Chapter 4

BRAN woke up to the sun streaming in through his window. He was still tired. He wanted to throw the covers back up over his head and give himself over to sleep for a few more hours, but there was far too much to do to get ready for the trip to Newport in a few days.

It had been four days since the beginning of the casting process for the project. They had been four of the longest days of his life. He and Les had done over thirty-five interviews, rejecting most of the guys before the camera ever came out. Noah had become a celebrity of sorts in the adult world, and while he wasn’t as famous as some of the other stars in the industry, he had developed a bit of a following. There were quite a few guys who auditioned just to have a chance to end up in bed with him.

For some guys, this would be flattering, a turn-on even, but for Bran it was disconcerting. He didn’t want a following. He wasn’t even really sure why he still did this. It wasn’t the money. Bran had enough to live on comfortably, and he didn’t need much. He looked around his room, taking in the sparse décor. There wasn’t much to look at. All the furniture and linens had been purchased together. He had walked into the store, told the salesperson he wanted everything in the display to be delivered to his apartment, and the next day the delivery guys had shown up and done exactly that.

It looked like a showroom. Impersonal. Stark. Depressing. Maybe he should spend a bit more of the money he had amassed. He wasn’t doing anything else with it. It did no good sitting in a bank account. His apartment felt temporary even though he’d lived there for almost six years. There were still a few unpacked boxes sitting in the front closet. He supposed he should probably go through them. He had put it off for six years though, so what were a few more months?

He groaned at the feeling of the cold air hitting his bare skin as he threw off the covers and slid his feet to the floor. Time to get up. Time to get to work. Bran felt like that was all he did. When he wasn’t filming, he was involved with the business side of things.

In the beginning, he was just like the other boys who worked for Les. He showed up, fucked for a few hours, collected a paycheck, and went home. At eighteen, he’d thought it was a pretty good deal. He got paid to have sex. What horny teenage boy would turn that offer down? Now, it was a job. The sex wasn’t sex, it was going through the motions, making sure the shots were right, angling his body exactly so the camera could capture what it needed to. He was tired, but what else was he going to do?

He hadn’t been one of those kids with dreams and aspirations. His parents hadn’t cultivated his interest in anything, other than what looked good to the media. Once he had graduated from high school, he hadn’t seen the appeal of more school. Now though, he wasn’t sure he had made the right choice. It was too late for him, though. He was almost thirty, with no work experience outside of blowjobs and come shots. He was too old to be thrown into a classroom with fresh grads. Thrown in bed with them, he could work with that, but college? He’d barely made it through high school.

No, this was it for him. This was what he was meant to do. Although the job had lost its shine, he was good at what he did, and he made himself and Les a lot of money.

He needed to discuss with Les which guys they were going to call to hire for Newport. They had narrowed down the list to twelve guys, but only needed six—well, five really—Evan was all but confirmed.

Most of the guys who had shown up in person to audition were out. They ranged from nothing special to overtly irritating. There were a few strong possibilities that had applied by web conference, and a couple of the guys had just sent in tapes of earlier work.

LES was ready for him when he got there, folders splayed across the kitchen table. Les greeted Bran with a cup of coffee before they sat down together to hash out who would be hired for the shoot. This was their first larger project, and both he and Les wanted it to go off without a hitch. Most of the scenes he had filmed before had been in various locations around Les’s house, or in rented spaces around the city. Usually it was just two or three guys in a bedroom or on a couch, getting one another off. This would be a bit different. Bran found that, although he was indifferent to the actual sex, he was looking forward to the novelty of a new format.

“Well, should we get started?” Les asked.

“Guess so. Have we confirmed everything with the vacation rental company?”

“Everything is set and ready to go. We’ll be there by June twelfth and we’re out before the end of July.”

Bran hoped they could wrap up filming in less than three weeks, but allotting themselves extra time just in case would save on headaches later if they hit any snags.

“Alright, now for the boys, who did you have in mind, sugar?”

“Not sure. Need a variety, so let’s try to see if we can get a good mix of blond, brunet, and some different body types. We should look for guys that are willing to top and bottom. Makes it a bit easier for filming if the boys are more versatile. Means we can switch up the scenes more than we usually do, and especially because it’ll be the same group of guys for the duration of the shoot, it’s important that some are willing to do both.”

Bran’s mind flashed to the memory of Evan from earlier that week. He couldn’t stop the smile that ghosted across his lips. He liked the kid. There was something different about him. He sifted through the mess of files until he found Evan’s.

“Well, Evan is a given. We gave him the job already. I think he’ll be perfect,” Les said.

“I agree. Kid could be a star, but he’s also a gamble. With his inexperience, we don’t know what he’s willing to do, if anything at all. There’s a chance he could bolt once we get there and he is thrown into the thick of things.”

“If he goes through with this though, the members are going to absolutely eat him up. If you think he’s worth the risk, then I think we should put his video on the homepage when it’s through being processed, build up some of the interest in the boys before we get to Newport.”

“I do. He was nervous the other day—more nervous than I’ve seen a guy before, but once he got into things, he was so fucking responsive. It’ll read really well on camera.”

Bran remembered exactly how responsive Evan had been to him, no hesitation in giving himself over to Bran. The trust he placed in him, despite being a perfect stranger, had been a heady feeling. It changed the way he felt about the filming. He had never been as concerned about someone else’s pleasure before, but as it was Evan’s first sexual experience, Bran wanted to make certain it was a good one.

“I think putting his vid on the main page is a great idea. We want as much hype on this thing as we can get, and Evan is definitely going to stir up some hype.”

“I think so too. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a kid with that much raw sexual potential. And such a perfect little bottom too. He reminds me of you when you were first starting out.”

Bran thought back to his first video. He had been young, and much smaller than he was now. He had filled out over the years. When he had first started working for Sonic Street he had been a punk kid with too much attitude and no sense. He thought he was God’s gift to porn. Les wasn’t the most paternal guy in the world, but he had taken Bran under his wing and sheltered him from what could have ended up being much worse.

Bran looked through a couple of the other files. “I think Ryan would be a good fit. He’s lighter blond than me, surfer type. Big dick and pretty vocal. Not too muscular and not too tall. I think he switches too.”

“Alright, Ryan’s in. What about Kellan? Too many tattoos?”

“Nah, I think he’s okay. He’s got the muscle tone to pull it off, and the placement will look good when he’s fucking. He’s a designated top, but he’s got the look for it. Tall, dark and handsome, but a little bit dangerous. I like him for this.”

“Perfect, three down, three more spots left. How about this guy? Remember him?”

“Chase? I don’t think so. Gave me a weird vibe. Not as weird as that other guy, the one with the goatee, but I want to pass on Chase.”

“You got it, boss.”

Bran laughed. It was a long-standing joke between the two that although Les was the majority owner of the production company, Bran was really the boss. In a way it was true. The majority of the time, Les deferred to Bran on nearly everything. The two had become close after so many years. It was almost a convoluted father/son relationship.

“Liked this guy. Cooper. He’s a switch too. Clean cut. Looks a bit military with the short brown hair. Might be a nice selling feature to pass him off as a Marine or something.” Adding story lines and characters to their videos worked well for them. It gave an extra element of interest for their members and military guys were very popular on the website.

“Okay, that’s four. Two more. I liked this guy, Colt,” said Les, shuffling through the rest of the files on the table. The pile was getting smaller, but they were still a long way from ironing out all the kinks on this project. This was the first time Bran was going to be taking more of a directorial role in a film.

“Was he the southern guy?”

“Yeah, and with a name like Colt, he could be the cowboy of the group.”

“I think he’ll add a nice element into things. Nice balance for Kellan too. Gentlemanly manners against the rough and tumble. Could definitely work,” Bran said pensively. He was a little excited to be doing more work behind the camera.

“That’ll be fuckin’ hot. What about this guy?” Les passed him another file with a picture of a tall, kind of geeky-looking kid. He had big green eyes and dark messy hair.

“He’s sweet looking. I don’t remember which one he is. Riley?”

“Yeah, the kid from Ireland. Is two guys with accents too much, do you think?”

“No, I remember him now. They’re different accents, and I think he’ll work well. I like the mix of boys we have. Three blonds, four with dark hair. All the guys are fit and toned but some are more muscular than others. Most importantly, everyone’s equipment is more than adequate. A couple of the guys are even bigger than eight. That should please the members for sure.”

“You bet. Well, that was pretty easy. Other than Evan, all the guys know the process and brought their test results with them, so we shouldn’t hit any potholes on this one. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best-selling vids yet. You’ve done well so far, Bran.”

“Think we should pick a backup boy in case Evan doesn’t go through with it?” Bran asked, already second-guessing the decisions he’d made. He didn’t know why he felt so invested in this already. It was just another porno, with a set of random guys who didn’t mean anything to him at all. If it failed, it failed.

The corner of Les’s mouth crooked up in a knowing smile. “I think it’ll be fine, sugar. I think the kid might surprise you.”

“Alright, guess I should get to work calling the guys in. I’ll arrange for us all to meet up at the house. We’ll take the first day or so to let the guys get to know one another a little before the hard-core stuff happens. Might get some good footage for in between scenes too.”

“Good call. Are you going to take your truck down? I’ll follow behind with the supplies if you want.” Les grabbed his cell from the table and retreated to his office to make arrangements. In the meantime, Bran started making calls to let the boys know they were in.

He wanted to call Evan first. It was silly, but he felt eager to talk to the kid again. He pulled Evan’s file from the bottom of the pile and opened it. Evan looked up at him from the picture Les had taken during his interview. His eyes were so big and dark brown. Eyes you could easily lose yourself in. They were wide, trusting, and a little sad, like he had spent his whole life in disappointment.

Bran didn’t know if this would add to it or not. Was getting into porn going to be exciting for this kid, or would it only make things worse? Bran knew about being lonely and disappointed with life. He hoped Evan knew what he was getting himself into. He couldn’t make choices for the kid though; he could only do what he had to and trust that Evan would choose the right path for himself.

He lifted the paper-clipped photo and traced his finger down the page to the contact information. It was blank. Bran’s stomach dropped. Maybe Les had a phone number. The kid had gotten in touch with him for the interview after all.

Bran took a few steps down the hall into Les’s office in time to hear the end of his conversation with the camera crew. He was using his “stern” voice. For all of Les’s faults and less-than-solid moral fiber, he was good to his boys. Bran felt a twinge of affection for the older man.

Once he had hung up, Bran asked him about contact information for Evan.

“Oh yeah, it’s here somewhere. I think I have an e-mail address for him. No phone number, but we can try this first and see what happens. I’ll keep the other boys’ files out just in case we need to find a replacement.”

Bran nodded, but secretly hoped that wouldn’t be necessary. Les stood so Bran could sit at the computer to type. He paused briefly, not quite sure what to say. He’d never had a problem communicating with any of the guys before—strictly business and cutting to the chase—but he felt different about writing to Evan. It seemed more personal somehow, like his words were more permanent than a quick conversation on a cell phone. He began to type.

Evan,

Thank you for coming in to meet with us the other day. Les and I were both very impressed with your performance.

He paused again. Then hit the delete key. Impressed with your performance? It sounded callous. He retyped.

Les and I thought you were really great.

Now he sounded like an overeager teenager.

Les and I both thought you would be a great fit for the Newport project.

Better. That was less agog schoolboy and more mildly approving and professional.

We don’t have any contact information for you other than e-mail, so my phone number is 970-555-6054. If you could give me a call as soon as possible, we were hoping to go over the details for transportation and how the shoot is going to work once we get into Newport in four days.

Hope to talk to you soon,

Noah

Now he would just have to wait for Evan to get in touch with him. He walked back into the kitchen to go down the rest of the contact list for the guys. There was still a lot of work to do that day, including shot lists and scene layouts.

The guys had been provided with an acts list during their interview. A few of the guys had said they were willing to do almost anything, and some of them had taken the list home to look it over. All the guys with the exception of Evan were seasoned and knew the ins and outs of the business. He hoped everything would go smoothly once they were at the house.