F/Stop
13
Screen Test
“Fran” by Kletr, ID87793204 licensed from Shutterstock.com.
ADRIENNE AND I had a quiet morning together. She fixed a nice breakfast and served it to me in bed, then I took her to the bath and gently bathed her bruises from the spanking I’d given her. We made love again, fresh from the bath and dressed for our day at the studio.
We’d also taken time to look at the slides of her and I chose one I thought would make an excellent print. Since I was going to see Fran again, I chose one of the slides of her for a print. Adrienne once again called upon Samuel and told him she wanted three prints in large format of each slide. Well, when I got home, I’d make a print of it myself and see if it compared to the job “pros” did in Los Angeles.
Chrystal and the limousine picked us up at a little before noon, so we had time for a light lunch before we got to the studio. I told Chrystal that I thought it was cool that Adrienne could just make a phone call and get my slides processed and a color print ordered for delivery later in the day. Chrystal looked at me as if I was crazy.
“You do know that’s what I’m for, don’t you?” she said. “I mean if you want to use your personal assistant for menial tasks, that’s your privilege, but basically anything you need while you are working for the company, it’s my responsibility to provide. Adrienne, will you please forward the bills for that kind of service to me? And for any meals you are ordering in. Or restaurant tabs you have. I don’t want to infringe on your relationship and the work you do, but when Nate is in town on company business, the company is responsible for his expenses. Okay?”
“Yes, Chrystal. I will have all expenses forwarded to you. It isn’t a problem,” Adrienne said.
This day, Adrienne wore another midriff exposing tight top with a black leather miniskirt and a jewel encrusted bolero jacket. I’d gone to the closet to get my shirt this morning and discovered all my shirts and the rest of my clothes had been professionally laundered and pressed. Adrienne had dressed me in a black shirt and tie, black suit, and my fedora. I felt kind of gangsterish when she slid my shades on my face.
“Oh, and of course, we’ll write you a check for housing Nate. We expected to have him stay at the Beverly Wilshire, so I hope $100 per night will be satisfactory,” Chrystal said.
“Since you are doing this to assuage the company’s conscience, I’ll accept whatever you’ve indicated. I was selfish to want him in my home. Nate, if you want to move to a luxury hotel instead of my apartment, I’ll certainly let you go,” Adrienne said.
“Where,” I asked, “would I ever find the luxurious amenities that you have provided? There are some things that can never be replaced.”
Adrienne leaned against me and I put an arm around her. We arrived at the studio a few minutes later.
Our script meeting had taken place in the company’s office in a non-descript building. I wasn’t even sure how good the part of town was where we worked. The screen tests, however, were held at an actual production studio with a sound stage and all the professional equipment that could be desired. I was impressed that the screen test was being shot with two cameras and a professional sound tech was handling microphones and recording. Lighting techs were focusing on the area where the filming would take place.
The whole thing was bigger than my studio by about four times, and the ceiling was at least twenty feet high, giving plenty of room for lights that were hung all over the place. In this space, a setting of sorts was prepared. It looked mostly like a photographer’s studio. A light blue backdrop was pulled down and a stool was positioned on it for a portrait setting. Pretty standard, though the stool was a little high.
I wandered around the soundstage a little while people were getting set up and saw a few props, either left over from some other production, or awaiting something that was moving in. The whole place was pretty cool and Adrienne stayed close beside me. I knew they wanted me to simulate an Attic Allure photo session with Fran later, so I grabbed a feather boa from the props I saw and handed it to Adrienne.
“Is this where I’m supposed to be for a screen test for a movie called Over Exposure?” I heard a voice from over near the entrance. I turned and saw Fran standing there looking slightly bewildered. I started toward the door and was beaten there by Reginald, the director, and Dave, the PA.
“This is the right place,” Reg said. “If you’d accompany Dave over to the desk there, he’ll take care of cross-checking your resume with you and having the releases signed.”
Dave took charge of Fran immediately and I didn’t have a chance to even say hello.
“Nate, if you’d come over here, we’d like your help. Of course, we don’t expect you to be a professional actor, but just act naturally as you would in your studio. You brought your camera? Good.”
“We went over this scene in the office yesterday,” Bert said. “You made some corrections and we incorporated them into the side that you’ll be using. Anything you need to make the scene more realistic?”
“Would you have a tripod around I could use?” I didn’t bring one on the airplane.
“We have all kinds of things like that.”
Reg flagged down a worker and he ran off, to return a minute later with a tripod that I could attach the Hasselblad to. I loaded the camera and attached it to the tripod, then set it where I thought it would be for the portrait. The film cameramen adjusted their positions accordingly, and I took some light meter readings.
“Good morning, Fran. Welcome to your screen test for the upcoming blockbuster, Over Exposure. We’re going to run cameras throughout this test, so just forget about them and be as natural as possible,” Reg said.
“Okay,” Fran squeaked. I hoped she got her voice under control quickly.
“I’m going to have you start by just standing here while we get things focused and ready, and I ask you a few questions. Clapboard please!”
Dave jumped in front of Fran and read out the details.
“Over Exposure. Screen Test: Fran Carter. Director, Lombardi. Roll 2. May 13, 1970.” He slapped the gate on the clapboard.
“Tell me a little about yourself, Fran. Start with your name. This is just so we can adjust sound levels,” Reg said. He really had a nice way with getting an actress comfortable. I could see Fran relax.
“I’m Fran Carter, from Chicago, Illinois. I completed my BFA in acting from the Goodman School of Drama. I’m twenty-three years old. I’ve done several television commercials and have appeared in many stage plays.”
“Good. That’s a great set of credentials. Did you ever work with Mort Anderson at Goodman?”
“Oh, yes. Dr. Mort directed me in All’s Well That Ends Well,” Fran said. “Do you know him?”
“We go back a long time. Now, Fran, we have a little speech from the script we’d like you to read. We’ll do it a couple of times, so read it through and then we’ll just run one cold.” He waited while Fran read through the short speech. She looked up. “And action!” Reg called.
I was impressed. Fran kept the script down away from her face and only seemed to glance at it a couple of times.
“You’re a quick study, Fran. Now let me give you some context. In this scene, you’re confronting your husband. He’s a photographer and quite a playboy, but he thinks he’s been very discreet and no one knows how many women he’s slept with. Let’s put a little edge and bite into this next reading.”
Fran nodded and read through the script again before tossing it aside on the stool. When Reg called “Action,” she launched into the little speech like a completely different woman. She sounded like she was about to divorce the cad. When she finished, there was a smattering of applause.
“Cut! Are you up for a little improvisation, Fran?” Reg asked.
“Okay.”
“Set us up for a photo session, Dave,” Reg called. “Nate, can you join us?”
“Sure.” I walked into the light area.
“Fran, I believe you’ve met Nate.”
“Yes. We had a great little trip out here together. Hi, Nate.”
“Since you’ve had some experience with it, we’re going to have you re-enact the scene from the airplane as if you were doing it in a studio instead of on an airplane. So, in this scene, you’re just a young woman who has come to this photographer because you’ve heard he does special work and you want a racy photo to send to your boyfriend back in Chicago. Nate will talk to you just as if you were his client and he’s actually going to take some pictures while we’re at it.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Slate it.” Dave clapped the board and Reg called, “Action!”
I led Fran to the stool and just started talking like I normally would.
“It’s nice to see you, Fran. Welcome to the studio. I understand you’d like something sexy to send to your boyfriend.”
“Yes. I don’t want him to forget me while I’m working out here. You know how short boys’ memories are,” she said.
“I guess we all suffer from that when in the presence of a beautiful girl. Let’s start with a simple portrait. The stool’s a little high, so let me help you up.”
I lifted Fran by her waist as she hopped up on the stool. Then I spent a minute smoothing her clothes out and positioning her face. Mostly, I was just touching her to get her used to my hands.
“You’ve got a very nice smile,” I said. “Let’s see you light up the room with it.” I stepped behind the camera and focused as Fran smiled broadly.
“Like this?”
“Beautiful. Now give me something more seductive. That look you give him when he comes into the bedroom and you’re waiting for him.”
Fran reacted well and dropped a shoulder as she melted the film with her look.
“Hold it right there,” I said approaching her again. “This is a great look, but let’s drop the jacket down off this shoulder. Yes. That’s good.” I took the picture and went to take her jacket completely. “Now we’ll get into some really sexy poses,” I said. I unbuttoned her top button.
“Are you going to undress me, Nate?” she asked, fixing me with her piercing eyes. When I took her picture on the plane, she’d been drinking and was just a little glassy. This afternoon, she was sharp and clear.
“Would you mind?” I asked.
“Well, I do want sexy pictures, so I guess it’s okay to loosen up my clothes a little.”
“Let’s focus on how you’ll greet him when you see him again. Moisten those lips. Yes. Hold it.”
I took a picture and then went back to her on the stool.
“We’ll open the blouse a little so the camera can see the beautiful curve of your breast,” I said as I opened it and brushed my hands across her breasts. She was once again braless, the firmness of her implanted breasts requiring no support.
“Do a lot of women come to you for sexy photos, Nate?” she asked.
“Quite a number, yes,” I answered. “They know I’ll be discreet and the photos are just between the two of us.”
“That’s good. I mean, if it’s just the two of us, then I guess it’s okay.”
I opened her blouse and exposed the curve of her breast without quite showing the nipple, then I returned to the camera. She was looking delicious. I took a picture and then turned to Adrienne. She handed me the boa.
“I need a little prop for you,” I said as I brought the feather boa to her.
“Oh, that’s pretty,” Fran said.
“The secret of a sexy photo is to tease, not just to expose,” I said. “The glimpses the camera sees of you should look accidental.”
I looped the boa around her neck with the ends hanging down over her breasts, and then pulled her blouse down and off her arms.
“I’m topless,” Fran breathed. “But I’m still kind of covered.”
“Now tease a little with the end of the boa. Toward the camera here.” I took two pictures. When she moved the end of the boa, her right nipple peeked out from behind it. It gave me another idea.
“In this next shot, it’s you we’re teasing,” I said. I ran my hand under the boa to cup her breast and tease the nipple.
“Is this for the photo?” Fran asked innocently.
“Yes, honey. You want to show your hard little nipple to your boyfriend, don’t you? You want him to think of touching it and kissing it and sucking on it. It needs to be hard for him.”
Her nipple was certainly hard and I pushed that end of the boa off her breast so it was exposed.
“I see. Yes. You made it very hard. I really want my boyfriend to suck on my nipple.”
“Now just use the other end of the boa to tickle it a little,” I said. She got the idea right away and the look of invitation she gave the camera was superb.
I went back to her and pulled her blouse on over her arms and shoulders.
“I think we got just what we wanted,” I said as I caressed her breasts and then pulled the boa away.
“I think I want more,” she said. “You don’t need to dress me. I’ll take all my clothes off for you. You could… have me… right here.”
“Oh, Fran. I might not have told you. I never fuck in the studio.”
I kissed her and Reg yelled, “Cut!”
I buttoned up Fran’s blouse and smiled at her.
“Are you going to do that in the movie?” she asked. “Because we really need to rethink the whole not fucking in the studio thing. Can we go somewhere else?”
“Remember your goal, Fran. You came here to get a movie part. Pay attention to your director.”
By the time I got Fran fully dressed, there was a heavy consultation going on with Bert, Reg, Frank, and surprisingly, Adrienne. I made sure Fran was properly covered and got her jacket back on.
“We need to see the rushes,” Reg insisted. “With that as a criteria, I agree. She’s perfect.”
“But not Nate,” Adrienne insisted.
“Yes, ma’am. No one else sees the test,” Frank said.
What the hell? I mean, I was glad Adrienne was coming to bat for me and insisting that I wasn’t an actor in the movie, but I wasn’t sure why the sudden deference from the producer to my mistress. She looked like she towered over him and the whole crew was in awe of her. Well, I was still a little in awe of her.
“Who is that?” Fran whispered.
“That’s my mistress,” I said.
“Wow! I guess I should learn my place. I’ll still be available, though. Like, if you want a little extra.”
“You’ve already done everything necessary to get this part. There’s no payment required.”
“Okay. Thank you, Nate.”
“Fran,” Reg said, coming up to us. “Pending viewing the rush, I think we have a part for you. Your readings and your improv were spectacular.”
“It was easy with Nate to work with.”
“We all agree with that, but Nate won’t be in the movie. It might require more serious effort in your acting with an actor who doesn’t have all Nate’s attributes. He brings out the best in all of us. Now, if you’d go with Dave over there, he’ll go over the schedule for tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll want to see the rushes with us. Dave will set everything up. I expect we’ll start filming June 1. That’s our schedule.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lombardi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She smiled her megawatt smile and left with Dave to make arrangements.
“Well, Nate, shall we just buy you tickets on airplanes so you can scout out new talent all the time?” Frank asked. “If she comes off as well on celluloid as in person, we’ll have a new star.”
“I’m going to beef up the part for her,” Bert said. “It will still just be a supporting role, but it will show her off. She’ll be a star.”
“Let’s plan on dinner tomorrow night,” Reg said. “We’ll officially welcome her to the show. I think I know the right guy now for the role of Joe. Lyle Patterson will complement her well. This just makes things gel. And Jayden Fisher. Let’s contact her agent and offer the part of Myrna, the mother. Bring in Lorna Love to play Sally Jane. She still has the Lolita look. Catch her before she gets her boobs done.”
I just stood back and watched. Apparently, Fran was a missing piece that made all the others fall into place. Adrienne and I found Chrystal and left while the rest of the crew started talking about going out for drinks to celebrate. It wasn’t even three o’clock yet.
Chrystal took us to our limo and gave the driver instructions. She told us she’d pick us up at ten in the morning for rushes. Then she waved and left us in the limo.
“Chrystal isn’t coming with us?” I said.
“She agreed that it would be a good night for me to show you Hollywood,” Adrienne giggled. “So that’s where we’re going first. Then dinner, and then a very special movie. Finally, to our room, where I will worship every inch of your body with mine. Will that suit your tastes this evening?”
“Oh, that will suit me very well.”
“I could call and ask Fran to visit us if you prefer,” she said coyly.
“Don’t be silly, pet. How could I prefer Fran to what is in my arms right now?”
Adrienne shifted around in the back of the big car so she was lying back across my lap and I could kiss her and fondle her. It was so easy to slide my hand up under the crop top to play with her breasts. We made out until the limo came to a stop. Then we scrambled around and were presentable when the driver tapped on the door and then opened it slowly.
When Adrienne stepped out of the car, and took my hand, I turned to see a remarkable building. It was all lit up and had three domes over sparkling white pillars.
“This is the Griffith Observatory,” she said. “It’s a beautiful building from the 1930s and if you’d like to go inside, we can. The real reason I brought you here, though, is the other direction.”
I turned around and saw the famous HOLLYWOOD sign on the other side of a canyon.
“Unless you want to change into hiking clothes and sturdy shoes, this is as close as we’ll get. But we can take pictures of the sign if you want to really show people you were in Hollywood.”
“That’s so cool!” I said. “My little Midwestern heart would love a picture of the sign.” I reached back into the limo and opened the camera case. I debated a moment, but decided that tourist pictures would be best with the Nikon. I’d reloaded it with Kodachrome.
We walked toward a little observation deck and I took a picture of the sign and then got Adrienne to pose so I could take the picture of her with the sign in the background.
“Now give me the camera and you go pose in front of it,” she said.
I wasn’t used to that, but figured ‘Why not?’ She focused the camera and shot a picture, then called the driver to take the picture while she posed with me. We got one just standing there, and then I swept her into a kiss and he took another.
We walked around the observatory and she pointed out where the main attractions of Hollywood and Beverly Hills were. She pointed toward where her apartment was located. We walked under the rotunda and looked up at the night sky painted on the ceiling. Then we headed for the limo again.
“Where to next, oh beautiful one?” I asked.
“We have just a bit of shopping to do,” she said. “Chrystal mentioned she had planned to house you at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, so I took the liberty of accepting the offer. We’ll stop to do a little shopping first, though. You’ll need additional clothes tonight.”
“I will?”
“It’s a formal opening for a very limited and exclusive audience,” Adrienne said. The limo pulled up in front of a men’s store called Carroll & Company.
“This is Mr. Hart,” Adrienne announced as soon as we’d walked into the store.
“Mr. Hart! Welcome. We are so pleased to serve you. We have prepared a tuxedo for you and will do any alterations necessary at once. Please, come this way.”
We followed the kind of fussy guy back to a fitting room and Adrienne and I were directed into a dressing room. The room was large enough for a family. There was a service tray with hot coffee and another tray holding various alcoholic beverages.
Adrienne began undressing me, pausing when I was in just my boxers to kiss me and rub my protruding cock.
“You always need to know how a suit will respond with your changes in mood,” she whispered. Then she pulled a nice formal shirt on me and inserted studs and cufflinks.
“Uh… Adrienne, these cufflinks have my initials on them.”
“Of course, sir. You must have a proper pair of cufflinks.”
She grinned at me and held the trousers for me to step into. This was all ridiculously over the top and I kept expecting Allen Funt to step out and say, “Surprise. You’re on Candid Camera.” Nothing happened. She pulled a tie around my neck and in a few quick moves had a perfect bow. Then came the vest and jacket. She knelt in front of me and had me slip my feet into shiny patent leather shoes. She stood back and looked at me.
“You do dress up nicely,” she said.
She led me out to the fitting room where the fussy man—tailor, I assume—examined the fit all the way around. He held it and pinched it and marked it with chalk. All the time, Adrienne was pointing out places where she thought an adjustment needed to be made.
We went back into the changing room and I poured a cup of coffee before Adrienne could begin fussing over me more. I only had a sip before she was taking off the tuxedo and then got me into a really nice gray flannel suit.
“Is this an alternative?” I asked.
“No. This is for general wear. You needed a new suit.”
“Wait! How much does all this cost? I thought we were just renting a tux,” I said. I had a checkbook with me, but Anna would throw a fit if I just wrote out a check for an unknown amount that might not be in my account.
“Oh, don’t worry, honey,” Adrienne said, kissing me. “I just did what Chrystal told me to and had it billed to the company. They can’t expect you to appear in public in something less than top of the line clothes.”
“Adrienne, I don’t know what to say. Most of my life, I’ve dressed in clothes from Goodwill. In fact, that’s where I got the suit I wore today.”
“I could tell,” she whispered. I went into the fitting room and the tailor pronounced the new suit fit to wear.
“We’ll have everything delivered to your suite at the Beverly Wilshire by eight o’clock,” he said. He kept my old suit, too.
“Fine,” Adrienne said. “That will give us plenty of time.”
“What time does the movie start?” I asked as we left the shop. I was still wearing my new suit.
“It’s scheduled at nine o’clock, but that is really when people start arriving for a premiere. They all need time for dinner and cocktails first.”
“Uh… What is the movie?”
“You’ll like it.”
“I don’t doubt that, Fifi,” I growled.
“Oh, master. Please let your pet pamper and surprise you tonight.”
“Of course I will,” I smiled. “I didn’t mean to alarm you.”
“I packed a paddle if I don’t please you, sir.”
“Adrienne, let’s not think any more about that. I had quite enough last night.”
“Thank you, Nate. Honestly, so did I. I’m still a little tender.”
“Where to now?”
“Dinner,” she said. “It’s only a block. I hope you don’t mind walking with me.”
Walking with Adrienne was absolutely no problem. We must have looked like a striking couple as I saw a couple stop and take a picture of us. My camera, of course, was in the care of our limo driver. I had to trust it would be okay.
We walked into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and went directly to the dining room where we were seated and served an elegant meal, made far more so by the company I was keeping.
“It’s been several years since I was last here, but they still remember,” Adrienne said.
About seven, we went to our room.
Unbelievable. Across the valley, I could see the Hollywood sign that we’d visited earlier in the afternoon. I was overwhelmed with the opulence. It was even more over the top than the suite we’d had in Las Vegas. I wondered if her sponsor owned this hotel as well.
Adrienne carefully removed and hung my new suit and shirt, then removed her own suit. I collected her into my arms and kissed her as I caressed her back. She returned my affection enthusiastically.
“It will take me thirty minutes to get ready to go out tonight, so we have half an hour to ourselves to do whatever you would like.”
We fell into the bed and for half an hour, I definitely did what I liked.
The movie was a late premiere of Let It Be, the Beatles documentary. The official premiere had been in New York earlier in the evening. The attendees were an exclusive invited list and I wondered how I got on it. I recognized several people and was certain absolutely no one recognized me.
The same was not true of Adrienne. Several people greeted her by name. She introduced me.
“This is Nate Hart, the photographer who inspired Reg Lombardi to make a movie.”
“Really,” said an actor I recognized immediately but was too tongue-tied to greet by name. “The script says a much older man.”
“Nate is an inspiration, not the actual subject,” Adrienne laughed. “You’d be hard-put to find a better photographer, though. I have several of his prints in my apartment. I’ll have you and Audrey over soon and show you.”
“That would be nice. You know how Audrey loves to visit with you.” He was off and I caught my breath that I’d been holding during the entire conversation.
“That was…”
“Yes, love. And now he knows that he should request you as a photographer the next time the situation arises.”
I met several famous or almost famous people and finally got my tongue loosened enough to simply say that I was only in town to consult on the film and my studio was in Chicago.
The movie was great. Of course, news came out just a month ago that the Beatles had broken up as a group. The news had almost been lost with the emergency of Apollo 13 on the moon and then the news of the Cambodia invasion. I had a friend at the college who was a Beatles afficionado. His room was filled with memorabilia. He’d sat with me one night and analyzed one of the tracks of the White Album, playing it backwards and telling me what I was hearing was “Turn me on, dead man.” I didn’t get it, but the movie was kind of touching and even heartbreaking in a way.
I wore my new suit to the office on Thursday morning. I slammed on my fedora and Adrienne slid my sunglasses in place. I wasn’t sure anymore how to think of Adrienne. She was submissive and loving to me, just like she’d always been, but she circulated freely among some of Hollywood’s elite. And when I asked her about the sudden deferral of Frank to her on the matter of me appearing in the movie, she said, “I had to pull rank and speak on behalf of the Executive Producer. I try not to do that unless I have to, but he gave me the power to speak for him in these meetings and I finally had to use it. I doubt that I’ll need to again.”
She said she hadn’t been face-to-face with him in years, but her presence was equivalent to his. And I turned her beautiful butt over my knee and paddled it Wednesday. I should have been kissing it.
Nonetheless, we got to the office and were ushered into a room with a projector and some comfortable seats. I greeted Fran with a kiss and she went to sit beside Reg. Then we watched twenty minutes of what would have been considered boring film if I hadn’t gotten Fran’s shirt off and added some interest. Everyone was very excited about it, though. When the meeting broke up, we all agreed to meet for dinner. I, however, was ushered back into the conference room where my adventure in Los Angeles had begun.
“You’re a good luck charm for this movie, Nate,” Frank said. “So, that brings us back to the burning question. Right now, all we’ve got is a bunch of hand-wavium for how the photographer manages to kill his nemesis without being detected. What have you got for us?”
“Uh… I think you’d be better off asking a murderer rather than a photographer,” I sighed. “I’m a complete pacifist, and even if I’ve imagined hurting someone, like when I got beaten up in Las Vegas, I never really contemplated killing anyone.”
“Just hit us with anything,” Bert said. “You never can tell what might ring a bell for someone.”
“Well, the first and obvious answer is to stage an accident. He’s supposed to be an expert at seduction. Have the girl following his directions for the perfect shot and stepping back one step too far. She falls off a cliff onto the rocks below. He has pictures showing he was several feet away when she lost her footing.”
“That’s got potential,” Bert said.
“She has to be pretty damn stupid to do that,” Reg said. “This kid’s supposed to be smart enough to blackmail the guy. And we’d have to arrange a cliff and a stunt actor to go over it.”
“Hey, it’s an idea,” Frank said. “Let’s build on them, not tear them down.”
“What’s in the studio that he could use?” Reg asked.
“Well, nearly everything in the studio is poisonous,” I said. “Dimezone, Metol, and Hydroquinone are all toxic. Dimezone is probably the worst. That’s why most labs are using Phenidone these days. It is a more powerful developer and is far less toxic. It wouldn’t be beyond imagining, though, to have Dimezone in a lab.”
“Administered orally?” Bert asked. I nodded. “How are we going to get her to drink enough of this stuff to die and not have it point to him?”
“There’s always the possibility of applying something to a photograph that she takes with her and it either works into her skin or she kisses the picture or something,” I suggested.
“Possible,” Bert agreed. “We could make her a little more obsessed.”
“There are processes that can change basically harmless things into lethal things,” I said. “Like the fixer for a black and white image is a type of ammonia-based thing. But the developer process for a color image is bleach-based. Ammonia and bleach have an interaction that releases chloramines—those are toxic gasses. Depending on the amount you’re exposed to, it could be fatal. I don’t know the exact portions you’d have to mix.”
“We can find that,” Bert said. “We can hire a researcher to go to the library.”
“The big problem with all these ideas is they all lead back to the photographer,” Adrienne said. “It would actually be better if the murder weapon led to someone else, and not one of his own things.”
We all stopped and stared at her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted Nate.”
I reached over to take her hand and reassure her.
“Jesus H. Christ! That’s brilliant,” Reg declared. “We’ve been chasing this the wrong direction. He should kill her with a wrench he picks up at the local garage. Season her food with something toxic that could only be found in the chemistry teacher’s lab. Get her to drown while swimming with the football players. It doesn’t need to look accidental, but it needs to point somewhere other than Joe.”
The guys were off and trotting, trying to figure out who else in town could be framed for the murder with no evidence pointing back to the photographer. I liked that a lot. For some reason, I didn’t mind the photographer being the villain, but I wasn’t happy about using stuff in the studio to murder someone. Go figure.
The meeting didn’t end at that. There was a big discussion about whether my seduction of Fran in our improv would actually work in a real studio situation.
“She did a great job, and a great pair of tits, but it was almost like she was expecting to be seduced. Maybe even came in wanting it,” Bert said.
“That’s one of the things I’ve discovered,” I said. “The girls who come in for an Attic Allure photo, especially if they sign a release form, do kind of expect to be seduced. They want the experience and consider the photographer to be someone safe to experience it with.”
“Miss Anna said that girls used to come to you in Tenbrook and say they were told it would be best if they literally put themselves in your hands,” Adrienne said.
“The rumor mill was really productive about that. A lot of times, girls would tell me that and then literally put my hands on their breasts before we’d even started a portrait,” I said, remembering some of the more notable instances. I couldn’t even count the number of breasts I’d handled in the past four years. I just knew every one was unique and attached to a really wonderful girl.
“I expect that will change, though,” I continued. “I photograph mostly single college age girls. A few years either side, maybe, but I don’t know about women, say, between twenty-five and thirty-five. That seems to be an age when most women are a lot more reserved, especially if they are married.”
“That’s true,” Bert said. “Women that age are still in the romance of their relationship with a one and only. That’s why we decided to up the age of the characters a bit. A woman around forty has started to wonder where the mystique and romance has gone in her life. Her husband ignores her. The kids make her feel old. Then she meets this photographer who thinks she’s sexy and beautiful. She starts wearing makeup again. She might even diet to get those few extra pounds off. But most of all, she wants to experience that excitement that she used to know. There’s a period in there when they are ripe for picking.”
“That sounds pretty predatory,” I said, shaking my head.
“You only give your models what they really want,” Frank said. “In five years, Fran won’t let you touch her hair, let alone her tits. In twelve years, she’ll be spreading her legs before you take the first photo.”
I looked at Adrienne. Sitting beside me was a woman between twenty-five and thirty-five who was all too happy to have me seduce her, or assault her. Whichever I felt like at the moment. She smiled at me and raised an eyebrow.
“We got a delivery,” Adrienne said as we headed to the limo to go to dinner.
“We did? What?” I asked.
“It’s in the car. I can’t wait to see them.”
“See…? The photos? We have them back already?”
We got into the limo and the envelope with the photos in it was on the seat. I opened it and looked first at the photo of Fran, sitting by the airplane window with her cigarette and her breasts out, looking like she’d just been fucked hard and needed a break. It was really a good photo. Then I saw the picture of Adrienne, lying on the bed in her negligee. She gripped my arm hard and wiped her eyes. I turned to kiss her and we almost got too involved to make it to dinner.
Dinner that night was at a pretentious restaurant where the atmosphere was better than the food. Chrystal, Gene, and Dave joined Frank, Bert, and Reg at the table. I sat between Adrienne and Fran. A guy introduced as Lyle Patterson, who would play Joe in the movie, sat on the other side of Fran. Jayden Fisher was a nice looking woman about Lyle’s age. She was sitting between Lyle and Reg. On the other side, a little girl named Lorna Love sat between Frank and Bert. Chrystal sat between Dave and Gene so no male lacked a female beside him.
I was shocked when Lorna ordered a Manhattan. She had to show her ID.
“It happens all the time,” she said. “No one believes I’m twenty-three!”
“So am I,” Fran said. “He didn’t even raise an eyebrow when I ordered a martini.”
“Not drinking, Nate?” Bert asked.
“I hold my consumption to a minimum,” I said. “Unlike Fran and Lorna, I’m not of age.”
“You aren’t?” Fran gasped. “I thought… When we were on the plane… And then in the screen test… Really?”
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I whispered to her. “I won’t tell anyone you molested an underage photographer.”
“Yeah, well, what I was thinking was how I’d like to molest him some more!” she whispered back.
Under the table, I ran a hand up Fran’s hose-covered leg until I finally found the hem of her miniskirt. She didn’t bother with my leg, but reached right over to grab my cock. Fortunately, the appetizers were served and we needed our hands for other things.
“So, how old am I supposed to be and how old is my wife?” Lyle asked during dessert as he looked me over and then Fran. Most everyone at the table had had two or three drinks except Adrienne and me. We’d had a glass of wine with our meal, but I’d moved to coffee then and packed my pipe when people started pulling out cigarettes.
“We’re playing you as mid-thirties,” Bert said.
“Fran can pull off a fresh looking thirty,” Reg said. “We’ll get a couple of ankle-biters to wear her down a little. She’ll hold her own with you.”
Fran beamed.
“But I’m supposed to be having an affair with Jayden?” he asked.
“It’s an affair of convenience,” Bert said. “She needs someone and you are there and available.”
“But when Lorna discovers the truth, she wants to get grown-up treatment. You know she’s jailbait, but she’s holding all the cards,” Reg said.
“Oh, I will so blackmail you into screwing me,” Lorna said, licking her lips. I kind of thought she’d played this kind of role before.
There was a lot of general chitchat and the cast was told what time to report for read-throughs on Monday. I wouldn’t be there. I was heading back to Chicago in the morning. We stood and started shuffling around to leave. I got my hat and turned to find Adrienne talking to Fran.
“Can we drop you at your hotel, Fran?” she asked sweetly. “I know you’d like to spend a little more time with Nate before he leaves.”
“I’m staying at a friend’s house in the valley. It’s a long way out there,” she said. “I mean… Really? Okay. I’d love it if Nate gave me a ride.” I think Adrienne caught exactly what Fran meant.
Regardless, the three of us left together and got in the limo. Adrienne gave the driver instructions.
“Are you really Nate’s mistress?” Fran asked Adrienne. I was sandwiched between the two of them.
“Oh, yes. Not only Nate, but his four girlfriends, too.”
“Four girlfriends? Wow! Are they all as beautiful as Adrienne?” she asked me, then shook her head and answered her own question. “Of course they are. I’ve had your cock in my mouth. Does it ever go down?”
“Well, not if you don’t fuck with it,” I laughed. The conversation was not about me. It was really about whether or not Fran would get what she wanted.
I pulled Fran’s photo out of the envelope to give to her. She looked at it and her chest started heaving with excitement.
“Adrienne, do you… I mean, are you okay with… you know… like…?”
“Fran, one of the responsibilities of a good slave is to provide for her master. How could I even dream of denying him a taste of your slice of heaven?”
“You are so sweet!”
“Don’t be surprised if you find it’s my lips sucking on your titties,” Adrienne concluded. Fran wiggled in her seat and got as close to me as she could.
“Nate? Could you sort of unbutton my blouse and take off my jacket like you did in the studio? I mean, you know, just so Adrienne has better access?”
Like I said, it was all about what Fran wanted. I was just along for the ‘ride.’ I started kissing Fran and we were soon naked in the back of the limo. As was Adrienne. I licked at Fran’s nipples and then Adrienne licked at them as I kissed Fran. Fran had worn no panties under her skirt, but was wearing pantyhose. When I went exploring, I found a little hole in the crotch.
“I’ll take them off,” she gasped as I poked my finger through and into her wet box.
“Don’t bother,” I said as I pushed further into her. “I’ll take care of it.”
I put my other hand between her legs, found the hole in her pantyhose, and pulled until the hose parted and were suddenly crotchless. Then I got two fingers in her and started finger fucking her. Fran mounted to her first climax quickly. Adrienne was sucking on my cock and before she got me all the way there, she pulled back and rolled a condom onto me. She guided Fran up onto her knees with her legs on either side of mine, and while I sucked on Fran’s tits, Adrienne guided her down onto my cock.
That was a new experience. I’d never fucked a starlet in the back seat of a limo before. And Fran was enthusiastic about it. She started bouncing and had come again before I started approaching my climax. I pulled her face down to mine so I could kiss her and shoved my cock into her as far as I could as I started jetting into the condom. Just at that time, Adrienne bit Fran’s nipple and the girl screamed into my mouth. She collapsed against me as I continued to pulse out the last of my come.
There was a chime and a little light came on next to the door.
“We’re about five minutes from your door,” Adrienne said. “Satisfied?”
“Yes,” Fran hissed. “Thank you both. I feel like I have truly arrived in LA.”
“And you’re a working actress already,” I said. “Life is good.”
“Life turned good the minute I sat down opposite you on that airplane,” she said. She scrambled around and got her skirt on, then her blouse and jacket. She looked down at Adrienne, sucking on my dick with the condom in her hand. “Um… You don’t need to walk me to the door,” Fran added. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
The limo came to a stop and the driver tapped on the window before opening the door. Fran took her photo and slipped out. The door closed without the driver looking into the back seat.
I pulled Adrienne to me and kissed her as she lay on top of me. The car started moving, and so did we.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
