Chapter 5

EVAN woke to the sound of the door on the unit next to his slamming. A few moments later, the sound of a car with no tailpipe vibrated the walls of his tiny room. He couldn’t wait to get out of here. It had only been three nights and he had already had more than enough of this transient lifestyle to last forever.

Four more days and he would be out of the crappy hotel with the peeling wallpaper and filthy carpets. Four more days of greasy takeout food and ramen noodles. Four more days of listening to people having sex through the paper-thin walls. Scratch that. He had no idea if he would be able to hear people having sex at the house. He thought it was pretty likely. Did porn stars have sex with one another after the camera stopped rolling? Evan wasn’t sure. He guessed he would find out soon enough, though.

The fluttering in his stomach started again when he thought about what would happen a few short days from now. He hadn’t been able to think of much else lately, and hoped beyond hope that Noah would be the one he would do his first scene with. The prospect of getting naked again on camera was a bit unnerving, but at least he felt like he knew Noah. He didn’t even know any of the other guys’ names.

Noah had said there would be seven of them altogether. He wondered who the other guys were. Then he had a frightening thought. He wasn’t expected to have sex with all of them, right? He remembered the interview and that Noah and Les had told him he didn’t have to do anything he wasn’t totally comfortable with. Would he be comfortable having sex with six different guys in the span of a week?

There weren’t many eighteen-year-old virgins left in the country. He was a member of an endangered species, but that was about to be quickly remedied. He had given a lot of thought to what he would be willing to do. He hoped he would be able to go through with actual sex. The mechanics of it seemed a bit scary, but the more videos he watched, the more intrigued he became with the whole idea. When he pictured it in his mind, it was Noah fucking him, not the other way around.

Ignoring the niggling feeling that he should be analyzing his reactions a little more closely than he had, he once again decided that ignorance was bliss and chose not to examine the new fantasy.

Everything was ready to go and now it was just a matter of passing the time. He had gone to the clinic the day after the interview. Evan had never been to a clinic before. There had never been a reason to get tested. It was different than he thought it would be. He imagined a seedy building in a bad area of town, with a waiting room full of drug users and prostitutes who sat until a cranky woman behind a desk called them into the back room.

Instead the clinic was clean and brightly lit. The waiting room was almost empty, with the exception of one very nervous-looking teenage girl, and one man in a business suit reading a magazine. The woman behind the desk looked younger than him and smiled as he walked through the door.

“Can I help you?” she asked pleasantly.

“Uhh… yes….” Evan stammered. He hadn’t expected to be this nervous. “I need to get tested.”

“For anything specific or full screening?”

“Full screening, please.”

“Sure.” She handed him a purple plastic clipboard and a pen. “Just fill this out please and when you’re finished bring it back on up here.”

“Thanks.”

Evan took the clipboard and filled in all the necessary information on the form. When he was finished, he obediently returned the form to the woman behind the desk before sitting back in the vinyl chair to wait his turn.

The nervous girl had gone in while he was filling out his paperwork and a few minutes later walked back through the waiting room and out the glass doors with a brown paper bag. She looked relieved.

The man in the suit was next. Standing with easy confidence, he followed the receptionist through the door to the back of the clinic. When she returned, she called Evan’s name. He stood, wiping his sweaty palms down the front of his jeans.

The girl led him into a small room. It looked like every doctor’s office he had ever visited. Same posters, same rough paper cover on the small vinyl bed against the wall. There was the same black rolling stool, various forms, and jars of cotton balls and swabs.

“Have a seat. Someone will be with you in couple of minutes.”

“Sure, thanks.” He nodded.

He heard a familiar crinkling sound as he sat down and the paper folded and crumpled beneath him. His feet hung down over the side of the table and he swung them back and forth, then in circles as he waited. He already knew what the results would be, but Evan didn’t like needles much.

A different young woman entered. She didn’t look like a nurse, dressed in soft gray pants and a navy blue blouse. She greeted him warmly and perched on the stool.

“Hi, Evan. I’m Dr. Reynolds. How are you doing today?”

“Nice to meet you. I’m doing okay. I need… an… uh… STD screening.”

“Alright, I just want to go over a few things not included on the form you filled out since this is our first time meeting. Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, Evan, I just need to get a little bit of information about your sexual history. Do you suspect that you’ve been exposed to any STDs in the past?”

“No.”

“Okay. Are you sexually active?”

“No.”

“Any recreational drug use?”

“No.”

The doctor looked up from the chart.

“I need the results for a job,” Evan stammered

Nodding her silent understanding, she simply said, “Alright, well let’s get started.”

Evan was relieved there weren’t any more questions. He knew the doctor’s office was a zone of absolute confidentiality, but it didn’t mean that it was completely removed from judgment. He didn’t want to have to explain exactly what kind of job he needed an STD screening for, but she didn’t push the issue, and he was glad to let it drop.

She stood and opened one of the drawers to her left. From the top one, she pulled a long rubber band and a syringe. Evan held his arm out so his palm faced up. The doctor’s fingers were cool and felt nice against his heated skin.

“Just breathe, Evan. This will only take a second and I’ll do my best to make it completely painless.”

Evan gave her an uneasy smile. “I’m okay,” he said, more for his benefit than hers.

She grabbed the tourniquet and secured it tightly against his upper arm before reaching across the counter and pulling a cotton ball out of the jar. After dousing it in alcohol, she rubbed it over his inner elbow. She opened the syringe.

“You don’t need to look if you don’t want to. Sometimes it helps to look the other way.”

“I’m okay,” he repeated.

“Alright, Evan. One, two, three and a little pinch.” She pushed the needle gently into his arm then removed the elastic squeezing his arm. He hardly felt anything. He watched as the deep red liquid filled the vial. She took three more vials before expertly sliding the needle out and pressing firmly on the little dot with a fresh cotton ball.

She disposed of the needle and gloves before sitting back down.

“Alright, Evan. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Not bad at all.”

“The next part is usually the hardest—anticipating the results—but in your case, it’s probably just a formality. Just give the office a call in three days or so, or you can stop by and pick up the results in person if you prefer. Do you have any questions, or is there anything else I can do for you?”

“I don’t think so. Thank you, Dr. Reynolds.”

“You’re very welcome, Evan.”

EVAN had returned to the clinic three days later, just as Dr. Reynolds had said, and picked up the sheet of paper that declared he had a clean bill of health. That had been yesterday. Since then, Evan had been going crazy with impatience. He actually thought he might lose his mind. He made a checklist of everything he needed to do before September and crossed the items off the list one by one. Now, there was nothing left to do but wait, and it just meant more time he would have to waste before leaving for Newport. He was restless and agitated. Of course time seemed to pass more slowly because all he wanted was for the week to be up already.

He needed to do something. Anything. Desperation often led to terrible decisions, and this Thursday afternoon was no different. Evan rooted through his bag until he found what he was looking for: a pair of shorts and a ratty T-shirt. After pulling the shirt on over his head, he tied the drawstring on the board shorts, then bent down to tighten his sneakers. They weren’t real running shoes, but they would have to do.

Evan had never excelled in gym; he was one of the ones who barely skated by. He was nowhere near a jock, but he wasn’t the kid that got picked last for dodgeball. Third to last was not last, he reminded himself.

He tucked his keys into his pocket and set out running. It only took twelve minutes for Evan to realize what a mistake running had been. Summertime in Oregon was not the place for outdoor athleticism, especially for someone who did not possess any sort of innate skill. He was sweating and dizzy, partly because of the heat, partly because all he’d eaten had been a stale bag of nacho chips from the gas station down the street.

Realizing that it was a terrible idea, he turned on his heels and began walking—slowly—back to the motel. When he got there, he toed off his shoes and sat down on the bed, pulling his computer into his lap. He started it up and checked his mail. His heart rate sped as he saw Noah’s name in his inbox. He opened the e-mail, eager to read what Noah had written to him.

Evan finished reading the letter. He was such an idiot. He had forgotten that he hadn’t left any contact information with Noah. He hadn’t wanted to put down his house phone number, since at the time he was on the precipice of moving out. He couldn’t afford a cell phone, so his plan was to e-mail Les after he had gotten settled at the motel and give him the number there. In all the excitement over the website and the clinic, he had forgotten to send it.

He was glad Noah hadn’t written him off, though. Noah wanted to work with him enough to go out of his way to track him down. Evan smiled at the thought. He picked up the phone beside the bed, fingers poised over the buttons and ready to dial. Switching his gaze back to the e-mail, he realized Noah had given Evan his own phone number, not Les’s.

Evan was gripped with a sudden case of butterflies. What would he say when Noah picked up? A glance at the alarm clock told him it was 1:27 in the afternoon. Was now a good time to call? He didn’t know what kind of hours porn stars kept. Would he be interrupting?

He dialed quickly before he worked himself up too much. After two rings, Noah picked up, his deep voice resonating in Evan’s ears.

“Hi, Noah, it’s… uhh… it’s Evan. I just got your e-mail. Sorry I didn’t call sooner with my updated contact information, it’s just that I knew I would be moving, and I was going to call you as soon as I’d sorted out where I would be staying, but then I forgot I hadn’t given you my phone number in the first place and so I’m sorry….” He was breathless from the expulsion of information.

Evan had three problems when he was nervous. Either he became too shy to say much of anything at all, or he rambled uncontrollably until the other person shut him up, or he just ran out of things to say. Today it seemed to be the latter.

He could hear Noah’s gentle laugh. “No worries, Ev. Just wanted to make sure you’re still on board with coming up to Newport with us this week.”

“Oh yeah, I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Okay, well the local boys are all going to meet at Les’s place on Saturday morning, then head up to the house together. Out-of-towners will meet us there, and then we’ll all have a bit of downtime before we start shooting on Sunday morning. Sound good?”

“Yep. What time, and is there anything I should bring?”

“We’re meeting around ten thirty. Nothing you have to bring, except clothes. Oh, and your test results.”

“Great. I picked those up yesterday, so I am all set.”

“Good. How are you doing other than that? Feeling okay about all of this? I know you’re a rookie, and I want you to let me know if you’re feeling apprehensive or uncomfortable about anything at all.”

“Not really, I mean I’ve watched some of the videos.” Evan could feel the heat seeping into his cheeks. He was thankful Noah wasn’t able to see him over the phone. His blush had always been one of the things he hated about his pale complexion. “I just really don’t know what to expect.”

“No one does their first time. Don’t stress too much about it. We will ease you into things. It’s not like we’re going to throw you into a double penetration scene on your first morning out.”

The color that had been steadily rising in Evan’s face deserted him faster than a getaway car at a heist gone wrong. Double penetration? He had seen the letters DP on the sheet, but hadn’t yet figured out what they stood for. People actually did that? Jesus Christ!

“Hello? Evan? You still there?”

“Here,” he squeaked.

“Whoa, relax, kid. Was only joking. We’ll take it real easy. I’m just making up the schedule now and if you want, I can delay your start for a day or two so you can see how everything works, maybe watch a couple of scenes being filmed. We’ll take it nice and slow, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Evan’s voice still hadn’t returned to a normal pitch. “I guess that would be good.”

“That’s what we’ll do, then. Want you to feel comfortable and relaxed about this whole thing. It’s a job, but it’s sex too, and it’s supposed to be fun, not terrifying.”

“I’m not terrified,” Evan protested as convincingly as he could. He didn’t want Noah to know how scared he really was. This was no big deal. People had sex every day. It was just sex. In front of other people. And a camera. And the potential of hundreds or even thousands of people watching at home. No big deal. “I swear, I’m just a little nervous about the whole thing because I have no idea what to expect. I’m sure I’ll feel better once I’m there and have my bearings a little more. It’s just been a bit of a transition period for me.”

“What do you mean?”

Not wanting to give too much away, Evan gave a brief overview of his current situation and how he had landed himself there. “Well, I graduated a few days ago and had to move out, so I’m just killing time at a motel until Saturday. I’m bored out of my mind, but it’s temporary. I’ll find someplace more permanent after Newport.”

“Where are you goin’?”

“University of Oregon in Eugene.”

“Oh yeah, you said you were going to go to school. What are you studying again?”

“Microbiology and ecology.”

“Oh yeah. Sounds like a heavy load.”

“Not too bad. I like science. I always have. It’s constant. What you see is what you get. Either the data agrees with you or it doesn’t. There is less room for interpretation, less need to guess what a person meant by what they said or wrote. I like the reliability of it.” He paused, the situation coming into focus around him. “Here I am talking your ear off, though. I’m sure you have much better things to do than to listen to me rant on about the merits of the scientific method.”

“Yeah, I have a list of stuff to do that’s at least six miles long, and only a few short days to finish it.”

Evan felt foolish. He must seem like such a loser to this guy, a naïve kid who didn’t know up from down and liked science more than sex. He couldn’t blame Noah for wanting to hang up with him. It was glaringly obvious how different they were, and Evan would never be as experienced and cocksure as Noah seemed.

“Hey, you said you were bored. I’m actually headed out shopping right now. I hate shopping, but if you got nothing better to do, you wanna tag along?”

“Sure! That would be great.” Shit, now he sounded even more like an eager little puppy than before. “I mean, it beats sitting here in this shitty motel room.”

“Alright, gimme the address and I’ll be there to pick you up in half an hour. Sound okay?”

“Yep. I’m in room 136 at the Mountainside Motel at Bradner and Vine.”

“I know the place. See you soon, Ev.”

“Bye.”

Evan hung up the phone and couldn’t believe what had just happened. Noah was coming to pick him up. He wanted to spend time with him. He voluntarily offered to take him shopping. Evan felt like the kid who ended up with the most popular guy in school for a lab partner. He was excited at the prospect of being so close to someone who shone so brightly, but at the same time terrified that Noah would discover exactly what a loser he was. He needed to play this cool.

He took a few steps across the room and into the bathroom. His jeans were a bit too big, bagging in the ass and slightly around the waist, but there wasn’t a lot he could do about that now. He only owned one pair. The T-shirt was okay. It fit better than most he owned. Dark gray with a small yellow logo in the center of the chest, the color somehow made him look less pale and a little more built than he actually was.

He ran his hands under the tap then through his hair, trying to make it cooperate, but as usual, it was a futile cause. Oh well. This was the best he could do with what he had.