Leaning back against the edge of the bar, Jett lifted his glass to his lips and took a sip of his drink. The citrusy cocktail was a perfect means to whet his thirst after dancing with Anna. If he really wanted to, he probably could have lasted at least a few more songs with her, but he really didn’t want to end up an exhausted, sweaty mess on the very first day of the show. Today was all about first impressions, and he intended to show his best face to both the other cast members and the audience watching from home. That meant taking it easy without pushing himself unnecessarily to his limits.

Now that he had stepped out of the center of attention, Jett had another chance to look over the rest of the people in the house. The dance floor had filled up again pretty quickly once he and Anna had backed off, and it was easy to see that the rest of the cast was slowly getting drunk off the bottomless supply of beverages the bartender was putting out for them. Men and women with flushed faces were starting to get a little friendlier with each other, much to the delight of the prowling cameramen. He glanced down at the drink in his hand. This one was… his third? He ran a quick recount in his head. Yes, it was his third drink of the night. He took another sip. If he wasn’t careful to keep track, he knew he might end up just as tipsy as the others. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but he hadn’t even found his room in this massive house. He wanted to keep his wits about him enough to figure out where he was going to sleep at the end of this thing.

When Anna cleared her throat, he turned away from the crowd to look at her. The sight of her standing so confidently with her arms crossed brought another amused smile to his lips, and he lifted his glass to his mouth to hide it. He’d figured out by now that she didn’t know who he was, but the way she spoke to him was so different from everyone else, he couldn’t help but find it entertaining. To make it even better, she had apparently realized that he was one of the celebrity guests on the show, yet here she still was, talking to him like he was just some common stranger she had met at the bar. He liked her attitude.

“Looks like you figured me out, huh?” he laughed, hooking the thumb of his free hand into the pocket of his jeans. Though he’d known this show was supposed to be high-end, he’d chosen to dress down a bit for the debut. He’d brought along a couple nice suits for special occasions, but who in their right mind would want to fly across the country in dress pants and a jacket? It had been much more comfortable to wear the simple pair of blue jeans and classic black button-down shirt he had on now.

“Honestly, I’m just here because it sounded like fun,” Jett answered her question with a one-shouldered shrug. “No matter who you are, life can get repetitive. I like a little variation to keep things interesting, and joining the cast of this show seemed like the perfect opportunity to mix things up.” He studied her face for a moment before breaking out in a grin. “You know, I should probably tell you what I do, since you don’t seem to know. It sounds like you figured out that I’m one of the celebrity guests, but to narrow that down a little further, I’m a song artist.” He paused to take another sip of his drink. “If you care to learn anything more than that, feel free to look me up. My full name’s Jett Olliston.”

Tilting his head back slightly, he finished off the rest of the drink in his hand and set the empty glass down on the bar. He was tempted to grab a fourth from the drink table but decided it would be better for him to pace himself at least a little bit. After all, there was still plenty of time left before the end of this party by the looks of it. He didn’t want to overindulge right at the start, when there was still so much to do, and so many people to meet. [i]Not to mention I’m having a decent conversation with a beautiful woman,[/i] he added, briefly letting his eyes sweep over Anna’s figure before they rested on her face again.

“I think I want to throw the same question back at you,” he said with a smirk. “You’re not a very crazy or eccentric personality, and you don’t seem interested in ogling at celebrities like some of the other ‘regular’ people here.” He held up one hand to form quotes in the air when he said the word ‘regular.’ “So, what made you join the show, Anna?”