Chapter 70

Shelly, Sarah, Karlie and Allie had met the Duval woman at a public beach midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. They sat around laughing and joking until Adam called Shelly – and they returned to laughing and joking as soon as it ended.

The women, including Britney who was doing her best to act mature, were magnets for every male under the age of 40 – and a few older than that – within 5 miles. It wasn't long after Shelly hung up her phone that a small group stood in front of them.

"Absolute goddesses," one of the bolder one said as he sat down.

"Yes," Shelly said. She was already pissed off at her father and mother and she didn't really feel like dealing with any more assholes.

No one expected that the guys wouldn't look. That was the whole reason for dressing in bikinis and going out in public. But no invitation was made to join the women.

Trinity decided she should take the matter in hand. She pointed to Karlie at the end of the line.

"She is the Goddess of Virtue," Trinity told the interlopers. "Next to her is the Goddess of Innocence. Then there is the Goddess of Fidelity. Next to her is the Goddess of Purity. I am the Goddess of Strife. Next to me is the Goddess of Mayhem. Last is the Goddess of Destruction."

The one brave enough to sit down looked up at his friends, who were openly snickering at him. He arose and walked away.

"Our apologies," the last guy said. The women waited until the guys were out of hearing before breaking into laughter.

"The Goddess of Purity?" Sarah asked.

Trinity shrugged and said, "Didn't want them to think they weren't going to have to work for it.""

"You should be happy," Trinity's mother, Renee, said. "I got to be the Goddess of Destruction. That doesn't seem fair. I mean, I can see Britney being Mayhem but I'm not Destruction."

"I'm faithful!" Shelly said. "She got that one right. And Karlie is virtuous. Two for seven isn't bad."

"Hey, I'm innocent," Allie protested. "I'm pure as the driven snow and I do not want to hear a word against it."

The afternoon evaporated and before anyone realized, it was time to head back to Trinity's house for the makeshift slumber party.

Adam's day was just as restful after his stressful morning. It took him only a few minutes to move his belongings down to the new apartment. Then he relaxed and caught up on the few things he had missed during the week – like watching the few TV shows he enjoyed.

Walt and Mary were enjoying the sights and sounds of San Francisco. The time away from the rest of the group was doing them a world of good. Mary was relaxed. She had so much on her plate – scholastically and professionally. She enjoyed staying busy and she enjoyed what she was doing for Subarctic but she enjoyed taking a few days to herself, too.

Walt simply enjoyed the time away from his classes. He was taking advanced Applied Physics and Introduction to Nanotechnology this semester. The building and design of other things were his sidelight. He enjoyed that sort of thing and could lose himself in his designs for hours at a time.

Sean and Rachelle were having fun spending a trip with their parents. Sean's mom, Nora, and Mike were getting along well with each other and with their children. They spent Saturday driving eastward and wound up spending Sunday at the Hoover Dam. Even the younger pair enjoyed it. No one talked about Subarctic Enterprises or even thought about it much.

It was strange for Adam to go to sleep by himself. It had been a while since it had happened. It took him a while, even after the girls called to wish him good night. Still, he wasn't surprised when the girls arrived back in the apartment shortly after 8 a.m. Monday morning.

Adam was already up when Allie, Shelly, Sarah and Karlie came in. They were surprised to see him sitting at the table.

"We wanted to catch you shacked up with a bimbo," Shelly joked. "It was your last chance, you know. From now on, we will leave someone here to watch over you. We can't even be gone for 24 hours and you're in trouble."

"Me?" Adam asked. "It was your family who showed up."

"Details," Allie smirked.

"You must have left before dawn," Adam said.

"Close," Sarah replied. "But the sun took a lot out of us. We all fell asleep pretty early and we all have something to do today."

"I don't," Karlie said brightly. She didn't blanch when the girls shot her a dirty look. "What? I don't. Shelly doesn't either."

"I only have to make a phone call or two," Adam said. "I did the hard part yesterday while you four were playing around."

"We were making sure fences were mended," Sarah said.

"And?" Adam asked.

"They are," Sarah replied. "Trinity and her mother had already addressed the Britney situation. The girl was really nice the whole time. She apologized to us for making a spectacle of herself. I apologized to Trinity again for making a spectacle of myself."

"We laughed. We cried. It was the feel-good moment of the spring," Allie said, rolling her eyes.

"It's still winter," Adam pointed out. "At least officially. Just saying."

The girls glared at him playfully.

"Well, I need to get showered and ready to go see Tate and Ben," Allie said. "When you talk to Celina, could you see if she'll send us an itemized list of her fees? We need to get that settled before we get too far in debt. We set up a P.O. Box for Subarctic on Thursday. I'll leave you the info."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Shelly asked.

"To the shower or to meet Daystar?" Allie wondered before she laughed and nodded. "It's yes, either way. Are you OK with it?"

"Sure," Shelly answered.

"So that leaves Karlie and me to spend the day attending to all of Adam's sexual frustration that our absence created," Sarah laughed. "I like this deal."

"Just remember that you're pure and Karlie is virtuous," Shelly replied. "I will expect both of you to be the same when we return."

Adam looked confused so the girls explained while Shelly and Allie got ready to visit with Daystar.

"Trinity is coming back early," Sarah told him. "Probably Thursday but maybe Wednesday night. Are you OK with that?"

"I'm fine," Adam said. "Uh, what did you talk about?"

"We found some time to talk to her," Karlie said. "I didn't want her to think I was, you know, trying to cut her out of anything. I'm not. I, uh, well... , I'm not sure how this is going to work out. After talking with Trinity, well, I still want to live here. I, uh, I might even spend time in your bed, if that's OK. I like you all. I do. But I think we all need to know each other better. That is what Trinity wants to do. I guess that is what tipped me that way. You four, I can see you four being together always. I can't see me there. At least not yet. Maybe it will happen. But I don't want to commit to something until I'm sure."

"No problem," Adam replied. "I worried about how quickly things came around. I like you, too, Karlie. As we spend more time together, it might grow into more. Just like it might with Trinity. But we're not there yet. As far as sharing a bed, we'll have to see. I don't really make those decisions."

Sarah giggled, glad that the discussion was out of the way. She was disappointed that Karlie wasn't as committed as she was but she understood. After all, four days earlier, the girl hadn't even known they existed. But everything had seemed so natural. The group got along so easily. Still, she could see why it was necessary to take things slowly. She, Allie and Shelly had come almost as a package deal. They had really started out all together.

Allie and Shelly agreed with her. Karlie would be a good addition to the group. They had really enjoyed getting to know her. They cared about her. Just like they cared about Trinity. But they all decided things would work out.

Adam's call to Celina took almost no time at all. He provided the information that Steve Rayburn had given him and she promised to get on it. She also told him that her itemized list of fees was not available because she hadn't been keeping them.

"If it works, we'll figure out where we go," Celina said firmly.

"It's working, Ms. Gomez," Adam asserted. "We have a marketable product as soon as the patent application comes through. We don't want you working for free."

"Would it help if I told you I was splitting your hours with an old bastard I can't stand?" Celina asked. "He gets charged a full hour even if I work 5 minutes. I'm not going hungry. If the patent application is approved, we'll sit down and figure things out. Until then, don't bitch about free legal services."

"Yes, Ma'am," Adam said.

"And stop calling me Ma'am and Ms. Gomez," she insisted. "I'm barely four years older than you. So stop it. Or I will start calling you Sir and Mr. Walters. Or maybe Poopy Butt or something."

Adam couldn't help but chuckle.

"Does Snuggle Bear work for you?" he asked.

"I like that," Celina joked. "But Celina will work just fine. Mike Cunningham said it took him five or six months to get Shelly to call him by name. I will not have the same problem with you. Now, it might take me a week or so to get this together. Does this require urgent attention?"

"Not at all," Adam said. "We had just met when I spoke to him Sunday by chance. We'd like you to look at is because it's available and it might be reasonable. We aren't sure what we'll do with it. We can't rent and he won't sell it if we plan to tear it down."

"Why do you need me to do this?" Celina wondered. "You really don't, you know. It sounds like you already know what he'll tell me."

"Except how much he'll want for it and any number of other things you know and I don't," Adam replied.

"This is a straight transaction," Celina said. "You might need my help with a deed search but it would be just as easy for you to talk to him as it would be for me. You didn't need me to negotiate with Mike."

"Well, we were pretty sure Mike wasn't going to jerk us around," Adam admitted.

"Do you think Mr. Rayburn might?" Celina wondered.

Adam thought for a moment.

"No," he said. "I don't think so. He seemed like a decent sort."

"Then call him and get the particulars," Celina said. "If he insists on having attorneys deal with things, call me back. Otherwise, I think you're good."

"Sounds like a plan," Adam said. "Maybe I can have Sarah and Allie negotiate."

"That is not playing fair," Celina laughed. "But anything that gains an advantage. It's why they have you call me. I get all starry eyed when I talk to you."

Adam snorted. He doubted anything made Celina Gomez starry eyed. She seemed firmly set in reality. Celina laughed along with him and they closed the call.

If Adam's discussion with Celina was simple, Allie's appointment with Daystar really didn't qualify as a negotiation. There was nothing to be negotiated. Tate Benedict wanted her to work there and had made a reasonable offer. Allie wanted to work for Daystar and found the offer to be acceptable.

While Allie and Tate were trading signatures, Shelly tracked down Ben Benedict, who was directing a scene on the set of "Smoked Poles." The girl had tattoos across her lower back and two on her feet. She looked like she was only 18 or 19 years old but it had apparently been hard years. The guy was typical porn fare – a body filled with tattoos, greasy hair and a smirk permanently etched on his face.

Ben was surprised to see Shelly but he greeted her warmly. Shelly waved and stepped back into the shadows.

Shelly had never really watched how the typical shoot was conducted. She was surprised. The scenes she saw with Adam and Allie had been so seamless. Karlie and Adam worked well together. Even the fake scene Sarah had scripted for the three of them transitioned easily.

This one obviously was more typical – or at least Ben seemed resigned to the fact that it would be difficult. He didn't seem upset at the constant interruptions. First the girl had to go to the restroom. Then the guy needed help keeping an erection. Then they stopped to adjust the positions of the performers. It took almost 50 minutes and the scene was well underway when Shelly arrived.

The most surprising thing was that the male performer had to spend almost 10 minutes jerking himself off before he could shoot. Then the cum shot was weak – one decent squirt and then nothing but dribbles. The man's cock wilted instantly. Shelly was not impressed.

Ben stepped over to speak with Shelly while the performers handled their hygienic needs. She noticed that the guy didn't bother to shower or to even wipe off his dick. He simply put his pants and T-shirt on and put his hand out for his cash. He did rake his eyes over Shelly a few times.

"Get my number from Ben here if you decide you want a big man," he said.

"Get real, asshole," Shelly said. "My boyfriend is longer than you, thicker than you and when he cums, I know it. It isn't just a hint."

She turned her back on the stunned man to find Ben smiling at her. He glanced over her shoulder to the guy who was still standing behind her.

"She's not kidding, you know," Ben said. "Longer, thicker, better cum shot. You couldn't handle this one, Lance. You better stay with girls like Shana back there."

"Fuck you both," Lance said harshly, storming out. Ben shrugged it off.

"Now you see why I liked working with Derrick and Ashley so much," he said. "So what brings you down to the bowels of Daystar?"

Shelly smiled brilliantly.

"I was hoping you might have a few minutes to discuss our project while Allie is upstairs signing on the dotted line," she said.

"Oh, sure," Ben said happily. "Man, that is just what I need after that last one. That was horrid. The girl was not happy about who she was working with. She doesn't do oral very well anyway but with Lance, she didn't really put forth much effort. Still, it is what it is."

Ben led Shelly to his office and offered her a seat. She noticed he kept the door wide open and she smiled to herself.

"So do you have any specific questions?" he asked.

"Pricing mostly," Shelly said. "We're looking to see where we can save you money - outside of the obvious."

"I recalculated after our meeting Thursday night," Ben said happily. "If Walt can do what he said, that will save us at least $20,000. I seriously considered just having Sahara rewrite the script so everyone walked. Right now, I think our biggest problem is going to be acquiring a warehouse. I don't think Dad wants to go to the expense of setting up a soundstage. I tried to convince him it would save money in the long run but I don't think he's buying it – literally or figuratively. I've started to look around. If I find something reasonable, I might finance it myself and just rent it out to others. I think that could work."