My phone rang in my back pocket. I pulled it out and answered before I realized it was Ted. He was calling to find out if I was okay. He somehow heard what happened to me. I told him everything was fine. “I probably turned around too fast or something stupid like that,” I told him. After he was sure I was fine we talked about other things. Ted told me that he loved our lunch and would definitely do it again as soon as possible. I agreed since I hadn’t had a chance to make any friends yet. I hadn’t even been there a week yet. It was only Monday after all. I did know people out there however. My aunt and uncle were in Pasadena. I just needed to reconnect with them.

Before Ted hung up, he told me that he already passed off my demo to his friend. So now all I could do was wait.

I turned on my computer and went online. I needed to start looking for a job. My parents weren’t going to support me forever. And I wasn’t going to let Jason pay for everything either.

The first thing I looked up was a church job. I figured they probably paid really well out there in LA.

There were many listings, but there was no way for me to know who paid the most. I started at the top of the list with this place called All Saints. It was located in Beverly Hills. They should pay really well then. I called twenty more churches after calling All Saints and then I gave up for the day. I already had a few auditions lined up. Most every other church I called however was fully staffed. None of them needed a new tenor. The thought that crossed me was I might have come too late into the season. The church season was just like school; it started in the fall. Though, I found it odd that not many needed a tenor. Tenors were rare. Well, a true tenor was rare; like a true alto or a true bass. That was the rarest of voice types. Sopranos and baritones were a dime a dozen. No offense to any of you out there, but I know how hard it is for those two, unless they are amazing, to find work.

When I finished my job search for the day, I went into the kitchen for something to drink. I realized that I still hadn’t gone to the supermarket, so I got dressed again and headed out to find the nearest one. When I arrived, I began to notice the prices. It was so much more expensive in LA than it was in Miami. I was going to have to get used to a lot of different things here. Oh well; what could you do about it?

When I got home I checked my messages. That was odd. Jason had called and left a bunch of messages. I called him after my little accident. I assumed he was on set so I just left a message. I didn’t think he was working late today, but to leave so many messages for no real reason…. I guess he was worried about me. That must be what a boyfriend does. Not ever having one, I guess I wouldn’t know those things.

I put the groceries away and started cooking. While I was boiling some potatoes I tried to call Jason on his cell. It went straight to voice mail. Now that was odd. He had just called me not that long ago and now the phone was off.  I probably was reading too much into it.  It could have been nothing.

After I finished dinner I called Matthew. I completely forgot about the time difference, but he was still awake. We discussed our respective days. Of course, I told him what happened outside of the restaurant. He kept telling me that I should have gone to the hospital. I did black out after all for no apparent reason. I told him that until I had insurance, that wasn’t a viable option. After I hung up the phone, I went to bed. It was still relatively early, but the day had been very taxing.

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The dreams I had that night, were very weird. First I dreamed that I was standing on water looking at the shore, but I wasn’t in a boat. I was actually standing on the water. I raised my hands and a huge wave formed. I pushed my hands forward and the wave also moved forward. Not long after that, the wave crashed into the shore and destroyed the city that was there. Next thing I knew, I was in a place that was very white and I was surrounded by impossibly beautiful men and one of them actually looked like me. Well, he didn’t look like my dream self. I noticed that my hands were white and my arms were a little longer. The one who looked like me, and not my dream self, walked up to me and put his hands on my shoulders. I felt this white hot pain. It was blinding and I began to scream. I blacked out. When I came to, I was lying on the floor of a tent wearing fur and moccasins. I got up from the floor and went outside. I was in some field surrounded by other tents and other people waking up for the day. I pinched myself so I could wake up, but I couldn’t. I realized I was someone else entirely. I had long brown hair and my skin was more of a caramel color. Also, for some reason, I had memories of that place. I knew who these people were. They were my comrades. I had known them for years. I saw Ton-Ton coming out of her tent a few feet away. Krog was building a cooking fire and Hilc was skinning the meat. I also knew what year it was, but not because…..Janos knew, that was my name; Janos. I knew because I was still the other person who destroyed that city. It felt like I had two other people in my head, but they weren’t competing as if it were multiple personalities. The other me said that it was the year 12,220 B.C. The whole thing was so weird. After I spent the day as Janos, I was finally able to get some sleep. When I woke up, I was back in my own bed in my new apartment.

Well that was certainly a strange experience. It felt so real. It didn’t feel anything like a dream, but more like a memory, and I have had some crazy dreams before. I remember this one dream when I was nine. It was some cub-scout field trip to the local police station. I didn’t remember what happened inside the station, only that when we went outside, it was raining. A few weeks later, my cub-scout den had a field trip to the police station. It was a lot of fun, but then we went outside, and it was raining. I asked the den leader if this was our second time to the station and she said we had never been there before. I was really confused, because I knew that we had already done this, but everyone swore this was our first visit. It wasn’t until a few years later when I had the same type of dream and it came true that I knew what it actually was. I was seeing the future. It seemed impossible, but it kept happening and I wasn’t one to deny the facts. None of that mattered however. Whether it was a dream or a memory, it was over. It was time to face the new day.

I got out of bed and did my morning ritual. I had it down to about 25 to 30 minutes. It consisted of first using the toilet, then brushing my teeth, and followed by showering. After I finished toweling off, I would wash my face, put on moisturizer and then fix my hair. If I decided to put on contacts that day, I would do that before the moisturizer. After leaving the bathroom, I would put on a fresh pair of undies and put on lotion. I had really dry skin, so I couldn’t go a day without ever putting on lotion. After all was said and done, I would get dressed, if I had work or was going somewhere. Otherwise, I would just put on my house clothes. That day, I had nowhere to be, so I put on some house clothes. I made some breakfast and tried to call Jason again.

This time it rang through and he picked up. “Hello?”

“Hey there Jason, how are you?”

“James…I’m fine, but forget about me; how are you doing? I got your message. I tried calling but you weren’t there. Are you all right?”

“I’m okay I guess. It was a really weird experience.”

“Tell me what happened.”

So, I told him my exploits of the day; including the dream of the night before.

“How did you know that guy’s name? And when you say impossibly beautiful….”

“Ok, maybe not impossibly beautiful, at least, not as beautiful as you are.”

“Ha, good answer.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how I knew his name, but I did. I think I’ve met him somewhere before, I just can’t remember where.” That had racked my brain all day the day before. It reminded me so much of that first prophetic dream I had. I think it was that dream that set me on the path to find out about mystical things.

“James…..Are you still there?”

“Oh sorry Jason; I was daydreaming. You were saying?”

“I don’t work today, so maybe I should come over and we can talk about this.”

“Well, I wanted to call around for more auditions today. I only have four lined up and there is no guarantee those four will hire me.”

There was a pause on Jason’s end. I then heard him sighing. He said, “I already told you that I would help you until you found something. Why won’t you take me up on that offer?”

“I don’t want that kind of relationship. You are my boyfriend, not my sugar-daddy. Even though you are much older than me,” I joked.

“That’s very funny and I’m only four years older slut. Also, I’m not trying to make you a kept man; I just don’t want you to have to worry about money. I know how hard it can be in this city without work.”

“Jason, you know how much I appreciate everything you have done for me. If it weren’t for you, I would still be single. If we had never met, I would not have gone to that Hollywood party and met someone who has just passed off my demo to a record producer. You mean more to me than you could ever realize, but I only ask for help when I truly need it, not just when it’s offered to me.”

“I had no idea you felt that strong about it.”

Not that he could see me, but I nodded my head in agreement. “I really do Jason. Now, if you want to pay for a trip around the world, I won’t stop you. In fact, I would encourage it.”

He laughed.

“But if you try to pay my rent or my cable bill or something along those lines, I will refuse every time.”

“I think I understand now. Then how about this: can I come over and help you look for a regular job?”

“I would welcome that. Come on over.”

After a few a more minutes of playful banter, we hung up and Jason headed over to my place. He arrived not even five minutes later. It was very convenient to have a man that lived so close.

We went through the day calling more churches and driving around the city. I didn’t find a lot more opportunities, but with Jason’s help I got better acquainted with the city. He took me out that night for dinner and other stuff. The other stuff was going to the bars in West Hollywood. I didn’t think going out on a Tuesday would be fun, but it totally was. It was different there in LA since no one had regular schedules.

We didn’t go to any of the gay bars however. We walked up and down Sunset Strip and did our bar hopping there. We ran into so many stars and starlets. Some of them Jason knew and others we both met for the first time. At one place, I saw Freddie, Jason’s best friend. I went over and said hi and he gave me a big hug. All three of us were hanging until Jason said he had an early call. Freddie offered to take me home later on so we ended up hanging the rest of the night. He was so much fun. He tried to give me his number again and I told him I already had it. “Well then, you better call me, because you are fun!”

“I totally will. You aren’t bad yourself.”

He laughed.

The only problem I had with Freddie was actually a major problem. Well, I didn’t know if it was major or not, because it could have all been in my head.

When Jason left, Freddie became really friendly. He would grab my ass or give me a peck on the cheek. It almost felt like he was flirting but I didn’t truly believe that mostly because he had such a beautiful wife and guys just didn’t do that with me, so I simply brushed it off.

He drove me home around 3am after we stopped off at a diner for some after bar food.

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That night I had more strange dreams. In one I was a peasant roaming the streets at night. In another, I was an African prince. The last one I remembered was me as a mother of four in what looked like Ancient Greece. After that one, I woke up in a cold sweat at around 6 am. Afraid to go back to sleep, I got up and got ready for the day.

I decided to head over to Jason’s. I wanted to catch him before he left for work. I got there and could see that his car was in the driveway. There was another car parked behind his. Well that was interesting, but I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It could just be a friend that stayed over last night because they got too drunk, I thought. But what friend could that be? Jason left long before Freddie and I did and Jason said he was going home. When and why did he stop to do more drinking with someone other than Freddie and me; especially since he said he had an early call? I knocked on the door and waited a few minutes, but there was no answer. I tried again. Still no answer. He once told me that he kept a spare key under a plant by the door. He would forget his keys quite often. I looked under the one closest to the door and found it.

As I walked in, I noticed his clothes on the sofa as well as another set on the floor leading up the stairs. They were the ones he wore last night. It was not looking too good….for him. I walked up the stairs and I heard moaning. I walked down the hall to his bedroom and the sounds were getting louder. I got to the door with my eyes already welling up with tears. When I opened the door, I saw Jason fucking some random guy. Admittedly, it was a very hot scene, at least I thought so much later. At that moment however, I was furious. “So this is the reason you had to go home early?!”

They separated from each other and stared at me in bewilderment. “Oh my God; James, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see my boyfriend, but it looks as if you’re coming already, so I won’t bother you!” I turned around and walked out the door.

Jason jumped out of the bed and ran after me. He was still hard and still very naked. “James wait; I can explain….”

I stopped at the stairwell and looked back at him. I pointed down to his deflating….ego. “How are you going to explain why that thing was inside someone who wasn’t me? How are you going to explain why you left last night? You said you had an early call today. Why did you lie to me? Tell me!!” My voice was getting louder and louder with each sentence. Jason looked down. My tears were freely flowing. He tried to comfort me, but I just knocked his hands away. “I thought you were different Jason. You said that you were different. You said you would never do anything to hurt me. Well guess what? This hurts me!” I continued down the stairs and got to the front door when Jason grabbed me.

He said, “James please; I’m truly sorry. I never meant for this to happen. You have to forgive me.”

“I don’t have to do a fucking thing you ask! Stay the fuck away from me!!!” I said as I wrenched my arm from his grip. I threw his spare key at his chest and then I left. He followed me outside the house and a woman passing by screamed. Jason looked down and then covered himself up. He ran back inside. He tried to call out to me, but I was already inside my car and driving away.

Next Chapter: Are you for real?!