Ten Men for Tina

© Catesby

Tina Connolly skipped merrily down the street. Two construction workers called out to her, making crude comments about her large chest. Normally she would get upset when this happened, but she was in too good a mood this afternoon. She smiled sweetly at them as she crossed the street towards where they sat taking a coffee break, beside their van. As she passed them they both stared in awe at her long slender legs, her tight sexy ass and those huge, firm tits of hers. She had a very cute face, long blonde hair, deep blue eyes and pouting red lips, but it was her body that all the men gazed at in lust. One of the builders asked her if she wanted to join them in the back of their van and have some fun.

"Uh, why would I want to do that?" she asked innocently.

"Come on baby. You'll love it," he replied, rubbing his crotch lasciviously.

This sort of thing wasn't anything new to Tina. She had lost count of the number of filthy propositions she'd been subjected to in the street. She never knew what to say in reply and usually walked on, head down, doing her best to ignore them, hoping they would just leave her be. Today was different. She felt confident and happy, without a care in the world.

"Maybe next time," she said, giving them a teasing grin.

She ignored their pleas for her to stay and walked gaily onwards towards the bus stop. This had to be the happiest day of her life. She couldn't wait to tell her husband Mark all about it. At last, after months of painful rejections, countless auditions which had led nowhere. At last she had got herself an acting job, something she had been dreaming about for years. She was twenty four years old now and hadn't done a single day's work since she left drama school.

It had been devastating. Soul destroying. Audition after audition had gone nowhere. She began taking extra drama classes in the evenings, hoping it might be some kind of help. Her teacher had told her she had a talent for improvisation but little else. Richard, a guy in her class who'd been hitting on her since day one, told her she would be great hosting some programme on TV. She had the looks, the personality, the improv skills. Then, as soon as she had made a name for herself, got herself known by producers and directors, she would get offered parts in movies. Tina loved the idea.

At first she had applied to be a weathergirl, knowing that many people got their break from starting there. She didn't get a single call-back. Next she set her sights lower and tried out for numerous cable TV programmes, morning chat shows, shopping channels, you name it, she went for it. Several casting agents suggested she try another avenue. Porno movies. They told her she was a natural. Fabulous body, come to bed eyes and an aura of total sexuality. She was appalled by the idea. She knew she was attractive and had a sexy body but she felt that her career would soon hit a dead end if she went that route.

Instead she had tried to change herself. She covered up her legs in trouser suits and pinned down her 38DD breasts so that her body would be less noticeable. Audition after audition, still failure. Even now they said she was too sexy. It was in the way she looked at the camera, they said. Like it was a big dick and she was desperate to fuck it. She appreciated the candour, if not the crudeness, and decided to just be herself. She knew that one day her dream would come true. She only had to remain positive, she thought, and it had worked. She had just had her second audition and they had told her she was on the team, starting Monday.

Mark had just arrived back from work when she got home. She flung herself at him, throwing her arms around her husband and hugging him excitedly.

"I've got a job. I've got a job," she repeated with elation.

"That's great," he said. "What is it?"

"The Jimmy Fox show!"

"The Jimmy Fox show?" Mark repeated, a sour expression on his face.

Jimmy Fox had been one of the most popular, or at least infamous, of the new breed of shock jockeys on the radio. Juvenile pranks, moronic sexist behaviour, the usual crap. Somehow, a few months before, he had been given his own spot on cable TV, five nights a week. It went out live and was even more outrageous than his radio program had been, which was probably why the ratings were so high for a cable TV show.

"Jesus," he said. "Why are you doing that pile of crap?"

"Oh, I knew you'd be like this," she said angrily. "You're just scared of me being a success. You want me to stay at home all day. Turn me into some frumpy old housewife, barefoot and pregnant all the time."

To be honest, even though she was excited about telling him, she expected this reaction anyway. Mark was a History lecturer at college and looked down at all forms of popular entertainment, especially television. He was seven years older than her and they had been married for four years now. He was a very sweet man, but also very set in his ways. Sometimes the things she had found different and interesting and mature when she first met him now came across as being just plain tedious.

"Hey, hey," Mark said. "Calm down. You know I've always tried to encourage you, even though I don't think much of the profession. It's just, that show..."

"I bet you haven't even seen it. You never watch TV."

Actually he had seen it once. His college students talked about it all the time. He was curious so he tuned in one night when Tina had already gone to bed. One segment had these pranksters being filmed on the street. The cameraman would pretend to be interviewing some pretty girl he had stopped as she walked by. Then another guy with a hidden camera would quietly come up behind her and gently lift up her skirt, pinning it up with pegs so that it bunched up around her hips. The interview would then finish and the cameraman would follow the girl as she walked ahead, her panties on display.

They also showed clips taken from some Japanese show which were more explicit. A cameraman would approach various phone booths until he found one with a young woman inside. Then his accomplice would open the door, get inside with her and pull up her top and her bra and start licking her breasts while she screamed into the phone. Mark thought it was disgusting and almost certainly illegal but he could see why that stuff was such a ratings winner among TV viewers.

After that the program returned to the studio where Jimmy Fox was sat beside a young woman dressed in a low cut top and the shortest skirt Mark had ever seen. Fox introduced her as 'Cindy, our resident feminist', and asked her what she thought about the clips. 'I liked it,' she said with a manic grin, crossing her legs to expose her panties. Then the camera panned back to Fox and he nodded sagely, as if something profound had been said. That was when Mark had turned off the television screen.

"I've seen enough of it to know it won't do your career any good," he said to his wife.

"That's where you're wrong," she replied vehemently. "Cindi Simmons, the girl I'm taking over from, she's got her own show now."

She chose not to mention that Cindi was now hosting the 4am slot on an adult porn channel.

"Cindi? Not the 'resident feminist'? You're not taking over from her?"

"Well, yes. But I'm a co-host. That's what matters. Most of it's improvised so I can turn the role into whatever I want."

"Oh come on. You're just there to be the butt of a load of sexist jokes. They just want you to show off that body of yours."

"Mark. It's one of the most popular cable shows ever. It's good exposure."

"Over exposure more like. I suppose they'll make you wear all these skimpy little outfits, showing off your tits and your legs and your ass and your..."

"All right, all right. I get the picture. You don't like it. You don't want me working there. Fine. I won't do it. I'll stay at home all day cleaning the house, preparing your dinner, being the good little housewife. That's what you want, isn't it?"

There was a fearsome look in her eyes and Mark knew he had to be careful what he said.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said. "I know I should be more supportive. I'm sure a better job will come along soon."

"No," she said firmly. "Listen. I'll make a deal with you. This is my last shot. Either it goes well and leads to something more or else you're right and it doesn't work out so I'll quit auditioning and just stay home and look after the house. What do you say?"

"Okay," he said. "I guess that's fair enough."

It sounded like a good deal to him. He would love it if she stayed at home. Forever. Whenever she was out of the house without him he became insanely jealous. He knew how hot she was, how much men lusted after her. He really wanted her all to himself, but he knew that she would grow to hate him if he forced her to stay home. This way it was her decision, her promise. Mark was sure that she wouldn't be able to stand doing that show for long. It was too demeaning. She would give up and he would have her all to himself.

On the Monday evening when Mark returned home, Tina was just leaving. She had to be at the TV studio by seven o'clock. The show didn't go out live until half past eleven but she had to get into costume and apply her makeup and go through a rehearsal first. After kissing him goodbye Tina begged him not to watch the show that night.

"I know you don't approve and I don't want to be thinking about you sitting there watching me, judging me," she said.

He kissed her lightly on the cheek and promised not to watch. That was fine by him. If he did see it he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself slating the program to her as soon as she came home. He knew that if he went on about it she would become more determined to stick with it. It would be much better if she realised what a pile of crap it was without him telling her. Anyway, the program didn't finish until after midnight and he'd be better off having an early night.

He didn't hear her come in during the night but Tina was lying asleep in their bed the next morning when the alarm woke him up. She looked exhausted. He quickly turned off the alarm and got ready for work, leaving her to sleep. An hour or so later, as he entered his classroom he overheard a couple of students talking about the program.

"Oh man. Did you see it? That new girl? She's incredible. Those tits. Damn. I nearly creamed my jeans."

"Yeah, me too. She is a fox. Hey, you know what? They should call her Jimmy Fox's fox on the box."

"Huh. I'd like to get in her box."

"She'd probably let you. Looks like a right slut, don't she? How many men you think she's had?"

"How many hundred, you mean?"

"She's no virgin, that's for sure. You think she's married?"

"Married? Shit, no. A woman like that, she probably fucks a different man every night. You can see it in her eyes. She is a total slut."

The two young men hushed up then, aware that Mark was listening in. This wasn't the first time he had heard guys talking about his wife this way. There had been several times at parties and in bars when he had overheard comments about the 'sexy blonde with the big tits', men thinking she was available or at least 'up for it' because of the way she looked. The trouble was that she was so naïve that she didn't even notice the vibes she gave off. She had come from a little village and even after four years in the city she still acted like a total innocent.

It had always bothered him but he knew it would be a damn sight worse if anyone at the college found out that his wife was this 'fox on the box'. It would be all over the school in no time, little whispered remarks behind his back; innuendo to his face; explicit graffiti in the toilets. The only fortunate thing was that he had only been on the faculty for three months and hadn't had the chance to introduce her to his colleagues as yet and none of the students had seen them together either. The name on her equity card was 'Ella Breen' and he knew she would be using that on the program, so there was a good chance that no one would ever know they were married, especially if she quit the show before too long. Which was just what he hoped and expected would happen.

It was almost midday before Tina woke up. She had a splitting headache, the result of one too many celebratory glasses of champagne. As soon as the show had ended the whole crew had gone up to the green room. Everyone was pleased with her work, the producer, and the director, and even Jimmy Fox himself. They all gave her a kiss on the lips and a friendly pat on the ass and told her that she was going to be a star. The words were like music to her ears. She couldn't believe this was happening.

She hadn't actually done very much on that night's show. Jimmy Fox had introduced her as Ella Breen, his sexy new sidekick, made her stand up and give them a twirl, and then asked her a few questions about her views on sex and life in general. They asked her what she thought about threesomes, lesbian encounters, gangbangs. She had said that they were all good fun and that she had tried them all, which wasn't true at all. Jimmy and one of the writers had come up with a persona for her and they went through it during rehearsal.

Originally she was supposed to be some dumb blonde slut who loves sex, but Tina had persuaded them to make her character more empowered. She was still a blonde obviously, and she still loved sex, but it was always on her terms. She still had to act a little cruder, a little sluttier than she would have liked, but she knew that if she veered away from their original idea too much then she would just be replaced. She figured that she could adapt her persona as the weeks went by. The funny thing was, when she had been doing it, playing the part of Ella, she found it strangely liberating. Like this Ella character was simply a part of Tina that she hadn't been aware of before. She remembered how her drama teacher had said that there are many different personalities buried deep down inside all of us and it's only actors, good actors, who can unlock those diverse characters and really impress with their performance. That was what Tina felt she had achieved tonight.

After they had drank a few glasses of champagne, the producer, Mr Trellis, took her to one side and told her that she had done well today but he wanted her to spice things up a little more.

"How do you mean?" she had asked.

"Well, you can show a little more cleavage for a start," he said, pulling down at her T-shirt until the crease between her breasts appeared. "Tight little shirts like that are okay. Make your tits look nice and big. But what we need is a little more flesh on view. Okay?"

"Uhm, okay," Tina replied nervously.

"And that skirt. Make it shorter. Much shorter. I was watching on the monitors and I didn't see your panties once. Not once! Show me them now."

"What? I'm not going to..."

The look in his eyes stopped her from completing the sentence. She could tell that he was a man who expected his orders to be carried out immediately. He could fire her on the spot if he liked and then she would have to do as she promised to Mark, give up all her dreams and become a drudge of a housewife.

She gingerly looked over her shoulder to check if anyone was watching, then she slowly lifted her skirt at the front until her white cotton panties came into view. She stood there uncomfortably as Mr Trellis stared between her legs, a perplexed look on his face.

"What do you call these?" he asked, reaching out to brush his hand against the material. "My God. The last girl I saw wearing panties like this was six years old, playing with a bucket and spade on the beach. Tomorrow you go out and buy something decent. See through preferably."

"But..."

"But nothing. I hired you because you look like a very horny young woman. That's what we need on this show. Now those," he said pointing between her legs. "Those are not the kind of panties that a horny young woman wears. A virgin, yes. An ageing spinster, yes. A sexy blonde with big tits? No way!"

Tina was panicking now. She felt like getting the hell out of there, as soon as possible. Suddenly the director, Bob Ford, rushed over to the two of them and Tina hurriedly pulled her skirt back down.

"What's going on?" Bob asked, sensing a disturbance.

Trellis told him what he'd told her, criticising her underwear, going into great detail about it.

"Show him," he ordered her. "Show him what you're wearing."

Tina looked at them both, feeling utterly trapped. She lifted her skirt again then breathed a sigh of relief when Bob told her it was okay and she could cover herself up.

"Let me talk to her," he said to Trellis.

The producer shrugged and walked off, leaving them to it.

"Listen Tina. I'm sorry about that. Mr Trellis, he's...he's not a people person, if you know what I mean. He doesn't know how to deal with actors."

"You can say that again. What the hell's wrong with my panties?"

"Nothing. Nothing, I'm sure. Thing is, TV producers, they live by clichés. He knows that young men like to see girls in sexy lingerie. He knows that our target audience are young men. He thinks if we have a girl in sexy lingerie then our target audience are going to tune in. He thinks if we have a girl in little schoolgirl type undies then we'll only get middle aged perverts watching. It's stupid I know, but..."

"But why do I have to flash my panties all the time, anyway?"

"Tina, honey, it's just acting, part of the role you're playing. Acting's not just about speaking lines. It's about expressing yourself with your whole body. Now, the persona you've created - it's absolutely great by the way - Your persona, she's an independent woman, open minded, honest and free with her sexuality. You have to learn to express that physically."

"By showing my panties?"

"The thing is," Bob explained patiently. "It's not only about showing your panties to the camera. It's about building the persona you're trying to create. What you wear is an important part of that. At times you'll have to use very subtle nuances to establish your character. At other times you'll have to be very up front. A lot of people won't realise how much work goes into it, but I do and I'm sure there'll be a lot of directors and actors and producers who'll feel the same way once they've seen your work."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes glittering with expectation.

"Believe me," he said. "You do as I tell you and the sky's the limit for you. I can see you got real talent. I just need you to help me bring it out."

"I will. I will," she said. "Whatever you say."

Bob gave her the address of a store near the studio which stocked all manner of sexy outfits and lingerie. Then he pulled a roll of notes from his pocket and told her to buy the sexiest clothes she could find, imagining what her persona would wear. She thanked him and said goodnight. As she made her way out the door the crew stopped her and each of them gave her a kiss on the lips. The first one tried to cop a feel of her ass at the same time. She was about to push him roughly away when she noticed Trellis watching her. He already thought she was some kind of prude or virgin or something. She realised that she would have to act out her onscreen persona not only for the camera but for him too, at least until she had settled in and proved herself. She let the whole crew grope her ass as they kissed her goodnight, not even blanching when one of them gave her tits a sly feel. She wouldn't be here long anyway. Soon she would be doing something else, acting in a movie, maybe have her own talk show. She could put up with things until then. She owed it to herself to try.

Just as she had finally made her way through the gauntlet of the crew's groping hands and probing tongues, Trellis called her to come back. He opened a door which led to his office and told her to sit in there and wait for him. All sorts of things ran through Tina's mind. She had heard stories about movie producers and she figured TV producers were just the same. All these movie stars, Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, many others. They all had to lie back on the casting couch in the early days of their career. Did Trellis want to have his way with her? Would he have her fired if she didn't let him do it to her? The thought made her shudder. He was old, fat and middle aged. And anyway, she was married, she said to herself as an afterthought. She wouldn't do it no matter what he looked like.