Chapter 1: My New Reality

Friday January 1

Dad surprised me in the morning. He held up two tickets.

“Merry Christmas.”

I looked at them, and they were tickets to the Rose Bowl. When I’d seen the pairing for the game—Stanford vs. Iowa—I wasn’t excited. I felt Iowa had been exposed as a paper tiger. Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska were all average teams, and Iowa had barely beaten them. Then they lost to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. I thought that Ohio State was the next best team out of the Big Ten, and should have gotten the Rose Bowl bid. Ohio State vs. Stanford would have been a game worth watching.

Stanford closed out their season by beating Notre Dame, who had been in the hunt for a National Championship slot and spanked a solid USC team. In my mind, Stanford had the momentum and the better team. But I’d always watched the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, and here I was getting a chance to go see it live with my dad.

The Rose Bowl was one of the games that were steeped in history. It was known as the oldest bowl tournament—the Granddaddy of Them All—with the first game having been played in 1902. Twenty-nine times the winner of the game had been named National Champion. In 1942, the Big Ten and Pacific Coast Conference (now the Pac-12) agreed to send their conference champions to the game each year. That held until 2002 when it became part of the Bowl Championship Series and subsequently the College Football Playoff system. This happened to be a year when the Rose Bowl wasn’t a playoff game, so the top two rated teams in the Big Ten and Pac-12 that weren’t in the playoffs were selected.

Dad had arranged a car to take us to the game. We entered through the Court of Champions and we found ourselves outside the Stanford locker room. I think I figured out where Dad had gotten the tickets. Dad sent a text, and one of the student managers opened the door to let us in.

“Here, put these on,” he said as he handed us field passes to be worn around our necks. “Coach Pichette has a moment, if you would like to see him.”

“That would be great,” Dad said.

Coach Pichette was Stanford’s quarterback and wide receivers position coach.

“Hey, Coach,” I said, and then introduced him to my dad.

It was obvious that the two of them had talked before. This must have happened after I left for LA. He pointed us to the Terry Donahue Pavilion, where a Stanford contingent was getting VIP treatment. They had a buffet, which we decided was very good. I was a little starstruck when Andrew Luck and John Elway walked ahead of us down to the field.

“Do you know who that is?” Dad asked.

“Yes,” I said as I nodded.

“Did you know that in his senior year, his team was 5–5 and needed to beat Cal to go to a bowl game?” Dad asked, talking about Mr. Elway. “They were behind close to the end of the game and he put them ahead with only seconds left. That was when ‘The Play’ happened. Cal took the kickoff and lateraled the ball back and forth to score. You’ve probably seen video of the Cal player running over the Stanford band member at the end of the play.”

“That had to be a hundred years ago,” I teased.

“I think I was seven or eight when it happened,” Dad admitted.

Yep, a hundred years ago.

Stanford had their way with Iowa. They scored in every phase of the game and won 45–16. The first time Stanford’s Heisman finalist Christian McCaffrey touched the ball, he took it 75 yards for a spectacular touchdown. A few hundred yards later, and Stanford’s sophomore star had smashed the oldest bowl game’s record for all-purpose yards. I think everyone would agree he would be a favorite for the Heisman this coming year.

Dad and I had a great time doing a little father–son bonding.

After the game, we went back to the beach house. Pam, Lacy, Tracy, Sandy, Halle and Rita were sunning themselves on the roof while my mom set out steaks for Dad to grill. I found tomatoes and fresh mozzarella that I could slice up and season for an appetizer. Mom had purchased fresh spinach, so I made creamed spinach from one of Mary Dole’s recipes. I also made garlic mashed potatoes. Rita broke out a red wine. I had to laugh when I saw it was the wine given to us at the wedding.

Over dinner, Rita wanted to talk about the press tour I was about to go on.

“You ready to get out there and sell your movie?”

“Caryn gave me the schedule, and I’m not going to have time to think. Is it normally this crazy?” I asked.

“The key is to just have fun. The worst is when they stick you in a room and then send one reporter after another in to interview you. Rely on Frank, and stick to the talking points,” Rita said.

“The studio must be worried, because they made sure I had someone with me for the first few days.”

“Be grateful. I’ve seen them throw new talent to the wolves, and it isn’t pretty. You need to remember that the reporters are looking to make a story out of your interview. Most of the older ones are so jaded they’ll try to get you to make a mistake. The younger ones are hungry and want to make a name for themselves,” Rita said.

“So don’t trust any of them.”

“I thought that was what I said,” Rita said, and smiled. “The trick is to stand out. Remember Chris Pratt and the things he did?”

“You mean running in high heels and screaming?” I asked.

“Exactly. He showed his fun side and stole the interviews. Everyone was talking about him the next day, not the girl he was on with,” Rita said.

“I honestly can’t remember who he was on with. I do remember liking her in the movie, but I can’t remember her name,” Tracy said.

“I think I made my point. Just be your goofy self and you’ll do fine.”

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying the California weather. Halle, Pam and Tracy were going sailing tomorrow on one of Halle’s friend’s boats. Mom and Dad planned a trip to Napa Valley. Sandy was going home.

I would be on a plane to New York with Frank and Caryn. Adrienne had called and said I could stay with her and Tyler while I was there. The studio had provided me with two rooms for New York and Chicago, so I would only need to pay for an extra room when we were in Chicago.

When the evening was done, I went back to the main house with Rita. Halle stayed at the beach house with Tracy and Pam. When we got home, Bandit was waiting by the door, looking for his mom.

“Halle isn’t coming home,” I explained to him as I picked him up.

“Can he sleep with you?” Rita asked.

“Sure,” I said, and took him to my room.

Bandit helped me pack for my trip. He’d been alone all day, so he was just a little wound up. He brought me his squeaky mouse and I threw it for him. He would chase it and kill it. At least, it should be dead, from all the noise it made. For a kitten, he was a lot of fun.

Saturday January 2

Caryn and I made the trip to LAX in silence. I was deep in thought about the coming week and how it would change my life. I had a stupid idea of just skipping the whole thing because I was afraid of what this coming week would do to my life. I was about to step out onto a much larger stage. Yeah, I’d flirted with it, but in my gut I knew this was different. If our movie was a hit, and what Ari and Frank were telling me was true, I would be famous. Not Rita James famous, but enough so that people would recognize me when I walked down the street. I wasn’t just talking about LA either, which was a world in and of itself. My theory had always been that everyone at home would treat me the same. I’d started to wonder if that was true. I wasn’t worried about my friends. It was everyone else.

I was jerked out of my self-contemplation when we pulled up to the curb. Caryn went to get out, but I stopped her. She’d forgotten Fritz’s rules. He came around and let us out. We’d parked next to baggage check-in. We all had our boarding passes on our cell phones. I had a small bag with my tablet in it that I’d take with me on the plane. I checked a garment bag and suitcase.

Next stop was TSA. I did the whole ‘hands up’ pose as I was scanned.

“Sir, you’ve been randomly selected to have a full check.”

Great! They took me off behind a screen, and I was told to put my arms out so they could run a hand wand over me. Then I was patted down. I didn’t appreciate being fondled. That was just the beginning of our problems at the airport.

Next, some dimwit left their car running at the passenger pickup area. That caused the airport to shut down as we went on terror alert, which only took two hours to straighten out. The next fun thing was we were all boarded and backing out of the gate when an alarm went off and there was a commotion in the back of the plane. An elderly woman had thought the latch for the emergency door over the wing was a coat rack, or that was what she decided to use it for. I didn’t know that if you pulled the latch, the door just falls into the cabin.

I was impressed they just shoved it back into the slot and closed the door. I guess if the alarm quit ringing, we were good to go. There was no reason to check a door that would just fall out like that on a flight from LA to New York. What could possibly go wrong?

I dropped Frank and Caryn at the St. Regis Hotel. I received texts from Craig Wild and Bree Steno to let me know they were also staying at the St. Regis. They wanted to get everyone together for dinner to talk about tomorrow’s interviews.

When I arrived at Adrienne and Tyler’s, neither of them was in. They’d left me a key with the doorman and a note saying they’d gone to a shoot that was in trouble. I also had a note from Kara telling me that I was to call her as soon as I arrived. She made the trip up to Adrienne’s condo.

I smiled as I let her in.

“Come here,” I said as I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.

I never got over how attractive she was. I think what made her special, other than her amazing body, were her eyes. They just seemed to pierce your soul. It was one of the things that put her into a whole different category, as far as models went.

“I missed you,” she said as she ran her fingers through my hair. “Adrienne told me that you’re doing very well in your new movie. She said she was disappointed, though, that you hadn’t reeled in Kate yet. I have to agree with her. What’s taking so long?”

“It’s her stupid boyfriend. He seems to be smarter than her last few. I expected him to do something stupid by now, and she could use me as her rebound sex toy,” I pouted.

“That’s what I like. You always have a plan,” Kara said as she kissed me again.

“Speaking of plans, do you have some model friends who’d be willing to go to dinner with some of my movie-star friends?” I asked.

“How many do you need?”

“Three women and two men. Craig Wild is here with his manager Kent, who’s good-looking, according to some girls I know. Bree Steno, who was on that vampire show, and my manager Caryn, and my publicist Frank, who is older, will be joining us for dinner,” I said.

She made me get my phone out and show her pictures of everyone. She recognized Craig and Bree when I showed her our group shot for the movie. She got busy making calls while I unpacked. I called Caryn to make reservations for enough people. I had her add two more in case Adrienne and Tyler could get free.

We had a couple of hours before dinner, so Kara and I decided to get reacquainted. She reminded me that if we could ever land in the same area, we would be together.

Caryn picked Le Bernardin for dinner. She was told they couldn’t accommodate us on such short notice, but she used Craig and Bree’s names to get us a table. It was a Michelin three-star rated restaurant every year since 2005. To make things simple, she preordered the chef’s tasting menu for the group.

Everyone met at the bar in the St. Regis. Kara and I found Craig, Kent, Bree and Caryn waiting on us, having a cocktail.

“I hope it’s okay. I got everyone dates,” I announced.

“I like you more every time I see you,” Craig said.

“I suppose you only got dates for the boys,” Bree said as she crossed her arms and glared at me.

Right on cue, the models arrived. It was interesting to see how everyone interacted. Kara grabbed my arm to lay her claim on me. That didn’t seem to slow down a tall blond Scandinavian goddess. She pulled up a chair at our table and bumped into me.

“Excuse me, did you not notice me sitting here?” I asked.

She turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I saw you, but I chose to ignore you,” she said, which caused Kara to smile.

“You must like living dangerously,” I said.

“I do, and that’s why I’m talking to you; it’s like playing with fire,” she said, and turned away from me.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little casual conversation,” I shot back.

She turned and looked into my eyes.

“What happens when casual conversation turns into serious fun?”

I thought Kara’s eyebrows had disappeared into her hairline. The conversation around the table went quiet as we verbally sparred.

“You’re good,” I admitted.

“I can promise you I’m better than good. Hi, I’m Donna Nilsson,” she said.

“David.”

“Just David?” she teased.

“It’s a name and title all in one.”

Craig choked on something, and Kent had to beat his back to dislodge it.

“I’ve heard of this David character. Kara has been all abuzz about a feisty guy who was gracing our fair city.”

“Look, if you’re trying to charm your way into anything more than dinner tonight, I’m afraid it’s not going to happen,” I said, and Kara reached over and squeezed my bicep in approval.

“Uh, no. I’m not trying to charm my way into anything more than dinner tonight,” Donna said.

“What were you trying to charm your way into?” I asked.

“Okay, that’s enough. Donna, I think your date is here,” Kara said, and then introduced her to Frank.

Donna winked at me and then turned her charm on Frank. I don’t think he was used to a nearly six-foot blond goddess who was as aggressive as she was. If Kara hadn’t been there, I would have enjoyed verbally sparring with her and everything that her come-ons promised.

After a couple of drinks, everyone seemed to be getting along. I smiled at Caryn because I could tell she was in lust with the living Ken doll she was with. Bree didn’t seem quite as happy, because her guy seemed to only be interested in checking himself out in any available mirror. When Adrienne and Tyler finally showed up, it was time to go to the restaurant.

Caryn’s forethought of preordering the chef’s tasting menu was perfect. It was a seven-course meal where each course was paired with a different wine. I skipped the wine, and by the end of the meal I was glad I did. Even with small glasses of wine, the seven wine-pairings had everyone in fine spirits, considering they’d all had at least two cocktails before we got there.

The tasting had a seafood theme. It started with caviar, which was followed by lobster, seared langoustine and foie gras, salmon, poached halibut, and a surf-and-turf pairing of tuna and Wagyu beef. For dessert, we had coffee caramel crémeux roasted almond mousse. When the bill came, Craig had alligator arms as he ‘tried’ to take it from me. I wish he had. Just the meal for everyone was slightly under $5,400. The tip was $1,000. Adrienne peeked and sucked in her breath.

“Sucks to be you,” she teased.

Even with sunglasses money, that was a lot to spend at one time for a meal.

After dinner, everyone wanted to go off in different directions. I was glad when Adrienne and Tyler said they wanted to go home. They’d had a long day. Kara was more than happy to join us. I needed to get some sleep for the interviews tomorrow.

When we arrived at the condo, the girls were all giggles. I was a little dismayed when a large bottle of red wine was opened and they were each served a big glassful. Adrienne and Tyler had missed my exchange with Donna, so Kara had to get them up to speed.

“I think she got the best of him,” Kara proclaimed.

“Most interesting,” Tyler said.

“Yes, most,” Adrienne said as she nodded.

“What’s so interesting?” I asked.

“Donna’s my roommate,” Kara said. “She’s been here for about six months, and in that time she hasn’t shown the least amount of interest in anyone.”

I looked at Adrienne, and she blushed.

“You struck out?” I asked in dismay.

“She went down in flames big-time,” Tyler said.

“You promised to never talk about that,” Adrienne said, giving her significant other a look.

I didn’t realize it also worked on women.

“You can’t leave me hanging like that. Spill it,” I said, suddenly interested.

“I’m not telling. You’ll have to get it out of her,” Tyler said indicating Adrienne.

“Fine. I know how to get her to talk,” I said, and gave Adrienne an evil grin.

They all looked at me skeptically. I got up and went to my room for what I needed. I also changed into a tight-fitting t-shirt and just my silk boxers. When I came back out, all conversation stopped, so I struck a pose that made them all giggle.

“You’re in trouble,” Kara warned Adrienne.

Adrienne eyed me warily. I had a towel and bottle of massage oil. I went to my knees in front of Adrienne on the couch.

“May I remove your shoes?” I asked.

She just nodded her head as Tyler and Kara looked on. I removed her shoes, and she started when I reached under her skirt and pulled down her thigh-high stockings. She watched, mesmerized, as I began to massage her feet. Then Adrienne leaned her head back and just enjoyed what I was doing. I think we were both surprised when Tyler stood up and leaned down to her girlfriend and kissed her.

“You have fun. I’ll see you in the morning,” Tyler said, and then took Kara’s hand and led her upstairs.

I knew that Kara had been with them before, so I wasn’t surprised she would spend time with either of them. What surprised me was that she seemed to give Adrienne permission to spend time with me. I had to refocus on what I was doing, because my imagination had suddenly run wild. The little head had some very naughty ideas about what to do at that moment. I decided to take a chance.

“Come with me. Let’s do this right,” I said.

Adrienne looked me in the eyes for a moment and picked up her glass of wine. She then got up and walked to the guest bedroom. I about choked on my tongue when I realized this was going to happen. When we stepped into the bedroom, Adrienne seemed to hesitate.

“David, I don’t think...” was all she got out before I kissed her.

It was Chicago all over again, except there wasn’t an audience to stop us. She grasped the back of my head and put a serious lip-lock on me. I tried to be a gentleman and not do anything without her permission. That was until she reached between us and grabbed my unit. She broke our kiss.

“Damn, David!”

“I think we need to lose some clothes,” I suggested.

She pulled my t-shirt over my head and then pushed down my boxers. I helped her out of her skirt and blouse. She had on a black lace bra-and-panty set. She grasped my dick and used it to guide me to the bed. She pushed me so I lay back with my legs hanging off the side. She nudged my thighs apart and grasped my cock at the base and checked it out.

“It’s been a long time. You’ll have to be gentle with me.”

“I was worried, because I was thinking you needed to be gentle with me,” I teased.

She got her glass of wine and poured some on my cock and balls. At first, I wasn’t sure what she planned, but when she began to lick it off, I was more than okay with it. When she began to give me head, I could tell she hadn’t done this in a long time. It was still one of the best blowjobs I’d ever had, because it was the Adrienne sucking my dick. What I wouldn’t give to have video proof I could send my brother. He would never believe me.

“You taste good,” she said, and giggled.

“Come here,” I said.

She kissed her way up my stomach and then my chest. When she was straddled over me, I reached behind her and unhooked her bra. She moaned when I got busy making love to her magnificent breasts. I found she liked a firmer stimulation than some girls. That was fine with me; I loved to maul her breasts. Her big thick nipples were made to be played with roughly.

“Fuck me,” she begged.

I reached down and pulled her panties down her thighs. I surprised her when I just picked her up and we suddenly had switched positions. Her panties were at her knees, so I just pushed her legs up, dove down and covered her sex with my mouth. She was soaking wet as I tried to devour her. She started to huff like a train as I worked her over.

“Aaahhhh, YES!” she screamed.

I continued to eat her, and the huffing started all over again. She about lost her mind when I began to finger-bang her. She was hot and slick; I couldn’t wait any longer. I quickly found a condom, put it on, and put the head of my dick into her slot. Our eyes locked as I pushed forward. All my adolescent dreams were coming true. I’d had years to anticipate this very moment. Images of Adrienne had been used to fuel many of my masturbatory sessions. Adrienne was wasted on women. Her tight pussy was meant to have my cock in it. I was soon balls-deep and began to saw in and out of her depths.

As I pumped my thick rod into her, her breasts wobbled in the most erotic way. Adrienne truly was one of a kind. Even at her advanced age, 28, she was as fit as any teenage girl. I looked down, and this was even better than I could have imagined—and believe me, I have a very good imagination. Adrienne was every man’s fantasy. She had big round breasts that sat high on her chest. I smiled as I watched them synchronize in an inward circular motion as she met each thrust. Her flat stomach looked good under my ripped abs. I could see my cock as it plunged into her bald pussy.

“So big,” she moaned. “So hard. Fuck me!”

Once we got started, it was game on. Adrienne was hands-down the best fuck of my life. It was exactly that too, a fuck. This was not love-making, this was two friends giving each other pleasure. She fucked me as hard as I fucked her. I pulled out all my skills, and we tried everything. When I say everything, I mean it. I fucked all three holes and her tits. We tried about every position we could think of. This woman was a sexual dynamo. If it weren’t for Tyler, I would’ve been on bended knee. When you found your cosmic sexual match, you hung on with both hands.

All I know is that at some point we fell asleep with her straddling me and my dick buried in her pussy. We’d taken a breather, and the next thing I remember was her getting up to use the bathroom. When she came back, she laid her head on my chest and we went back to sleep.

Sunday January 3

I woke up to Kara sucking my cock. I looked up and panicked when Adrienne was nowhere to be found. I was relieved when I saw her come out of the bathroom with nothing on but a smile on her face. Tyler walked in with a tray of coffee mugs. Adrienne went to her and gave her a kiss good morning.

“Did you have fun last night?” Adrienne asked.

“You know I did. How was the boy?”

“I had almost forgotten how good it felt with a boy. I think he is lucky he’s young, because I wore him out,” Adrienne said.

“I know how you get when you’ve had wine,” Tyler said as she kissed her life-mate again.

They left the two of us alone.

“Was it as good as you’d hoped?” Kara asked.

“What do you think?”

“She rocked your world, didn’t she?”

I just smiled. I pulled Kara into the shower, because I needed to get going. There’s something indescribably sexy about the way a girl’s hair gets swept back and plastered to her scalp when wet. I found myself enjoying the show while I just watched Kara soaping up her body, at least until she put the soap into my hands and told me to finish lathering her up. When it was her turn to do me, she nearly got me off stroking my cock with her soapy hands.

I figured I could be late. I led Kara back to bed. She turned and scooted across the mattress on her butt before getting herself settled and lying flat on her back with her legs spread wide. I moved to kneel between her legs, running my hands over her thighs.

“You’re beautiful,” I said.

Kara looked at me and bit her lower lip as I leaned in and began to pleasure her with my tongue.

“I had that last night. I want the real thing,” Kara said.

I grabbed a condom and put it on. I checked to make sure she was ready, and found she was very wet. I smiled at her as I pushed in.

“Hurry,” she ordered.

I looked at the clock and saw that I didn’t have much time. It was a good thing she was as ready as I was, because it wasn’t long until the countdown began. Three, two, one ... launch!

I hurried to get dressed. Jade had cut me a deal to wear their clothes during interviews this week. Dakora was outfitting me for the premiere. Tyler had worked out the details with Caryn. There was a garment bag with my outfit for today. I think no one trusted me to put the right clothes together. I was a little offended, because I’d been paying attention and no longer mixed and matched plaids and stripes.

I did get to wear my new $800 tennis shoes that were made to look like alligator hide.

I hustled downstairs and found a car waiting for me. I hoped they’d arranged food for us as my driver navigated traffic. We arrived at the St. Regis, where they had set up conference rooms for our interviews. They had three rooms set up for Craig, Bree and myself. Each room had a different wall-sized poster that featured our character in the movie. I wanted mine when we were done. It showed the movie logo and me in full battle gear with a sword held two-handed.

My room had lights and three cameras set up, one to catch both me and the interviewer and then two others to capture each of us individually. Frank was waiting on me when I walked in.

“You have eighteen interviews scheduled today. Please don’t get bored and get off script today,” Frank begged. “I’ve had actors shoot themselves in the foot more than once at one of these.”

“Where are Craig and Bree?” I asked.

“They didn’t have as many interview requests, so they’ll be down later.”

From the look Frank gave me, I was a little worried.

“How many did they get?” I asked.

“Craig has six and Bree four.”

“Is that normal?” I asked.

“Uhm, let’s just say that if I were them, I would feel slighted.”

I thought about it for a minute.

“Can you call them and have them join me? They can slip out when they have their own interviews.”

Frank gave me a funny look.

“Listen, one thing I learned in football is that it’s a team game. Every chance I get, I make sure the team is part of things. Even if they aren’t in the interview, I would talk them up. I just don’t want them to feel snubbed,” I said.

“Here are your talking points. It’s the same as what I gave you during the week, but I added a few things because there are so many interviews I wanted to make sure you had enough material to keep it fresh,” Frank said, and he saw I was serious about sharing the limelight. “Okay, I’ll go see if they’ll join you.”

While Frank did that, Caryn showed up with a plate of food.

“Adrienne said you missed breakfast.”

I really didn’t want to know what those two talked about this morning. I was happy to see Caryn was taking care of me. While I ate, the guy from the studio showed up.

“I have your talking points for you,” he said, handing me thirty pages.

I just smiled and thanked him. Caryn chuckled when I sat them on the floor as I scanned the ones Frank had given me. I was happy when I saw Bree come down and join us.

“You ready to do this?” I asked, as I put my hand up for a high five.

She rolled her eyes and then snagged my last piece of bacon.

“You bitch!” I said.

Frank hurried over.

“David,” he hissed.

I looked around and saw that several of the press contingent had shown up. Oops. We were ushered in, and Bree gave me a funny look when she saw my mug on the wall.

“I hope you don’t expect us to do all the interviews in here.”

“Of course I do. I look awesome.”

“We’ll do some in my room,” she said, leaving no room for doubt.

Frank came in.

“Craig declined. I’ll send the first one in,” he said.

“Dick,” Bree said under her breath.

“Shhh,” I said as a young gal came in.

The studio guy came in and took a seat behind the camera. Frank and Caryn had to each get themselves a chair.

“Each of these sessions is twenty minutes,” the studio guy said.

“I guess we should get started,” our interviewer said.

“I have a process that I follow with acting,” I said, getting very serious.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, and after about a minute Bree nudged me.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“You know I have to meditate for twenty minutes before I do a scene,” I said as if I were irritated, and then closed my eyes again.