Chapter 164

"You'll love what I have in mind!" Katey gushed.

"Let me guess, Las Vegas has a baseball team," Adam remarked.

Katey offered him a glare worthy of anyone who shared his bed. She was good at glaring.

"Do I appear to be that predictable?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," Adam answered with a laugh.

"I have two words for you, Mister," Katey began.

"I know, 'bite me, '" Adam interrupted. They were talking in low whispers because Sarah had already shushed one group for discussing plans too loudly.

Katey laughed.

"Well, four words," Katey decided. "'Bite me' and 'arena football.'"

She stood back and crossed her arms like she had just imparted the Holy Grail to Adam.

"What in the hell is arena football?" Adam wondered, a little too loudly, because almost half the room got a giggle out of his question.

Katey simply stared at him for a moment before offering an explanation of a sport that sounded like a mixture of hockey, indoor soccer and a little football.

"We can do anything you want this afternoon if we can go to the arena game tonight," Katey said.

Adam gave a wolfish smiled.

"Anything that allows me to keep my clothes on," Katey replied. She knew he was kidding around with her.

"I'm OK if you're dressed," Adam replied. "Veronica told me there is a whole line of videos called Clothed Female, Naked Male. It's big in Europe. I can make you an international star, Baby."

"I already enjoy broad international appeal," Katey said. She did smug much better than Mary did, Adam decided. "So you have to keep your clothes on, too."

Adam snapped his fingers.

"I did see something on the way in I thought would be cool," he told her. "There is sort of dude ranch a few miles out of town. How does horseback riding sound?"

Katey smiled broadly.

"That would be really fun," she said. "I was worried that you would suggest we visit the pipe-fitter's convention or something."

Rachelle heard the last remark and nudged Katey with her elbow.

"That would be the pipe-layer's convention if Adam suggested it," she said with a laugh before turning back to her own discussion.

Katey laughed with her and extended her hand to Adam. They shook on their deal and went to change clothes.

Adam and Katey had a picnic lunch on a small hill a few miles from the ranch. Their horses, trained to ground tie because some of the riders were novices, grazed peacefully nearby.

The owner of the ranch had taken one look at how Katey and Adam treated the horses and decided there was no need for a guide. These two had obvious experience riding and Thursdays were slow so she only catered to novice groups. They were left to their own devices with a few words of warning – paths marked with green were OK; paths with red were off-limit without a guide and paths with yellow ribbons were more challenging than the green.

"We'll stay on the green," Katey said. "I've been riding for years but it's been a while."

"Same here," Adam replied. Now on a blanket, they continued the chat that had started as they rode.

"I love living in L.A.," Katey said. "I didn't think I would. When I first came out here, I thought Columbus was a huge city."

Adam snickered. He had though that Clarksville, Tenn., was a metropolis until he spent his first day in Los Angeles.

"There are things I miss, though," he said.

"Trees," Katey stated.

"Oh, yeah," Adam agreed. "Even the trees they have out there aren't much. I also miss silence."

"I'll bet!" Katey giggled. "You live with nine women and at least one of them is talking at all times."

Adam nodded but didn't speak. He couldn't risk his reply getting back to unintended ears.

"It's more like there is a constant buzz," Adam answered after a moment. "Even when I'm alone there is just this hum of humanity. If it's not people, it's cars. If it's not cars, it's aircraft."

"I know what you mean," Katey said. "You know what I miss most?"

Adam shook his head.

"Fishing," Katey answered.

"Really?" Adam asked.

Katey laughed again.

"This may come as a shock to you, given my obvious femininity," she said, grinning, "but I am quite the tomboy. I've always enjoyed sports. My favorite outfit is cutoff sweatpants and baseball cap. But fishing is just about my favorite thing."

"It's near the top of my list, too," Adam told her. "There was a nice lake not far from where I grew up. When I was young, my Dad and I would sometimes take a cooler and just head off for a couple of days. Anytime Mom had a lot going on and we had to be out of her hair, that's where we'd go."

"Yeah, my Dad and I did the same thing," she answered. "Do you fly-fish?"

"I've always wanted to learn," Adam said. "I saw that movie when I was real little, I'm sure you know it, it had the guy in it. 'River... ' something."

Katey named the movie and Adam nodded.

"I thought that would be the coolest thing but where Dad and I went isn't really a good place for it," Adam continued.

"I'll teach you!" Katey said happily. "I can tie my own flies and everything. I bet the Colorado River is a good place for it. If I thought we'd have anyone else who wanted to go, I'd say we make a long weekend out of it. You know, go camping and fishing. But it would probably wind up being me with the six guys."

Her smile widened.

"Hey, I could combine my two favorite things!" she said, then laughed again.

"So you enjoy the adult industry?" he asked.

Sarah had warned the group that no business discussions were to take place that day. It was about having fun with people you didn't get the chance to spend much time with in a non-group atmosphere. But Adam thought the question fell into the guise of getting to know Katey Funkhouser better.

"A lot more now that I used to," Katey admitted. "You know, it's fun now. Before it was a job and I didn't have any skills to speak of. Well, none that translated well into the job market in Ohio or even Los Angeles. But now it's more than that. Some of the stuff I've gotten to do in the past few months has been amazing. The scene with Shelly was terrific. You know, breaking her in, I guess. The scene with you was the best guy-girl shoot I've ever done. It was so smooth and comfortable. I'm actually excited about some of the things we have in the works – joining 'Sweet Things' in a couple of months; 'Sundown in El Dorado'; the other movie you're not allowed to know about."

"I'm not deaf," Adam said. "I know about 'EarthScape.'"

Katey laughed until she choked.

"Don't let them know, OK?" she said. "At least not until I'm in the clear from being the culprit who told you. They think they'll shock you when Sarah hands you a scene synopsis. But I think it will be awesome. I've read the first three scenes she finished drafting. I'm really looking forward to that one, too."

"I'm glad," Adam said with sincerity.

"I get the impression you aren't enjoying that part of your life as much as you should," Katey mentioned.

Adam shrugged.

"There are parts of it I really enjoy," he began.

"I can guess which parts, too," Katey replied.

"Probably not," Adam countered. "I like the fact that we're helping people. Veronica and Darla are prime examples. So are you, I guess. But I think I'd like to move into a different part of the business."

"And you are, ' Katey said, sitting up on her elbows. She had been lying on her back watching the clouds as she spoke. "But what happens in the future is really an offshoot of what you're doing now. The hardest part is over – no pun intended. Our foot is in the door. We have other males trained and available – who actually enjoy being in front of the camera. I know you well enough to know that it's the acting part you don't like. You feel like you're not being genuine when you go into character. You'd prefer to do your good deeds like you did with Veronica – and Celina – as Adam."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But I also get the feeling sometimes that I'm being pushed to do things that a few months ago I would have found morally objectionable."

"No one is asking you to kill anyone or rob an old lady," Katey said. "You find it morally objectionable to have sex?"

"No," Adam said. "But I still feel like, I don't know, I shouldn't be living with seven women and servicing a handful of others. I'm adapting to the situation but it's not as easy as it seems."

"It never seemed easy to me," Katey clarified. "If it looked easy, I probably would have jumped at the chance to be with Walt and Mary. I really do care for them both."

"But... ?" Adam asked.

Katey shrugged.

"But nothing," she said. "It's just been, I don't know, difficult, I guess, for us to figure out how to make it work. It was great to hang out with them at the game last week. It's cool when the three of us go out together to get an ice cream cone or even just study together. Still, when you add that last element – sex – it gets complicated. I've done a three-way with a guy and a girl. It's not the physical act that is problematic. It's the emotional part."

"Yeah," Adam agreed. "That's what is so challenging for me. I've not been around a lot of women in my life. Now I'm dealing with seven very diverse, very strong personalities. Thank God they agree on almost everything."

"Almost?" Katey asked. "Those girls don't disagree on anything. Hell, Adam, they've gotten to the point where they know what the other is thinking with just a glance. Sure, they discuss things from time to time but it's rare."

"It's rarer for them to include me in those discussions," Adam groused.

"You only have yourself to blame for that," Katey insisted. "You let them get away with too much early in your relationships. You were too easy going and you gave the impression that whatever they wanted was fine with you."

"Well, that's because it usually is," Adam admitted sheepishly. "It gives me something to bitch about, I suppose. Only maybe two or three times have they decided something I was totally opposed to. Do you have that problem with Walt and Mary?"

"Less than you do," Katey said with a shrug. "Walt and Mary are an interesting study in couple dynamics. By all accounts, a person just meeting them in a group situation would think Mary rules the roost. Just like they would think whichever woman you were with does. I guess even with Sean and Rachelle. But at least with Walt and Mary, it's really not true. She would do absolutely anything for him. I know part of it is because of what happened when we first met. But another part is because of how strong he is. I don't mean physically strong. I mean he is just a strong, stand-up person."

Adam agreed with Katey's assessment of their friend's character. It also brought up something he meant to suggest to Walt and Sean but hadn't had time. Katey would be as good a conduit as any.

"Have you thought about having solo dates with Mary and Walt?" he asked. "I think one of the things that makes things work at the second house is the fact that all the women are so close to each other and to me."

"We're going to try that when we get back," Katey said. "I thought about it a couple of weeks ago but I didn't bring it up. Walt has been reluctant to move things forward. He doesn't want Mary to feel insecure and I don't want her to feel jealous. The thing is, I like them individually but I love them together. Does that make sense?"

"It does to me," Adam said. "I love each of the women in my life on their own merits, though. Still, I feel the most at home when we're all together."