We all found a table and relaxed. I got to know Sasha. She was originally from Australia but had moved to the States when she was twelve. She had done modeling, cut a record, and was now on a hit TV show. It was one of those chick ones, so I’d never watched it. It turned out she was just a year older than me.
I really enjoyed her company until she got drunk.
“I want to have sex,” she slurred.
“You’ve had too much to drink,” I said. “Let me take you home.”
“No. I want to see if your tool is as big as they say.”
I looked at Penny and Sage, and neither of them would look back at me.
“You’d have sex with me,” she said as she reached for Bill’s lap and rubbed his crotch.
I believe the only two sober people at the table were Sage and myself. Bill, Ridge, and Penny had hit the free bar hard. I looked at Sage as Bill let Sasha rub his dick.
“Why don’t we all find a room and have some fun?” Penny asked.
“Yeah, like a road trip,” Bill said.
I cringed at Sage’s expression. Penny seemed to know all about it because she just giggled.
“Do you think we can use a bedroom?” Ridge asked.
I sighed. I didn’t want this crew running amok in Zak’s house.
“Let me see,” I said and sent Zak a text.
I was surprised when he sent me one right back. There was a guest bedroom on the main floor I could use if no one else was using it. I led them to the room and was stunned when they just started stripping off clothes. Sage and I looked on. I guess I wasn’t surprised when Penny and Bill kissed like they were lovers. Ridge leaned back and let Sasha give him oral.
I wasn’t into watching my friends have sex, so I stepped out the door. Sage followed me.
“Did that just happen?” Sage asked.
I just shrugged. What could I possibly say to make this better?
“How long has this been going on?” she asked.
“I’ve no idea.”
She shook her head.
“Can I get a ride home?” she asked.
I sent a text to Zak to let him know my friends were using his bedroom, and I was leaving. I sent another one to Fritz to let him know we were ready to go. We made our way outside, and Fritz was pulling around. When we were situated and began our ride to Sage’s place, she grabbed my hand. I gave her a weak smile but didn’t pull it away. I couldn’t compound things by encouraging Sage to do anything she wouldn’t normally do.
It turned out that she didn’t live too far away. She had a condo in a modern, upscale building.
“Will you come up? I really don’t want to be alone tonight.”
“No, I’d better not. I want us to be friends after tonight, and friends don’t take advantage of their friends,” I explained.
“This might be a onetime offer,” she said to put the pressure on.
“Take my number. If you want to talk, or more, call me. I’ve always been attracted to you, but I don’t want our first time to be like this,” I said.
“I understand,” she said and then sent me a text to make sure I hadn’t given her a bogus number.
“What are you going to do about your new girlfriend?”
“I think I’m looking for someone who only sleeps with me,” I said with a smile.
Our eyes locked. I couldn’t believe conservative Bill would give up someone like Sage just to sleep with Penny and Sasha. He’d always been the one to hold us back when we wanted to go a little wild. I wondered if Ridge and Penny were the ones who had corrupted my friend. If you’d asked me before tonight if he would ever do something like this, I would’ve said no. Sage looked doubtful.
“I might have a one-night stand, but for a girlfriend, I want it to be just the two of us,” I said.
“Okay, I believe that. Let me get this mess worked out, and then I’ll call you,” Sage said.
“I look forward to it,” I said and kissed her.
“Thanks, David,” she said and got out of the car.
“Rough night?” Fritz asked on the ride home.
“Young people and alcohol,” I said.
Fritz got the message that I didn’t want to talk about it.
◊◊◊
Chapter 18 – Searching for Clarity Monday December 7
Sunday I’d been a complete slug and did nothing but go to church and watch some movies. Rita was convinced my education wasn’t complete and decided there were films I needed to see. I enjoyed Casablanca and Mutiny on the Bounty but wasn’t a fan of Annie Hall.
Apparently, the paparazzi were slugs, too, because none of them were waiting for us when we ran. As we came back home, Caryn was pulling into the driveway from her weekend at her mom and dad’s. I showered as she unpacked. I couldn’t believe she’d taken her clothes home to have them washed. After all, if you put them in the hamper, they magically reappeared in your closet a couple of days later. What she did seemed too much like work.
◊◊◊
When we arrived at the set, I found I had one scene first thing in the morning and then another at the end of the day. After I finished my first scene, Caryn, Fritz, and I left to go to my baseball training. I was happy to see Ray warming up and watched until he was ready. It looked like the couple of days of rest had done him some good. His curveball and slider were breaking like crazy.
Coach Revilla came out, took his position, and nodded to Coach Boyd to begin. I mentally ran through the five steps: rhythm, seeing the ball, separation, staying square, and weight shift and transfer. I stepped into the box, and Ray overthrew a fastball. What happened when you did that was they tended to rise. I saw it as soon as it came out of his hand. I concentrated on my mechanics, and from the crack of the bat, I knew I got all of it. If there hadn’t been a net, it might’ve ended up in the parking lot.
“Shake it off! Go again,” Coach Boyd told Ray.
The next pitch was a slider that dipped away for a ball.
“Good eye,” Coach Revilla said.
Then Ray unleashed a curveball that looked like it was coming at my head. I stood in and ripped it right back at him. That was a sure double. Today they weren’t stopping to coach us. You could feel the intensity level amp up. Ray had seen two of his first three pitches get tagged. He seemed ready to show up this high school kid.
The next pitch, he did just that. I misread it, and the curveball had me looking foolish. Coach Revilla didn’t say a word. I felt myself fall into the zone. For the next thirty pitches, I put on a hitting show; I just couldn’t miss. When Ray finally got so frustrated he threw at me, we called it a day.
Coach Revilla didn’t comment on my hitting today. He gave me a new drill to do on the batting tee and said he would see me Wednesday.
◊◊◊
Caryn had come with us because I had a meeting with Laurent Vance, a director. He’d been green-lighted to make a movie called The Royal Palm, set in early-sixties Cuba right before the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was set at a hotel where foreigners would stay, many of whom were spies. The role I was trying for was that of a young man who gets tangled up in the intrigue. My character was killed off in the third act.
Saul had called Caryn and said the director wanted to meet with me to see if we could work together. It was supposed to be just a friendly hello.
We arrived at the Soho House in West Hollywood and were whisked to the northeast corner of the upper-level garden. I looked around and saw actress Tansy Williams having lunch with three other people who appeared to be lawyers. Mr. Vance looked like he’d just crawled out of bed.
“Sit and listen,” he began. “I didn’t want you for this role, but the studio has forced you upon me. I have no interest in dealing with the flavor of the month and making him into a star. Why don’t you do everyone a favor and drop out of this picture?
“Order what you want. I have other things to do,” Mr. Vance said and got up and left.