Chapter 5
Over the next few weeks, Annie’s deadline to return to Georgia came and went. With Gramps still in the rehab unit of the hospital, there wasn’t anything she could do for him, so they agreed she’d stay in LA a while longer. She continued to send out her résumé and head shots to casting directors for every film project she heard about and took as many shifts as the restaurant would give her. She still came up short at the end of the month, but she was happy to just have a job. In the rotten economy, she’d heard that some people in her acting class were eating out of dumpsters. She tried to be grateful that she hadn’t had to sink that low and just had to get rid of the bad taste in her mouth, left from her lunch with Vic Rossen.
But the casting director wouldn’t be out of her life for long. Daveed started checking in on her and they began hanging out together for the occasional coffee, or free appetizers at happy hour at a local sports bar.
“You scared me when you said you were going back to the sticks, girl,” he explained. “You could be my ticket to stardom one day, sweet-pea, and I don’t want to lose you.”
Annie liked his company and he could always make her laugh when she was feeling down. He took her riding on his Harley and once, she’d invited him to dinner at the restaurant where she worked. She’d never had a close male friend before and she really liked hanging out with him. They talked about everything. Auditions, Hollywood, his sordid love life—and her non-existent one.
He warned her of the players around town—some he knew and some he’d heard about, but she was most interested in what he had to say about Vic Rossen
“Even though I work for Victor, I know he’s not a man to be trusted or played, but he pays well and I’m getting the equivalent of a Master’s Degree in the business. We’re going to go places together, sweet girl. You wait and see.”
Annie laughed at the old cliché, but she appreciated Daveed’s honesty. She grew to trust him and felt she could tell him anything.
One Saturday, they met for breakfast downtown and enjoyed French toast and coffee on the veranda of his favorite café. Daveed’s eyes sparkled excitedly.
“What is it? Do you have something up your sleeve?”
“Annie… I know you’ve been auditioning forever now, and girl, I know it hurts your precious little heart when no one calls back. So—”
“Are you saying I’m not any good? That I suck?”
He waved his hand, “Oh no, honey, I think you’re all that and a bag-o-chips, but what I wanted to say, before you rudely interrupted—” he paused and smiled. A grin slid across Annie’s face, he was such a cutie. So dramatic.
“Sorry,” she shrugged, “What?”
He pursed his lips, rolled his eyes, and leaned in to whisper, “Well—” he paused for effect.
“What? Tell me.”
“I decided you need some cheering up. We have an appointment with my stylist today and you, sweetie pie, are going to get your sweet, beautiful ass on that Harley and go to Hollywood with me. We’re so going to have a spa day! Hair, nails, pedi’s, the works…’cause I can’t have my best girl being all stressed out. Doesn’t look good on you. Causes wrinkles. Crow’s feet are horrendous.”
“Oh my gosh, do I really look that bad?” She sighed, but the prospect of a spa day had her grinning with delight.
“No, girl. You’re beautiful, just stressed, so eat up so we can get over there. You are going to LOVE my stylist…Jean. He’s hot, but not as hot as me, and his ass is so tight and yummy. Yes, dear. I went there, and—”
“Shhhh! Okay, I’ll go, I’ll go…just let me eat.” She couldn’t stop laughing. She was so happy to finally, have a friend in LA who truly cared enough to do something really special for her. A spa day was exactly what she needed.
While Daveed paid the check, she quickly braided her hair, stuffed it up under the light pink helmet and jumped on his Harley. She loved the feeling of the wind in her face and the vibrations of the hog as they rode into Hollywood. He finally pulled into the parking lot of an art deco building, right on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.
As he stepped down off the bike, he pulled his helmet off and warned her, “Now this is an uber-elite spa, honey. You can get anything you want here. Hair, nails, waxing, massages, anything you like—”
He lowered his voice and glanced around. “—including sex, drugs, anything you want. The front of this place is upscale, high-end, super cool—but the back—watch out—if you see something you want—even if it’s just to watch, let me know and I’ll hook you right up. They have a very discreet menu that will either make your skin crawl, or you’ll cream just looking at it.”
“Oh, well. All righty then… shit! But why didn’t you didn’t tell me all this before we came over here to your—your sex…cavern,” She said nervously, worried about what she might find inside.
“’Cause you might not have come. Look, honey, I’m not here for sex. I got a man, and I don’t do drugs. Never touched ‘em, but my man Jean is amazing with my ‘do’ and I need to get it squared up and tight. I’m just letting you know, in case you need a good fuckin’.”
He laughed when she blushed and his eyes twinkled in the sunlight as he ushered her in through the huge glass front door.
The trendy décor surprised Annie. The room was bright with tropical plants everywhere and the sweet smell of lavender and mint filled the room which helped to put her at ease. Curious, she looked around to see if there was any back alley stuff happening, but it looked like a typical upscale spa, devoted to pampering women. She took a deep breath, exhaled and felt relieved. Good, ‘because all the shit he just told me outside worries me. Her nervousness subsided as Daveed walked over to the front desk and checked them in.
A gorgeous man flung out his arms and cooed, “Daveed! My lovely, you have arrived at last! Oh…what a fright! You have let yourself go.”
Annie realized he must be the Jean, Daveed had praised earlier. Then he came over to Annie, his French accent oozing out of his mouth. “And who pray tell me, is this pretty mademoiselle who has graced my presence?”
Daveed laughed. “Knock it off, Jean. She’s my friend, Annie, I told you about. We have to get her all sexed up and beautiful,” he said giving Annie a conspiratorial wink.
Annie gasped, her eyes opened wide. “Sexed up? Oh, hell no! I’m not here to get sexed up. I thought we were getting ‘squared up’, Daveed, not ‘sexed up’. Y’all are about half crazy!” Annie’s eyes were huge—she wondered what Daveed had in store for her—but was terrified to ask.
He laughed. “Don’t worry, girlfriend. We just frontin’…and Jean….” He looked at the hairdresser “I have NOT let myself go. I’m the finest thing in here, so hook me up.
“Daveed, Daveed. You are so beetchy, like a girl. You, you are just like a leetle girl. Beetch.” Jean grimaced. Annie quickly saw that he loved Daveed, and even more so, he loved to tease him.
Annie laughed under her breath and whispered to Daveed, “Beetch?”
They talked and laughed as Jean cut, colored and styled their hair and at Jean’s suggestion, Annie agreed to some lowlights put on her dark hair.
Beautiful men and women appeared at regular intervals to pamper her, and Daveed said, “Relax and enjoy it, sweetie.”
They filed her nails and painted her toes. She was in the lap of luxury and very grateful to Daveed for bringing her.
“Girl, I need a wax. You with me?”
“Y–you wax?”
“Hell yeah! Girl, my junk is clean! Smooth as a baby’s butt. Wanna see?” He laughed and watched her eyes go big. “Oh, God. No, you don’t wanna see, not right now anyway. I’ll show you after Michael does his amazing work. Hope my...” he looked down at his crotch, “...well, let’s just say, I hope he behaves himself, Michael is so fucking hot.”
“TMI, Daveed, TMI. And no, I don’t wanna see—now or ever. That’s just wrong on so many levels. So, let’s get on it. It’s getting late. I’m getting hungry, as well.”
Daveed hollered over at Jean who was busy talking with a new customer. “Jean, baby. Can you order us some takeout? We’ll be in the back.”
“Ah, yes. Now I am zee beetch,” he laughed, and picked up the phone to order Chinese.
Annie nervously walked into the back room, a little excited and scared of what she’d find. A beautiful black woman with long braids and smooth dark skin grabbed her hand and escorted her to the esthetician’s private room. She heard Michael and Daveed giggling, as the lady shut the door.
The room was very pleasant, but not what Annie had expected. In reality, she didn’t know what to expect. She’d never done this before. For now, she decided to take the bull by the horns and indulge in a day devoted to pampering her body. Soft music played through the speakers and there was a clinical looking table in the middle of the room. The lights were dimmed to a soft glow and the woman handed her a glass of red wine.
“To calm your nerves,” she explained as Annie took the glass. “What are we doing today, miss?”
“Uhm, a wax.” Annie was nervous as she’d never waxed her pubes before—just shaved.
“First time?”
Annie nodded and the woman smiled kindly. “My name is Sara and don’t worry, I’ll walk you through this. We have many different types of body and genital waxing… bikini, Brazilian, landing strip—do you know what you want?”
“Everything gone, please,” she said nervously and she felt her throat tighten up.
“Okay, Brazilian it is. Please remove your panties, you can set them over there, and let me see what we have to work with.”
“M – m – my panties?”
“Well, honey, how do you think I can wax you properly if you’re coochie is covered in panties?”
“Oh yeah, right.” She felt a little embarrassed, but Annie slid her panties off and sat on the table.
“Your robe, too. Don’t be shy—I do this all the time. I’ll cover your private parts.”
Annie slipped off her robe, while Sara covered everything from the waist up. She ran her thumb over Annie’s mound. “Perfect, just enough growth for the wax to grab onto and then I’ll simply pull them out. You will notice a little sting, but I have a topical spray that will dull the pain.”
Annie lie back on the table, and felt the cool spray between her legs. She exhaled and thought about Daveed getting his dick waxed. She was glad she wasn’t the only one going through this humiliation. He was a funny guy, she valued him as a friend, but she didn’t know too much about his lifestyle. She learned new things every day.
She felt a warm sensation on top of her mound and she cringed—she wasn’t sure she could do this.
R – I – I – I – I – P! She jumped, “Owww!”
“You okay?”
After her hesitant nod, Sara applied more wax and then R – I – I – I – I – P! Thankfully, that one was not so bad and the anesthetic spray was finally starting to work.
Annie spread her legs so Sarah could wax her lips and with a few more pulls, she was asked to roll over with her butt in the air.
“What? You want my butt in the air?”
“Yes, hon, and cheeks spread.”
Annie rolled over and did as she was told. She felt bare and vulnerable knowing Sara was looking at her most intimate parts very closely. She squeezed her eyes shut as the warm wax was applied along her ass hole and gritted her teeth—preparing for the worst.
R – I – I – I – I – P!
Her eyes watered and she asked for some more soothing spray. Sara obliged and in a few short minutes, it was all over. She rubbed some cooling oil on Annie’s freshly waxed area then handed her a mirror. Annie checked out her new, bald nether regions. “Hey, that wasn’t so bad,” she said as she rubbed her smooth, silky mound.
She slid off the table, gingerly at first, and then put on her robe and panties. After handing Sara a generous tip, she went to find Michael and Daveed.