“I never got my turn,” Chloe complained.
“With great power comes great responsibility,” David quoted the Peter Parker principle from the Spider-Man comics. “Besides, I need to share that knowledge with Alex so he can help you achieve a massive orgasm whenever you want one.”
“My boyfriend is hot enough, and I don’t need him to know some secret David Dawson sex moves so he can sleep his way through the USC student body.”
“Now, hold on there,” Alex said to Chloe. Then he turned to David and whispered, “You never said that your skills could help us sleep our way through the … you know.”
“Please, David has zero skill. No girl would even look at that weirdo if he weren’t a pretty boy,” Chloe teased.
“This conversation is dangerously close to going somewhere none of us wants,” David said. “Instead, send a message to your sister saying I want the floor to meet us for breakfast.”
Nat (aka Squeak) was Alex’s twin sister who lived in the room at the other end of the hallway. She was also a social butterfly who knew everyone on the floor.
“What for?” Alex asked.
“We’re having a floor party Saturday.”
◊◊◊
Wren came out wearing one of his football jerseys and what looked like nothing else.
“Damn,” Alex drawled.
“You might want to borrow a pair of my shorts or sweatpants if you plan on going out in public,” David suggested.
“I have to agree,” Chloe added her take with raised eyebrows.
Wren gave David a knowing look that made Mr. Happy start to wake up.
“Want to help me pick something out?” Wren asked.
Alex about swallowed his tongue.
“Nice try, but I really have stuff to do today.”
Wren swayed her hips as she returned to his room.
When she came back out, she had on a pair of his sweats that looked hot on her, even though they were way too big.
When they made their way to the cafeteria, it was packed with people from their floor. Nat and their resident assistant, Vanessa Pruitt, were standing in a corner. When David’s group got their food and joined everyone, Nat began.
“Last year, each floor had a party and invited the rest of the dorm. Ours was a pajama party, which was a huge success. David asked me if we could have another one this Saturday.”
“I would bring a handful of football recruits and their hosts to the party. It will give them a chance to see what college life is about,” David said.
“I’ve talked to the other RAs, and they have agreed to allow the party as long as it’s mostly Sandoval residents,”
Vanessa said. “I’m okay with a few recruits, but we don’t want this to turn into something that gets out of control.
“As you know, Sandoval Hall is more lenient about underage drinking. We just ask that you do it in moderation.”
David also knew their party wouldn’t get flooded with uninvited outsiders because of the extra security. They had people like Alex and David living there. It was why Alex and Nat’s father spent the money to ensure his kids had a safe place to live.
“Is everyone in agreement?” Nat asked.
No one disagreed, so the party was on.
“Now, I need volunteers to help plan and organize stuff,”
Nat said.
David and Alex both bailed, but Nat said they could make a donation to pay for alcohol instead of work. That was fine with the boys. They also saw that most of the floor residents had ‘volunteered.’ Nat would have plenty of help.
◊◊◊
David had to drive to the studio to film his final scene for The Young and the Wild. He was impressed when they had a parking spot with his name on it right next to the door he was supposed to go in. Cassidy had driven so she and Greg could meet the cast.
When the cast and crew saw that David was letting Cassidy and Greg get pictures with the other actors, they joined in, which stopped all work. Their director, Abigail, also wanted a few photos, so she pushed back filming to accommodate the personal time.
Greg and Cassidy became very popular, as they were willing to share David stories. It reminded him of the wrap days at movies he’d been in. Everyone promised to keep in touch, but very few followed through.
“There’s the man who made all this possible,” Kendrick said as he walked in with Zak and Bec.
“Dude!” Zak said as he came up and gave David a big hug. “Thanks for recommending me.”
David’s eyes shifted, and he saw Kendrick do a micro-shake of his head to tell David not to say anything.
“Bec told me she was sick of you sitting around the house, complaining that no one will hire you,” David said.
The four of them got their pictures taken together, and then it was time for the actors to go to makeup.
◊◊◊
“He will not put a gun to the back of my head,” David said.
“It has blanks in it,” Zak argued.
“That didn’t help Laurent Vance. He accidentally killed himself trying to make that very point to me,” David said, not budging.
“That one actor accidentally killed two people when the prop gun had live rounds in it,” Kendrick said, finally becoming helpful.
“How about we do the scene with an empty gun and add the sound effects afterward?” Abigail said.
“I’ll check the gun to make sure it’s empty and have it in my possession until the scene so it’s safe,” Cassidy said.
“I’ll agree to that,” David finally said.
Thirty minutes later, they were ready to go. David talked quietly with Abigail and Cassidy about how he would like the scene to go.
In the scene, the entire main cast was at Vic’s place, hanging out. David’s character, Mick, had brought Kirsten, played by Bec.
“We’re doing this in one take,” Abigail announced.
“Make sure you hit your marks.”
The scene started with everyone sitting around, talking.
“And then …” Nicki was interrupted as Zak’s character, Kody Franklin, burst into the room, waving a gun.
“I knew it! You’re cheating on me with this asshole?!”
Zak yelled and looked down his nose at David.
“It’s just sex,” Mick said.
“Kody, don’t do anything stupid,” Kirsten said as she tried to get between Mick and Kody.
Kody pushed his wife to the side and brought the gun up to point at Mick’s chest. A gunshot rang out as Mick jerked and slumped over. All the girls screamed in surprise as Forest yelled for someone to call 911. When Mick went down, blood began to pour all over the floor, and it was total pandemonium.
“HOLY CRAP, DUDE!” Kody screamed. “I didn’t mean it!”
“And … cut!” Abigail called out.
The whole room suddenly froze. A moment later, David sat up with his shirt covered in fake blood and asked, “Was I believable?”
Then he explained what they’d done. Cassidy had fired a blank off-screen, hoping everyone would react as they had, and the stunt team had placed a blood bag under his shirt to be broken remotely. The demand for one take was because if the cast knew it was coming, they would have reacted differently. Abigail didn’t want them to ‘act,’ she wanted a genuine reaction.
Zak was not amused and had to be given an Ativan to calm down. He’d believed he’d killed his friend. Even when David sat up, very much alive, Zak’s mind told him he was a murderer.
Abigail played it back and did a fist pump when she saw they’d captured it on film. David agreed that it looked realistic.