Chapter 145

Despite what had been decided earlier, the only real interaction between individual performers wound up being restricted to the 30-second contests. When the hardcore portion started it turned pretty tame. There were four boy-girl couplings and four all-girl couplings.

Ashley didn't even lend a hand to Lex at the end.

"Well, that went pretty well," Sarah said in the car on the way home. "I really should have thought about the end though. That could have been a mess."

"It turned out OK," Shelly said. "It was a little weird having a different dick in my mouth though."

"You could have stopped," Allie said.

"No, it wasn't a creepy weird," Shelly clarified. "I don't think it's something I'd want to do often. But if the scene concept called for it, I could do it again. I'm still pissed that Adam didn't pick me, though."

"Adam is honest man," Ekaterina said smugly. "I like to suck cock now. Before, I do not like. The man choke me, pull hair. Not now. These men caress cheek. They appreciate talent. They do not treat me like 100-ruble whore in alley."

"No, they don't," Rebecca agreed. "I think that's why I was OK with it. Adam, are you still OK?"

It was a question everyone had been putting off asking.

"Yeah," Adam said. "I'm really surprised at that. I don't think I'd want you doing hardcore stuff with even those guys. God, I am a fucking hypocrite, aren't I? I have stuck my cock into 25 different twats in the past three months."

"Adam, it is as much what we want as it is what you want," Allie said. "You're not asking us to refrain from something we want to do. Today was a performance. Just like you perform at 'Bountiful Assets.' Do I like Timm, Jason and Cameron? Yes. In fact, I adore them. Do I love them like I love you? Not even remotely. But I do trust them. That's the hardest part for me, Adam. Until I met you I hadn't trusted a man since my father. Now I know six or seven men I trust with my life. I found I enjoyed today much more than I did anything before I met you. I thought it was a pretty cool concept that required a little more from me as an actress than I usually give. But as much as I like those guys, it wasn't personal. What you and I did after the contests was purely personal. Does that make sense?"

"It does to me," Rebecca said. "That is almost exactly what I was thinking when I agreed to this. Men and women are different. I don't mind having you loaned out to our friends – at this point. When they're out of the business and ready to move on, I think my opinion will change. Just like I would balk if girls who have ample opportunities to find a man of their own tried to borrow you. Despite the show she put on today, I would be opposed to allowing Rachelle to visit our bed. Well, let me rephrase that. I would be opposed to allowing Rachelle to visit our bed when Adam was planning to participate. If she wants to play a little with us girls, I think I'm good with that."

"But the difference is murky," Shelly pointed out. "If Rachelle wanted to stay and join the party tonight, we would have let her. We would even have allowed her to work with Adam, too."

"No we wouldn't have," Adam said firmly. "That is one line I will never cross. If Beth starts dating Jason, I will not work with her again. I mean probably not even if they break up."

"What about Katey and Meredith?" Rebecca asked.

"The same holds true," Adam said. "It's why I made sure I spoke to Sean and Walt tonight while you guys were on the phone with Mary and Rachelle. I know guys and I know nothing can end a friendship between two men quicker than a woman."

"I'm not saying this to suggest it is something we should worry about," Rebecca said softly, "but what if one of us leaves?"

The looks the others gave her told her immediately that they disregarded her disclaimer.

"I said it is not something we need to worry about but it could happen," she said. "Would you still work with say, and this is just an example, me if I left the group?"

Adam took a deep breath and considered his answer.

"I'm not thinking anything about that," Rebecca added quickly. "I swear, it is just a hypothetical question."

"I know it is," Adam said. "I was just thinking about it before I spoke. My initial reaction is no. But I think it would depend upon how things ended. If you found that you no longer wanted to be part of a group environment and were open and honest about it, I think I would consider working with you. If you somehow tried to subvert the group or left on bad terms, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't."

"So we could work together if we were still friends," Rebecca said. "That is the whole point."

"But if you started to date someone else, I probably wouldn't," Adam corrected.

"Adam, some of the women you've worked with are married," Allie pointed out. "Some of them have boyfriends or girlfriends, too."

"But I don't know that," Adam said. "I don't see the woman hanging out at the park with her guy, so I can ignore it. Besides, I have no emotional attachment to those women. I do with this group. Even those who have started to come by recently are important to me. I wouldn't do something to jeopardize their future happiness. Working with Rachelle or Mary – or even Meredith or Katey – might do that."

"And they say a hard dick has no conscience," Sarah said with a laugh. "Can we put aside serious conversations for a while? I just want to sit back and put today behind me. It worked out well but it was a hell of a lot of work."

"For you," Adam said. "The rest of us had like a 10-hour party. You really should have delegated some of the stuff you had going on."

"Good advice coming from you," Sarah said with a smile. "But you're right. I got a little proprietary. I'll know better when we start 'Dragon Lore.' I already have a bunch of help on that. Plus, I really wanted to evaluate the directors for our future projects. As Daystar grows, I can see Ben's availability dropping. Holly has decided she is done. She is going to be a full-time Mom. What did you think of the ones today?"

No one spoke because they weren't sure who she was asking. Finally Shelly broke the silence.

"I think they were pleasantly surprised at how well today went," she said. "But I'm not sure we got a real sense of their style because there wasn't a lot of direction. They just sat back and let us do our thing."

"Which is what Ben does and it is the style we like most," Sarah said with a nod. "Holly is the same way if she sees chemistry. But others will insist something has to be a certain way just because it is their way. I don't think we want to hire people like that."

"True," Allie said. "Of course, we could take a different route and make one of us the director."

"Which is where I think we're headed," Sarah answered. "At least I hope we are. There are a ton of performers who direct features. But we're a little too green right now. If something came undone, I'm not sure we'd know how to fix it. In fact, I sort of hoped I could co-opt Rebecca to serve as Ben's assistant on 'Dragon Lore.' She has the most experience at directing her own shoots."

"Small-time shoots," Rebecca said.

"There is nothing small-time about what you do," Karlie said firmly. "Yes, you've directed only short features but you did them well. I've seen all your videos, Rebecca. I think in a year or so, you could be one of the top directors in the business. I think Allie and Sarah also have that potential. Adam could already do it. He commands respect. He did a great job of directing us when he'd only been in the game a few weeks. I don't think it is a question of technical expertise. We'll have Shelly and Erin for that. It is having the ability to get people to do what you want them to do without raising your voice. At least that's the way I view it."

Adam's butt had barely hit the seat at the table on Sunday morning when Mary whipped her top over her head. The spoonful of cereal that was halfway to his mouth clattered to the table.

"Damn," he muttered as he tried to wipe milk off his pants without taking his eyes off the sight in front of him. "Those are really nice."

Mary pulled her shirt back on but smiled sweetly at the guy across from her. The rest of the group was aware of her plan so they had made themselves scarce.

"Well, you got to see Rachelle last night," she said shyly as the others sauntered back into the room.

"It was worth the wait," Adam said. "I mean, well crap, I knew you had a great body. But you are absolutely gorgeous."

Mary fought the tears she felt coming to her eyes but she lost and one sneaked down her cheek. She had always considered herself the ugly duckling of every group she had even been a part of. Mary had never put much emphasis on appearance even when her friends had. It meant boys flocked to her friends and left her alone.

Despite Walt's assurances that she was as beautiful as anyone in the houses, Mary always had her doubts. Those doubts expanded as more attractive women started to spend more time with the group.

It was only recently that Mary had started to wear a little makeup each day. She had purchased more stylish clothes and more fashionable underwear. She had begun to feel better about herself but she still felt she was in a lower league than the rest of the group. Or she did until she saw Adam's reaction.

She went for shock value for her own peace of mind, but she hadn't expected him to practically stare a hole in her chest while blindly trying to clean himself up. Even after she put her shirt back on, she found him glancing at her chest.

"I told you," Walt said softly as he wiped her cheek and added a kiss.

"He did," Shelly added. "And so did we. Now, you only have to hop up on the table and spread your pussy for him and we'll have seen everything."

"Not so," Rachelle pointed out. "I have yet to see Adam or Walt in the altogether in person. I think the same is true of the rest of you and Sean. So, Mary, I think you need to keep your beaver hidden until we see some weenies."

"I thought you were going to see Walt's last night when I was on his lap," Trinity laughed. "I wasn't sure his zipper was going to survive."

"I wasn't sure how I was going to keep from making a mess in my shorts," Walt said. "You were very good, Trinity, but if Veronica had given me that show she gave Sean, I would have probably embarrassed myself."

"It was more than Veronica," Sean said. "Shelly was humping me with our clothes on just a few seconds earlier. That's really as close as I've been to those amazing boobies of hers. It was sort of weird. Veronica really didn't touch me anywhere intimate. She was close to me, yeah, but her body wasn't really in contact with mine."

"Unlike Rachelle's and Trinity's," Allie giggled.

"There might have been problems if she had ground on me like Shelly," Sean said. Adam looked around the table. No one was embarrassed at the topic. It was all in fun and no one took it personally. He was amazed.

He was thankful Rebecca spoke before he did.

"So no one is upset about yesterday?" she wondered.

"I wish I'd stayed to watch the group scene," Rachelle said. "But Sean and I would have wound up naked and greasy right there on the floor. We barely made it home as it was."

"At least we made it through the door," Sean said, rolling his eyes. "Mary and Walt started before we turned the engine on."

"I had the same problem," Erin said. "Trinity and Veronica were already half naked by the time I pulled in. By the way, your Dad got a lot done yesterday, Walt."

Lost in the planning for the "Cotton Panty Chronicles" shoot was the fact that Wayne Carter and his crew had moved in the day before. There were three pull-behind travel trailers in the middle of the yards and the excavation had already begun.

"He said the topsoil came off easy," Walt told them. "They will be back at it tomorrow. He wasn't sure if there is an ordinance prohibiting work on Sundays. He said it wouldn't make a difference because they've already got more done than he figured he'd have done by noon Monday anyway."

"Cool," Trinity said. "So what time will they wake us up in the morning?"

"Early," Walt said with slight chagrin. "Like as soon as it's legal. I would guess 7 a.m."

"Crap," Sarah muttered, glancing down at her toast. Her eyes got wide. "Oh, major crap. Reanna is supposed to start tomorrow. Where in the hell will we put her? We'll have to get another desk set up."