PORN STARS... More Than Just Moans

by Joseph, Fabiola;L. Ramsey, Matthew

  “No, answer me with your mouth, I want to make sure that there are no misunderstandings.”

  She cried a little more before mustering enough strength to tell him what he wanted to hear, “Yes, I got it, never come back.”

  Tears were pouring out of her eyes like a waterfall. Her make-up was now all over her face with the colors merging and making it look like mud. I was now fighting back the need to lean back and let out a long laugh. I watched as Mr. Cappello stood back up and turned to leave, but then he stopped. He reached for the stack she had taken off of his desk and un-did the paper band that held all of the bills together. He walked back over to her and spoke directly to her.

  “Oh, and by the way, I’m gonna let you keep the ten-k you claim you only stole, and every time you spend a cent out of it I want you to remember this day. To tell you the truth, I’ve been waiting on it for a while. I knew it wouldn’t be long before you showed us all the trash you really are.”

  With that he threw the stack of bills against her head as if it were a game of 52-pick-up.

  “Don’t even think about going to the police because my son smacked your ass, I’ll press charges against you for theft and make you a felon before you can even blink.”

  “But I didn’t do it, I really didn’t take all of that money,” she said sounding more broken than before.

  Something in her voice must have hit a nerve because the next thing I knew, Mr. Cappello was asking everyone to go back out to the main set. Once we were all seated, he filled the men on what had just happened. Then he said the words that were sure to seal Jamar’s and my fate.

  “So since she’s insisting that she only stole the money off of my desk and not the money in my safe, we’ll all just go through the tapes and see, not that it would matter anyway, a thief is a thief.”

  He sent the guards to collect the tapes from his office, hallways, and ladies locker room. As we waited, someone asked if we were allowed to go to the bathroom. Breeze said yes, but that we still weren’t allowed to leave. He said that we could go for a smoke, coffee, or bathroom, but just had to make sure to be back in 15 minutes. I looked over at Jamar and he knew to follow me. DeeDee stayed with her man, thank god.

  *****

  “What in the fuck did you get me into?”

  Jamar was in a panic and I couldn’t blame him. My head was spinning, too.

  “Calm down,” I told him as we walked over by his car. I looked around and made sure that no one was in earshot of our conversation.

  “I’m gonna take the blame for everything. Don’t worry about it.” I didn’t know what else to say. However, I knew that I wouldn’t let him go down for my bullshit.

  “They’re gonna see me going into the locker room, not you,” he said, while pointing in my face and rolling his eyes and head. His voice was even higher than normal. I knew that he had a damn good reason to be pissed, so I wasn’t going to hold his attitude against him. His fag flag, however, was sure as hell waving. I guess the saying was true; a gay guy can’t hide the truth about himself when he’s mad, happy, or scared.

  “Just trust me, Jamar, you will not go down for this.”

  As the words left my mouth, I saw DeeDee in the corner of my eye running our way. She was saying something, but because of her heavy breathing, I could not make it out. It wasn’t until she got close that I understood what she was saying. But still, I thought I heard wrong.

  “They what?” I asked, looking at Jamar.

  “Girl, it seems that Miss Tanya took the tape out of Bobby’s office and the rest of the cameras had no tape in them. The guards never turned them on. Bobby is losing his shit in there. He already told the head security guy he was fired.”

  I took off walking without a word. I wanted to get back inside and hear my good news for myself. Jamar and DeeDee were right behind me. Once on set, hearing Mr. Cappello going off on Breeze and the guards, I knew it was all true.

  “HOW FUCKING STUPID CAN YOU ALL BE? I’M PAYING GOOD MONEY TO MAKE SURE THIS PLACE IS SECURE AND YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT ALL THIS TIME THE SECURITY CAMERAS WEREN’T EVEN FILMING?”

  He looked around the room in disbelief.

  “AND YOU,” he said, pointing at Breeze.

  “YOU’RE FUCKING USELESS. I COULD NEVER IMAGINE TURNING FANTASY PICTURES OVER TO YOU. YOU CAN’T EVEN MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE AROUND HERE ARE DOING THEIR JOB!”

  “THAT’S NOT MY FUCKING JOB!” Breeze yelled back. In the middle of their screaming match, Tanya stepped up and tried her hardest to keep her top slot as Breeze’s queen bee.

  “So, you can’t fire me now. There’s no proof, Bobby. You all have to just take some time and think this over. None of it makes sense,” she said, still pleading with both Breeze and his dad.

  “This just proves that you’re smarter than I ever gave you credit for. You have 10 minutes to grab your shit and get off of my property.” She looked at Breeze for support, but found none.

  “Don’t look at me and don’t even think about bringing your trifling ass back to my house. I’ll have your things brought to you. Just call the front desk and let them know where you will be.”

  Breeze looked her over for what seemed would be the final time and then walked away in disgust. His father took off the other way, filled with anger. As she stood there like a wet dog, I lost it. I laughed because I was happy; I laughed because she lost and I laughed because I had won. It was loud, it was real, and it was meant for her to hear. She looked over at me through slanted eyes and just started to cry even harder. As Jamar and DeeDee joined in on the festivities and giggled along with me, I prayed that she knew why I was laughing. I watched the security men lead her to the locker room to collect her things and then watched them escort her off the premises. I waited as Jamar went to the nurse’s office and got my things before all three of us headed to the local bar. Once there I went to the ladies bathroom, made sure I was by myself, and then crushed the tape under my heel. I cracked it open, pulled out the film and made sure it was destroyed past recognition. After I was done, I headed back out to the bar area, brought three rounds of drinks for Jamar, DeeDee and I, and toasted before every drink. “Ding dong, the witch is dead, the witch is dead, the witch is dead. Ding, dong, the wicked witch is dead.” As they both sang along with me.

  *****

  With all of the drama behind me it was time to blow L.A. and head for my promised land. With a short flight, it was lights, dancing, and action. Being in Vegas always got my juices flowing. I don’t know if it was the fact that Lust was there or if it was the thought of my upcoming new life there, but I loved it. I had just had another sold out show with a standing ovation at the end of it. My dressing room was filled with flowers from the club, high rollers, celebs, and admires. Lanell, being my number one fan, provided me with the biggest bouquet of them all.

  “So have you thought any more about making this your day job?” Lust asked as I sat at the vanity reading the cards that came with the flowers. I looked at him through the mirror. He looked so damn sexy with his dark Armani suit on. His dreads were pulled back and I could tell that he had just gotten them twisted. His piercing gray eyes looked as far deep into me as they did that first night we met in The Devil’s Den.

  “Of course I have baby. I’m just waiting for the right time to announce my decision,” I said as I got up and stood in front of him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and melted under his touch.

  “But how long is that gonna take, what’s holding you back?” he asked as I tried to find the answer to his question within myself. The truth was I really didn’t know, and he once again sensed it.

  “I think I may have something that’s gonna help you say fuck L.A., I’m ready for my new life,” he said as he stepped back and pulled at the knot on my robe.

  “Can’t you even wait until we get to the hotel?” I asked thinking that he wanted sex. I kissed his warm lips only to have him gently push me away and laugh.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter; I’m not t
alking about sex. I have something I want to show you.”

  “So what is this about?” I asked looking down at my open robe.

  “Get dressed and I’ll have the driver take us to what I want to show you. Now promise me you’ll keep your eyes close until we get there,” he said while smiling from ear to ear.

  “I promise.”

  He looked at me like he knew I was lying. He told himself that he would just have to cover my eyes himself.

  “I love you Jazzy.”

  “I love you too,” I told him as he walked out of my dressing room.

  *****

  The ride to Lanell’s secret destination was short. My mind raced as I thought of what this game changer could be. My stomach did flips when the thought of him proposing to me ran across my mind. I loved him and all, but I wasn’t ready for that.

  “Okay, Jasmine we’re almost there,” Lanell said as he helped me out of the car. With his help, I managed to get to whatever he was about to show me or tell me.

  “Okay, enough if enough, I’m about to open my eyes,” I said frustrated with the wait. He begged me to give him another few minutes before finally allowing me to open them.

  “Where am I?” I asked as I looked around the empty club.

  “This is for us baby. I want to open this club and have you perform in it like you do at the Black Oasis.”

  My mouth dropped open. I started to look around and took it all in, it was huge. It was just as big as the Black Oasis, or even bigger. I walked over to the stage, climbed the stairs and stood in the center of it.

  “What do you mean this is for us?”

  “Well, I figured that after your contract is up with Gina you would have made a real name for yourself out here. People would want to come to the club that A- you either perform at, or B- the club that Lust and Jezebel own, but to tell you the truth, I don’t care either way. You can own it and never perform here or you could be the main act. Just as long as I’m with you every day, I’ll be fine.”

  Wow, that was a lot to take in, but still everything about what he was saying felt right. My love for him was right, Vegas was right, and now this place was right, too. I got off of the stage and walked over to him. I just stood there looking at him doing two things. I wondered how I had managed to find him in a world that was so full of dead souls. It wasn’t easy finding that one true person whose heart beat thumped to the same beat as yours, but there he was, the man that was meant to save me. And secondly, I stood there and thanked God that I had found him. Tears streamed down my face as I thanked him from the bottom of my heart.

  “Wait, don’t thank me yet, you haven’t seen this yet.”

  He took my hand and took me over to a door. Behind it was some big storage unit. I felt around for the switch on the wall and once he hit it, a sign that was as wide as the room lit up.

  “That’s the name of the club,” he said as he stood behind me and kissed my neck.

  “I’m gonna name it Jezebels.”

  I started to really cry, and I’m not talking about that cute “oh, my god I’m so touched” cry. No, I let the ugly “oh, shit I can’t believe this is happening” cry out.

  “Don’t fall apart on me now, I haven’t even asked you to come up to Santa Barbara with me tomorrow. It’s my parent’s anniversary and I want you to come, will you?”

  I couldn’t stop what was happening. It was just… everything was just so right. I couldn’t help the tears, I couldn’t help my happiness. So with my eyes bloodshot red, my heart racing, and my knees buckling, I shook my head yes, because I was speechless.

  Chapter 24

  “It’s nice to finally meet you again Krave.”

  Back in the nurse’s office I was trying to calm down and relax. I couldn’t believe I just helped frame someone. Who does that? What the hell did Jasmine get me involved in? I thought if I talked about something else it would ease my mind.

  “Jazzy, are you feeling better now that you’re lying down?”

  “Not really, but I just took some more pain pills so they should kick in soon.”

  “Can I get you anything else to make you feel more comfortable?”

  “Unless you can make my bathtub appear, with an already rolled up blunt in an ashtray on the side of the tub…then no.”

  We both started to laugh before being interrupted by DeeDee charging in the nurse’s office like she was still hyped up and ready for round two. Mr. Cappello was right behind his mistress trying to calm her down. Jasmine and I watched on as Mr. Cappello reminded her that he was the boss and in charge, but in the sweetest, kindest way possible. It seemed like DeeDee understood and was actually smiling now instead of looking like the brown female version of the Incredible Hulk. Mr. Cappello smiled and waved at Jasmine and I before telling DeeDee he was heading up to his office to get his things so they could leave. Jasmine looked at me like she was worried. Great, just as I was starting to feel better my heart started beating faster again. I knew any second now Mr. Cappello was going to flip out. What I didn’t expect was for the sirens to go off, and Mr. Cappello yelling on the loud speaker that he was locking down the place, and that no one could leave. I started praying that no one saw what Jasmine and I did. I had no idea how I would explain myself. I jumped up ready to get this over with and to see what was going to happen. DeeDee and I helped Jasmine up, and made our way out to the warehouse. There were only forty people at work that day, so I knew Mr. Cappello wasn’t leaving until he found his money. He was a business man, and took pride in his company so I knew how much that money meant to him. Even though he had millions in the bank, he wasn’t going to allow someone to disrespect him, and steal his petty cash. I stood there, nervous as hell, as Mr. Cappello, Breeze, and the security guards walked over to us.

  “LISTEN UP, I DON’T KNOW WHO THE FUCK WOULD BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO GO INTO MY OFFICE AND TAKE MONEY OUT OF THERE BUT IF YOU’RE STILL HERE THEN THAT MEANS THE MONEY IS HERE TOO. AND I WILL TEAR THIS PLACE APART BEFORE I LET ANY OF YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS.”

  I knew it, he was going to have us there all night if need be. I had no idea why Breeze separated the men from the women until he explained that the men’s locker room was being searched first as everyone emptied their pockets. I guess they assumed only a man would have the balls to steal from them, so why waste time searching the women first. I probably looked like the thief, because I was shaking. I was getting antsy and wanted to say you’re wasting your time, search the women’s locker room, but as I looked at Jasmine, she mouthed “relax”. I knew I needed to just play along, and not fuck it up. Our lives, in a sense, were depending on it. Every time I would try and convince myself that everything was going to be okay, I would get scared and paranoid all over again. If Breeze and his dad had money to pay for an on-call nurse, on-call doctor, and four security guards, then I knew they had to have security cameras. How else were the security guards watching what went on at Fantasy Pictures, when ninety percent of the time they were in their office? The other ten percent was when they would walk by the set pretending like they were checking to see if everything was okay, but really just trying to get a peek of the hot action that was being filmed. I know at least two of them were on the down low, because I noticed how they always slowed down as they walked pass the gay shoots. Realizing all of this I started to get sick to my stomach. I almost threw up on the table as they looked to see if anyone had a lot of cash in front of them. Thankfully all I had on me was my wallet with three hundred dollars in it, my cell phone, and my car keys. After the table search, Breeze led us into the men’s locker room. I looked back at Jasmine like this is it, here we go. Inside the locker room I felt like we were in prison and Mr. Cappello was the warden.

  “EVERYONE STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR LOCKER AND DON’T MOVE UNTIL WE ARE FINISHED SEARCHING ALL OF THEM. BEFORE WE START DOES ANYONE JUST WANT TO CONFESS NOW? IF YOU DO IT WILL SAVE US A LOT OF TIME, SO I PROMISE YOU I WON’T PRESS CHARGES!”

  For a second I felt like a little bitch because I wanted
to just confess, get everything off my chest, and get it over with. I felt so bad for betraying the man who had helped make my life what it had become, perfect; but I knew I couldn’t rat out my best friend. She never would’ve forgiven me. If they had me on tape, and played back the footage then that was a different story, but for that moment I just stood in front of my locker feeling scared but safe knowing nothing but my gym bag was in there. They searched the first few lockers and everything was going smoothly until Phill Driver, opened up his locker, started throwing everything out of it, while yelling in his strong Spanish accent.

  “This is fucking crazy. Here search through all of my stuff already, I need to get out of here. I have things to do. First that crazy bitch ruins our film, and now I’m being held hostage over some missing money.”

  The security guards ran over and grabbed him while Mr. Cappello started yelling.

  “I DON’T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, AND I KNOW YOU HEARD MY SON SAY DON’T OPEN YOUR LOCKER UNTIL WE TELL YOU TO. ARE YOU GUILTY AND TRYING TO MOVE THE MONEY, PHILL?”

  “With all due respect, boss, you know I was on the set filming today. I was there the entire time. How would I have time to get up to your office, find out where you keep your money, put it in my locker, and get back to the set, and wait until all of this went down? Can you just check my stuff so I can be excused? I need to leave, or I’m going to be late for my part time job.”

  Mr. Cappello looked him in his eyes for a minute, and it looked like he believed him because he finally responded.

  “Search all of his stuff, and then I want one of you to escort him to his car. Make sure you check the car too, and if everything is clear let him go, and when you’re finished make sure you get back in here right away.”

  I waited patiently because I knew my locker was next. I just wanted that day to be over with and know I was fully in the clear. Phill Driver was cleared and escorted out before Mr. Cappello and the other security guard approached me.