Chapter Three
Ezra Hammond
I searched through the cabinet for the syrup bottle. The butter melted on top of my short stack of pancakes, waiting for me to devour them. I grabbed the bottle from the cabinet and sat down in front of my plate. I didn’t usually eat a big breakfast, especially on days that I was to work out, but my stomach had been rumbling all morning so I couldn’t help it.
Just as I grabbed my fork, the front door opened and closed shut. Moments later, Jeff walked into the kitchen, sporting a compression shirt that looked oddly familiar. “What the fuck, Jeff? I’ve been looking for that shirt for the last two weeks.”
“Yeah, I forgot to tell you that I was going to borrow it. My ex cut mine up before she left the house the other day, so I needed one to work out in.” He sat down at the table and grabbed my plate of food like it was his. “And what the hell are you eating this shit for? You know we have to be at the gym in like two hours. He sliced an edge from the pancakes and dipped it into syrup before he piled the forkful into his mouth.
“Really, Jeff?”
“What?” he said, his mouth cluttered with food. “This shit is not good for you, and if you’re gonna eat it, I may as well eat it with you. Shit. I can’t let you be the only one making a bad decision. That’s what friends are for.” He shoved another forkful into his mouth as I pulled my plate away from him.
Jeff and I had been friends for the last 10 years. We used to work at the same dead-end job at Fire Stone before we both realized that we had potential to do a lot more with our lives. That’s when I decided to try my hand at an acting career while Jeff went into business as a sports agent. Although his career was going a lot better than mine, he made sure that I never regretted the decision I made to leave Fire Stone.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, then walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a jug of orange juice, drinking straight from the bottle. “You piece of shit. First, you eat my damned pancakes, and now you are drinking my juice straight out of the bottle?”
He gulped it down, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Sorry, bro. I’ll buy you another one.” He closed the door and sat down in the chair with the bottle of orange juice in his hand. I shook my head and took a bite of pancakes as he looked at his watch. “So, how is the acting shit goin’?”
I sighed. “Shit. I mean, it could always be better. I think I need to get a big part somewhere, though. These commercials and small movie roles aren’t cutting it right now.”
“Aren’t cutting it? Really? You live in fuckin’ Hollywood. Rent is at least $1300 a month for a one-bedroom, and you have a two-bedroom. You seem to be doin’ all right if your ass hasn’t gotten evicted yet.”
I shook my head. “Nah, man. I mean…” I thought about Tanner and Nolan. I felt that if I had a bigger role in a movie that Tanya wouldn’t hesitate to let me see them more. I know she felt like I was a fucking loser because of how slow my career was going. I was making money, but not as much as I thought I would by now, and she knew it. It was almost like I had to pay her off just to see my boys more, and if that was the case, then that is what I had to work for. “I think I need some bigger roles, you know? I mean. It might help with letting me see the kids more.”
He moved the jug of orange juice away from his mouth and glared at me. “Help you see the kids more? What the fuck does a bigger movie role have to do with helping you see the kids more?”
“Man, fuck. You know how Tanya is. I think if I was able to throw some money her way, she would loosen up a little bit. This one fucking weekend a month is killing me. I need to see my boys more than that. A lot more.” I sliced another edge of my pancakes and slid it into my mouth.
“Tanya is such a bitch, man. I mean, no disrespect to your children’s mother, but she is a bitch. A grade-A bitch with like… superpowers and shit.”
“I wish her power was the ability to give head better. Shit, that might have kept me around a little longer.”
“Shit, man. Honestly, I don’t think money will change that. I think she enjoys watching you squirm and suffer. That’s just the kind of chick she is, bro. She is evil. Pure evil.”
I finished my breakfast, and we climbed into his car so we could head to the gym. We both worked hard to keep our bodies in shape. It gave him a little more clout with the athletes he was looking to sign, and it helped me stay flexible with the type of movie roles I could play. The one thing that most casting directors look for is your physique, and I wanted to make sure I kept muscles instead of flab.
I laid on the bench and gripped hold of the bar as Jeff stood over me. “All right, Ezra. This is 315 lbs. Hit this shit, man. Rep this shit out! Let’s go!” He clapped his hands together to pump me up. I took three deep breaths and then contracted my hands around the bar.
“Aaaaargh!”
“One! All right, let's go! You got two more in you!” I lowered the bar and bounced it off my chest. “Two! Come on, Ezra! Hit that shit! One more time! Push!” I gritted my teeth together as I struggle to push the bar up for the third time. “Come on, Ezra! Push! I’m gonna let that shit fall right on your fucking neck! I’m not helping! Push!”
My arms shook as I yelled out, pushing the bar up inch by inch. “That’s it, baby! That’s it! Almost there!”
“Aaaaaarg!” I lifted the bar and slammed it onto the rack, then sat upright as Jeff patted me on the back.
“Good shit, Ezra! Good shit!” I took a towel and wiped my head, then grabbed a bottle of my intra-workout drink and took a swig. “Damn, Ezra. I didn’t think you had three reps in you. Shit. You might need to try your luck as an athlete now. You are getting strong as fuck.”
“Nah,” I said, catching my breath. “I know my role. I am here to act, not fucking get smacked around on a football field.”
“I hear ya’,” he said as he added more weight to the bar. “Well, you gotta do what you feel you were put here to do. This is why we left Fire Stone. I’m behind you 100 percent, bro. With this acting thing and with the boys. I hate that you are in that situation, but I know it will work out for you.”
I stood up and took another drink from my bottle. “Yeah, man. That’s what I am hoping. If things go right, I will hear back from Marc, and he will tell me about a potential role that will put my acting career front and center. But, you know how he is.”
“Marc is a fucking snake, man,” he said as he laid on the bench and gripped the bar.
“Goddamn, man. You are lifting 365 now?”
He laughed. “What? This is child’s play, Ezra. You know that.” I stood to the side as he effortlessly pushed the weight up and down, bouncing it off his chest like a basketball until he got to his fifth rep and slammed the bar on the rack. The metal clanged together, creating an echo throughout the gym. I shook my head as my phone rang simultaneously.
“Hello?”
“Ezra? This is Marc, and I’ve got some good news. Big, big movie is in the works, and the casting call is next Monday. And me, being the amazing guy that I am, got you in on the call. Yeah, I know. You can thank me later.”
“No shit?!” I asked as the world around me came to silence.
“No shit. Monday at 11 am, you’ve got a casting call to go to. Make sure you wear something that shows off your body because you are gonna need that extra oomph to woo them.”
“What kind of movie is it?”
“You ever heard of the book Satin Sheets?”
My eyebrows folded together like a handkerchief, “The sex novel?”
“Yeah. That’s it. They are making a movie for it, and I know you can land the role for the lead male actor. So, get your shit together and be sexy. I’ll give you more info when the time comes.”
“All right! Thanks, Marc. I appreciate that.”
“Sure thing.”
I hung up the phone with a smile on my face. I felt like the role I could land in my sleep had finally arrived. “The fuck are you smiling for?” Jeff asked as he removed weights from the bar.
“I think shit is about to get interesting.”