Vice, Virtue & Video, page 3
“Bossy, bossy, bossy,” I chide him, shaking my head.
“Sorry,” he bashfully shrugs. “Still kind of in work mode, I guess.”
I laugh and give him a smile as we both finish our meal. James can be a bit bossy with women because they always seem to do whatever he says. He’s one of those guys who just has it like that, who just makes girls go so gaga that they'll do anything he asks of them. He knows not to pull that shit with me, though, because I’m not going for it. Like I said, I don’t think I’d be down for the whole submissive thing.
A few hours after dinner, James walks me back to my place and decides to chill out with me for a little while. I take out a bottle of nail polish and start painting my toes when he volunteers to help. It’s adorable, but I don’t want to ruin it by calling him on it. He never wants to admit that he’s a sweetheart and a total pushover when it comes to me. He likes to think of himself as large and in charge, just like when he was trying to be all authoritarian at dinner tonight.
I rest my foot on his knee and he carefully applies the red polish to my toes, concentrating like he’s cracking a safe.
I can’t help but snicker and he looks up at me with a smirk.
“Shut it!” he laughs.
“What?” I smile. “It’s just cute, is all.”
“I got your cute right here,” he jokes, grabbing his crotch.
I laugh loudly and shake my head.
“So, you promise me you’ll be careful on your date?” he asks, segueing into the subject that’s probably been preying on his mind since I mentioned it.
“Yes, I promise,” I roll my eyes.
“Seriously, Lola,” he says with that kind of vulnerable smile that’s reserved only for me.
“Yes, seriously, I promise you I’ll be careful. What does that even mean, anyway? I’m not venturing into a lion’s den. It’s just a date, dude,” I say with a little annoyance.
“You know how I get,” he shrugs. It’s true. He’s always so paranoid about my romantic endeavors.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’re just going to dinner, so I don’t know what peril I could get into at a restaurant,” I say, giving him a reassuring smile.
“Promise me you won’t fuck him,” he boldly demands.
“James!” I whine. “Ok, first of all, you can’t just throw down rules like that. I’m a grown-ass woman and you can’t dictate who I choose to get familiar with. Second, do you actually think I would fuck somebody after only one date?”
“No,” he smiles. “You’re a good girl, Lola, and I know you wouldn’t do some shit like that, but I just worry. Eric’s so much older than you and, based on what you’ve told me about him, he seems like kind of a smooth talker. I don’t want him smooth talking you right out of your panties.”
“I want you to look at me when I do this because I’m doing it as hard as I can,” I laugh before dramatically rolling my eyes.
“Fine, don’t listen to me,” he smirks. “Go out there and give it up to that Scandinavian motherfucker ‘cause he fed you some line of bullshit to get into your pants. Let’s see how good you feel after that, huh? Let’s see what happens when you’re all bummed out about it and I have to build you back up again and show you that you’re worth a lot more than that.”
There’s an underlying sweetness to what he said that makes me smile.
“You are, you know?” he says. His voice sounds softer, more sincere and even a bit shy. “You’re worth way more than a dude like him.”
“You don’t even know him,” I murmur in response.
“But I know you,” he says, looking right into my eyes. “I know what you deserve, how special you are … how beautiful.”
I swallow hard. Pure, unadulterated honesty. Whenever he says things like this to me, he sounds so genuine and forthright that it catches me off guard. I’m used to Total Smart-ass James, but Heartfelt and Sincere James can stop me in my tracks.
“Give me your other foot,” he says, breaking the moment as he puts my left foot up on his knee.
A big smile slowly spreads across my face as I watch him return to the task with such care.
“Lola,” he grins, “don’t tell anybody about this—that I’m sitting here painting your fuckin’ toenails like we’re at a slumber party or something.”
I laugh loudly and nod my head. “Afraid this would damage your rep?”
“Beyond belief!” he chuckles. “I can’t be the dude who ties girls up and spanks them and the dude who sits around pampering you like you’re a fuckin’ princess. How the fuck could I maintain any level of coolness if people found out that I spent my whole night cooking you dinner and painting your toenails for your date with some other guy?”
That makes me laugh harder and he gives me that mischievous smile.
“Your secret’s safe with me, dude,” I snicker. “I won’t tell anybody how you're my big sweetie pie.”
“Shut up,” he laughs.
“Nobody will find out that you’re my big, honey bunny, teddy bear,” I tease in a baby voice.
“Zip it!” he laughs harder.
“I’m not gonna tell everybody how you’re my cuddly, snuggly schmoopy.”
“I will put this bottle down, tear your clothes off and fuck you on the goddamned floor and we’ll see who’s cuddly and snuggly!” he says through loud laughter.
“All talk,” I shake my head. “Bark and no bite.”
He takes a deep breath, puts the lid on the bottle and gives me that predatory grin that says he’s primed to attack.
“You wouldn’t dare!” I giggle.
With that, he lunges onto me and pins my arms above my head. He’s pushing down on me with his full body weight and I have no chance of escaping his grasp. I feign a struggle, but I’m laughing too hard.
“You’re lucky that I am your schmoopy or I’d have to teach that smart mouth of yours a lesson,” he says in a slightly more seductive tone.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I smirk as he lets my hands go. I reach around him and swat his butt, which makes him laugh. “Now finish my toenails, cupcake.”
“You are the eternal pain in my ass,” he chuckles.
Sure enough, though, he opens the bottle of nail polish and finishes painting my toes. I resist the urge to tease him. He knows he’s totally caved, I know he’s totally caved, so there’s no need to be merciless about it.
I’m ready to call it a night after Colbert and I walk him to the door. He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head before giving me a smart-ass smirk.
“Watch your ass, young lady, or I’ll be forced to watch it for you,” he says.
“Oh, shut it!” I laugh and lean up to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Night, babe,” he nods and steps out the door.
I snicker to myself as I retreat to my bedroom. No one would believe that one of the world’s most famous porn stars was just sitting in my living room giving me a pedicure and I can’t help but feel a little smug about the way James becomes a total softy with me. He's always been that way and I have no doubt that he always will be.
Chapter 4 - James
I’m sitting in the chair by the small conference table in Rick’s office while Rick checks his Blackberry and then comes over to join me.
Rick’s my boss and the owner of Sin Cinema, my production company. The dude looks exactly like the sleazy scumbag character soccer moms would picture when someone says “porn producer” but he’s an ok guy under the dyed black hair and too-tight Armani suits. He took a chance on me when I was barely 19 and put me in my first movie with Shawnna Hendrix, who used to be a superstar in the business. Since then, I’ve built a major career for myself. I’m one of few dudes in the industry who are household names—at least in households that watch porn—and I’m making some very decent money under my current contract.
That’s why I’m here today, to talk contracts. My contract with Sin Cinema is up for renegotiation in a few months and Rick knows I’m going to want more money. Frankly, he owes me. He’s making a huge fuckin’ profit off my movies and my dick has practically put Sin Cinema on the map. I feel pretty confident that he’ll cut me a better deal—though he can be kind of a tight-ass, so I don’t know how much more cash we could be talking.
“Where are we at with the product line?” I ask him before he has a chance to open his mouth.
I’m looking to put out a line of sex toys molded after me. A lot of porn stars do it and it’s a huge moneymaker. People dig having a toy that’s created from an actual performer’s body. It makes them feel like they’re fucking the real thing. Rick and I have been talking about this for a couple years now and I really want to get the ball rolling so I can have that steady, reliable source of income for the future.
On Lola’s advice, I’ve been saving up as much as I can for the day I eventually retire. “You can’t fuck forever,” she always tells me. I’ve stashed a pretty hefty amount, but most people don’t last in this business too long into their thirties and thirty’s not all that far away for me. Lola tells me that it might be hard to get work after this, too, because that porn stigma might follow me everywhere
“It’s coming along,” Rick says in response to my question about the product line. “I’m working on an appointment for them to do the mold. You free next Wednesday? They said they’ve got an opening and it should only take a few minutes for them to do the cast.”
“Yeah, that works,” I nod. “What else do you got for me?”
“Well, kid, I need you to do three shoots on Saturday. You up for it?” he says as he comes over to sit across from me at the table. “They’re easy, just video, one location, all hand-held, I know you can knock it out in no time.”
“That’s a lot, Rick,” I reply. Even a few quick blowjob videos could easily consume the entire day and I really wanted to go to the beach with Lola on Saturday.
“That’s a lot?" he laughs that nicotine laugh that makes me think he’s been smoking since he was a fetus. “Come on! I’ve seen you do 15 scenes in a week. Nothing’s too much for you!”
I know what he’s doing. He’s hoping to flatter me, to act like I’m the Michael Jordan of sex and challenge me into doing the scenes.
“Alright,” I agree with an eye roll, “what's on the lineup?”
“I got bondage with plain fucking—no dialogue, just sex only so it shouldn’t take too long. I got a threesome with anal and then Eva’s renting out one of her girls for some kind of big S&M shit,” he lists off.
“Eva Satana?” I ask with surprise.
“Yeah, she called, said she wants to make a video with you,” he answers. He can pick up on my apprehension, but he’s trying to brush it off.
Eva Satana was a big name in the industry about 15 years ago when she made a name for herself as a dominatrix. She started her own company after she retired and now she sells mostly to a niche market who like more extreme BDSM scenes than the stuff in mainstream pornos. Some of her videos are borderline illegal, but her customers have a shitload of money, so she gives them what they want.
“Eva’s lending you one of her girls?” I ask with disbelief. “She hates you. Why would she do that?” Part of that’s my fault. Eva doesn’t like Rick because I work with Rick and he’s made a lot of money off my sweeter, gentler BDSM movies, which tend to appeal to the growing female market.
“Here’s the deal, kid,” Rick says as he leans over the table towards me. “Nothing’s finalized and you gotta keep this between us, but I think Eva wants to negotiate a multi-film deal with me. She’s seen the numbers, she knows you got a big fan base and she wants you in her films. This could mean a lot of money coming in for the both of us.”
“I don’t know, Rick,” I reply, already feeling uneasy. “She does some shit in her movies that I’m really not into. She’s more … hardcore than I want to be. I don’t think I can do choking or fisting or some of that shit she has in her videos. I didn’t get into this business to hurt girls and she’s into all that extreme shit.”
“I understand,” Rick says with phony sympathy, “but keep an open mind because it might be a ton of fuckin’ cash and you’d get a big percentage of it.”
“I should get all of it, you greedy fuck!” I joke.
Rick laughs that gravely laugh and pats me on the back. “I tell you what, kid, we’ll negotiate,” he cackles.
I narrow my eyes at him, but snicker. Rick’s been like my agent and manager for my whole career and he’s always been pretty fair with my contracts, so I’m sure he’ll cut me a nice chunk of change from this … if I do it, that is.
Just then, Christie, Rick’s bubbly, blonde assistant, comes running down the hall and into his office.
“Uh, Rick,” she says breathlessly, “Eva Satana’s here.”
“What the fuck is that bitch doing here?” Rick says, running his thick fingers through his receding hair and grabbing his forehead like this is giving him a migraine.
“She says she’d like to speak with you and James,” Christie adds.
I swallow hard. Why would she want to see me? She’s working out a deal with Rick that involves me, but there’s really no reason for us to even be in talks about this yet.
“Should I send her in? She doesn’t seem to like waiting,” Christie adds quietly. Eva’s got a rep for being a total bitch and I feel bad that poor Christie had to ask her to wait in the first place.
“Yeah, yeah, alright,” Rick relents and takes a seat behind his desk.
I nervously shift in my chair as I hear the click clack of heels in the hallway. I realize I’m holding my breath when Eva rounds the corner. She’s wearing black, patent leather, knee-high boots, black leggings, a red corset and a leather jacket. Her long black hair hangs down to her ass and her lips are painted stop sign red. All she needs is a camera crew and a whip and she’d be ready to film a scene.
“Gentlemen,” she says, her voice all husky and sultry.
Rick gets up to greet her and usher her to the chair across from his desk. “Eva, so nice of you to stop by today,” he says with such fake friendliness that I have to consciously stop myself from rolling my eyes.
“Ah, James Langdon, so finally we meet,” she smiles wickedly at me as I go over to shake her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Eva,” I say, wondering if I should call her ma’am. Miss? Madam? Your majesty? She’s oozing a pretty intimidating and vaguely dangerous vibe and I feel like I should be formal with her.
I can feel her eyes scanning me from head to toe and it makes me swallow hard. Girls check me out all the time, but this is way different. She’s looking at me like I’m a cow and she’s determining which parts of me will produce the best cuts of meat. I hurry to take a seat at the table so I can get a little farther away from her.
“I understand you’ve accepted my generous offer to loan you one of my subs,” she says to Rick. She’s smiling, but there’s something malicious going on behind her eyes.
“Yeah, I think we’re a go on that,” Rick nods. He’s been in the business for nearly thirty years and even he’s suddenly become all quiet and submissive around her. She’s got a rep for hanging out with some pretty rough characters who muscle people into cooperating, so maybe there really is a reason to be worried.
“And you will be staring in the scene?” she says, turning her blazing gaze to me once again. I think it’s more of a command than a question.
“Rick and I haven’t worked out all the details,” I reply nonchalantly.
Her scowl makes me feel like I’ve done something really stupid.
“You are aware that I have offered $10,000 in addition to your usual fee?” she raises an eyebrow.
That’s a lot of money for one scene, but that hefty price tag makes me a little nervous about what she’s expecting. The more they pay you, the crazier the shit they want you to do.
“James, you have a gift,” she says, looking in my eyes. I feel like she’s one of the vampires on True Blood and she’s trying to glamor me. “I need someone who can genuinely dominate these girls, not one of these failed actors who think they can fake their way through it. I need someone who can make these girls obey. I need someone who will punish them if they fail to meet his demands. Authenticity, James. I need authenticity. This business is sorely lacking anything real, anything visceral and genuine.”
I take a deep breath and try to think of how to respond to that. Girls have always done whatever I want them to, but it’s because they like me, not because they’re scared I’m going to “punish” them. All that punishment stuff is just something I pretend to do in movies. When I’ve spanked or tied up my girlfriends outside of work, it’s just for a bit of naughty fun, not for some mind-fuck domination scenario.
“I do hope you’ll do the film,” Eva grins at me. “Savannah will be so upset if you refuse.”
“Savannah Slade?” I ask nervously.
Eva nods and shoots me a look that dares me to challenge her.
Savannah Slade is well known in the industry as the ultimate submissive. She’s the girl who will do absolutely anything, no matter how painful, dangerous, degrading or taboo. She’s been in some of the most scandalous videos of the past five years—stuff you can only find on obscure, foreign websites. I know a couple people who worked with her in the past and they all came out of it with horror stories like they were in Vietnam.
“Um, I don’t usually work with girls like Savannah Slade,” I say, trying to reject her offer in a polite way so she won’t get all pissed.
“And what’s wrong with Savannah?” she shoots back with that sharp eyebrow raised like it could boomerang off her face and slice my head off.
“Nothing,” I shake my head. “Nothing’s wrong with her at all. She just takes things a little far—at least that’s what I’ve heard. I think I’d be a little uncomfortable working with somebody who has such a high tolerance for pain. I don’t like to hurt girls for real and I’m not really down with having to do that.”
“James, a high pain threshold is a prized asset in our genre,” Eva says like I’m some bratty child.
