Page 2 of The Big Daddies of LA

You are boring and predictable, Savvy.

I talk to my Mom for a bit longer and then hang up. For some reason, my thoughts keep returning to the fact that I recently turned 21 and didn’t celebrate. I was working that day and didn’t even eat the cupcake my neighbor Jasmine gave me. I don’t really regret it, but, at the same time, I wonder if something is wrong with me.Am I too serious? Too focused? Should I let loose a little bit?

Jasmine Torres is a few years older than me and a model, too. She mostly does runway and she’s striking with long, silky black hair and dark almond-shaped eyes. Her exotic beauty is the complete opposite of my All-American blonde hair and blue eyes.

I’d love to look like Jasmine and have her confidence. She’s originally from Texas and, even though she’s only 25, she has this motherly quality toward all the younger girls who live here at Sunset Terrace. She always has some kind of wisdom to share and manages to slip a “y’all” in every other sentence.

Sunset Terrace, my apartment complex, consists of 12 units and a crystal blue pool in the middle where we like to hang out on our days off. It’s all very Melrose Place looking and my neighbors, like me, are here in Hollywood to pursue their dreams.

Jasmine and I are the models and have had the most success. Taylor, my other neighbor, is a dancer. She studies ballet during the day and is freaking amazing. The way she can twirl and dip blows my mind and she has this natural grace and elegance that makes me feel like a clutz. And, even though being a classically-trained ballerina is her dream, she can drop it like it’s hot and hit the dance floor like she was born to be a hip hop dancer. To pay the bills, she dances at night at a nearby club and is always inviting us down there.

I keep telling myself, and her, that I’ll go. I just haven’t had the time or inclination yet.

Our friend Morgan lives a few apartments over and she’s the only one of us actually from SoCal. She’s been trying to break into acting for quite awhile now and her Mom is really sick with cancer. I feel bad for her and know that she works extra shifts as a cocktail waitress to help pay her Mom’s hospital bills. I see how tired she looks sometimes and can see her dream starting to fade away and reality setting in. I’m not sure how much longer she’s going to be able to go out on auditions and keep getting rejected. Acting is a brutal industry and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Even if you’re talented, your chances of making it are slim to none.

In Hollywood, when it comes to making movies, it’s all who you know.

And, poor Morgan doesn’t know anyone.

A few of the residents here keep to themselves, but the group of us in our 20s have bonded and like to hang out and talk about how we’re going to take this town by storm and make it big. There are a couple of cute guys, but no one I’m interested in pursuing. Twenty-something guys are really just boys, in my opinion. All they want to do is get drunk and have sex.

When I first moved into the complex last year, my upstairs neighbor Mason asked me out, but I politely declined. He lives with Cody and they’re such typical frat boys. Constantly drinking, partying and hooking up.

Bleh.

I think when I decide to start looking for a significant other, he’s going to be older. I need a man who is mature, dependable and considerate. Someone who will take their time and be patient and not rush me into anything. Especially sex.

I’ve put it off this long so when I finally sleep with a man, I want it to be aman. To me, a real man is someone who will move slowly and teach me things that I don’t know. And, let’s face it, I don’t know much. When I was 12, I was still playing with Barbies and nowadays, there are 12-year olds who are pregnant.

It kind of blows my mind, but I try not to judge. To each his own, right?

Hmm.Then, it occurs to me that maybe I’m the one who’s missing out. Am I letting my best years slip by me because I’m too busy planning my future?

No, I decide, and reach into my fridge and pull out a pop. As I take a sip, I know that I could’ve stayed in Ohio and led a normal life. I could be married by now with a kid on the way. But, I wanted more. And, one of these days, I’ll go back home, open up my practice and maybe find a nice man to settle down with.

But, for now, I’m going to work my butt off, save money and hope that this campaign with Guess will launch my career into the stratosphere.

Then, maybe I’ll take a quick break and pop open a bottle of champagne with my neighbors.

Maybe.

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