Ginny and I had just hopped off the trolley at Third Street and were walking towards the Million Dollar Theater. Ben Hur was in its second month, and the lines were finally down enough that we could catch a late matinee showing. We sat there enraptured during the movie, especially as Ramon Novarro and Francis Bushman were fighting and trying to beat each other during the chariot race.

It was so exciting, and I almost swooned when he won. We were giggling like two schoolgirls as we left the theater, and night was descending on downtown LA as we decided to walk around before heading home. It took three or four trolleys to get from here to our apartment in Owensmouth, and we were in no hurry to leave yet.

And as expected, at the corner were a bunch of drugstore cowboys, and the three of them whistled at us as we waited at the corner for the light to change. “Hey, nice gams, Toots. Want some hootch? I know a place we can go. You can bring your friend also.”

I turned around and made a brushing of my chin with my fingers at the wag calling out. “Dyke, I knew all your Flappers were dykes!” he said in return, then raised his hand at me and spread his index and middle fingers, and licked the fork.

“Well, better that than some Daisy who’s always on the nut and smokes stogie butts cause he can’t afford a nickel pack!” I said in response, and Ginny grabbed my arm and started to pull me across the street as the signal flag had changed. I was so involved telling the bum off I had not even heard the ding.

“Trudy, what do you expect?” she said, indignantly. “You come out here dressed like that, guys are gonna say something. Just be flattered, I was just a leftover in his mind.”

“Well, what can I say, Ginny? If you want, next time you can wear one of my outfits, and then we can hear them talking about your gams, also. And it’s not like you don’t have nice ones.” I had the day off, so spent the afternoon getting ready to go out. Ginny meanwhile had met me at the trolley stand after work and we came straight downtown. She was still in her sensible work dress.

“Oh shush you, or I may have to agree with them and think you really are a lezzie.” I grinned and gave her the same gesture the guy had given me, and she squawked and shoved my hand down quickly. But she was also turning beet red, and laughing.

“Well, it’s been a while since old Phil took off. At this point, I’m thinking of even that nance at the speakeasy should have a go.” Ginny laughed and shook her head as we walked the last block, getting there right before the trolley did. We sat in the back for the ride to Union Terminal, and she asked me why Phil had left anyways.

“Oh, we were forked out by the airport, and the damned scumbag broke. Neither of us knew until it was over, and saw he had put his mess inside of me instead of the lambskin.”

“What, you two were making whoopie?” she said, a bit scandalized.

“Shush, keep yer yap down! Yea, we were making whoopie. And that time, I for sure got more out of it in the end than usual. Well, I was late the next week, and when I told him he got upset. Well, two days later Aunt Flo came to visit after all. So I went to his pad, but the bum had already thrown everything into his flivver and hit the road.”

Ginny shook her head, and said it was a good thing I was not in the family way. I grinned, and asked her about her and Harold. We were pulling in at Union Terminal at that point, so we walked over and got on the car going to San Fernando. We lucked out this time, only three trolleys needed.

“Oh, I called that off. He wanted more than just necking, and I got tired of saying no.”

“Why say no? It ain’t like you never done it before.”

“Don’t remind me! And after that I was in the same state you were last month from what you said. I had never been so glad to have had Aunt Flo visit as I was that time.”

I looked at her, surprised. “What, only the one time? You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s true.”

“Then how did you keep going out with that guy when we were at school?”

She grinned at me, and softly said “Cause there are other things you can do with your yap other than smooch.” I looked at her and actually felt my mouth open in surprise, and she licked her lips and nodded.

“Ginny, now I have to admit, I am shocked. How long did that go on?”

“Oh, until Chuck dumped me and started dating that gal in the art department. And good thing too, cause he works at Universal now doing cards and posters, and they have been married for six months. And have a baby due any day from what I heard.”

“Well, better her than you, I guess.”

“What, you don’t want kids, Trudy?”

“Well, not yet! I’m only 20, and don’t want to be worn out before I hit 30.” We continued to chat until we got to Van Nuys, then hit the last train back to Owensmouth. And sure enough, when we got to De Soto, I grabbed her arm and had her follow me off.

“Trudy, what are we doing here? We still got a mile to go until our stop.”

“Yep, but this is closer to the Torch.” I saw her eyes open a bit at that, and she nodded. On the way there we stopped at a Signal Station and put on some more makeup. I looked up and down at Ginny, and shook my head. “OK, if you look like that we will never get in. They will think you are a square.”

Ginny grinned at me, and reached to her side and took off her skirt. And in just her panties she started rolling the top, until her skirt was about six inches shorter. Then with some bobby pins and a safety pin she pulled out of her purse she put it back on. Yes, much better. I whistled as the bum had earlier and said in a fake husky voice “Nice gams, toots!” She winked at me, then continued to pin her hair up, then bloused her top so it was tight against her bust.

I looked at the result, and nodded. She still looked what like she was, a secretary. But now it was more a sultry secretary instead of bookish one. “OK, but when we get there, put the cheaters in your purse.” She nodded, and put them back on her nose before we headed back onto the street.

The Torch was doing a brisk business, selling sodas and doughnuts. And sure enough, Eugene was sitting in a chair in the back. We headed on over to him after talking to a few people, and he looked us both up and down. And he must have liked what he saw, because he nodded, and reached behind himself to push the button hidden in the wall. And blowing him a kiss I went down the hall with Ginny, pushing on the door that was marked “Janitorial”.

Normally locked, but if you were a “friend” the little nance would buzz you in, and then you just went through the door and down the stairs to the basement. Originally a bar, The Torch now nominally made money serving soda and snacks in the front. But downstairs was the closest speakeasy to our apartment. They had a spook quintet blowing some jazz on the small stage, and the place was jumping. We went up to the bar, and were soon at a booth, cocktails in hand and grinning.

Yeah, another reason to stop at the Torch. Good music, and actual booze from Mexico. Not bathtub gin like most places. It cost more, almost a buck but was worth not going blind. But we could only afford to blow a fin in here between the two of us.

Once we downed our drinks, we decided to hit the floor. And as always, we had just started when 2 joes joined us. We spent about 45 minutes cutting a rug with them, then they asked us if we wanted another drink.

Well, not one to turn down an offer like that we joined them at a booth in the back. My guy introduced himself as Mike, and the guy with Ginny was with was Sam. Sam brought us more drinks, and they each put their arms around us and asked what we did. Ginny and I said we were both secretaries. She worked for a hospital in Van Nuys, and I worked for a lawyer nearby.

And it turns out they lived up here, and were set designers for Universal Pictures. Mike laughed and said that was a glorified name for construction, but they had been doing it for a few years now. And of course that led us to talk about the movie we had just seen.

“Oh, that was a bitch of a set to build! We worked on that one out in Culver City, biggest set I ever worked on. That’s one of the reasons I jumped to Universal, they do not do many pictures of the scale of MGM. They can keep those epics, give me a nice house or office to build and I am happier.”

Sam agreed, and I guess I could see that. I said that Ginny and I had been impressed with how big the sets were, but had not thought about how much work must have gone into making them.

And they told us about some of the actors they had met, and it was quite an impressive list. And all the movies they worked on, both big and small. We let them buy us two more drinks, and then Sam asked if we wanted to go to another place. I looked at Ginny, and she asked what kind of place.

“Oh, it’s like this, but a few miles north. The drinks are as good, but cheaper. And they sometimes show movies there also.” I saw Sam wink at Mike, and I decided that sounded good. So we headed out, and they actually had a nice Liberty. I asked Mike when they helped us get in, and he said they had bought it together the year before. “We needed a car to get to Culver for that Hur job, and then we had an old Hupp runabout. It died before we finished, but we had enough that we bought this. Like the maker, the dealer was going out of business. So we got it for a song.”

Well, this place was farther away than I thought, up in the canyon past the old Mission. But we pulled off the highway onto a dirt road, and it did look well traveled. And about a half mile on was a farmhouse and large barn. And about 30 cars were in the lot, so I knew this had to be the place.

We went inside, and this place was huge. The downstairs area of the Torch was not much bigger than our apartment, but this place was huge. There were 5 guys playing jazz on a stage, and I did indeed see a large white sheet hung on the wall behind them. This time the booths were smaller, and only had 2 sides. Actually kind of clever, as both those against the wall and the others could see the stage or screen, and nobody had their back to it.

I sat against the wall, and Sam and Ginny took the one facing the screen as Mike went to get the drinks. And I was surprised when he came back with a grin. Four glasses and an actual bottle of whiskey. And taking a sip, I knew it was the real McCoy.

There were quite a few people in there, and after about 10 minutes the band stopped playing and moved off the stage, except for the piano player. Then they turned off the lights, and with only the illumination from the candle on the table we looked at each other. Then they projector started.

Well, the movie started and it was called “On The Beach”. But it was strange, because other than that title, there was no other name. Then it started, and I looked at the main actor. “I do not know this one, is that Creighton Hale?”

Ginny admitted that it did look a lot like him, in glasses and reading a book at the beach. And I think we were as shocked as the actor was when three gals showed up, then stripped off all their clothes to go swimming. Naked.

I leaned into Mike, and whispered “Is this a smoker?” He laughed, and admitted it was. I got a bit worried, as that was almost as illegal as the hooch we were drinking was. But he said not to worry, this was owned by the brother of one of the Sheriff Deputies so never got raided.

And the movie was funny, I have to admit. He finally talked the girls into having sex with them, and they said he had to do it through a fence. So he got on the other side, and actually put his hand through it to rub the quim of each of the girls. And I saw that Ginny was watching almost as closely as I was. Then after picking one of the girls, he shoved his blind meat through the hole. And she started to tug on him and he seemed to be enjoying himself.

But then, oh dear! Two of the girls brought up a goat, and pushed it against the hole. I do not think it was real, but it sure looked like he was putting it in the goat! And when he was done he thanked them and the girls laughed and ran off with his money.

Wow, but it was not over yet! I felt Mike’s hand on my thigh and I rested my hand on his as later the guy was there again, sleeping as the girls came back. One quickly threw a pillow under her dress, and when he woke up she told him that he had gotten her pregnant. And I could not help but laugh as he gave over all of his money again, and they took off.