Well had in n out last night, so guess I’m a true CA girl now, Allyson texted back to JC later in the morning.

Solid start, he shot back shortly after. We set for tonight still?

Yep. And Liz is cool? She had checked three times in the weeks leading up to the trip that JC was OK with Liz coming with them to dinner. Although she would prefer dinner just she and JC, she couldn’t not include Liz.

Yeah!

Then see you tonight.

:)

After a breakfast of avocado toast and roasted potatoes with a turmeric-based juice, Liz and Allyson spent the rest of the afternoon on the top of the double-decker red bus listening to the history of Los Angeles and spotting star houses.

After the hours-long tour, they made the trip back to Pasadena to get ready to meet JC for dinner. He was very specific that this was not Allyson’s birthday celebration, but a welcome to LA dinner. She was more excited than she realized she would be. Meanwhile, Liz was a nervous wreck. She had been near some mega-stars helping with some of Disney’s recent movies, but she never associated with them outside of work, much less sat down and had dinner with them at The Palm.

“It’ll be fine,” Allyson said reassuringly. “I promise he’s just as sweet as we always imagined he would be.”

“I’ll try to do my hyperventilating in the car, so I don’t do it at the table. We’re about to have dinner with JC freaking Chasez,” Liz said, dancing a bit in her room as she chose the sundress she wanted to wear and let her blonde beachy waves fall to her shoulders. “We might live in the same part of California, but we are not in the same circles by any means. What we’re doing tonight is not normal.”

Allyson giggled, thinking about what JC said about making sure she does LA right the first time.

Five dress changes later, Allyson and Liz climbed into Liz’s gunmetal gray Range Rover – it was her only splurge since moving to California, aside from her house.

Ultimately, Liz chose a white and black geometric print off-the-shoulder dress that was fitted, but not tight. Allyson wore the emerald green slip dress she brought and put a black jean jacket over it. Both women paired black heels with their outfits.

As they began walking toward the restaurant’s entrance after leaving their car with valet, they saw a Mercedes convertible pull into the spot their car had just occupied in front of the restaurant. Out stepped JC in a black button-down shirt, the top two buttons undone with black dress pants.

Both women caught themselves staring and Allyson’s breath caught in her throat. This was the first time she had seen JC in person since last year in New York, and he looked good.

He flashed the women a toothy grin as he handed his keys to the valet attendant.

“How are you gorgeous ladies tonight?” he asked, hugging them both.

“This is my friend Liz. Thank you for inviting us both to dinner. Quite a place here. Iconic.”

“Of course! The Palm has to be on the list of things to do in LA,” he smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Liz. And has it really been a year since I saw you, Allie?”

“Yep. New York was the last time.”

“Wow. That’s crazy. Well, welcome to LA, honey,” he said, wrapping his arm around Allyson again, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “Let’s get dinner, shall we?”

The conversation was nice, ranging from school to music to sports, and the time went by quickly, just like it had the first time Allyson and JC had dinner together.

“I got this,” JC waved Liz’s hand away from the check. “This is my treat to both of you.”

“No, I can’t let you do that. You can cover Allyson, but please let me get mine.”

“I will not. I invited both of you to dinner, and I will be treating both of you to dinner,” he said sternly but with a bit of a lightness in his voice.

“OK, OK,” Liz finally backed off, putting her hands in the air in defeat.

“Thank you,” he smiled.

With the check paid, JC asked if they wanted to extend the night at any clubs, but Allyson knew Liz was looking forward to another chill night, and Allyson could use another night to fight the jet lag after not getting much sleep her first night in town. They had planned to experience the LA nightlife while Allyson was visiting, but not before the weekend.

“Could we club hop tomorrow night?” Allyson asked with pleading eyes. “We stayed up until 3 a.m. and it’s catching up with me. I can’t hang with y’all.”

“Saturday night in LA? Yeah we can do that,” JC said with a laugh. “Get ready for some crowded clubs and loud music.”

“I can’t wait,” Allyson said as she looked at Liz. “You did promise to help me do LA right.”

“It’ll be the full experience, that’s for sure,” he laughed before turning to Liz. “Are you a club person?”

“Not really,” she said with a chuckle. “The housing selection is not the only reason I chose Pasadena instead of Los Angeles.”

JC just nodded. “Well tomorrow we make the night ours.”

As they waited for their cars, JC gave Liz a quick hug before bringing Allyson in for a full bear hug. “Oh! You do give some of the best hugs,” he said into her hair.

Allyson just smiled as she let the long hug work its healing powers.

Liz and Allyson, both sports fans, spent Saturday touring Dodgers Stadium, since their schedule made it so Allyson could not get to a game while she was on the West Coast.

Her phone dinged. I’ll pick you and Liz up at 10, she read from JC.

“Starting at 10? I’m too old for this shit,” she laughed to Liz.

“It’ll be fun! It’ll be a new experience for both of us. Besides, we’ll be with JC, so we’re bound to get some nice perks.”

“That’s probably true,” Allyson said.

Sounds good, she typed back.

Allyson pulled on a black sequined miniskirt and white sleeveless flowy top with some chunky black heels.

“Damn!” Liz said as Allyson entered the living room in her outfit. “Dressed to impress I see.”

“I’ve been waiting for so long for the right time to come around so I can wear this damn skirt,” she laughed.

“Well you’re killing it,” Liz reassured her.

“Well, look at you, missy! Let’s see a twirl,” Allyson said looking up and down at Liz’s choice of denim short shorts, a strapless black bustier-style top and over-the-knee black boots.

“I don’t really go out. Is this OK?”

“You look hot, girl! You’re gonna get you a man tonight!”

Liz snorted, “Yeah, OK. Let’s not put too much pressure on tonight.”

“Fine. Let’s just have some fun and look good doing it!”

Allyson looked at her watch and saw it was 10 ’til 10, putting on the finishing touches of her makeup and making sure her hair was as she wanted.

At exactly 10, JC was at Liz’s door, ready to get the night started.

“Well, damn! I’m glad I stepped up my game a little tonight,” he laughed as he stepped back and took in the vision of Allyson and Liz. JC opted for a more casual, yet sexy look with tan pants and a plain white V-neck T-shirt that showed off his summer glow. To top it off, he left his scruff from the day. “I’ll be with the best-looking mamas in the joint.”

Liz and Allyson both smiled and laughed as they exchanged glances.