LITMIR.BIZ

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prized Manolos.

      “Fascinating stuff,” Liam joked, reaching into the popcorn bowl. Tucker got up from his favorite spot on the living room floor and stared at Liam, sniffing hopefully, totally oblivious to the drama he was creating on TV. “No offense, but I’m kind of glad I’m not working on the show anymore.”

      Scarlett punched him on the arm. “What? You don’t miss filming our riveting problems?”

      “Nah. Here you go, Tuck,” Liam added, offering Tucker some popcorn. He wolfed it down.

      Until recently, Liam was one of the camera guys on L.A. Candy. When he and Scarlett started dating, they knew it was against the PopTV rules, which stated unequivocally that the crew could not date the “talent.” Madison (who else?) discovered their relationship and outed them by tipping off someone at Gossip—and Trevor fired Liam as a result. Liam had been looking for a new job since then.

      When the episode ended—with Scarlett telling some school friends about how much she missed Jane, and Jane confiding in Madison about her issues with Jesse—Scarlett got up from the couch and walked over to the fridge. She and Liam had the place to themselves, since Jane was at some new club with their friend Diego Neri. Scarlett scanned the contents: bottled water, a couple of sodas, a carton of sesame noodles, and yogurt. She grabbed the sodas and brought one back to Liam. “Drink?”

      “Thanks. So are we still on for tomorrow?”

      “Tomorrow?” Scarlett frowned.

      “The Inferno premiere. My friend got us passes.”

      Scarlett gasped. “Ohmigod, I’m sorry, I forgot about that. I think I have to cancel. We’re filming.”

      Liam took a sip of his soda and set it down on the coffee table. “You’re always filming these days,” he complained, pulling her into his arms.

      Scarlett leaned against him. “Sorry. I’m just … you know, trying to make an effort.”

      “Yeah, I know.”

      The truth was, Season 1 had been an abysmal experience for Scarlett. She had hated the invasion of privacy as well as the fact that Trevor had edited her personality down to a bland, boring nothing. In response, she had behaved as uncooperatively as possible: not obeying Dana’s “stage directions” … blowing off shoots … and in general being the very worst of her usual badass self.

      After much soul-searching, and a frank conversation with Trevor, Scarlett had decided to sign on for Season 2. She had promised him that she would tone down the attitude. In return, he had promised her that he would be more careful with his editing. Her raise had been a factor, too. The money was good—no, great—and Scarlett was going to use it to pay for her own tuition at USC, which would help her become more independent from her super–annoying, super-controlling parents.

      Besides, she saw the whole thing as a game, an intellectual challenge. Trevor wanted her to be Hollywood Scarlett? She would be Hollywood Scarlett. If they started giving out an Emmy for “Best Actress on a Reality TV Show,” she would totally be getting it this year.

      Of course, her relationship with Liam continued to be a problem as far as PopTV was concerned. He couldn’t be on the show because he used to work on the show. Which meant that a huge part of Scarlett’s “reality” couldn’t appear on TV. It was complicated—to say the least—although in some ways, Scarlett was actually glad she couldn’t film with Liam. Filming was work, and she didn’t want to mix business with pleasure any more than she already had to.

      “So how are your classes going?” Liam said, breaking into her thoughts.

      Scarlett shrugged. “You know. The same. My French lit seminar’s okay, though. We just started a new book called Sentimental Education. Have you read it?”

      “Yeah. Flaubert is one of my favorite writers. Have you read Madame Bovary?”

      As Liam described studying Madame Bovary at UCLA—he’d graduated from there last spring—Scarlett’s mind wandered to a subject she should really be bringing up with him: her college transfer applications.

      She had originally chosen to attend USC because she and Jane had dreamed of moving to L.A. together. (They’d taken the year off after high school graduation to travel and figure out what to do with their lives.) And now that she was here … well, her new life was great in so many ways, especially now that she was with Liam, and her friendship with Jane was stronger than ever. And she had committed to giving L.A. Candy a second chance, at least for the next few months until Season 2 wrapped.

      Even so, she continued to be haunted by the feeling that she might be missing out on something. Most of her classes at USC were less than challenging, and she wished she didn’t feel like she was smarter than 99 percent of the student population. Had she “settled” for a college that wasn’t the right fit just to be with her best friend? And was she going to continue “settling” now that she had a boyfriend?

      And so several weeks ago, she had sent applications to a dozen different colleges: Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, and others. Only the first two were in California, and they were many hours from L.A. by car. The rest were on the East Coast. She would know in the next few months whether she got in or not. And then she could make her decision about her sophomore year. It was good to keep her options open—right?

      In the meantime, Scarlett hadn’t mentioned the applications to Liam, since they’d just started dating in January and things were going so well, or even to Jane, who had been through so much lately and needed her best friend around. She hated keeping a secret from them, but it couldn’t be helped. She would tell them sooner or later.

      “Okay, you’re not listening to a word I’m saying.” Liam put his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently.

      Scarlett blinked. “Huh? I’m listening! You were saying something about Flaubert.”

      “Not. I’ve moved on to something way more interesting. Your birthday.”

      “My birthday?”

      “Yeah, your birthday. April twenty-fourth. I know it’s still a month away, but keep that night free, okay? And the next day, too. Because I have major plans for you.”

      Scarlett raised her eyebrows. “Like what kind of plans?”

      “It’s a surprise. Trust me, you’ll like them.” Liam smiled lazily and trailed his fingers across her cheek.

      Scarlett smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. He kissed her back, making her feel dizzy and tingly and deliriously happy at the same time. Liam was so sexy … and thoughtful … and smart … and sexy … and, basically, perfect in every way. It was so awesome, having a boyfriend. Why had she held out for so long?

      The truth was, she’d never had a guy like Liam in her life before.

      So why was she even thinking about moving three thousand miles away from him?

       4 ARE YOU SERIOUS?

      Jane speed-walked into the elevator and pressed 5, trying to juggle a latte, a box of Sprinkles cupcakes (it was Naomi the receptionist’s birthday), and her oversize, overflowing bag. “I’m soooo late. Fiona’s going to kill me,” she told Scarlett over the phone, which was precariously balanced between her right ear and shoulder.

      “Just tell her you were having breakfast with Robert Pattinson. She’ll understand,” Scarlett joked.

      “Funny. See you tonight? Or do you have a hot date with your hot boyfriend?”

      “Nope. Tonight it’s just you, me, Tucker, and an everything pizza with extra cheese.”

      “Sounds perfect. Ohhhh … my battery’s beeping at me, and I haven’t even

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