MetaMorph Ch. 05

Four days later and Dan was standing in front of the Ford dealership in Santa Monica avenue, coincidentally just a few blocks from Sandra's apartment. Caddy was standing next to him, and the two of them were standing in front of a row of brand new Mustangs.

Caddy had a cigar in his mouth and he kept blowing smoke rings and saying things like "Oh boy. You sure about this? I was thinking a nice BMW or Mercedes or something?"

Dan ignored him for the most part, just staring at the cars.

Eventually they were approached by a salesman, one Jules Turner. He was a dark shade of black – the kind that is truly black and not just brown. He was dressed in a very expensive suit and when she smiled, his white teeth truly shone.

"Can I interest you gentlemen in a little test drive? I've been noticing you admiring thesefineautomobiles." His patter was straight out of 1963 and for some reason, he more than got away with it. As a salesman, Jules was The Man.

Dan glanced at him and then went back to looking at the cars.

Caddy turned and looked at Jules and said, "My friend here thinks he wants one of these. I'm not entirely sure why. I think he has a small dick or something."

Jules smiled back to show there was no hard feelings and replied, "Oh, I'm sure that's not true. I suspect that the man here just wants those extra couple of inches, to take him to a complete foot, no doubt!"

Both Caddy and Dan couldn't help but laugh at that, and the ice was well and truly broken.

"I'm Jules. How can I help youfinegentleman today?"

Dan pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and looked it over, and then, with the voice of one reading something that they don't understand, he said, "Do you have a...um.. a Rosch Stage two convertible GT Mustang, with manual gearbox and six speed in stock?"

Jules smiled a wide smile and said, "Oh I'm sure we do. And it's pronounced Rousch. With a U."

"Can I drive it, please?" said Dan.

"Well of course you can young sir. Of course you can."

They picked out a blue convertible (the electric blue whose paint name Dan came to find out was called 'Impact Blue', to which he took Caddy aside and said, "Seriously? 'Impact blue'? For a car? Who the fuck names these things?") with the divided white strip down the middle. The car came with side air intakes, a hood with the extra air intake, and it generally looked like something Luke Skywalker should be driving.

When Dan clapped eyes on it, he looked at Jules and said, "Yeah, I think that might take me to sixteen inches."

They went out for a drive, with Caddy in the back. Caddy later swore that he'dneverdrive in a car driven by Dan again, since they basically took the 405 at ninety miles an hour, which in pre-rush hour traffic is some feat.

Eventually they arrived back in the car dealership, and everyone made excuses to hit the bathroom, except Dan who just asked for bottled water.

Then, after some small talk, Dan asked exactly how much the car was, to drive away right there. Everyone was talking with studied ease and nonchalance, as though they were talking about going to a movie.

"So, to drive that out the door, we are talking fifty seven K my good sir," said Jules, dismissively, like that was no big deal.

Caddy just sat there, looking out the window and at the hottie dealership interns running around in their tight skirts.

Dan looked back and said, "You know, if I were to put fifty thousand dollars down on the table, right now, I wonder if I might pick up those keys and go for a drive."

Jules smiled back. "Oh, I doubt it. But I can go ask for you."

"Why don't you do that, Jules. Just for information's sake, of course."

Jules got up and went to see the manager, in the time-honored fashion of every car sales men the world over. He returned five minutes later and just sat down and stared at Dan and said, "In a word, No."

Dan looked back, looked at Caddy and nodded and the two rose to leave.

"However," continued Jules, and the two men stopped their motion, "If you were to put fifty four thousand on the table, there's a very good chance of that happening."

Dan sat back down, leant back and took in the surrounding scene, taking his time.

"I think that might be a touch high. Perhaps fifty two thousand might make its way here?" he said, looking at his fingernails.

There was silence as Jules pulled out his phone and glanced at it. Eventually he replied, "I suspect that probably won't be enough. Perhaps if another thousand were to join it, that would be sufficient."

Dan pursed his lips and pouted for a second.

"Fine. Deal." He then reached into his pocket of his windbreaker and brought out a wad of cash, all hundreds. He peeled off a few thousand and then threw the rest of the bundle at Jules, who caught it, and said, "Keys?"

Literally twenty minutes later, Dan was standing in front of the car, keys in hand trying not to jump around and, in the parlance of his childhood, 'be cool'. Caddy was standing next to him saying, "You sure about this?"

Dan looked at him and said, "Caddy, a car should say something about the man driving it. New body, new car, lots of oomph. Trust me. It sounds great and it goes like shit off a shovel and it looks, well, muscly. This is my car."

Caddy nodded and said, "Well, as long as you are happy and as long as I don't have to drive in it with you. How do you know about this stuff anyway? You didn't strike me as someone into cars? Not driving that piece of crap Nissan?"

Dan laughed and said, "No, it's a writer friend of mine. A guy named StangStar. I know him as StangStar06. He and I are on a forum together. What that guy doesn't know about Mustangs isn't worth knowing. I just emailed him and asked him what I should be driving. He told me what to look for."

Caddy laughed. "I should have known. The uber nerd has friends everywhere. Well, it is a lovely car. You have fun now. Don't die on the way home. And don't kill anyone else, either."

Dan just nodded absently as Caddy left to go find his Mercedes, just staring at the car.

Eventually he opened the door, put down the hood and drove off, deliberately keeping it in a lower gear than it should be, just so the engine roared.

A few days later, and Dan was back at Sandra's apartment. This time he was even more nervous. He'd been reviewing the passages she'd given him to look over. He'd had to knock on Greg's door to ask to borrow the specific books, and was given them with a knowing smirk from Greg. One more thing to smack his face for when the time came. Although Dan couldn't help but say, "Good thing you had these books Greg. They must be really helpful to you." And that did wipe the smile off Greg's face.

Dan knocked on the door and there she was, in all her glory. This time she was in a wrap dress, with a mid thigh slit.

"Well hello sugar. How are you doin'?" she asked, pouting seductively. "C'mon in. Ah was just about to make myself a Manhattan, you want one?"

Dan nodded and entered her apartment. He sat down on the easy chair, where he'd been last time and she spoke while she busied herself at the bar.

"Ah wasn't sure you'd even show, after last time. Ah guess you'd had some second thoughts?"

Dan replied, "Some. I thought about what you said. This isn't about lust or jollies, this is about education. If June can separate sex and love, I can too."

Sandra stopped cutting up an orange and looked around at him and said, "Well, aren't you just a clever old peach? About time you came around. Ah'm sure your wife wouldn't necessarily agree, but Ah think we can both agree that she's lost that particular high ground. Plus, Ah'm sure she'll enjoy bein' the recipient of some of the lessons here. You want sugar in yours?"

Dan nodded and moments later was handed a drink. He took a sip. It was smooth. His first Manhattan.

"Ok, so did you read up?"

"Yes, Miss Daisy," replied Dan.

Sandra's eyes opened wide and for a second Dan saw true fury, which was instantly replaced by a mellow look.

"Well, aren't you just a card, now. Just for that, Ah think we'll go directly to the lesson. Here's what Ah challenge you. You need to make me cum. With one finger. No more. One finger can be used at any time. You can switch fingers, but only one can be used at a time. Think you can do that?"

Dan realized he'd touched a nerve – even hookers can have buttons. He decided silence was the better part of valor.

He put down his drink and nodded and said, "I can try to do that."

"Don't try, sugar. Make it happen. It's all in your hands, if you'll pardon the expression."

The two of them went to the bedroom, and Dan did his damndest.

The passages he'd been reading were about reading emotional content from body language. They were describing a woman's reactions to arousal, what to look for, and what you can do to either dampen or accelerator that situation. The test before him was a hard one. No woman would cum from doing one thing to her with one finger, you had to swap around and do different things, and you had to know when.

Dan failed. He came close a few times, and he felt he was starting to read her right and do the right things when Sandra glanced at the clock on her bedside table and sat up and said, "Times up. Next time, cowboy."

Dan wasn't thrilled. He knew she'd been pissed right from the word go and he had no chance because of that. Despite that, he knew if he'd had thirty more minutes, he'd have gotten her there.

Sandra got up and gestured for Dan to follow. She took him right to the door, and right before opening it, she said, "Never mind sugar. Next time. Now, Ah need you to read up on cunnilingus. We need to go over that for next time. There's a good book Ah'm going to recommend."

She opened the door and Dan stuck his foot against it and didn't let it open.

"That was an unfair test. And you know. I'm sure glad that you being pissed off was worth more than what Greg paid you for. Hell, you got both. What do you care?"

Sandra just looked at him.

"You know exactly what I mean Miss Daisy. Yeah, there it is. I made a joke lady. Just a joke. I have no idea what your issues are, but I won't be back if all you are going to do is waste my time because you are pissed off about a joke that means nothing to anyone."

Dan surprised himself by making the statement. He was just mad and wasn't about to let a glorified hooker make him doubt himself.

"Well now. Aren't you just the manly man now. You c'mon back next week and prove me wrong."

"That's it?"

Sandra looked right at him and said, with almost no trace of her southern accent, "The whole point of the exercise was for you to read the body language of the person you were with to give her what she needed. I think you failed outright there, don't you? If I was pissed, why the hell didn't you do something about that instead of fighting a loosing battle in the first place? Good sex isn't just about sensation. It's about circumstance and mental attitude. Read the books again. I'll see you next week." And she yanked the door open and without ceremony, pushed him out.

They were now into what was the last two weeks, assuming Greg's prediction was accurate. Dan was down to two hundred and twelve pounds. He was a size thirty-four waist and could now bench-press almost three hundred pounds. His arms looked like something out of Men's weekly magazine, and he felt fantastic.

His boxing was right on the money, and he could floor the sparring partners two times out of four – they treated him with respect now and he knew it.

He knew his time here was coming to an end, and he had to consider what he was going to do when he got home – when he saw June again. He still wasn't sure how he felt – whether the hurt outweighed the need for her. One thing was for sure though; his rage at Greg hadn't gone away. It was still there, white hot at his core. And it would not be denied.

During his last two weeks, Dan went out and did a few things for himself. He ordered some particular items, them being made especially for him. He bought some actual clothes, rather than just tracksuits, since how he had idea of his measurements. He went looking for another gym to go to, because if things went to plan, he sure wouldn't be welcome here any more.

He had also been looking over the PI reports – they weren't telling him anything drastic about June's behaviors. She had gone out with friends for dinner and drinks – Megan being one of them – but their operative couldn't get close enough to overhear anything this time. But there was a report of their table being approached more than once and of June shutting down any conversation instantly, much to Megan's visual annoyance. June had left before ten and that was her evening out.

In the second to last week, two things of major importance happened. The first was yet another call from Caddy, asking Dan to drop by his office. There was a timbre in is voice of restrained exuberance, and since Dan was in the middle of using free weights at the time, he didn't stop to chat – just told Caddy he'd be there in a couple of hours.

The other was an email from Sandra. Dan found that interesting, since he'd never given his email address to Sandra. Or Greg either, for that matter, which is where she must have got it from. It made Dan wonder what else Greg knew about him.

The email read –

Dan.

I'm sorry about last week. I think you caught me at a bad time. The Miss Daisy reference has particular significance for me, and indirectly is one of the reasons I do what I do. The lesson was valid, but I think it probably could have been communicated better and for that, I am truly sorry.

Please come on Thursday. We only have two more sessions and there's more to impart to you.

Sandy.

Dan read it twice and was left confused about what he really ought to do. He'd bought and read the book she recommended – he wasn't about to ask Greg again – and found it helpful but mostly going on and on about how good the author thought he was at pussy eating, and a bit light on actual details and tips. But still, he'd read it and hoped he'd absorbed some of the lessons. He honestly wasn't planning on returning, both to salve his conscience and also because he didn't particularly need another evening of being set a task he couldn't achieve because someone else was upset.

But right now, he had a meeting to get to. He grabbed some printouts and emailed Caddy some files and then left, taking his new ride out and enjoying the sensation of driving with the top down.

He arrived twenty minutes early and didn't have to find a park, since the building where Caddy's agency was located had it's own parking structure.

He sat in the lobby of the bustling agency, watching famous people walk back and forth and spent ten minutes in a conversation with Ryan Reynolds, who was waiting to talk to his own agent. That was surreal. He'd have to tell June about that. Ryan Reynolds was on her Free Pass list.

Eventually Caddy himself came to find Dan, looking through a sheaf of documents as he did so.

"Dan, I'm just reading your treatment and bible. This shit is hot dude. I LOVE it."

Dan blushed, as they walked through the building to Caddy's office.

"Umm...it's just an idea I was playing with..."

"This is great dude. A weekly docudrama set in a gym? Why has no one done this before?"

Dan replied, "The closest I could find was some UK based comedy, staring the guy from Red Dwarf? The asshole guy? It ran for a few years."

They entered Caddy's office, complete with its astounding view of downtown LA.

"So look, lets talk about this new thing in a second. Firstly, news on Metamorph. Hallmark is renaming it. Metamorph is a bit too sci-fi for the Hallmark viewership I'm afraid. But you knew that, so I don't think that's really an issue. But, what is astounding is that they've shot all three endings, like I told you. The production crew there were planning on deciding which one to use in the edit phase. However, they can't do it. So they've decided to do something really bold and new. They are showing your movie three times. Once on Sunday, once on Tuesday and once on Friday, all on the same week. And each time, with a different ending. And what's more, they aren't going to tell anyone they are doing this, untilafterit's broadcast. What do you think of that buddy? This is television history here. No one has ever done this before."

Caddy was smiling so hard, his face was going to crack.

Dan just sat there, frozen, not knowing what to feel. The one overwhelming thought he had was, 'I wish I could tell June. She'd freak.'

"That's pretty cool," he stumbled out.

"'Pretty cool'?" mimicked Caddy, unmercifully. "Christ, it's a good thing you can write, cos as a public inspirational speaker, you blow buddy. Look, this is a big deal. Hallmark is going to make a huge deal out of this. If it's at all successful, they are talking about selling this to Starz. You are gonna get residuals on the first week of your movie is being shown. We've never seen that before here. All kinds of firsts going on here. Get a little excited, won't you??"

Dan said, "Ok. It's VERY cool."

Caddy just looked at him for a moment, eyeballing him to see if he was being mocked.

"Ok, so there's that. Now lets talk about this Gym thing. Why did you wait so long to let me have this?"

Dan shifted his seat, and wordlessly Caddy got up and walked to a small fridge, pulled out a bottled water and handed it to his friend.

"Well, there are issues here. I don't think this is really a network show. Or even a cable show, necessarily."

"Oh? Why not?" asked Caddy.

"Well, it's not about ensemble cast. Sure, there is an ensemble cast here, but every episode is a character dive on a particular member of the gym. The ensemble cast is there purely as glue. Sure, there are some stories about them, but for the most part, it's about the special guests each week. You know what networks are like Caddy. They'll run 4 episodes, look at the audience feedback numbers and then tell us that the show has to revolve around which ever member of the ensemble cast the audience likes the most. This isn't like that."

Caddy nodded, flipping through some more of the papers strewn over his desk. "Probably. What's the problem with that? Lots of successful shows do that."

"Yeah, but not this. Look, think about The Twilight Zone. Was that show about Rod Sterling, or was it about the Story of the week? Rod Sterling was necessary as the narrator, but he wasn't what the show was about, yeah? That's what this is. The ensemble cast is glue, background, not principles. I just don't think that a modern network would go for this. I was thinking maybe something like HBO or Netflix, even? They are in the standalone show game now, right? Can we talk to them?"

Caddy looked over a sheet of paper at Dan and said, "I guess. I still think we should talk to the networks. Give them the chance to pass. There are some pretty progressive people over at NBC right now..."

Dan shrugged and said, "Sure Caddy. Whatever you think."

"You know, it strikes me that if you really wanted to do this right, you need to start your own production company. Get with a producer with proven ability and present this that way. Rather than selling it to HBO or whatever, do it your self and then sell it to them. That way you retain control."

There was a pregnant silence.

"Of course that means you need to find a producer to work with. Someone who is going to be on your side, who is on your wavelength and who'll buy into your concept. I wonder if you know anyone like that?"

Dan just stared at the floor.

Caddy sighed and threw the papers down on the table and there was a pregnant pause. Dan knew exactly what Caddy wanted to talk about and he also knew Caddy didn't know how to start the conversation.