Traffic Girl - Juliet Ch. 18

Author's Note: Happy holidays! This is a bit of a longer chapter and one I needed to get right, so apologies for the delay. Hope you enjoy this holiday debauchery!

* * *

I thought it would be more bittersweet when Kat and Rita dropped off Jess and me at the airport for our jet to LA. But the girls wouldn't let it be that way.

"John, scoot!" Rita admonished me.

"We need to recharge our batteries, daddy," Kat added. "MILFs can't go at it as hard as you."

"Did someone say hard?" Jess teased.

"Come on," Rita said. "Get out of here. We need you to go make more money. Because Kat and I are shopping while you're gone."

"We might do nothing but shop!" Kat said excitedly.

I leaned across the center console of the G-Wagon and kissed Kat deeply.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you, too, daddy," she said, her eyes shimmering more than ever.

"Hey, what about me?" Rita said sarcastically.

She leaned forward from the back seat and attacked my ear with her lips and tongue. I turned my head as quickly as I could to meet her mouth.

"Hurry back," she said.

"Yeah, all three of us will be waiting," a third voice said.

It was Katie. The girls had cajoled her into coming with us, insistent in showing her what they kept repeating verbally -- that having her stay with us wasn't a burden. Her eyes looked a little hollow, but she managed a convincing smile. The yellowish bruising from her wrist still crept up her arm, and she had lost too much weight. But she was making progress every day.

"You know," Kat said. "You can kiss her, too, daddy."

I gave Katie a shorter kiss goodbye and told them I'd return in a couple days.

"Tell Juliet we said hi!" Rita called as I walked toward the waiting Gulfstream.

"If you can talk with her pussy on your mouth!" Kat teased.

Ten minutes later, we were wheels up to Los Angeles. Two minutes after that, the cabin filled with the familiar tap-tap-tap of Jess pouring out the contents of a cocaine vial on the table. We sat next to each other on a comfortable leather bench that easily would have held three.

"God, I need this so bad," she said, retrieving one of the carbon fiber cards that had become our go-to for slicing and dicing drugs.

"You're in a party mood," I observed.

"I've missed home," Jess said, and the words jolted me.

Without wavering, I believed wherever the four of us -- well, now six of us -- were, that was home.

"I didn't realize you felt so strongly about LA," I said.

"You know me, babe," she said. "I just like where there isn't drama."

"We've been handling it pretty well," I said, a growing defensive note in my voice.

"We have! We have!" Jess said, holding her hands up.

She bent down and hit two lines with ferocious intensity, like she wanted to snort them straight into her brain.

"I'm so fucking ready to party," Jess said, keeping a greedy eye on the pile of coke on the table.

Jess became an irresistible force to me when she got like this. I leaned closer to her, putting a hand on her bare thigh. She wore a short, white tennis skirt. I moved my hand higher up her leg and felt the frilly edge of her panties.

"Take those off," I ordered. "You should know better than to even pack panties on a trip like this."

"And what kind of trip is that, Mr. Cameron?" she flirted, sniffling through the coke drip.

"Being used like the whore you so obviously want to be," I growled into her ear as I bit her lobe.

"Fuck," she gasped.

She pushed my hand off her thigh and stood up. He feigned exasperation as she breathed, "fine," and she slid her white thong off.

"Happy?" she said.

I just smiled. She sat down again, and we started making out like horny teenagers. I pushed my stiff cock against her thigh, almost forcing her off the bench where we sat.

"You know I hate it when you keep it secret that you're being a whore," I said.

"Tommy was the first secret in a long time," she said. "And that was really more for a business purpose, anyway."

"You're still a naughty slut, and I'm mad at you," I said.

She pulled back slightly and retorted, "Then why don't you punish me?"

"Fine," I said and stopped kissing her.

I smoothed down my shirt and sat properly at the table, looking away from her.

"God, you are a cruel fucker sometimes, John," she said with a laugh.

"Didn't you say there's a party tonight?" I said. "Shouldn't we save our energy for that?"

"If you want me, you might want to have me now," Jess teased.

"And why is that?" I asked. "Going to be too busy with Tommy?"

"Maybe Tommy," Jess said. "But the other two males in the Daydream lineup will be there, too."

"You didn't mention them," I said. "Who's the next James Deen?"

"Well, Kayla," Jess said, mentioning the thirty-four-year-old blonde veteran who she had spent handsomely to sign to an exclusive contract, "is bringing her husband, Manny, with her."

"That's a coup, isn't it?" I said.

"It is," she said. "And I also found an extraordinary model who is outrageously well hung. He decided, what the hell, the money was right, so he is going to give porn a go."

A shiver went up my spine. I knew it just as she said.

"Patrick," Jess confirmed.

"Damn," I said.

"There's a lot of firepower in the Daydream lineup," Jess said. "Or, well, at least three feet of cock power."

She laughed again, then bent forward and casually snorted two more lines of cocaine. I joined her this time.

"You do realize there's a certain amount of risk having Tommy and Patrick around, right?" I said.

"I know," she said, unconcerned. "But you like the thrill as much as I do, John. You like that, even if your girls slip up and indulge our monster dick fantasies, we always come back to you. No matter what, we always come back."

"For now," I said.

Jess's face instantly became serious.

"I'm not joking, darling," she said sternly. "We will always come back."

She had a confidence about her that would have made me skeptical of anyone else. With Jess, however, I trusted her completely. We had too much history and had overcome too much for me not to.

* * *

April in Los Angeles was almost as close to perfection as the city got. Temperatures rarely strayed from the mid-70s. The hours of daylight started to stretch out, with sunset close to 7:30 p.m. You really started to feel the life of the city again. When Jess and I got to our house in the Hollywood Hills, shortly after landing around noon, we found Juliet and Melanie there.

"Surprise!" they said in unison when we walked in.

They warmly greeted us with hugs and tall glasses of Champagne. They had laid out a sumptuous charcuterie and cheese board. I held Juliet in my arms a little longer than necessary, and she felt comfortable and warm. Jess and Melanie dove into the board, talking and laughing. It was good to see them together. Melanie always provided a touch of grounding to Jess.

"You look fantastic," I told Juliet.

"I've been having a good time," she said. "Melanie is good for me."

"I can see that," I said, putting a more serious look on my face than I had intended to.

"I'm not sure you mean that," Juliet said tentatively.

"No, I really do," I said. "I can see it in you. You're more relaxed. Maybe it's just me. But there's a guarded layer that's been peeled away. I can see it. I can feel it, too."

"Oh, you're wanting to feel it?" Juliet said, sticking out her tongue and using a seductively flirtatious tone.

"Is it this kind of party?" I said.

"Actually, it's not," Juliet said, voice laced with disappointment. "I've got a gala tonight, but I wanted to catch up with you. You three are headed to that kind of party, though, I hear."

"Yeah, Jess wanted to get her Daydream talent together a couple nights before the first shoot," I said.

"I hear there is some, ahem, prodigious talent in that group," Juliet said.

"And dangerous talent," I said.

"Melanie told me," she said. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm always doing okay," I said. "But I'm also wondering if I'm really okay with it."

"I don't know all the particulars," Juliet said. "But let me offer one thing. I deal with a lot of fake people out here. A lot. You have no idea."

"Some idea," I volunteered.

"No. Idea," Juliet said. "And the one thing I can tell you is that someone who is trying to fuck you over? They do one of two things. They either look away when they start talking to you, or they find an excuse to cut the conversation short within a minute. I'm dead serious. It never fails me."

"I'll have to look at that very carefully," I said.

"Protect yourself, John," Juliet said. "No one else will. Not the way you can."

"Not even Kat?" I joked.

"Maybe Kat," she said with a wink, and we rejoined the others.

"I'm so bummed you can't come to the party tonight, Juliet," Melanie said.

"Me, too, sweetie," Juliet said, and Jess and I exchanged a glance.

"We could have a little pre-party," Jess suggested.

She pulled another vial of coke from out of her bag of magic tricks and rummaged through a drawer in the kitchen to find a mirror, carbon fiber card, and glass straw.

"Gosh, we haven't had blow in so long," Melanie said.

"I know!" Juliet agreed. "It's been unusual."

"We went out to Palm Springs for a couple days last week," Melanie said.

"During the full moon," Juliet added. "We rented a house."

"And did shrooms, and it was fucking insane," Melanie continued.

"It was one of the most intense experiences I've ever had," Juliet said.

"For sure," Melanie agreed and shot her movie star girlfriend a look bursting with a supernova of adoration.

"Still, it's hard to beat good blow," Juliet said, admiring the eight perfect lines Jess had cut on the mirror.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Jess said sweetly, holding out the glass straw.

And in the blink of an eye, the lines had disappeared into the ether. Or up our noses. We were chatty and happy, enthusiastic to catch up. Juliet's latest movie shoot had been pushed back until the fall, so she was excited to have six months of relative down time. She had a big movie release coming over Fourth of July, which would require a publicity tour, but otherwise it was a comparatively quiet year for her. Melanie had also stuck a toe in the modeling game again, taking a couple small shoots to get comfortable with the idea. And all of us were dying to know what Jess and the Daydream Pictures talent had in mind for their porn movies.

Jess suggested that we go to the Daydream house she had picked up in Santa Monica. We had done a few renovations, and the California surfer chic bungalow was ready to go. We made the thirty-minute drive, but Juliet and Melanie drove separately because Juliet could only stop in for a quick look-through before she needed to get ready for her gala that evening.

The house, two stories with two bedrooms and a mostly open concept, had an intentionally faded color palate to give that beach vibe. Jess wanted a laid back, comfortable feeling around the porn offices, and she had definitely gotten it. And it was only two blocks from the Pacific Ocean. There was a large deck wrapped around the second floor, which had amazing views.

"You aced this one," I said, sliding an arm around Jess's waist as we gazed at the Pacific horizon from the front deck.

"I'm really excited about starting to make these movies," she said. "I know it's a huge risk. We've put so much money into it. You've put so much money into it."

"You're going to crush it," I said.

"I've been feeling the stress, John," Jess confessed. "You made a major investment in this. In me."

"Of course I did," I said. "And I'd do it again."

"The Tommy thing wasn't about acting out under stress," she admitted. "I was being self-destructive."

I paused before responding.

"Do you really think he's changed?" I asked.

"I do actually believe that," she said and then added with a laugh, "and that's not just my pussy saying that."

"Is this really about bringing him to Daydream? Not something else?" I pressed.

"My assumption has been that the Daydream talent will be fun for all of us," Jess said, "but I really think Tommy will be good for the business. If he can keep his shit together."

"Tonight will be interesting," I said.

"Oh, it definitely will be," Jess said. "But also talk to Kayla. She is already a mogul in the porn industry. She's the one who thought bringing in Tommy and Patrick was a great idea. She would know. And she's married to a guy she met in porn."

"That's Manny, right?" I said, trying to get everyone's name straight.

"Yes," Jess said. "I hear he's a real Latin lothario."

"I've seen his movies," I said.

"You're really looking forward to meeting Kayla, aren't you?" Jess said with a grin.

I couldn't hide my boyish excitement. "She's been my favorite for a decade," I said with a laugh.

Juliet popped her head out of the sliding door that led to the deck.

"Hey, guys,' she said, her hair tousled and cheeks slightly ruddy. It was obvious she and Melanie had been messing around. "I've got to get going but wanted to say bye. I'm so sorry to miss tonight. Rain check?"

"Count on it," Jess said and hugged her.

I hugged her, too, and Juliet smiled before giving me a sweet kiss goodbye. I could taste Melanie on her lips.

"Wednesday lunch this week?" she said.

I beamed and nodded. "I'd love that," I said.

"Good," Juliet said.

And in a flash of golden hair, she was gone.

* * *

Two hours later, the Daydream house had a fully stocked bar after I made a booze run. Melanie and Jess had spent the time catching up over Champagne and a lot of cocaine. I joined them to smoke a joint to take the edge off before the Daydream team arrived.

The anticipation was great. This was a new frontier. And I wasn't sure how the gathering would go and became even more unsure when Kayla showed up first with her husband, Manny. In tow she carried a folder containing a couple scripts and a checklist of movie ideas. Was this a working evening or a party? Over the course of the initial thirty minutes, it wasn't clear. Kim arrived, then Patrick. Ginger, the sultry and effervescent redhead, came with Emily, the natural brunette who was defined by her willingness to try anything. And then there was Tommy. You could sense he was nervous. Jess greeted him warmly.

The group gathered and chatted. Drinks helped lubricate the conversation better than any ice-breaker could have. The girls were all naturally flirty. So was Manny, who had a charm and ease about him that reminded me of the late Dr. V. All the women gravitated toward his magnetism. Kayla was the strongest personality among the starlets. Her past experience as a director and producer showed through, and she skillfully teased out ideas from everyone about their likes, dislikes, and fantasies. It was obvious she wanted to build plot ideas around what appealed to the talent, which logically would increase their interest in playing it out on camera.

Before we knew it, Kayla had sketched out the general plot themes for two movies, and everyone in the living room had started loosening up as we plowed through bottles of Champagne at a remarkable clip. I admired the ease with which they worked. I hadn't expected them to be so serious. The brainstorming had taken on such a natural form, but as the alcohol consumption ramped up, sexual innuendo became the order of the day. Once Manny started making comments and getting a little grabby, Patrick joined in.

"I need a smoke," Ginger announced, pulling a lighter and pack of cigarettes from her clutch.

"Oh, can I bum one?" Emily asked.

"Of course, sweetie," Ginger replied.

"I've got some ganja," Manny volunteered.

"Bring it!" Emily said enthusiastically.

Jess and Patrick followed, leaving Melanie and me in the living room with Kim, Kayla, and Tommy.

"Kayla, it is just so amazing working with you," Kim gushed, taking a vial out and tapping the white contents onto the glass coffee table. "I think this calls for a celebration."

"I love a celebration," Kayla said.

"Fuck yeah," Tommy chimed in.

I could feel the tension between us. A little snow probably would help thaw the environment. Melanie hopped up and brought over a couple carbon fiber cards, mirror, four straws, and a baggie containing a huge, fishscale rock of cocaine.

"We're going to need this," she said with a laugh as she tucked her legs under herself again.

"I'm starting to feel a chill in here!" Kayla said playfully.

As Kim and Melanie had the rat-a-tat-tat of cocaine preparation going in earnest, I stood up to get more Champagne.

"Here, let me help you," Tommy offered and stood up.

"Cool," I said, not knowing how else to respond.

I spent comically long rummaging around the fridge for two bottles of Champagne. There was nothing but Champagne in the fridge, so I was just delaying the inevitable. I took a deep breath, pulled two bottles, and turned around.

"Here, let me pop one of those," Tommy said, extending his hand.

I passed him the cold bottle and immediately turned my attention to pulling off the foil capsule and turning the wire cage to open it.

"Pretty weird that I'm here," Tommy offered with surprising awkwardness.

"Yeah," I grunted.

This was an inherently uncomfortable situation, and although the girls might have convinced me on some rational level that it made business sense, I couldn't hide the emotional side. I just wasn't happy about it.

"Look, man, let me just say I'm sorry," Tommy said.

I blinked in reply.

"I really am," he pressed on. "What I did wasn't right. It wasn't right to you. It wasn't right to Kat. It was a full-on disrespect to you and her and your relationship. I'm not going to make excuses. I'm going to own it. I did bad things and was a bad person. I've been working really hard for the last year to try to change myself and try to become a better, more respectful individual."

"And you've still been fucking Jess," I said flatly.

"I didn't realize you weren't cool with that," he said. "I got the impression that she thought you were okay with it."

"I'm sure it's complicated," I said with a sigh, directed more toward Jess than Tommy.

"It's cool, man," Tommy said. "I'll keep my distance from Jess, too. Seriously. I don't want to disrespect you again. It's important to me to not be like that."

I had to give the guy credit. If he didn't believe what he was saying, then he certainly believed he believed it. It came off as sincere. I could see a tinge of anguish in his face. I swallowed hard and popped the cork on my bottle of Champagne.

"Let's bury it," I said, pouring a tall glass. "The past is the past. We've got some real opportunities with Daydream here. I want that to work for everyone."

"I want that, too," Tommy said, opening his bottle and following suit pouring a glass. "I've got to get my shit together."

"Keep your nose clean, and I'm sure you'll do fine," I said. Then chuckled before adding, "Well, you know what I mean. Not that kind of clean."

He laughed, and the tension had definitely thawed a little bit. We didn't shake hands but gave each other the kind of mutual nods that said, okay, things are cool for right now. I continued pouring out glasses of Champagne until the bottle was empty. Before I could go back to the fridge for another one, the smokers from outside crashed back into the house in a torrent of boisterous laughter.

"I don't believe it," Emily said. "I want to see it. And maybe measure it."

"I want to believe it," Ginger giggled.

"It's huge," Kim gushed.

"Massive," Jess said.

Patrick was grinning. "One at a time," he said, putting his hands up to try to calm them down.

Manny stood nearby, smiling from ear to ear. He shot a knowing look to his wife, Kayla.

"Baby," Kayla said with a mock-stern tone. "What did you do?"