Vice, Virtue & Video: Revealed (The Vice, Virtue & Video Series)

by Bianca Giovanni

  We hop in Pansy, and it’s nice to be riding in this car again, even if it has nearly two hundred thousand miles on it. We buckle up, and we’re on our way to his apartment. I like seeing palm trees and sunlight. It’s a nice change of pace from the colonial, Founding Fathers era, stuffy educational institution I’ve recently moved into.

  We arrive at his apartment complex, which looks like it was built in the late seventies or early eighties. It’s three stories with outdoor staircases and hallways. The doors are all painted turquoise, and the railings are all a Pepto-Bismol pink—very eighties colors. I know these places aren’t particularly expensive, since James knows how to be thrifty, but they’re really not too bad. Even cheap apartments out here are probably twice what they would cost in our hometown, and even though he’s making pretty good money now, I’m glad he didn’t try to splurge on some extravagant place. He’s smart like that, knowing that he should save up for the day when he can no longer fuck for a living.

  We get to his door, and he unlocks it and ushers me inside. His place is surprisingly roomy, and aside from the low ceilings, it doesn’t look all that dated inside. The floor plan is pretty open with the living room to the right and the kitchen straight ahead. There’s a breakfast bar looking over a small table by the window. On the other side of the room is a small area with a desk and his MacBook Pro closed beside a stack of what appear to be porn photos—probably stills from his movies. The bedroom is down the hall, and the bathroom is next to that.

  I recognize a painting his mom did several years ago hanging on the wall between the kitchen and the bedroom, and it makes me feel a little sad. It’s sweet that he still has this memento of his mom in his place, even though it’s probably a hurtful reminder of the happy family life he once had.

  “You hungry?” he calls out as he puts my bag down in his bedroom.

  “Yeah,” I reply. “I had a bagel this morning, but I was too psyched to eat lunch.”

  That makes him grin proudly, and he comes over to give me a hug. I can tell that he missed me from the way he completely envelops me, blanketing me with his adoration. It makes me feel warm inside to know that he cares about me so much because I cherish his friendship and the deep bond that we have.

  “There’s a sushi place I want to take you to. It’s one of those trendy places that the cool people go to—which is lame, I know—but they have really good unagi, so you’ll like it,” he offers.

  “Sweet,” I say, nodding. “Can I change into something more trendy and fashionable, you know, since I’m gonna hang with the cool kids and all?”

  “Sure.” He chuckles. “But you look beautiful already.”

  It makes me smile, and his words melt into me like marshmallows in hot cocoa.

  I go into the bedroom and put on a cute, casual, sleeveless dress. It’s got a green, floral pattern that distracts from my enormous boobs and makes my body look less top-heavy. I run a brush through my long hair, dab on a little lip gloss, and I think I look decent enough to hang with the in-crowd.

  “Gorgeous,” James says when I emerge. “When did you get this?”

  “I bought it right before I moved because it was really hot and muggy, but then it got colder and I only got the chance to wear it once,” I reply.

  “See, think about what it’d be like if you lived out here,” he says with a grin. “You could wear sexy stuff like this all the time.”

  “Wouldn’t that give you heart palpitations?” I snicker. “You’re already paranoid enough as it is about guys checking me out. I’m sure you’d be a nervous wreck if I walked around showing skin.”

  “Yeah, but I’d get to look at all your skin,” he says flirtatiously. “And I’d just stare down anybody else who tried to do it.”

  I roll my eyes with a laugh and reach for my purse.

  We get to the sushi place, and he’s right: it is trendy. Everybody here looks like they’re an actor or a model, and I feel a little self-conscious. All their looks are very put together, but in that I-just-threw-these-clothes-on-because-I-don’t-care kind of way. Very calculated, but trying to look like it’s totally effortless.

  We sit down at our table, and the waitress comes by to get our drink orders. She’s pretty, probably early twenties with flat-ironed, blond hair, and a totally SoCal tan. She flashes her bleached white smile at James, and he returns it with a sexy smile of his own. Such a flirt! She likes what she sees, and she barely even looks at me, which I pretty much expect at this point. It happens whenever I go out somewhere with him. The ladies are just hypnotized by his square jaw, hazel eyes, high cheekbones, and pouty lips. Can’t say I blame them. He’s got the face of a male model and the body of Greek god.

  “So how’s business?” I smile at him. “Last I heard you had another shoot with that Lexi Jaxxxon girl,” I say, referencing the pretty porn starlet who looks like a combination of Aaliyah and Gabrielle Union.

  He nods. “It was a fun one. She gets wild, dude. She’s all flexible, too, so we were doing some crazy positions—shit that wasn’t even on the lineup for that day.”

  I laugh and shake my head. “You got her to bend the rules for you?”

  “Hey, she was the one who suggested it. You should have seen this blowjob she gave me. Epic, dude! She does this thing with her tongue that’s just—”

  “I don’t need all the details.” I put up my hand as I chuckle.

  “Sorry.” He snickers with that smart-ass grin. “Don’t want to offend my pristine little princess.”

  I give him a pretend scowl and blush.

  “I just don’t need the play-by-play on a blowjob,” I say. “So the gist of it is that things are good for you. The shoot went well, and you’re out here dishing out dick like it’s going out of style.”

  “Pretty much,” he says through hearty laughter.

  “Well, good. I’m happy for you.” I chuckle. At least he’s channeling that hyperactive sex drive into work and not just plowing random floozies.

  “You’ll meet Lexi tomorrow,” he adds. “She’ll be at Rick’s party.”

  Rick is the guy who owns Sin Cinema, the production company where James does the majority of his movies. It’s Labor Day weekend, and Rick’s having a barbecue at his house. James invited me to come as his date, since I was dying to come out to California and visit him anyway, and I happily accepted. There are going to be a lot of industry people there, and I’m a little nervous because I’ve never been to a porn party and I have no idea what to expect.

  “Are there gonna be, like, people fucking everywhere? Is it going to be like the Playboy Mansion or something?” I meekly inquire. “I mean, is this going to turn into some kind of orgy?”

  “Yeah, Lola, I’m so sure I’d bring you to an orgy,” he says dryly. “I don’t want any guys to fuckin’ touch you, so the first place I’d bring you is to a big, giant fuck fest.”

  “Well, how am I supposed to know?” I laugh. “I don’t know what you guys do. These are all people who have sex for a living the way other people would send a fax or fill out a spreadsheet. How do I know I won’t end up plugged in both ends by two guys in a grotto or something?”

  “Rick doesn’t have a grotto.” He grins mischievously, leaving out anything about the whole double-stuff scenario.

  I shoot him a smirk.

  “Besides, you know I’d never let you lose it at some porn guy’s party,” he adds with a smile. “You deserve, like, a candlelit, romantic, passionate situation—like maybe in front of a fireplace or some romancey stuff like that.”

  I burst into laughter, and he looks amused. I think James has envisioned my perfect first time more than I have.

  “So you’ll be my bodyguard for any guys who want to introduce me to anal?” I joke.

  “I will defend your virtue and your ass to the death,” he says in a knightly vow.

  “Good.” I giggle. “Glad to see I have such an honorable, upstanding gentleman for a best friend.”

  The waitress brings out a giant plate
of sushi that probably cost a fortune. James has insisted on paying for everything—including my plane ticket—and whenever I object, he tells me how he’s making up to four grand per scene and sometimes shoots four scenes a week. I like that he’s saving up by keeping his expenses low. It’s smart and mature, and I’m proud to see him exhibiting those qualities.

  The food is delicious! The tuna, salmon, shrimp, and eel are all amazing. We chat about being able to use chopsticks and how we’re way too cool to ask for forks. Our fifth grade teacher lived in Japan for a while, and we used to have field trips to a sushi place in town so we could all experience the cuisine as part of an effort to provide cultural enrichment. Our school was cool like that.

  James gives me shit when I ask him to let me pay my half of the check, and I eventually give up and let him treat me. It’s cute when he tries to be a gentleman like this. Hard to believe that he’s chivalrous and respectful when you think about all the kinky stuff he’s done and the gargantuan number of women he’s bedded.

  We get back to his apartment, and I’m wiped out from the long day. The boring flight and the time difference kicked my ass, plus I’m sleepy from being so stuffed with food. He lets me take the first shower, and I change into some pajama shorts and a tank top. Last time I wore these skimpy pajamas, he got all hot and bothered, and we ended up having a little romp in the guest bedroom at my house. I can’t say it wasn’t in the back of my mind when I packed this ensemble. It’s not that I want it to happen again—well, maybe I do a little bit—but I like the idea of him finding me sexy. He’s sampled every girl, every type, every shape, every height and race, and it’s cool to think that I would score a high rank on his hotness list.

  His eyes get wide when he sees me, and I know that he’s onto my little game. He gives me a flirty grin as he passes me to go into the bathroom. He knows what I’m up to, and I wonder if he’ll act on it.

  He gets out of the shower and he walks into the living room in just a towel. Clearly he’s going to combat me with a little display of his own. As I sit on the couch, I try not to be too conspicuous as I quickly steal a glance at his washboard abs and broad, toned shoulders. Yep, his hours at the gym have certainly paid off.

  “Get up.” He grins, motioning for me to stand.

  “Hmm?” I reply.

  “You’re sleeping with me,” he says like it’s totally obvious.

  I try to suppress it, but that puts a big smile on my face. He takes my hand and leads me into his bedroom, and I’m beaming. I didn’t want to be presumptuous, but I was practically praying I’d get to sleep all cuddled up to him tonight.

  I get under the covers in his bed, and he gives me a flirty grin as he unwraps his towel and reaches for a pair of boxers from his dresser. My eyes are wide as I try not to gasp. He’s got a perfect ass, and I blush as I catch a little glimpse between his legs. Yeah, that definitely lives up to the legend. I’ve seen it a few times before, but not in the past several years, so it hasn’t entirely lost its scandalous allure.

  When he turns around, he smirks the second he sees my expression. He knows I was surprised, and he totally digs that he ruffled me. He crawls over me on the bed, briefly pausing above me and giving me a sexy smile before he gets under the covers with me.

  “Come on,” he says, “get over here and let me hold you.”

  I can’t help it. I’m beaming from how sweet that sounds. Not come over here and let me fuck you, come over here and let me rip your clothes off, but come over here and let me hold you. He was just subtly flashing me his dick, but all he really wants to do is snuggle. I love it!

  He kisses my forehead as I rest my cheek on his light sprinkling of chest hair. A wave of relaxation and contentment comes over me as he lightly strokes his fingers up and down my back and plays with a lock of my hair. He can be so tender when it comes to me. I smile myself to sleep feeling completely adored.

  Chapter 23

  James

  “STOP MESSING WITH IT. It looks really good,” I say to Lola as she looks in the visor mirror and brushes her fingers through her hair for the zillionth time on the drive to Rick’s house.

  “I just want it to look right,” she says, biting her bottom lip in concentration. I love when she does that. It’s sort of sexy in an innocent way.

  “It does look right, so quit fucking with it,” I say with a laugh.

  She looks great. I don’t know what she’s worried about. Her petite, little body’s looking toned and firm in all the right places. She’s got on a red sundress that gives off kind of a hippie vibe, and her legs are looking mad long in her heeled sandals. Her hair is loose and wavy in that natural way that I’ve always thought was pretty, and she’s always thought looked too messy. She’s got on a little necklace with a small, silver hummingbird that I got her for her fifteenth birthday, which is really sweet and sentimental to me, and it hangs off her neck just above her cleavage—which is lookin’ mighty fine, if I do say so myself. She looks hot, as always, but she’s being all girly and getting self-conscious.

  We pull up in Rick’s driveway, and Lola looks impressed. It’s one of those Spanish villa types of places, and he’s got a fountain in front of the circle drive and gold everything like he’s Donald Trump. Rick’s got money, for sure. He’s been in the business since the late eighties, and he’s worked with some of the biggest porn stars in history—household names that even regular people would recognize. I started out working with him when I was nineteen and he put me in my first porn flick with Shawnna Hendrix, who was one of the biggest stars in porn at the time. She was ten years older than me and on her way to retirement, but that woman rocked my fuckin’ world, and I was hooked on the business after that.

  Rick’s got waiters running around dishing out drinks, and one of them leads us to the backyard, where Rick’s grilling food and everybody’s hanging out around the pool. The whole Sin Cinema gang is here, and I like that Lola’s going to meet my work friends.

  “Come on, let me introduce you to some people,” I say, taking her hand and leading her into the sprawling yard.

  First, I want to introduce her to Rick, since he always makes fun of how much I talk about her. He gives me a giant smile, and his eyes get all big when he sees the gorgeous girl on my arm. That’s right. I told you she was a stunner.

  “Lola, this is Rick, the owner of the company,” I say to her before turning to him. “Rick, this is my best friend, Lola.”

  “Very nice to meet you, sweetheart.” Rick smiles at her as he shakes her hand.

  She grins, and I know what she’s thinking. He looks like a walking stereotype of a porn producer. In real life, he’s a nice dude, but he wants to look like something out of Goodfellas. Eh, to each his own, right?

  “I’ve heard so much about you. This kid won’t shut up about how gorgeous you are. Glad to see he wasn’t bullshitting me. You’re a knockout, honey,” Rick says to her.

  “Jeez, thanks,” she says, blushing. “I’ve heard a lot about you too. James loves working for you.”

  “That’s good to hear, since I love working with him,” Rick politely replies. “He’s gonna be huge. I keep tellin’ him he’s got the makings of a superstar.”

  I smile proudly when Lola nods in agreement.

  We leave Rick so I can take her around and introduce her to people. She meets Rick’s assistant, Christie, who’s in her early forties and sweet as can be. She got into the business decades ago trying to be a star—she’s blond and pretty so it made sense—but she got married and had a son, so she decided fucking onscreen wasn’t for her. Now she’s Rick’s right-hand woman, and she’s basically the one who keeps the whole production office together. She loves Lola—natch—and they have a friendly conversation for a little while. Lola’s easy to like, so I’m not surprised that everyone she meets thinks she’s great.

  “I thought I saw you over here,” someone says as they grab my shoulders from the back. I turn around and see Chad giving me a big smile.

  “Hey
!” I grin at him. “I didn’t see you. I wanted to introduce you to—”

  “Oh, my God, you’re Lola!” He nearly gasps as he takes her hand and plants a playful kiss on her knuckles.

  “Quite the greeting,” she says.

  “Lola, this is my friend, Chad,” I say to her.

  She looks very cheerful as they exchange hellos.

  Chad and Alejandro are basically the nicest dudes you could ever meet, so I’m certain that Lola will get along great with them.

  “Is Alejandro here?” I ask him. “I want her to meet him.”

  “We’re over by the waterfall,” he says, motioning for us to follow him.

  Lola gives me a big smile as we walk over to the little waterfall Rick’s got by the man-made pond in the back yard. She’s heard a lot about these guys, and I know she’s excited to hang out with them. She knows that they were the first people to really befriend me when I moved out here, and even though they knew I could make bank in porn, they never tried to pressure me into it. They were great because they showed me the best routes to get places, where the gourmet markets were—since I love to cook—and even which DMV always has the shortest lines for when I had to get my California license.

  “Honey, look who’s here!” Chad says when we see Alejandro.

  “Is this her?” he gasps.

  “Just as stunning as he said, right?” Chad smiles, and Lola blushes.

  “Lola, it’s such a pleasure to meet you,” Alejandro says to her as he shakes her hand. “You know what, I’m gonna give you a hug because I feel like we’re friends already,” he sweetly adds as he pulls her in.

  She likes it; I can tell from her big smile.

  “Now, you’re out here visiting during your break from school, right?” Chad says as he ushers her to sit down in a chair with them. I follow and sit next to her.