Having four drinks in less than an hour was definitely starting to push Jett over the edge into the realm of tipsy. He was still self-aware for the most part—or at least, he was pretty sure he was still self-aware—but he could feel the alcohol quite a bit now. Leaning back against the edge of the bar, he looked over the crowd again. There was no doubt in his intoxicated mind that this was exactly what the producers had been hoping for when they’d set out that table of free drinks. A pilot episode about a bunch of drunken people—half of whom were famous celebrities—was sure to rake in the views. However, he wasn’t about to let himself fall into their trap. He may have joined their show, but he planned to play it by his own rules. After all, his goal was to make this summer as memorable as possible, and that meant spending every day however he wanted to. Sure, maybe some days he would get drunk and party hard, but he was only going to do so on his terms, not anyone else’s.

Interestingly enough, it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who had come here with that train of thought. Jett glanced at Anna again with a curious look when she responded so casually to his comment about the possibility that all their rooms would be close together. Like him, she seemed to have her own agenda when she joined this show. Just the fact that she thought nobody was good enough to date her was proof enough that she wasn’t the type to roll over to someone else’s whim. Somehow, knowing that made him want to keep getting to know her better. There was something magnetic about the way she didn’t seem to care about anyone else’s opinion of her. He got the impression that she would do whatever she wanted without paying any mind to the people watching, and he had a feeling they would get along quite well during the time they had together over the summer.

“It’s not much of a bet if we’re on the same side,” Jett snorted at Anna’s haughty expression. He opened his mouth to make a snide remark about teaching her a lesson or two about gambling, but before he had a chance, a third person appeared to join their little conversation. He quirked a brow in surprise when a girl he didn’t recognize practically shoved herself between them to reach the drink table. [i]Someone knows how to make an entrance.[/i] It was clear that this woman had just one mission on her mind: Get wasted and drag everyone else down in the process. He barely had time to react as she put a new glass in his hand. Looking down, he saw that she’d given him a Manhattan with a black olive garnish. [i]Well, it’s not an Old Fashioned, but I’ll take it,[/i] he thought as he lifted the whiskey cocktail to his lips. Now on drink number five, he made a mental note to stop once the glass was empty, so he wouldn’t get drunk enough to make a fool of himself.

The girl, whom he now knew was named Nina, was quick to introduce herself to them. Jett could smell the heavy scent of alcohol on her breath when she spoke, but he knew he probably wasn’t much better off at the moment, so he kept his mouth shut about it. He hung back as Nina and Anna spoke briefly to each other, studying the new girl from a small distance. Like all the other auditionees to join the show, she was attractive, with thick, dark hair and exotic looking features. But in addition to that, her personality was also a closer fit to what he had been expecting to find here in Malibu. Energetic and bubbly, she reminded him of the classic fans he’d believed would be the ones to submit an audition tape to the producers in the first place.

When it came time for his turn to introduce himself to Nina, Jett flashed her a friendly smile. Even though he’d been having a good conversation with Anna, he didn’t mind the extra face. After all, the whole reason he had come to this place was to have a good time and meet new people. He didn’t want to spend the entirety of his first day on the show with just one of the other eleven guests—even if she was in intriguing hottie. “Nice to meet you, Nina,” he said, setting down his empty Old Fashioned glass to take the new girl’s hand. “I’m Jett.”

“Jett… as in [i]Olliston[/i]?” Nina’s eyes widened. [i]There[/i] was the recognition he’d been expecting.

“Maybe,” Jett winked at her.

“Oh my god,” Nina grew visibly more excited as she began to spout off: “I loved your last album! Your voice is amazing. Do you write all your own music?”

“Thanks,” Jett laughed. “And yeah, I do.” If he’d been soberer, he might have found her onslaught of fast-paced words more deterring, but with four and…—he subtly checked his glass—a third cocktails in him, he was more amused by her enthusiasm than anything else.

“Cool,” Nina gave him one of her bright smiles, swaying slightly on her feet from the drinks in her system. “There are so many talented people here! It’s like… damn, I never thought I’d meet famous people like you guys in real life. This is [i]so cool[/i].”

“Yeah, well we ‘famous people’ never thought we’d meet you either, so I think we’re even,” Jett said with a flirtatious grin. He hadn’t really joined the show to meet anyone, and that hadn’t changed since he’d arrived at the house, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t keep his options open. If there was even a chance that any of the girls here were “the one,” he wanted to leave the door open for romance.

Plus, on a totally unrelated note, a little flirting sounded like fun after all the alcohol he’d had that night.