Chapter Nine
Jason
What the fuck was taking so long, I wondered, standing in baggage claim. I knew I shouldn't have checked my bag. I had just gotten off a red-eye. All I wanted was a shower and room service this early in the morning. It was bad enough that this was L.A., where I was practically guaranteed hours in traffic before I could even get to the hotel. I sighed with relief when the carousel finally started moving.
I hadn't packed that much, just enough for a few days because I wasn't sure how long I'd be staying. If all I had actually wanted to do was go to KJLA’s studio and catch up with Davis, then I wouldn't have needed to check a bag at all. I had told him that I wanted to come out here and scope out my competition. We were... not so much friends, but we were familiar. He was always on my radar, but I wasn't exactly sending him Christmas cards. He had taken the email pretty well, better than I would have if the roles had been reversed. Honestly, his studio and what he was up to weren't all that interesting to me. Shelby just happened to work with him, and I had no qualms about going through him to get to her.
I saw my bag coming along the carousel and went impatiently over to grab it. I didn't want to start regretting the trip before I had even left the airport.
"You go."
"No, you go. You're the one who wanted to say hi."
"I can't just go over there."
I kept my eyes down, grabbing my bag and walking away. People tended to leave you alone when you looked busy enough. Normal people, I mean. A lot more didn't care. There was just something about being able to see me so often on TV every day that meant they felt like we were cool or something. I took my phone out to get a taxi. That was all I wanted to do: get out of here. Somewhere, there was a cup of coffee with my name on it.
"Uhm... excuse me," I heard from next to me. I slowly looked over at the woman who had said it. She was young, maybe early twenties, with her hair in a ponytail which made her seem younger. She was with another girl, and they both had this look on their faces, like shy children who were afraid to ask for something: the women I had heard talking earlier.
"We're huge fans," the second one said.
"We totally love your work," the first one said. I tried to not show my annoyance on my face. The way one talked then the other subbed in for her, it was like they were operating just one brain between them. Still. They had paid me a compliment. Sometimes, that was all people wanted to do, just tell you to your face that they liked your work and be on their way. Both the girls were wearing tiny denim shorts; that was winter in L.A. for you.
"Thanks," I said, shooting them a polite smile.
"Could we please get a picture?" the first one asked. The years in front of the camera reporting had given me pretty good control of my face so the girls couldn't see that that was the last thing I wanted to do at the airport after a cross-country flight. On one level, I understood that seeing me on the television all the time made people think I was familiar with them. I didn't see why they thought that translated into real life. It wasn't fair to judge a book by its cover, but generally, people presented themselves in the way that they wanted to be perceived. The girl and her friend looked like they kept up with current events, but like the kind that involved the Kardashians and whichever fake celebrity marriage was ending. I didn't think they would know where the hell Syria even was if I asked them, which you know, would make sense because they didn't really strike me as people who would care.
Not everyone watched their news on the television anymore. We got hundreds of thousands of hits from the video and article updates that we would post online. Maintaining an online presence was basically required, and that was where a lot of the people who generally didn't give a fuck about real news found out who you were.
"Sorry, ladies. Running late," I said apologetically.
"It'll only take one second," the first one insisted. I sighed, looking around. I was going to be waiting around five or ten minutes for my ride. Mostly, I just didn't want to deal with this shit today. It didn't happen that often back in New York; the people in the city were generally more hostile and the culture towards celebrities a little different. I conceded since they were right: it did only end up taking a second. They left, giggling as I waited for my cab. I cursed, slipping my leather jacket off. I had needed it in New York and on the plane, but I hadn't been ready for how warm it stayed in this city.
As a rule, I never flew coach and refused to feel bad about it. I had gotten to a place in my life and career where things that felt like splurging to a lot of other people were common to me. I had worked hard; I deserved it. Now that I was in L.A., everything was starting to feel a little surreal. I hadn't even so much as sent Shelby a text message since the last night I had seen her.
"Waiting for a cab?" I heard someone ask. It was a woman's voice. I looked over and saw three young women standing with bags of various sizes. We had been on the same flight. One of them had pink dyed hair; I vaguely remembered seeing them boarding. It had been a girl with black hair who had spoken to me; the third one was a brunette with glasses. I pegged them for about college age but maybe slightly younger. It was hard to tell sometimes.
"Yep," I said, simply.
"What brings you to L.A.?" she asked.
"Work," I said dismissively.
"How long will you be in the city?"
"Not very," I said. They weren't taking the hint. Where the hell was my cab? I didn't want to be having this conversation. I didn't want to talk to these girls and make them think I was interested. They weren't just being friendly. After a red-eye flight and in the airport at the crack of dawn? They wanted something.
"If you need anything while you're here, you know, anyone to show you around, show you where all the good spots are, we could definitely help."
"We'd love to help," the pink haired one added.
"Thanks," I said drily, "I'll keep that in mind."
"You should probably take our numbers," the dark-haired one said, realizing I wasn't going to ask for them myself. "Or just mine." They weren't even going to pretend that they weren't coming on to me? Good. I didn't want to pretend that I was interested. I had to hand it to Shelby. I hadn't seen her in a year, and here I was turning down other women because I wanted to see her. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since that night at the party last year. The sex had been incredible, sure, but it hadn't been just that. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about what would have happened if she had stayed in New York. Then I had heard about the baby and... I just had to see her, finally get some closure on this whole thing.
"Sorry, ladies," I said, shrugging. "Don't know when I'd be able to fit you in." I saw my cab roll up, finally. They tried to say I should take their numbers for the next time I was in town but I turned them down. I wasn't looking, and even if I was, they weren't who I was looking for. The trip to my hotel took just over an hour. I didn't stay long. I wanted to make it to the station early. Davis had told me to drop by whenever I had the time, so I was taking him up on that. I got coffee on the way there instead of waiting for room service at the hotel as I had a shower and changed. I called Davis when I got to the station to let him know that I had gotten there. He told me what floor to go up to and said he'd meet me.
It was early; I was hoping early enough that Shelby hadn't gotten here yet. I wanted to get a jump on her. I was on her turf here so she'd have the upper hand and I didn't want that. I could already see how it would play out. Shelby would be mad because she was always mad at me, no matter what I did. In my defense, this was the only way I could think of getting to her. The fact that I had had to hear about her from another person said exactly how much she wanted to do with me. This way, I could get her to listen to me, and she could be sure that I was going to leave her alone after she had told me what I wanted to hear.
I came out of the elevator and looked around. He had been waiting for me. Davis Jacks. He looked... shit, he looked great. Fucking bastard. We had gone to Cornell together. He had always been tall but not athletic. He had fixed that, though. He actually filled out his suit, and he had long since ditched the glasses. He grinned, coming up to me.
"Jason. How long has it been?" he asked, holding his hand out for me to shake.
"Whenever you miss me, Jacks, all you need to do is turn your television on," I said. He laughed a little.
"That email was out of the blue. I have to say, I couldn't imagine why you'd want to come by."
"I was going to be in L.A. anyway; I remembered you lived here and figured why not," I said, shrugging. Davis nodded good-naturedly.
"So? What do you think?" he asked. We talked work, end of year broadcasting, basically every little safe small talk topic we could hit while I tried to figure out how to bring up Shelby. We did have her in common, but the article that I had read about the two of them maybe dating hadn't really been from a reputable source. I couldn't come out the gate asking about Shelby and her kid. I also hadn't come all the way here just to get my intel from other people, so I didn't say anything.
The room buzzed with activity around us. Eventually, I'd have to let him go get ready for work. I kept my eyes open, watching the various members of the station heading to the studio and control room for work. One woman in a white top and tan skirt holding a clipboard caught my eye from over Davis' shoulder. I glanced over at her. She was standing stock still, staring right back at me. It took a couple seconds to realize it was her. Shelby. Her mouth hung open, and she looked like she had just seen a ghost.
Serves her right, I thought. A mixture of bitterness and suspicion flooded through me looking at her. I had come because I had felt that there was something she was hiding from me; now I was almost certain there was. She looked at the ground, smoothed her hands over her skirt and started walking up to us.
"Davis," she said, getting his attention. He turned, hearing her.
"Oh, hey, Shelby. Is it time already?" he asked.
"No, but almost. What's going on?" she asked, looking at me pointedly before looking back at him.
"Ah, I can see how this could be a little awkward for you," Davis, said laughing lightly. She looked at me.
"No kidding. Who invited him?" she said.
"Good to see you too, Shelby," I said sincerely. She frowned at me.
"Are you lost or is there a real reason why you're here?"
"I can't drop by to say hi?" I asked innocently, a little amused at her territorial reaction.
"No," she said, crossing her arms.
"Too bad. I'm glad I did," I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her. "It's good to see you, Shel."