I did a little research on what the bulk of New Yorkers think of Los Angeles, and what I learned was pretty entertaining, so I put a lot of that into this chapter. Enjoy! :)
In the fifteen minutes it took to get from the airport to the hotel, Jamie decided that he liked New York a lot better than Los Angeles. It was just so summery and beach-y and bright. Then again, what was he supposed to expect? It never snowed here, so obviously these people didn't feel the need to have their city look like anything more than an urbanized strip of sand.
Taking a second to glance over at Eddie, who was, of course, sleeping, he couldn't help but wonder if his family had been right about this being a bad idea. But of course, he had told his family he didn't care what the department thought. They were words spoken in a moment of defiance, but still, he was glad to spend this time with one of his closest friends.
That had always been his problem. He thought things over too much. Eddie, she just said whatever popped into her head, and that was one of his favorite things about her. She would always tell him the truth, no matter how much it might hurt.
Jamie's thoughts were interrupted by a groggy voice. "We there yet?" Eddie croaked.
"Just about. Another mile and a half."
"Well, you can take the car and do whatever you want once we get there. I'm gonna sleep."
"Okay."
When they reached the hotel, Jamie unloaded their luggage, leaving it with Eddie in the lobby, and went to park the car. When he reentered, Eddie was waiting for him by the service desk. They checked into their rooms and took the elevator up. When they reached their floor, Eddie took her suitcase and entered her room without a word, came back out only to stick the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob, and left Jamie standing awkwardly in the hallway.
He entered his own room, which was next door to Eddie's, and set his backpack and suitcase on the floor. He wasn't tired at all, as he had slept well the night before, as well as on the plane. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and took it out of airplane mode. His lockscreen filled with at least one text from every Reagan that used texting as their primary communication method, and a missed call and voicemail from all the others.
Jamie read their messages and listened to the voicemails, which were all variations on a theme, asking him how the plane ride went, and some asking if he had asked out Eddie yet. He took a few moments to politely respond to all of them saying, yes, the plane ride went well, and no, he had not asked out Eddie.
Sitting down on the bed, Jamie considered his options. He could sit around for the rest of the day and watch TV, or drive aimlessly around Los Angeles. He chose the second option, grabbed the rental car keys, room key, and his wallet, and set out.
When Eddie woke up, she felt refreshed, to say the least. Glancing over at the digital clock on her bedside table, the first thing she realized was that it was 5:30 pm. The second thing she noticed was that she had missed lunch, and was starving. Groaning, she got out of bed and knocked on the door to Jamie's hotel room. He didn't answer, so she knocked again. Still no response, which she thought was weird, so she went back into her room to send him a text.
E: Where are you?
After a few moments, he responded.
J: In this restaurant somewhere. Maybe an hour away?
E: Wow. Helpful. I'm hungry and you have the car. Do the math.
Eddie could almost hear his exasperation bleeding through the screen of her phone.
J: You're from NY. Walk somewhere.
E: Fine.
A few seconds later, she sent him another text.
E: This city really is an over-annexed beach shop.
J: And you were the first to notice this? Jamie replied.
E: Fair point. See you.
J: Bye.
Eddie walked into the bathroom to fix her makeup, which was in a rather terrible state after fourteen-plus hours. She fixed her hair, grabbed her purse, and set out in search of a decent restaurant. After walking around for what seemed like an eternity, she settled on a small pizza place. Of course, the pizza wasn't as good as New York pizza, but Eddie was hungry, and desperate times call for eating second-rate west coast food.
Once she payed, she headed back to the hotel, and texted Jamie to ask him how close he was, and he responded saying he was about ten minutes away from the hotel, so she waited up for him in the lobby.
When he walked in, the first thing Eddie noticed was that he was carrying a restaurant takeout bag. "What's that?" she asked. "Because if it's more of this crappy LA food, I want no part of it."
"So it wasn't just me? The food back home actually is better?"
"Trust me, it's not just you. But seriously, what's in there?" Eddie was curious about the takeout bag.
"Don't laugh at me," Jamie began, "but I got some Los Angeles-made New York Cheesecake.
"You're kidding, right? That's just messed up."
"I agree. It was so messed up that I just had to get some to see just how much better we can make it back at home."
"Mind if I join you in eating that inferior cheesecake?"
Jamie smiled. "Sure."
So the pair headed up to Jamie's hotel room. When they got there, Jamie perched on the edge of the bed and Eddie flopped down into the chair. Jamie pulled out a boxed slice of cheesecake and a fork and handed it to Eddie, before taking a second slice and fork for himself.
Eddie took a sizable bite before crinkling her nose. "This is not the same."
Jamie had a similar expression. "They really shouldn't be allowed to call this New York Cheesecake."
"I'm sure you could sue them for that, Mr. Harvard Law Degree," Eddie said with a cheeky smile.
"Hey!" Jamie said, putting his hand over his heart, feigning offense.
Eddie snorted with laughter, and before Jamie knew it, he was laughing just as hard. When he finally managed to stop laughing, he was winded and had a stitch in his side. "Not… Funny…" he choked out.
"Just a little bit, Reagan," Eddie said, setting the score straight.
"Okay, maybe a little bit. Anyway, what are we doing tomorrow?" Jamie asked.
Eddie gave him a wicked grin. "We're going shopping, of course!"
Jamie opened his mouth to protest, but Eddie wasn't finished.
"And I'm taking the car, so unless you want to sit around the hotel watching pay-per-views all day, I recommend you come with me."
Jamie sighed. "Fine. Shopping it is."
"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"
Jamie wasn't convinced. "If you say so."
"And we're going to have to get you something to wear to the wedding, remember?" Eddie said.
Jamie glared in her direction. "Well, I'm jet lagged, so I'm going to ask you to get out of my hotel room so I can get some sleep."
"That was a low blow, Reagan," Eddie said as she got up out of the chair and headed toward the door.
Jamie's eyes followed her as she dropped the barely-touched Los Angeles Cheesecake into the trash can and made her exit.
"Goodnight," he called after her, almost an afterthought.
"'Night," he heard her say from the other side of the door.
Hope you liked it! Remember to review and let me know what you liked or didn't!
