"Bring him in!"
Darrin had thought that after five amazing years in the business, he'd never tire of hearing those words.
Bring him in.
Truth is, those words now filled him with deep dread.
Absolute
deep dread.
"Otto! Come on! It's time!"
Darrin Mathews glared at his reflection in the make-up mirror and felt that he was staring into the eyes of a stranger. This was not a person he knew. This was a hollow shell; a glass container that had been drained of its contents and now sat bereft and empty.
Who am I?
"
Otto!
"
He stood with the weariness of an octogenarian and shuffled onto the set, ignoring the cursing director and the frantic production assistant that was seeking to rid him of his robe. Any other young, red-blooded gay man would kill to be him: the infamous Otto Bahn, the highest-paid porn star in the gay world. Right now, Darrin wanted nothing more than to go back to being a non-descript young, red-blooded gay man.
"What the fuck took you so long?"
He didn't respond to Jesus. The irascible director was running on three Red Bulls and chain-smoking Marlboros like a smokestack and Darrin knew that was bad. He let the robe fall from his well-muscled shoulders and strode over to the bed, where his scene partner, Bert Reddy, lounged.
"All right. Let's get started."
Bert held his hand out and Darrin clasped it briefly. "Wow, it's such an honor to work with you, Mr. Bahn."
"You can call me Otto, kid. How old are you?"
"Eighteen." The red-haired young man laughed shakily. "This is my first scene."
Oh, great!
Darrin rubbed his forehead, wincing at imaginary pain. A newbie. Just what he didn't want to hear. "You'll be all right, kid." He pulled the young man to his feet. "Just don't pop off too quickly."
"Yes, sir."
"And pretend that you're in love with me."
"That won't be a problem, sir."
Again, Darrin grimaced. This kid was in love with Otto Bahn, not Darrin Mathews. Of course, it wasn't the kid's fault. He had worked long and hard to make sure that every guy fell in love with Otto. Otto was a Hitler youth type: flaxen-haired and blue-eyed. And with ruddy cheeks and a well-defined body that defied nature, Otto was gay perfection.
"Good. It'll make the scene great." Jesus moved around the twosome, barking directions to his staff and changing gels on the lamps. The kid shifted nervously, light bumps of sweat breaking out on his upper lip. "Don't be nervous. You'll be all right."
"Okay, Otto. We're ready."
Darrin closed his eyes and mentally stepped into Otto Bahn's enormous shoes. When he reopened his eyes, he didn't see a nervous kid, he saw a desirable young man and licked his lips, wondering if he was a natural redhead. If the kid noticed the change, he didn't react. He stood frozen, deer in the klieg lights, quivering at the beautiful man that he was lucky enough to make it with.