We finally pulled up to my new apartment building around 9 in the morning. Jean parked my car across the street. 

So this was Sycamore Avenue huh? I guess we would see just how well this was going to work. 

 All three of us walked to the front door and I buzzed the manager. She let us in and we went to her office.

It took us a little while to get everything signed and copied, but I finally got my keys along with the garage door opener. As Jean pulled my car into my assigned parking space, Matt and I went upstairs to view my new place. This would be the first time since I left home for school that I would be living alone. We walked in and began to look around. It wasn’t bad. The living room was really spacious and the kitchen was long with lots of cabinets and counter space. I’d be able to do some real cooking again like I did growing up in Texas. The bathroom was a little small compared to my place in Miami, but how much time did I really spend in the bathroom? The bedroom on the other hand was a nice size. The oversized dresser and queen sized bed I had would fit quite nicely in the space. “I think I’m gonna love it here,” I said to Matt.

“That’s a pretty bold statement considering you haven’t even spent a night in here.” Matt gave me a smirk as he said that.

“So what; it’s the perfect space for a semi-single guy like myself.”

Matt looked at me incredulously. “What do you mean semi-single? You have Jason don’t you?”

I shook my head. “Of course I have Jason, but we haven’t made it official yet. It hasn’t even been six months. I really wanted to see how I felt when I got here and spent some time with him.”

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve spent a lot of time with him.”

I walked into the kitchen and opened the first cabinet. We would need to do some cleaning before I set anything up it seemed. I looked back to where Matt stood and said, “We’ve been together, but he didn’t live there. He lives here and now I do as well. The question really is does he want me now that there isn’t a country dividing us?” Jean came in at that point and we got to work cleaning and then bringing stuff inside.

I clued in Jean on what we were discussing and he put in his two cents. He was torn between what I thought and what Matt thought. Good thing we had so many hours to discuss it. I didn’t want my thoughts to betray me in front of Jason. I really did care for him, but I didn’t want to go into this thing blindly. I had high expectations, but I was still a realist.

It ended up taking us until seven that night to get everything in the apartment and set up the way I wanted it. Once we were done with the truck, Jean and Matthew drove it to the drop off site while I followed behind them in my car. After that, we tried to find a place to eat. We decided on Mel’s Diner on Highland. When we arrived, I got a phone call from Jason.  I told Jason where we were and thirty minutes later he showed up. He hugged Matthew and Jean and then sat down next to me. He gave me a big kiss. I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I missed him. I knew it had only been a few weeks, but I had begun to fall for this lovely man. I grabbed his hand under the table and he wrapped his arm around mine. “So guys, how was the trip here?” Jason asked.

Matthew put both hands on his head and shook it like a dog with a bone. “I don’t ever want to do that again.”

“Yeah, that was way too long, but anything for a friend,” Jean said.

“I do appreciate it you guys. There is no way I could have done it without you. Next time however, I will hire movers. That was definitely too hard.”

We all laughed at that. Jason smiled and said, “I did offer to get them for you.”

“I know, but I wanted to do this myself. Plus, you have already done so much for me that I didn’t feel right asking for that too.” I squeezed his hand under the table.

“I understand baby. But next time, I am going to help with everything. So, what are your plans for the night, because there’s this big Hollywood party I was invited to?”

“Cool! Is it something in the hills?!?” Jean got really excited at the prospect of a true Hollywood party. He talked about nothing else the entire trip here.

“Yes, it is in the hills. The executive producer of ‘The Beach’ is friends with my manager. He’s the one throwing the party. It’s sort of a pre-Oscar party.”

We all looked at each other. I knew the other two had to be exhausted. It was a very long trip and we were unpacking all day. I could have fell asleep right there in my mashed potatoes. Jean and Matt just gave me this really sly grin. I already knew what that meant. “I guess we’re going.” They both stood up and started to cheer. I laughed and then put my head down in mock shame.

After the commotion finally died down, we finished our dinner. I reached for the check and Jason put his hand over it. “Nope, I got this one.”

I shook my head and grabbed the check from his hands. “I will not hear of it. My friends helped me get here and you made it all possible. I have to do something to repay everybody.”

Jean and Matt looked at me and then back at themselves. Jason smiled and said, “Fine, you can have it, but I get the next one.” He took one of my hands into his and gave it a kiss. He was so sweet.

Jason followed us back to my new apartment. I found some fancy clothes to wear, Matthew and Jean did the same, but they had to unpack to find really good stuff. While we were getting ready, Jason began telling us who would be in attendance at this soiree. Jason had already come dressed; I think he knew what our answer would be. Jean was in awe at the proposed guest list. He told me yesterday in our hotel room, how envious he was of my new life. I said I knew already and he punched my arm. Matthew on the hand only cared that I was dating Jason, who if you remember had a crush on him too. He told me how jealous he was of me that I met Jason first. I reminded him that I had asked him to come with me to the signing, but he said only stalkers did stuff like that. I told Matthew to ask Jason for an autograph now, maybe then he will fall for him instead of me. Then I laughed. I could be a dick at times.

Finally done teasing my friends and getting ready, we left for the party. We arrived about forty-five minutes later and it was already a packed house. And about the house….it was gargantuan. Not a word I got to use often, but very apt. Not only was it big, but quite beautiful. You walked in and took a few steps down into the living room. The dining area was about the size of a banquet hall. I could only imagine what the kitchen looked like. From the foyer there were exposed stairs that wound up to the sleeping area, maybe even an office. I didn’t see one downstairs. And the pool area…… it was definitely something one might find in a movie. I found out later that it had been used in one.

When we had first arrived, Jason introduced us to the host. He was such a gracious host and so nice. I never really thought rich people were all that nice. I figured you had to do a lot of questionable things to acquire and keep such wealth. He clearly was nothing like that. Though, it could all be an act. This was Hollywood after all. After a few minutes talking with him, he left to make sure everything was good for the other guests. We also met Jason’s co-star; she was really sweet. Her character is a bit of a bitch, and I knew that had to come from somewhere. She was nothing like the person she portrayed on screen. That just meant she was a very good actress. Matthew and Jean decided to wander off on their own to see who they could meet. That wouldn’t be too hard. There were lots of interesting people there. Soon, Jason started talking shop and I got bored, so I decided to roam around myself.

Now, I never believed that Hollywood people were better than me or anything like that, but I had thought it would be harder to talk to them. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I had lengthy chats with many prolific directors, mused over politics with Leo, debated song lyrics with Cher and had a few female and a surprising number of males hit on me. The actors and actresses were the most entertaining for me. They were less uptight than the producers and the like. I spoke with Sarah M. for a long time about her show and the other projects she was working on. Her beau Freddie was there as well and he was so sweet. He was also friends with Jason, so he told me we all needed to get together some time. We exchanged numbers.

Jason found me around 1 am. He told me that he had a relatively early call time so he wanted to go. We found the others and decided to call it a night. I went around saying my goodbyes to everyone I met. As I was walking out the door, one of the producers gave me his card. He told me that he knew people in the music side of things, so if I ever needed help with that I should give him a call. I couldn’t believe that I’d already made a Hollywood connection and I hadn’t even been there for twenty-four hours.

We talked about the party and what just happened to me on the drive home. We also talked about what sites to see, since Matt and Jean were in town until Sunday. Jason gave us a lot of good ideas.

After Jason dropped us off, we headed inside and all passed out. The word exhausted didn’t quite explain how tired we all were. That had been an all-encompassing day and I was surprised we stayed up as long as we did.

I woke up around 11am and the others around noon. I hardly ever woke up that late. I usually woke up around 7 or 8 every morning without an alarm clock. I figured waking up so late was a testament to how good the day before had been. The day before had been so amazing that I couldn’t wait to see what else LA had in store for me. It was probably just the tip of the iceberg. However, I did have to get serious. I needed more copies of my demo. The likelihood that the first producer to hear my music would sign me was pretty unlikely. I would see what my friends thought.

Next Chapter: Early Awakening