Note: This chapter is meant to offer a learning moment. I do not condone the use of recreational drugs, but I do want to present a hypothetical situation that shows how easy it is to become addicted to opioids. This is from personal experience, so please learn from my mistake. I was given Percoset for a pulled tooth, and my dumb-ass girlfriend took me to a bar while I was taking two every four hours. I was able to kick the pills in two refills, but have been struggling with alcohol ever since. I did not drink prior to that, so take this as a lesson as to how easy it is to get hooked.
*
Lauren looked at me and giggled. She held her thumb and forefinger close to each other and grinned wildly.
"Maybe just a little." she replied with a toothy grin.
"We weren't gone that long." I observed. "What did you do?"
"Umm, maybe a shot of gin, and a wee old little white pill thingy." she responded. "Which one of you am I talking to?"
"The one to the left of where you're looking right now. Try another one."
"Another pill?"
"No!" I said sternly. "Another me!"
I turned to Angie.
"What the hell did you give her?"
"Just an Oxy. It'll wear off in a while."
"She doesn't drink more than a glass of wine every now and then." I explained. "That, plus a shot of liquor is going to knock her on her ass. Don't do it again, okay?"
Angie looked very contrite and nodded.
"I'm sorry, I won't." she promised.
"Good; thank you. Now that that's out of the way, have a look at this."
I picked up the bunch of papers and waved them around.
"You're on the cover of every supermarket tabloid that was in the racks." I said to Lauren. "Look at these headlines."
"Oh fuck!" Lauren mumbled. "People are going to recognize me. They're all going to stare at me now, Jack!"
"Like they haven't been already." I retorted. "Nude woman wandering around; running errands and going shopping. No one pays any attention to that.
"Oh yeah."
She giggled again, and I rolled my eyes. It was sort of amusing to see her this way, but I didn't want her making a habit of it.
"These are some nice shots." I said, as I stared at the covers. "Even with the censor bars, I could still jerk off to these pictures."
"I'll bet a ton of other guys will be too." Kathy observed. "At least we all get to see the real thing."
"Read one, Sir!" Lauren begged. "I can't get my eyes to focus enough to read."
I opened one of the rags, and my own focused eyes bugged out of my head. Along with the actual article, there was another photo. This one was taken inside the courtroom, and featured my wife in the throes of orgasm. Again, the good parts were covered, but the look on her face was obvious. I cleared my throat and began reading aloud:
"Woman Sentenced to Life Without Clothes." I began. "A federal judge last week sentenced a woman who was accused of indecent exposure at the ATL International Airport, to spend the rest of her life in the nude. The verdict came as a shock to some, who claim it could be construed as cruel and unusual punishment, except that the defendant was actually fighting for this very ruling.
"The defendant, Lauren Amy Newell is no stranger to controversy, however. In fact, she and her husband Jack Horner (yes, that is his real name), have an online reality show that features them in pornographic situations. A camera crew is present at all times just as any other reality show, except this one features full nudity and graphic sex between Newell and her husband, as well as random female strangers. As part of the sentence, Newell was also instructed to legally change her name to that of her stage name, Bo Dangles."
"I wonder if Kitty had anything to do with some of those sordid details." Lauren mused.
"Who's Kitty?" Kathy inquired.
"Kitty Cutler, our publicist," I responded, "and I'm quite certain she did."
"Go on!" Lauren urged. "I want to hear more!"
"While there are a few exceptions to her sentence to accommodate weather conditions or respectful settings, Miss Dangles must spend the rest of her life completely clothes free. She is permitted to wear shoes, gloves and a hat in the event it gets chilly, but nothing more.
"Since she is also prone to experiencing spontaneous orgasms, as referenced in the picture below, the judge has ruled that she is permitted to engage in sexual behavior in public if she feels the need is too great to ignore. Be forewarned! If you happen to live in her area, do not be shocked to see a totally nude woman in the bank or grocery store, or openly masturbating in the park. It's not illegal for her. It fact, it is illegal for her to be clothed!"
"Yikes!" Kathy exclaimed. "Talk about being brutally honest!"
"There's more," I said with a smile, "but I think you get the point."
"Wow!" Angie exclaimed. "You're really famous now!"
"Something told me this wouldn't be a local story." I noted. "It was just too bizarre. Leave it to Kitty to get this out there."
I was interrupted by the sound of my cell phone ringing, and picked it up.
"Speak of the devil." I said with a grin. "It's her."
"Hey there, jerking Jack Action." she cooed into my ear. "How are you doing?"
"Great!" I replied. "I just got back from the store with an armful of papers."
She laughed.
"I thought you'd be impressed." she replied. "I didn't want to spoil the surprise. What do you think?"
"We love it!" I said approvingly.
"Good! Because there's more!"
"Lemme put you on speaker." I said. "We're having a cookout at our new house with the current owners, and I'm sure everyone will want to hear what you have to say."
"Okay."
I put the phone on speaker.
"Okay, you're on."
"Hey Bo!" Kitty said.
"Hi Sweetie." Lauren responded.
"Okay, I hope you two are up for another trip, 'cuz I've got you booked on the Big Chin, Dave the Letter Guy and Orca. You're flying to New York, LA and Chicago. Full entourage too. Ms. Snelling wants all of this on your show, plus... with all of this new publicity, she's going for broke on advertising. She's pulled me off of everyone else and put me on you guys full time."
"That's awesome, Lauren!" Kathy burst out.
"And with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" Kitty inquired.
"I'm Kathy. My wife Angie is here too. Jack and Lauren are buying the house from us. We're having a nude cookout."
"Too bad I'm in Cali." Kitty responded. "I'd love to have dropped by to meet you. Maybe you can do an episode on the show some time."
"Can't." Kathy replied wistfully. "We'd love to, but I'd lose my job. I'm sort of in the public."
"Ah, understood." Kitty said regretfully. "Too bad. Anyway, get your bags packed you two. You'll be leaving out Tuesday morning for New York."
"I have to get things taken care of with buying this house, selling my old house and Lauren's loft." I protested. "This is important."
"So is this! Just leave it all up to me, Darling." Kitty said reassuringly. "It's my job, remember? Send me all the info and I'll have an attorney handle everything for you. I'll get a nanny to take of Little Jack too. No worries! Perks of the biz. Gotta go. Toodles!"
She ended the call before I could respond, and I shrugged.
"Looks like we're going on tour." I said casually.
"That's so fucking awesome!" Angie burst out. "That is totally fucking cool! Want a Perc?"
"Actually, give me two. I'll find some vodka and cola to wash it down with." I responded. "Fuck, I'm already acting like we're in LA."
I popped the pills and had my drink, and several minutes later, my head began to lighten. I looked around and widened my eyes, flaring my nostrils and blinking.
"Kicking in?" Kathy inquired with a smile.
"Uh, yeah." I replied, as I stood up.
Now I've been drunk before, but it was nothing like this. I felt like I was walking on the moon, as I glided over to the bag of charcoal and picked it up. Apparently, I was as high as Mt. Everest, which didn't go unnoticed by Miss Angie. She giggled and started singing the theme from Daniel Boone, with a slight change in the lyrics.
"Daniel Boone was a man; yes a big man. High as an eagle and stoned as a mountain was he."
This elicited another round of giggles from her and my wife, and I figured she'd popped one as well. No wonder their swinging lesbian cookouts were so popular! I decided to chime in with some twisted words of my own.
"Jack Ac-tion was a man; yes a big man. He was hung, he was horny; with wood like a mighty oak tree!"
We all started laughing hysterically, and Kathy smiled.
"I may as well join in on the fun." she added as she swallowed a pill herself, along with a glass of white wine.
I dumped the charcoal on the grill and soaked it with lighter fluid for fifteen minutes before I put a match to it, while Kathy turned on the outdoor stereo. An hour later the meat was cooked, and I put it on a large platter.
"All done!" I exclaimed. "Now, we just need the veggies and stuff."
"Oh shit!" Angie slurred. "I forgot to cook!"
"Me too." Kathy agreed. "Ah, fuck it! We'll just eat the steak, that's all!"
I did my best to slice it as thin as I could in my condition, and did a fairly half-assed job, but it was still delicious.
"I need your steak seasoning recipe." I said to Angie. "That shit is awesome!"