Keeping Sweets (10 page)

Bran shook his head. “I’m serious. Microbiology and ecology? That alone proves my point.”

“It proves I’m willing to work hard, not that I am smart. I knew enough to understand that an education was my ticket out of Fairfax. Scholarships would be even better. I spent more time than I care to admit holed up in the library writing pages upon pages of notes. It was the only way I could guarantee my escape.”

“That bad, huh?”

Evan shrugged. The conversation was taking a road Evan didn’t particularly want to travel. “Sometimes. Doesn’t matter now, though—that part of me is dead. Time to start new, fresh.” He changed the subject. “How about you? Is this what you always wanted to do?”

Bran laughed. “Well, I didn’t exactly sit around the playground in third grade telling all the other kids how excited I was to fuck professionally one day.”

Evan smiled as his face heated. “No, I suppose not. What did you want to be in third grade?”

“A fireman. But what eight-year-old boy doesn’t want to? I guess I just wanted to be somebody’s hero.”

“Do your parents know what you do?”

“Maybe. Haven’t told them. Haven’t told them anything in a few years actually. Once they found out about my… preferences… I was given money for a bus ticket and two hours to pack my things and remove myself from my father’s house.”

Evan nodded in understanding. He didn’t know what would have happened if Phil had ever found out he was gay. There were a lot of “fucking fag” and “goddamn faggot” comments that flew around their house, but Evan thought that with absolute proof, Phil may have actually taken the opportunity to use his fists.

“Religious?” Evan asked.

“Worse. Politicians. Dad was a city councilman for a while, but was ultimately gunning for mayor and after that, the sky was the limit. How would it look for the mayor to have a son who likes to suck cock?”

Evan blushed at the way the graphic profanity fell easily out of Bran’s mouth. He would have to get used to it, and fast.

“How old were you when they kicked you out?”

“Fifteen. Blessing in disguise as people say. Didn’t lead a charmed life or anything, but I have to believe that living anywhere else was better for me than staying in that place. Overall, had a pretty good life. Tree forts and playing guns with the neighbors. Normal. Up until my parents found out that Jason Kellerman wasn’t my study buddy, they were decent parents.”

“So then what happened?”

Bran visibly flinched, his hands gripping the steering wheel just a bit more firmly.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Really. Just tell me to shut up whenever,” Evan added.

“No, it’s okay. Just not something I think about a lot. Not the brightest spot in my history. I took the bus ticket and hopped on, heading for the farthest city I could with what I had. Found myself in Portland hours later with a suitcase of clothes and fifty bucks. I met a guy at the bus station in Portland who said he could help me.”

Evan cringed. He didn’t like where the story was going. He knew there were people who had been through much more horrific things than an angry stepfather, but he hated to think that the man sitting next to him was one of them. Bran looked over at him, his eyes softening as he gave Evan a little smile.

“I was actually really lucky. The guy was nice. He gave me a place to sleep and helped me find a job. I started working the graveyard shift at a gas station. I worked there for almost two years before I met Damon. My ex. He’s the one that got me into porn. Said we’d make a fortune and hooked me up with a studio in Portland that was… let’s just say shady. I was only seventeen and the producer was a dirtbag. Eventually, Les found me and got me out of there. Helped shut down the studio that was abusing their boys. So as much bad luck as I’ve had in my life, the good luck has been there too.”

Bran changed the subject. “You close to your mom and dad?”

Evan tensed. This was the exact territory he had been hoping to avoid, but given what Bran had just told him, he felt compelled to share his story too. “No. Don’t know my dad, and Mom died a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry, Ev.”

He shrugged absentmindedly. “It is what it is. I’ve accepted it and I try not to let it affect me too much. I never really missed my dad, never knew him in the first place. It’s hard to feel a loss over something you don’t know you’re missing. My mom’s death was sudden, and I still grieve for her sometimes, but I had been taking care of myself long before it happened. One day she was there and the next she wasn’t, but my life didn’t change much after.”

Bran’s gaze landed on Evan. His eyes were full of emotion, maybe a mixture of pity and pride.

T
HE
mood in the car was much more somber than Bran would have liked. He was curious to know about Evan, but the more he dug, the sadder Bran became. He could feel his own thick walls begin to fracture and crack at the seams. It would be difficult to keep Evan at a distance, to stay detached. It wasn’t fair that someone as good and decent as Evan had had to deal with tragedy and pain so early on.

He changed the subject, steering the topics toward something more innocuous. The next couple of hours passed quickly, the air filled with conversation about favorite movies, music, and foods, until the landscape began to change.

The farmland that rolled past was becoming lusher, greener. Soft sloped hills decorated the landscape with quaint run-down barns and houses at their crests. Less than an hour from the ocean and it was as if they had crossed into another country entirely.

The forest closed around them as they neared the coast. The trees dripped with moss that reached almost to the ferns that carpeted the soil. Bran looked over at Evan. He hadn’t said much in the last little while, face glued to the passenger window, taking everything in.

“We’re almost there. ’Bout half an hour till we see ocean.”

Bran clicked the button to roll the windows down. Evan breathed in deep, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the seat when the air, heavy with salt, thrashed through the cabin of the truck.

“God, I love that smell,” breathed Bran.

“It’s amazing. I can’t wait to see the real thing. I’ve waited a long time for this. I feel like a little kid at the gates of Disneyland, or so I assume….”

Bran laughed. “Yeah, seems about right. Been to Disneyland twice, but there’s nothing quite like the beach. You’ve never seen the ocean?”

“Nope. I’m pretty much a virgin when it comes to everything I guess.”

“We’re making pretty good time. You wanna stop and have a closer look before we head—”

“Yes!”

They drove forward, Evan practically vibrating with excitement in the seat next to Bran. The water became visible and Bran navigated the truck into the first pullout he could find.

He steered the truck off the highway and parked in a lot swept with sand. Before he could get the truck out of gear, Evan had thrown his door open and taken off running down the path toward the water.

Bran hurried after him, the path widening into an open space of sand and sea. He tried to catch up, but running was difficult as his feet sunk into the dry sand.

“Evan! Wait,” he yelled, but his voice was swallowed up by the roar of the turbulent waves. It was summer, but evening was creeping in, and the water would be freezing.

He could see Evan, running full out ahead of him, mindless of the warnings lost on the wind. Evan tore across the sand tugging at his socks and shoes as he went, littering the sand with them, and Bran thought he might just dive right into the salty water, but at the last moment he stopped short. He planted himself in the wet sand and gazed out at the horizon.

He just stood there, staring, taking it all in for the longest time. His feet sank deeper with each ebb and flow of the mild waves. Bran thought his toes must be arctic-level cold by now, but he still hadn’t turned around. He was obviously hesitant to leave, but Bran had been hoping to make it to the house before the sun set completely. Many of the properties along the coast were tucked away along the cliffs and finding the address in the dark might be a bit tricky.

He walked closer to the surf, careful not to get wet. Driving the rest of the way with soggy socks wasn’t his idea of fun.

“Ev?” he asked quietly.

He turned back to face him, smile widening. “So fucking beautiful, Bran. I didn’t know how amazing it could be. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave.”

Bran chuckled gently. “Well, this might be bad timing then, but we should go. Should make it to the house before dark, but tell you what, the house is right on the ocean. We can visit the beach every day. Spend hours here if you want.”

“Yeah?”

“’Course.”

“’Kay, let’s go. I guess I am getting a little cold anyway.” He turned and walked to stand next to Bran. His shirt clung to his chest, damp from the mist, and his pants were soaked up to his knees. His lips were tinged blue.

“Let’s get you inside and warmed up, c’mon.”

Bran placed his hand on Evan’s lower back, steering him back toward the vehicle. His body was shaking under Bran’s fingers, shivering against the cold.

Bran pulled a fleece blanket from the backseat and wrapped it tightly around Evan, making sure he was warm before continuing on their way. The remainder of the trip went quickly, with Bran blasting the heat and Evan wrapped snugly in his blanket.

They pulled up to the house just as the sun ducked below the edge of the world. The last vestiges of sunlight were filtering through the tall evergreens that surrounded the house. Bran thought the large wooden cottage looked even better in person than it had been on the rental website. It would be perfect for the shoot and the heavily treed property provided ample privacy for some outdoor scenes as well. Bran was pleased.

Evan had seemed withdrawn during the last part of their trip. Part of him hoped Evan wasn’t having second thoughts about being there. Bran tamped down the niggling feeling that Evan wasn’t happy. He didn’t have time right now for doubts. There was too much to do before tomorrow. First he would need to unpack all the gear and set up for the shoots. Then it was playtime. He had brought enough beer and whiskey to supply a small army. They had a night of bonding ahead of them. He hoped the added time together would read well on camera once they were fooling around together.

He planned to film the festivities as well. It would make for great filler video between scenes on the DVD, and he could use some of it as teasers for the website to build up interest before the release of the DVD.

B
EFORE
long, they were gathered in the living room surrounded by film equipment and suitcases.

“Alright, guys, in case you don’t remember me from casting, I’m Noah. Welcome to the Newport project. This will be my first time trying my hand at directing. We’ll see how it goes. This isn’t going to be like a regular porn shoot. We’ve made some changes to the format in the hopes that it’ll come across as more natural, and therefore a lot hotter.”

Bran reached into his bag and pulled out an armful of colored file folders, one for each of the boys.

“There is a file for each of you. Inside you will find a tentative scene schedule. I have tried to group scenes together for you as much as possible, with enough downtime in between of course, so that you will all have some time off to do whatever you want while we’re up here. Newport is beautiful and it would be a shame to spend the whole time working.”

Grunts of approval could be heard from the guys, as most were appreciative of the consideration.

“Along with your schedule is an outline of the scenes you will be shooting. Most of them are pretty typical scenes. If there is anything listed on there you are not comfortable doing, please let me know and we’ll change it up for you. These are only suggestions and we encourage you to improvise as much as possible. We want these to look natural and unrehearsed, so just do what feels right, okay? If any of you have ideas for additional scenes, feel free to come to me with those as well. I’ve left the last three days of shooting for extra scenes to be determined later. I’ve found that once you have a feel for who you’re working with, often connections will form and we can get some really good shots later on.

“Since we are all living in close quarters, I ask that you be respectful of the people that you are living with. The sleeping arrangements are pretty tight and the house is fairly isolated, so if there are any issues that arise, I want you to let me know as soon as possible so we can sort through them. We have arranged for meals and housekeeping, but please try and keep things as neat and tidy as possible since the house is doubling as our set. Think of this as summer camp, just with more fucking than usual.”

That got a few laughs out of the guys.

“The cast is going to be staying here in this house. You guys each get your own bed, but there isn’t enough space for you to have your own rooms. Again, if for any reason things are not working out, please let me know and I’ll get you switched, okay?”