girl before me in that dirty ass mirror was a stranger and there was no way anyone would give her a chance.
“Enough of that shit,” I told my reflection sharply, splashing water from the faucet onto my face. The pipes clanked and groaned in protest while I applied what little makeup I owned to cover what I was, to transform myself into what I wanted to be. I would step out of the bathroom a different person.
Hollywood was buzzing as usual when I exited out onto the sidewalk. I walked about a block, taking my very first left, ending up at Hollywood and Vine. The place was the equivalent of the bubonic plague for me but there I was, trying to blend in with everyone else.
I moved in the direction of Santa Monica Boulevard where I’d had my Mason encounter earlier in the day. For the first time since I’d moved to LA, my eyes stayed along the ground and I began to admire the stars placed in the sidewalk. It wasn’t until I stumbled on the star bearing the name Lawrence Jennings, that I actually stopped. Maybe I was so bitter and jaded because I was jealous. It was clear that I was miserable and my day wasn’t done unless I made everyone else around me miserable.
I began to walk again, afraid of getting to the club late.
Mason was a different story though. My view of him was tarnished, what with all the man whore behavior…that was his own fault. Then he tries to buddy up to me after I blasted his and Jill’s business all over that dive bar in Philly; the man is clearly a masochist. Why do I keep thinking about Mason? I’ve lost my mind.
The bitch inside really wanted Jill to be sitting at the bar when I finally reached the small club in West Hollywood. Instead, the bar was almost empty. The bouncer, who I’ve seen a million times but never bothered to ask his name, grinned at me after putting a bright pink band around my wrist.
“Where’s your sidekick, honey?”
“Maybe she fell off the end of the earth. One can only hope,” I said with a slight sneer.
Nameless bouncer guy continued to talk to me while checking ids and banding wrists. “I would hate to be her.”
“You’re a smart guy,” I offered him with a hint of a smile.
I caught sight of Mason’s gang in the back corner of the club. Sucking up my unnecessary pride, I walked over slowly. He noticed me approaching and excused himself from the crowd.
“So you were telling the truth.” He threw me a sideways grin that I didn’t return.
“Do I look like a liar to you?”
He seemed uncomfortable but answered anyway. “I…well, no. It’s just, you left in a hurry this afternoon. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“Yeah,” I rolled my eyes. “Look, I’m sorry about that. I’m not the best person to be friends with, I have…issues.”
Mason didn’t flinch. Instead he ran a hand through his hair and grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the bar.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“I’m buying you a drink, just like you asked.” He signaled the bartender and then turned back to me. “As far as your issues go, you’ll be surprised to know I have my own fair share of them as well.”
I wasn’t really sure how to respond to that shit. I mean really, was he trying to be friends with me? “Why are you so fucking annoying?”
He laughed, clearly amused. “Why are you here if you think I’m so fucking annoying?”
“I don’t know!” I pouted, clearly frustrated.
As much as I tried not to, I was beginning to like Mason. He wasn’t so horrible and I couldn’t be too judgmental considering my big fat list of shitty choices. That’s where my real trouble began. If I actually opened myself up to this guy, he would want to know all about me and telling someone that you’re homeless and a giant failure tends to turn people away. I was getting too far ahead of myself.
“Let’s go,” Mason grabbed my arm again and pulled me through the back and out the metal door at the rear of the club. He pulled two cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lit both, before handing me one. “Now, let’s start over.”
Why the hell not? “I’m Fallyn Michaels, nice to meet you.” I stuck my right hand out and waited.
“Mason Jennings,” he grabbed my hand and shook it. “That wasn’t so bad was