by Naomi Niles
I laughed as the yoga instructor took her place in front of the room. “All right, ladies. Are we all stretched and ready to go? Great. Everyone get on your knees so we can begin.”
“My knees?” Carrie said with a smirk. “That is a position I can relate to.”
After class, we went home to shower up and then I rode with Carrie to her photo shoot. It was in an art studio that was about 15 minutes away from our two-bedroom loft. She walked inside ahead of me as cameramen and photographers were positioned throughout the lobby. “Hi, Robert,” she said, greeting an older man with gray hair in the middle of the lobby.
He kissed her on each cheek. “Hello, darling. It is good to see you. I am so glad you could make it on short notice.”
“Yes, I mean, how could I turn down the opportunity to shoot with the great Robert Lawson again? No. I’d change my schedule around in a heartbeat for that.” With a smile on his face, he made eye contact with me. Carrie turned around. “Oh, Robert,” she said, placing her hand on her chest, “I can’t believe I forgot to introduce you to this gorgeous woman. Robert, this is my best friend, Hannah. Hannah, this is Mr. Robert Lawson, only one of the most legendary photographers in California.”
“Oh, come now,” he said, extending his hand towards me. “Carrie has a way of flattering me beyond measure. Nice to meet you,” he said as his beady eyes scanned my body beyond what was conscionable. His mouth all but salivated as my hand rested on his.
“Um,” I said, wrinkling my eyebrows together. “Yeah. Nice to meet you, too.” I slipped my hand out of his grasp, a motion that seemed to snap him out of his trance.
“Robert, I was telling Hannah that there may be some Hollywood connections here. You know she is an aspiring actress, and we all know that in that business, it is usually about who you know more than it is about the talent you possess.”
“Yes,” he said, his creepy eyes scanning my body once again. “I agree with that wholeheartedly. You know what, Carrie, remind me to make a call to my good friend Leonard after the shoot. I am sure he can help one way or the other.”
Carrie nudged me with a smile as I stood beside her. “Well, Carrie,” Robert spoke up, “go ahead and stand over there by the golden statue and we will get started. You, Hannah,” he said with a smile, “Just take a seat over there and watch us go to work.”
I took a seat in the corner of the room as Robert snapped pictures of Carrie. A fan positioned to the right blew her hair as if she were standing in the midst of a blustery breeze. Her bikini top pushed her breasts higher on her chest as she leaned forward and blew seductive kisses towards the camera. “That’s it, Carrie. That’s it, babe. Show me that sexiness.” The camera flashed as Robert moved in different positions, shooting Carrie from every angle.
“Excellent. Now, remove your top, Carrie.” My eyebrows lifted to the middle of my forehead, but before I could process his request, Carrie had already untied her top. Her full breasts fell from their cage as Carrie continued posing without missing a beat. Her pink nipples were erect, like the tips of Hershey kisses, as she stood to the side and put her hands on her hips. “Beautiful, babe. Absolutely stunning, you are.”
I watched, in utter amazement that Carrie was so quick to remove her top in a room full of men. The shoot lasted for at least 30 more minutes, and after they had wrapped everything up, Carrie approached me with Robert standing right beside her. “You did a marvelous job, Carrie. I couldn’t have asked for a better model, nor a more beautiful one.”
“I am just doing my job, Robert, and you make it easy.”
He glanced at me with a perverted eye. “Hannah, what do you think about modeling?”
“Um,” I said, clenching my purse as if that would shield me from his glare. “No, it’s not my thing. I am an actress, not so much a model.”
“The two go hand in hand, most times,” he said as he reached into his pocket, “but you have reminded me of the phone call I was going to make on your behalf. Will you be around a bit longer?”
“Yes, she will,” Carrie answered for me. “Take your time, Robert.”
He walked away as he made the phone call, and when he was just over a stone’s throw away, I spoke. “That man is a creep, Carrie. Did you see how he was looking at me?”
“He looks at everyone like that. It’s more a look of endearment than anything else. He thinks you are attractive.”
“Yeah. And then, five days later, I’m on Unsolved Mysteries or something like that.”
She laughed. “Oh, please. Robert wouldn’t hurt a fly, really. He is a good man. A little on the perverted side, but he is a damn good photographer.”
I looked at him as he paced back and forth, speaking on the phone and occasionally glancing in my direction. I turned my back towards him and continued speaking to Carrie. “I didn’t know you took pictures naked, though, Carrie. Is this like… a shoot for some porn magazine?”
“No. Don’t be silly. Sometimes, the shoot requires me to be nude.”
“And you’re OK with that?”
She squinted her eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be? See, that is your issue. You lack the self-confidence. Hannah, you are drop-dead gorgeous. You have a body that most women would kill for. Your hair is long, and you have beautiful skin. You are damn near perfect, sweetie, and you need to act like it.”
“I don’t know, Carrie.”
“Wait a minute,” she asked, folding her hands over her chest. “So, you’re telling me if you got paid over a million dollars for a role that you had to pose naked… or be naked for a few scenes, you wouldn’t do it?”
I looked over my shoulder at Robert as he quickly averted his eyes. I shook my head and focused on Carrie. “I don’t know. I mean… I just don’t know.”
“Shit, you better know because if I got that call, I would do it. Hands down. And I’m sure the next actress would do it, too, which means… you’ll be out of an opportunity because of your own insecurities.”
Just then, Robert interrupted our conversation. “Ladies,” he said as we both turned towards him. He smiled. His thin, pink lips barely made an edge of his mouth. “I’ve got some good news. Leonard is casting for a big movie this Monday. I’ve told him about, um,” his eyes walked over my body once again, “how attractive you were and he immediately gave me the information about the casting call. So,” he said, removing a piece of paper from his pocket, “this is the address and the time you need to be there. I told him your name, so he will be looking for you in particular.”
Suddenly, his perverted gaze didn’t bother me as much. I reached for the note as Carrie put her arm around me. “You see what I told you? You would’ve have missed out on this opportunity if you went to that commercial audition,” she said.
I smiled as I held the paper in my hand. “Thank you, Robert,” I said as my cheeks pushed up near my eyes.
“The pleasure was mine, my dear. The pleasure was all mine.”
Chapter Five
Ezra
I grabbed a V-neck white T-shirt from my closet. I needed to wear something that would show off my pectorals and the rest of my physique if needed. My jeans were straight leg; not the skinny jean shit that squeezed the fuck out of my nuts. I couldn’t rock with those. I’ve tried them before, but I knew I wanted to have more kids in the future, so they weren’t for me.
Once I finished getting dressed, I gave myself a once-over in the mirror to make sure I was all set. The audition was at 11 am, and I wanted to leave the house early just in case I had to fight through traffic on my way there. Just as I grabbed my wallet, my phone buzzed on top of my desk. I rolled my eyes when I saw her name pop up on the call log.
“Yeah?”
“Um, Ezra, I need you to come get the boys.”
“Get the boys? Now?”
She huffed. “Yes, now. I need to make it to a last-minute appointment, and I can’t take them with me.”
I looked at my watch. “I can’t come right now, Tanya. I have to get to an audition.”
“Don’t fucking come at me like that, Tanya. I’m not blowing my boys off for shit, all right? I’ve had this audition set up for the past week and here you come, calling last minute because your irresponsible ass planned something at the last minute.”
“Oh, my God. Look. How long is your bullshit audition? I’ll reschedule my appointment for later.”
“Yeah. I’m sure your psychologist won’t have a problem rescheduling for one of his patients.”
“Just what time, Ezra?! Damn it!”
“I’ll call you when I am done. Maybe 3 or 4 pm.”
“Fine.”
She hung up before I could respond again. On a good day, we would go back and forth for at least 10 minutes, insulting each other until we’d had enough. I had a love-hate relationship with her. I loved the fact that she hated me and I’m sure it worked vice versa. I glanced in the mirror one last time, checking out my 5 o’clock shadow to make sure it had enough tint. Afterward, I grabbed my shades and headed out of the door. If I had to put this role in a submission hold, that is what I was going to do, because I was not going to take no for an answer.
The room was filled with men, everywhere from their mid-20s to mid-30s. Most of them were fit and attractive; pretty boys, much like myself, but I didn’t care about that. I kept Tanya’s mockery in my mind with each step I took, lighting the passion inside of me to impress everyone at this casting call. I checked in and leaned against the wall on the side of the room, waiting for my name to be called. As I waited, I flipped through photographs on my phone.
Naked pictures of women who I’d slept with in the past. Brunettes with large breasts and erect nipples. Blondes with their legs spread-eagle and their fingers stroking their clits right before I went inside of them. Brown-skinned women posing in the mirror with their phat asses resting on countertops. I had a particular type, but when it came to beautiful women, I didn’t discriminate. I used the pictures to get into the right mindset. When I messed around with those women, my confidence was always through the roof, and it had to be. They weren’t the average chicks.
“Ezra Hammond.” I glanced to the front of the room as a short and round young woman stood front and center. I raised my hand and began walking towards the front of the room as she looked down at her paper, making a few strokes onto the sheet with her pen.
“A pleasure to meet you, Ms...” I offered my hand to her with a crescent smile on my face.
“Ms. Anderson,” she said as she placed her hand in mine. Her thin, prescription glasses had a red frame. Freckles clustered together on her cheeks like cherries on a tree. She blushed as I kissed her hand.
“Ms. Anderson.”
“Right this way,” she said as she turned around and led me down the hallway. Decorative floor designs were etched into the polished tile floors. Her high heels clicked against the ground as we walked side by side down the corridor. “So,” she said, “is this your first time going for a major role?”
“Yes, it is. And,” I said, making eye contact with her, “this will be my first time starring in a major movie.”
“First time starring?”
“Yes. I am going to get this part. And yeah, I know how many other men were out there waiting to come in, but the part has to go to someone, right? And that someone will be me.”
She smiled as we approached a white door near the end of the hallway. “Well, I must say… I do like your confidence.” I grabbed the door knob before she could. “Thank you.”
I bowed my head as she walked into the room. As soon as I walked in, there was a stage positioned in the front at least six feet above the ground. On it, there were four women, all middle-aged, sitting side by side. I looked around the room. It was a banquet hall that had been transitioned into a room specifically for this purpose.
I removed my glasses and walked closer to the front of the room as Ms. Anderson walked down the side of the room until she got on stage. Once there, she leaned down and whispered into one of the ladies’ ears. The lady fixed her eyes on me and nodded her head as Ms. Anderson spoke. Once she finished, she exited the stage and went behind a black curtain.
“Well, Mr. Ezra Hammond, welcome to the casting call for Satin Sheets. How did you find out about this event?”
“Well,” I said, increasing the bass in my voice as I stood front and center. “My manager, Marc Harris, got me through the door and… I know that my talent and charisma alone will get me the part.”
“Oh?” she said with a smile as she folded her hands on the table.
“Absolutely.” I glanced at the other three women as they stood, seemingly hanging on every word that left my mouth. I wiped the side of my face, then ran my tongue slowly over my lips.
She cleared her throat. “Well, I am Elizabeth, the writer and director of this movie. That is Shannon,” she pointed to her right, “and that is Janet and Morgan, respectively,” she said, motioning to her left.
Shannon spoke up. “So, what experience do you have an as actor?”
Without saying a word, I lifted my shirt above my head. The ripples in my abs looked like a cage for my stomach. My chest sat above them like boulders as I tossed my shirt to the side. Afterward, I wrestled with my belt and dropped my pants to the ground. “Um,” Shannon said, but Elizabeth put her hand up, ordering her silence.
They followed me as I walked on stage and pulled Elizabeth’s chair away from the table with ease. With a grin, she invited me to do whatever I came to do. I slid on top of her lap and grinded my hips into her crotch while I took her hands and ran them over the ripples on my chest. My dick stiffened while I was on top of her, damn near escaping its entrapment as it poked her in her stomach.
“I have a lot of experience as an actor,” I said as I settled down on top of her. “But I have intangibles that you can’t teach to go with it. I know what this part calls for, and I can save you all a lot of time right now. I am your man. Shut this shit down so we can make a movie… and then… make a movie.”
Elizabeth’s smile was unbreakable. Janet and Morgan looked as though they wanted a sample of what I gave Elizabeth, but Shannon was the one that seemed like she would be the hardest to break. “Um,” Elizabeth responded with her cheeks reddened. “Yeah, so… um… we will call you and let you know um...we will let you know that you are our guy, um,” she cringed, “IF... IF you are our guy.”
“Thank you, Ezra,” Shannon said, “But if you could please put your clothes on so we could finish the auditions, it would be greatly appreciated.” She smirked as I got off Elizabeth and made my way back to my clothing.
“Thank you for the time, ladies. I look forward to shooting this movie.”
I walked out of the room just as confident as I was when I came in. As I closed the door behind me, I heard one of the women yell out, “Yes, Lord!” I laughed to myself as I made my way out of the building. This part was mine to lose.
As I pulled up to Tanya’s house, I got a phone call from an unsaved number. “Hello?” I asked as I shut my engine off.
“Hello, Ezra?”
“Speaking.”
“Hi. This is Elizabeth, one of the writers for Satin Sheets. I would like to inform you that you have the part for the movie.”
I slammed my fist onto the steering wheel out of excitement, blowing the car horn in the process. “That is great news! I know I will bring this part to life the way you envisioned it.”
“Oh, I am sure you will.” I looked at Tanya’s house as she poked her head out of the front door. “So, we are having a casting call for potential female roles on Monday, and we need you to be there for that. We need you to read a few parts with them so we can get an idea of how you two would look, and work together. Can you make it? I know it is last minute.”
I looked at Tanya as she shook her head
, then walked back inside the house. “Yeah, absolutely. I will be there, just let me know the time.”
“Eleven am.”
“Awesome,” I said as Tanya walked out of the house with the boys. “Eleven am. I will see you then, Elizabeth, and thank you.”
“Thank you, Ezra!”
I hung up just as Tanya opened the door. “Who were you on the phone with? One of your whores?” I laughed to myself and held my smart remark in. The last thing I wanted to do was disrespect my boy's mother right in front of them. I wanted to tell her that I had just landed a part in a major movie, but I felt it would have been more justice if she found it out on her own.
“No. Business. Just business.”
Chapter Six
Hannah
I stood in my closet like a zombie, looking over the same clothing for the past 10 minutes as I decided what to wear to the audition. My hands tremored as they glided from hanger to hanger, pulling dresses from their position just to drop them onto the floor when I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to wear. My audition was four hours away, and I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep since I’d tried to go to bed last night.
I kept waking up during the middle of the night with nightmares of me screwing up during the casting call. Stumbling in my high heels, tripping over my words and looking like a flat out idiot. I grabbed another shirt and held it up. Moments later, I rolled my eyes and dropped it into the pile of clothes on the closet floor.
Forget it, I thought, as I sighed and crawled back into my bed and blanketed myself with covers. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this work. Hell, I couldn’t even pick out something to wear without trembling with thoughts of a disastrous audition. Just then, Carrie knocked on my door and invited herself in. “Um, Hannah? Why are you still asleep? Do you know what time it is?”
I spoke from beneath the covers, “Yes, I know what time it is, and I am not going.”
“Not going?” She plopped down next to me on the bed. “What are you talking about? Why not? Are you dying?”