No Contest Book 2 Hard Fought 1991 93Chapter 28
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Joe had never experienced such success. Best sellers. Well received productions. Nothing compared to the dual phenomena of hers and Rhonda. It didn’t surprise Joe that hers caused controversy. But the controversy, as well as the near across the board praise it received from reviewers and fans, made it a blockbuster. Far eclipsing everything else on the best seller list. And it generated more sales of his older books. And the book signings ended up being events in themselves. Even the ones for his poems and play at smaller independent stores. His lesbian friends in Milwaukee had to work day and night to supply the unique and harder to print books. Just to supply the stores where he signed them with enough. Other places sold them well, especially for their genres, never hot sellers, but his signings required quite a bit more.
Every place that Rhonda and MIRE played sold out within a couple days. It wasn’t unusual for them to play a second night and even a third. Not at vast concert halls, but at large theaters often used for touring Broadway shows or for second tier rockers. Ones who didn’t expect to sell out giant auditoriums or stadiums, but had enough of a fan base to need greater space than a bar or club. Even if it looked like Rhonda could get the audience for larger arenas, everyone agreed it would be far better for her and MIRE to remain in places with at least some semblance of intimacy.
The added shows caused changes in Joe’s schedule. He would do his signings of hers the evening before MIRE performed, always at a local Barnes and Noble. But Joanne had scheduled the independent stores for the poetry and play for the following evening. She either rescheduled the evening to deal with the extra day or two of concerts, or had the reading done earlier in the day. Usually the latter, because they needed to head out of town to the next stop soon after their shows finished.
The tour began on the East Coast. Places the participants could drive to easily. Those farther away, Rachel rented a bus and Belle drove it. Eddie always went by limo, driven by Trevor. Eddie up front and Rachel in the back often with Rhonda and Nathan. Joe too on the way there as a chance to do some teaching. But when Shawna could accompany them, Eddie sat in the back with her.
Nathan’s continued presence in the band surprised many, especially Eddie. Eddie didn’t use him for the entire show. His portion he hired a far more professional and older fellow, a veteran of several punk bands in the New York area. But when Rhonda played, the MIRE version of the Solomon Family Band, which meant a kid with a small drum kit, took over. Encores though had both drummers playing, little Nathan hitting harder than ever and loving every minute of it.
By the time the tour went west, everyone had finished school. Charlie. Essie. Chanda. Victoria. Joe’s kids. Joanne quit her job. Everyone headed to LA except Moe and Liang and Chanda. A couple weekends during the tour, all three would join the entourage just as they had during the musical in Minneapolis.
Speaking of the musical, a producer and a director who had created popular musicals on London’s West End and on Broadway began negotiations to turn the Myth of Innocence into a West End/Broadway show. Joe, Joanne and Cheryl attended. Joe happened to admire the woman director, who managed to put together expensive productions with lots of special effects without losing a show’s heart. He’d had experience with visionary directors, Jonny only being the most recent. Though before Jonny it had been several years, the man who put together Girl Fan being the last. Before him had been the director at the Public who had Joe thoroughly revise his play. In fact the very play Joe signed at the independent bookstores. Both those shows, the directors collaborated with Joe closely. The early directors of Joe’s Morpheus shows had been completely at Joe’s command, his extension. But Jonny had been a lot less respectful of Joe’s writing than he had ever experienced. And Gayle Thorson was several degrees worse.
“What!” both Joanne and Cheryl exclaimed when Gayle finished her presentation of what she envisioned her version would be, with all the changes, and Joe agreed with her.
After Joe laughed, he explained. “I know what it’s like wearing three hats. Producer. Writer. Director. The producer is obviously the money guy. Giving the director what she needs. Maybe limiting her. Giving her the times and the places. Supporting her as much as he feasibly can. Making sure when it’s all together that as many people as possible know about it. Hopefully targeting the most likely audience, although Broadway’s a lot more open ended. A tourist from Sheboygan or Oshkosh just needs to know it’s a hit.
“And the writer has provided the base. The essential ideas. The words being spoken. The songs being sung. The shape of the play. The scenes. The theme. The plot. Who and what the characters are.
“But, in the end, it’s up to the director to make sure everything works. She has to know everything about it, and especially what’s being expressed and how best to express it. And that’s her vision. To give meaning to the playwright’s words. To make it physical for everyone to see. To get the best cast, and make sure they’re even better when they present their words, no longer the playwright’s, but the actors and the director shaping them. Guiding them as gently as possible so as not to step on their egos to express her intent. Not the playwright’s. Hers.
“Like I said, I’ve worn all three hats. At the same time for the same show. Which is great for the playwright hat. His vision when he wrote the thing is immediately available for the director, because that’s him too. But I’ve found problems. Mostly with perspective. Not being able to see what just doesn’t work. Still enamored with my words. Still stuck in a vision that maybe I can’t even see isn’t being communicated.
“And it’s worse when I’ve had to have someone else direct. Because I still wear the producer hat and the writer hat, I basically bully away any vision they had, and just have them herd people around according to mine. They either hate me or are completely submissive. And even then, I’m sure I just didn’t get their passive aggressiveness.”
“Can I just say something Joe?” Cheryl asked.
“Sure.”
“I get where you’re going with this. But I love your plays. Every one of them.”
“Me too,” said Joanne.
“I’m rather fond of them too, with more than a little cringes. I’m just saying how much better they would have been if I let them go more, and given someone else at least some perspective. I’m pretty sure my first play to be performed in New York just might be my best, because it actually had that. Filtered through two different directors I admired and respected. I definitely get the least cringes from it. I didn’t completely let go. The play performed at the Public, every word of it was mine.
“And need I remind you that that was the only play, except for Girl Fan, that ever played anywhere beyond Morpheus. No revivals. No other productions. No high school, college, amateur or professional theater ever did them.”
“Not that there weren’t requests,” said Joanne.
“Really?” Joe asked.
“At least one for every play. Usually several. But you never published them. You didn’t seem to want anyone else to have them.”
“Did I say that?”
“You did. And you never had any official script.”
“Hunh. Maybe it was because of Constance and her dances and me tying my plays to her not wanting the choreography used.”
“Or maybe because it was your little secret,” Cheryl suggested. “The whole Sol Loman thing.”
“Yeah. I did want that separation.”
“Why?” asked Gayle.
“He thought being identified as a playwright would damage his chance of becoming a novelist,” Joanne shrugged.
“I thought it would bias publishers against me,” Joe added.
“Do you still think that?” Gayle asked.
“There was a lot of competition for his first novel,” Cheryl said. “He wasn’t known, obviously. Just this remarkable novel.”
“Maybe I just felt there needed to be these divisions,” Joe offered. “Playwright. Poet. Novelist. There really are different me’s writing. But I really did believe I needed to keep things separate. My esoteric writing with my much more public prose.”
“And I think his plays... , “ Cheryl began, pausing to put words together. “They are like complete visions. Moments on stage. Ethereal. Ephemeral. Just for us lucky few to see. And once done, they’re done.”
“Like gifts for his hometown. Or home area I guess,” Joanne offered.
“I did read that marvelous publication of your play,” Gayle said. “And it did make me a little giddy imagining putting it back on the boards.”
“Joanne made it much easier for someone to imagine it,” Joe said. “She and Liang encouraged me to have my plays and poems published. Maybe it was the whole perspective thing, but I essentially gave them complete control of my work. Which meant, for Joanne, adding business. All she had was what was said on stage and the several notes I made when I directed it. I ... since I directed them, or was a bit bossy with the other directors who directed some of my earlier Morpheus productions, I did make a lot of notes in my copy. She translated them, beautifully I think.”
“She did well to keep them simple and sparse,” Gayle said. “Not inhibiting my imagination.”
“Truth is, I didn’t feel like I could add too much to it,” Joanne admitted. “Like it wasn’t for me to impinge on Joe’s work.”
“You worked from Joe’s director’s script?”
“Yes.”
“It sounds like there were lots of notes.”
“Kind of intimidating,” Joanne admitted. “And I’m not the most confident a writer. Both Liang and Joe encouraged me to trust myself more. And Liang did proof my work, giving me advice, but mostly getting me past my fears I think. From the beginning though, I felt that keeping it minimal would be better. Partly because of my self-consciousness, but mostly because the texts would flow better, and business would get in the way as little as possible. I ended up actually ignoring a lot of Joe’s notes. They were both too specific and too vague. Because they really were notes to himself to communicate to an actor or one of the designers. Shorthand reminders that didn’t need to be explicit. I ended up using the videos for the plays. They helped me get back to the place when I actually saw them live. Probably the most of what I used from his notes were significant emotional directions. Ones Joe felt had to be expressed by his actors to make the play work. That and pauses.”
“I didn’t notice a lot of either of those,” said Gayle.
“Because there wasn’t a lot,” Joanne nodded.
“And the descriptions? The set and characters?”
“Those were in the original script, or at least the last draft before he pulled the tech staff together and began his auditions.”
“A bit of the novelist,” Joe said. “Though not nearly as thorough as I would have described either set or character. It would have held back choices. Both for the designer and for me, when I held the auditions.”
“You know, if someone wanted to produce the play, it’s still problematic,” Gayle said.
“Why’s that?” Cheryl asked.
“Because of the illustrations on the pages. Hard to copy.”
Joanne and Joe looked at each other. But it was Cheryl who responded with a giggle. “You really didn’t think someone might want to produce your plays?”
“I guess we didn’t,” said Joe. “The publishers do such beautiful work, I guess I just saw them as published art.”
“I’ll call them,” Joanne said. “We can add a contact number if someone’s interested.”
“Or maybe a PO in New York,” Cheryl said.
“Good idea,” said Joe.
“I’ll set one up,” Joanne said.
“And I’ll create a contract for permission,” Cheryl added.
“Charging them?” Joe asked.
“It does make it seem more valuable and maybe more professional. We could create a sliding scale, from amateur to professional. And we could just donate the fee. They would expect to have to pay for it, and hopefully have it part of the budget.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“I’ll research the usual costs.”
“Speaking of which,” said the producer.
“You have an offer?” Cheryl asked him.
He wrote down a substantial number and showed it to her.
“Rights exclusive to this production?” Cheryl asked him. He nodded. “I’ll need to research the going price. But I can tell you we’ll most likely go higher.”
“It’s generous,” said the producer.
“Perhaps it is. But it would be a purchase rather than borrowing. The play you present won’t entirely be Joe’s with the way Gayle wants to change things. It would become specifically your version of it.”
“And I would expect any writer who adds his or her changes would be credited,” Joe added. “And if you feel a need to add a song, you’ll need Eddie composing it. And he would be compensated.”
“Of course,” said the producer.
“Whatever you end up with will be yours,” said Cheryl. “If the show becomes a success, I imagine you’ll be touring it.”
“I hope so.”
“Your version could very well be the version,” said Joe. “Unless someone wants the original for some reason.”
“Historical reenactment,” Cheryl giggled.
“I get the picture,” the producer murmured. “You’re telling me I will be buying the play. But if it doesn’t find success?”
“It’s a risky business,” Cheryl agreed.
“I think it goes either of two ways,” Joe said. “Gayle takes the play and changes it. Or has whomever she trusts change it. Meaning someone besides me. You purchase the play, however successful it ends up being. Essentially buying the rights. Or I become the only writer. Gayle and I collaborate. It becomes the West End/Broadway version of my play. And, of course, you compensate me for my time, just as you would Eddie and his time.”
“Collaborate,” Gayle said, tasting the word. It was her least professional moment. One might describe her as an English Rose. Dark hair. Longish face. Voluptuous, but not demonstrably. Tall. A regal bearing. Entering her forties hadn’t faded the rose much. Softer and rounder than she may have been ten years before, but no less attractive.
The flash of her eyes surprised Joe. Her initial greeting had revealed far more interest in Cheryl, and to a lesser extent Joanne, than any towards him. But he retreated from his usual sexual analysis of it. Perhaps she just liked him.
“Yes,” said Joe. “Problematic only in how busy I may be with other projects. Your home base is?”
“New York and London. I have dual citizenship because my mother’s American and my father’s British.”
“How lucky!” Cheryl exclaimed.
Joe chuckled. “Cheryl wished she grew up in England.”
“Being around when the Sex Pistols exploded,” Cheryl grinned. “As it was, growing up in Minnesota, I missed out on the whole CBGBs thing.”
“But you were there for the Longhorn,” Joe reminded her.
“True.”
“The Longhorn?” Gayle asked.
“Minneapolis’s CBGBs,” Cheryl explained. “Except a lot less long-lived.”
“I thought First Avenue was the place,” said Gayle.
“It was there,” Cheryl nodded. “Kind of like max’s kansas city.”
“I used to hang out there. At the tail end of when Mickey Ruskin owned it. Me and my fellow theater geeks would parade through there from time to time.”
“Very cool. So you saw Warhol?”
“Partied at the Factory a couple of times.”
“That’s amazing. So you saw the Velvets?”
“Just the Doug Yule version. But it was still pretty great.”
“You have to meet Moe. She’s a huge Moe Tucker fan.”
“Moe?”
“Moira,” said Joe. “My ... wife.”
“I thought Cheryl...”
“Joe has three,” said Cheryl. “I’m the only official one.”
“Okay.” Gayle looked at Joanne.
“Joe and I ... have a different kind of relationship,” Joanne blushed.
“Liang, the woman who edited his poems, is his other wife,” said Cheryl. “Although Jo ... Joanne might as well be.”
“I’m not...” Joanne started.
“Quiet Joanne,” said Joe.
“Yes Joe,” Joanne responded meekly, but with a slight tremble. An exciting shock.
Cheryl giggled. “As Jo said, a different kind of relationship.”
“Hunh,” Gayle murmured, her eyes flashing again at Joe.
Confusing Joe again, but also making him reconsider the sexual content.
“So, yeah,” Gayle swallowed, pulling herself together. “My brothers and I found the dual citizenship lucky. One of them actually lives in Amsterdam, for obvious reasons,” she chuckled. “But my mom not so much. She ended up marrying a cad who treated her terribly. She’s a sweet woman. Lives in Oregon with my step-father, who appreciates her.”
“Good,” Cheryl smiled.
“Do you think collaborating would work?” Gayle asked.
“I do,” Joe responded. “Just the perspective would be great. Do you?”
“Yeah.”
“Unfortunately, right now, I’m busy to say the least. Two tours in one. We’ll be heading to Europe at the end of the summer. After that I should be free. Although Chanda and I hope to spend some time in New Orleans and Hispaniola. Possibly some sailing in the Caribbean. Even a trans-Atlantic crossing.”
“It does sound like you’re busy.”
“The last part’s speculative, and can be adjusted if there’s a project.”
“How busy are you?” Cheryl asked.
“We’re looking for projects,” the producer said.
“I just finished transferring our latest production to Broadway,” Gayle said. “So I’m between projects.”
“When did you become interested in the Myth of Innocence?” Joanne asked.
“I have a friend who has seen every one of Joe’s plays,” Gayle explained.
“Who?” Joe asked.
“Jennifer...”
“Olafson?”
“She said she worked for you once.”
“My first collaboration. She’s an amazing director. And a lot more ruthless than you changing my play.”
“I remember,” Cheryl giggled. “She changed all the sexes around.”
“Yep. Just a one act. I knew she was capable. I was learning. My first time letting go. Maybe I should have embraced the lesson more.”
“She told me,” Gayle said. “I guess that’s why I expected you to be okay letting me change things.”
“Makes sense. I guess I became too protective after that.”
“She agrees with Joanne and Cheryl that it turned out alright. You wearing all three hats.”
“She never seemed to mind seeing them,” Joe said.
“Anyway,” Gayle continued, “She saw Myth and immediately thought of me. I was busy putting the Broadway show together, but managed to come out the next weekend. The weekend after that Hal joined me.”
“And you waited until now to ask us?” Cheryl asked.
“I had just started the transfer to Broadway. And I wanted to be fully prepared. And, to tell you the truth, Hal wanted me to consider other projects. But when Joe’s new book exploded...”
“Strike while the iron is hot,” Joe chuckled.
“It was always my favorite choice, Joe. It just helped tip Hal over to my favor.”
“I completely understand, Hal,” Joe said. “It definitely is replete with controversy.”
Hal nodded. “The post show discussion actually helped.”
“Are you thinking about having them?” Cheryl asked.
“Yes,” both Gayle and Hal responded.
“So you just saw the show twice?” Joanne asked.
“Three times actually,” Gayle said. “That second weekend I took tons of notes for both the Saturday and Sunday shows. And I have a decent memory. I’m especially good at remembering the structure. How each scene builds the arc of the play.”
“We have video of the production,” Joanne offered.
Gayle shook her head. “I’d rather have the script.”
“I could have Moira overnight it,” Joe said.
“Which version?” Joanne asked.
“What Joanne calls the final draft?” Joe asked.
“Were there changes after that?” Gayle responded.
“Some. I’ll have her copy both the final draft and my director’s script. Unless that might corrupt your vision.”
“No. I think it would actually give me insight into yours.”
“For the collaboration.”
“Yes.”
“The director’s script is in a spiral bound notebook,” Joanne reminded Joe.
“True. I’ll ask nice,” Joe said.
“Use the phone here,” Hal offered. They had used his suite in the San Francisco Marriot for the meeting. Joe looked at the time and nodded.
“It looks like we’re moving forward,” said Joanne as Joe called home.
“I’m great at research,” said Cheryl. “And am a legitimate contract lawyer.”
“We’ll need to meet with my lawyers,” Hal said.
“Lawyers,” Cheryl chuckled. “I guess I’ll call Scott. When are you heading back?”
“Tomorrow morning?” Hal replied.
“New York?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll head back with you.”
“I thought Joe...” Gayle started.
“He trusts me,” Cheryl grinned. “I’ll see if my girlfriend wants to join me.”
“Girlfriend?” Gayle asked.
“Yep,” Cheryl winked. “Collaborating can be fun!” She giggled. “She and I are working on a script for one of my true crime books.”
“Hunh,” Gayle said, her eyes flashing at Joanne who responded with a shy grin.
“You can definitely stay here, Gayle,” Cheryl smirked. “You shouldn’t miss Joe’s reading.”
“I saw his reading yesterday,” Gayle pointed out. It’s where she and Hal had finally tracked Joe down. They had a hard time making contact since Joanne was no longer at her home. A call to his publisher brought them to San Francisco.
“You think that was great? Joe reading poetry is sublime. And you two are catching the show tonight?”
“Are there still tickets?”
“No tickets needed back stage.”
“You should go,” said Hal. “I have plans.”
Gayle nodded.
Cheryl couldn’t help thinking about sucking off the middle-aged man. Thin and handsome in his younger days, he had acquired a substantial paunch and lost most of what had been attractive. Cheryl wasn’t bothered by that. She enjoyed the happy surprise and the appreciation and the thrill she could give men. And it would add another new cock to her collection of memories. But it was no longer an automatic thing for her. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to. More indifference than reluctance. She decided to consult Joe.
So she walked over to him and settled onto his lap while he talked with Liang.
“Cheryl’s here,” he offered and handed Cheryl the phone.
“Hi Yanhuo,” Cheryl said.
Liang chuckled. “Hi Firecracker. Horny?”
“Always, but uncertain.”
“That doesn’t sound like you.”
“Just wondering if my old profligate ways have completely gone.”
“Wondering if you’re going to suck off the producer?”
“Of course. It’s like a smoker trying to quit after having a nice meal and finishing it off with a cognac.”
“I suppose it is. What was the main thing that changed?”
“I don’t know if I suddenly got moral or just wanted to be exclusive with those I love.”
“You’ve always been moral.”
“If you say so. It just changed when I realized I was fucking around with married men, even if I would only be sucking this time.”
“Jonny and Maria.”
“Yeah. And Mel and Cal, even if they’re not married yet.”
“If he wasn’t married?”
“I suppose that would be better, but I can’t imagine him not being married.”
“He could be gay.”
“Which would make it less likely for him to want it.”
“It’s a blow job.”
“Easier to forget I’m a girl.”
“Although I can’t imagine anyone forgetting that.”
“Thanks Li. Maybe one last time for old time sake. He seems pretty sweet.”
“It’s never sweet.”
“True,” Cheryl giggled. “I love you and miss you.”
“I love you and miss you too.”
“Tell Moe the same.”
“I will.”
“Had enough talking with Stud Boy?”
“He did mention something about this director.”
Cheryl chuckled. “I think she’s like Constance.”
“A pain slut?”
“Maybe not that extreme,” Cheryl responded quietly. “More like being comfortable more with women. But a strong dominate male makes her pussy swell.”
Liang giggled. “Damn, Firecracker. So ... Joe and Joanne and Gayle.”
“Li.”
“I’m not jealous. Maybe a little worried Joanne won’t...”
“Never happen, Li. She adores you. As much or more than the rest of us. Except Joe. And maybe Essie. You’ll be coming up this weekend?”
“Seattle. Yes.”
“Joe and Jo will keep her captivated until then. And let Moe know the woman actually saw Moe Tucker play with the Velvet Underground.”
“That will impress her?”
Cheryl chuckled. “Such a kid.”
“Sorry.”
“As long as you hold me against you, I won’t hold it against you.”
“Good to know, old lady.”
“Fuck you, little girl.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Me either.”
Cheryl handed the phone off to Joe who sent love to the three ladies in New York and hung up.
Cheryl shifted in Joe’s lap, straddling him. They kissed, reluctantly brief because of their audience. A brief gaze into each other’s eyes, and Joe, seeing her ambivalence leaned into her ear and whispered, “You’ll be with him in New York and maybe in transit.”
“Time for more than a blow job,” she whispered back.
They couldn’t stop themselves from enjoying another brief kiss. Their excitement evident in Joe’s hardness and Cheryl’s heat where their groins met.
Cheryl moved off Joe’s lap and returned to the armchair where she had sat before, nearest Hal, who shared a couch with Gayle. Joanne sat on the other side of Gayle, where the two quietly chatted. Not all that far away, Joe shifted his chair, not getting up and revealing his erection to the presumably mostly lesbian director. Letting it return to a more presentable flaccidness.
“My wives are making copies,” he said. “But it will most likely be too late to have them overnighted here tomorrow. We’ll be headed to Seattle Thursday morning. I could have them sent to the hotel there, where you can collect them if you want to join us, Gayle.”
“Uhm,” she gulped.
“We could talk some more about your ideas,” Joe added. “Or whatever. A chance to get to know each other.”
“When were you two planning to fly back tomorrow?” Cheryl asked.
“Early,” said Hal. “I have plans this evening, like I said. Dinner and drinks with some friends. Otherwise we would have caught a red eye home. I was hoping Gayle would be joining us. Mutual interests and all that.”
“Fellow producers?” Cheryl asked.
“ACT,” Hal nodded. “The board and the creative director. Putting the past season away and discussing the future one. Just coincidence really that I’m here, but was invited to the post meeting dinner.”
“You should go,” Joe said to Gayle. “I need to go early for sound check. I can let whoever guards the backstage entrance to watch out for you.”
“Or we could join them for drinks,” Cheryl offered. “Then bring her to the show in style via limo. MIRE does sound check early, and there’ll be lots of time between that and the show. Some up and coming local band is opening. Where were you planning to meet?” she asked Hal.
“Here actually. The posh restaurant downstairs. The board not living here have rooms here.”
“Us too,” Cheryl grinned. She and Joe’s usual place, staying with Julia, had been taken by Eddie, Rachel, Trevor and Cynthia. Cynthia enjoyed the dom/sub aspects, and became a sort of go between between the same sex goings on, helping Rachel to be more accepting of her long time lover’s homosexual proclivities. Taking away the sexual aspect of their relationship had strained the long time best friends, but things had been gradually thawing since the Cube between Cheryl and Julia, conversations gradually warming, which often included Joe. Joe actually felt a lot more comfortable around Leonard once the sex at been removed from the equation. And both he and Cheryl very much liked Juanita.
“Perhaps I could head back east,” Cheryl continued. “Take Gayle’s seat. You said it was an early flight.”
“Yes,” Hal nodded.
“I can skip the show, and Gayle can enjoy the night without worrying about waking early.”
“I’d like to hear Joe recite his poetry,” Gayle agreed. “His reading last evening was quite delightful. And you say his poetry reading is better?”
“It is,” Cheryl grinned.
“I’ll call my assistant to change the name on the ticket,” Hal said. “And you’re thinking about meeting with my lawyers?”
“Sure. Maybe later tomorrow. Scott’s a busy boy.”
“And Joe trusts you?”
“Completely.”
“I’ll have my assistant arrange it. After five?”
“That would be best. I’ll let Scott know.”
“Isn’t this about when he and his boyfriend take their annual trip?” Joe asked.
“They went to Australia and New Zealand this past winter.”
“Oh. Right.”
“That incredible Shiraz.”
“I remember,” Joe chuckled. “So. Seattle,” Joe addressed Gayle.
“I...”
“I insist,” Joe muttered forcefully.
“Say ‘Yes Joe,’” Joanne prompted, taking Gayle’s hand.
With the abundance of people and the equipment, Rachel hired a jet to fly them to Paris. Only Trevor didn’t join them, pointing out he didn’t have a European driver’s license. Eddie protested, and Trevor would miss him, but Trevor pointed out the drummer they hired turned out to be bisexual. Even better for Rachel and Eddie. The drummer being distracted by Rachel and Eddie was a blessing for Joe. He couldn’t help noticing the man’s interest in the others. The worst being Charlie. But the...
December 23, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “You should go talk to Doctor Swanson,” Jessica said. “She’s in internal medicine. The brunette there with short hair.” “Dark blue dress?” “That’s her! She’s really sweet, and just came out of a bad relationship. She’s NOT looking for a new guy or a hookup or anything like that. But I think she could use a friend.” “I’ll give it a try,” I said. I walked over to the buffet table where Doctor Swanson was standing. “What looks good?” I asked. “At a...
Joe woke alone in bed, hearing giggles and splashes from the bathroom. A glance at the clock informed him he’d slept for a couple hours. Walking naked to the source of the sounds, he saw two very different women share a bath. One tall and lean, dark hair, her skin the color of coffee and cream, her smallish round breasts hovering above the suds of the bubble bath. The other pale, reddish blonde, her much fuller breasts on a thicker body, shorter body resting on those suds, the pink nipples...
Joe survived Black Friday, although he wasn’t sure about his right hand. They had stayed open past 2 am. A lot of the later customers he actually recognized. His rock and roll friends. Boxes and boxes of his book had been sold. A lot them signed by him personally in front of the customer. More he had signed earlier in the day. All day. Yes, it was a wonder his hand survived. Advertising had been intense. In dailies and weeklies. Nationally. Television too. Using the image of the friends on...
It became a hectic winter for Joe. Even the rural calm of the mansion wasn’t all that calming, being the center of so much work. Getting the play together. Getting the script together. Finishing up moms. Rehearsing the band. Sexually as well for Joe. Constance and Caroline. Cheryl, Cynthia and Joanne. Always a threesome or foursome for them. Joanne being the fourth. Visits from Essie. From Victoria and Liang. From Moe and Chandi. Also threesomes and foursomes. And another night with Freddy...
The master bathroom had been redone when both Joe and Cheryl had bestsellers a couple years before. A bigger tub with whirlpool jets. Room for four there and in the enclosed shower that had water spraying from all kinds of different angles. There for the first time Joe and his three wives showered together. It had been a whirlwind romance times four to be sure for Liang since Friday afternoon. Joe and his wives. Essie. As many she had been loved by, that’s how many times better the sex had...
When Joe returned to his bed after months away, he almost wished he didn’t have to be away from it soon enough. At least he’d have a couple weeks before heading off for his book/rock tour. hers was being released at the end of the week, and like No Contest, he’d be at the original Barnes and Noble for a lengthy reading and signing that evening. Meanwhile MIRE featuring Rhonda would play clubs in and around the city. Despite being with them just a couple nights before, Sunday, after the wrap...
More sad goodbyes happened almost exactly a week later in New York. Joe and Cheryl to their wives and kids and Essie, who was sort of both. Joe and Cheryl had business to take care of before they headed to Minnesota. For Joe, one thing had to do with school, completing the grading and conferring with students who either challenged his grades or wanted to know what would make the grades better in future classes. He also needed to deal with his publisher, discussing plans for moms and for any...
Joe woke up early, kissing Liana awake. “I need to check on Chandi,” he told her. “Yes Joseph,” she smiled tiredly and rolled away from him to return to sleep. Realizing his nakedness, he borrowed Liana’s longest robe and slipped out of her room. He ended up waking up Cheryl in the naughty room. “Do you know where Chandi went?” he asked. “I believe Eddie and Rachel ended up sharing her last night.” “Good,” he smiled. “Essie wants you,” Cheryl murmured, edging back to sleep. Joe crawled...
The threesome in the padded room awoke making love. That is, Joanne woke Liang, both giggling like girls, Joanne a far greater distance from it than Liang, and they worked together again to harden Joe’s cock and wake him with their sucking. “Go ahead,” said Joanne. “Fuck that beautiful thing.” “But you’re leaving,” Liang pointed out. “She’ll get hers too,” Joe chuckled, then moaned as Liang practically flung her cunt onto his cock. “Slow down,” he warned, catching her hips. She winced...
When Cheryl and Joe got home to their Upper Westside townhouse, he knew where he needed to go immediately. Top floor. The floor for their offices. To Moe. Who stewed in her anger. Probably had been for a while. “He’s fucking here, Joe,” she said. He opened his arms. She filled them. “What’s he doing here?” she asked. “I don’t know. I’ll find out.” “He wants another chance to fuck all your women.” “I hope not. But I don’t think so.” “Then why?” “Maybe he needs a friend.” “But he hates...
Two days later, and Cheryl and Joe sat around in Joanne’s living room, the house otherwise deserted. Both Ella and Charlie were in school. Joanne was at work, still supporting local artists. The couple were doing what they had done ten years before. Both working on their writing. Cheryl somehow responding to Joe’s questions while finishing a memorial article honoring Nigella for Rolling Stone. Still staff, but with an ideal contract and better pay. Complete rights of refusal. When an editor...
Joe and Liana entered a large room on the main floor, a huge bed at the back where his wives waved to him, still naked. “Hi Leo,” Cheryl said. “Do you mind if our man gives us a morning hug?” “Uhm, no,” Liana blushed. Joe took off his clothes and joined them. “Liana wants to meet with us this morning, Cheryl. And Moira,” he said as he lay on his back, his wives all around him, with Liang on top. “And we’ll need to get Rachel.” “I think she just wanted some time with Eddie this morning,”...
Pynchon proved a bear to speed read. ““Glean what you can,” Joe advised. “We’re just a third of the way through.” “I figured,” said Liang. “You missed a week.” “Yeah. I’ll probably have to just have one week for Vineland.” “Or you could start the class a half hour earlier. And have the other class last a half hour longer.” “First, we’re talking about college students.” “With you, I bet they don’t mind.” “I’ll ask. And the afternoon class actually tends to go on longer.” “I’m not...
It became a noisy place early near the garage entrance to the Cube. First thing in the morning the equipment for filming the tour/ad/orgy arrived. Two 35mm film cameras, one with steadycam to be held. Two top notch video cameras. A large wide format video tape recorder which would also be used for sound for the film. Lights. Cables. Mics. Experts for each of those things, though most would leave when Jonny demonstrated his knowledge of the cameras and lights and Eddie showed that he could...
The five lovers awoke remarkably comfortable with their adjacency and their nakedness. Quick kisses avoiding morning breath, only the two males and brother and sister not kissing, and they dressed in yesterday’s clothing before gathering in the gathering cabin where Anna provided eggs, sausage, toast, juice and coffee. Victoria and Charlie headed back to duty on the ship, raising the anchor and heading home, while Essie, Joe and Liang sat together on the couch, watching the others join them,...
Joe got up late for him. 10 am. Whatever he did prior to awakening, or in its act, farting, shifting, making some vocal noise or other, awoke Cheryl. They smiled at each other and she snuggled against him, her head resting between shoulder and chest, her fingers exploring his sparse chest hair. “Eddie wants me in the band again,” he told her. “How is that going to work?” “I think his regrouping is regressing.” “Which means?” “We didn’t go out in the world for months. Just rehearsed. A...
With his last spark of energy, Eddie brought Rhonda’s tape to the Record Plant Tuesday morning, where they’d print the vinyl and the CD. Packaging would have to wait, hopefully for not too long. Belle dropped off Eddie at Joanne’s, where he collapsed into the bed, only briefly waking up Rachel. “Done?” she asked. “Yep.” He quickly joined her in sleep. His didn’t last long. In fact only Rachel got much sleep, since everyone else had gotten up early. Joe wanted to see Joanne before she went...
Gayle wasn’t with Joe much in Seattle. Once she got the copies, she spent her time studying them. Also Joe welcomed Moe, Chandi and Liang back. But playwright and director managed to chat from time to time. Mostly in transit to the shows or to the reading. Or after dinner. Shows. It was the first stop where shows were added. Two more. Joe postponed his poetry reading to the following night. By then, Sunday, the three visitors had flown back home. And Joanne and Gayle had another night of...
During the flight, Eddie changed seats with Cheryl to sit with Joe, putting her beside Rachel. Though things had thawed greatly compared to their cold and fractious relationship before, the two women still hadn’t got all that close. And when Rachel joined her in the large bed, they no longer made love directly. Even so, both intelligent women, they managed to enjoy their travelling together, often amusing each other with an anecdote or a memory. “What’s up?” Joe asked Eddie. “You’re still...
Eddie and Joe tied one on at the wake. Joe’s wives too, and almost everyone else there. Joanne stopped for an hour, but by the time they closed the bar, she was wasted too. But Eddie would have the dubious honor of being the most shit faced. And Joe did notice him going off a couple times, usually with members of other local bands who somehow found out about the wake. And his sniffing and hopping and more extreme lunacy suggested cocaine rather than cannabis. He seemed to making up time for...
When Liang asked her auntie about any recommendations for a rather large contingent for dining, Auntie Li thought she and her ladies of her exclusive women’s society could throw something together. The meeting place had a kitchen where the ladies could exchange recipes. It was highly unusual to have men present in the space, but since it wasn’t an official meeting of the ladies, and the members were fond of Liang, and the dinner would include her new lovers and new friends, curiosity as much...
When Joe exited the padded room in the morning and passed the studio, Rachel called to him from there. “Is she up?” she asked him. “In a hurry?” Joe chuckled. “I’ve wanted this for a while.” “She’s up. How about we have breakfast and then we’ll meet in Cheryl’s office. I’ll get Joanne and then get Cheryl.” “For the contracts.” “Yes.” “I’ll go make coffee.” “Thanks. See you in a minute.” He sighed he when returned to the padded room and sat on the bed. “Rachel’s ready to meet,” he told...
The house wouldn’t look odd at all in the suburb of an American city. In a suburb of Paris, it did. As would the others around it. Three story clapboard with a garage part of its structure. Joe rented a Citroen, and had the limo driver, who had been approved by those that had given them the information about the place, drive them to the location. A limousine would be far too obvious in the neighborhood. The house’s owners didn’t need that. They had waited for the car’s arrival and opened the...
The party proved a huge success for several people. Joe put on some quiet jazz. Mostly Coltrane and Miles. But that was changed to Eddie quietly playing his twelve string. Joe joined him in the living room, playing Nigella’s old acoustic/electric bass. Then Charlie tinkled the ivories with them. A girl joined him at the piano bench. Another nervous and shy genius. The youngest of Essie’s precocious genius classmates. A pretty little brunette, especially when she relaxed, which she did after...
It rained the next day. Off and on. Making it cooler than usual, but being near the equator, that was relative. A balmy seventies. But it kept people indoors, mostly. It also revealed a missing aspect of the Cube. It wasn’t exactly designed for kids. So Anna and the Barbadian family matriarch brought out some cards and a couple cribbage boards and taught the kids how to play. Victoria, Essie and Liang decided to brave the weather and spent the day tooling around the island on the motorbikes....
By Thanksgiving, not a lot had been done turning the duplex houses into a single townhouse compared to the immense amount that needed to be done. Tony and his helpers, Cheryl having gotten him a contractor license, had been focusing on Eddie’s basement studio and apartment as a priority during work hours. In the evenings he and Laura had worked on their own space. He had also built a huge bed, and found a mattress place that could create one custom sized and have sheets for it. It remained in...
The Cube, as Eddie’s working vacation home had been appropriately dubbed, was designed by a mad genius with a sense of humor. A Barbadian, as were all who worked on it, whose design process had included smoking excessive amounts of ganja with Eddie. An impressively large cube had been the result, made of concrete, glass and steel. But it had a façade that pretended to be an English Colonial mansion. Being that Barbados had been an English colony, and had gained its independence as a part of...
After Joe and his wives finally got up, enjoyed the large shower together and got dressed, Joe opened the blinds to the studio and saw Cynthia sitting with Rachel with Eddie playing his guitar between them. Joe fetched Cynthia and discovered how stoned she was. “Uhm, you okay working on the script?” he asked her. “Uh-hunh,” she giggled. He shook his head and chuckled. He went to the kitchen where his wives sat and the matron was making waffles. Maria, as she often was, was there as well....
As Joe promised, he spent the day with Victoria. They woke early and went to the naughty room to collect his wives and Essie. After showering and Victoria reporting to them her soreness but otherwise having a wonderful deflowering, they dressed and headed to the kitchen for a Continental breakfast of pastries and coffee. The Barbadian matron arrived midway through and offered something more substantial, but they passed. “Any place for exercising? A workout room?” Joe asked the older...
Everyone, including Julian and Liv, returned to the Cube. Those two only stayed through dinner, deliciously created by Maria. Surprisingly, Anna went with them back to their ship. She said she needed to do some cleaning. But Joe noticed Liv flirting with her. He thought that a good thing. Anna and Julian loved each other. But sex seemed to have petered out between them. He hoped adding Liv might restore their sex lives. He decided to wait to talk to Victoria and Charlie until after dinner,...
Very early the next morning, Rachel woke up Joe and his wives. “Where is he, Joe?” she growled. “Where is that little cocksucker?” He couldn’t help laughing. Appropriate word choice. But then he got serious. “Be quiet, Rachel. Let’s go downstairs.” “I don’t want to be quiet.” “Shut the fuck up, bitch,” said Moe. “You better not wake the kids.” “Fuck you. What are you going to do?” “Beat the bitch out of you?” Moe growled, getting out of bed, dressed like Cheryl and Joe, in t shirt and...
“Nice,” said Liang about the townhouse. It had been built originally in the late eighteen hundreds, but refurbished and changed in the 20s, including the art noveau entrance. The open, shaped metal slat elevator also reflected that soft, decadent style. Definitely attractants. “We like it,” said Joe, unlocking the door. Joe and Cheryl greeted their kids with kisses on cheeks, and their wife with kisses on mouth and a hug. “This is Liang,” Joe introduced her to his family. “Hi,” the kids...
The Thursday evening date went surprisingly well. Joe managed to get a table at a new French bistro, romantically dark. The heavy food, magnificently prepared, chased down the palate by a delicious rosé got danced away later. But while eating it, the five enjoyed a lively conversation, completely inclusive. Rachel even encouraged Trevor’s inclusion. It was clear at the beginning that he treaded carefully around her, used to her angry glares. Except for the first one when Eddie climbed into...
No Anesthetic For Love At the Krokodil Klub Part2 Silkie tells this story from Paris, while at a nightclub, twenty years later....She is with her friend Denis and her sister, Rachel. It is her birthday. Silkie is so happy and excited to be performing with her sister...........Rachel was a well-known jazz pianist in the U.S and Europe, she had recorded ten LP's and now several CDs, some solo, some with other artists most recently, Stan Getz, Duke Jordan and another session that she had enjoyed...
Silkie tells this story from Paris, while at a nightclub, twenty years later....She was with her friend Denis and her sister, Rachel. It was her birthday. Silkie was so happy and excited to be performing with her sister...Rachel had finally had her Asberger's diagnosed, not that it changed anything about how she lived her life................. "It's nice to have a name for being as weird as I am." Rachel was a piano phenomenon from the age of three, composing her own pieces at age four and...
Farty Jimbo answered the phone. “Hello” said Farty Jimbo “Hello, this is Tuesday” said the voice on the phone “No,” said Farty Jimbo “This is Sunday. I know for a fact.” “No, I mean this is Tuesday Wells. I don’t know what day it is there. It may very well be Sunday.” “Well it is Sunday, and I don’t know any Tuesday Wells.” Said Farty Jimbo “Well I guess we haven’t met yet, but we will. It was hard getting a hold of you.” Said Tuesday Wells. “I know this all must sound...
It was still early on Sunday night and I had the urge to talk to Marcie. She was comically critical of my commitment to get Smyth laid. "What made you volunteer for such an enormous feat, Sammy?" "I don't know." I did know, but I wasn't ready to admit to Marcie that I had heard Shirley tell me to turn the tables on Smyth for spying on me and my guests. "How do you plan to carry it out?" "I don't know." I really didn't know, but my sub-conscience was working on a plan. "Who...
Twenty years go by. Silkie Greene had to give up her dream of singing opera roles on stage and has been singing jazz for many years. She is headlining at Club Crocodil in Paris. Her sister Rachel, an internationally famous pianist, is on stage with her. Her friend and lover Denis DeRuhe is at the club to see both of them. All three of them have been lovers for and wth each other, for may years:Two months before this evening,Silkie had learned that her friend and lover, Denis, was HIV positive....
It was the Fourth of July, 1991, and I was washing Holly's car when Sandy came out her front door, obviously dressed for a party. "Do you have someplace to go today, Sammy?" she asked when she reached her car. "Yes, I'm going to a cookout." Her smile was one of relief, probably because she wouldn't feel obligated to ask me to tag along with her. "I hope you have a good time." "Thanks, Sandy. Are you ready for your trip?" "I've packed everything, but I'll probably have to...
I got a call from Marty on Monday afternoon, late. “I need to have my head examined, but I’m in. If you still want me, let me know. I haven’t given any notice yet.” “What about your law firm, Dewey Cheatem and Howe? Is this going to screw up any partnership bids? How does that work, anyway?” Marty snorted. “That’s part of it. I have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. I nosed around some this morning, and there won’t be a partnership offer made to me. At least, not under current...
We flew out from RAF Brize Norton on the 14th November in some huge Yank aircraft, a Galaxy I think, they all look alike to me. As I sat in my relatively comfortable seat I thought of the last time I had gone to war; in a luxurious cruise liner no less, the QE II. Of course we had travelled squaddie class and didn't have white coated stewards waiting on us hand foot and finger. It took nearly 5 weeks to get down to the Islands, and I made some good mates amongst 3 Para, my travelling...
The battalion arrived back in Aldershot around the middle of March and were given a week's leave. Pippa was overjoyed to see me home safe and sound, and during my first two days back home we hardly stirred out of her bed. That sounds as if we had a frenzy of a sex- fest, but nothing could have been further from the truth. I couldn't get it up. I couldn't do the business. I was impotent- I was mortified! She was sympathetic and loving, and gave me blow jobs and hand jobs, but it wasn't...
It was a very quiet night as I walked the sidewalk of downtown Mohinta. The laser sign still blaring brightly, "open" made me stop. I never could pass up the opportunity to go into an adult store when I saw one, so this one was no different. I always just wanted to look around. Sometimes I saw things I should not see. Other times, I saw the same things. But it never failed for there to be at least one guy standing with his hard cock sticking out of his pants getting ready to cum on the floor. I...
Straight SexForeword: This is a work of fiction. None of the people in this story are real. None of these events ever happened. This story is nothing more than words that came from my imagination. Any similarity to any real people, places, or events is purely coincidental. This story is a sequel to CO-ED TANDEM BEER PISSING CONTEST. Operators of erotic story web sites and other collections, whether free or fee-based, have my permission to post and/or distribute my stories, provided that credit is given...
Chapter 1 Contest Winner, and Then Some Ok, so at 46 I really had no business trying to win Justin Bieber tickets. Save for the fact I wanted into the after concert party, and OK a chance to meet Justin and maybe some of his dancers. It was really the after concert party I wanted into, his road crew and his backup talent is just as hot as he is and who knows I might just get lucky with one of them. As the title suggests I did win, my sister and most of my friends we pissed, to say the least,...
Krish had advised me, before we buried the the young Chasseur of the Guard officer, that if I intended disinterring him at a later date then certain actions needed to be carried out to prevent a rapid decomposing of the corpse. The first was to wrap the body in a tightly tied blanket, or ground sheet, keeping the material close to the corpse. The depth of the burial should be at least six feet, which would save the corpse from being disturbed by ploughing, or being dug up by animals. The...
Dear Authors, We hope you’re doing well. ISS would like to invite you to participate in a competition in the ‘Poetry/Jokes category.’ The contest: 1)The contest will run from 05 February 2023 to 19 February 2023. 2)The content can have any number of jokes or poetry, but it should be adult/xxx jokes/poetry. 3) It should be a minimum of 1000 words of content. 4) There shouldn’t be any sort of plagiarism. The entire work should be original and not be published anywhere on the internet...
A warm beam of sunlight played on my face, and under its benign caress I swam slowly up from a deep sleep. For a moment I could not recall where I was, but then realised I was lying in the four-poster bed in Annette’s boudoir. It was the most comfortable bed I could ever recall being in. The thick luxurious mattress, stuffed with eider down, was both supportive to my body and yet comforting. I sat up. The pillow next to mine was rumpled, and on pulling back the sheet saw the unmistakable...
This wasn’t the first New Year’s Eve party we’d attended at our friend’s house but it was the most memorable one. When we got there the party was in full swing, probably about 60 people mostly couples but there were quite a few single people. I was chatting up a divorced woman, Lucy, she was 47 and had been ‘single’ for seven years. Donna had had a few lagers and was on the whisky, we met up in the kitchen when she said “Anyone here you fancy?” “Yes her over there” pointing at Lucy, “You” I...
(author's note): Silkie, now thirty-eight, is telling her lover Denis, about things that happened in her life before she was eighteen. I don't know if her anecdote violates guidelines for this site or not. Can fictional adults in a piece of fiction talk about events in their past? Silkie might even be making some of this up for Denis' pleasure, which adds yet another layer of fiction to the story, I don't know the answer, so I'll just put it out there and see what happens. Thanks!...
Denis went to his hotel.Silkie had to run a few errands. She went to his room two hours later. Denis had already finished most of a bottle of wine."You know I'm the kind of man who has a hard time getting hard after I've been drinking, Silkie...""Denis, I love you hard or soft, lover. I 'm going to take off my clothes for you. No, I don't have a body like I did when I was eighteen.....................do you like to see it? Do you?""The sight of you nude haunts me, Silkie. Your neck, your back...
"Julian, we would like some more wine and that hashish you and I had the other night............yes, that night, dear...........is any of that left?.............but before you go............ "Rachel what do you prefer, men or women?" "Silkie, you are messing with me..........I like............ummmmm...what shall I say?.............I like to have my face between a woman's thighs while I feel a man do me from behind..........oh..I like that a lot.....Julian, I packed Sylvia's ass with...
This wasn’t the first New Year’s Eve party we’d attended at our friend’s house but it was the most memorable one. When we got there the party was in full swing, probably about 60 people mostly couples but there were quite a few single people. I was chatting up a divorced woman, Lucy, she was 47 and had been ‘single’ for seven years.Donna had had a few lagers and was on the whisky, we met up in the kitchen when she said “Anyone here you fancy?” “Yes her over there” pointing at Lucy, “You” I...
Thinking it over - Home and Hearth "You were great last night, you sexy devil!" His-fresh shaved face nuzzled my ear and I smiled without opening my eyes. "I gave them their cereal, so you can sleep in for half an hour." David lingered and fondled my bare breasts while he nuzzled my neck. "Thanks. I'm almost awake," I said. "You're a brute. Just look at the state you left me in." He laughed with self-congratulating pleasure. "I gotta go, see you tonight!" I sat up and then...
Work on Monday got off to a horrendous start when Neill rejected a load of concrete. The driver became enraged and for a minute I thought he and Neill were going to come to blows. I overheard Neill speaking to the concrete company on the phone, telling them the consistency was not up to spec and what they could do with the load. Sending the driver away with a truckload of concrete threw the schedule into turmoil and the mood of everyone at the construction site into the dumpster. Tradesmen...
The ringing telephone disturbed my sleep and before I even picked it up a thought entered my clouded mind; I'd slept like a baby. The dream was gone. Cassie, realizing that she had awakened me, apologized before delivering the good news. She and her family would accept my invitation to use Holly's pool. "What time should we come?" she wanted to know and I told her any time would be fine. She must have handed the phone to Doris, who said they would leave their house about four P.M. It...
We stopped at a market and while Patti was shopping, saying she preferred to shop alone because my tagging along would distract her, I killed time at the drugstore next door. I found what I was looking for, Dining out in Atlanta, the magazine Smyth had boasted his articles appeared in. I picked up the July and August issues of the magazine and on my way to the cash register I spotted the condom display, my favorite section in the store. How could I not stop and admire the colorful packages?...