L.A. Candy - By Lauren Conrad
Lauren Conrad
L.A. Candy
To my mom and dad,
who have always supported me.
I love you.
Contents
A few months earlier…
1
Always look on the Closet Floor First
2
You’re not a Total Bitch
3
Let’s go spend Some Money
4
How do you know She’s his Girlfriend?
5
It’s always better to be the Dumper than the Dumpee
6
The only way to belong is to Act like you Belong
7
No one moves here to be a Nobody
8
It’s called Positive Visualization
9
This must be the Engineering Quad
10
To be Uncomfortable
11
What just Happened?
12
How Intimate and Up Close?
13
Two Bedrooms, A Pool, and A View
14
It isn’t an Acting Job. It’s Reality.
15
Buy the Girl a Drink First
16
Who’s afraid of the Big, Bad English Professor?
17
You’re probably wondering Why I called you in here Today
18
Girls’ Day
19
When is this Episode going to be on TV?
20
Do they follow you into the Bathroom?
21
We could use some Fresh Meat
22
My Name is Jane
23
Center Stage
24
We’re not TV Stars
25
A Creative Solution
26
Here’s to all four of us Getting Insanely Rich and Famous!
27
You’re the One Who Goes to U.S.C., Right?
28
Out of Sync
29
Small Party, Huh?
30
Hollywood’s #1 Playboy falls for the Girl Next Door
31
Love at First Sight
32
Number One
33
Who are the Hot Professors Here?
34
So you and Jesse are going out Now?
35
Maybe it’ll Blow Over
36
A New Officemate
37
A Time Bomb waiting to go Off
38
Birthday Boy
39
Hollywood’s Newest it Girl
40
Why are you Here?
41
The Real Star of L.A. Candy
42
I need some Time to Think
43
She’s not Who you think she Is
44
Oh…My…God…
45
That’s What Friends are For
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
* * *
GOSSIP
YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR ALL THE HOLLYWOOD DIRT THAT’S FIT TO SLING
Which up-and-coming reality starlet is in for a rude awakening? She may star in the hottest show on PopTV, but rumors are swirling about her off-camera behavior. Does L.A.’s newest darling have a sweet tooth for trouble? Well, she won’t be able to keep her secrets from viewers for long. Cameras are following her every move…even when PopTV is not filming. Welcome to Hollywood!
* * *
A few months earlier…
1
ALWAYS LOOK ON THE CLOSET FLOOR FIRST
Jane Roberts leaned against her dresser, studying the way her white silk nightie looked against her sun-kissed skin. Her loose blond curls cascaded softly over her shoulders as she pretended not to be interested in the guy in her bed.
“Come over here—or am I going to have to come get you?”
Jane smiled mischievously at the ground, then raised her face to him, staring into his chocolate brown eyes.
She slinked back to the bed, slid onto the white silk sheets, and nestled next to him.
“Janie, you’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met. I’m so in love with you, it’s crazy,” he said, gazing into her eyes.
“Really, Caleb?” Jane smiled, and reached for him……and woke up to find herself lying next to some strange, sweaty guy. Some strange, sweaty, half-naked guy. He smelled like bad cologne and armpits and pot.
He rolled over sleepily in her direction. “Cassandra?”
Jane yanked the sheet (not silk) around herself as she sat up—which was not entirely necessary, since she was wearing her favorite faded baby blue Gap jammies that covered…well, everything.
“Who the hell are you?” she yelled.
The guy flinched at the decibel level of her voice. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and stared at her. “Your hair was, like, black or brown last night,” he said, confused. “And really long. It kept swishing against my face when we—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Jane cut him off.
Soooo.
This was one of Scarlett’s friends. Or, more accurately, one of Scarlett’s here-today, gone-tomorrow hookups. Jane’s BFF (and, as of a week ago, roommate), Scarlett Harp, was famous for giving guys the wrong name, or the wrong phone number, or both—deliberately, so she wouldn’t have to see them again. If it turned out the next morning that she actually liked the guy and wanted to see him again, she’d tell him she’d been too wasted the night before to get her contact info straight—so sorry!
But this rarely happened. When it came to long-term relationships, Scarlett had Commitment Issues (according to Jane) and High Standards (according to Scarlett).
In any case, WTF was this guy doing in her bed?
“Cassandra is in the next room,” Jane informed him curtly.
The guy grinned sheepishly. “Oh! Sorry, dude. I got up to take a leak, and—”
“I don’t need the details.” Jane gave him a gentle shove. “Bye!” She turned away as he pushed himself from her bed, but not before catching an eyeful of the snake tatt that slithered creepily across his back. Ew.
Jane jumped out of bed and slammed the door behind him. She had to take a shower, like, immediately. Who knew how long he had been in her bed, polluting it with Old Spice