Ashton glanced at the student and turned back to Bette.  “I need a change.  The Left Coast can’t be as bad as they say,” Ash said with a grin.

Alice had slowly made her way up the stairs, going against the crowd of students who were on the way down.  She had just reached Bette and Ashton when she heard the comment.

“Hey, who’s they?” she asked defensively.  She didn’t like East Coasters who came out to LA because they loved the weather, yet constantly criticized it.

Bette knew how Alice felt.  Not many of her friends were long-time Californians or natives for that matter.  Alice was and she embraced the California lifestyle with complete joie de vivre.  A sandwich wasn’t a sandwich if it didn’t come with slices of avocado and a handful of sprouts.  “Ash, I’d like you to meet my friend, Alice.  Ashton Schwartz, Alice Pieszecki.  She’s very into Los Angeles and the LA scene, so watch what you say.”

Looking directly into her eyes, he said with a kind smile, “I’m kidding, Alice.  You might not have the culture we have in New York…”

“Be careful, Ash.  Now you’re treading on my territory and you don’t want to piss me off in the first five minutes, do you?

“If you can blackmail me, I can piss you off.”  He paused before adding, “No, I usually can hold out for half an hour.  I guess I was just rushing us along, trying to play catch up too fast.  How long have you and Alice been together?”

“We’re not.  We’re just friends.”

“We dated several years ago, though.”

“Right, but it was always very casual,” Bette clarified honestly.

Ash was confused.  “My brother told me you were in a relationship.”

“That’s Tina.”  Bette lowered her eyes and said softly, “she couldn’t make it tonight.”

Alice turned to face Bette.  She wondered about the obvious deception.

“Oh, I see.”  Ash nodded and Alice glanced at him again.  She detected an oddness in this comment and watched him as he continued.  “Well, they’ve got me running around a lot, but maybe we can get together at some point.  I’m here for a month.”