by Luke Young
Outside the guest room, he stopped in his tracks when he heard Jillian’s say, “It will fit. Just push down hard.”
Brian’s jaw fell open as he let out a near silent gasp. He leaned against the wall just outside the open door, his eyes wide with alarm as he listened to the goings on.
“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked, his words pained with struggle. He moaned then said, “It’s not going to fit.”
“Fuck!” He whispered as he tried to summon the courage. Could he bear to see his wife having sex with another man. He brought this on himself. She must have wanted to try Jeremy out alone before bringing them all together or maybe this was her plan all along.
“How are you doing?” Jillian nagged impatiently.
“Um, not good,” Jeremy complained.
“Keep trying,” Jillian said.
“I think I’ve almost…”
The jealous husband listened keenly. Next he heard struggling followed by a grunt before the sound of someone landing on the bed springs spilled through of the open door.
“Got it,” Jeremy said.
Pursing his lips together, Brian balled his hands up into fists then turned toward the door. He covered his eyes with his hands as he stepped blindly into the room, grimacing. “I can’t believe you’re actually fucking him!”
“What?” Jillian turned to discover her husband standing there with his hands over his face. “What did you say?”
Jeremy shared a look of dismay with Jillian before they both just stared at Brian, waiting.
When Brian lowered his hands and his eyes finally adjusted to discover both his wife and his friend not actually having sex, but obviously making the bed, both fully dressed and gazing at him like he was out of his freaking mind all he could say was, “Oh, hi.”
“Did you say I was fucking him?”
“How, um, how long was I asleep?” Brian asked, sheepishly.
“I don’t know like an hour maybe. We figured you could use a nap.” Jillian replied annoyed. “Answer the question.”
“Wait, don’t turn this around on me. I’m not stupid!” Brian shot her a pointed look. “I know something’s going on behind my back here.”
“Yeah, we’re making the bed.” Jillian sighed. “He spilled his water bottle all over the sheets and we’re changing them.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Brian placed his hands on his hips. “But I’ve seen you guys whispering and I heard you on the phone plotting this whole thing.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jillian glanced to Jeremy before returning to her crazy husband.
Jeremy motioned between himself and Jillian. “Dude, we were the ones smoking pot so aren’t we supposed to be the paranoid ones around here?”
“I’m not paranoid. You’ve been getting me ready for this threesome for months now,” Brian fired back.
“Is this what you’ve been acting so edgy about?” Jillian gazed at him perplexed, her jaw hanging open. “You think I’m trying to get the three of us in bed together?”
“Don’t even…” Brian frowned. “I read your little chapter when we were in New York. I know what you’ve got on your mind.”
“What chapter?”
“You’ve got Brice sucking off some guy.” Brian glanced between the two co-conspirators.
“Yes, I wrote about that.” Folding her arms, she stared him down. “I am a writer.”
“And I read the rest of it too. I mean, is there anything that Brice won’t do?” He shot her a sickened look.
“Again, I’m a writer.”
“Uh-huh.” Brian let out a humorless chuckle. “And you brought the strap-on with you on our trip to New York.”
“Dude, you’re letting her bang you with a strap-on.” Jeremy cringed.
“Like she hasn’t told you all about this,” Brian grumbled then turned his attention to Jillian. “You’ve had your eyes on his cock since the sauna.”
“That’s right.” Jillian nodded and added condescendingly, “I can’t stop looking at his big, amazing penis.”
“I heard you say it wasn’t going to be too big for me,” Brian began. “So you can just stop pretending like I’m the crazy one around here.”
Jillian’s eyes widened for a moment and her angry expression melted away slightly before she turned to Jeremy, taking a deep breath. “You’re right. You’re right. We should probably come clean.”
“Good. Yeah, I want to hear all of it.” Brian plopped down in a chair, sulking. “I think.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jeremy replied, hesitantly.
“I’ve been wanting you to experience a man for a long, long time.” Jillian ran a seductive finger over her lips. “To know what it feels like to have him inside your mouth and other places… thrusting and pleasing you.”
Brian swallowed hard, his gaze going from his friend to his wife then back again before looking shyly to the floor.
“I figured it would be a special birthday present for you.” Jillian cocked her head wearing a sexy smile as she moved to Brian and knelt before him. Placing her hands on his knees, she slowly ran them up his thighs, slipping her fingers knuckle deep under his shorts. She turned back to Jeremy. “Isn’t there anything you want to say?”
“What?” Jeremy’s eyes bugged out a bit.
“Isn’t there anything you want to say to Brian?”
“Oh, yes, I’ve been wanting to, um, you know, be with another man too. I’ve been attracted to you since college.”
“You have?” Brian ran his hands over his hair. “I knew you were. I wasn’t imagining all of this.”
Placing her hand on his chin, Jillian gazed into her husband’s eyes and began slowly, “This is going to be a night you’ll never…” She covered her mouth then a squeal escaped from her lips before she burst into laughter, flopping her head down on his lap.
“Are you crying?” Initially, Brian wore a look of utter bewilderment then he craned his neck to the side to see his wife’s smiling face.
She lifted up from him pressing her lips together as tears streamed down her chin. She fought to get out the words. “I’m… laughing… so hard I’m losing it.”
Brian’s face sank as the realization smacked him in the head.
Jillian turned to Jeremy as she giggled then she rose to her feet, stepping back to sit on the bed. “First that phone call you heard was about your birthday present. Your friend over here has a connection at the Wilson company and that tennis racquet that’s nearly impossible to find, he was able to get for you, you big lunatic.”
“You got me a Pro Staff 85 Original?” Brian asked.
“No, we got you two,” Jillian replied.
“Two.” Brian sighed. “Shit.”
“So now you’ve spoiled your big birthday surprise.” Jillian placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head.
“And that’s what we were whispering about. The airline lost them.” Jeremy said then he added fighting back his own laughter, “And dude, as hard as it is to believe I really don’t want you sucking me off.”
“I feel like such an idiot.” Brian closed his eyes.
Jillian gave him a tender smile as she rose from the bed and sat down in his lap, wrapping her arms around him. “You know I love you and we can say anything to each other. Do you really think if I were trying to put a threesome together with you I wouldn’t talk to you about it first?”
“I don’t know. I guess not.”
“Silly man.” Grimacing, she nodded. “I don’t think I would try to trick you into one.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well so I think my imagination has been running wild.”
“Evidently.” She kissed him on the cheek. “It’s late and we have a big day tomorrow. So maybe we should all go to bed.” She widened her eyes and held back a laugh. “I mean go to our own respective beds.”
“Okay.” Brian frowned.
“To be clear.” Jillian rose to her feet and pointed to Jeremy, speaking as if she were talking to a child, “He wi
ll be in here.”
“Uh-huh.” Brian stood arms folded, pressing his lips together in a firm line.
“And we…” She took him by the arm. “… we’ll be in our room.”
Brian held back a smile. “I guess I deserve that.”
“Oh, you do,” Jillian said. “Now, let’s all finish making the bed so we can move on from this.”
The next morning at breakfast the three agreed to never discuss the misunderstanding again, to tell no one about it and to basically pretend like it never happened. They also agreed that Brian was a little crazy. As the pancakes were being plated Jeremy received a call that the airline had located his luggage along with the tennis racquets. It was all delivered to the house before the party started and when Brian opened his special gift, in front of all their guests, he put on a decent performance acting surprised.
23
Alex and Paula Smith sat on opposite ends of the couch across from Victoria’s desk as the therapist gave them a supportive smile. Alex’s arms were folded across his chest and he wore a look of solemn despair. Paula glanced to her husband hesitantly, sliding her hand slowly toward him, closing half the distance before pulling it back.
Victoria gave Paula a hopeful smile then focused her attention on her husband. “Alex, I want to thank you for coming in today. As you know I’ve met with your wife a number of times and I believe we’ve made some progress that we’d like to share. She’s told me how supportive you’ve been through all this.”
Alex opened his mouth to speak but didn’t utter a word. Instead he balled his fist up and pressed it to his mouth as he fought back tears. Upon seeing his reaction, Paula was suddenly overcome with emotion. She gasped for breath.
“I’m sorry.” Victoria covered her mouth and closed her eyes, pausing for a moment. After she collected herself, she leaned forward, forcing a smile. “One might think this is my first time doing this. Again, I apologize, but it’s not often that I meet with a couple who clearly love each other so deeply. I can see it and I can sense how badly you both are hurting right now.”
“She’s my everything.” Alex shook his head. “I’d just prefer that she didn’t have oral sex with other men.” He raised one eyebrow. “I mean, call me crazy.”
“I think she would prefer that as well.” Victoria began. “And I can appreciate that you seem to have a sense of humor about this situation.”
“Well, not exactly.” Alex sighed. “I guess I’m pretty pissed off about it. I’m making a joke now, but it’s killing me inside. When I close my eyes I see her doing that to my brother. I just can’t get the image out of my brain.”
Paula pressed her palms into her eyes, turning away from her husband, quietly sobbing. Alex glanced to his wife, a lone tear streaming down his face.
Victoria said, “Paula would you like to tell him about our hypnosis session or shall I start?”
After taking a deep breath, Paula glanced to her husband. “I don’t think I can. I think… I don’t know.” She closed her eyes and placed her hands on her trembling knees.
Watching his wife closely, he reached for her, paused a moment with his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he took hold of her hand and squeezed it tightly. “It’s okay.”
Victoria gave them an empathetic smile as she began, “How about I’ll start and Paula can jump in when she’s ready.”
“Okay.” Paula nodded.
“Alex, your wife responded very well to hypnosis and I believe we uncovered a repressed memory that helps explain her behavior.”
“Oh my God…” He sniffled, gazing at his wife then reached over sandwiching her hand between his own. “Was she… was she molested or something?”
“No.” The therapist paused a moment then went through the story in detail. Letting Alex know about the drinking incident, his wife’s upbringing in regard to learning about sex and how she believed that all of this pressure and anxiety led to her sleep walking behavior. She also mentioned how she believed that the recent viewing of pornography led to the sexualizing of her sleep walking and ultimately to her unfortunate experience with his brother, Richard.
Paula found herself unable to contribute during the recounting, but when Victoria was finished, she turned to her husband and uttered one single word, “Sorry.”
Slumping forward, Alex held his face in his hands for a moment before turning toward his wife. “I know you are.”
Victoria asked, “Do you have any questions.”
He paused a moment then looked at Victoria. “But I don’t understand why she did that with my brother and…”
“And what?”
He sighed. “I mean… I don’t want this to come out wrong, but if this is true and she was reliving this experience in her mind as a result of, you know, seeing that X-rated video, why didn’t she do that with me when she was asleep having one of her episodes?”
Victoria took a moment. “I believe that Paula associated that act with something dirty and wrong and she loves you so much that she didn’t or couldn’t experience that with you.”
“Maybe, but I can’t help feeling like I did something wrong or…” He exhaled. “I don’t know.”
Paula turned to him, her eyes welling with tears. “You didn’t do anything. I’m so sorry.”
“No.” He covered his mouth and the married couple gazed into each other’s eyes. “I’m sorry if I made you feel ashamed or bad.”
“Oh my God. No, it’s…” She began, but when he opened up his arms to her, she fell into him and he held her tightly.
Victoria sat back watching it all unfold, dabbing a tissue to her eyes. She knew these two would be all right, eventually. It might take some time and a lot of work, but they would make it.
24
Jillian Nash walked through The Pavilion at Soho Studios in Miami, heading to the writers’ room. She’d been looking forward to the television production starting up again since her radio appearance a few weeks earlier. She stopped to inspect the living room set, cocking her head as she tried to decide if she liked the set decorator’s pillow selection. Suddenly producer, Michael Avers approached wearing a frown. “Heigl is out.”
“What?” Jillian asked.
“She’s out.” Michael shook his head. “She’s in New York.”
“Why?”
“Evidently she just landed a part in the new Woody Allen movie.”
“But what about her contract?”
“Well, it’s the same studio funding his movie so they conveniently found a way for her to step out.”
“Crap.” She sighed. “When do we start shooting her scenes?”
“Today,” he grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
“What are we going to do?”
“The studio sent over another actress. They tell me she’s perfect for the part and is ready to step right in.”
“And she’s here?”
“Yep.” He nodded.
“Okay.” Jillian shot him a skeptical look. “Who?”
“Kathleen Morgan.”
“Who?”
“Have you seen the Justin Timberlake’s new music video?”
“No.”
“Well, she’s the one who shows her breasts and they’re spectacular.”
Jillian frowned as she asked, “And what else has she been in?”
“A couple non speaking roles in commercials. I think she was the woman in the bathtub in one of the Cialis spots.”
Jillian snorted out a laugh with disapproving eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“But I hear she has a lot of natural talent,” he said, attempting a hopeful look and failing miserably.
“Michael, having nice tits isn’t a natural talent.”
He flashed her a grin. “I think most directors in this business would disagree with you there.”
“I’ll bet. So have you met her?”
“Yes, and she seems… nice. She’s in her dressing room if you want to meet her.”
“Okay.”
“Here are some revisions.” He handed over a stack of papers. “Call time is at nine.”
“Thank you.” She grabbed the pages and headed toward the dressing rooms.
It had been one surprise after another with the television show. After a successful first season of only six episodes the series was initially renewed only to be put on indefinite hold two weeks later. The network then reversed their original reversal and set a shooting date for a thirteen-episode season two. A month later after a shakeup of the top network brass the series was cancelled permanently by the new president.
After a mass outpouring of fan support and the network taking yet another look at the project with a fresh set of eyes, it was once again renewed for a second season, but with no firm date set. Months passed until a contract deadline loomed which would have freed the producers to shop the series to a new network. Then and only then was the green light lit. With a new date set the wheels were in motion for another December premier, two years after the first season. Not unprecedented in cable series television, but an awfully long time to wait. With the fan support appearing to still be alive and well along with all major cast members available and re-signed without incident the hope was to get back on track soon.
But now with one of the key roles, that of the famous Victoria Wilde, being given to a no-name actress. An actress whose only claim to fame is that she could sit in a bathtub wearing a hopeful smile, conveying her desire that a certain medication would produce an erection hard enough for penetration. Jillian paused for a moment in the hall simply staring blankly down at the pages. She was not looking forward to this. Not at all.
On the bright side, Kathleen’s recent nudity in the music video might save them from having to use a body double for all the steamy scenes, which her uptight predecessor required. Jillian certainly had her doubts about the continued success of the series and she couldn’t help wondering what might happen next. After knocking twice and hearing a voice from inside, Jillian hesitantly opened the door.