The Hills - Season 4, Episode 14

Whitney is entranced by her first Jay sighting

"Back To New York"
Original airdate: 11/9/2008

Episode summary: Heidi is glum about her unemployed status. Lauren and Whitney are summoned to New York for Fashion Week...where Whitney meets her future Australian beau, Jay.

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Recap: Kelly Cutrone calls the People's Revolution's L.A. office (from the New York office) to inform everyone that they booked more fashion shows than originally expected, and she therefore needs Whitney, Lauren, and the superfluous MTV camera crew to jet across the country asap to help out with all the added styling and model line-ups. After the conference call, Whitney tells Lauren that she and Alex have been in touch by phone and text, then gushes about how super excited she is to return to the Big Apple.

The next day in New York, Kelly is barking at her People's Revolution staff about how they should manage non-registrants who arrive at the shows and demand to get in. A few seconds later, Lauren and Whitney arrive, get snarled at by Kelly for not wearing black as is the law at People's Revolution, and are instructed to head over to Andrew Buckler's studio stat to help style the male models. Kelly tells Whitney that Alex will be walking in the show and that Lauren is likely going to see him in his underwear...and Whitney and Lauren gigglingly assure her they're fine with it [mostly 'cause - spoiler - Whitney is just not that into him and could give a fuck about who sees him nearly naked]. 

Lauren and Whitney rush over to Studio Buckler, where a bevy of muscular young men are in various stages of undress. Whitney greets Alex with a hello hug, and then she and Lauren meet Adam, a new model friend who will be somewhat integral to the first season of the Hills' spin-off show: The City.

Back in L.A., a mopey Heidi explains to Spencer that she's in such a glum mood 'cause she just got fired from a pretend job she loved - all because she acted like a drunken idiot in front of her boss's boss. Spencer unhelpfully retorts by mumbling that the XIV party needed an infusion of excitement, then suggests they go out tonight to get her mind off of her faux firing. Heidi mulls that over and says she might be up for a night out on the town - but in the meantime is off to update her resume...for what actual purpose, I can't imagine.

"In hindsight, I prolly shouldn't have gotten drunk and sassed my über-boss."

"Dunno...I thought that party was in desperate need of some inebriated energy."

Backstage at the Andrew Buckler show, Whitney tells Adam that she and Lauren are headed back to L.A. first thing in the morning...and he looks disappointed for a few seconds, then invites them to hang at his restaurant later, where his friend Jay and his band will be performing (squeal!). As Alex unhappily eavesdrops on the conversation, Kelly orders Whitney and Lauren to stop socializing and get the models in line for the show...and after the show wraps an hour or so later, Whitney covertly tells Lauren that Alex is nice - but that the dude's way too nervous for her liking.

Later, Lauren and Whitney arrive at Adam's restaurant (Il Bastardo), where a shaggy-haired, sweat-drenched Jay is performing with his band. As Whitney stares in smitten fascination at Jay, Alex arrives at the restaurant and makes a beeline over to where she's sitting. Whitney lamely tells him she doesn't want to abandon Lauren...so he agrees to awkwardly loiter across the room so that she can be totally unfettered for when Jay is done performing. A few seconds later, Jay wanders over and is introduced to Whitney and Lauren...and a few minutes later, when he's safely out of hearing range, Whitney and Lauren cackle over the Aussie's hotness while Alex repeatedly glares over, his facial expression a combination of confusion and sourpussish dismay.
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Heidi and Spencer attend a Bolthouse launch party...and when Spencer sees Brent across the club, the producers egg him on to saunter over and force Brent into a one-on-one discussion about the tragic nature of Heidi's faux firing. Spencer tells Brent he feels soooo bad about Heidi getting sacked and was wondering if he wouldn't mind re-hiring her, and Brent just stares back at him incredulously and calls him out for causing problems everywhere he goes. He then says he'd rather speak directly to Heidi about reinstating her in her pretend job, and warns that he doesn't want to see him at his events ever again. 

Whitney summons the courage to buy Jay a shot o' liquor...and then the two exchange flirty banter while an irked Alex stares over at them as though he truly has no clue that his next move should be to just quietly exit Il Bastardo so he can stop embarrassing himself. As Jay asks Whitney what she thinks about the two of them spending the rest of the evening together, Alex mumbles to one of his friends, "I'm really losing steam with this whole thing, you know?" Mmmmm...yep. We know.

"Are you spoken for?"

"Nope, I'm completely single and eager to mingle."

"All of my steam is lost."

Whitney gushes to Lauren about how adorable Jay is, and that despite her general demureness when it comes to guys, she really really wants to spend the rest of the evening basking in his adorableness. Lauren urges her to go for it, not least 'cause they're only here for one night...and across the room, Alex continues to glare haplessly in her direction. 

Heidi apologizes to Brent for being subjected to a confrontation with Spencer, and Brent responds by getting his general dislike of Spencer off of his chest by replying, "Your boyfriend's a nightmare. What's wrong with him?" LOL. He further chides Heidi for letting scumbags like that have so much influence over her life...to which Heidi weakly insists that Spencer isn't a bad person, then expresses deep regret about guzzling so much tequila at a work-related event that she got fired for public drunkenness, and begs for another chance to work at Bolthouse. Brent pretends to chew on that possibility for a few seconds, and reluctantly agrees to talk to Sam about it. 

Back at Il Bastardo, Alex musters the courage to approach Whitney to tell her he'll be waiting at a nearby table whenever she has a minute [at never o'clock] ... and when Jay asks Whitney what that was all about, she grimaces and says that basically Alex is just some rando she barely went out with once who can't seem to take a damn hint. Jay suggests they leave right now and urges her to not give a shit about what Alex thinks. Whitney chucklingly leaves the restaurant with Jay...and the two walk down the street arm in arm while Alex stares pissily into space when he's informed by one of his friends that his gal just exited Il Bastardo with the charismatic Aussie.

Bastarda!

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