Secrets of Yden (12 page)

****

They had dinner reservations at The Blue Room, a seaside restaurant where the ocean waves hit the aquarium-style windows at high tide. The place had great food; Jon had been there a couple of times with his family. If nothing else, he was looking forward to either the steak or lobster. It suddenly struck him how relaxed he was about this whole "date."
Is it because I have no expectations whatsoever?
Certainly he wasn't worried about impressing January.
It's cool, actually. I can just be myself for once.

Several tourists with cameras were hanging around outside the restaurant when they arrived. At least Jon assumed they were tourists — until January exited the car. As he handed off his keys to the valet, the photographers began to take pictures of her. January stood there, smiling and posing with Jon, until the photographers got what they'd come for.

Finally they entered the restaurant and were seated. Maurice, their waiter, handed out menus and took their drink order. "I'll be right back with your drinks," he said before hastening off. The waiter had a thick French accent, but Jon had no way to know whether or not his accent was genuine.

Jon cast about for a topic of conversation. "It's too bad you don't have any privacy," he said, referring to the photo session at the door. "I wonder how the paparazzi knew you'd be here?"

"My publicist told them, silly. How else are my fans going to know I'm going out with an artist?"

Jon was taken aback. "Your fans can't possibly know who I am, or care one way or the other."

"My publicist told the photographers who you are. She asked me to give you her business card, by the way, in case you were interested in hiring her firm to represent you."

He shook his head in amazement. "You've got this down to a science. Are you sure you're only seventeen?"

For dinner, Jon chose the steak. January ordered crab cakes in flawless French. At least Jon thought it was flawless; he'd taken three years of French in high school, but she lost him after a few words. The waiter seemed to understand her perfectly, so Jon guessed he was the real deal after all. He gathered up the menus and headed toward the kitchen while January checked her reflection in the window to her right.

"How'd you learn to speak French so well?" he asked.

"I have a tutor when I'm working on the set. He's originally from Quebec."

Thereafter, Jon didn't have to say much. Having a dialogue wasn't a requirement with January, apparently, since she mainly liked to talk about herself. With any other girl he might have found it annoying, but Jon found her life pretty interesting. She'd been working in commercials from the age of six and had a lengthy, recurring role on a soap opera in New York City. As a teenager, she'd begun working in feature films.

"What kinds of movies do you like to do best?" he asked.

"I like the ones with magic and stuff," she said. "They put the special effects in after my part is finished, so when I'm watching it at the premiere, it's like the magic is really happening. Don't you ever wish there was such a thing as magic?"

Jon kept a straight face. "Sometimes, but I think magic would make life here on Earth pretty complicated."

"I think it would make life easier."

"Well… I like things just the way they are."

"Oh, your life is boring," she said, dismissing him with a wave of her manicure.

Inwardly, Jon sighed.
My life is boring?
Sometimes I wish that were true.

****

As Jon pulled into the parking lot at Pacific Prep, January clammed up and became fidgety.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I've only been at this school for two weeks, and I don't know anyone yet. I'm starting to have an anxiety attack."

January seemed to shrink into the leather seat, and Jon couldn't believe he suddenly felt sorry for her. It didn't seem possible to take pity on a shrew.

"Don't worry. I used to go to school here and I know everybody. I'll introduce you around," he said. "It'll be okay. And if it's not, we'll leave early."

After he parked the car, he came around to open January's door. As she took his hand, she had a radiant, confident smile on her lips, but from the way she was crushing his fingers, Jon knew it was an act.

"You're beautiful, January. People will fall all over themselves to talk to you."

For a moment her eyes softened, but her momentary vulnerability gave way to an attitude of suspicion. "That was a nice thing to say."

She made it sound almost like an accusation. A retort bubbled to his lips, but Jon just smiled and towed her toward the auditorium. As they drew closer, he heard music spilling through the open door. Several students were milling around outside, drinking punch and socializing with one another. Jon had gone to school with most of them from kindergarten through the end of tenth grade. It had bugged him that he'd never fit in, but not so much anymore. Most of his former classmates seemed startled to see him and even more surprised when they recognized his date.

Jon glanced around, finally zeroing in on someone January should meet. Kyle Ranchon had starred in practically every drama production the school had had while Jon was there. Preferring to stay behind the scenes, Jon had designed posters for a couple of them. He and Kyle had never been close, but tonight Jon greeted him like an old buddy.

"Yo, Kyle. It's Jon Hansen… Remember me? Hey, have you met January Beck?"

From the gleam in Kyle's eyes, it was obvious he was eager to meet January. While they talked, Jon chatted up Kyle's date Phyllis. He remembered having a crush on her when they'd been in seventh grade, but she'd never given him a second look. Tonight, though, she was friendly, and mentioned the article about Jon's upcoming art exhibit.

Phyllis and Kyle waved some of their friends over, and before long a fairly large crowd had formed. January and Jon were separated, but he kept his eye on her. She seemed to be the center of attention and quite happy, so Jon ducked into the auditorium for a few minutes to check out the decor.

Although Jon gave the decorating committee credit for their execution, the retro '70s theme wasn't terribly imaginative. The band was live, though, and fortunately it wasn't playing disco music. As he wove his way through the crowd, Jon bumped into his former friend Bruce. Bruce had put on a good fifty pounds in the last year and a half, and the extra weight wasn't doing him any favors. In Jon's opinion, he resembled a bloated tick.

"What're
you
doing here?" Bruce sneered.

Jon didn't bother to answer. Bruce had turned on him when his bad publicity hit, just when he'd needed a friend the most. He tried to brush past, but Bruce persisted. "I didn't know they let weirdos crash this party. Who's your date, the Sugar Plum Fairy?"

Go dunk your head in the punchbowl
. Jon gave Bruce a level look, but decided not to engage him. He headed outside and snagged a cup of something cold at the refreshment table. January was still talking with Phyllis, who was apparently now her new best friend.

"How're you doing?" Jon asked, handing January the cup. "You okay here or do you want to dance?"

Before she could answer, Phyllis chimed in. "Let's all dance!"

January drained her drink and tossed the cup into a nearby trashcan just as Bruce walked by. Jon was delighted when some of the liquid splashed onto Bruce
'
s sleeve.

Phyllis grabbed January's hand and pulled her toward the gym. Jon and Kyle exchanged an amused glance and a shrug.

"I thought they wanted to dance with
us,
" Jon said.

****

As Jon danced with January, he enjoyed the way her skirt flared when she turned. The band played several fast songs, but when it shifted gears and began to play a romantic ballad, he hesitated.

"You want something else to drink?" He edged backward.

January challenged him with her gleaming white smile. "You afraid of me?"

"Not even."

Jon pulled her into a firm embrace. They began to move to the music, and he wondered whether he'd fallen into some sort of weird twilight dimension. A couple of weeks ago he'd wanted to dump a bucket of ice on the girl's head, and now they were slow dancing together. Her curly hair brushed his jaw and he caught another whiff of her fragrance. He bent closer to breathe it in.

"What're you doing?" January giggled.

Embarrassed, he pulled away. "Sorry. I just — um, it's your perfume. I'm trying to figure out what it is."

"It's Anastasia L'Amour's Gardenia Crush."

"Oh, right. I guessed gardenias."

Startled by a sudden buzzing vibration in his chest, Jon jumped a mile.
What in blazes?
It freaked him out until he remembered January's phone was in his jacket.

"What
'
s wrong?" she asked.

"Your phone is going off," he managed. He extricated the device and gave it to her.

She glanced at the number on the screen and gave Jon a pleading look. "It's my agent. I'm sorry, but I really have to take the call."

January left the auditorium with him trailing behind. Once outside, he loosened his tie, wondering if it was too soon in the evening to ditch it. Daring the coat-and-tie police to arrest him, he slid off his jacket, loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt a little. He stowed the tie in his jacket pocket and got a cup of soda from the refreshment area. As he drank, Bruce reappeared, flanked by a couple of other kids Jon had used to hang with.

"Seen any poltergeists lately?" Bruce sneered.

On cue, his friends laughed at his joke.

"Grow up," Jon said. "You're not in fifth grade anymore."

January appeared and slipped her cell phone into Jon's jacket pocket. "I've got an audition in L.A. Monday morning. I can't believe they do these things so last minute."

Bruce and his friends exchanged an incredulous look.

"What's a girl like you doing with
him?
" he asked. "Don't you know he's crazy?"

Jon should have let it slide, but he'd had enough of Bruce's taunts and was still smarting from his betrayal. With a dangerous grin, he handed his jacket to January. "Shut your mouth. Or should I do it for you?"

"Come on, Jon. Let's dance," January suggested.

"Yeah. Take your Hollyweird girlfriend and disappear like Houdini," Bruce said, snapping his fingers in the air. "Like your dad."

"Make me," Jon said.

Bruce swelled up like a bullfrog for a moment, but to Jon's disappointment he backed down. "Nah, it's not worth it." He disappeared with his friends into the auditorium.

As he took back his jacket, Jon gave January an apologetic glance. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry. It was exciting." January paused. "What was he talking about?"

Jon knew Lynn wouldn't have said anything about Yden, but he assumed she'd mentioned his father's months-long kidnapping and reappearance, which had necessitated a cover story about a crazy hermit and a cave. "Lynn didn't tell you about me?"

"She told me how cute you were and how talented and polite and perfect in every way. She left out the crazy part."

With a sigh, Jon launched into his standard spiel. "My dad was kidnapped about a year and a half ago. I didn't see the guy who took him very well, but there was a flash of light. When the police came I was confused and rambled on. It sounded crazy, I guess, and the newspapers got a hold of the police report. Some of the kids here at Pacific Prep were pretty mean about it."

January froze. "Wait a minute… I remember something about that. Weren't you in
The
American Inquisitor?
"

"That was me."

"Wow." She paused. "You came with me tonight even though you knew you'd run into those creeps? That was kind of—"

"Stupid?"

"
Noble,
" she said. "How annoying. I'm going to have to tell Lynn she was right. I hate it when that happens."

Unbidden, a vision of Kira and Davy flashed into Jon's head and he was consumed with ugly jealousy. "I'm not noble. Far from it."

They stayed for the band's next set and the one after that. Before Jon knew it, the dance was over. As he drove January back to Lynn's house, she stretched and kicked off her shoes.

"Listen, thanks for tonight," she said. "I met a lot of people because of you."

"I'm glad. Phyllis is a nice person. I think she'll be a good friend."

"I don't have many friends."

"A girl like you?"

"Not real friends. Most people want something from me. It gets kind of lonely, to be honest."

January was uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the drive. When they reached Lynn's bungalow, he escorted her to the door. At the last moment, he remembered to return her cell phone.

"Well… bye," he said. "Good luck with the interview, and I'll see you next week. Don't forget, the theme is tropical. I'm going to wear a Hawaiian shirt."

"Okay, thanks. Listen, I had a good time." January hugged him tightly and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Once again he was enveloped in a cloud of heady fragrance.

"I had a good time, too," he admitted.

He waited for her to get into the house safely, and then he left. As he drove away, Jon scratched his head in confusion. He'd seen two sides of January Beck. Which one was reality and which one was pretend?