Adventure of a Lifetime (Intro)

"Turn your magic on
Umi she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
And we are legends every day
That's what she told me
m
Turn your magic on,
To me she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
Under this pressure, under this weight
We are diamonds
Now I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
And I feel my heart beating
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again" Adventure of a Lifetime by Coldplay

I arrived at LAX in the late morning. Since my plans to hang out with Bianca fell through, I made new plans to hang with myself in San Francisco. I've been there before as a child, but never as an adult and I was excited to go on my own adventure. When I informed Christian I would be in San Francisco earlier than Saturday, he told me he would be there all week and I was still welcomed to stay with him. I quickly accepted, but informed him I would entertain myself until the weekend.

I headed straight from the terminal to the rental service where I reserved a Jeep Wrangler. It was completely open and perfect for the drive to San Francisco. Before I left for San Francisco, I had to stop by and visit my dad and brother at work.

I knew they were at the car dealership because I lied to Cam about possibly needing a ride from the airport. Apparently, Dad needed to update the computer so Cam was teaching him the new system. I went straight to back office and knocked on the door before opening it

"Hey bro!" I smiled, when I saw Cam sitting at the desk.

"What are you doing here?" he asked standing up to greet me. "I thought you got in later."

I closed the door behind me before walking over to him. "I lied." I hugged him. "Where's Dad?" I asked, sitting in the chair next to him.

Cam sat down too."You know Dad- probably out there busting someone's balls."

"Good. We have 10 minutes." I pulled out my phone and texted him an address. "I rented a car because I'm driving to San Francisco."

"By yourself?" Cam asked, pulling out his phone when it beeped.

"No. My friend Imaginary is coming for the ride. Say hi to her." I said, sarcastically.

"Don't be a smart ass sis."

"Don't be a dumbass bro." I smiled. "I'm gonna meet up with some friends in San Francisco. This is the address if something comes up." I explained.

"What friends? Anybody I know?" Cam asked.

"Kinda. Remember that guy you met at my house warming? Christian?" I started.

"The guy who makes music?" Cam asked, his face unreadable.

"Exactly. He's releasing a single this weekend and since I'm already out here, I decided to hang with him."

"Hang huh? That's what the kids are calling it?" Cam looked at me, scrutinizingly.

"I don't know. Let me ask Imaginary. She stays up on the lingo."

"What do I know about this guy? Besides the fact that he makes music for a living?" Cam asked, ignoring my response this time.

"What else do you need to know?"

"Where does he live?"

"He works out of New York and California a lot." I answered truthfully.

"Ok...Where does he spend majority of his time? Which one is his main residence? Does he have places in both?"

"Umm, he owns a beach house in Mexico." I supplied, trying to avoid the fact that I had no idea of any of those answers.

"Which state would he file taxes in? He does pay his taxes right?" Cam interrogated me.

Thankfully, my dad came in the office and gave me a break from Cam's line of questioning.

"Hey Dad." I hopped up to give him a hug.

"Lily? How and when did you get here?" Dad asked.

"A little while ago. I rented a car." I replied while he frowned. "I know, I could have used one of yours, but I'm driving to San Francisco today and I didn't want to put those miles on your car."

"Driving to San Francisco? By yourself?" My dad's frowned deepened.

I was going to go with the imaginary friend bit again, but Cam nudged me so I didn't. "Yeah. It's not that bad of a drive. You've made it a ton of times."

"I thought the plan was to stay in town until the game." he asked.

"Yeah, but Bianca blew me off so I decided to take a little vacation alone." I said, plainly.

"So you have spoke to Bianca?" Dad questioned.

"Yes. She dropped out of school." Dad and Cam looked at each other and I narrowed my eyes. "But y'all already knew that, didn't you?"

"She mentioned it." Cam confirmed.

"Why didn't you mention it to me? We could have talked her out of it." I put my hands on my hips.

"It's her life. She has to make her own decisions and mistakes." my dad reminded me.

"Oh wow. Now you adopt that attitude. 27 years later." I rolled my eyes causing Cam to snicker.

"That's right. In the past, I would have spent hours trying to reason with you or bribe you out of taking a ridiculous 5 hour drive by yourself in a rental vehicle. Now, I let you make your own mistakes and make sure you have AAA on speed dial-" Dad's lecture that was surely coming was interrupted by a knock on the door. I was thrilled until I saw who came in. I felt a wave of disgust when a childhood friend of Cam's walked through the door.

"Mr. Ortiz, I have the invoices you wanted to take a look at." Johnny said, before spotting me and smiling.

"How's Texas Lily?" he asked, charmingly while looking me over. Urgh, I can't believe I once thought that was attractive. I pulled my light jacket tighter around my body and fixed a neutral face.

"Great. How's the family?"

"Great as well. My wife just had our third child."

"Just multiplying like roaches huh?" I quipped. Dad shoot me a warning glance and I cleared my throat.

"Congratulations." I said, strained.

Cam gave me a weird glance and I stood. "I have to get going. Don't want to drive in the dark."

"Give me one moment before you leave." my dad told me. I nodded as Cam and I left the office. Johnny had the mother fucking nerve to try touch me on the way out, but I sidestepped him, bumping into Cam.

"Great seeing you Lily." he said, with his disgusting leer.

I didn't respond; I just left.

As soon we for out the office I complained. "Dad hired that asshole?!?!"

"Yes. One of his best sales person." Cam said, amused.

"He would be. Slimy mother fucker." I muttered under my breath.

"I'm confused. I thought you liked him back in the day-" Cam teased.

"Urgh, don't fucking remind me. I didn't know him well enough back then."

"Well try to learn the basics while you're 'hanging out' with this new guy. Or I can vet him for you." Cam offered.

"No. I got it." I reassured him.

After I said goodbye to him and Dad, I got on the road. There was something liberating about getting in the car and just going on my own. My playlist on the drive consisted of all the new music I hadn't listen to yet: Rihanna, Coldplay, Charlie Puth, and an advance copy of Christian's unreleased first album. The music blasted loudly the entire time in the Jeep until I arrived in the neighborhood Christian's friend lived in. It was a nice neighbohood in the Marina district of San Francisco with no security gate.

I was able to find Christian's friends house pretty easily. The house was big, but really close to the neighbor's. Which was why I was surprised to hear music blaring when I walked up to the front door. I rang the doorbell, then knocked a few minutes before the door finally opened.

A beautiful woman opened the door and gave me a smile. She looked a little older than me, maybe her mid 30s, with long black hair, exotic slanted eyes and dark bronze skin.

"You must be Lily." she said. When I nodded, she gestured me inside with her heavily jeweled hand. "Come on in. I'm Jennifer."

"Hi Jennifer. I would introduce myself, but apparently you already know me." I commented, as I followed her towards the back of the house where the music was coming from.

"Christian's been talking my ear off about you. Besides, I make it a habit of knowing who knows where I live." she threw over her shoulder.

My face scrunched up when I realized she was the friend Christian spoke of. I quickly fixed my face.  "You have a lovely house. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Any friend of Christian's is a friend of mine and my husband. You're welcomed anytime." She grinned at me before we joined everyone in a back room.

I smiled back, sincerly as we walked into a sun room with a glass ceiling, glass windows and glass doors. The windows and doors to the room opened to a view of a backyard with a swimming pool. Even when the windows and doors opened  I could still smell the heavy scent of marijuana in the air.

"Lily... You're here."Christian grinned, standing up from a large ottoman he was sitting at. His eyes were bloodshot and hooded as he looked me over then pulled me in for an extra long hug.

"I'm here." I grinned too, hugging him back.

"Now you can stop checking your phone like a little bitch." Paul, one of Christian's friends I met during thanksgiving, clowned him.

Christian just laughed. "Making sure she's safe makes me a bitch?"

"No. Checking your phone but not calling makes you a biaaatch." His friend Tom added in.

"Paul, T-Swizzle!" I smiled at them two. They were the only two people I recognized in the room.

"Please don't call him that." Jennifer groaned at me lightheartedly.

"Please do. I'm the Taylor Swift of this squad." Tom self appointed himself again.

"He does have the hair and the legs." I agreed.

"And dated a ton of DUDES." Paul cried out. Everyone laughed as Tom launched over a couch towards him.

"Ahhh! Fire!" Paul screamed as he narrowly escaped Tom's attack.

"Fire?" I asked.

"No one comes if you yell help!" Paul explained before disappearing outside. Instead of chasing him, Tom locked him out.

"C'mon. Let me show you your room." Jennifer shook her head at them.

"We're in her room. There's your bed. Shawnee, get up." Christian smiled at me, rubbing the couch.

"Better than by your feet." I smiled back, teasingly.

"You do not have to sleep on the foot of his bed. You have a room. Christian, stop lying and make yourself useful. Go get her bags." Jennifer ordered him.

"These are my bags." I gestured to my roll on duffle, tote and purse.

The girl from the couch I assumed was Shawnee looked at me shocked. "That's it? She's not coming to the release parties?"

"Yeah she is. She doesn't need 7 bags of junk everywhere she goes." Christian answered.

"I'm just saying. She could have really took the couch and let me have my room." She said, snarkily.

"You stay in my bathroom and closet anyway so she's using that room." Jennifer guided me to a guest room.

"I really could have found a place to stay until Saturday. I don't want to put anyone out." I offered.

"You can put her out anytime." Christian said following us with my bag.

Jennifer gave him a little look before assuring me, "Shawnee is my sister in law and thinks the room is hers because it's where she normally sleeps. It's the guest room. You're my guest so it's all yours."

"Thank you."

"Make yourself at home and let me know if you need anything." Jennifer said before leaving.

"My room is still available if you feel more comfortable there." Christian smiled at me.

"I'll check it out but where will you sleep?" I smirked.

"You would kick me out of my own room? Cold world." Christian shook his head, still smiling.

"Then I'll stay here." I said, moving to go through my bag.

"Are you hungry? Tried? Wanna hang out awhile?" he questioned me.

"Yeah. I'm just gonna freshen up first." I explained.

"Right. Towels in the bathroom. Soaps in there too. Hurry up." Christian instructed me before leaving. I locked the door behind him, smiling to myself. I called my dad to let him know I made it. I called Sammy too- she was house sitting and watching Justine for me.

"How's my baby?" I asked Sammy when she answered.

"She's good. Curled up on me as we speak." Sammy replied.

"Has she been eating?"

"Hardly any of the dry food I give her in the morning. When I came over this evening, she ate the wet food. I'm thinking about giving it to her in the morning too."

"The only thing about that is you can't leave her alone with it. If she doesn't eat it while you're there, it has to be refrigerated or thrown out." I informed her.

"I can do that."

"How are her poops?"

"Disgusting."

I laughed."Are they normal? No weird colors, mucus, blood, diarrhea?"

"Fuck no. I would have told you to come get her."

"Then do me a favor? Mix the wet and dry food and see how she does with it."

"Done."

After I got off the phone, I looked through my bag for something to wear. I packed cotton shorts, leggings and tops for around the house clothing, but seeing how the other women were dressed for hanging out, I knew that wasn't going to cut it. I decided on a cute tank dress and washed up quickly using the bath set I found in the bathroom. After applying the matching lotion, I put on a little make-up, pulled my hair up in a bun and pulled on my dress. After a little debate, I opted to put on flip flops instead of being barefoot. Feeling confident, I found my way back to the sun room.

I joined Christian on a love seat as everyone debated what to order for food.

"You smell really good." Christian complimented me while inhaling my hair.

I stiffened as he nuzzled my neck. It was a little weird in front of his friends, but I relaxed.

"Tell Jennifer. I used her gift basket." I commented.

"I picked it out for you."

"Then no wonder you like it."

"It smells better on you-"

"Christian. Lily. What do you want to eat?" Jennifer asked us.

"We'll take whatever you're getting Jen." Christian answered.

"Is there anything you don't eat Lily?" Jennifer asked me.

"No. I'm pretty adventurous." I replied.

"I bet." Shawnee breathed. I looked at her, but she pretended not to notice.

"You smoking with us this time?" Paul asked, plopping on the ottoman in front of us and blocking my vision of her.

"You know I can't. My job." I declined.

"What do you do?" Shawnee questioned me.

I sat up, turning my body and crossing my legs towards Christian so I could see her. "I'm a physical therapist."

"They do random drug test? What kinda hospital do you work at?" she scoffed.

"They don't, but if an accident occurs, the first thing they do is drug test everyone. I don't wanna be worried about it for however long it takes to get out of my system." I explained, ignoring her tone. I really wanted to make a good impression on his friends so I wasn't going to get upset by her attitude.

"She's a supervisor at a clinic for the Dallas Mavericks. You should interview her if you want actually sports related news on your little podcast." Christian said, caressing my ankle as he spoke.

I looked at her, interested. "You have a sports podcast?"

"I host a show called Girls Talk Sports." Shawnee answered.

"Oh, thats cool. Who do you have for the Super Bowl?" I said, trying to find some common ground with her.

"Denver." she said shortly.

"Really? Why?"

"Cam Newton is young and distracted by all his dancing and stripper baby momma." she answered.

I laughed, actually thinking she was kidding. When she just stared blankly at me, I knew she was serious. There was no way we were connecting over that type of sport talk. Christian caressed my ankle, snickering. When Shawnee looked even more annoyed by us, I pulled my leg away.

"Are you excited about half-time? I love Coldplay." I tried again.

"No. Coldplay is so depressing." she told me, dismissively.

"I blame Janet Jackson. Every since her boob came out, all the half-times afterwards seem boring!" Paul laughed.

"Beyonce slayed when she performed. She is the only reason I won't sleep through it or slit my wrist. Fuck Coldplay and their lame fans." Shawnee announced.

I didn't try to speak to her again after that declaration. Thankfully the food, Jennifer's husband Reginald, or RJ, and her best friend friend Yasmine, or Yazzy arrived and I focused on them. It was apparent Shawnee and I were the outsiders of their little clique, but I made attempts to get to know everyone while Shawnee played on her phone and took selfies the whole time.

I learned Yazzy kinda introduced everyone. She did social commentary vlogs for an online magazine she started with Jennifer. She helped introduced the masses to the more comedic videos that Tom and Paul made. Christian music was featured on the videos and RJ, who was the owner of his own indie label at the time, signed Christian. They all remained really close friends throughout the years.

After we finished eating, RJ broke out some whiskey which I did partake in.

"Whiskey? What's wrong?" Jen asked her husband.

He pointed at Christian. "Dealing with his fool manager. Let me tell you what Hugo did today-"

"Hey. Leave work at work. Some people are on vacation." Christian nodded towards me. My mouth was full of an amazing mango chutney or I would have told him it was fine.

Jennifer's eyes widen in understanding, then she turned to me. "What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

I swallowed my food before responding. "Very lame touristy stuff. I picked out a bus tour." I admitted.

"That's so lame." Christian agreed.

I giggled. "You can't make fun of me. I just made fun of myself."

"I'm not making fun; I'm agreeing with you." he rubbed my knee, playfully. I had no idea why his every touch was so... unnerving. And not in a good way.

"I can show you around. I don't have much going on tomorrow." Jennifer offered.

"We're going shopping Remember?" Shawnee cut in.

"We can fit that in Shawnee." Jennifer said.

"No. It's fine. You're a local and drive around town everyday. I'm fine exploring on my own." I smiled.

"And the other freaks on the bus." Tom added.

"Just leave Friday open for me." Christian requested.

I nodded.



Thankfully, there were no freaks on the bus tour I went on. Lots of families, groups of friends, older couples, and a few solo people like me but no one that really stood out. It was an open top sight seeing tour bus with a energetic guide that told us some of the history of different neighborhoods and attractions. Riding across Golden Gate Bridge on top of the bus was very breezy and a little cold, but definitely worth the panoramic view of the bridge that I got. I did get off the bus to check out a few different stops.

Chinatown was one of them. I took a walking tour through the market place as the guide provided us the history and culture and pointed out the best places for dim sum and tea. I got a bag of fortune cookies as well at the fortune cookie factory. I had lunch and soaked in the culture in the Mission District. I got off at Pier 39 to explore as well. I enjoyed the view of Alcatraz Island and the marine life from the waterfront. I checked out North Beach and little Italy where Italian immigrant settled during the gold rush. I also sampled chowder at Fisherman's Whaft while waiting for the night tour.

The night tour was an no stop ride through the city, seeing the same sights lite up under the night sky. The bus took us to Treasure Island where we had a beautiful view of the city. By the time I made it back to Jennifer's house, I was exhausted, but had a great time and a new appreciation for the city by the bay.

I used the key Christian gave me to let myself into the house. The last text Christian sent me was not to eat because we were having dinner together. I was surprised when no one was there. I wandered to the kitchen and found Christian cooking.

"You're cooking?" I asked, sitting at the island, watching him work.

"I am. We're having champagne risotto with prosciutto, asparagus and Parmesan cheese." he showed off.

"Oh fuck, you can really cook?" I asked, surprised.

He looked at me, incredulously. "My mom was a personal chef."

"Aww, so she taught you everything you know?"

Christian laughed. "Nah. She actually hated anyone in her personal domain but I have her recipes."

I laughed too."So we'll see if you can follow instructions. Where's everyone else?"

"They went out to dinner. It's just us tonight."

"Can I do anything to help?"

"I got this. Go relax. There's a bathtub in my room." He tempted me.

"You sure? I can finish the salad." I offered.

"No. I don't need you trying to steal my mom's recipes."

"I'm not convinced that's not Rice-O-Roni with some bacon bits on top." I grinned.

"Get outta here with that!"

"Rice-O-Roni. The San Francisco treat!" I sang before leaving the room.

I really should have stayed and helped, but my aching legs required rest and a bath sounded perfect. I also wanted to call and check up on Sammy and Justine. The bathtub was a huge garden tub. Using the bath products Christian picked out, I settled into a hot bubble bath. I spoke to Sammy while I soaked.

She informed me Justine was doing good with the mixed dog food, but was whining a little. We thought maybe she was missing me, so I got on speaker phone and talked to her. I don't know if it helped, but Sammy said she would keep me updated. I called Rocky next and she said she was doing ok. She relayed that she spoke to Jackie but would fill me in when I got back. I called Amber too and excitedly chatted about her trip. She was still gushing when my water got cold so I promised I would hear the rest when I got back to Dallas.

I got out the tub, quickly towel tied and lotioned before getting dressed in leggings and a t-shirt. Since it was just us, I left my hair down and went make-up free. I second guessed my choices when I came to the dining room and the table was set with candles and flowers with Coldplay playing gently in the background.

"Oh oh. Coldplay is suicidal music. You're not trying to kill us with your cooking." I joked as he led me to the table.

"I love Coldplay too. They were the first band I ever saw in concert. Don't listen to anything Shawnee says." Christian said.

"She's... A character." I started as he sat  a plate in front of me with salad and risotto. "Is there a reason she decided not to like me?"

"Who cares what she thinks? She's the walking embodiment of everything I hate about the entertainment industry. She's an Instagram model that lives off attention. Literally, she gets paid off of likes and comments. Her podcast and career are jokes." Christian explained.

I was surprised by the viciousness of his comments towards her. "Is there a history between you two?"

"No, I mean besides RJ being like a brother to me. I have to deal with her by extension."

"If you say so..." I said, taking a bite of my salad.

"Everyone you met is like family. It's part of the reason why I wanted you out here. Being around you with your family and friends gave me a better understanding of who you are. I wanted you to have the same understanding about me. My friends, they keep me grounded. Even Shawnee- she reminds me not to get too caught up in the lifestyle." Christian explained.

I nodded. "Ok. Thank you for inviting me and sharing yourself with me."

"No. Thank you for coming."

The risotto was finally cool enough to eat so I took a bite and smiled. "So much better than Rice-O-Roni or any risotto I've tried." I complimented him.

"I know." he said proudly with a smile.

We ate dinner slowly, talking about my adventure in San Francisco thus far. We talked about all the places we've traveled. My travels weren't as extensive as Christian's and a lot of my trips were tied to Trevor, so I mostly asked about the places he has been. I found out his mom was a big traveller and would take him somewhere new every time he had a break from school. He didn't talk about his mom very often, so I listened intently. He told me how she cultivated his love of traveling, experiencing new cultures and trying new foods. When they weren't traveling, she supported his love of music, despite the fact he inherited it from his father.

I asked about his dad as we cleaned the kitchen. He told me his father was the definition of a rolling stone. He played multiple instruments and toured all over the world in different bands when Christian was a kid. He told me his mom never had a great relationship with his dad after he was born, but encouraged a relationship between them even when his dad seemed too busy to care.

We went to his room and got comfortable in his bed as he told me more about his family. He has half siblings from his dad, but his dad lifestyle choices didn't really promote family bonding. Some of them reached out when Christian garnered fame and money, but by then Christian wasn't interested with relationships with them. After his mom passed, his dad tried to reach out, but Christian never reciprocated. He felt like he really only had his friends.

I related with him, telling him about how my friends were my family for a long time too. I confided in him the whole sordid history of my dad and why he adopted me and how I found out. I even told him about connecting with my aunt Patty, only to be estranged because of her feelings towards Bianca. I explained how I still had yet to reach out to my mom because of the choices she made when I was younger- And because I was afraid of her reaction.

"We have a lot in common huh?" Christian said, wrapping an arm around me.

I fidgeted, trying to get comfortable in his arms. "Funny how we're just figuring it out considering we met almost a decade ago."

"I hate I didn't talk to you in college." Christian said stroking my hair behind my ear. "My mom hated every girl I dated. She woulda liked you."

"I hope so. She was obviously an amazing woman."

"I know she would." His eyes bore into mine, making me uncomfortable in his gaze.

"I should go to my bed." I said, nervously.

"No. Stay. I'm a great cuddler. I'll play more Coldplay." He promised.


"Okay. Just cuddling. And I wanna hear Parachutes."

"Deal."