Rubys are nice, but Diamonds are better.

Chapter 6: A Cali Vacation

Chapter 6: A Cali Vacation

So, the first week of May I found myself on the beach soaking up the sun with Calie. I didn’t even need to ask for a vacation. I worked all day Monday and Tuesday then a half day on Wednesday and left that evening.

I didn’t see Grant after our first meeting though.  When I finally worked up the courage to casually bring him up to Larry, Larry told me he took off again and he didn’t expect to see him until he needed money again.

“So where was Derek yesterday?” I asked Calie as I watched all the hot guys on the beach. I really did need to move to California.

“Oh, shooting in San Francisco, he’ll be home tonight” she replied.

“And he doesn’t know I’m here?” I asked.

“No clue, you told me not to tell him, even though I feel bad but you know Derek he’s not going to care and he’ll think nothing of it too.”

“He’s strange, that one” I commented.

“I prefer to say unique, or one in a million” Calie said, smiling at me.

“So last month, your five year anniversary and nothing” I asked her.

“We went to dinner it was nice and why are you so obsessed with marriage?” She knew exactly what I was referring to.

“Well, besides the fact that Katy and my sister are getting married and you and Quinn are in happy relationships, I guess I always thought after college, I’d be on the fast track to marriage and kids I kind of feel like there’s nothing else to do.”

“Maybe you should slow down and enjoy the ride”   The Calie I knew in high school would have never said that, it must have been Derek’s influence on her.

“So anything interesting going on in your life besides premiers” I asked her conversationally.

“Oh we don’t go to premiers that much, you know Derek but yeah one thing well one big thing, Jeff”

“Ah sorry I went to school with Jeff for well my entire school career and I got to agree he’s horrible.” I shook my head at the thought of him.

“He’s not that bad, it’s just that I like our life here and I feel like with Jeff moving it’s going to be like high school again for Derek.”

“Jeff in high school was bad but yeah I hope Derek at least has been showering you with presents because that is a big thing to deal with.”  If my boyfriend randomly told me his best friend from high school was moving in with us, I’d be like 'there’s the door'.

“As if, but he got Jeff a job at a studio being a production assistant runner, it’s like the bottom of the barrel but Jeff wanted to move out here and it’s hard without a job”

“Hey, why can’t he get me a job?” I would love to live in LA, see movie stars all the time.

“You don’t want to be like a slave to these movie people, they won’t treat you well and they are all divas” she explained.

“Well sometimes I feel like a slave at my work” I said grumpily.

“I think everyone feels like that,” Calie said.

“So is there a room for Jeff in your apartment, it seems small.”

“We have an extra room, which Derek uses as his office, but Jeff isn’t as bad as he was in high school, he’s grown up a lot” Calie said and I had no clue how she could look at it like that, I’d throw a fit if I was her.

“Well where do you want to go for dinner?” Calie asked.

“Ah you pick you know what is good, just make it some place where we might run into a hot celeb,” I told her.

She laughed, “Ok but we've got to pick up Mr. Producer/ Director from the airport first.”

“Is he actually a director for any movies?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Ha, no, he just assists, I mean in his mind he probably is,” Derek has the biggest ego ever, not sure how Calie puts up with him, I mean he’s funny at times but still.

So, when we got to the airport we waited by the luggage claim for Derek, even though he didn’t have any luggage, as Calie said.

I watched as Derek turned the corner and saw Calie, he just lit up and she completely lit up too, they hugged and he picked her up.  It was so cute; honestly it could have been a scene out of a movie.  (Actually that is probably where Derek got the idea from) Even though I give Calie shit for Derek, it’s completely obvious how in love he is with her.  I’m pretty sure there’s been no one else for him.  I really wish I had that, just a guy who completely loves me. 

So after that we started walking towards the car and I said, “Hey Derek, how was your trip?”

“Oh hey Ruby, what are you doing here?” He asked as he just noticed that I was there with them too.

“Came for vacation” I replied.

“Cool,” So much for making him mad.

“So dinner ok with you” Calie asked Derek when we got to the car.

“Of course, the food on the set sucks,” Derek replied with a fake shudder.

“You were just saying how it’s awesome,” Calie replied back.

“No that’s the LA set, they get us the good stuff but in San Francisco no, I really think they were feeding us like spoiled sea food or something, I didn’t even try to eat it, I just went to McDonalds”

“At least you get food at work” I said to him.

“Well they have to feed us, we don’t get a break we just work through shoots.” Derek said, that was a bit cold in my opinion.

So, we found ourselves at a posh restaurant in West Hollywood, I looked around for celebrities, Derek pointed someone out but Calie said she never heard of him either, though he was kind of cute.

Derek offered to introduce us but I was too embarrassed, so I declined and the guy left the restaurant pretty quick after that, anyway.

The next day Derek was back at work, so me and Calie did some shopping, like window shopping in Beverly Hills.

We chatted while we did our shopping, talking about random things. Then Calie asked me, “So what happened to Grant” because I had been talking about my nonexistent love life.

“Oh he disappeared.”

“Really, where did he go?”

“No clue, I didn’t ask Larry, and I doubt he knows either.”

“Oh well it seemed like you liked him.”

“What no, I mean the kiss was good, ok really good but he’s not my type.”

“He’s not my type, that’s code for, I like him against my better judgment.”  That isn’t what she said before, but maybe she is talking from experience she hated Derek when she first met him but it didn’t take that long for her to end up liking him.

“No, no, plus I saw him for like one day, you can’t even have a crush on a guy after a day.”

“You can if he kisses you and it was quote ‘good really good’, plus yeah he seems a bit immature but all guys are like that at that age, there is a big difference between like 19 and 24, they think they have the world figured out but they don’t”

“Which is exactly why I need an older guy, not too old but 24-27 would be good, I mean I have been out with Nicki’s friends but I think the ones she sets me up with are immature like they are the ones that aren’t good enough for her or any other girl, I need an undiscovered guy, maybe a little underappreciated or something.”

“Well looks like you got it all figured out, now go find him.”

We laughed, if only it was that easy.

I left after a couple more days but, it was nice to have a couple days away from my boring life.  Sometimes you have to live vicariously through your friends.