She hadn't told Jasmine of her intentions, and she felt bad about not sharing her thoughts with her best friend. They'd been friends since kindergarten, and although Jasmine had blossomed into the typical popular, pretty, cheerleader-type high schooler, Jasmine had not abandoned their friendship in favor of friends more hip and more popular. And Hailey was grateful.
If she had revealed her plans to Jasmine, Hailey knew Jasmine would have inflated expectations for the night. And Hailey didn't want to deal with that. Especially since there was a likely chance she wouldn't stick to her plan of rebellious liberation at all.
Jasmine was preoccupied with Trevor, whispering and kissing on one end of the sofa. Miguel and Levi were curled up together in an armchair. Adam and Kayla had slipped out of the room a while ago. Now, Conner clutched Hailey's hand and looked into her eyes as he spoke.
"I can't believe you drank half my beer," he said. "I bet you're drunk now, huh?"
She giggled. "No. Can someone get drunk off half a beer?"
"Yeah, probably you."
They both laughed.
"Well, I feel more relaxed. But I'm definitely not drunk."
"Your parents will be so pissed if you go home drunk."
"I'm not drunk. Plus, I'm spending the night at Jasmine's."
"Oh." Conner stared as if examining her.
"What?"
"Nothing." He leaned his shoulder into hers. "You wanna go talk somewhere?"
Talk, huh? "Where? And won't Adam's parents be home soon?"
"They won't be home until after eleven. It's only nine thirty."
She glanced at Jasmine and then Miguel, both completely absorbed in their boyfriends. "Oh, okay. Then yeah, we can go somewhere."
He smiled broadly, stood, and pulled her to her feet. "C'mon."
When he led her to the stairs, she hesitated for a fleeting moment but didn't show her reluctance to Conner. And who was she trying to fool? Of course she'd known what his suggestion of going somewhere to talk implied.
Upstairs, they walked down the hall to a guest room. Inside, he led her to the bed and sat. "Is this okay?" he asked.
"Uh, huh." Seated next to him, she ran her hands down her jeans, resting them on her knees. She thought about asking him to turn on a lamp but decided against it. "It's nice spending time with you again. I mean, you know, away from school and stuff. Hanging out."
"Yeah. It is nice."
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I've avoided you."
"Well, not completely."
"No, not completely. But since that night."
He smiled faintly. "It's okay. We're here together now, right?"
"Uh, huh."
Looking into her eyes, Conner smiled and then kissed her.
* * *
After ordering coffee and a slice of Italian rum cake, Lou rested his forearms on the table. "So, should we talk about Hollywood?"
At this, Walter and Dave perked up.
"Yes," Stella said. "Let's get into the Hollywood stuff."
"Obviously someone mentioned it to you."
"One of my friends in L.A. works at a talent agency. Someone in her office is affiliated with the production company that's been talking to you. Avery something."
"Avery Avenue Productions."
"That's them."
"Dave and I have a deal for a pilot episode. We're finalizing details and planning a schedule. But we're thinking about presenting them with the Jared Smith story. You know, give them something they can't possibly turn down."
"Hmm." Leaning back, she raised her coffee to her lips. "If they get excited by the Jared story, you'll be setting a firm standard. The following episodes will need to wow your audience. Or at least entertain them as much as an investigation into a possessed kid."
"You and I both know that it's up to us to either squash the details of an alleged haunting or to convince an audience to buy into it. I don't exaggerate a haunting, contrary to your belief. When the haunting is genuine, I reassure people that what they experience is in fact true."
"Give them something to chew on."
"Exactly." Lou sat more upright in his chair and traded glances with everyone at the table. "I have Dave. You have Walter. We both have great interviews to start fleshing out the story. Likely, the information we get will lead to more information. We can mold this story into a creepy tale of possession and poltergeist activity and demons and exorcism."
She didn't respond with enthusiasm, so Lou continued, "Walter and Dave won't need to film any ghostly shenanigans. We don't need footage of a possessed kid. We can take all this information and present the story as a true case of demonic possession."
"Provided that it's true," she said.
"Well, yes. Of course. I don't wanna waste my time making up a story." He finally pierced his cake with a fork. "If there's nothing to this story, then I'm gonna move on. Dave and I can seek out the next haunting case to use for the network."
A smile returned to her lips. "It sounds like you want Walter and I to work on this pilot episode with you."
"If we work together on this, we'll come up with a great story. You know it. I know it. And soon enough, the network will know it. Let's give them something they won't hesitate to commit to. This could lead to great things for all of us."
Tucking her chin, she drummed her shiny, manicured fingernails on the table and stared into her cup of coffee. Then she tilted her head to Walter. "What do you say? You wanna be on TV?"
He raised his nearly empty glass of red wine. "You know me. I'm always willing to chase a bigger check. Let's go for it."
She pulled the plate of white cake with raspberry sauce closer and picked up her fork. "All right, Lou. It looks like the four us are going to be chasing an exorcism story. No risk, no gain, right?"
Lou smiled wide. "Great. Tomorrow morning, we'll get to work. For now, let's enjoy ourselves."
* * *
Hailey liked the way Conner's warm lips caressed hers. She liked the feel
