Man of the Year

by Bianca Giovanni

  “James!” she squeals, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss—on the lips!

  “Hey, Kayla!” he says warmly, completely comfortable with her overly affectionate greeting. “You look really nice. I like your hair like that.”

  She’s got it pinned up on one side with a big, black rose clip and the rest hangs down in those curling-iron ringlets. The rose matches her very short black dress, which clings to her body and shows off all her assets. She’s pretty. Really pretty. And she’s up for an award for having anal sex with my boyfriend. Therefore, I hate her.

  “Kayla, this is my girlfriend, Lola,” he says, motioning to me.

  She throws her arms around me and hugs me, her chest pressing into mine. Fantastic, she’s all toned and her boobs are real. I hate her even more.

  “It’s so nice to meet you!” she says gleefully. “I’ve heard so much about you and I’ve seen your pictures on his Instagram. You’re, like, so pretty!”

  “Oh, wow, uh, thanks,” I say, surprised at her bubbly demeanor. This feels like something out of a teen movie.

  “Oh my God, you have the best tits in the world,” she says, reaching out and giving them a squeeze—decidedly less teen movie now. “I wish mine were as big as yours. I’ve been debating having them done, but I’m not sure yet.”

  “No way,” James chimes in as she casually drops her hands from my chest. “Yours are nice, Kayla. A perfect handful and you have really pretty nipples. A boob job could make them all off center. You shouldn’t fuck with ‘em because they’re really good how they are.”

  Really, James? You felt this was the opportune time to compliment her on her on her allegedly “pretty” nipples?

  “Aw! Thanks, sweetie!” she smiles and kisses him—on the mouth again!

  I take a deep breath. She’s not trying to be rude about this and she probably doesn’t know how much this is annoying me. I’ve seen several people here exchange similar greetings—one guy even grabbed a girl and shoved his tongue down her throat before bidding her adieu and walking off with his girlfriend. I have to think about this like it’s a different culture, like how they kiss you on the cheek in Europe.

  “Is this your first award show?” she says, turning to me.

  “Yeah, first time and I’m kind of nervous,” I chuckle.

  “Don’t be,” she waves her hand. “Everybody’s really nice and we’re all just one big, happy family. You’ll probably make some new friends,” she adds with a wink. “I’m sure a lot of us would like to get to know you, since you’re down with us now.”

  James laughs, but disguises it with a cough. He slides his arm around my waist and pulls me against him. “Nah, I’m greedy, so I’m keeping her all to myself,” he says, giving me a sexy glance.

  “Well, if you change your mind, you know you guys are always welcome to join me and Jessica if you want,” she shrugs.

  “Ok, we’ll keep it in mind,” he nods with a big grin.

  We have a little light, cordial conversation and then she kisses his lips and my cheek before departing for the bar.

  “Did she just offer us a threesome?” I ask James, my cheeks pink with embarrassment.

  “Sure did,” he nods and laughs. “I guess, technically, it was a foursome, since she wanted Jessica Star to be there too.”

  “Wow … that’s … ok then, that happened,” I giggle.

  “Welcome to the porn awards, cupcake,” he chuckles and puts his arm around me, pulling me in and kissing the side of my head.

  We mingle with some of his other co-stars and I keep trying to avoid thinking about what he’s done with these girls. Oh, there’s the one he did the nominated threesome scene with. There’s the one from the Best Cunnilingus category. There’s that one who was his partner in the Best Facial scene. It’s times like this when I wish my boyfriend had a regular job. Maybe then I’d be thinking there’s the girl he worked on that big project with, there’s the one who helped him meet that deadline or get the contracts to the client on time. This is awkward. Bizarre and awkward. It’s like a haunted house filled with the Ghosts of Pussy Past.

  I sigh with relief when I spot Chad Rockwell, James’ dear friend and one of my favorite people on the planet. He’s sitting on a bar stool near the far side of the bar and looking completely nonchalant, effortlessly relaxing in his black pants and deep cerulean shirt with black skinny tie as he chats up the bartender.

  “Come on,” I tug James’ arm as I make my way over to our handsome, lanky friend.

  “Baby doll!” Chad beams as he gets up to greet me. He swings me in a big circle and kisses my cheek. “You’re serving pure sex in this dress, sugar! My God! Look at that cleavage. Va va voom!”

  I giggle and blush a little as he scans me from my heels to my hair. Chad’s tall, lean, blonde and blue-eyed—absolutely beautiful and a total flirt, like James. But, unlike James, Chad is a superstar in the gay porn world and he has a wonderful boyfriend named Alejandro, who’s probably around here somewhere.

  “And this studly creature over here,” he smiles, giving James a big hug. “You look so mature in grownup clothes,” he teases.

  James chuckles and bashfully looks down. He does look older and more responsible in this ensemble. Maybe that’s what I’m so drawn to tonight. This is Future James, the handsome, older man I’ll be with years from now.

  “Well, Brangelina, you guys psyched for the awards tomorrow?” he grins. “Your man’s up for the big one, you gonna start the standing ovation when he wins it?”

  “We don’t know if I’m gonna win it,” James modestly responds.

  “You know you are!” Chad laughs. “It’s a given. You were in the hottest movie of the year and you’re retiring. They love to give people their last hurrah.”

  I nod in agreement and James chuckles. It’s rather accurate. The entertainment industry—adult or otherwise—loves to honor people towards the end of their careers rather than during their rise to fame.

  “Yeah, but what about you?” I grin. “You’re in the running for Best Gay Duo Scene, I hear.”

  “Yes, yes, I am pretty amazing, that’s a fact,” he jokes.

  I playfully poke his ribs and tease, “And so modest too.”

  He gives me a little smack on the butt and then hugs me again, pressing his face into my hair with a playful growl.

  I think I’m like a shiny little toy for Chad. He’s always liked me a lot and we’ve gotten along spectacularly since the day we met. He and Alejandro completely adore James. They’re like the protective, supportive, super gay big brothers he never had—since his real big brother, Jonathan, is an arrogant dick. When he moved out to L.A., they made it their personal responsibility to look after him and I think they’re proud of all he’s accomplished in his career. I’m proud of him too … sort of. Having sex on film is a weird thing to be congratulating someone about, but I know the Man of the Year nomination means a lot to him.

  “So, where’s your man?” I ask Chad.

  “He went over there to talk to Amber or somebody,” he says, waving his hand towards the windows. “Have a seat, sugar, and we’ll wait for him to get back.”

  He gets up from his stool and kindly offers it to me. I giggle at the gentlemanly display, but I go ahead and sit down, since I’m the one in the uncomfortable heels. James stands slightly behind me and lightly strokes his fingers over the small of my back while the three of us chat about what to expect tomorrow night.

  Chad says the awards are fun, but that the after-parties are completely wild. James vows to stick with me and be my guide through the debauchery, which I appreciate. I’m not much of a party girl anyway, and I have a feeling that these people party pretty fucking hard.

  Alejandro comes over, his goatee and stubble giving off a rough-but-model-esque vibe. He’s shorter than James and Chad, but very muscular and he has a full sleeve of elaborate Day of the Dead tattoos, which are currently covered by a red, knit shirt with a v-neck that comes halfway down his be
autiful, caramel brown chest.

  “Lola!” he says, giving me a little squeeze around the waist. “It’s good to see you, baby girl.”

  “You too!” I smile, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

  He greets James with a warm hug and then stands next to Chad to chat with us.

  “I heard you couldn’t decide on a dress,” he teases when we get to the subject of the red carpet.

  “I know!” I laugh. “I couldn’t narrow it down—”

  “So we schlepped three dresses,” James laughs, bumping me with his hip.

  “Whatever! I needed choices!” I giggle. “I was worried because I don’t want to look slutty, but a lot of the things I tried on made me too big up top—which was the last thing I wanted at an event like this.” In a room full of silicone starlets, my goal was to keep my bosom on the modest side.

  “So you’ve got big boobs. What’s the big deal? You should roll with it. At least yours didn't come from a surgeon,” Chad waves his hand like he’s dismissing everyone else in the room.

  “But that also means mine are subject to the laws of gravity, unlike most of the girls here,” I joke.

  “And that means I get to watch the helicopter effect when I get you on your back,” James smiles mischievously.

  “James!” I gasp before giggling wildly.

  Chad laughs and sips his drink while Alejandro grins broadly and reaches for his cocktail.

  “You should have seen the fuckin’ ordeal we had to go through for these dresses, dude,” James chuckles. “It was like finding the goddamn Holy Grail to get this girl a dress. First it was too short, then the next one was too formal, the one after that hugged her ass too much. I was like, ‘Hey, Goldilocks, pick one and let’s go!’”

  “Shut up!” I giggle. “It’s my first award show, I’m allowed to be particular!”

  The guys laugh and James kisses the side of my head.

  “She looks fuckin’ hot in the three that she finally picked, though,” he says. “I’ll be proud to stand next to her in any of them.”

  “Aw!” Chad teases, grabbing his heart.

  “Zip it!” James chuckles.

  Soon, I’ve had two glasses of champagne and I need to use the facilities, so I excuse myself. As I’m making my way back to the table, I see Ethan Dane, James’ chief rival and the number two most recognizable male porn star in the biz. Ethan is very handsome, but several inches shorter than James. His light brown hair is shaggy now and hangs around his face like a wispy halo. His blue eyes light up when he spots me. I’ve talked to him a few times at Sin Cinema events and he likes to flirt with me in front of James, which I assume is part of the rivalry thing.

  “Lola, it’s so good to see you!” he smiles and gives me a flirtatious hug, his hands flattening on the small of my back.

  “You too, Ethan,” I reply, hugging him back. No harm in a hug when girls here were kissing James on the lips in their friendly greetings.

  “You look beautiful,” he says, stepping back to admire me, his flattery making me blush. “It’s so great that you’re out here for this. I think you’ll have a lot of fun.”

  “It’s going to be an adventure, that’s for sure,” I reply with a little laugh.

  “You guys are still going to be sitting at the SC table tomorrow, right? Even with the whole Rick situation?” he asks.

  Rick is the owner of Sin Cinema and the man responsible for locking James into a bullshit contract with Eva Satana, the horrible dominatrix who forced him to participate in her extreme BDSM movies. James and Rick got into a screaming match after Eva was arrested for a litany of crimes, including child porn, and James told Rick in no uncertain terms exactly what he could do with his contract. Since then, things between the two have been frosty to say the least and I know James isn’t particularly looking forward to sharing the table with Rick at the awards tomorrow.

  “Yeah, we’ll be at the Sin Cinema table,” I nod. “I think James is just going to try to sit somewhere far from Rick. Hopefully there won’t be a brawl in the middle of the show. I’d have to jump in and kick that son of bitch’s ass myself.”

  Ethan laughs and subtly checks me out again. He’s trying to be discrete about it, but I still notice. I don’t think it’s because he finds me irresistible or anything like that. I think it’s more about the competition of flirting with me because I’m with James.

  “I hope I can sit somewhere near you,” he smiles. “Get to look at something beautiful all night.”

  I blush demurely.

  “He’s lucky,” he says after a short pause. “He’ll be with the most stunning woman in the room.”

  “Laying on the charm pretty thick there, Ethan,” I tease.

  “Just speaking my mind,” he chuckles and gives me a sexy smile.

  I shake my head and it’s possible that I bat my eyes. Maybe just a little bit. A totally normal response when a cute guy is hitting on you, even if you have absolutely no intention of entertaining his offer.

  “Well, I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow, sweetheart,” he says, giving me a little kiss on the cheek. “And good luck to James on the Man of the Year award.”

  “Thanks, Ethan,” I smile. “Good luck to you too.”

  I feel like it’s the polite thing to say, though I know that both Ethan and James are up for the coveted award, so I don’t know if I should be wishing luck to my boyfriend’s competitor.

  “Thank you, gorgeous,” he nods with a wink.

  Ethan’s charming, very much like James, and I know that he’ll probably amp up the flirtation tomorrow to try to ruffle James, especially if it's my man who walks away with that trophy.

  I’m still feeling a little flushed as I make my way back to the bar. It’s almost hilarious to me that I went through years of never having any men interested in me and now I have two porn stars who want to plant their flag on me as part of some sort of power display. Guys and their possessive acts of male dominance. I roll my eyes as the thought crosses my mind.

  My flattered smile fades when I see that my own porn star rival, Tara Morgan, has found her way to my group. I met her several years ago and I could tell right away that she was carrying a pretty major torch for James. He and I were just friends at the time, but she stared me down like I’d stolen her boyfriend or something. I remember her and her friend referring to me as “the high school girl” and looking down their noses at me the whole day. I found out later that Tara and James had a few off-screen flings after shoots and that he was pretty sure she wanted something more than just sex, but that he didn’t want to give it to her.

  She’s got on an incredibly short ice blue mini dress, way too much makeup and she’s holding what appears to be an appletini in her French manicured hand. Her other hand rests on James’ arm, and I don’t care for that one bit. She’s laughing and pretending that she’s having the greatest time in the world while she chats with the guys.

  On average, I find that porn stars are very affectionate and their physical boundaries are … let’s just say more lenient than your average person. They think nothing of kissing each other on the lips or halfway groping each other in public—just like with Kayla earlier tonight. Tara Morgan, however, is a different story. Her motivation is decidedly more sinister than the other girls in this room.

  “Hey, Tara,” I say, giving her one of those subtle, warning glances. Bitch, you better get your hands off my man!

  “Hi, Lola,” she grins, spitefully leaning closer to James.

  He shifts a little, loosening her grip on him as Chad and Alejandro look at me like they’re ready for this to break into a Jerry Springer girl fight.

  “How are you doing tonight?” I ask her with chilly politeness.

  “Great! So excited for tomorrow! You’re probably not used to anything like this, huh?” she says with that patronizing cuteness that makes me want to slap her.

  “Nope, never been to a porn award show before,” I shake my head, sticking to the facts in an effort to refrain
from saying what I’m currently thinking about her, her hand on James’ arm, her slutty dress or the fact that I can see a little bit of the glue from her extensions towards the back of her head.

  “These things are so fun,” she smiles. “We always have a good time, don’t we, sexy?” she adds, running her fingers down James’ chest. “Every year, you and me, we just get wild.”

  “Yeah, it’s always pretty fun,” he smiles subtly, inching back a bit more. Well done, James!

  “Tomorrow’s gonna be like ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ for you,” she giggles annoyingly. “I hope your ready for some craziness.”

  I give her a fake smile and shrug. “I’m sure it’ll be just lovely,” I say, laying on the sarcasm just a bit too thickly to go unnoticed.

  “I’m nervous.” She pretends to bite her nails. “I hope we win for our scene.” She puts her hand on his stomach and gives him a sexy smile. “I want that trophy so everyone can know that I give the best blowjobs.”

  Chad looks at me and nearly snickers when I dramatically roll my eyes.

  “Nobody deepthroats like me, huh? It was so fun to shoot, wasn’t it?” she smiles at my boyfriend again. That's right, my boyfriend. Mine!

  “Yeah, you ... uh ... you have a talent,” he replies. From his body language, I think he’s starting to feel a little awkward about where this conversation is going.

  Chad and Alejandro look very amused as they watch this train wreck unfold. They’ve got two tickets to Mean Girls: The Live Show and they’re on the edge of their seats to see my reaction—which, for now, is calm and collected.

  “One of the best shoots ever,” she says, giving me a shady, sideways glance before leaning into James and looking up at him. “It was one of those ones where you just throw out the rules and live in the moment, but we always have it like that because I just get so wrapped up in you. I wasn’t even supposed to swallow that day, remember? But I did it anyway because we were just so into it. I always have the hottest shoots with you.”

  Fucking bitch!

  “Had,” James corrects her. “You had the hottest shoots with me. I’m out of the game now, remember?”