–

The bus …oh how I hate thee.

I barely made it to the bus stop on time, but it still didn’t stop some guy from brushing his hand against my bum. That isn’t surprising, which is I don’t bother saying anything. I guess you can say I’m used to it happening. This is why I need a car, which I can’t get until I find a job, which I can’t do unless I ride this damn bus. My life is an endless circle isn’t it?

Anyway, it seems that my day isn’t a complete doom – I found a seat in the back of the bus. Thank god!

If there is anything worse than riding on the bus, it is standing on the bus while it’s in motion. I remember this one time I was standing when the bus took a turn and BAM! I ended up on the lap of some 70-year-old geezer – I would have apologized but he ended up with a hand up my skirt. Needless to say, that since that day I have never worn a skirt while riding the bus.

But alas perhaps this bus ride won’t be so bad since I did end up with a window seat.

The rocking motion of the bus is so soothing… well not really but I’m tired as hell. Not to mention the fact that I just had a shock overload just a few hours ago.

I rest my head against the cool window as an attempt to find some type of relief. My eyes feel so heavy; maybe I can just rest them for a minute or two. After all it is still a long ride over to my interview, so there is nothing to worry about.

Just a few seconds… a few minutes… that’s all a few minutes…

–

“Hey, awake up girl.”

I heard the voice, but it was faint. All I wanted to do is ignore it and continue my nap. But the owner of the voice was now shaking me as well. Opening my eyes, I tried to focus on my surrounds. What the hell am I?

“Miss, you have been asleep the whole time. This is the end of the line. You need to get off the bus now.”

Oh shit. I fell asleep…on the bus! I repeat – SHIT!

The man continued saying something to me but none of his words reached my brain. I nodded my head to whatever it was he said and got my stuff together. I walked off the bus and looked around. Triple shit. None of the sights look familiar. But I shouldn’t be surprised after all I have been in this state for less than a week.

Uh oh. This just got worse.

Glancing around I notice a group of about three guys checking me out. They were already starting with the catcalls and such. I tried not to look at them – I’m a firm believer that if you ignore something (or someone) long enough it will go away.

Out of the corner of my eye I see them snake their way closer to me. I guess my theory doesn’t apply to perverts.

“Hey mami, wanna come over here and talk.” I hear one of them call out, the voice sounded much closer this time.

Shit.

I need to call Autumn – fast. Pulling out my cell phone, I sighed in relief as I saw it was still charged. You see almost always I forget to charge my cell phone and end up with a dead phone all day. But honestly I don’t remember putting it to be charged last night…must have been Autumn.

Oh how I wish the girl had a cell phone right about now. Autumn ended up losing her cell phone the night I first came to L.A., which was when she threw me a big welcome party. The girl has such a bad habit of getting shit faced drunk and losing stuff. I remember her telling me once that…

Wait…this is no time for me to be reminiscing. I quickly search through the cell phone for the number to our apartment. Note to self: memorize phone number a.s.a.p. Finally finding the number I pressed call and waiting patiently…

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

Ring…

How many goddamn times is she going to let it ring? That is if she is even home! What if she went out? What the hell am I going to do if she…

“Hello?”

I let a deep breath that wasn’t even aware I was holding until I heard a voice on the other end. But just I finally felt my heart beat return to normal, a wave of panic struck through me… that wasn’t Autumn’s voice on the other end of the line. Dammit!

“Hello?” Toby repeats into the phone. His voice sounds rough, like he just woke up from sleeping. What the heck was he doing sleeping in my apartment!

“Where’s Autumn?” I know I’m being rude but this is no time for formalities.

He yawns into the phone, and it seems he is taking his time to answer. Well either that or he doesn’t know. “Out. Jessie?”

Wow, he remembered my name. I mean I wouldn’t have remembered his after one brief meeting, if I didn’t already know who he was. “Yeah…” Great, just great. My only hope is out. What am I going to do now? I feel like wining over the phone but I manage to hold myself back.

“Is something wrong?” The tone of his voice drastically changed from a satiated one to one of concern.

The way the question had been asked had taken me back so much that I couldn’t even form any words in my mouth. Did he actually care? Yeah right. The guy met me only a few hours ago and we didn’t exactly have a fairy tale first impression. He was probably trying to score some brownie points with Autumn.

I wasn’t in the mood or position to lie about my current situation so I answered truthfully, “No.” He didn’t say anything in response so I assumed he wanted to elaborate. “I’m lost.” There simple and to the point – my pride wasn’t that badly wounded.

“What do you mean you’re lost?”

The grip on my phone tightened at his question. “Well…” I paused biting my lower lip from sheer frustration. “Unless you have another definition for it, then it means I don’t know where the hell I am.”

He obviously chose to ignore my sassiness because of the sound of his voice remained concerned when he asked me, “Do you see a street name or something?”

Was this his way of telling me he was coming for me? The curiosity was driving me crazy but I didn’t want him to think I wanted him to come for me. I mean I did, but I didn’t at the same time. I didn’t want him specifically to come for me – I would have settled for any human being to come to my rescue. So if he wanted to come than I wasn’t to object but that didn’t mean I was going to ask him to.

“Well…” I pause as I look around looking for something that can tell me where I am. Finally I spot this ‘welcome to’ sign across the street from me. “Lakewood. I’m right by the sign that says ‘Welcome to Lakewood’ and this street is called Division Ave.” At least now I knew where I was at, not so much specifically but it was something. I didn’t him utter a word; maybe I got expectations up to high after all.

“I know where that is. Stay by that sign and I’ll be soon.”

I guess that answered my question. But before I had a chance to voice my two cents in, he hung up the phone. Out of the corner of my eye I spot those guys coming closer to me.

Just great. I’m waiting for one jerk to come ‘save’ me from three other jerks. Like I said, my life is such an endless circle.

–

20 minutes. It had been 20 minutes since I talked to Toby. I’d really wish he’d hurry up, than again I had no idea how far away I actually was.

Those guys were still bothering me with the catcalls as I leaned against the wall only a few feet away from them. It seemed with every single that passed by they were getting closer. Of course, they couldn’t make it too obvious since we were in public after all. Still, I was starting to feel a little uneasy.

“Hey mami don’t you hear me talking to you.”

I turned around and there they were only two feet away from where I was standing. The first thing I thought of was stepping back to regain some personal space. Unfortunately one of them had already moved behind me, blocking my path. The next thing my mind told me to do was scream. And I was about to do just that when I heard someone call out my name.

“Hey Jessie.”

Looking to the side, I see Toby coming out of his car and jogging over to me. I was total speechless. He actually came for me, and not to mention at the perfect moment. “Come on,” he simply says as he gently takes hold of my hand in his and starts pulling me away from the guys. I was just going to breathe a sigh of relief when one of the guys slapped my bum.

Like I said I’m used to this type of harassment and it doesn’t bother me anymore. But by the look on Toby’s face I’d say he isn’t used to this scenio.

If looks could kill.

Toby let go of my hand and took a couple steps towards the three of them. His demeanor immediately froze and tensed. The look on his face was so intense it was actually sending chills up my spine. Everything was happening way to fast but I knew I had to stop him. Before he could even say a word to those guys, I grabbed his arm and pulled him away. I really didn’t want him to get smashed up by something so non-important.

I held on to his arm until we got to where the car was parked. He slammed the door closed and hit the steering wheel with a fist before starting the car. It was silent for a while, a very uncomfortable silence. I guess he felt it too because he suddenly popped in a CD and tuned the volume way loud. Deaftones. Well, at least he has good taste in music.

But as suddenly as he had turned the music on, he just as suddenly turned it off. Damn, and it was on my favorite song too. But I guessed he finally had something to say to me.

“Why didn’t you let me do anything?” he asked, his voice was hard. Yeah, he was definitely mad. In all honesty I didn’t know what was the big deal. All I know his little cocky attitude is pissing me off.

Even though I knew he couldn’t tell because he was driving, I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m used to it,” I blurted out without thinking – it was something I didn’t normally like to admit.

“Besides what were you going to do? Defend my honor?” I stated sarcastically followed by a short chuckle. “Don’t make me laugh,” I mumbled that last part to myself.

He didn’t bother saying anything to me. I could careless. I prefer the awkward silence than having to talk to him. Seriously though, he was making a big deal out of nothing and I wasn’t in the mood for it. It is my body and if anyone should be pissed off it should be me. Since I’m not than he has no reason to be.

I leaned my head against the window and watched the passing scenery. Damn. I had never seen this place before – I had really gotten myself lost, big time. Not to mention the fact that it was a long way from the apartment. He must have been speeding like crazy to get to me so quickly. I suddenly felt the guilty wash over me.

Biting my bottom lip I took a deep breath as I prepared to swallow my pride.

“Thank you.”

There I said. I guess it wasn’t that bad saying it and he did deserve it. I so should get some good karma coming my way for that.

He didn’t say anything; just tap his fingers against his steering wheel. It was driving me nuts. I was beginning to regret thanking him, when I suddenly heard him clear his throat.

“For what…” he paused as he took a sharp left turn. “Trying to defend your honor,” he said with the same sarcastic tone I used on him earlier, “or for coming to get you?”

I shrugged my shoulders casually at this question. Pausing for a second, I pretended to actually think which of the two it was. After a couple of seconds, I tap a finger to my lip before answering, “Both,” the amusement clear in my voice.

I honestly couldn’t help but smile. Not one of those forced smiles I had given him before, but an honest to goodness, genuine smile. And I guess he noticed that too because when I glanced over to look at him, he was smirking.

Then it struck me. I was suddenly staring into those amazing blue eyes. I felt like I could get lost in those eyes. But at this moment I knew those eyes should not be looking at me. Placing a finger to his cheek, I turn his face back on the road.

“Eyes on the road Casanova.” I really couldn’t help but tease him.

I guess he didn’t mind my teasing either since he let out a couple of short laughs. Note to self: have him laugh more often – he sounds incredibly cute when he does.

–

As soon as I stepped foot inside the apartment I was greeted by a frantic Autumn. If I didn’t tell her that I couldn’t breath I don’t think she would have let up on the hugging any time soon. I heard Toby laughing in the background as I tried to keep up with all of her questions.

“How did you end up getting lost? Did you forget to take your pills?”

My eyes immediately widen at her statement. Her own eyes did the same as she realized her own mistake. I eyed Toby for a reaction, seeing none I let myself relax. Thank god he didn’t seem curious by what she said. I really didn’t want to have to explain that topic to Toby, or anyone else for that matter. I glanced back at Autumn and noticed how her eyes fell. The look on her face said enough, I knew she was sorry for spilling that out.

Sensing the uneasiness in the room, he cleared his throat before he said, “Hey Aut, I’m gonna go finish my nap in your room.” With that he headed over to her bedroom not saying another word. So I was right, he was sleeping when I called. Well now I feel even better about thanking him earlier.

Autumn just nodded her head in response to his statement as she continued drinking her energy drink. That girl has gotten a serious addiction to that stuff.

Now that Toby was gone I could talk more easily to her. “Just for the record, I did take my pills. I just fell asleep on the bus.”

She nodded her head again, and she changed the subject by asking, “What do you think of Toby?” I could tell by the fake tone that she was trying to sound casual about it. But I knew there was nothing casual about that question. Something was definitely on her mind.

“He’s okay.” It was a simple answer and by the look she was giving me I could tell it wasn’t what she had wanted to hear.

After the day I just had I didn’t feel like evaluating my feelings for him. Besides I wasn’t exactly sure what I could possibly think about him after just one day. But coming to my rescue had certainly made up for the rudeness when I opened the door. Anyway what did she expect? For me to fall head over heals with just one look at the guy?

“Do you have a headache?”

Well that came out of nowhere. It must be something big she wants to tell me if she’s asking that. I shake my head no. I’m lying but I’m also curious to know what she wants to tell, which she won’t if she thinks I have a headache. “What is it?”

“I got some news,” she said slowly and paused for what I guess was dramatic suspense. Seeing that I wasn’t making attempts at guessing what it was, she rolled her eyes and proceeded to tell me. “I’m going on vacation… out of the country…” she mumbled the next part quickly, “for the next two months.”

Talk about a bucket of cold water. Two months. As in eight weeks. Me alone in L.A. not knowing anyone except her and her friends. What the heck am I supposed to do? Not to mention I don’t have a job. What about the rent and the rest of the bills?

“But how…”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said quickly interrupting my predictable ranting. “Toby will be staying here in my place and pay for what would be my share of expenses.”

I swear, right then and there, my jaw dropped all the way down to the ground. She was not being serious, was she? No this had to be a joke, or maybe a nightmare. This could not be happening.

My internal distress must have been showing on my face because Autumn put on her puppy dogface.

“I promise it won’t be as bad as it sounds. I’ll explain it all to you later, but right now I got to get to work.” With that she went to grab her things from the hanger.

I didn’t even respond to what she said to me. After all what could I say? I was completely speechless and in total shock. It wouldn’t be as bad as it sounds she says. YEAH RIGHT! If something sounds bad than chances are it is bad. She is definitely gonna have a lot of explaining to do later.

“Oh and by the way…” I heard her yell out from the doorway “…the going away party is this weekend.”

With that I heard the door slam shut, not leaving me time to ask any questions or argue.

Sitting down on the couch, I take the nearest cushion and press it against my face. With all the force in me, I scream my head off in the pillow. The next thing I hear is a thud sound coming from the Autumn’s bedroom. I guess I startled Toby with my scream…oh like I give a fuck.

My life just got a bit more complicated.

–

I don’t know why I came here to L.A. California. I guess maybe it was to reinvent myself. But did I really need to come this far away from home? It was an understatement to say that it was a hasty move on my part to leave behind my hometown along with everyone I ever knew. Bleh. Although my reasons are still debatable, I am happy that I came. The last five days have been the best in my entire life. But then again maybe that’s not saying much; after all I’m only twenty years old.

All my life I lived in little New Jersey. Born and raised. Not that it was a bad place to live or anything. It was just… I’m looking for more. More excitement I guess. For a twenty year old I really lacked in the ‘enthusiasm’ department. It was kind of pathetic to admit, but my own grandmother knew how to party harder than me. I’m not that vain that I would base a life changing such as this on my partying ability. No. This move was something I wanted to find.

Sigh.

Is it so bad to want something more? To want more than what you have, to want more than you can have. It wasn’t bad; it was just delusion.

Maybe it was the thick Latin blood in me but I wanted to find love. I was the sore thumb who was still single out of all my friends. It was not something I would normally mind; however, after a while it does get lonely sitting at home on a Friday night while your friends are out on dates. But finding a guy was easier said than done. The boys I knew were just not my type – physically or mentally. There was something more I was looking for in a mate and honestly so far I hadn’t found it.

But before I could get too caught up in the search for Mr. Right there was one thing I needed more. A job. Looking over to the alarm clock on my nightstand I notice that it is getting close to noon. It was getting late and I knew I had to get up from bed. Again, that is easier said than done. In one fast movement, I sat up on my bed and tried to rub away the sleepiness from my eyes. Needless to say that never works.

Staring blankly ahead, I noticed my reflection in the full-length mirror hanging from the wall. At least I don’t have to do my hair. I stayed up late last night straightening it out; otherwise I would have a giant curly ball of fluff right now. Thank god I picked out my clothes last night or else that would be more time wasting away. I stand up and grab my clothes from my beanie bag.

As I walk out of my bedroom I notice all the lights are on. Weird. Usually all the lights are off unless someone is in that specific room. Whatever, I have bigger things to stress about. Standing only a few feet away from the bathroom, I hear someone knocking on the door and the bell ringing. Oh well, too bad for whoever it is. Besides I’m sure Autumn can just get up and answer that.

“Can you get that?” Autumn yells out from the inside of her bedroom down the hall. So much for that idea.

Autumn is my roommate and my very first L.A. friend. Actually we talked for months on myspace and when I told her I was moving she immediately wanted us to be roommates. That was just the push I needed at the time since I was basically coming here blind. That’s right I was actually moving from across the country with no place to live or job lined up. Stupid much? Yeah I know.

Anyway thanks to Autumn my living arrangement was taken care of. All I needed now was a job, which I am currently going to an interview for. That is if I ever manage to get changed on time. I put down my things on the nearby table and walk over to the door. I don’t bother asking who it is before opening it. I figure Autumn must be expecting someone.

Opening the door, I felt my heart come to a complete stop. A gorgeous blond haired, blue-eyed boy was leaning against the frame of the door. He looked amazing, from the dimple on his cheek to his incredibly muscled arms. Not to mention the boy was very tall – I’ve always had a thing for tall boys.

I noticed his face slightly fall when I opened the door, as if he was expecting it to be someone else. I waited for him to say something but nothing came out. He just kept staring at me and I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable under his gaze. Noticing his eyes leave my face and scan over my body I realized he must be looking at my attire. I was still only in my white tank top and pajama shorts. I could feel myself slightly blush when I noticed him smiling. Damn that dimple of his.

“Who are you?” He asked me in the cutest accent I have ever heard. It sounds British.

Taken by back his question, I cocked an eyebrow at him. Even though the accent sounded cute, the tone of his voice didn’t. It was as if I had somehow annoyed him by opening the door. Suddenly the excitement I felt when I first saw him went plummeting down.

It was the story of my life.

Gorgeous Guy = Asshole Personality

I placed a hand on my hip and, on default, rolled my dark eyes at him. “You’re the one who knocked, so shouldn’t I be asking that question.” I wasn’t trying to be cute or flirty. Nope, I was using the same annoyed tone he used on me.

His mouth opened to answer me, but he froze on the spot. Those blue eyes were now looking past me instead of at me. I could hear faint footsteps from the living room become louder with each move. Autumn was approaching where we both stood by the door, which answered the question of what he was looking at.

“Who is it?” I heard Autumn ask from what appeared now to be the living room.

“Some arrogant blond guy.” I said, smiling when I saw his expression flinch at my words. I felt Autumn coming up behind and before I could even ask if she knew him, she let out a high pitch squeal and ran past me.

“Toby!” she yelled and jumped on the boy as she held him in a tight embrace. I’m going to take a wild guess and say she knows him.

Grabbing his hand, she pulled him into the apartment and towards the couch where she began babbling. I guessed they hadn’t seen each other in awhile by the way they were talking. Closing the still open door, I let out a sigh. I’d wish she had told me she was going to invite someone over. That way I wouldn’t have opened the door half naked.

I didn’t bother waiting to be introduced. I grabbed my things off the table and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

–

The shower wasn’t nearly as long as my body wished it had been. There is nothing better than a long hot shower to ease the troubled mind. Too bad I didn’t get that. Autumn used up all the hot water and I only had about ten minutes to shower. Today was definitely shaping up be one of those days. Stepping out from the bathroom, I quickly gave myself a one over in the hallway mirror. Black slacks and brown blouse – I was fully in business mode and ready to begin another day of job hunting.

Oh happy day.

Someone pinch me please and let me wake up with a job. Heh. Too bad I couldn’t put excessive sarcasm user on my resume. That would certainly catch more attention than what was really written on my resume. You’d think a grad student with a degree in Business Management would have more opportunities knocking on her. Unfortunately there were over hundreds of other grad students with my exact qualifications. Or worse yet, they had better ones.

No time to be a pessimist though. Nope I had to look at the full half of that glass. I had too much ground to cover and being in emo mode would only slow me down. Well. Having to travel in the bus throughout the city all day wasn’t exactly a mood lifter either.

Why did I move to this city again?

Oh yeah, I wanted more.

Pfft.

So far the only thing ‘more’ I was getting were migraines.

I briefly wondered if that blond dude was still here. If he was I needed to get out of here before Autumn –

“Jessie!”

- spotted me.

Rewind and erase. I’ve been spotted.

Autumn squealed, as she practically pounced on me and started pulling me over to the couch. Sitting on the couch was none other than mister blond man himself. Joy. “I want you to meet a very good friend of mine, this is Toby.”

No introduction was needed. I knew exactly whom this blond blue-eyed boy was sitting on my couch. The realization hit me a few minutes ago whilst I was in midst of my shower. Toby Hemingway: an up and coming actor. How do I know this? My favorite movie of all time was none other the movie where he made his featured debut. And obtained hundreds of hormonal driven crazy fan girls in the process. But oh no, I’m not going to let him know that I know who he is. No way. The boy is walking sex and he knows it. There was no need for me to inflate his ego any more than it probably already is.

Still. There isn’t an exact need for me to be rude to him either, no matter how much the little devil on my shoulder was telling me to be. “Hi.” I said offering a meek smile in his direction. I was polite and it didn’t kill me – go figure.

This was the first time I got a real good look at Toby and I mean a really good look. Sure I saw him in the movie and minutes ago at the door, but somehow I failed to truly take notice. Oh geez. This boy has it; he’s definitely the jaw-dropping kind of guy you get an orgasm just by staring at. Blond tousled hair, thin sensual lips, and the strong jaw topped off by an adorable dimple on his right cheek. It was mesmerizing. There was a Greek god sitting on my couch and amazingly enough I was drooling at the sight of him. I didn’t even get a chance to turn away when his eyes suddenly stared into mine. The second that his eyes looked into mine the spell over me was completely broken.

Toby didn’t say anything but he did slightly nod his head in acknowledgement to my greeting. I was kind of relieved that he didn’t speak – I don’t think I can handle that accent of his without a blush. Even though I was trying to look anywhere but his eyes I couldn’t help but be drawn into them. And there he was staring at me with those ‘too good to be true’ blue eyes of his. A slight flutter ran up my arms, forming a series of goose bumps.

This is so not good; I need to get out of here before I make a fool out of myself. Quickly turning around, I grab my purse from the hanger by the door. “Nice to meet you Toby. See you later Autumn.” The words came out a jumbled mess as I grabbed my sneakers and bent down to slip them on.

“You’re going job hunting?” Autumn asked me, she sounded kind of surprised that I was leaving. Did she expect me to stick around because of him? Whatever. I nodded and resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I tied the laces on my sneakers.

“You’re wearing sneakers.”

This time it was Toby who spoke, but I don’t think it was really a question. It was more like a statement to himself than to me. The expression on his pretty face told me he was bemused by the fact that I had on business attire with sneakers. Well in all honesty, I guess it did look kind of funny. But it was a logical choice considering the fact that I had a lot of walking ahead of me. Besides I had a pair of high-heeled shoes in my bag to slip on right before interviews.

I knew he wasn’t trying to be rude by his question, but my defenses were already on high alert. Not wanting my temper to flare, I bit my bottom lip and held back the urge to snap. I needed to find a job today or else I would be on pins and needles until I did.

I shrugged my shoulders as a response to his question and waved at both of them before walking out the door. It was a long day ahead and it was time to get started.