◊◊◊
When we arrived home, I sent Frank copies of our pictures at the no-kill facility and photos of Halle with Bandit.
Halle had her kitty to entertain her, and Rita had lunch plans with Tansy Williams. They’d rekindled their friendship.
I was left with nothing to do. I did make some phone calls, and Tim updated me on the trainer they’d brought in. The trainer had created a plan to strengthen Tim’s knee. Tim said the trainer worked with each player to develop an off-season plan to make them faster, stronger, and quicker. For the linemen, he was helping them bulk up. I told Tim about baseball and the possible chance to represent the USA on an under-18 team in Mexico. I also told him about my batting coach and what I was learning.
None of the girls were home when I tried to call. Tom told me that Mary and Tracy were Christmas shopping. That reminded me I needed to do that, so I tracked down Paul, who was on weekend duty, and he took me to Two Rodeo Drive. It was an outdoor mall, complete with cobblestone walkways. Paul must have thought I wanted to spend a fortune, because there was Prada, Gucci, Valentino, Armani, Dior, and Cartier. I did buy some Prada purses for my mom and grandma, and a backpack that looked like a robot for Angie. I felt a little guilty when I checked out Jimmy Choo and found a pair of alligator-embossed leather sneakers that I fell in love with. They were only $800. I had to get out of there before I wiped out my bank account.
Paul showed me where he shopped. It was an outlet mall called Beverly Connection. Old Navy and the like at outlet prices made for a much better deal. Poor Paul became my pack mule when I couldn’t carry any more bags. He gave me a dirty look, but I was getting everything out of the way in one trip. I even found the perfect gifts for my niece and nephews.
He became my hero when he pointed out they had a place where you could get everything wrapped and shipped. It was guaranteed to get home before Christmas.
◊◊◊
While I was shopping, I received two texts. One was from Zak, who asked me to go to a party with him. The other was from Maria. She wanted to have dinner so we could talk about something important.
I dressed to go out in my skinny jeans and a black t-shirt. I put on my new $800 sneakers and grabbed a Dakora jacket. When Paul saw me, he went back and changed into something less casual. I’d promised him dinner and an invite to the party.
I met Maria at a neighborhood Italian restaurant, and we found a quiet booth so she could talk to me. Paul took a seat in the bar. I noticed he picked a table where he could keep an eye on me. As we walked to our table, people recognized me, and a couple even asked me to sign napkins or whatever they had handy.
Maria recommended the lasagna, so I tried it. It was vegetarian and surprisingly tasty. We chatted while we ate, but she seemed nervous.
“Just tell me what you want,” I said with a reassuring smile.
“About last week, I hope you don’t think I do that type of thing all the time. I’ve never been involved in something like that before.”
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, I did enjoy it,” Maria said and then shocked me. “What I’m about to tell you will make you think I’m a complete slut: I want to do porn when I graduate high school.”
I tilted my head and thought about what she just said because I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly.
“And you’re telling me this because …?” I asked.
“Because you’re the perfect guy to help me,” she said as if that answered everything.
“Back home, they call me a ‘stupid boy.’ I guess I’m missing something. How am I supposed to help you with your desire to do porn? I mean, I can see having sex with you, but if there’s more than that, you need to clue me in,” I said.
“I’m serious about doing porn, and I don’t mean just letting some jerk with a big package do me on video. If I wanted that, we could go to the bathroom, and you could film us with your phone,” Maria said.
I pulled out my phone because I could afford to skip dessert. She shook her head, so I put it away.
“I want to learn how to do it right. I Googled you. You’re both a model and an actor, and I bet you could teach me things like how to best present my body and stuff. I really don’t know where to begin,” she said. At that point, she ran out of steam and looked at me expectantly.
Amazingly enough, I’d seen some porn, so I wasn’t completely clueless about the subject matter. I thought about it and recognized that most porn followed a formula. Sexy babe entices her partner. She takes off her clothes except for her panties and then gives the guy head. He, in turn, eats her when he removes her panties. Then there are the obligatory three or four positions, with the guy ending up in some form of missionary. The guy jerks out, and sexy babe acts like she loves him erupting on her face and breasts. Of course, there are variations, but you’ll find at least 80% of that in just about every video.
I thought about it, and the better productions did show off the girl in a better light. Okay, I might have some ideas as to how to help her. I also thought about her hot little body. Of course I was willing to share my vast knowledge on the subject.
“Okay, I’ll help you,” I said.
Maria was so happy she even paid for dinner because as she explained it, it was a business expense. I just chuckled.
◊◊◊
Maria followed me to Zak’s house and parked there. We picked up Zak, and Paul drove the three of us to the party, which was in Malibu. One of Zak’s friends had bought a new house. The home’s claim to fame was that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had lived there.
I was a little surprised that Zak hit on Maria the whole way there, but for some reason, my Alpha Male tendencies seemed to be in check. I didn’t feel the need to claim her as my own. It might have been that the first time we were together, she’d also slept with both Trip and Craig. When we got out of the car, Maria slid up beside me and grabbed my hand. She hadn’t seemed to mind that Zak had been making his move, but she made it clear she was there with me.
I just figured it was Zak being Zak. He was a confirmed Hollywood-actor skirt-chaser. I understood why so many of them remained unattached for so long. Actors, I mean. Seriously, if you were George Clooney, why wouldn’t you be single for as long as possible?
I should’ve known that if it were one of Zak’s friend’s parties, it would be a target-rich environment. Zak took Maria’s rejection in stride. I could see why he got laid so much. He was easygoing and just shrugged it off and found another girl to charm. I knew that if my uncle and brother were single, they would love this place. Maria squeezed my hand to remind me she was there.
“Hey, sorry about that. I just know Zak’s type. Even though he’s cute, I didn’t feel like a quickie and then being looked at like a slut the rest of the night,” she said.
I looked over and saw he had culled one from the herd and taken her to a bedroom. The guy had been here less than fifteen minutes and was already getting laid. I realized she was right when several men seemed to take note of whom he had left with.
I wanted to talk more about her being a porn star. That was one of my bucket-list items, to sleep with someone in the industry, and I would count our time together if Maria actually became one.
“How do you see us working together to help you with your career path?” I asked.
“I don’t know, I was hoping you’d have some ideas.”
“Have you had a lot of experience with sex? I guess what I’m asking is have you been with different men?”
“Not really. I’ve had two boyfriends that I’ve had sex with, and then you were there last Saturday.”
“Did you like that?” I asked.
“I had a good time. Why? Are you planning on setting me up with some guys?” Maria asked.
“Do you want me to?”
“I guess if it were part of my training, I’d be okay with it. But I don’t want it to get out that I’m doing something like this. Somehow, I don’t think the kids at school would take it very well. I don’t want to fight off every jock as I walk down the halls,” she admitted.