Skin Game

by Lawrence C. Ross

  “Honey, just keep your ass up high and moan loud and no one will care about the lines,” Marisa said. “But here’s the funny thing. The longer you’re in this business, the more you will care for the lines, because the sex will be mundane. Sex is easy to get bored with, and when the lines in the porn are what you’re looking forward to, then it’s time to get out.”

  Marisa walked over to Allison and picked up the mirror. She handed it to Keisha.

  “There,” she said. “This is your first porn makeup job. I think we do it better than those high-paid bitches in Hollywood.”

  I do look beautiful, Keisha thought. Heavily made-up, but beautiful.

  “When do we start shooting?” Keisha asked.

  “In about fifteen minutes,” Trevi said. “They’ll bring you your clothes and then we’ll get started.”

  Ray rolled a metal horse hanger filled with dresses and bikinis into the room.

  “Speak of the devil,” Allison said.

  “I’m good, not evil,” Ray laughed. “I need you guys to put on a bikini, and then pick out two dresses. Then meet me down on the office set in about ten minutes. We don’t have a lot of time because we’re already behind. So get going.”

  “What if there’s nothing in my size?” Keisha said, looking through the clothes.

  “Believe me, there’s something there for you,” Ray answered. “Trevi, do me a favor and bring the box of toys and lube down with you.”

  “I’ll take it,” Marisa said, opening a cabinet. She took down a box and opened it. The box was filled with dildos and different gadgets. “Have these things been sterilized?”

  “I’m not sure, so why don’t you boil them in some water. We have about fifteen minutes, so by the time you bring them down to the set, we should be ready.”

  Marisa left with the box. Ray and Allison followed her.

  “I like my toys slightly warm anyway,” Trevi said to Marisa as she pulled off her top. Trevi displayed her tits. “How do you like them?” she asked Keisha.

  “They look nice,” Keisha said. “I never thought about getting bigger breasts.”

  “You will, if you stay long enough in the industry. Big breasts mean big money.”

  Keisha had to admit that even though Trevi’s breasts were fake, they still looked good in clothes. Trevi slipped on a simple black dress, while Keisha found a red number that matched. They looked good.

  “Pick some heels from here,” Trevi said, pointing to a rack of shoes.

  Keisha picked a pair of black high heels.

  “Are you ready?” Trevi asked Keisha. She took her hand gently.

  “As ready as I’m ever going to be.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve been there, and I’ll help you through it.”

  “Thanks,” Keisha said. And together they walked to the set.

  Chapter 16

  My reaction to porn films is as follows: After the first ten minutes, I want to go home and screw. After the first twenty minutes, I never want to screw again as long as I live.

  —Erica Jong, Playboy magazine, September 1975

  The Stage consisted of five sets: a kitchen, a bedroom, a bar, an office, and curiously, a home entertainment den. Today’s shoot would be set in all of them. The crew had gathered in the office set. This was Pimp Video’s first shoot, and it was Ray’s first time directing. He wanted to make sure he set the tone early.

  “Okay, everybody,” Ray started, as he addressed the crew. “Most of you are veterans from the industry, but I want to remind you that this is Pimp Video’s first shoot.”

  Someone started clapping, and a “woo-hoo” was yelled out from the crowd. There were about twenty people holding cameras, boom mikes, and other equipment. Steven was nowhere to be seen.

  The set was cold, as though someone had turned the air conditioning to eleven, instead of ten. And another thing struck Keisha. The set was large and impersonal. Every porno she’d seen seemed to take place in a house, or a bedroom, that was real, and not a set. But these sets were huge and fake-looking, right down to the fake phones on the desk.

  Trevi and Keisha stood at the front of the crowd, and over to their left were three very muscular men. “See those guys over there,” Trevi whispered to Keisha, as Ray kept talking. “They’re who we’re fucking today. The one on the left is Don Juan.”

  Don Juan was a short and slender dark-skinned man who had long dreadlocks. His shirt was off, and his chest was oiled so that his muscles glistened.

  “Don Juan is pretty cool, but you have to let him know if you want him to pound you or take it easy on you, because he’ll start jackhammering and you’ll have a hell of a time getting him to stop once he starts.”

  “Who’s the guy in the middle?” Keisha asked.

  “That’s Bruce Thumper,” Trevi said. Bruce stood about six feet tall and, like Don Juan, had rippling muscles. He had long blond hair that was nicely cut at his shoulders, like he was a knight from King Arthur’s court. “He has a ten-inch dick that’s thick, and he likes to go deep,” Trevi continued. “He’s known for producing great loads of cum. Did you tell them that you wanted to swallow?”

  “No, and I’m not going to,” Keisha said. “I’ll fuck them, but I’m not swallowing any muthafucka’s cum, especially some fool I don’t even know.”

  “Then you’re going to have to take the money shot in the face,” Trevi said. “They might let you take it on your ass, but I don’t know how Steven and Ray work. But I know that the video is more marketable if he cums on your face. Just close your eyes, and you’ll be fine.”

  “So who’s the last guy?” Keisha asked.

  “That is the legendary Long Island Dong,” Trevi said. Long Island Dong stood a little bit away from Don Juan and Bruce, not interacting with anyone. He was about six-four, wore blue Bermuda shorts, and had a bit of a paunch. He was older than the other two, with gray hair starting to sprout from his beard.

  “Why does he keep rubbing his dick?” Keisha asked as she watched him.

  “It’s a habit,” Trevi said. “He rubs it all of the damn time, mainly because it’s so big, I think. But I think he’s trying to maintain an erection. He’s been in over one thousand movies, and I think he’s on the blue pill ’cause he’s having wood problems.”

  Ray was finishing his speech. “…at Pimp Video, we are going to use the raw techniques of gonzo, and the refined professionalism of features. Simply put, we’re going to revolutionize black adult video. And the man who is going to make this all happen is Steven Cox. So let’s have a warm round of applause for Steven.”

  Everyone, including Trevi and Keisha, turned around and saw Steven. He was dressed casually in all-white Sean John gear.

  “I think Ray said it all,” Steven said. “We’re going to be here for a while, so let’s have a good shoot.”

  “Positions, everybody,” Ray said. “We’re going to start off with pretty girls and then we’ll start shooting. Don Juan, you’re in the first scene, so make sure you’re ready. Trevi and Keisha, come with me.”

  The three walked over to a blue screen, where a photographer was waiting.

  “Trevi, you already know Phil, but Keisha, this is Phil, our photographer. He’s going to take your pretty girls shots.”

  “You’re going to have to school me on some of these terms. What is pretty girls?” Keisha asked.

  “Trevi will show you,” Ray said. “All through the shoot, we’re going to be taking pictures of you. Pretty girls are the shots we take before we shoot. We’ll use them for the cover and shit. All right, both of you strip to your bikinis.”

  Trevi and Keisha took off their dresses. The rest of the crew ignored them.

  “Trevi, you know what to do, so why don’t you go first?” Phil said. “Let’s go ass, tits, high ass, leg, and then freestyle.”

  Trevi moved in front of the blue screen and started posing. She put her hands on her knees and stuck her ass out.

  “Good shit, Trevi, keep going,” Phil said, snapping p
hotos. Trevi took straps from her thong and pulled them through the crack of her ass. With each shot, she smiled deliriously, as though she were having the time of her life.

  “Give me some tit shots,” Phil said, getting on the ground. He must have taken over one hundred shots. Finally, he was done.

  “Your turn, Keisha,” he said, switching memory cards in the camera. Keisha walked up to the blue screen.

  “Just do the best that you can,” Phil said, pointing the camera at her. Keisha smiled to herself. She was a fucking stripper, and if a stripper couldn’t pose, then what the fuck was she doing on the stage? she thought.

  “Yeah, that’s it,” Phil said. Keisha began moving as though she were onstage, except that she didn’t have a pole.

  Fake it to make it, she thought. Keisha moved to some invisible music, and like at the club, the crew stopped and looked. This was a jaded bunch, who swam in tits, ass, and pussy all the time. And yet, they knew when they had something special. And Keisha was special.

  “More ass, baby,” Phil said. “Keep moving, and give me more ass. Yeah, you are a fucking natural.”

  Keisha kept moving to an internal rhythm but was still tired from the night before. She didn’t have the same energy that she naturally would have had. But everyone seemed to like what she was doing, so she kept going.

  Steven had walked over to Ray, who was getting ready to shoot. “Ray, do I have an eye for talent, or do I have an eye for talent?” he said, proud of himself.

  “Let’s wait to see what happens when she has a dick inside of her before we start patting each other on the back,” Ray said.

  “All right, everybody, let’s get going for scene one!” Ray shouted to the cast and crew. “Don Juan, Trevi, and Keisha, you’re up. Let’s go!”

  Everyone broke and began getting in position. Keisha joined Trevi and the others in the office scene. Ray began taking control of the scene.

  “Quiet, please!” Ray yelled. “Marty, get those people over in the corner to stop fucking talking, or throw them out.” He turned to Keisha. “Keisha, I want you to walk into the room and read your lines. Don Juan and Trevi will read their lines, and then we’ll get started.”

  In about ten seconds, Keisha was going to be a porn actress in a movie tentatively called, Pimp presents Keisha, and she was as nervous as she’d ever been. The plot centered on a woman named Keisha, played by Keisha, who’s coming into Los Angeles without a job but needs a place to stay.

  If Keisha had thought twice about it, she would have used an alias instead of her own name. But nobody suggested it.

  “Okay, everyone, quiet on the set!” Ray said. “Action!”

  Keisha froze. She stood in front of a fake doorway that led into a faux office, where a real-life change was about to happen. All of a sudden, she couldn’t move.

  “Keisha!” Ray screamed. “Let’s go! Walk into the office and read your lines!”

  Ray’s voice snapped Keisha out of her trance, and she instinctively walked through the door.

  “Hello, welcome to Crenshaw Realty,” Don Juan said. “My name is Chuck and this is my wife, Angie. How can we help you?” Don Juan was wearing black leather pants and a white shirt, and Trevi was wearing her black evening dress.

  “Yes, my name is Keisha,” Keisha said haltingly. “I’d like an apartment, please.”

  Don Juan reached into the drawer and pulled out some forms. “Fine, we have some vacancies right now in the Ladera area. Are you looking for a studio or a one-bedroom?”

  “I’d like a one-bedroom,” Keisha said.

  Don Juan’s cell phone went off. “Dammit!” he said overdramatically. “It looks like the pipes in one of our tenants’ bathrooms has overflowed again. I’ve got to go right away.”

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Trevi said seductively. “I can take care of all this.”

  “Great. It was nice to meet you, Kimmie.”

  “Cut!” yelled Ray. He ran on the set and got right in the face of Don Juan. “It’s not Kimmie, it’s Keisha. Goddamn, how hard can that fucking be?”

  “Who the fuck cares?” Don Juan replied, as Ray walked back to the side. “Most muthafuckas are going to fast-forward this shit anyway.”

  “I fucking care, so if you want to do more Pimp videos, you’d better care too,” Ray said. “Okay, everyone back at their spots. Action!”

  “Great,” Don Juan repeated. “It was nice to meet you, Keisha.”

  “I hope to see more of you later,” Keisha said breathily.

  “Call me and let me know what apartment you rent her,” Don Juan said to Trevi. He then gave her a huge, wet kiss, full of tongue.

  “Bye, baby,” she said as he left the faux office.

  “Keisha,” Ray said from the side, “I want you to sexily climb on the desk, and then read your lines.”

  Keisha got out of her chair and then laid on the desk, sweeping the phone and the calendar to the floor.

  “Nice,” Steven whispered, as he watched from a corner.

  “Angie, I have a small problem,” Keisha said. “I just got to Los Angeles from Portland, and I don’t have a dime to my name. So I don’t know how I can pay for an apartment, but I need somewhere to live. Do you think you can help me?”

  Keisha put her fingers on Trevi’s arm. Trevi then put her hand on Keisha’s thigh and began rubbing it.

  “I think that we can work something out,” Trevi cooed into Keisha’s ear. “Just give me a second, and I think I can find some ways you can pay. Just don’t tell my husband. He gets so jealous.”

  “Cut!” Ray yelled, walking into the set. Keisha got off the desk and Trevi sat down in the chair. “Marisa! Marisa!” he yelled.

  “Yeah?”

  “Where are those toys?”

  “Coming!”

  “That’s a first.” Ray laughed. “Toys coming. That’s what you girls are paid to do.”

  Marisa came bounding through the set with a box full of toys. The other crew talked among themselves, and two were trying to catch a smoke with Don Juan.

  “Here you go, all sterilized and ready to go,” Marisa said. She handed Trevi a blown-glass dildo that was twisted at the end. “I made sure to bring you your favorite.”

  “Keisha, one of the fringe benefits you’ll find in this industry is that you get to play with some expensive toys,” she said, holding the glass dildo like a work of art. “This is the wrapped G-spot shaft. Seven inches of fun for you and me!”

  Marisa began lining up the dildos on the desk as though they were little toy soldiers. “Do you have a favorite?”

  Keisha picked up a tiny vibrator. “I want you to use this pocket rocket,” she said. “My boyfriend used to use it on me and I came every time.”

  “You got it,” Trevi said. “Are you cool yet with me going down on you?”

  Keisha hesitated. “I think I’m more cool with you going down on me, than me going down on you.”

  “Honey, everybody’s a little bit bi, so you’ll get into it,” Marisa said.

  “Funny, but I don’t see the men doing anything like that,” Keisha said. Trevi and Marisa laughed.

  “Darling, you don’t see it, but it’s happening. Just not on this set,” Trevi said.

  “Okay, enough talk. Let’s get to the fucking!” Ray said. “Marisa, get all those toys out of here. Keisha and Trevi, get back to your places. Let’s go, everybody. Time is money and money is time!”

  Keisha and Trevi began walking back to the office set. “By the way, I like my dildos and dick deep, so don’t be shy,” Trevi said. “You can’t hurt me.”

  “I’ll remember that,” Keisha said.

  Chapter 17

  Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

  —Oscar Wilde

  Keisha lay back on the desk, and Trevi tried to strike the same pose she’d had before Ray had stopped the scene. Continuity was not that important in porn—in fact, most videos loop
ed scenes during editing so that they stretched out.

  “Okay, are you girls ready?” Ray asked.

  “Yeah,” they both said.

  “Okay, action!”

  Trevi rubbed Keisha’s leg up and down and then ran her hand up her thigh.

  “How about we have some fun and then call it even for the apartment?” Trevi asked.

  “That sounds good to me,” Keisha said. Keisha turned over so that she was on her back, and Trevi slowly lifted her dress so that it gathered at Keisha’s waist. She then took off Keisha’s panties and tossed them to the side.

  “You have a beautiful pussy,” Trevi said, yanking Keisha to the edge of the desk.

  “I bet it tastes even better,” Keisha said.

  The man with the handheld camera was right behind Trevi, as she used her tongue to draw circles around Keisha’s belly button.

  For Keisha, this was extremely weird and uncomfortable.

  What the hell am I doing? she thought, as Trevi kept flicking her tongue around her belly and thigh.

  It didn’t feel bad to her, but then again, this was not a fantasy of hers. Slowly, Trevi began kissing her closer and closer to her pussy, and Keisha began to tense up.

  “Keisha, relax,” Ray shouted from the side. “Just relax and let Trevi do the work. Both of you, take off your dresses.”

  Keisha sat up and lifted her dress, while Trevi simply let hers drop to the ground. Keisha then lay back on the desk. Ray had instructed a second camera to focus on Keisha’s face, and one over Trevi’s shoulder.

  “Eat her good, Trevi,” Ray said, looking through his monitor at the action. Over his shoulder, Steven was watching too.

  “She’s good, real good,” Steven said. “And I think Trevi was the right pick for her first scene.”

  Trevi bent down and began licking Keisha’s pussy, and the only reaction Keisha could give was to rapidly open and close her eyes. She began imagining that Trevi was Donovan, and she began to relax.

  “Jesus,” Keisha exclaimed.

  “Oooh, that feels good,” was the line Keisha was supposed to say, but she wasn’t thinking about her lines. Where Donovan had been strong with his licking, Trevi was gentle, with a small tongue that flicked everywhere.