“Thanks! We have a lot riding on this video and I want it to be as perfect as possible.”
“Girl, we got this! This may be our first major graphic design client, but it won’t be our last. Adult film is on the come up and this location is bad ass.”
I smiled, glancing around the tattoo shop at all of the one-of-a-kind designs I was able to display that had been created by the company and infuse them with work done by Theseus, Eros, and Ares. “I loved it the minute I stepped through the front door. Plus, the owners are from my Michigan hometown, so it’s nice to get to work with some old friends.”
Monroe glanced over her shoulder before leaning to my ear and whispering, “Girl, that one back there in that white tee has been eyeing you all day, and it’s not in an old-friend kind of way. Is he an ex?”
I followed her line of vision. Usually, we didn’t let any owners of a location we used stay on set, but in this case, the talent and staff signed off on it, so I’d made an exception for the first few days of filming.
“Nah, we never dated.”
“Humph.” I stole a glance at Monroe as she said, “But he wanted to, right?”
I shrugged. “Something like that.”
Theseus whispered something to Ares before glancing back at me. That look said it all. As soon as I wrapped up my day, he wanted to talk. Or maybe let our lips do all of the talking. Hell, I didn’t know, but he wanted to do something.
The sound of disgruntled talent caught our attention. I turned back to see Misty, our main star, arguing with Bruce, our leading man.
“For the last time. My breasts are delicate and real unlike some of the women you shoot videos with. So next time you grab them, you better use soft hands.” She cupped her breasts through her bra to demonstrate.
Bruce rolled his eyes, completely comfortable in his tight boxer briefs. “Lady, I’ll try to be gentler, but I’ve felt my fair share of breasts, so I know what I’m doing. Yours ain’t all that to be trippin’ over.”
Misty gasped. “You take that back, asshole. Men pay good money to see these breasts.”
Bruce took a step closer to Misty. “Clearly these men need to get their eyes checked.”
As the two went back and forth, Monroe nodded her head to Gary, the cameramen, to keep shooting. Sometimes, our best scenes came when the actor or actress wasn’t putting on an act for the camera.
“Whoever told me shooting adult films would be easier than action movies had clearly never filmed two people having sex before,” Monroe preached.
“Yeah, but check out Bruce.” I nodded in his direction, hoping she peeped how hard he was growing by the minute. “Clearly, fighting with Misty is getting him excited. When he auditioned, he mentioned being one of those guys that don’t take any erectile enhancement medication. Not sure I believe him, but maybe we should shoot the first sex scene before he can’t get it up as easily.”
Monroe pointed her finger in the air. “Facts.”
While Monroe headed over to break up the argument and let them know we needed them to get intimate pretty soon, I gave Theseus and Ares the signal to indicate that they needed to head to the back before we filmed the next scenes since actual intercourse would take place.
Layla returned from setting up our secondary shooting location just when Monroe was explaining what was next to the talent. “Did I hear her right? Just like that, it’s time for the hanky panky?”
I laughed. “Yeah, just like that. Getting into the industry, it was probably the biggest adjustment I had to make. Actually seeing people have sex when I used to think it was all for show. That, and the fact that I never thought about porn being scripted. I figured it was all improv. Most of it is, but that’s what makes Black Lush Entertainment so different. Our films are scripted and better quality.”
Layla shook her head, both of us watching Monroe in action as she positioned the talent. “Okay, so is now a good time to ask if you’ve taken my advice and decided to fuck Theseus?”
“Layla!” I gently slapped her on the arm. “I can’t think about that while I’m working.”
Layla waved her hands around the room. “Um, hello? You’re literally in the middle of a sex scene right now. If you can’t think about it now, then when?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and lowered my voice when I disclosed, “I’m still weighing my options.”
Layla leaned back in surprise. “Girl, get real. You can’t still be thinking about that creepy ass dude holding the camera, right? I’m surprised you haven’t fired his ass yet.”
I turned toward Gary in time to see him lick his lips as he got into position to shoot the scene. And did he just cup his junk real quick? “Eww, you’re right, sis. Don’t know what I was thinking. Gary won’t do.”
“But Mr. Theseus Hood will.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And the sooner you get down to business, the easier it will be to shoot those selfie videos you try to record all day.”
“Try and record? What do you mean? I’ve gotten one out the way already.”
Layla gave me a blank stare. “Yeah, girl. I heard you when I passed your bedroom to head to the kitchen. It was decent, but you didn’t sound inspired to tackle your experience.”
I was about to get on her about eavesdropping when my phone dinged indicating that I’d gotten a text message. “Shit, it’s Tyler, my casting associate. That man has been messaging twice a day. He wants to know if I’ve found the victim for my experiment.”
Before I knew what was happening, Layla grabbed my phone and texted Tyler back. “There,” she said. “It’s done. You can thank me later.”
As soon as I read the message, my mouth dropped. “Please tell me you did not text Tyler that I’ve decided to give my high school boyfriend another chance? That is so far from the truth.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“It is,” I whisper-yelled. “Tyler already sent back an emoji of a purple eggplant and a heart, encouraging me to get that D again. Again? As in, I’ve had it once before, which you and I both know I haven’t!”
Layla waved me off. “Girl, please. Just say you secretly dated, but you held out, if he asks. But this is your experience and you should get the most out of it.”
Theseus chose that moment to quickly grab his bag that he’d left in the corner of the foyer, flashing me one of his infamous, devastatingly handsome side-smiles before he left.
“You’re so full of shit.”
I turned to Layla. “What do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes. “Y’all are eye-fucking each other even more than usual. I know something happened, but you can tell me when you’re ready. And don’t forget that the girls are coming into town tomorrow night, so if you don’t tell me before they get here, you gotta fess up to all of us.” I laughed, knowing I would have to fess up to all of them anyway. After learning I was in Chicago, a couple other members of the Bomb Squad Beauties were making a trip to Chicago, and our girls were a nosy ass bunch. So, no doubt, they would want me to spill all the tea.
“In the meantime,” Layla continued, “you have to multitask and get you some of that Hood dick. Because let me tell you, sis, it’s not healthy to have deprived yourself of male attention for over seven years.”
I gasped. “It has not been that long! My last serious relationship was …” I stopped since I couldn’t remember the exact date at the moment. I blamed it on the Hood-coated sunglasses I’d been wearing lately.
“It was with the dentist seven years ago,” Layla deadpanned. “And you didn’t give it up the entire few months y’all dated, but he was one of those wait until marriage dudes, so you only kept your legs closed because he was the motha fucka closing them.”
I opened by mouth in interject, but she cut me off and kept on talking. “Before the dentist, you went on a date with that psychologist, and yeah, you had sex with him a few times after he met your dating quota, but it didn’t even seem like it was that good. Neither did that broker dude you fucked on date number nine. And di
dn’t he ghost you after y’all fucked?”
I rolled my eyes. “His name was Simon. And he didn’t ghost me. When we went out on our tenth date, he told me that he had decided to make it work with his ex-wife. She had some sort of incurable disease, and he wanted to spend her last few months with her. I had to respect that.”
Layla didn’t seem to blink for a whole minute. “Bitch, you joking, right? That’s even worse. You telling me ole’ dude waited until y’all had sex, then he pulled the whole ‘Ima make it work with my dying ex’ bullshit? You never told me that.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, when I realized she was right. Damn, I’m naive. “I can’t believe it,” I gasped, putting the pieces together after all these years. “He put my ass on the ghost train, and I hopped on board like an excited passenger.”
Layla nodded her head. “He sure did. But it’s a good thing you got on that train because he wasn’t worth your time. You’ve been dating these lame ass dudes when you’re better than that, sis. I mean, in high school and college, you used to go on dates all the time. You never gave it up easily … which was basically a rite of passage in college, but whatever. At least you dated back then. But I haven’t even heard you talk about a man in years. What gives?”
I sighed, digesting what she’d said and wishing I could answer her question, knowing that I couldn’t. “I … I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Suddenly, the reason I was doing the experiment made sense again. The reason I’d even challenged myself to do something outside of my comfort zone was evident. Hell, the reason I’d dry-humped Theseus in the loft was all suddenly clear as hell.
“Okay, you’re right. I need to stop being a pussy and—”
“Give him the pussy,” Layla chanted, a little too loudly. “Yass, bitch, finally! He’s gonna be so shocked.”
I couldn’t help but laugh when I caught her hands in the air to stop her from clapping. “Let’s get back to work,” I stated, because honestly, I needed to get this day over with so I could talk to Theseus in private. Something told me he wouldn’t be as surprised as Layla thought.
THESEUS
“Dude, quit smiling,” I told myself as I glanced at my reflection in the elevator. Yet, telling myself that was a waste of time since I’d been sporting a smile since Ivy asked me if I could stop by Layla’s apartment after shooting wrapped up today.
My gut was telling me that Ivy wanted to talk about the notes I’d read on her iPad. Either that, or finish what we’d started in the morning. Best case scenario, the night would include both.
Stepping off the elevator, I headed straight to the apartment that matched the number she’d given me. She knew I was here because she’d buzzed me up, but it took her a while to answer the door after I knocked.
The moment she opened the door, I had to remind myself to act chill and not devour her right on the spot. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her face was clear of any makeup. I hadn’t seen her in her yellow frames since the day she’d explained the offer from her company and seeing her in them now made me realize I’d missed them. They’d be giving me mad sexy librarian vibes right now had she not been sporting a baggy, off the shoulder T-shirt and some booty shorts. Shit I’d never seen her in, but was now branded in my mind as the sexiest thing she’d ever worn around me.
Her pretty feet were bare, but her burgundy-colored toenails matched the shade of lipstick she’d been wearing earlier. I was so busy checking her out, I almost didn’t hear her when she spoke. “Come in.”
I stepped into Layla’s apartment, immediately noticing the décor screamed Layla. Bold colors for a bold personality. “Is ya girl around?”
“Nah, she had a date. She’ll probably be gone the rest of the night.”
My dick jumped. “Cool.” I followed her into the kitchen where she had two wine glasses sitting on the counter.
“Do you want red or white?” she asked, opening the refrigerator.
Neither. I didn’t drink wine and was more of a Hennessy type of guy. But I wasn’t passing up the chance to share a drink with her. “Red is fine.”
Ivy nodded her head, pouring us both a glass before motioning for me to take a seat on one of the bar stools at the island. I removed my coat and took a seat, my eyes on her the whole time. Once she’d placed the wine back in the refrigerator, she removed her glasses and placed them on the counter before sitting on the stool next to me.
Sipping her wine, she finally set those sultry brown eyes on mine when she asked, “You’re probably wondering what I asked you over here for?”
“I have an idea, but how about you enlighten me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Did you happen to read anything on my iPad when you found it this morning?”
“Yeah,” I answered honestly. “I didn’t mean to, but I knocked it over when I laid on the futon and it illuminated when it fell on the floor. I was surprised it was unlocked, making it easier for folks to get to your business if you lost it.”
She frowned. “It’s unlocked because it’s an older version, so I don’t have the touch passcode feature, and I’m on it so much, I got tired of unlocking it. None of which is important since you had no right to read anything on it.”
“I know I didn’t,” I agreed. “So, let me just get it out the way and apologize right now. I’m sorry for reading anything on your iPad.”
She fidgeted with the stem of her wineglass. “What exactly did you read?”
“I read about the social experiment. The first sentence caught my eye, so I skimmed through it.”
She shook her head. “You had no right to read my private information.”
“I know, I know. Like I said, I’m sorry. It wasn’t my business to read, but I’m glad I did.”
Eyeing me cautiously, she crossed her arms across her chest. “Not that I should even entertain you being nosy as hell … but why are you glad you read it?”
A smile crossed my lips as I leaned closer to her to make sure she heard me when I told her, “If I hadn’t read about the social experiment you signed up for, I never would have known that you were about to make a mistake.”
She frowned again. “And what mistake would that be?”
“Easy,” I pointed out. “I peeped that you’d crossed my name out more than a few times, so my guess is, you decided that this Gary cat was a better person to spend your time with. When, in fact, that’s me.”
“Oh really now.” Her lips began to curl as she held back a smile. “For your information, I never would have gone through with having sex with Gary. He’s a creep.”
“Did he do anything to you?” I asked seriously.
Maybe a little too seriously since she piped back, “Whoa, he didn’t. Nothing happened with Gary. I was just letting you know that I wouldn’t have gone through with it.”
My eyes widened. “So you meant what you wrote? You told the network you’d have sex with a random stranger?”
She briefly glanced away. “Not exactly. You’re familiar with The Social Experiment Network?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Ares is into that shit. So you’re throwin’ your rulebook out the window and doin’ what exactly?”
Ivy didn’t answer me right away, and it seemed that she was feeling a bunch of emotions based off the way she was scrunching and un-scrunching her face, before settling into a look that I couldn’t place. A look that seemed to come to an understanding with whatever she was trying to decide. I was just about to ask her if she was cool, when she sighed before answering me, “Yeah, I’m tossing my rulebook to the side.”
She stood from her stool and filled the space between us. “Without telling you everything, I can tell you that I told the network I would do video diaries of my quest to have a no-strings-attached relationship.” She raised her hand to play with the hem of my T-shirt. “I’m tired of living by my rules. Tired of denying myself the opportunity to be carefree and enjoy a man’s company without thinking about the consequences if we had sex. Tired of
having a list of freaky shit that I wanna do and wondering if I’ll ever find a guy to do these things with.”
Word? She was so close. She smelled so clean. Looked so sexy. I’d never been much of a talker, but I damn sho’ couldn’t find the words right now even if I tried.
She looked into my eyes, stepping even closer to me. “I guess this is my way of asking you for a favor. Probably the biggest favor I’ve ever asked anyone considering my personality.”
She briefly dipped her tongue out to wet her lips. “I can’t promise you that sex with me will be what you’re used to because it’s been a while. I can’t promise you that I know how to be a good sex buddy. I’m not even sure I can be sexy all the time without overthinking it.” Her lips were inches from mine, but instead of kissing me, she brought her lips to my right ear. “But even with the insecurities I have regarding my ability to fulfill the rest of this experiment, I’m clear as hell on the fact that I want you to fuck me, and have for a very long time.”
Oh shit. Did she really just say what I think she said or am I imagining it? “I gotta say, I was expecting some honesty. But didn’t know you were gonna be that damn honest.”
She started to turn away, but I caught her chin. “But, Ivy, I appreciate it, and if we do this, we got to be clear about a few things.” Widening my legs, I pulled her entire body into me. “Thanks for telling me it’s been a while for you, but don’t worry about not being good. That shit isn’t possible. You excel in everything you do.”
She smiled, making me smile.
“Just so you know, I don’t make it a habit of having sex buddies as you put it. So wipe that shit from your mind. This is your experiment, so it’s about you, not me. And regarding your sexiness …” I ran a finger down the part of her shoulder that was exposed. “Ivy, you’re sexy without even trying. You’ve always been and that hasn’t changed. If anything, you’ve only gotten sexier. And in case you didn’t know, I’ve wanted to fuck you for a very, very long time, too. Feels like I waited most of my life for a chance to get with you, so it would be an honor to help you fulfill your experiment, as long as you promise me this.”
Bad Decisions Good Regrets (Social Experiment #2) Page 7
