Over Exposure
8
Hollywood Babylon
WE WERE IN the studio at eight o’clock Monday morning. They brought a more substantial breakfast than the donuts we’d had when I viewed rushes. They were some kind of fancy pastry rollup that had egg and meat and cheese in them. They were pretty handy because you didn’t really need a knife and fork to eat them unless you were picky about not touching your food. They weren’t bad, but I’d add some more spice to it if I were making them. At least more salt and pepper. After I’d had one and a cup of coffee, I switched to the sweet rolls and coffee.
We all got new, fresh copies of the script that had been compiled with a column of editing notes by Geraldine. This was officially the movie the way it was shot, not the movie according to the initial script. Geraldine must have worked on this for days! There was a third column with room to write notes on anything that came up during the meeting.
We went through the whole script and I wrote notes in the last column where they were asking for promo pictures.
“Remember, Nate, the picture you take doesn’t have to be the exact same pose and position that’s in the movie. If it has the same actor, set, and costume, just make sure it has the same over all feeling,” George Ripley from the marketing team said.
I nodded and scrawled some more notes. These people better be standing in a line waiting for their picture to be taken in order to get through all the pictures I needed to take. On one side of me, Adrienne was keeping notes I couldn’t read because they were in French. On the other side, Chrystal was writing on her copy of the script and had a clipboard with a chart on it where she was putting in names and scenes.
Lunch was catered in and we ate in the conference room. Everybody got a bathroom break and we headed for the viewing room where the movie was set to run. I was reminded again that this was still a rough cut and there would be marks on the film that flew past as well as no music, no effects, and sometimes poor sound. I figured it must be pretty bad since they’d warned me about this half a dozen times.
We settled in and the movie started with scenes of Tenbrook, people chatting on the street, being friendly with each other. It was a slightly distorted view of our small town. I’d only ever seen that many people on the street during our two parades. This was almost as busy as the Loop. Still, it was fun to see so many people I knew up on the screen. It was so natural that I scarcely noticed when Joe stepped up to the counter at Market Central and paid an actress I thought I recognized but wasn’t sure of.
“Lila, you get prettier every time I see you,” he said. “I can just see your picture on the cover of a magazine in the future.” He grabbed a fashion magazine off the rack next to the counter and pointed to the cover. “You should come by the studio and we’ll do a series of pictures you could submit to this magazine.”
“Mr. Price,” the girl said in a hushed voice. She was actually blushing. “I won’t be eighteen for another month. I’ll come for a picture then.”
“Good idea, Lila. We’ll be able to do some nice artistic poses then.”
She bit her lip and smiled at him.
Wow! Character established! You could tell right away that Joe was a photographer, a smooth talker, and a ladies’ man. You could see that he was putting the make on a seventeen-year-old, and from her response, it probably wasn’t the first time they’d talked.
There was enough action to indicate a month had passed. That included Joe taking a family portrait of the Rossi family: Myrna, Sally Jane, and Vincente. There was a little interaction between Joe and Myrna when she stopped to ask when they could see their family portrait and Joe made suggestions to Myrna that she seemed to entertain.
In the next scene, Lila walked in. Now I remembered her. I’d taken her picture on the first day of shooting. The scene was more developed this time, though, and we watched Joe talk the now eighteen-year-old out of her clothes and into his bed. When I’d taken her picture, I had to keep reminding her to keep her legs together. She seemed to think having a nude portrait included a shot of her pussy. Well, I didn’t have to retake that portrait on Tuesday.
And so, the day progressed. They stopped and rewound the movie a few times to check a scene, then marked their notes with some bit of information about needing a particular transition effect or sound effect. Then the movie continued.
It would run just over a hundred minutes when it was all edited. Viewing it in the meeting took a little over three hours. We’d had to have an impromptu intermission so guys could go out and smoke and use the bathroom.
Adrienne had warned me that the meeting would go through dinner. It, too, was catered into the conference room and was quite delicious—a Cajun chicken dish, I was told.
“So, Nate, from your perspective, how did we do?” Reg asked.
I took a puff on my pipe and then started in.
“It gave me goosebumps,” I said. There was some applause. “I really didn’t understand how you were going to set the murder up without implicating Joe. Vincente and Sally Jane are arguing in the restaurant and we see Joe slip into the kitchen from a back door and steal the rolling pin. Then we see him picking up Sally Jane in his car. We never see her again. We don’t even realize she’s missing until the police start investigating the disappearance of both Myrna and Sally Jane. It’s actually possible that Vincente killed both of them, because they happen to be uncovered in the same place. But then you see the rolling pin in the cistern as well. That’s when I really got chills.”
“Good! That’s excellent!” Frank said. “Any big flaws you noticed?”
“Only one and it’s not really a flaw,” I said. “Just something I’d be concerned about. Why make Vincente so obviously Italian. I mean, even Sally Jane only says her father has connections and Joe had better watch out. But to have him obviously Italian connects him to the Mafia. It seems a little cliché at best and at worst could be considered racist.”
“Nate, you gotta understand, there are people you can poke at and there are people you can’t poke at. Italians eat up the Mafia stuff. They want to be seen as a tough and emotional people. This… Yeah, it plays to the cliché. But look what we had to work with. If we’d have made him the owner of a Jewish Delicatessen, the Jews would crucify us. If he was a German baker, people would be howling about Nazis. If we made him black—oh, God forbid! If the NAACP didn’t shut us down for portraying a black man as a violent wife murderer, the MPAA would shut us down for showing a mixed race marriage. We’d have protesters lining the streets. Italians… well, they’re mostly safe. We even got a guy to play the role who’s got Italian blood.”
“I guess racism is something that could be called on almost anything. I just don’t like to see it so blatant. Like why did he need to be ethnic anything? Just be an American?” I asked.
“The truth is that one day that will happen, but we aren’t there yet. We’re still having to force integration by putting kids on buses and sending them all the way across town to attend a school where they’re the only white kid or the only black kid. We can’t have two villains in the same movie that are just ordinary white guys. Unless it’s a western. One of them had to be a little different,” Reg said.
I nodded. We went on with the de-briefing. About eight o’clock, Adrienne took me home and we went straight to bed. I was on production schedule in the morning.
It was going to be a hell of a day. Fortunately, I was used to getting up in the morning and going to classes. We were at the studio at seven o’clock to get set up for the first scene I had to shoot. The actors had been there at six-thirty to get into costumes and makeup. I was starting with the Vincente and Sally Jane scene on the restaurant set. This time, all I could touch or move was my cameras and the actors. We were officially on set, so lighting was handled by the electricians and props were handled by the grips. Makeup and costumes were handled by union workers and, of course, Art and Lorna were union members.
It was the first time I’d met Art Colley, the actor portraying Vincente. He wasn’t at all like the character in person. He was happy to take any direction I gave and made helpful suggestions when I asked for them. Of course, I’d had my hands all over Lorna in our private photo session. I was a little more reserved when I got her into position with an entire crew standing around.
That was all I needed with them on this set. Actors were being paid for a full day, so I didn’t need to do every scene with a given actor before moving to the next. It was more important to get every shot in a particular setting. The next one was Joe and Jenny in the restaurant with their two little kids. It was nice to see Fran again and there were a couple of other extras who occupied tables or played a waitress.
I had an idea and positioned the table and actors so the waitress was just behind Fran’s shoulder, looking at Joe. I had her touch the corner of her mouth with her tongue in a come-hither look and wink at Joe. I wasn’t sure that the actress was actually one of the women Joe took pictures of, but I figured she could have been, whether it was in the movie or not.
After one more quick scene in the restaurant, we moved to Joe and Jenny’s kitchen and I got to work with Fran again. This was a scene showing that she handled the household. The two kids were with her, tended by their wrangler, and a dog was there with a handler as well. We did a picture with the dog jumping up on Fran and licking her face. There was another with Fran’s back turned as the dog ate off the kid’s high chair tray. Cute.
And so, the day went. I took pictures on the set for the Rossis’ house where Myrna was murdered. There was a picture on the bank set where Joe was depositing money. And more pictures in the studio. There was even a picture I had to set up of Joe and Sally Jane in a car, which was a cutaway with a painted background in the rear window and no engine compartment, so I could move right up to where the windshield would be to take the pictures as if I was inside the car. Wild.
We finished everything at about six o’clock and everyone went home. Chrystal took charge of all the film and assured me it would all be processed overnight. In addition to the next film review, I’d be meeting with the marketing people on Wednesday afternoon to pick the shots they wanted me to print on Thursday.
Missy’s residence was on the way home, so we picked her up and went to dinner before we took her to Adrienne’s apartment.
“I’m very excited,” Missy said in the limo. “As if you couldn’t tell. And Adrienne, I’m honored that you would allow me to join you tonight.”
“My master likes you. I would never consider denying him access to your beautiful body.”
“Oh, God, yes. I don’t know what’s wrong with me this fall, but no one has had access to my body since… like, forever, it seems,” Missy said. “So, you’re really like Nate’s slave? I don’t know how that works. You do anything we tell you to?”
“Let me explain something to you,” Adrienne said, taking Missy’s chin in her hand and turning her face toward her. If I were Missy, I’d be peeing my panties at that tone. “Nate is my master. Anything he orders me or asks me to do, I will do with the greatest of joy. The same goes for his family, Miss Anna, Miss Ronda, and Miss Patricia. Their orders can only be superseded by his. But no one else in this world has that claim to my loyalty or obedience. Even my sponsor, who I obeyed for ten years, has resigned his authority over me now that Nate has taken me as his mistress.”
“Um… I understand,” Missy said. “You know what? I’m fine with being low woman on this totem pole. There’s Nate, then his three girlfriends—and I’ve seen them when they picked him up at the airport. I’d almost bet his little girl is above everyone else. And then you. Somewhere down here among the masses of women who model for him or work in his studio or that he finds jobs for in the movies, among the ones that he allows to be with him on occasion, is Missy. I know what people—men who generally fly for business—call stewardesses. We’re sky mattresses. There was a guy on the flight out here who actually called me that. In a way, it’s true. I joined the team in the sky because I like to party and I thought that one day Mr. Right would come along and take me out of the sky and make me his personal forever mattress. I don’t know if that makes us the same as whores or if I’m a little lower than that. But I understand my place in the world and I’m pretty happy with it. Adrienne, if I step out of line, tell me and I’ll correct the error.”
“That was a real mouthful to get out, Missy,” I said, giving her a quick kiss. Adrienne followed suit. “I want you to know, though, that the masses really aren’t that many. And I don’t consider you a sky mattress. I thought the term was pretty disgusting when my friend Valerie used it to describe herself. And don’t give up on the dream. She actually found a guy flying first class international who swept her off her feet and she’s getting married in June. It was something I thought she’d never succeed at, but she proved me wrong and is excited and happy about it.”
“I’ve only been in the air just under three years,” Missy sighed. “I know there’s hope out there. I just hope that Mr. Right isn’t put off by the number of guys I’ve tried out. When you’re traveling, though, sometimes it’s awfully hard to resist the opportunity to party.”
“You know, one of the guys at the studio yesterday said something about how the times were changing rapidly and things we show today, we won’t be able to show in five or ten years. I have a feeling that the same will be true in every walk of life, whether it is in matters of race and class, sexual relations, jobs, or anything else. I don’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, I think good. We should be making life better for everyone. On the other hand, I think, damn it, my little games aren’t going to be acceptable any longer. I won’t be able to use my camera to seduce beautiful young women into taking their clothes off for me. What do you think of that?”
While I was speaking, I punctuated sentences with kisses, stroking Missy’s cheeks, and petting her breasts and legs. I managed to get enough buttons on her blouse open that I could slip my hand inside to cup her breast.
“I think that we should enjoy what we have in hand, and not borrow trouble from the future,” Missy said. She punctuated her remark by stroking my cock through my slacks.
“As long as you are enjoying it as much as I am, I couldn’t agree more,” I said.
“Oh, I am. I am,” Missy sighed as I pushed her bra up above her breast so I could play with her bare nipple.
The limo pulled up in front of the apartment building and Missy started to pull herself back together. Adrienne stopped her.
“If my master has uncovered you, you should not reject his efforts by covering back up,” she said.
“But if we’re going… Um… Are there people outside?”
“Mmm. The driver will open the car door. Samuel will let us into the building. It’s always possible we will meet someone in the hall or on the stairs. Does that concern you if you are in the company of my master and his devoted mistress?”
“Um… You know what? No, it doesn’t concern me. The only people I care about are you and Nate. I’m ready.”
Even though her blouse was unbuttoned and her bra was pushed up above her breasts, Missy wasn’t really exposed. She just looked a little disheveled. I carried her overnight bag while she walked erect and proud next to Adrienne.
We had a lot of fun until very late at night or early morning, if you will. It wasn’t all sex, either, though nearly all was naked.
“My master likes having two women with him who will make love to each other,” Adrienne said. “Have you ever made love with another woman, Missy?”
“Well, not exactly. You know there have been times when another stewardess invited me to share a guy she’d hooked up with. But mostly, we just waited our turn with the guy and even though we were both naked, touching each other was kind of incidental,” Missy said.
“Do you like the way I’m touching you?” Adrienne asked. “I think you have beautiful breasts. And the way you’ve shaved your vulva tells me you’re kind of hoping it gets a little tongue action. May I have a little taste of you, Missy?”
“Oh, Adrienne. I love the way you’re touching me. You’d really do that with another woman? I mean, with me?”
“Oh, yes. Do you know what I’d do? I would dip my tongue in you and gather up your juices on it. Then I would offer it to my master in a kiss.”
“Please! I mean, please do it, Adrienne. Oh! Oh! Oh!”
I’ve noticed that when women experience something for the first time, it either makes them so nervous they can’t enjoy it at all, or it puts them on an absolute hair trigger for their orgasm. It seemed Missy responded the latter way. And, it didn’t take long for her to reciprocate as I took her from behind while she was perched on top of Adrienne’s mouth with her own mouth on Adrienne’s pussy.
On the other hand, I could see her whole body freeze up when I opened Adrienne’s anus with my cock. I really thought she might hyperventilate and pass out, just watching. Adrienne, however, pulled Missy to her in a kiss and guided her hand to her clit to help her over the edge as I fucked her.
In the morning, we invited Missy to join us for a little while at the studio. I’d warned her that the viewing would be closed, but I’d give her a tour around the soundstage before the limo took her home. As we were touring, though, we encountered Reg and introduced her to him. I could tell immediately that he was sizing Missy up as potential talent.
“If you aren’t busy this morning, why don’t you stay for the screening?” Reg said.
“Is that permitted?” I said before Missy could respond.
“Unless you have an objection to it. We’re at that point where we’d invite a select audience for a screening just to see how the story plays. We might as well start with one this morning,” he said.
“Missy?” I said. “Would you like to stay?”
“I’d love to! Are you kidding?”
“I think we have our first select audience member who really knows nothing about the story or the film,” I said.
We grabbed coffee or soft drinks and went into the screening room to take a seat. I sat with Adrienne on one side and Missy on the other and was surprised that they let the film play straight through. I’d gotten pretty good at ignoring sound gaffes, the lack of transition effects, and no music. I don’t think Missy even noticed.
We stood up to stretch after it was over and I was going to escort Missy to the limo when Reg, Frank, and George rushed up to us.
“Well, what did you think?” Reg started.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Chrystal said rushing up to us. “We have a form for this. She needs to answer the survey before we have a discussion.”
“I suppose that would be the right way,” Frank sighed. “Begging your pardon, Miss. We’d like you to respond to a simple survey that Chrystal has and then would like you to join us in the conference room where we’re going to discuss the film, if you would be so kind.”
“Okay. Sure. It’s no big deal,” Missy said. “It’s cool.”
“Okay, so all of you know, this is Missy Caufield,” I said by introduction. “She’s a stewardess that I’ve flown with on a few occasions. I invited her to tour the soundstage and Reg caught us and invited her to view the film. Chrystal got her to fill out the survey, so now we can ask questions.” I looked around at the people in the room. Reg had asked me to introduce her. “Is that good enough for an introduction?”
“That’s good,” George said. “Missy, we kind of descended on you like vultures in the screening room. Had to be a little scary. I’m glad Chrystal got us sorted out and we could do this right. I’m wondering now, though, if you could give us your initial impressions of what you saw this morning?”
“Sure. Wow! I didn’t expect any of this when I suggested Nate and I get together sometime this week. The film. Well, I’d definitely pay a buck-fifty to see it. I’d pay that just to see that photographer take his shirt off again. And I know a lot of men who’d pay more than that for the number of bare boobs in this show.”
“Okay. Was there anything about the film other than the bare chests that you liked?” Reg asked.
“Oh, yeah! I didn’t mean it to sound like that’s the only thing. But there aren’t that many movies I’ve seen that are so explicit and… Um… I think the word is casual. Not that many that are casual about displaying the body. The movie itself was exciting and tense. I wanted to yell at the little girl not to get in the car. And then I had to ask myself over and over if he was the one who killed her or not. I mean when they find the body with her mother’s, I said ‘The poor girl went home and caught her father burying her mother and he killed her, too. But then they pulled the rolling pin out and I thought maybe it was coincidence. Did he really get away with killing her? You know, what really freaked me out, though, was the way he was looking at his wife at the end. It’s like he’s thinking, maybe he can get rid of her, too.”
“Okay. That’s good,” George said. “Did anything stand out to you that made you say, ‘No way that could happen?’ We’re a little concerned about the photo studio scenes.”
“Yeah, maybe. I’ve been in Nate’s real studio in Chicago. And he didn’t have much trouble getting me out of my clothes to take pictures and stuff. I liked it enough that I wanted to get together again, you know. But that guy Joe… The only point of reference I have is Nate in his studio. He wouldn’t act like that. Joe was seriously on the make for those women. He was out prowling around hunting for new conquests. Nate only meets women where they are when they come into the studio. I don’t think he ever goes out trying to seduce someone into his studio. And he’d never get involved with a little girl like that. I know she says she’s fifteen, but she looked closer to twelve.”
“Lorna will be delighted to hear that,” I chuckled. She couldn’t wait to have this film behind her so she could get her boobs done and get more adult roles.
“In a way, that’s good,” Frank said. “We used Nate as a resource and consultant on whether the photography was reasonable, but we didn’t want people to think that the film was about him. We risked that by filming in Tenbrook, his hometown. But everyone we talked to agreed that they didn’t think the film was about Nate.”
“When Nate first told me he was involved in a movie, I didn’t really believe him. I mean he talked that actress who played Jenny out of her clothes right there in first class while I was serving them. Then he said he’d referred her to you and she’d gotten the job. And, by the way, she should have top billing. I know Sally and Myrna are the subject of the film, but Jenny is really the foil for Joe. She was great!” Missy said. “Anyway, when he flew back to Chicago with me and showed me the pictures he took and said she’d gotten the job… I guess he kind of talked me out of my clothes right there in the first class galley. But like I said, he didn’t have to try all that hard because I was already willing. In his studio, I couldn’t wait to get my clothes off in front of him.”
“We talked to a few other women who modeled for him in Las Vegas. Their opinion seemed to have been the same. That’s what made us willing to have a photographer who seduced women in his studio,” Bert said. “I’m glad that part still comes over as believable.”
“Like I said, he was nothing like Nate, but I believe he could seduce women in the photo studio. Even though I knew he was lying when he said no one would see them but the model and him. You knew he had to be selling prints somewhere.”
“Nate, do you sell prints?” Reg asked.
“Definitely. But my models sign releases giving me permission to sell them. I don’t lie to them about it.”
“Good. Let’s take a break. Thank you, Missy. You’ve been most helpful. I hope you had a good time this morning,” George said.
“Oh, yeah. Last night and this morning, both.”
I choked a little and Adrienne and I escorted Missy out to the waiting limo to be taken home.
“I’ll see you Saturday, Nate. Might be kind of chaotic, but I’ll have you on the Monday morning flight back, too,” Missy said. “Adrienne, you are incredible. I just adore you. Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome. Just treat my master nicely when you see him and we’re all square.”
“You betcha!”
Wednesday afternoon, I sat with George and a few of his marketing team and we went through stacks of transparencies, both 35mm and 4x5. When it came down to it, they decided on ten prints and I collected the transparencies to take with me to the lab on Thursday. Then we went out to dinner with the major production and post-production team members. Several of the people I didn’t know, so I kept an arm protectively around Adrienne’s waist as we circulated during the cocktail time and got introduced to people. There were definitely a couple of interested guys sniffing around to see if Adrienne was available. When one of them heard her refer to me as ‘Master,’ the unwanted attention disappeared.
Later, I learned that word had circulated that she was the eyes and ears of the executive producer and people were warned to keep their hands off and to listen carefully to what she had to say as if it came from the very top. It was such an interesting juxtaposition of having my slave be the most respected and maybe feared person in the room. I think some of them thought that perhaps I was actually the executive producer and was just hiding behind the persona of a photographer.
One guy actually came up to me and pitched a story idea to me. I listened and said, “That’s interesting,” and got out of his circle quickly.
“You know,” Adrienne said as we sipped a cocktail together, “you might take some of the story ideas you hear and just use them to create scenes for photographs. I don’t mean to steal the story, but let the story concept set a scenario for a single photo. You always like to create a little snippet of a story to go with your photo session. It helps get the model in the mood to create something.”
“That’s a good idea. I wouldn’t want to actually co-opt someone’s story idea, but I never—or seldom—actually put more than a title on my photos. People don’t hear me tell the story I’ve created. I’ll have to keep my ears open for ideas like that.”
“For that matter, you could take an excerpt from any story you come across. Whatever happened to the pictures you took last spring during the strikes? When you were out here you spent a long time one night telling me about being present when a police officer shot a student handing out leaflets.”
“Yeah. That scene still haunts me sometimes. But it was after the shooting that I saw what terrible things we’d done to people in making them afraid of each other. I recognized the officer as one who had helped me once and I’d taken his picture helping a gang in South Chicago during the riots after Dr. King was murdered. He was a good guy. I took a picture of him kneeling over the man he’d shot, crying.”
“What happened to him?”
“I submitted several pictures of the scene to the newspaper. Of course, they printed the picture of the guy actually being shot, but they didn’t print Officer Macalister’s pain. There was a report that came out while we were in Canada this summer that he’d resigned from the police force after begin exonerated of wrong-doing in the death. I heard he’s become a preacher.”
“It’s too bad. From what you told me, he was one of the good ones.”
“If anything, that’s probably why he resigned. He told me during the DNC in Chicago that the mayor didn’t want good guys on the force. He wanted muscle to enforce whatever he said.”
“They’re signaling us to be seated for dinner,” she said. “We’d better find our seats. Thank you for being so protective of me tonight.”
“You are my precious Fifi,” I said. “I will always do my best to protect you.”
“I appreciate that, but if it ever comes to fighting, let me do the protecting, okay?” she giggled.
I smacked her lightly on the butt and we went to sit and eat. It was a pretty good meal. There were comments from the staff. Frank presented a couple of awards to people for silly things like showing up for work on time once. They all planned to have another round of drinks after dinner, but I made excuses and took Adrienne home.
I had ten images to print on Thursday. It took a while, even though the lab had rotating drums for developing, bleaching, and rinsing the prints. I still had to inspect each one and make sure the color balance and contrast was what I wanted. I made an 8x10 and a 12x15 of each of the ten images. Of course, they’d chosen all 4x5 transparencies instead of 35mm.
I got finished in plenty of time to get home, shower with my lover, and dress for the big party at Frank’s house—what I gathered was a real Hollywood mansion. My tuxedo was kept in Adrienne’s closet as I’d had no need for it in Chicago. She stayed delightfully naked in front of me as she got me dressed and I openly fondled any part of her I could reach.
“Would Master prefer that I go to the party naked tonight, or shall I dress?” she asked.
“Master would prefer that we both stay right here and were both naked, but I suppose this is an event I am committed to and as a good consultant, I should put in an appearance, try not to get drunk, and get out in one piece.”
“Touch everything one more time before I dress and know that any time you want at the party we can slip away somewhere and you can use me in any way you’d like.”
“Just try to keep me well-behaved and out of trouble,” I laughed. “That’s the most important use I have of you tonight. I will feel naked without a camera around my neck.”
I spent a few minutes fondling and kissing my mistress and then let her get ready. While she was dressing, I called home to wish my girls Happy New Year. It was still only a little before ten there, but by the time I could reach a phone again, it would be at least two o’clock in the morning in Chicago.
“Do you have your camera and equipment there?” Ronda asked. “Please set up and take a picture of the two of you in your formalwear. You can develop it at home this weekend. But we do want to see our lover and our mistress all dressed up.”
“I can do that. Do you know how fast she is at getting ready? It’s been fifteen minutes since I last fondled her naked body and she’s just coming out of the bedroom completely dressed and ready,” I said.
“None of your girlfriends take long to get ready to go out,” Patricia said. “We’re instant dates, no matter what.”
“I am really one lucky guy,” I said.
“Adrienne,” Anna said. I’d just shared the phone with her and I could see her come to attention.
“Yes, Miss Anna,” she said. I thought for a moment she was going to kneel.
“You have charge of our man tonight. Please keep him safe and send him home to love us on Saturday,” Anna said. “And I just know you will be the most beautiful couple at the party.”
“Thank you, Miss Anna. I will do my very best. Master Nate is very handsome.”
“Don’t downplay your beauty, my dear. You know we all love you.”
“I… love you, Miss.”
“Have fun,” the three chorused over the phone.
We went to our waiting limo.
The home of Frank Loras was everything you’ve read about Hollywood mansions. I had no real idea who the hell he was before I met him on this production, but apparently, he was no stranger to the Hollywood elite and had produced some award-winning movies. He once told me that as a producer, he got rewarded for a successful movie and took the blame for an unsuccessful one. Obviously, his successes outweighed his failures.
We got to his house about eight-thirty and things were really just getting started. He did spot us and greeted us, encouraging us to have our favorite beverage and enjoy the buffet. At this hour, food was becoming a priority and we grazed the buffet before really even talking to anyone else. This party reminded me of the premiere we went to, but it was bigger. I only recognized about a third of the things on the buffet. I kept asking Adrienne what things were and discovered that I really didn’t have a taste for caviar.
After we’d had enough food to keep me going, we got drinks and circulated through the half-dozen rooms that seemed to be open for partying. Servers with cocktails were wandering around in all the rooms and I discovered that servers picked up trays of the finger food from the buffet and circulated with it so even in a different room or on the pool deck, I could occasionally snatch a canapé.
“Michael, how nice to see you,” Adrienne said when a handsome guy who looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place approached us. “Have you met Nate Hart, the photographer?”
“I haven’t had the pleasure,” he said. “I’ve heard your reputation, though. I understand you were significant in the development of Frank’s new movie. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
“Thank you,” I said. “My part as a consultant was mostly to make sure they didn’t try to take pictures with the lens cap on.”
“I’ve been thinking about a few new publicity photos. My agent says I’m maturing and should get images that look my age. Do you have time in your schedule?”
“I’m afraid Nate will be heading back to Chicago on Saturday, just in time to turn around for three weeks in Australia,” Adrienne said. “It’s possible that he’d consider coming back out the last week of March. If you’d like to give me a call, I’ll try to set things up.”
“You know I love to call you,” he said. He turned to me. “Sadly, it’s strictly business.”
“She’s mine,” I said simply. Adrienne leaned her head against my shoulder.
“That explains everything,” he said. “I’ll call to set an appointment.”
“Did I overstep any boundaries there?” I asked.
“My loving master, if you wish, you may stand on the stairs and announce to the entire party that I belong to you and I will kneel at your feet,” she said.
“Oh, I don’t think we need to make a spectacle, but I do get a little possessive when someone seems too interested in you.”
“Did you not notice what I chose to wear this evening?”
“This gown is spectacular. You are definitely the most stunning woman at the party.”
She lifted her head and I saw she was wearing the rhinestone encrusted collar that said Fifi. So that’s what the guy was looking at when he said ‘That explains everything.’ I knew she was wearing it but what it would mean in a public crowd hadn’t really dawned on me.
“I love you, my Fifi. I am so proud to have you on my arm.”
“If ever you feel the need to assert control of a situation, the silver chain wrapped around my waist doubles as a leash. You can always remove it from my waist and attach it to my collar, my loving master.”
“For now, it is enough to know it is there,” I said. “Please, introduce me to more people.”
I had a good time, for it being a rather chichi party. We spent some time with Fran and her ‘date,’ who was her roommate in the valley. Alice was a nice girl who was working in the industry as an assistant to some script person. I gathered he was in acquisitions.
“We hardly saw each other to talk on Tuesday when you had so many photos to take,” Fran said. “Um… any chance we can get together tomorrow? Maybe take a long limo ride?”
“Oh yes,” I said. “Adrienne, our limo slut would like a ride tomorrow.”
“Excellent,” Adrienne smiled. “I’ll pack a lunch and we’ll have the driver take us to the beach.”
“What beach?”
“Wear sturdy shoes, we’ll need to hike down to it. But once we’re there, clothing is no longer required,” Adrienne said.
Okay. That was going to be quite the experience. A nude beach. I wished my girlfriends were here.
The party seemed to be just getting started when the clock struck twelve. There were cheers and champagne and kisses. Of course, I kissed Adrienne well enough to make a spectacle of myself, but then Fran was on me for equal treatment and her roommate Alice, lacking any other options, decided I’d be the best choice for a New Year kiss.
The music was turned up and people started dancing in all the rooms. I was finished, though. Adrienne agreed and we slipped out to go home.
I spent more time taking her clothes off her than she’d spent putting them on. The first thing I did, though, was take the silver chain from around her waist and clip it to her collar. Then I meticulously took everything else she was wearing off and hung it in her closet, put it on her shoe rack, or placed it with her jewelry, all while she stood quietly and obediently.
I walked around her, silently inspecting everything I could see. The cuts inflicted by Beth had all healed and I was relieved to see there were no permanent marks. Some of the cuts came dangerously close to leaving a scar. While I inspected her, I stroked every part of her body, as if I were a blind man trying to see her with my fingers. I ran my fingers through her hair and felt her skull, then her face. After my fingers had traced her lips, then my lips did. I felt her jaw and kissed her ears. I touched her shoulders and kissed them, then circled around to her back to lift her hair and kiss her neck.
Yes, I definitely touched and kissed her breasts, her pussy, her ass and even her toes, but I didn’t spend more time on those than on her elbows, fingers, navel, and tailbone. I didn’t think I’d ever done such a thorough job of worshiping every inch of a woman’s body. Her breathing steadily deepened and when I ran my fingers through her slit, I found her lubricating profusely.
I stood and faced her and she looked longingly at me.
“Master,” she whispered.
I led her to the sliding doors to her balcony, opened them and led her out into the brisk air. It wasn’t bad compared to Chicago—maybe fifty degrees or so. It was freezing in Chicago. The air was enough to raise goosebumps on her skin and I could see her shiver. I stood beside her, looking out at the hills and yelled, “Happy New Year!” at the top of my lungs. Then I turned her to me and kissed her as I wrapped her in my arms and carried her inside to the bed.
I closed the sliding door and stripped off my clothes, leaving my tux in a pile on the floor. Adrienne started to get up to put them away and I simply pointed at her. “Fifi, stay!” I commanded. She lay back on the bed in the exact position I’d deposited her.
When I was naked, I lay down with her and pulled her into my arms to kiss and love. I took the leash from her collar and then removed the collar so I could kiss her throat.
“You are so good, Fifi. How would you like to love your master? Whatever you would like.”
She looked at me with wide open eyes and rolled over on top of me. With one hand on my chest, she used the other to guide my cock into her wet pussy. And she went wild. Wild in a way I had never seen her. She bounced on me, pinched my nipples, kissed me so that I thought I would never catch my breath. And when she started coming, so did I.
When she collapsed on top of me, I simply pulled the blanket over the top of us and held her there as we stayed linked together as long as possible.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you.”
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
