Chapter 9: ASSCAPADES


ASSCAPADES


            Sex can be fun. It can be personal and it can be casual. But it all depends on the people doing it. Sex is never just one thing. I think that’s why there are so many names for it. Unfortunately most of them are considered rude but I think they are all very descriptive of different types of sex. Amanda fucked and screwed; she never made love. Everyday people like Joe and me get lucky or do it. Occasionally, like Jodie and I; people fool around. Uneducated layabouts hump whereas intellectuals copulate. Dogs tend to go at it, strippers grind, politicians get involved in hanky-panky; jail-bate chavs get nailed, bimbos get ploughed and show-offs get some action. A majority of the population are the boring people, who simply go to bed with each other. The best porn stars can freestyle. They can take the best techniques and styles of any kind of intercourse and know which is best for any particular scene they may be shooting. This of course is totally secondary to the number one rule of porn stardom; you have to enjoy it. You cannot be a porn star who looks incredible but just lies there getting fucked. You have to work it. You have to be into it. The punters don’t just want to see people fuck; they want to see gorgeous girls enjoying themselves so much that they reach orgasmic heights of happiness. However the girls don’t always just turn it on. Sometimes it’s up to the director to keep them passionate. I’ve filmed three films so far; fifteen sex scenes in total. I only occasionally had to direct the actual action. I’d usually just let the professionals do what they do best. They know more about porn than I do. But this next film was different; this was going to be my directorial debut. Hazza was going to let me do things the way I wanted and I wanted the sex in Asscapades to be fucking amazing.
            Day one of the three day shoot and we start at a location a half hour drive away from the office. Hazza and I arrive at an empty house, which is ours to do what we want in for the whole morning and set up the lights and camera equipment. Alex is back in Mexico, seeing his family and so Steve is replacing his camera duties on this shoot. He used to work for Salsa full time before leaving to achieve more mainstream stuff, so naturally he’s back filming as soon as Hazza calls him. If you’re looking for Steve in a crowded area, you can’t miss him; he’s the guy wearing the leather cowboy hat, long black trench coat and eyeliner. According to Hazza, when Steve walked past the local school on his way to work, the kids would shout, “Oi Gothic!” and this actually made him walk the long way around to bypass the teasing children.
            This morning’s talent is 25 year old Isobel Ice from somewhere in the West Country by the sound of her accent. She’s not the most attractive girl I’ve seen but she has an incredible pair of boobs. She also mistakes me for a porn star when Hazza introduces us, which boosts my confidence immensely. She’s going to be fucking Tristan, a French porn superstar who we had used in Fresh Off The Bus 3. The set up is pretty simple. I have five envelopes, each with a porno challenge written on them. I get Tristan to choose one, open it up and read it out. The first challenge is to persuade an estate agent to fuck him while she shows us round a property. I mention to the camera that I have a friend who’s buying a property and that he saw a really sexy, up for it agent. I give him a call and we cut. Moments later we await the arrival of our estate agent and Isobel arrives on the scene in appropriate attire including a sexy pair of spectacles. We head into our rented location and she shows us around while we sneak peaks down her very open top and make constant insinuations. Of course as this is a film we have to shoot these set-up scenes a few times from different angles and it amazes me how brilliant Isobel is at improvising. It’s like she’s stepped out of Whose Line is it Anyway as she takes us through the house telling us about its history and the décor. I’m almost deliriously happy with how it’s going when we get to the master bedroom, the place where the action will take place. I interrupt her in mid sentence and ask her how her money situation is. She tells me that she’s pretty comfortable. I argue that everyone could always do with some more cash but she tells me that her finances aren’t any of my business and looks at me blankly. I’m completely stuck and totally confused about how I’m supposed to get her to have sex with Tristan. This is ridiculous; I’ve failed to get a porn star to have sex in the intro of a porn film. You’d think it should be easy to get an adult movie star sucking cock when you’re actually filming an adult film. I turn to Steve, who’s holding the camera.
            “She’s making this very difficult,” I say. Steve laughs at me.
            “That’s what you get when you don’t have a script motherfucker!” he tells me and actually smiles for the first time all morning. I tell Isobel not to play too hard-to-get and we film it again. This time it turns out she could definitely do with some more cash, just I had thought, and when I open up my briefcase full of money she’s totally up for fucking Tristan on camera, right then and there. Holding two wads of cash in her hand she asks if she can have another if she blows me but I tell her I’m here in a strictly professional capacity and she squeezes my cheek and tells me that’s a shame. They start kissing and caressing on the bed and we cut. I take over filming duties and Steve mopes off downstairs. I had decided to film all the soft and hard parts separate with one camera. I felt this would make for better scenes and as I’m shooting I know I’m right. The scene is incredible. Isobel even squirts three times onto the already filthy looking mattress we’re using, which is incredible to witness first hand. I’ve only ever seen someone do that once before. It was a night out in London a few years ago with Joe and some colleagues of his who worked for ITV. Carla was an assistant producer or something and after a few drinks in a nightclub I tried my luck. She stopped me as I went in for a kiss, “What’s my name?” she asked. Fuck, what the hell was her name! Reach deep into that head of yours Rick, this is important. I knew it was something like Sara, Lara. It definitely ended in –ara!
            “Kara,” I said confidently.
            “It’s Carla,” she replied. I had to think fast, she wasn’t looking impressed.
            “I’m sure Joe said it was Kara, I’m sorry.” I waited. She looked at me. I had gotten away with it! A full snog session commenced and we found ourselves on some staircase in the back of the club. I started touching her all over and she told me to rip her tights open, I oblige and as I touched her a gush of liquid hit the ground. I remember thinking, fucking hell what is that? When I realised, it was such a turn on. We ended up standing in a puddle, even she was shocked! You know a girl is enjoying herself when that happens and Isobel was loving getting fucked in the arse on camera.
            “Looks like you were having a good time there!” I say after we’re done shooting. Isobel turns to me, still naked and now covered in come.
            “You know what it was,” she says, “I was almost coming in pussy, then we changed to anal and I was like... err... then I just changed my mentality and I was playing with my pussy thinking, I’ve only just met this fucker and already he’s got his cock up my arse and I came!” She starts laughing hysterically, holding her hands on her cheeks like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. “I came ‘cause I’m a fucking pig!”
            We move locations to a fantastic open plan apartment in Covent Garden and start setting up for our afternoon scene, where Tristan, Hungarian starlet Lara and I break into someone’s house so they can fuck inside. The photos take so long to do that it’s pitch black outside by the time we start filming. Everything goes well up to the bit where Keni, playing the role of the house owner, comes down and gets in on the action. Apparently he’d been up pretty late last night fucking his girlfriend, who happens to be Isobel, who we shot that morning! He’s having a job keeping it up and he ends up watching Tristan do most of the fucking. The DP we were planning on doing isn’t going to happen and I have no idea how to make this scene work. Hazza comes in and tells Keni to take a seat and to just join in whenever he can. I grab all of the soft content we need with no problems but the hard is a bit of a disappointment. There’s only so much you can do when this problem occurs. It’s no use telling the guy to be hard, any kind of added pressure is just going to make things worse. Keni looks like he’s about to keel over from exhaustion, thankfully we still have Tristan going strong. Keni ends up not being able come at all but we still needed a come shot for his character. Tristan, showing utter virility, offers to ejaculate twice. I tell Hazza I can simply flip Tristan’s pop shot and cut it with Keni’s expressions. Crisis averted.
            The next day we film me with a Loudspeaker calling for horny students in front of a university, of course one of those students ready and willing to participate is Dora Venter. Cue amazing threesome with Tristan and Danny Boy. The scene after that had me and Diana Gold out on the streets looking for a random guy to fuck her. We actually manage to talk to some real strangers who think it’s a wind up! Grasshopper even makes an appearance as some guy who seems incredibly scared of the notion of having sex with a lady! We eventually get our stooge in and the scene is all good.
            Day three of shooting arrives and I’m informed that we have to change the last scene due to location problems. Hazza has arranged for us to film in a local shop and in one of the units next to Relish. Mark Sloan’s challenge is to find a sexy shop assistant and persuade her to get fucked in the arse. As it’s a Friday I’ve invited Jodie to come down to the office to hang out and have a few drinks with everyone while I’m filming. Whenever you’re filming people have sex, you tend to get a little horny yourself at the end of the day, so instead of simply looking up free internet porn tonight, I’m going to be with Jodie and I was looking forward to spending some time with her.
            Our model for today, Pearl, arrives with a smile on her face and Hazza quickly gets her into make up, while I finish up playing in the footage from yesterday. Dee Dee walks into the office from outside.
            “Is that who you’re filmin’ today?” She asks?
            “Yeah, is she hot?” I enquire.
            “Her tits are bigger than my head. It’s fuckin’ disgustin’!” Oh my lord, things just got more interesting. The picture I saw of her was only of her face, which looked gorgeous and now she has enormous boobs too? Fucking jackpot. Hazza walks into the office and closes the door behind him.
            “Rick, ok… um… look… she’s just told me she’s four months pregnant,” says Hazza, obviously not too sure how to feel. “So when you’re shooting the sex, maybe make her keep the dress on around her stomach.”
            “You are not serious,” says Dee Dee. “She’s fuckin’ pregnant? You can’t shoot her like that?” Don perks up from behind his desk.
            “That’s great, I’ve been getting requests for this kind of shit,” he says. Dee Dee looks back at him with utter disgust.
            “That’s fucked up man,” she says and walks into the toilet. This is going to be one heck of an interesting scene!

            After her make-up’s done I take Mark and Pearl along with Grasshopper to shoot the intro to the scene. Getting my first real look at Pearl gets my heart racing, she’s practically my dream woman; dyed red hair, huge boobs, full lips and bright eyes. She just looks perfect. Although I can’t help but wonder exactly how big a foetus is at four months and whether Mark’s cock is going to be poking it. As well as being pregnant, Pearl had also informed us that her husband, who had dropped her off and was picking her up thought is was a girl/girl scene. She apparently needed the money and was gracious enough to let her hubby know she’d be taking a cock this afternoon. In her bum. I feel a bit awkward; I’ve shot three series’ for Relish and no-one had been coerced into doing anything they didn’t want to. Everyone had wanted to be there; they loved fucking and were getting paid too. I’m suddenly faced with the harsh reality of life and work. It’s very easy to find yourself stuck and fall back on something you know. Pearl needed work and this was the easiest thing to find. I guess the risk of waiting for something else to come along just wasn’t worth it. It does raise a lot of questions about how people in the sex industry can maintain relationships. How can there be the trust that is needed? I do know of couples that are very happy together and surprisingly, these tend to be the ones where only one of them is in the industry. I suppose that way it’s easier to separate work from home life. The sex in porn is so very different to sex in real life. I can see quite easily how a porn star could isolate the two. In a relationship you don’t tell your partner to move from a reverse cowgirl position and prepare for the pile-driver, before sitting her down and wanking into her face.
Grasshopper fires up the camera and I introduce Mark to the audience. Our challenge is to find a shop assistant, so we head to the high street and the shop, which we’re filming in. We place Pearl at the counter and I can’t stop looking at her body, sure she has a slight tummy bump but in relation to the two enormous sweater kittens up top, it actually looks very normal!
            Mark and I head outside and we film us peering in, gawping at the incredible sight before us. She’s showing her body off and leaning over, rearranging the objects in the sop. She heads downstairs as we’d arranged and we make our way in.
            “Hello is there anyone here?” I ask.
            “Ah yes I’m downstairs… all the jewels are downstairs,” she replies. Mark and I give each other an amazed look and we head downstairs. She’s waiting for us and we I introduce Mark and myself.
            “Anything catch your eye?” She asks.
            “Well there are a couple of things,” I reply staring at her massive rack. Seriously, it’s like a shelf. I open the briefcase and tell her we’re prepared to give her a lot of money. I doubt I’m ever going to get another opportunity to have a fondle of those puppies and every ounce of my being is telling me to find a way to get it done. I remember we’re shooting a porn film right now, I’m also supposed to be directing this thing, surely if I want to have a go on her huge-tracks-of-land, I should just do it. Hazza’s always been the one to instigate this kind of stuff though. Man up Dick Bush, this is your moment. Hazza’s not here. You’re the fucking man, just fucking do it. I pull out a wad of cash.
            “If I give you this wad right here, would you… let me feel your tits?” I ask. Pearl giggles, smiling at me.
            “Ooh, yeah ok,” she says grabbing the wad of cash from me. I instantly start slowly caressing her bosom, pushing them together and they immediately look like a massive arse.
            “Oh my God, they look like a massive…” I suddenly think that maybe I shouldn’t liken her fantastic appendages to a bottom and find myself wondering what the hell I should say next, when this comes out, “…pair of tits!” You’re a genius Rick. I get back to the briefcase and start to wonder how far I can take this. I offer her another wad of cash and ask if she’d let me finger her.
            “You know what,” she says, caressing the side of her body, “you two are so horny, yeah, yeah I would actually!” I give her the wad of cash and tell Grasshopper, who seems to nearly drop the camera with excitement, to get a shot from down below. It’s at this point that I realise she’s not wearing any underwear and start touching her lady part. Pearl starts moaning, like she really enjoys it and head back into the briefcase and pull out two more wads of cash.
            “For these two wads of cash, would you suck this guys cock and fuck him on camera?” I ask, shaking the cash wads in front of her. Pearl laughs, her hands already full of dirty money.
            “Mmm, yeah he’s gorgeous. Alright then,” she says. I suggest she shuts up stop early and come with us and we all make out way out of the shop. We’re all laughing about how fun that was as we make our way back to the office. We’ve set up a sofa in an office next door and Grasshopper gets the lights all set up.
            In the Relish office I show everyone the playback of the intro we just shot, feeling immensely proud of myself that I got to grope and finger the talent!
Jodie arrives and I get her a drink as a few more of Hazza’s friends make there way in. It seems like he’s decided that tonight is going to be party night as we film next door! I show Jodie around and introduce her to everyone and I’m forced to go and work and leave her chatting to our new designer Miles who I think is an utter twat. We were both going to scout some locations for the film a few weeks ago and had arranged to meet up at 9am in Central London. I waited an entire hour, constantly ringing his mobile to no avail. I did the scouting by myself and when I got back to the office he hadn’t even come in to work. When he did arrive his excuse was that he though we were meeting at 10am. I waited till 10am, he wasn’t fucking there. I really don’t want anything to do with him but now he’s chatting away to Jodie while I film people have sex next door.
About an hour or so later and we’ve reached the pop shot stage. Mark is preparing himself as Pearl waits sitting next to him on the sofa. Grasshopper and I both have cameras in our hands, waiting for that all important moment that can only be shot once! As we wait, Mark suddenly makes a noise, grabs his leg, saying he’s got a cramp and ejaculates over himself. I get my camera turned on so quickly but even though Mark gets into some kind of position above Pearl, it’s too late. We weren’t ready, I’m horrified; my directorial debut has resulted in disaster. No pop shot for scene 5! I haven’t got a clue what to do as Mark starts explaining how the cramp suddenly made him come.
“Can’t we just fake it? Squirt some lube on her?” Mark asks.
            “I’ll have to see what we’ve got,” I say after briefly considering suggesting I cream over her grab-handles myself and head to the store room looking for something we can use to spray lube. I come back with a camera lens blower, which gets rid of dirt and hairs from camera parts when you squeeze it. I mix up some lube, milk and water to make a very life like semen substitute and suck a load up into the lens blower, on to which I’ve managed to attach a short tube. The only problem is getting it close to Mark’s cock. I look over at Grasshopper, sitting there not doing nearly enough to help. Cocky bastard, it’s time he earned that Production Assistant title of his.
            “OK Mark, if you stand over Pearl, holding your cock,” I instruct “Pearl, you’re caressing those boobs of yours, urging him to come. Grasshopper, get between Mark’s legs.” Grasshopper reluctantly makes his way underneath Mark Sloan’s sweaty groin and cups the lens blower in his hand, directly below his balls. Mark holds the piece of tubing under his cock and I start filming over his shoulder, looking down at it and Pearl’s boobs. Mark and Grasshopper exchange a few words about when to squeeze and we get going. The first take looks like the jizz shoots out the side of Mark’s member. The second take I see the tubing poking out. For the third take we remove Grasshopper and Mark attempts to operate the blower himself. Success, it looks just like a proper come shot. Grasshopper goes and washes his hands and we film the last little bit where we say goodbye. It’s over. It’s done. A giant struggle uphill has finally been conquered.
            We remove ourselves to the Relish office for a few drinks and I find Jodie in the editing suite with Miles and she seems to be crying.
            “Hey, what’s up?” I ask, genuinely concerned. Miles gets up and slowly backs me out of the room.
            “I don’t think she really wants to talk to you right now,’ he says and closes the door. What the fuck?? What is going on? What has he done? I grab a drink and sit with Hazza and Grasshopper as our fake pop shot is explained, still wondering what Jodie is crying about.
            A few minutes later Miles leaves the edit suite and I walk in there, closing the door behind me. I sit down with Jodie, who has now stopped crying.
            “Hey, you ok?” I ask.
            “Yeah, Miles told me what you did with the porn star though.” That son of a bitch! What did he think he was doing?
            “Me groping her in the movie? I’m shooting porn here,” I explain.
            “You’re not a porn star Rick,” she says.
            “I’m hosting, it looks good to do stuff like that; it’s not real, it’s just for show.” She seems quite upset about it and I feel guilty that it’s because of me but I’m mostly so fucking damn pissed off at Miles. Seriously, what kind of guy does that? Hmm, I have dirt on Rick, I’ll tell Jodie what an arse he is and then maybe she’ll go home with me instead. Utter wanker.
            After a few minutes making out in the editing room, Jodie and I head back to mine, I make sure I give Miles an utterly scornful look, just letting him know how much of a prick he is and also that he had no fucking chance with her.
            Jodie is great, and I love spending time with her. She has this great Liverpudlian accent, but don’t tell her that or you’ll hear, “I’m from The Wirral!" I love making her laugh, and though I may rip the piss out of the way she says certain things, it’s all in good fun. I’d never make fun of someone I don’t like. I’m not quite sure what we’ve become though; I guess the technical term is fuck buddies but that just sounds so crass. I feel like it’s a friendship with benefits, we hang out, have a drink, invite each other to parties and events but we’re not seeing each other. Why? I’m not sure. I remember wanting that when I first met her but right now I feel very comfortable. There’s no commitment, no pressure. She’s someone I can watch TV with. It’s the best!

Chapter 8: GRASSHOPPER

GRASSHOPPER





            As I head into the editing room and say good morning to Alex who has also just arrived, I notice this grin on his face.
            “You’re back! Feeling better?” He asks. I’d been ill with a stomach bug that kept me in bed most of yesterday.
            “Yes, what did I miss?” I ask back, not really expecting much.
            “Oh my God, dude. I can’t believe you weren’t here,” he says as Hazza walks in.
            “Dick! Feeling better? I tell you what, you picked the wrong day to start puking buddy,” says Hazza, slapping me on the back and making his way to his desk.
            “Seriously!” Adds Alex, “Can we show him the tape?” He asks Hazza.
            “Oh the tape! Yes, stick it on!” He replies and Alex grabs the camera next to the Avid and ejects he tape.
            “Morning everyone,” says Jasper, strolling into the office, “Can you believe the sluttiness of some of these girls, absolutely amazing. I tell you what, that’s a first day on the job that he’s not going to forget!”
            “What the fuck did I miss yesterday?” I ask.
            “Oh Bushy, you weren’t here yesterday were you?” Jasper asks. He goes on to explain to me that they had asked Nancy, who was in Fresh Off The Bus 2 to come into the office yesterday to talk about a contract, which I find rather odd because Relish doesn’t have any girls on contract. Hazza explains that they’re off to Berlin in a couple of weeks time for the Venus porn Expo and want her to accompany them. A few days ago Jasper had received a phone call from a student, called Michael, enquiring about doing some production assistant work; he asked the lad if he knew Relish was a porn company. He didn’t. To which Jasper roared with laughter and invited him down after his meeting at the BBC about a runner position! Michael seemed nice enough, if a little too-cool-for-school, he wore his jeans halfway down his legs, had an earring and seemed to generally consider himself the king of cool. Jasper and Hazza offered to pay him £100 for three days work a week. Obviously Michael didn’t bother with the BBC job! Alex was ecstatic as Michael was exactly his type; young, skinny and boyish. When he accepted the job, we decided to call him Grasshopper as he seemed to have a lot to learn! Yesterday was to be his first day.
            Alex explains how Grasshopper arrived right in the middle of Jasper and Hazza’s meeting with Nancy and as they were having a mini-party through next-door with alcohol and all sorts, they decided to bring Grasshopper through and have some fun. Alex presses play on the tape deck and the video starts.
            Grasshopper sits down in the meeting room next door and Hazza introduces him to Nancy who shakes his hand.
            “So this is just a little video so we can get to know what you’re background is and get to know you a bit better ok?” Asks Hazza.
            “Uh… yeah,” says Grasshopper, seeming a little nervous.
            “So do you have any editing experience?” Hazza asks.
            “How big’s his cock?” Jasper asks Nancy, who proceeds to reach down in-between his legs and start caressing his groin.
            “Uh, I’ve edited… short films…. For University,” he answers with a quiver in his speech.
            “And what editing program were you using?” Enquires Hazza as Nancy starts unzipping Grasshopper’s fly and getting his cock out.
            “I was using... Final Cut Pro…” replies Grasshopper as Nancy moves her head down to his lap and starts sucking his penis. Jasper roars with laughter from behind the camera as Grasshopper’s face goes completely red.
            “Well we use Avid here, but it’s very similar. I take it you’d be happy to learn how to use that?” Asks Hazza, somehow playing the straight man, which causes all of us watching the video to burst out with laughter. He moves the camera over to Jasper, who is in uncontrollable fits of hysterics. It’s obvious the interview really isn’t going anywhere and they ask Grasshopper to leave, who does so, pulling up his fly and buckling his belt.
            Although his face seemed to be one of pure fear and nerves during his initiation into the world of porn, I’m sure he went home and told a very different story to his friends about how on his first day at work, he got sucked off by a porn star!
            Hazza fast forwards to the point where they try to get her to do stuff to the rest of the employees. Designer Paul comes in but absolutely refuses to let her do anything to him while the camera’s rolling but Alex doesn’t seem to be as shy. He walks into the meeting room and is introduced to Nancy.
            “I’m not quite sure what you can do for Alex, as he’s our resident homosexual,” says Jasper, “You still liked getting your cock sucked though, right mate?”
            “How about she licks my ass?” He says, with a hopeful look on his face.
            “Sure,” Nancy says and Alex proceeds to turn around, pull down his jeans and present his arse to her face, much to the raucous guffaws of Jasper and Hazza.
I can by see his wincing expressions as Nancy seemingly devours his brown-star behind him, that she’s really going for it and everyone crowded round the monitor are pissing themselves with laughter.
            “Alright guys,” says Jasper, “time to get to work.” We stop the tape and get on with editing. Hazza informs us that we have a new male model coming in later today, who he wants us to audition. Female porn stars really don’t need much of an audition, I’d seen a few of them on old tapes and they were pretty much asked to do a striptease on camera. To be honest, it’s not the girls you have to worry about. As long as they’re pretty and not completely devoid of sexuality, you know they’ll do a good scene. It’s the guys that you need to be sure can actually do the deed. It’s a lot harder than it seems; sure you may be able to get an erection with no problems when you need to but add the pressure of having to get a chubby as people look on filming you with cameras and you’ll find that only a handful of the population can do it.
Not really wanting to be the one who films this guy masturbate and ejaculate I say Alex should do it! Alex leaps at the chance and even wonders if he’ll need a helping hand.
            When the model, Jon Janes, arrives I give Alex a copy of the James Bond parody Cocktopussy script I wrote and tell him to make Jon say a few lines from it. I’m really hoping that Hazza and Jasper decide to let me make it. The reality stuff is good but I really think we could make something spectacular if we tried. Porn with action in it! Alex leads Jon next door with a camera and Hazza walks into the editing room.
            “Hey buddy, you seem a lot happier these days,” he says. “How did everything work out with your mate and that girl?”
            “Yeah, I know, I was totally out of it last week. It was pretty difficult actually. She broke his heart and fucked off. He’s probably feeling the way I did.” Hazza sits down and sighs.
            “Yeah, mates before muff buddy. That’s how it should be. Always.”
            When Alex comes back in, I’m alone in the editing suite and he stands there at the doorway looking at me sheepishly like a child who’s done something very, very wrong.
            “I did something bad,” he says so very softly.
            “What did you do Alex?” I ask. He mumbles something and I ask again.
            “After he left... I took the tissue he used and masturbated in the toilet while sniffing it.” I drop my head into my hands as Alex comes in and sits down. “Is that bad?” He asks.
            “Alex! Yes, that’s… well… no… I mean… Alex, you do what you need to do buddy. There’s nothing wrong with that. But at the same time… I really can’t believe you did that! And why tell me!?”
            “I thought you liked hearing about my stories.”
            “I do Alex. I do. Please keep them coming. Tell Hazza!”
            “Nooo, you can’t tell him!” I’m not surprised by anything Alex does or tells me anymore. I don’t think any of us are; not since in his second week here he shagged the sandwich boy, who comes around every lunchtime selling food! Jasper of course just loves his filthy stories. If Alex starts to tell him something he’ll suddenly stop him in mid sentence, stand him in the middle of the office and have him tell the tale to everyone!

            The following Friday we’re gearing up for Asscapades, which we will be shooting next week and the whole of the office is having lunch at a nearby pub. Alex has already started flirting with the nineteen year old Grasshopper; asking to see his abs etc. That combined with Grasshoppers lust for attention has given rise to a bizarre cat and mouse game which tends to involve Grasshopper teasing Alex then running away, leaving him telling me how much he wants to fuck him. It’s a delight.
            As we’re waiting for our food we all order some drinks and Alex suggests tequila shots. By the end of the meal we’re all three sheets to the wind and as we make our way back to the office Alex makes his move.
            “Seriously, Mikey,” Alex says to Grasshopper, “just let me suck your cock.”
            “No man!” Grasshopper replies. Everyone’s laughing at them but Alex continues.
            “Oh come on, I’ll pay you.”
            “How much?” Asks Grasshopper, loving the attention.
            “I will pay you fifty pounds to let me suck your cock,” Alex says.
            “For fifty quid? Sure ok,” replies Grasshopper, wanting to sound extremely laid back to anything remotely sexual. As the rest of us leave them behind a little we can here the conversation go on. Alex has no idea if Grasshopper’s being serious or not.
            As I make my way back into the office, I notice that Alex and Grasshopper are no longer behind me. They’re absent for a good ten minutes until Grasshopper suddenly appears at the editing suite door looking shaken, distracted and very red in the face.
            “Oh Grasshopper,” I say, looking at him like a disapproving parent. He rapidly sits down at one of the Avids.
            “So how do you open a file in here?” He asks, changing the subject. Jasper calls for Grasshopper.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Jasper asks, “You get an hour for lunch. You’re twenty minutes late.”
“I know, it just took ages for the food and…”
“Don’t give me that. Everyone else managed to get back on time. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Jasper sends him off to the post office to pick up the mail as Alex comes in and sits down, having narrowly missed Jasper’s wrath. I stare at him.
            “Well?” I ask quietly. He sniggers, almost unable to explain what just happened.
            “So… we went to the cash machine and I got out fifty pounds,” he says.
            “Oh my God. Tell me what happened!”
            “I took him next door, we went into the meeting room and I pulled down his jeans and got his cock out.”
            “I can’t believe he let you do that!”
            “Oh man, he was nervous. He was like, shaking.”
            “But you still sucked his cock?”
            “Well, yeah!”
            “Oh man, you’re fucked up Alex.”
            “But he didn’t stay hard.”
            “Well I’m not surprised!”
            “He actually asked me to stop.”
            “That’s even worse! You’re sucking this teenager’s cock and he’s saying no!”
            “I know man!” Says Alex getting back to work.
            “So did you pay him?” I ask.
            “Well he didn’t come, so I gave him twenty-five.”
            “What?? He let you suck his cock and you’re only giving him half?”
            “He said it was fair.”
            “That’s because he’s traumatised. He came back in here looking like he’d just watched his parents die or something!” I can’t believe the things that happen in this office sometimes. It’s like it’s a magical place of lust and deviance. “How come you only just came in now?” I ask him.
            “Well, afterwards I was kinda horny… so…”
            “Yeah, I get it, please don’t go into detail!” We carry on our editing our scene specific trailers. I’m really looking forward to shooting Asscapades, not just shooting but directing and hosting. My turn in the spotlight! Alex turns to me one last time.
            “I’m just glad I got him while he was still a teenager.” Wrong. So wrong.

Back at the flat that evening, Joe and I are sitting watching TV with our Chinese take away. He tells me he’s found a boat he wants to be part of the crew on. He’s going to be leaving for Spain in a couple of weeks time for three months. Wow, everything’s really hit him hard. I’m not surprised he just wants to get away. Three months on a boat would be bliss for him; he lives for that nautical stuff. This is kind of what he’s always wanted to do and now he has no reason to stay here and every reason to go. I’m going to be all alone. Who’ll watch TV with me now?

Chapter 7: JOE AND AMANDA

JOE AND AMANDA


            Joe strolls up to me with his bag, all ready to leave. I’m absolutely stunned. My head is trying to explain to me what I’m seeing. Amanda is lying is Joe’s bed. She is here in your flat. She was here last night while you slept. She was sleeping in your best friend’s bed. With him. I’m still not quite understanding.
            “What…. What?” I ask.
            “We thought we’d surprise you,” explains Amanda. Yeah, I’m fucking surprised. Nice one. You should write a book on how to surprise people. Of all the ways anyone could have surprised me, this is probably the most surprising. Due to it being something I just would never… ever expect to happen. I am surprised.
            “We planned to wake you this morning by pretending to shag, making loads of noise,” she continues, “But then we just ended up not pretending.” Did you now! Well… that is… yeah… I’m standing here in my dressing gown, holding a cup of coffee bearing witness to something absolutely nonsensical. I have no idea what to think or what to say. Joe is standing there simply grinning and shrugging, agreeing with Amanda.
            “Oh,” I say. “Yeah, I didn’t hear you.” Still no idea what the fuck is going on or how this has come to be. Part of me wants answers part of me feels like I’m still dreaming because that’s what it feels like. I feel like I’m in that moment right before you wake up where you’re still dreaming but you have no control and your legs won’t move right and you feel trapped and paralysed like walking through a paddling pool of thick sticky glue. “I’m going to have a shower,” I say and head to my room.
            “I’m off, I’ll see you guys later,” Joe says as he leaves.
            “See you later,” says Amanda.
            As I stand in the shower, hot water falling down on my back, I feel like I’m in the fucking twilight zone and I’m only just now grasping the fact that this is happening. I’m at a loss as to what to say when I get out and have to spend the day with her. What the fuck is up with that? She’s says she’d love to come down and stay with me in London for a while and when she does she has to do it by fucking my best friend. What the fuck? It just seems like the most fucked up thing and they seemed so calm, like it was perfectly normal. I can’t comprehend it. The shower does actually calm me down and when I get dressed and head out of my room she’s still there in Joe’s bed.
            “So what the fuck is all this?” I say, maybe a bit too calmly.
            “Well we planned it a couple of days ago. I had an interview yesterday so thought I’d come surprise you.”
            “Yes, you managed that.”
            “Joe and I went for a drink last night and we thought it’d be funny to wake you up in the morning. I told him last night that there wouldn’t be any sex but this morning… it just sort of happened.”
“Well, that’s just lovely.” It’s incredible; she really doesn’t think she’s done anything wrong. It’s not her I’m surprised about though, it’s Joe. He knows that Henry and I fell out because he slept with someone I liked. I can’t believe that he’d tread on ice as thin as this. Does our friendship mean this little to him?
            “Joe was complaining that you got all the girls. We didn’t think you’d really care,” she explains. So now I have to suffer because of that? I can see the situation. I can understand how this has happened. I would have done the same thing. Fuck, let’s face it I have done the same thing.
            I’m forced to spend the entire day with her; the girl I really like who just fucked my best friend. It’s more than a little awkward. We mostly watch movies, which helps because I don’t really feel like talking to her. Thank god I’m seeing Natalie tonight. If I had to be here when Joe got back I really don’t think I’d be able to handle it. I need to get away from this fucked up mess and just enjoy myself. Amanda mentions she’s off to stay with a friend tonight but she’ll be back for her stuff on Sunday. I guess it’s a good thing that she’s only here for the weekend.
            I meet up with Natalie and the party is huge. I can’t believe how many people are here. Natalie and I kiss a lot and I actually manage to forget about the Amanda thing. We talk, well she talks, I listen. Natalie doesn’t stop talking for the duration of the evening and even though I lose track of whatever it is she’s talking about more than once, it is a welcome distraction. She also won’t tell me how old she is, not that I care but her saying that has made me rather curious. In a taxi on the way back to the flat I attempt to work out her age using all my detective skills. She had mentioned that she first went to Glastonbury in 1986. I would have been five. How old is someone when they first go to a huge concert? Maybe Fourteen? That would make her Thirty-Four. Bloody hell, she looks Twenty-Seven. We get to Archway and I’m bricking it that Amanda is going to be here but also glad I’m not coming home alone. Natalie, needless to say is extremely naughty during the night and I can’t help believing that if I was alone I’d be so upset and hurt by Amanda and Joe that I would have cried myself to sleep on my soaking wet pillow. Luckily, instead of doing that I’m ejaculating over Natalie’s face as per her instructions.
            In the morning I listen to Natalie take a call from her boyfriend, explaining to him how she slept over at a friend’s. I hear him ask whether she’d been naughty and she tells him no, insisting she’s at her friend Jackie’s and will be home soon. I’m trying to gauge whether she genuinely didn’t want him to know or if this was just how they did their open relationship. She’ll sleep with someone then talk to him the next day insisting she hadn’t even though he knows better. Maybe that’s just how he gets his thrills?
            I walk her to the station and see Amanda coming back to the flat on a bus. This Joe, Amanda situation is going to end badly. He has really fucked up. I’m not sure if he realises it. I think I’m going to have to have a talk with him.

            Monday turns out to be a difficult day at the office. Hazza notices that something is off about me; I’m not making jokes, I’m not talking much at all. I guess I just seem to be elsewhere. There wasn’t a talk with Joe last night; I just didn’t have the courage. We sat and watched TV instead and Amanda stayed yet another night. I had to, politely as I could, ask her to be gone by Monday. Joe seemed agitated by it. I’m confused about the two of them. They seem to be seeing each other. But I can’t get around how this has all happened. Hazza comes into the editing room and has a talk with me.
            “You ok Rick?” he asks, “you seem a little down.” I feel like I’m on another planet. I tell Hazza everything, like he’s some agony uncle. It’s good to tell someone, to vent some of my frustration. Although he doesn’t give me too much advice other than saying, “mates before minge.” I’m just glad she’s gone and hopefully Joe and I can talk about it and get things sorted. I’ve never been the one for talking, not even with my closest friends. It has, on occasion, worried me that I’m not close enough to anyone to feel comfortable emoting in front of them. I think my friends see me as a closed book; I never let anyone in. Joe knows me better than anyone though and I’m hoping we’ll be able to save our friendship.
            That evening I get back home to find her bags still in the flat. Her and Joe seem to be out somewhere but all her stuff is still here. I am absolutely furious. I storm into my room and kick a box of CD’s over and over and over until my toes hurt, which actually feels pretty good. I turn on my laptop and find that she has left me an email, which contains a slideshow of pictures from the party. I decide to text her a thank you, which when read between the lines, basically says “I’m at the flat, I know you’re still here, where are you?” She texts back saying she has a surprise for me and I reply telling her that those don’t tend to work out well for me. Then Joe texts me with a pointless, “it’s a much better kind of surprise”. This text’s purpose is obviously only to tell me that he is with her.
            I wait. I sit in my room. I decide that I’m just going to have to talk with Joe with her around and move to the living room and sit on the sofa watching TV. They get back a bit later and walk in smiling. Amanda plonks herself down next to me.
            “Hey, how are you?” she asks. I decide not to act. I decide not to close up and bite my teeth. I decide to tell her exactly how I’m feeling.
            “I’m a bit upset really,” I say. She looks at me with a smile.
            “No, you’re not! You’re joking right?” It’s like she’s giving me a way out. I could easily pass that off as a joke and the night would continue with no arguing or sadness. Joe is behind her smiling at the notion of me being upset. I look at him, very straight faced.
            “How did you think I would feel on Saturday morning?” I ask him. My heartbeat is racing. I can feel blood surging through my body, I feel angry, I feel so sad and confused. I want an answer. Joe shrugs it off. I knew he’d be like this in front of her. I ignore Amanda, get up and grab Joe’s arm.
            “Come on let’s go talk about this alone,” I say.
            We sit on my bed, both crossed legged, like we’re children.
            “I’m actually really hurt by what’s happened, Joe,” I tell him.
            “Are you really?” he asks.
            “I just don’t know why you’d do that to me? You know what happened with Henry and me. Do you just not care? Why would you shit on our relationship like this. It’s like you don’t want us to be friends. Do you not want to make Men In The Forest 5?”
            “I honestly didn’t think you’d react this way. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong. You didn’t say anything about liking her so much.”
            “I don’t. I mean… I don’t want to go out with her or anything. It was just going to be… you know? Fun. And you’ve ruined it.”
            “I actually really like her, Rick. I want to out with her; I want to be her boyfriend. We have so much in common and I just love being with her.” I have to try so hard to hold back the tears. He really does like her more than me and I realise I don’t have a leg to stand on. But at the same time I can’t believe how much of a fool he is. Why would he hurt our friendship over some bint whore, who’ll fuck anything.
            Amanda bursts in, with tears in her eyes, all in a mess.
            “I don’t know what you’re talking about but I’m leaving,” she tells us and walks out. I feel relieved but Joe gets up in an instant and runs after her. I come out of the room to see her leave through the front door and I find Joe in the living room putting his trainers on.
            “Just let her go,” I tell him. Joe is absolutely enraged and looks up at me with tears running down his face.
            “You’re just being selfish,” he shouts and runs off after her. The door slams closed and I hurry back to my room bursting into tears like I hadn’t done since I was a child. They’re real tears, streaming out of me, loud howls of crying; the proper stuff. I can’t stop them. I can’t hold these back. It’s a release of pent up emotion that I’ve been blocking for days. I’ve never had this kind of argument before; never been in any heated situation. This is all very new.
            After hearing a few raised voices from outside, they eventually come back to the flat. After a while Joe comes into my room and tells me that he thinks Amanda and I should talk but she wont because she thinks I hate her. He conveys the message that I don’t hate her and she comes in to talk to me. We sit on the bed and I tell her the same stuff. I’m hurt. I don’t know why they’d want to hurt me. She says she didn’t think I would be hurt, that she didn’t think I liked her like that and continues to talk and talk about more and more meaningless stuff and just doesn’t stop. I start to drift off and become so intensely bored of listening to her that I realise that if Joe wants to be with her then I should absolutely give him that chance. I’m not interested in her as much as he is obviously. Sure it could just be the fact that she crushed my heart but fuck it, I’m going with instinct.
            It’s me and Joe’s turn to speak again and I go into his room and sit on his bed. I tell him that he deserves to be with someone a lot more than me. I can feel the tears coming; I’m just going to let it all out. I don’t deserve to be with anyone; I’m horrible. I have been incredibly selfish and not just now, for the past few years. I tell him that if thinks they could be together then he should go for it. We cry. And hug. And tell each other we don’t want to hurt our friendship. And with that the three of us sat on the sofa in the living room and watched series 2 of Spaced feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
            After a couple of episodes I head off to bed and go and brush my teeth in my bathroom. Just as I’m spit the last of the foam out of my mouth the door opens and Amanda walks in. She closes the door behind her.
            “How do you feel about me?” she asks as I put my toothbrush away and wipe my mouth on the towel.
            “What do you mean?”
            “Do you have feelings for me?”
            “Why?”
            “Because,” she starts taking a pause in the middle of her sentence, “I was wrong when I said I liked you both equally.’ She cannot be serious. She can’t actually be doing what I think she’s doing. “When I was sitting on the sofa between the two of you,” she continued, “I thought about whose lap I wanted to lay on and it was you. I’d choose you over Joe.” Is she fucking nuts? After all that has been said tonight, she wants to hurt us some more. She’s playing with us. We’re just a game to her. I can finally see it so clearly. So I play along.
            “I do care,” I tell her. She takes a breath and touches my arm.
            “Then we have two options; one, we tell Joe how we feel. Two, we forget it, I go home and we forget everything.” She really wants me to walk into Joe’s room and tell him that we have decided to be together. Christ, does she not think I have any heart at all? We both know it’s going to be option two and that is what I tell her. We hug, kiss and lay on the bed for a bit. She sleeps on the sofa.
           
            In the morning I manage to have a word with Joe about Amanda. I tell him what she told me last night and how I think she’s just playing us. I tell him that we have to get rid of her. She’s going to cause us pain if she’s around. He doesn’t listen of course. He simply tells me that I don’t know her the way she does; that they have a connection. He just gets angry when I tell him she’s a fucking sociopath. I know he wont listen but I had to try and warn him.
            The next day after work I on my way home on tube so incredibly glad she’s gone. Forever. But I bump into the two of them at the station as I arrive and the pair of them smirk at me.
            “WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?” I say with a raised voice. She tells me they’re going for a drink with one of her friend’s then she’s going to stay with someone else. I am so incredibly pissed off that I go home and sulk in my room like some little child, who’s been told he can’t watch any more Transformers. I don’t hear them come home, as I’m already asleep by midnight. The next day, after work however, I find all her things gone. Joe is angry and upset. He tells me about what happened last night. They had been out drinking with her friend and some friends of that friend and in the small hours of the evening they went to find a bus to get home. Amanda, Joe and some guy they were drinking with waited at a bus stop. A bus arrived and this guy and Amanda got on but she didn’t allow Joe on. She shoved him back onto the pavement with a smile on her face saying, “this is my bus, you have to wait for your bus.” And she left Joe there and went home with this other guy. Needless to say Joe was utterly crushed. He had been chewed up, digested and shat out into a pool of acid that was then pissed on by a dog, lapped up by that same dog and shat out again into a liquidizer, which was then turned on by some sociopathic bitch. I hold back the desire to say that I told him so and we sit down and watch TV together. 

Chapter 6: KARMA

KARMA


Chlamydia. I’m sure it’s Chlamydia. It’s the most common sexually transmitted disease. One in ten people my age have it and it’s almost symptom-less for men. My penis is incredibly itchy. In the shower I can see that it’s a little swollen and I feel incredibly stupid. Actually I could have sworn we used a condom. That’s the thing about drunken evenings, you’re never quite sure what actually happened but I am definitely getting some kind of recollection of latex contraception. There’s a sexual health clinic down the road; I’m going to have to make an appointment for next week.  This is so embarrassing. And so fucking annoying; I can’t believe the universe gives me such an awesome night and then feels compelled to balance it out with this almighty bombshell. How fucking lame is that? I really should look up these symptoms; I really don’t know enough about these things. I’m wondering when I should tell Amanda about this. After finding out what it is? That makes sense. How the hell is she going to react? I realise that she’ll be so humiliated by it, think I find her disgusting and never want to see me again. So upon much deliberation, I come to the conclusion that I just won’t tell her. I look at the text she sent me last night and stroll out of the bedroom.

I was thinking about the other night was so lovely to sleep under your arm wit my head on your chest. I love to be fucked then cuddled. Oh i miss it! Plus you are hot. Would do it again. Mmmmmm. Am xxx

As I leave for work I notice Joe on his computer writing an email to Amanda. I couldn’t make out exactly what he was writing, I’m sure its just friendly banter but it still pisses me off. Why does he have to be a third wheel like that? I wonder if I should send a text to her but I don’t want to come across as needy. Should I ask her what he’s saying? I don’t feel like I can trust her though; maybe she’ll tell Joe. You see what girls do? Maybe I should just do nothing; maybe that’s the only way to show Joe that he doesn’t have a chance and should just stop.

Alex and I are hard at work on the editing of Fresh Off The Bus 3. Right from the get go of the first one we had decided to edit the intros in the most amusing way we could. We would make Hazza do a load of different takes when he presented each scene, talking to the camera about the girl he was about to pick up from some train station. Hazza B Gunne was pure porno on the screen and we edited his loud mouthed, sarcastic, super-cool character to bits. At first it was to make it look stylised and MTV but we were now editing his intros and his interviews with the girls so the conversations they actually had weren’t there at all. We’d practically break down each sentence they each said and re-ordered it or cut it short in order to make it seem like they were having the most ridiculous conversations.
            “How was your flight,” asks Haz in the back of a limo, holding up his camcorder to twenty-one year old Eve, who’s fresh from Prague and has been in the industry for about two weeks.
            “My flight,” replies Eve.
            “Yeah, where’ve you come from?”
            “Um, I’m from Prague.”
            “Are you?”
            “Yeah.”
            “So how was the flight?”
            “Yeah.”
            “Fantastic, so nice to meet you. So let me if I can… um… just show me your..”
            “I like pink,” says Eve unzipping her top.
            “Yeah, me too,” says Hazza copying her accent. “There we go, don’t mess about, it’s raining and all.” Eve opens her top revealing a stacked cleavage. “Oh my God. I’m very pleased you’ve come to London, my darling. So now we’re going to head back to the apartment to take you to the next level. Okay? But… um… do you mind if I feel your tits?”
            I’m laughing hysterically at the small scene I’ve put together from a ton of different takes and tell Alex to come watch.
            “Oh man. You have to show Hazza. That is great,” he says. In the footage, Hazza then asks me if I want to have a little feel, just to make sure everything is ok. I decide I’ll include him saying this and then cut straight to the apartment. Comedy genius. The next piece I’m editing is the small interview that Hazza and Eve have on the sofa. I watch the uncut footage and remember how drunk we all were at that point. Hazza is on his fifth vodka, lime and soda and is asking Eve about what she’s doing in London.
            “Are you looking for work?” He asks her.
            “No, I have here work.”
            “Oh really? And what do you do?” Enquires Hazza.
            “I make… movies,” she says being genuine.
            “No, no, you need to… wait… um… Where’s my creative director? Rick?” I watch myself run over to her and explain that she has to pretend to do something else, I suggest that she says she’s a student, studying in London, take a quick peak at her incredible cleavage and run off screen. Take two and Hazza starts enquiring about her status yet again.
            “So what are you doing here in London?” He asks, taking a sip of his vodka, lime and soda.
            “Um… I fuck,” she says. It’s as if she just can’t lie and everyone on set laughs out loud again. I see myself come rushing in for the second time, telling her not to be a porn star!
            “Look at him,” says Hazza, talking about me, “I can see it in his eyes, he’s thinking ‘I could do it so much better!’ He probably could too,” he turns to Eve, “bitch.” Hazza suddenly realises it looks like he’s just called his young, gorgeous performer a bitch right to her face and everyone is gasping in shock. “Ooh, sorry,” he says. I’m watching this footage, laughing so hard that it brings in Hazza from his desk, who wants to see what all the commotion is about.
            “What are you guys laughing about?” He asks. “It sounds like you’re having far too much fun in here.” I show him the ‘bitch’ footage and then the edited intro scene and upon seeing himself grope Eve’s incredible breasts he goes beserk. “What is that? Take that out right now!”
            “Why? It’s awesome. People want to see that,” I say, attempting to explain from a creative point of view.
            “Yes but if my wife sees that she’s going to divorce me! Now take it out.” Well I guess that’s understandable. I take out the actual breast fondling but keep in the line about wanting to feel them.
            Relish make about one film per month and it’s getting close to the time where Hazza decides what he wants to make next. I’ve had a great idea that I’m working on in my lunch-breaks; a porno based around the adventures of the Relish office. I’ve called it The Orifice, the idea being that porn stars would play everyone who works at Relish and we see a bunch of sexy scenarios involving affairs between colleagues, the lube run, which ends up getting sexual with the sex shop owner and surprise visits my sexy, busty electricians. I’ve managed to parody everyone in this work of art and it’s almost done. I need an ending and while eating my Tesco microwavable meal I remember Hazza’s story about the strap-on. He and Jasper many years before had organised a little party in the office. During the evening, one of the girls said she has always wanted to fuck a guy with a strap-on and Hazza being the kind of guy who’ll try anything once (if drunk and high enough) accepted her invitation and they moved into the small washroom in the corner of the office. I remember Hazza telling of how this woman lubed up this dildo attached to her groin as he leant over the basin, legs apart, slightly quivering from both anticipation and fear. When she started to insert it he looked up to see his reflection in he mirror and the sight of this drunken, dishevelled man in his 30’s getting pummelled in the arse by some hooker with a strap-on stared back and apparently it just didn’t sit right with him. His reflection started shouting out, “Don’t look at my face! Don’t look at my face!” He knew it would haunt him forever. After a few seconds he pushed her out saying, “No, it’s not for me.” That’s why I love Hazza so much; he is absolutely willing to try anything and will always tell you exactly what happened. His life is an open book for all to come and gaze at with wonder and marvel at all the hideously uncomfortable, incredibly illegal, unbelievably hilarious things he has done in his life.
            I quickly type out an outro where the cameras burst in on him and Jasper half naked with a bunch of models in the office, one of them wearing a strap-on. They insist the cameras leave as they struggle to hide their faces.
            I slap the script down on Hazza’s desk with a smile. He looks at it and then up at me.
            “What is this?” He enquires.
            “Just something I’ve been working on,” I say and leave him to have a read. I head outside and take a deep breath, pulling the scrap on paper with the number of the Archway Sexual Health Clinic that I managed to sneakily look up earlier on. I phone the number and make an appointment finding that my voice really travels in the corridor and I try to move to a more private location but everywhere gives my voice an echo. I make the appointment for the end of the week, annoyed that I’m going to have to ask Hazza for the morning off work. It means I’m going to have to tell him.
            Before Alex comes back from lunch I call Hazza into the editing room and ask if we can talk.
            “Sure buddy,” he says closing the door behind him, “what’s up?”
            “I went to this party at the weekend,” I explain. Hazza’s face lights up.
            “Oh yeah?”
            “Yeah, and there was this girl who couldn’t get enough of me when she found out I made porn.”
            “Fucking brilliant! Dick Bush strikes!”
            “Yeah, we did it in the bathroom and then in the bed and it was awesome.”
            “That is very cool Rick.” Hazza looks proud of me. I feel quite good telling him this, it’s almost like he’s a mentor in the ways of filth. It’s just unfortunate that it ends with an itchy penis.
            “It is cool. But what’s not cool is my itchy bell-end.” His first reaction is to smile uncontrollably and then laugh out loud.
            “Ha ha! You fucker, you got roasted!” Not quite what I want to hear but he starts calms down a bit.
            “I think it might be Chlamydia or something,” I say.
            “Does it hurt when you pee?” He’s a doctor now.
            “No. It’s just itchy.”
            “Doesn’t sound like Chlamydia buddy. Trust me.” That’s actually a load off; if anyone knows STI symptoms it’s going to be Hazza. “You need to get down the clinic but I’m sure it’s nothing major.”
            “Yeah, I’ve booked an appointment for Friday. Is it alright to have the morning off?”
            “Of course. Of course. Just put it the book.” He lets out another yelp of laughter and heads back to his desk.
It’s a couple of hours after lunch when I hear Jasper’s distinctive laugh. It’s more a roar of noise than anything else; an exhalation of air, which reminds everyone around him that he is there and he is the top dog.
            “Dick Bush!” Shouts Jasper. “Get out here!” I wonder out of the editing room too see Jasper holding my script. He’s so amused by it that he suggests we all sit and have a read through, with each of us playing our parts. Fantastic, they love it, I’m going to get to direct, finally. The read through takes place at the end of the day and it’s hysterical. I’ve made Don and Dee Dee have an argument, as they always do but then make up with a bit of hardcore sex action. They are pissing themselves at the dialogue I’ve used which is a real conversation I heard them have.
            “You did actually ask me that Don!” Says Dee Dee. “I’d just finished making a sale on the phone and you suddenly asked me if I’ve ever been fisted and if so, did they slowly ease it in all at once or work it up finger by finger!”
            “I was writing a blog about it, I just needed to know and you’re the only girl in the office,” Don replies.
            “The only girl you know more like.”
            “Oh well done, very funny, the wit just oozes out of you.”
            “Fuck you Don.”
            “I think this is the moment you guys start going for it, isn’t it?” I say. Dee Dee slams the script down and makes her way back to her desk making genuine dry heaving noises.
            “Just imagine his cock in your mouth Dee Dee,” says Hazza, causing Jasper to let out an almighty roar of laughter and Dee Dee to run to the toilet holding her hand over her mouth.
            As I’m walking from the office to Hammersmith tube station I get a phone call from Amanda; we chat about what we’ve each been up to, me with my script and editing, her with her drinking. Apparently she’s had some argument with her mum and is having to stay at a friend’s house. She really wants to move to London but isn’t sure how to do it. I tell her that she’s welcome to come stay with me for a while if she likes. She tells me that she’d been thinking about coming down for a little holiday, maybe a week or so. She asks me if I’ll look after her and I tell her how I feel like I really want to. She seems a bit of a mess and I’m sure all she needs is someone to be there for her. She says she’ll sort something out and get back to me. I’m so glad I didn’t tell her about the itchiness. Always use a condom. Always!
           
            I walk past the clinic entrance about three times before I actually walk in. I try to time it so that no one is actually walking past me as I do; I want to be a ghost; float in, get it done and leave. I fill out the form and wait in a room reminiscent of a dentists waiting area, except that all the magazines are about sexual health, gay lifestyle and contraception apart from the obligatory Heat magazine which I pick up and read an article about Kerry Katona’s breasts. It’s not too long before I’m called in to have my tests done. The nurse asks if I’m happy to have a student in the room too. Stood next to her is this rather good-looking girl holding some kind of clipboard.
            “Sure,” I say, wondering to myself if this is going to turn into some kind of porn orgy. My fantasies are totally destroyed when they start pushing needles into my arm. I really can’t stand blood being taken out of my body; it’s not the sight of it, it’s like I can feel the life draining from me. I need that blood to live and you’re taking it away. I wish I didn’t do Human Biology at A-Level and then remember than I got an E and pretty much didn’t. The nurse asks me to lower my jeans and underwear for the final two tests. She has to push two swabs down the end of my cock. At first, probably to keep nerves at bay, I’m thinking yes come on ladies take a look but when you’re sat on a medical table with a flaccid penis hanging out, you can’t help but notice how pathetic it looks. I’m moments away from explaining that it only looks this small because I’m sitting down and that if I stood it would be much larger but manage to stop myself in time for the nurse to bring out two giant cotton buds, which look like they’re used to clean The BFG’s ears. I really don’t want those things down the end of my urethra and it’s only the fact that this student nurse is here that makes me seem totally calm about it. I don’t want to lose face in front of her. The nurse asks me to hold open the end of my penis and she pokes the things down the tip. I take a sharp inhalation of breath. That was bloody uncomfortable. She gets the other, larger one and tells me that this one may feel rather uncomfortable. She pushes it down and out as quick as she can but it doesn’t stop it from being incredibly intrusive and painful. I’m all done and she tells me to wait in the waiting room again and sends me off with a free brown bag full of condoms.
            I’m waiting for about ten minutes in the room with a couple of other guys and to be honest I’m not nervous; I manage to distract myself by reading through ancient Heat magazines, almost expecting to read something about Charles and Diana splitting up. There’s one guy in here who keeps walking over to the water dispenser and gulping down plastic cupfuls of liquid every thirty seconds. That’s a guy who has something to be worried about and it’s because of him that I feel fine. I’m called yet again for my results and I’m told by a doctor that it was just some thrush, not any STI and I’m totally clear of anything nasty. He gives me some cream which will make the, admittedly already disappearing, thrush go and I leave his office with yet another brown bag of condoms.
            I get to work and finish laying off Fresh Off The Bus 3 episodes to tape, which are sent to Playboy to be put on The Adult Channel as are all of Relish’s films. Hazza comes in to discuss the next film with me and Alex and when I bring up The Orifice I’m told that he wants to put that on the backburner; it’s funny but probably only to us in the actual office; no-one else will get it. Dammit. I really wanted to make something amazing, something which people aren’t just going to forward to the sex with. I’m sure it’s possible. The three of us throw some ideas around and any big scale storyline features are shot down. Hazza wants to do more reality stuff like Fresh Off The Bus, particularly revolving around a specific porn genre. I immediately say breasts, big huge breasts. Hazza wants anal and Alex suggests GILF’s. Needless to say the next flick is going to be about anal. Now we just need an idea. After a throwing more ideas around we come up with a sort of Jim’ll Fix It style show. We take suggestions from viewers and attempt to make their fantasies come true. I suggest Dick’ll Fix It as a title, implying that I should present it. Hazza likes the idea of me presenting; he feels like he’s passing the torch to his young padawan learner. The idea is greeted pretty warmly but Hazza wants to ensure that each scene has anal. He runs the pitch by Playboy but apparently they already have a similar show and so shoot us down. The idea changes to a Challenge Aneka style show; we get challenges written in from viewers who want to see porn stars do certain things; get shown around a property by an estate agent and then fuck her in the arse. That kind of thing. We suggest I carry around a briefcase full of cash, which is how I get these people to do these anal related naughty things. Now all we need is a title. Challenge Dick? Briefcase full of Arse? For Lust or Money? Anal Escapades? The title of any porn film is the one of the two most important things when it comes to selling it. The other is the front cover; if the punter isn’t going to pick it up or even glance at it, he’s not going to be buying it. The title should let the punter know exactly what he’s getting. We’re making an anal film so the title needs that in it. The more filthy titles tend to sell more but look rather low class. You also want something that rolls of the tongue; I know you can go out and find, Fat Bitches Take it from Nine Guys Whilst Sucking off Trannies Volume 5 but Relish is a little classier than that and so are their titles. After a few days of discussion we settle upon  Asscapades.
            We arrange to discuss shoot dates the following week and since it’s Friday and Don’s birthday tomorrow we all go out for a few drinks. Don invites us all to his party tomorrow night I decide to text Natalie, who was an extra in Semi-Automatic. She asked me out about a month ago and we went to the cinema. It turned out she still had a boyfriend but they had some bizarre open relationship. I ask if she wants to come to this party tomorrow and await her reply. It’s rather late by the time I get home and I am feeling so ridiculously tired that I fall asleep as soon as I fall into bed.
            In the morning I’m surprised by the lack of any severe hangover and wander into the kitchen to make a coffee. I greet Joe who’s in the living room packing his bag, gearing up for another day’s shooting of his indie movie he’s working on. I head back to my bedroom with my coffee.
            “Hello,” I hear a chirpy voice say. I turn to look in Joe’s room and there’s Amanda, lying naked in his bed.