I got out of there quickly and as I got to my car he was jogging toward me. s.h.i.t.

"Wait," he said. "I just thought...you know..."

"What?" And then it hit me. "Oh my G.o.d. You think because I'm sleeping with Max, I'll sleep with anyone? Just to get noticed and work my way up? Well, you're wrong. And no way will I do it to keep a job. I quit."

"He'll hurt you."

I glared at him. "Maybe so, but at least he has some cla.s.s."

Kevin stood there shocked. He didn't try to stop me, either with his voice or with physical force. Thank G.o.d. I didn't know if I could handle another man being physical with me. I had pepper-spray in my purse, always easily accessible, and Kevin would have ended up lying on the parking lot, writhing around in the gravel, clutching his eyes.

The only eyes with tears in them were mine, though, as I tore out of there and headed for home.

My phone rang three times on the way home. All calls from Kevin. He left a voicemail each time, then sent a text: I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. Plz listen to my msgs. I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. Plz listen to my msgs.

I didn't listen to them. I called my voicemail and deleted each one before I heard the first syllable out of his mouth. There was nothing he could say to reverse what had happened, and there was no way I was going to work for him anymore. I just couldn't. There'd be no way to get past the weirdness. I had made my decision by the time I pulled up to my apartment complex. I'd told him I was going to quit, and I was going to stand by it.

Even though Kevin's touching had been limited to my knee and my thigh, and it was only for a few seconds, I still felt the need to take a shower. I cried as I scrubbed that leg harder than I'd ever washed it before.

Krystal wasn't home, so I had the place to myself, but I still locked myself in my bedroom. I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling wondering what I would do after quitting the job. Was it pathetic to think that Kevin would give me a recommendation? I was pretty sure I could get one from him. h.e.l.l, I was pretty sure I could get anything out of him with the threat of telling Max what had happened. Max could very well cut all business ties with Kevin and his agency, but that would mean hurting Jacqueline as well. She was innocent in all of this and considering she was under contract with Kevin, it wasn't as though she could go off on her own and keep the role in Max's film.

d.a.m.nit. My mind was swirling with confusion and too many side issues that I didn't need to worry about at the time. What I needed to be thinking about was how to handle being unemployed, surviving in LA, telling my parents all of this or lying to them when they came to visit, and how to explain to Max why I was no longer working for Kevin.

Of course, I could fake forgiveness and go back to work there and make everything seem fine. Except I'd only be making it seem fine to everyone else. It wouldn't be fine with me at all. And I was finished with the part of my life where my happiness, comfort and well-being took a backseat to anyone.

FIVE

I didn't even bother contacting Kevin on Friday morning. No phone call, no text, no email, nothing. I just didn't show up. I didn't hear from him, either, which pretty much told me he knew I'd never be back.

I spent the day trying to figure out what I would do next in terms of work. No good ideas immediately came to mind, and I decided to put off the worrying for the weekend. Bright and early Monday morning, my new job would be finding a new job.

Max texted me around noon: House or boat this weekend? House or boat this weekend?

Just reading it gave me a smile, even though I hadn't yet told him about not working for Kevin anymore, and for all Max knew I was at the office.

Me: What? We can't do both?;) What? We can't do both?;) Max: We can do whatever you want. We can do whatever you want.

Me: Okay, how about you dress up as a pirate and rescue me from danger and have your way with me on your boat? Okay, how about you dress up as a pirate and rescue me from danger and have your way with me on your boat?

Max: As long as I don't have to talk in a pirate voice. As long as I don't have to talk in a pirate voice.

Me: Oh, then forget it. :( Oh, then forget it. :( We decided we would play it by ear-no firm plans, just do whatever we wanted hour by hour. It sounded like heaven to me.

But I knew I'd have to mention the whole Kevin thing to him. I just couldn't decide whether to do it at the start of our weekend. I wanted to hold back until Sunday so our weekend wouldn't be tainted by the unpleasantness of the story, but I also thought Max might want to know right away. I decided I would play that by ear also-if the time seemed right, I'd bring it up.

Krystal came home around 11 a.m. I was sitting in the den, reading some of the Hollywood tabloids on my iPad and having a cup of coffee.

"Are you sick?" she asked as she came through the door.

"No. Worse."

"What's wrong?"

She sat down beside me and I told her the whole sordid story. Tears began to flow again. Krystal hugged me and I sobbed into her shoulder.

She handed me a tissue. "What did Max say?"

"I haven't told him yet."

"He's gonna be p.i.s.sed."

I nodded as I wiped my eyes.

"At least you're not in my situation," she said.

I looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Olivia. You know."

I looked down at my hands that were balling the tissue anxiously.

She said, "You saw the DVD. You saw me come in the other day after staying up all night on c.o.ke."

"Jesus, Krystal. Cocaine?"

She nodded and shrugged, and told me everything. It was a confession of sorts, almost like I was a priest and she was a parishioner. I listened with sympathy, and at one point I grabbed her hand as she started to cry.

"I got mixed up in this because of the money," she explained. "Now...I can't get out. I don't know what to do."

"Why can't you just stop?"

"And do what?" Her voice came out with more than a little touch of frustration, but I knew it wasn't directed at me. "I'll never get a real acting job. I'm f.u.c.ked."

"No, you're not."

"I really am," she said, taking a deep breath and letting it out forcefully through pursed lips. "I'm in debt. Big time."

It was the drugs. She was getting paid to do p.o.r.n, but a big chunk of it had been going to feed her c.o.ke habit. Then she started getting it on "credit" with the dealer, and now, to my horror, she was sitting there telling me she owed the guy about twenty thousand.

It turns out the dealer was also the guy hooking her up with various p.o.r.n gigs. It was almost like he was a pimp, I thought. And then, just as that thought entered my mind, she said that's what the guy had in mind for payback. He was going to pimp her out.

"Holy s.h.i.t" was the only reaction that came to mind. What the h.e.l.l had she gotten herself into? "It isn't Marco, is it?" I had met that guy weeks ago when I walked in on the two of them just as they were probably getting ready to have s.e.x in the den. It didn't take me long to pick up on his creepiness.

"No, not him," she said. "He's got his own problems. I haven't even talked to him in like a week or so."

"Can you just...leave? I mean, go back to Ohio? Get away from here?"

She shook her head. "And, what? Go back to my parents' house? Ha. Very funny."

"I didn't mean that, I just-"

"I know," she said, "I'm sorry."

We sat there for a little while longer, commiserating with each other. Here we were, two Midwestern girls trying to make it in the big city, both now totally screwed by failure.

Later, around 5:30, Max came to get me.

Krystal was in her room taking a nap. She'd been in there for almost two hours. I told Max before we left I needed to check on her. I cracked the door just a little, saw that she was facing away from the door. She was sleeping, breathing deeply, and was probably getting the only rest and relaxation she'd had in a while. I decided to leave her a note on the kitchen counter.

"Coming down off a high?" Max said.

I looked up from the paper. "You have no idea."

"What is it?"

I folded up the paper and laid the pen on top of it. "I'll tell you later."

We got to Max's house and the first thing he did was run a warm bath. We lathered each other up. I faced him as he ma.s.saged the shampoo into my scalp, and I ma.s.saged his c.o.c.k.

It started when he told me to tilt my head back so he could rinse my hair. "Hold on so you don't fall."

Instead of reaching for his shoulders or his waist, I took his semi-hard erection into my hand.

He laughed. "That should work."

"Gee, I wonder if that's what you wanted me to do all along."

"No."

My mouth dropped open. "What? Fine, then."

"If I wanted you to do that, I would just tell you to."

"Oh really."

He looked at me. "Touch it, Olivia."

The warm water sluiced through my hair and ran down my back in soapy waves, and Max got fully hard in my hand. I loved how it got longer and thicker under my touch. When I looked down I saw now that he had grown to a length that broke the surface, with at least half of him straight up out of the water.

"Like a periscope," I joked.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Maybe you should do stand up comedy."

"You think?"

"No."

I squeezed him-hard.

"Easy now."

Max pulled me against him and I slipped my hand away. His erection was pressed against my stomach-slipping and sliding around on it-making me want it inside me.

He pressed his lips to mine, pulling my tongue into his mouth, then sucking on it like I sucked when his c.o.c.k was in my mouth.

Max kissed his way down my neck, then across the top of my chest. He pulled me closer, up onto his lap. His erection was perfectly notched in my cleft and I just wanted him to do it, do it, do it...

But he didn't. He teased me, rocking his hips as he moved me back and forth so I was sliding along the length of his c.o.c.k. Which, honestly, was almost enough to make me come by itself. But I didn't want that. I wanted to come with him inside me.

I pressed my face to the top of his wet head as he sucked on my nipples.

"I hate not being inside you, Olivia."

"Then do it."

"Not just now," he said. "Always. I wish I could be inside you all day, every day."

And with those words, he shifted a certain way and entered me. I moved my hips to ease him in. Each time we did this, I loved the way he stretched my tightness.

This was slow, sensual s.e.x. It was more like making love than f.u.c.king. I wondered if he felt that way, too, but I didn't dare ask him. I feared not getting the response I wanted to hear.

And as I thought about that-while sliding up and down on him-my eyes started to tear up a little.

When Max noticed he said, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Everything is...perfect."

Max pulled me closer and we kissed as we climaxed together.