head.Shemakes it sound like it’s hard to likeJackson.Ican confirm that it isn’t.
“Lookwhat he had to do to get a girlfriend?Trapher in an elevator.Honestly,Iwish he’d thought of it sooner.So,I’vebeen meaning to ask you.Whydo you call himNugget?Ican only assume it has something to do with you having a thing for his balls?”
“Ohmy god, no!Idon’t have a balls fetish!It’s… private.Iguess.Idon’t know.That’sjust whatIcall him.”
“Yeah, that answer tells me nothing.I’msticking with you having a balls fetish.”
“Great.Ican’t wait to tellJacksonabout this conversation.”
“Don’tyou meanNugget?”
“Hedidn’t tell me that you go visit him on set?What’sthat like?”
“Whatdo you mean?You’renot seriously jealous of me andJacks.Gross.”Lilymakes gagging noises.
Lily’sgagging is music to my ears. “Oh,I’mvery clear on how not attracted to him you are.Andit makes me very, very happy.”
“Wewere literally bathed together when we were babies.Ourmoms were best friends.”
“Iknow.It’sso sweet.Butwhat was it like when you visited him?Wasit weird?Howdid people treat you?”
“L.A. people are crazy.Andthey treated me like they didn’t even see me.Idon’t thinkJacksnoticed.Orhe would have done something about it.Butit wasn’t worth telling him.Hewould have just been pissed at everyone.Oversomething that doesn’t matter.I’malways there to seeJacksand no one else.”
Right.BecauseLilydoesn’t fit into the perfect mold that everyone inL.A. strives to fit into.JustlikeIdon’t.Peoplemight think the whole #elevatorgirl thing is funny for a while, but no one thinks thatI’mthe kind of girl who gets a man likeJacksonWatersas more than a fling.
Afterfinishing our coffees, we head out ontoGroveStreet,WesternSprings’ busiest street.Athird of the angled parking spots are empty, and there’s only two cars waiting at the red light on the corner.Allthe buildings are old red brick with colorful awnings over the wide sidewalks.Ifreaking love this town.
“Let’sgo in there,”Lilysays, pointing to an adorable little boutique on the other side of the street with mannequins in the windows.
