by Naomi Niles
“Are you all right back there?” I asked, laying peacefully on his couch.
“I’m... good,” he said, out of breath, as I chuckled to myself.
I was comfortable doing this alone with him, but as I thought about how things would be once the cameras were on, I cringed. I felt that everything would change as soon as the lights turned on and the director yelled, “Action!” I didn’t know how I was going to make it through that moment whenever it arrived.
Chapter Fifteen
Ezra
“Tanya, I’ll be there to get the boys in about 45 minutes. Can you make sure they are ready?”
She hesitated. “Um, we have plans today, Ezra.”
I bridled my anger for the time being. She always tried to pull some shit like this at the last minute and come up with some dumb ass reason as to why they couldn’t come with me. I knew she was just trying to get a reaction out of me, but even with that, I still fell for it more times than not. “Then reschedule. You know that this is my weekend to get them, so I don’t know why you scheduled something with them now.”
“Because, Ezra, this is the only time I could get it done.”
“Well, too fucking bad, Tanya. I’m not about to miss out on my weekend with them. I already don’t see them enough as is, so if you think I’m going to let this slide, you are fucking dumber than I thought you were.”
She paused. “Why the fuck do you have to be so rude?”
“I’m not wearing any Roll-aid today, so you are shit out of luck.”
“Whatever, Ezra. You are such a fucking punk.”
“Yeah, thanks, it’s one of my best qualities. Just have my boys ready within the next hour and don’t try to pull any bullshit at the last minute, either.”
A dial tone replaced her response as I drove around the city in my car. A few days had passed since I had sex with Hannah and I thought things would be a little awkward after that fact, but I was wrong. We both went on like everything was normal between us, and in fact, she seemed to loosen up more than she did before it happened. From what I could tell, our chemistry had strengthened through that sexual encounter, and I figured that it wouldn’t do anything but help our chemistry on set once the time came for us to begin shooting. I laughed to myself when I thought about Jeff’s reaction after I told him that I slept with Hannah.
“I knew it! I knew it, you fucking animal! You couldn’t make it one week without fucking the girl, huh?”
“I wasn’t expecting it to go down like that, man. It just kind of happened. To make things even more confusing, she came off as the aggressive one. I think she wanted it, bro.”
“You think she wanted it?” he laughed. “Yeah, that’s what all the narcissistic men say when it comes to that. ‘I think she wanted it, bro.'”
I laughed, “Nah, seriously. She came onto me. We were going over a sexual scene–”
“I bet you picked it out.”
“No, she did, actually. She picked it out, and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, I came on her back in the front room. Shit. It all happened so fast, but it was worth it, though.”
“We will see,” he said as he started his reps at the gym.
Just then, a car blew its horn from behind me, urging me to cross the intersection beneath the green light. Jeff was a little pessimistic about how our relationship would go now that we had crossed the sexual lines with each other. He wasn’t one to mix business with pleasure because he said there was a fine line that shouldn’t be crossed. I didn’t think there was anything bad about it, though. I mean, if we did happen to make something more of our relationship, I didn’t think it would hurt. At the same time, if we started bumping heads or one of us didn’t feel the same way about the other, then I understood how it could throw a wrench into everything.
We were adults, though, and that was the bottom line. If there was a problem that came up between us, I didn’t have any doubt in my mind that we would be able to come to a logical understanding as adults and keep our business relationship going. Honestly, I didn’t see anything that would drive a wedge between us. It seemed like we were headed down a path that would make both of our lives better, and hopefully, we would be together when it happened.
I showed up outside of Tanya’s house nearly 30 minutes later. I blew my horn twice to let her know I was outside because I hated going in to talk to her. She always dragged on and created some bullshit that ended up taking away my time with the boys. I waited for a few minutes, peeking back at the door to see if anybody was coming outside. Come on, Tanya, I said to myself as the engine purred. After a few more minutes had passed, I slammed my hand on the steering wheel and took the keys out of the ignition. I walked down the short pathway to her front door and knocked with the base of my hand like I was the police.
She quickly opened the door, “Ezra!? Why the fuck are you banging on the door like a fuckin’ mad man?”
“Because that is exactly what I am. I blew the horn four times. What the fuck? I don’t have time for your bullshit today, Tanya. Where are the boys?”
“Just calm down,” she said as she opened the door. She wore skin-tight denim shorts that stopped just below her butt cheeks. Up top, she boasted a sports bra that showed off her stomach, which was as flat as a table top. Her breasts were voluminous, and her curly hair flowed down just beyond her shoulders. As much as I hated her, I couldn’t erase the fact that she was fine as hell. “There are in the back asleep.”
“Asleep? You didn’t tell them I was coming?”
“I did, Ezra. I told them, but they have been up since 7 this morning, so they were tired. I told them to go wait in their rooms, and before I knew it, they were asleep.” She closed the door behind me as I stood in the hallway.
“All right. Well, go get them. Tell them I am here.”
She folded her arms just beneath her breasts, propping them up a bit on her forearm. They didn’t need any assistance, though. They were large enough already. “So,” she said as she sucked her teeth. “I heard you landed a role in some freaky-ass movie. Is that true?”
I rolled my eyes, “Look, I’m just here to get the boys, all right?” I pointed down the hallway to their room, “they are back there, right?”
She quickly cut me off as I started down the hallway, “Hold on. I am just talking to you, all right? That’s it. I mean, this is big news because I hear the movie is major. Satin Sheets? That’s the book it is based on, right?” I tried to ease by her, but my arm brushed against her tit. Lustful images of her breasts bouncing up and down as she rode on top of me floated around in my mind. “Right, Ezra?”
“Yeah.”
“Um-hm,” she looked to the side at an imaginary spot on her white wall. “So, I’m guessing you are fucking some chick in the movie too, huh?”
I laughed and forced my way past her and into the boys’ room. I knocked on the door, as it was already open. “Boys? Come on; Daddy’s here. Are yall ready to go?”
Nolan was the first one to pop his head up. “Daddy!” His bright blue eyes lit up the room as he ran towards me in a daze of sleep, barely able to keep his balance before he fell into my arms.
I kissed him on the top of his head. “Hey, buddy! Daddy missed you!”
“I missed you too, Daddy!”
I reached into their toy chest, grabbed a plush football, and threw a laser at Tanner’s head. It bounced off of him and fell to the floor as he yelled, “Stop it, Nolan! I’ma tell Mom!”
“Nolan didn’t do that,” I said as he slowly opened his eyes. He glanced around the room as if he were seeing the world for the first time before he rubbed his eyes.
“Hey, Dad!” he said as he sat up on his mattress and dropped to the floor. He ran into my arms, knocking Nolan out of the way in the process.
“Man, I missed you two! Do yall have your bags?”
“Yes,” they said as they ran to the corner of the room to grab their things.
As they sprinted past their mother, she snapped, “Hold on,
hold on! You two are just going to run out of here without telling me bye?!” They stopped in their tracks and walked back to her as she hugged and kissed them on their foreheads. She was a good mother, and I couldn’t deny that fact, even if I wanted to. After she had released them, they ran towards the door, and in the blink of an eye, they were outside waiting by my car. I followed their path down the hallway as Tanya grabbed my arm, “Um, so about this movie,” she said, leaning against the wall. “Can I get the specifics?”
“Specifics?” I laughed. “Yeah. I will specifically tell you to mind your own business.”
“Can you for once not be an ass?”
“You know what, I tried that but then I met you, and it seems like everything just kinda… changed.”
She rolled her eyes and put her hand on the door knob. It nearly hit me in the ass as I walked outside. “Well, boys! What do you guys want to do today?”
“Can we go to LEGOLAND? Mom already said that you were going to take us. She said that before you got here.”
I laughed as I opened their door. She always found a way to make me spend more money than I wanted to. LEGOLAND was like the Disney World of this area. They loved to go, but I spent almost 100 dollars every time because of all the things they wanted to do and buy while they were there. “Yeah, I guess so,” I said as they piled into the car. I figured that money wouldn’t be as tight anymore, especially with the income I’d be receiving from my role in this upcoming movie. I’d have Tanya crawling back to me if I wanted. I closed the door and looked towards her house. I could tell she was peering at me from the corner of her front room window because the curtain was pulled back just a bit on the side.
I smiled and blew a kiss in her direction, and soon after that, the curtain fell back to its place against the window. I didn’t want her back. She was a good fuck, but I didn’t want her back. Not after all the bullshit she had put me through. I just wanted the opportunity to rub my success in her face since she always talked down on my dreams. I think every man would revel in the chance to rub his success in the face of his ex if it called for it. This was definitely one of those times. I climbed into my vehicle and started the engine as the boys riled themselves up for where we were headed.
“Dad,” Tanner said, “Is one of your whores going with us?”
I spun around and glared at him as he looked towards me with eyes full of innocence. “What did you say?”
“Um,” he said, cowering. “Mom told me to ask if one of your whores were going with us.”
I glanced at her house one more time, suppressing the urge to go inside and cause a scene. I sat quietly, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel until I calmed myself. “No, son,” I said, biting my tongue from what I really wanted to say. “No, it is just us. Just us.” I turned the key in the ignition and headed down the block, listening to the sound of my tires grazing over the cement.
“Dad,” he said, timidly, “Mom wouldn’t tell me, but… what’s a whore?”
Chapter Sixteen
Hannah
I sat in my room going over the script when I heard Carrie walk up the stairs. She had been out of town for the past few days, so she didn’t hear the news that I had slept with Ezra. “Oh, my God,” she said, inviting herself into my room. “I am glad that is over. I have never had so many photo shoots in one day. I couldn’t even enjoy Venice Beach like I wanted to.” She plopped down on my bed with her arms and legs sprawled out like a squished bug. “All of those fine men on the beach and I didn’t have time to do anything with any one of them. Fuck my life.”
I quietly paged through my script as she exhaled facing the ceiling. Before long, she took note of my silence and looked towards me. “Hannah? Did you not just hear me venting? You know you are supposed to step right into best friend mode and ask me some more questions so I can keep going.”
“Oh,” I said, lifting my head from the script. I was immersed in another one of the sex scenes, imagining Ezra fucking me while I was pinned against the wall. My panties were moist just at the thought, and if it wasn’t for Carrie bursting into my room, I would have pleased myself to hold me over until the next time I met up with Ezra to rehearse lines. “I’m sorry,” I placed the script onto my lap. “I was just focused on getting these lines down.”
She flipped over onto her stomach and snatched the script from my lap, “Well, damn. It must be good if you can completely ignore what I was saying to you.” She read over the script as I watched her eyes drift back and forth across the page. I hung my head to shield my smile from her. After a few moments had passed, she began to read out loud, “He lifts her against the wall, shifting from their original position on the bed. The moonlight blazes in from the window, illuminating their sweat-soaked bodies as she moans out loud each time he thrusts himself inside of her.”
She slapped me with the thick script. “Ouch, Carrie!”
“Ouch, my ass,” she said, quickly sitting in an upright position. Her eyes widened as if she remembered what I was supposed to do with Ezra this past weekend. “Wait a minute… did you two screw?” she asked, anxiously waiting for my response. I looked away from her, still attempting to hide my bashful smile. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I used my hand to cover my face. “You did, didn’t you? Didn’t you!” She scooted closer to me, giddy, wanting to know more. “How was it?! Was it what you expected?! Was it better?! Girl, tell me something or I will keep assaulting you with this script!” She smacked me again on my leg with the thick packet of paper.
“All right!” I said, holding the reddened portion of my leg. “Yes, I did! We did. We had sex that night at his place.”
“And?” she said, her eyes like fishbowls.
“It was… it was everything I thought it would be. I mean, I didn’t have anything to compare it to because I don’t remember the last time I have even had sex, but… I can tell you this much; it was a hell of a lot better than using my finger or that thing in my drawer.” She buried her face in the script and fell back onto the mattress, laughing out loud. “Carrie, stop it! I knew you were going to make a big deal out of this!”
“I have to,” she said, sitting back into an upright position. “I mean, damn. My best friend finally got some dick, and she didn’t have to fucking use batteries for it to happen.”
“Please,” I said, rolling my eyes, “I don’t need batteries for that thing. All I need to do is plant it somewhere and sit on top of it.”
“Oh, you got one of those? Shit. I might need to switch it up, because,” she stopped herself. “Wait a minute, I am all off topic! So, tell me more details!” She leaned in close to me as if there were people around listening. “Was his dick big?”
I laughed, covering my face with my hand again. “I don’t know. I mean, how do you know if it is big or not?”
“My God, you sound like a virgin! If it was big, you might have felt some pain the next morning, or during the time yall were fucking.”
“Well... then yeah, I guess it was big. I could hardly fucking walk the next day,” I said, laughing out loud. “I was about to take my ass to the doctor.”
She laughed right with me. “Shit, the only thing the doctor would have told you is that you had a case of big dick-itus. Shit.” She smacked me on my arm. “You did it, though! I am proud of you, too! Damn. Was the chemistry there?”
“Yeah. All of it. I mean, I enjoyed um, I enjoyed having sex with him, I can’t lie about it. I know I might sound like a nympho or something but… I want some more of him. Like, I think I am addicted to his dick.” She laughed out loud again as she fell backward onto the bed. Just then, my phone rang on top of my nightstand. “Carrie, be quiet! This is my agent!” I snapped as she tried to stifle her laughter. “Carrie! Will you stop!”
As she settled down, I picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Hannah? Hi. How are you doing today?”
“I am good, Suzanna. Is everything OK?”
“Yes, everything is fine! I just need you to stop
by the office today. Just a few housekeeping things that we need to take care of before you begin shooting your movie. It should take no more than about 15 or 20 minutes.”
“Oh. OK, no problem. I’ll get myself ready and head that way.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you soon.”
Laughter filled the room again as I hung up the phone and got myself ready to go. “Where are you going?” she said, finding a way to speak coherent sentences out of her laughter. “Was that Ezra? Are you going for round two?”
I pulled a shirt out of my closet. “I wish,” I said. “But that was my agent. I need to go to her office and take care of some things really quick.”
“OK,” she said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “All right. Whoo, I’ve had my laugh for today and trust me, I needed every ounce of it. I guess we will talk a little more whenever you get home. Welcome to the fuck club, though,” she said as she burst out in laughter again once she left the room. I chuckled to myself as I slid my shirt over my head. I didn’t mind her teasing, though. Not one bit. I felt like it was worth it and if I knew I had to put up with her hazing again, I still would have had sex with Ezra. That was something I would have gone through hell to get.
I arrived at Suzanna’s office about an hour later. She was a petite white woman with horn-rimmed glasses and crow’s feet at the edges of her eyes. Her lips were thin and wiry, and her nose was long and slim. She normally wore her hair in a tight ponytail and nothing more, barely wearing any makeup in the process. She was plain and simple, but when it came to business, she was a bulldog. That is what I loved about her the most. “Hey, Suzanna,” I said, extending my hand to her as I walked into her office.
“Hello, Ms. Black. It is a pleasure to see you this evening on such short notice. Please, have a seat.”
I sat on the other side of her large, wooden desk. It was polished to a dull shine, and on top of it, there were pictures of her family along the edges. Her son, two daughters, and a golden retriever that she considered one of her children as well. Her husband looked much like her. The same nose and lips, even the same glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He never smiled in any of the pictures, though, but I didn’t care enough about it to ask her why. “So, Suzanna, what did you need me in for?”
