Authors: Justine Elvira
I walk around the house looking for him, but he's not home. It must have been the maid who turned the music on, so I grab a bottle of water from the fridge in the kitchen and head back up to Tawny's room. I'm still tired from being in a car the past few days, and from all the craziness that went on today. It's not long before I lay my head down to take a nap, and I fall asleep instantly.
Chapter Three
I wake up from someone knocking on my door. I roll over in bed to look at the clock on Tawny's nightstand. It's a little past seven. I've slept the afternoon away.
"Come in," I yell to the door, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
The door opens with a creak and Jared is standing in the doorway looking disgustingly perfect.
"I ordered a pizza and it's just arrived. I thought maybe you were hungry."
My stomach chooses that moment to growl and it's then that I realize I haven’t eaten anything all day.
"I could eat," I say, standing up from the bed and stretching my legs out. "I'll follow you down."
We go down to the living room where Jared has the pizza, plates, and soft drinks on the coffee table.
"I didn't know what you liked to eat, so half the pizza is just cheese and the other half is veggie. There's soda or water to drink."
"Thank you," I say timidly and move to put two slice of cheese pizza on my plate. I grab a soda and sit down at the end of his leather couch.
We eat our food in silence while watching the Kings vs. Blackhawks hockey game. I don’t complain because I'm a big hockey fan myself and it's the play-offs. When the first period ends I decide to take this time and apologize to Jared.
"I'm sorry about earlier today. I was thinking about it the entire way back to your house and all the signs were there, I just didn't put it together. You've let me stay in your house, you didn't kick me out when you got home tonight, and you're letting me eat your food and watch television. I appreciate it."
Jared's chewing his pizza from the other end of the black leather sofa. I watch him as he swallows what's in his mouth and takes a sip of his soda. He turns towards me and relaxes his right leg on the cushion in front of him.
"There's no need for you to apologize. I was upset about all the changes in shooting today and acted like a fucking jackass. I should be apologizing to you. I should have known there was no way you were in the business. You look too virginal."
"Hey, I'm not a virgin."
"Sure you aren't, Billy," Jared says, obviously not believing me. "I'm sorry for how I acted and if you need a place to stay, you can stay here for as long as you need. Any friend of Tawny's is welcome here."
I nod and take another sip of my soda. The game starts back up again, but neither of us is really watching and I'm too hung up on his last comment.
"I'm not a virgin," I mumble. "I just... I don't know why I feel the need to defend myself. There's nothing wrong with being a virgin, but I'm not."
"So how many sexual partners have you had?"
Did he really just ask me that? I don't even know him.
"Why is that important?" I ask back.
"I'm just curious. You went to school with Tawny so you're what? Twenty-two? How many partners have you had?"
"Um... How many sexual partners have you had?" I ask, deciding to turn the tables on him and see how he likes it.
"You want a number? I've never counted," Jared replies cockily.
"I'm not asking for the exact number, just a ballpark estimate. How many partners have you had?"
I watch him as he goes over my question in his head. He looks adorable right now. He's freshly showered and wearing gray sweatpants with a basic white t-shirt. He's not wearing socks, but he has on gray slippers that look like something my grandfather would wear.
"Somewhere between two and three thousand."
I'm stupidly taking a sip of my drink as he says a number I've never expected to hear come out of any person's mouth. My lips part as I spit my soda out in front of me, and it lands all over my lap. Jared jumps from the couch and leaves the room, only to come back with some paper towels. I clean myself up the best I can and sit back on the couch to face him.
"Two to three thousand partners? How is that possible?"
"Well, I had slept with a few girls before I got into this business at nineteen. My first year in porn, I shot a couple different movies each day and never took a day off. Each movie was with a different girl. Some scenes were with two girls. I shot a couple gangbangs and orgies. It slowed down after the first year, because I could start making demands based off my popularity. Now I only shoot four or five scenes a week. A lot of the films I do now are with people I've made films with before, so those don't count. Add all my film partners up, plus the women I fuck for fun, I'd say between two and three thousand chicks."
Just the thought of that number disgusts me. Any attraction I had for him just went out the window. How could someone sleep with that many people? Sex is supposed to be special, between two people who care about each other. To Jared, it's the same as having a conversation with someone. The act of making love to a woman is not important to him.
"Wow... umm, okay."
"Now it's your turn. How many people have you slept with?" Jared asks me, repeating his question from before.
"One," I answer proudly.
"One? So you may not be a virgin, but my conclusion of you looking virginal isn't that far off."
"Sex is important to me, it should be special. I can't just have sex with anyone," I say, needing him to understand where I'm coming from.
"You're making it more than it has to be. We're all mammals who have basic needs. One of those needs is to fuck each other's brains out. Some women misconstrue that and want to make it more than it is, but it's not. Sex is a part of our human nature. We should be able to be with whoever we want in order to get our urges met. If I see a woman I'm attracted to, I make it my job to fuck her, because that's what my dick wants."
"I'm guessing you've never had a girlfriend?"
He laughs and takes another bite of his pizza.
"I have, but they know my beliefs. I'm a man, and my job is to have sex with women on camera. I'll never give that up. As long as they are okay with that, then I'll be monogamous when I'm not working. But my job is my job, so they have to be okay with me fucking other women at work."
"What if they aren't okay with it?"
"If they're not okay with it, we don't date. No hard feelings."
I turn back to watch the game, not really knowing how to continue a conversation with him after that. When the second period ends I get up and take my dish to the sink. I walk back over to Jared to excuse myself.
"I'm going to go to bed. I'll be job hunting tomorrow so you hopefully won't have to deal with me for much longer."
"I told you, you could stay here."
"I know and I appreciate it, but I don't want to wear out my welcome. Hopefully I'll only be here a week, two at the most."
He shrugs his shoulders and turns back to watch the game. "Whatever, you can stay as long as you need. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," I move to walk up the stairs and back to Tawny's bedroom.
I'll get a good night sleep tonight, do a quick online search for some jobs in the morning, and start applying in the afternoon. I know it's a Sunday, but any job I would need for just the summer will be open on a Sunday. Hopefully I'll have something lined up by the end of the day.
★★★
Sunday morning gets off to a bumpy start. I wake up with a headache and when I come down to the kitchen to make coffee, I can't figure out how to work the machine. Then I'm blindsided by a completely naked woman walking into the kitchen, obviously thinking no one would be in here. After we exchange brief and awkward pleasantries, she shows me how to work the coffee machine, before going back upstairs to Jared's room. Still naked.
I enjoy my cup of coffee at the kitchen table before going upstairs to shower and get ready. By the time I make it back downstairs and am ready to search the Internet, Jared's in the kitchen and his morning companion is gone.
"Sorry about this morning. Dee said she ran into you in the kitchen," Jared says from the kitchen table. I walk over to sit next to him.
"No worries, I was just a little shocked that you had someone over. It was late when I went up last night."
Jared takes another sip of his coffee before speaking. "Well, we didn't end up shooting a scene yesterday and I never go a day without sex, so I called up Dee to help relieve the build up in my cock."
The look on his face tells me he's saying this for shock value. He likes embarrassing me.
"You're a pig, you know that?"
"I do," he smiles as he gets up with his coffee. "I'm leaving shortly to get some work done at my production office. My laptop's in the living room and I left a note with a few job websites you can check out. I also wrote down the access code to my garage so you can get your car, and my phone number if you have any problems getting in and out."
I get up to follow him out of the room.
"Thanks, Jared. I appreciate all the help."
"No worries," he mumbles.
I watch as he takes the stairs two at a time, until he reaches the second floor. I make my way into the living room and turn on the laptop. While I'm waiting I read the note he's left me on the yellow legal pad. His chicken scratch writing is barely legible, but the fact that he took the time to do this is endearing.
I spend the next two hours surfing the Internet to find the best places that are hiring for summer help. By noon I'm ready to go so I follow Jared's directions and I'm out of the house in no time.
I don't know my way around Los Angeles so thank God for GPS.
Part of me thinks looking for a job is a bad idea. Am I really planning on staying out here, or is this just a temporary move? Am I doing this to get back at Brock? No, I've barely thought about him since I left Michigan.
Winnie's right, there's nothing for me in Michigan and I never dreamed of staying in South Haven my whole life. California was always one of the places I wanted to move to. It seems so glamorous to me. I could apply for a class so that I'm certified to teach in the state of California, and then look for a teaching job once I'm certified. This could work out.
I go into the job hunt with a positive mindset. Now that I've made the decision to stay in Los Angeles, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I've applied at four retail stores, two restaurants, a secretary position, two personal assistant openings, and a job as a dog groomer. None of these places are that close to each other so it takes up my entire afternoon and most of my evening.
I'm finishing filling out an application at my last place of the night. It's a job at a bail bonds company near a seedier side of town. I wouldn't be so on edge if the sun was still up, but it's a little after eight p.m. and the sun has almost completely set. One of the male bondsmen offers to walk me to my car and I stupidly decline. I don't want to look like someone who can’t take care of myself.
My car is parked on the street a couple blocks down. I didn't think this was a big deal when I parked earlier. Now that I'm walking back, I wish I had parked closer. The darkness engulfs me in and I can hear every noise around me. The street has a steady traffic flow, but I’m sure the cars can’t see me on the dark, unlit sidewalk.
I almost make it to my car when I feel an arm embrace me and pull me back into a firm chest. A gloved hand is brought to my face to cover my mouth before I even have a chance to scream. The person is moving me and shoving me against my car door. I can feel my body start to weaken, my breath start to come out faster. I'm panting and having a hard time breathing out of my nose.
The man shoves me even harder against my car with his groin. "This can go easy or this can go hard. Open your car door," the rough male voice demands. How did he know this was my car? Had he been following me?
I can’t think. I know he needs me to open my car door, but I'm so shaken up I can’t remember where my keys are. Are they in my purse? Did I bring a purse? Maybe they're in my pocket.
"I said open the door now or I stop being nice." He loosens his grip around my waist just to yank my arm back with such force; I think he may have dislocated my shoulder. Warm, wet tears start to fall down my cheeks and I'm having a hard time seeing.
"You stupid bitch!" He yells at me. He pulls my purse to him and starts rummaging through it. At this point I hope he just wants to rob me. He can have my wallet.
Unfortunately, that’s not what he's interested in. I try to see through my tears as he pulls my MSU key chain out that has my car keys attached to it. I try to scream, I bite down on his hand, but nothing works. The man is determined to get me in my car. Just as he starts to unlock my door, and I’m convinced I’m a goner, I hear the sweet sound of police sirens.
The next few minutes are a blur. I somehow remember two male officers jumping out of a squad car and taking down my attacker. I remember a female officer asking me if I'm okay, and I'm not. I'm also not able to answer her. I'm then asked if there is anyone they can call for me. Is there? No, I know no one in this town. My sister is over a thousand miles away and I have no friends here. I only know Kelly and Jared.