Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad

sat down on wooden patio chairs and began digging into their food.
    “Mmm, cold shrimp-fried rice, my favorite,” Scarlett teased.
    “Yeah, well, we’re pretty fancy here,” Liam replied.
    “So, what was your major at UCLA?”
    “Film. Cinematography. I wanna get into movies someday.”
    “That’s probably more interesting than filming a bunch of girls shopping for nail polish.”
    Liam grinned. “Yeah, but definitely not as interesting as filming a girl having Christmas Eve dinner with Mom and Dad in Aspen.”
    Scarlett laughed. “Now you know why I need about thirty years of therapy.”
    “You? Nah. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
    At Liam’s words, Scarlett felt the warm, nervous, giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she’d had during the packing-for-Aspen shoot. She picked up a cold egg roll and bit into it, trying to buy a few seconds of time so she could calm down. She tried to think of something else, something other than the warmth/nervousness/giddiness, and the way Liam’s blue eyes were fixed on her face, like he knew exactly what she was thinking about (or tryingnot to think about).
    Small talk,Scarlett told herself.Try some small talk.
    “Yeah, so I’m in my freshman year at USC,” she began.
    “Really? You mean the same USC where I’ve been filming you for months?” Liam teased her.
    Scarlett blushed. Of course he knew where she went to college. What waswrong with her? “Oh, yeah.”
    “Sorry. So you like it there?”
    “You’ve been there with me the past few months—what do you think?” Before he had a chance to respond, Scarlett realized she didn’t want him to answer that question, so she said, “It’s okay,” and shrugged. “My parents gave me a hard time about not going to a better school.”
    “Didyou want to go to a better school?”
    “I wanted to stay in the area, you know? I mean, Jane and I had a plan. We’d move to L.A. together, she’d get a job in event planning, and I’d go to school.”
    “So it all worked out, right?”
    “Yeah, except signing on to do a TV show wasn’t part of the plan.”
    “What, you’re not into having your life ‘created and produced by Trevor Lord’?”

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    “Exactly!”
    Liam nodded. “From where I’m standing, it’s like you’re a character in a novel, and you’re not sure you like the plot. In fact, sometimes youhate the plot. But there’s nothing you can do about it, because you’re not writing it.”
    Did the guy have to be so smart about everything? Abouther ? “Yeah, that’s kinda how it feels sometimes,” Scarlett admitted.
    Liam leaned forward in his chair, until their knees were almost touching. “You could just think of the show as a learning opportunity,” he said slowly. “You’re learning what you want and don’t want for yourself. You’re learning what you want and don’t want out of your friendships. You’re learning about the wonderful world of television.” He laughed. “And in the end, you can just bail if that’s what’s right for you, a lot smarter and a little richer, and you can even write a screenplay making fun of all us Hollywood assholes and become a wholelot richer.”
    “You’re definitelynot a Hollywood asshole,” Scarlett said, impressed.
    They stared at each other for a moment. There was a sudden commotion inside the house, people shouting, “Ten! Nine! Eight!” But Scarlett barely noticed it, because Liam’s face was so close to hers now, and she could smell the warm, musky scent of his skin, and maybe it would be a good idea if she stood up right now and said good night and went straight home….
    “I’m glad you don’t think I’m a Hollywood asshole,” Liam said softly. “Does that mean you’re going to let me kiss you at midnight?”
    “What?!” Scarlett started to say, but it was too late, because Liam’s lips were already on hers, just as the party guests were