Acting Principles

I swallowed hard. "Right."

Amy touched my hair, picking up several strands and dropping them. "I promise you'll like it." Somehow, I found the strength to lead her upstairs to my second floor condo. Amy wasted no time getting into the kitchen, pulling her hair up away from her face with a scrunchy. I looked away again. It only took a small thing to make her look beautiful. "Where do you keep your flour?"

"In the fridge." I said, looking down while trying to catch my breath. "That's a funny place for flour." I heard her retrieve it. "Any reason why you keep it in there?"

"I never know if I have to go out of town. I don't like cleaning out my cabinets every month." I found myself looking at her again, and she just smiled right back.

"I bet I can guess where your mixing bowls are. Second from the left, right?"

"Yes."

Amy got out the mixing bowl, found measuring spoons, and my hand mixer without having to ask. "You look like the type of birthday girl who likes...lemons."

"Lemons?" I was surprised that she guessed correctly. "Yes. I love lemon cake."

"A lemon cake it is then." She retrieved several fresh lemons and sugar from my fridge, along with vanilla from my cupboard. "Pure vanilla extract? You're more of a cook than you let on."

"I try to cook for myself as much as I can. Keeps me in shape."

"It shows." Amy said appreciatively. My cheeks burned. What was I thinking letting her cook for me?

"Thank you." For the entire time she mixed the batter, my eyes were glued to her, and every time she looked at me, she smiled. It was a warm, glowing smile, without pretense, without any ulterior motive. Just a smile. God. I thought. I'm falling for her, and she's not even gay.

Amy poured the batter into my bundt tin and put it into the oven. "Want to lick the batter?" She asked with a devious grin.

I cleared my throat. "I really shouldn't. I'm watching what I eat-"

"On your birthday? Come on! Just one lick." Amy handed me a batter-covered spoon.

I took it, staring at it stupidly before I hesitantly took a lick. The batter was good. In fact, it was damn good. The lemon, vanilla, and sugar made my whole body react. "Mm. Wow..."

"Good isn't it?" asked Amy, taking a lick herself. She laughed when she got a bit of it on her chin, and wiped it away. "The fresh lemons made all the difference."

"If the cake is as good as the batter, I'm in trouble."

She smirked. "Yes you are." I found myself looking away and coughing. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I lied.

"I'll make the frosting while the cake is in the oven." Amy whipped up some cream cheese, sugar, and more lemons in my blender, and set the mixture aside in the fridge until the cake was ready. We passed the time talking about home. Amy had lived only ten miles from me her entire life, but since we hadn't gone to school together, we had never met.

Before we knew it, the oven timer was ringing, and Amy took the cake out. After it was cooled, she spread the frosting. The golden yellow lemon cake smothered in light yellow cream cheese frosting looked delicious. "I don't know what to say. This has got to be the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me the whole time I've been in Hollywood."

"Less talking, more eating." said Amy, handing me a knife. "Birthday girl gets the first cut." I chose a decent piece for myself, but Amy took an even bigger piece. I gave her a strange look. "What? I don't have to diet." She explained as I chuckled at her.

I took a bite of my cake, and experienced an explosion of lemony goodness. "Oh my God. Wow..."

"You like it?"

"Yes! The lemon is intense!" I had always loved lemon cakes, but no ever used enough lemon for my taste. Amy had, however. I messily ate all my cake in about thirty seconds. "That was really good."

Amy reached over and wiped a piece of frosting from my mouth with her finger. She licked it deliberately. "You're right. That is really good."

I choked. "Yeah...uh...yeah...it's...um, delicious."

She leaned towards me. "It's wasn't good just because of the lemons."

I was frightened, but I couldn't look away. "Really? What do you mean?"

She kissed me then. A slow, hungry kiss that lit up my body even more than the lemon cake. "I've got a birthday present for you. You can take it or leave it." The desire in her eyes was naked now, or maybe I hadn't recognized it before.

"There's more? How could there be more?" I said weakly.

Amy ran her finger down the side of my face. "I'll do whatever you want me to do to you." I was in shock. Was this really happening to me?

I pulled away, frightened. "No offense, but we just met a few hours ago. Not to mention that I'm as closeted as it gets."

Amy looked hurt. "I guess I came on a little strong didn't I?"

"Actually, you were really sweet. You weren't too grabby or too...anything. This was nice."

"But nice girls finish last, don't they?" Amy looked down. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"First door on you left in the hallway." She rushed off, and I just stood there. I really screwed up. I thought. Why couldn't I let my guard down for once? We're both attractive, we both want to fuck each other! What the hell is wrong with me? I spent a few miserable minutes debating what I should do before I decided to after her. I knocked on the bathroom door. "Amy? Are you okay?" Amy didn't respond, and I felt horrible. I assumed she was in there crying silently because I had rejected her. "Listen, I've been thinking about your...present, and I think I'll take it. You, I mean."

I heard her muffled laughter through the door. "I was hoping you would! Come in!" I opened the door, and was struck dumb by her beauty. She was sitting on my sink with absolutely nothing on. Her body was generally athletic, with small pink-tipped breasts, a toned stomach, and slim legs. She spread her legs slightly, revealing her already glistening pussy. "Thank you for not making me wait long." She leaned back, tossing her hair. "Aren't you going to have another taste?"

My eyes burned into hers, and I was in between her legs before I could think about it. My kiss was hungry, and I devoured her mouth, wanting to know every square inch of her lips, her tongue, her teeth. I pulled back, afraid that I was getting too crazy, but her eyes told me I was doing just fine. I felt her legs lock around my hips tightly as we started grinding. I started thrusting against her as hard as I dared, making her whole body shake. She cried out each time, twining her fingers in my hair. Suddenly, she made a choking sound, and I felt her legs tremble in frantic sporadic tremors.

"Oh my God!" I said, certain I'd hurt her.

She slumped onto my shoulders. "That was...you have no idea how good you made me feel." she whispered into my neck. I had some idea. My pants were soaked from her leaking pussy. "No fair making me cum first." She removed her legs from my waist, and slid her hands down my zipper, clicking it with her fingernail. Amy carefully unzipped my pants, revealing my white boy shorts. She laughed.

"What?"

"I pegged you for a thong girl." she explained, biting her lip playfully. I kissed her, and my taste in underwear was forgotten. I started grinding against her again, but Amy stopped me. "Wait. Don't you want to get off?" She didn't wait for an answer. She hopped down from the sink and started taking off my clothes. "Jesus. Don't you look good enough to eat?" She said, tapping her lip with a finger. "And I think I will."

Before I could protest, she was kissing my pussy, parting my lips with her fingers. Amy fluttered her tongue against my slit, making my legs weak. I backed up against a wall. Amy moved with me, never breaking contact with my pussy.

"Oh! Ah...huh...oh!" I panted. Her greedy mouth devoured me relentlessly. I felt like I would die from the pleasure it felt so good. I bucked my hips against her mouth once, twice, and came. I felt so good, I would have slid down to the floor if Amy hadn't held me up.

"Where's your bedroom?" she stood up and proceeded to suck on my left tit.

"Mm...next door over." She put her arm around my waist, and we entered the room. Amy sat down on my bed, spreading her legs for me again. I got on top of her, and explored her body, feeling her soft skin over toned muscle. I kissed her firm breasts, teasing her nipples with my hands and tongue. I nipped the soft skin of her neck, making her cry out and mold herself to my body.

I looked at her facial expression. Her face was flushed, her eyes half-open and cloudy, and she was taking deep breaths. Her heart was pounding underneath my fingertips. I moved my hand from her chest and swirled my fingers down to her pussy. Still nervous, I looked at Amy to do what I so desperately wanted. Amy touched the side of my face, gently running her hands over my chin. "Don't stop." I pressed two fingers inside of her , watching her body. Once I saw I wasn't hurting her, I started stroking her, her pussy clenching me like warm pulsing velvet. I felt her long, strong fingers close over wrist in encouragement. "Harder." she whispered. I complied, pushing harder and faster. She groaned suddenly, stopping my hand. "Right there." She told me, guiding my fingertips to a particularly fleshy part of her interior. "That's my spot." I proceeded to give her what she wanted, rubbing her G-spot like a genie's lamp. I felt her contract around my fingers, and she screamed. Anyone within hearing distance would have thought I was killing her.

I wasn't so sure I hadn't. She was lying flat on her back, barely moving. "Are you okay?"

She grinned, stretching out your arms above her head. "Oh, yes..." After a minute or two, she sat up to kiss me. "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you." I ran my fingers through her hair, studying her face.

"Out of ideas?" she asked mischievously.

"No. I'd just like to be with you...like this for a while." I pressed my nose into her neck, inhaling her aroma which smelled faintly of lemons and peppermints. "It feels good just holding you."

I felt her cup my ass softly. "It does, doesn't it?"

I looked into her eyes for the truth. "Why me? How did you know?"

"You were hungry. Like I was." She ran her hands up the middle of my back. "How long has it been?"

"Not since college. When I came out here to L.A., I couldn't risk any rumors, so I didn't try...this." I found myself wondering if my frantic fingerings in the dark with my roommate even counted after being with Amy.

"Until recently. You were looking. After so many years, you just couldn't help yourself." Amy gave me several light kisses along my collarbone. "No wonder you were so rough."

"I didn't mean to be-"

"It's okay. Really." she chuckled. "I don't think I ever came so hard in my life!"

We laughed together. "Well, that's a good to hear!." I looked at her shyly. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are Amy?"

She hugged me, pressing her head against my shoulder. "No one's meant it as much as you, Gavin."

I grinned as wide as I could. "You think so?"

"Now that's a smile." she said, looking up at me. She caressed the little dimple in my right cheek. "That's a gorgeous smile. Tell me why you hold it back."

"Because it wasn't a real smile before. I wasn't happy."

"Did I make you happy?"

I chuckled, kissing her hand. "You did. You really did."

Amy kissed my neck. "You know, I really worked up and appetite. I'll bring us some lemon cake and milk." I reluctantly let her go, and was simultaneously flooded with worried thoughts. Was this a one night stand, or something more? Had this been a setup? Was she going to blackmail me? The way she let me do whatever I wanted to her was just too perfect. And I knew everything in Hollywood came at a high price. Amy was back before I knew it.

"Amy, we need to talk."

"I don't want anything from you. I didn't approach you because I knew you were a celebrity. I just wanted you."

"That's it?"

"Sometimes things are a lot more simple than we think." She took a sip of her milk, and I did the same.

"How simple are they?"

"As simple as two people meeting in a crowded room." She dipped her cake in her milk, and laughed when it fell apart. "As simple as homemade cake and milk." She gave me that smile of hers again. "You look really sexy when you eat."

I chuckled. "Really?" I guzzled half my milk.

"Easy, girl!" She said, panicking. "You'll get a stomachache when you wake up."

I grinned unabashedly. "I don't plan on sleeping." I leaned over and kissed her.

"You don't feel a little tired?"

I drank more milk. "Why would I feel tired?"

Amy shrugged, and for the first time, I saw her smile restrained. "I don't know." My head started to feel funny, like I had a long day on set and my body was exhausted. Amy looked at me. "You can feel it now, can't you?"

My eyes were closing on their own. "What-?"

"Melatonin. It's a chemical your body produces to make you sleep. All natural. When you wake up, you won't feel any different." I tried to get up, but I ended up falling back on the bed. My body was too relaxed to be much good to me. "I did it so you wouldn't follow me. I didn't think you would want me this much. I didn't know how long it had been for you." I couldn't keep my eyes open any more, but I could still hear her voice. "Like I told you before. I was only interested in you. Everything in your house and car will be like you left it." I faintly heard her start to cry. "The letter I'm leaving on your nightstand will explain everything." I felt her lips on mine briefly. "Goodbye." Amy covered me with a blanket and I heard her leave. All I could do was go to sleep.

When I woke up, I immediately looked over to my right. No Amy. "Damn it!" I cursed. I got up and checked my house and car from top to bottom for anything stolen or out of order, but like she told me, nothing was touched. I went back into my bedroom, and unfolded several sheets of notebook paper with my name on the outside.

"Gavin, I'm Amy.

That's the only true thing I've told you about me. I'm not from Hamptan. I'm not a struggling screenwriter. I started off the way women do in this town, hoping to be the world's greatest actress. At least that's what I wanted three years ago. Because I was injured in a car accident, I was forced to borrow money from some really shady guys. As compensation, they're making me do some pretty nasty things.

No. That's not quite being completely honest, and you deserve to know everything. I'm working for them as a prostitute, and I've been one for a year and a half. I'm not asking for your help, I'm just explaining how you caught my attention.

About three months ago, I was home alone on a Sunday. I was watching some low budget movies on Channel 11, and I saw your first film, 'Cheer-Off'. I don't know if you are proud of it or not, but it really made an impression on me. What caught my attention was the presence you had in that role. Even though you weren't the lead actress, every time you were on screen, you stole her thunder. I probably sound like a nutty fan girl, but I couldn't breathe watching you. There was a strength you had that came out in your voice, your expression, your body language that I couldn't shake from my memory. I watched more of your movies, and scoured the internet for your old television guest starring roles. The more I saw of you the more my attraction grew. Watching you act during my days made me forget about my horrible nights, and dulled my pain when nothing else could. Not once have you disrespected yourself in a role that didn't live up to your standards. Not once did you degrade yourself for a laugh or more money. I deeply commend you for that.

About a month ago, I started wondering if there was anyway I could possibly repay you for all the good work you've done. At first I thought I'd just send you a letter, but I didn't know how you treated your fans. I wanted to thank you personally, and give you something of myself from my heart. That may sound like nothing considering what I do for a living, but it's the truth. Whether or not you choose to believe that is up to you.

I went back to my old acting hangouts, and asked around about you. I eventually found out that you're always in Tiny's for your birthday. I read all your interviews about yourself and your hometown and learned as much about you as I could. Then I started preparing myself for the role of my life: Amy, a mousy wannabe screenwriter. I'm afraid it was an all an act. At least in public. I was genuinely concerned about you. Imagine my surprise when I realized you were miserable on your birthday! I couldn't resist baking for you, it's something I love. But I was even more surprised at how badly you wanted me, as much as I wanted you. You'll never know how grateful I am to you for that.

You must hate me. I wonder if you finished reading this at all, or if you stopped reading at the word 'prostitute' and are screaming at your personal physician for a blood test. I'm sorry I lied, but I didn't know of any other way to approach you. And I don't think you would have been happy any other way if I hadn't given you all of me.

I hope you continue acting. You inspire women of all races, whether or not you believe it. I think I would have done something...terrible to myself if I hadn't discovered your work.

Be angry, cry, curse, yell or scream about what I've done. But please don't stop acting.

-Amy"

I sat back in bed and hugged my pillow, in total shock. I didn't know what to do. Was she serious? Had I really slept with a prostitute who had wanted nothing in return for sex? I couldn't believe it. I decided she must be planning to blackmail me.

I waited several days, but I received no threatening letters or phone calls. I didn't hear from Amy at all. I felt like I was walking on eggshells for a week. Ever since my night with Amy, I was more attracted to women then ever before. Whenever an attractive women came within ten feet of me, I forced myself to look away. And I thought everyone knew what I had done as soon as they looked at me. I couldn't look anyone in the eye without thinking they were judging me. I started asking about Amy at Tiny's. Of course, the only story they knew was the one Amy had told me: that she was a struggling screenwriter. No one knew who she really was.

I finally called Jin and told him I'd be unavailable for auditions for at least a week. I had my own role to play if I was going to find Amy. I started dressing like a female version of a pimp: slicking my hair back in a ponytail, wearing expensive silk clothes, and had a pimp cane made. After I got my hands on a tricked-out Cutlass, I educated myself on the finer points of pimping through documentaries. I was disgusted, but I had to know what happened to her, one way or the other.

I started driving down Sunset Boulevard every night, looking for a hooker with Amy's smile. The more I looked, the angrier I got. What the hell had Amy been thinking when she seduced me? Didn't she know how disciplined I had to be with myself? A few times, I was tempted to hire one of the streetwalkers just to calm my hunger, but I knew they couldn't compare to Amy.

After five days, I thought I saw her, but her look was all wrong. This woman's hair was a bright, garish red, not the chestnut brown that Amy had. Her heavy eyeliner, mascara and too-pale foundation made her look like a ghost. Her lips were painted the same garish red color as her hair. Still, there was something that drew me to her.

I parked my car, and a swarm of women came over. "I only want her." I said, pointing to the redhead.

The woman walked over, and leaned her head into my car. It was Amy. There was no mistaking those dark gray-green eyes. Her smile was long gone, though. "I charge extra for women." She said, gruffly, smacking her gum.

"Tell me who you work for."