Porn Star (14 page)

“You seem awfully calm for someone who just
got robbed,” Cassidy said.

“I get robbed all the time, I actually go to
training on how to handle it,” the clerk replied.

“Why do you stay in a job like that? You
could get killed.”

The clerk smiled and said, “I get shot all
the time.”

“Are you some sort of ghost or something?
What do you mean you get shot all the time?” Cassidy asked.

“I’ve worked here since 1968, been shot at
least ten times.”

“1968? You look like you’re in your
mid-twenties, how old are you?” Cassidy asked.

“Twenty nine, the clerk replied.

“What year were you born?

“1943, why do you ask?” the clerk asked.

“There is something seriously wrong here,”
Cassidy said. “If you were born in forty three, you would be in
your seventies by now. “

“No, I’m twenty nine.”

“Then you are some sort of ghost then, what
year do you think this is?”

“1974,” the clerk replied.

“Ok, for one thing, this isn’t no 1974, and
for another, nobody gets shot ten times in six years. That’s
insane.”

“What year do you think this is?” the clerk
asked.

“2006,” Cassidy replied bluntly.

“What? No way, I’d be filling up flying cars
if it were 2006, you are crazy. Are you playing a trick on me?”

Cassidy looked to Missy and shook her head.
She looked back at the clerk and asked, “Are you schizophrenic or
something?”

“No, do I seem crazy? I’m trying to be nice
here, but you’re starting to push my buttons a bit.”

“Mister, I think you need a reality check, or
stop using so many drugs.”

“I don’t use drugs, and I really take offense
to you insinuating I’m crazy.”

“Well, if you’re happy, I’m happy, I just
need to pay for my hotdog and pizza.”

The clerk rang up the bill for the food and
took Cassidy’s money. Then he realized he had no change in his
drawer. “Sorry Miss, but he took all my change.”

“Not your fault, is there any way we can get
to Oklahoma City from here, I mean a ride?”

“There is no bus if that’s what you mean, and
the taxi only drives in the city limits, you might be able to get a
ride from a trucker.”

Frustrated, Cassidy thanked the clerk and
walked outside. “What the fuck just happened in there?” she
asked.

“I don’t know, I think he was fucking with
us. His job must be as boring as shit. Wait a second, I forgot
something, and I’ll be right back.” With that said, Cassidy walked
back into the gas station and walked over to the gum aisle, it was
then she noticed an old man behind the cash register and stopped
flat in her tracks. Without getting the gum, she walked over to the
man and asked, “Where’s that guy that was here a few minutes
ago?”

The clerk looked at Cassidy and replied, “I’m
the only clerk on duty, I own this place.”

Cassidy stood dumbfounded and tried to
remember what the other guy looked like. She was sure someone was
playing a trick on her. “No, I was talking to a guy a few minutes
ago.”

“That was me honey,” the clerk said.

“No, he was much younger,” Cassidy
replied.

“Thanks for the compliment, but I can assure
you, it was me you were talking to, you and your friend.”

Thinking that maybe she had ingested some
drugs from the Grand Am through the ventilation system, Cassidy
decided not to argue the point and move on. “Thanks anyway,” she
said and headed for the door.

“Before you go, may I ask you a question?”
the clerk asked.

“Sure,” Cassidy replied.

“What did I say? This younger version of
me.”

“He said, I mean you said you’ve been robbed
ten times, and that you started working here in 1968.”

“Yep, that’s true, only I’ve been shot twelve
times now.”

“Do you remember telling me that?” Cassidy
asked.

“No, that part I don’t recall. I’m an old
man, my memory isn’t very good.”

“Do you realize you were just held up and
robbed?”

“Yes, and the police should be on the way
anytime now, I hit the silent alarm.”

Cassidy became very confused all of a sudden
as she had an epiphany. “Did they have silent alarms in 1974?”

“No,” the clerk replied.

“You’re younger version told me he had hit
the silent alarm. How would he have known about them if they didn’t
exist then?” Cassidy asked.

“Can’t tell you, you’d have to ask him.”

“But you are him,” she replied.

“Life is funny, I don’t have all the answers,
just go on with your life and make the best of it. Maybe you were
blessed today with something most people don’t get to see. I can’t
explain what I don’t know.”

“Ok, thanks,” Cassidy said and left the
building forgetting the gum that she went into get in the first
place.

“What did you get?” Missy asked.

“Oh shit, I forgot the gum,” Cassidy replied.
“But never mind, let’s find a way to get into town. This place is
creeping me out.”

Cassidy sat at the bar waiting to speak to
the manager of the “O.J. Dance and Grill” sipping on a glass of
water and watching a girl up on stage do her pole routine. It was
dark inside, normal for any strip bar, but felt a bit too dark for
two in the afternoon. She tapped her foot to the beat of the music
and kept an eye out for Paul, at least that’s what the bartender
said his name was. Then she saw him come through the door, just
like she described him, a short man, and little hair on top of his
head and plenty on the chin. He looked like a scrawny little man,
not the sort that would manage a bar, more like the kind that would
be in charge of taking out the trash.

“You must be Cassidy?” Paul asked holding out
his hand to her.

“Yes, and you are Paul?” she asked.

“Yes, sorry I was late, I had to run down to
the store and pick up some supplies for the bar. The ladies were
out of tampons in the bathroom. I hear you might be looking for
some work?”

Cassidy turned in her bar stool and leaned
over letting Paul get a good long look at her tits. She knew the
way to a man was through his eyes and his cock. “Yes, I dance on
the side.” Waiting for Paul to ask what her regular job was, she
sat there staring at him but to no avail, he didn’t ask her
anything, instead he just smiled and made like an anxious schoolboy
who just saw his first naked lady.

“I’ve been in love with you for the last two
years,” he said to her amazement.

“What?” she asked not sure what he was
getting at.

“You’re Cassidy Rayne, the porn star
right?”

For the first time, someone recognized her.
It made her feel all fuzzy and warm on the inside. “Why yes, I am
Cassidy Rayne, you’ve seen my work?”

“I own a collection of your DVD’s, about ten
I think,” he replied. “Could I get an autograph?” he asked.

“Sure,” she replied realizing that being
recognized was either going to be a real good thing or a real bad
thing depending on how much he worshipped her. Paul asked for a pen
from the bartender and pulled a napkin from the napkin holder on
the bar. He placed both on the bar in front of her. She signed her
name and gave the napkin to Paul who folded it nicely and tucked it
into his shirt pocket.

“You want to dance here? A big star like
you?” Paul asked. This was the very reaction she was not hoping
for.

“Sure, I’d love to,” Cassidy replied.

“I can’t afford feature dancers all the time,
what weekend do you want to work?”

“Oh, I don’t need feature dancing pay, I
would rather work a regular schedule like the other girls.”

“Don’t you feature at other clubs as well?”
Paul asked.

Hesitating, Cassidy replied, “Not right now,
porn has been kind of slow lately, I really need steady work.”

Paul, with a shit eating grin on his face
replied, “The girls work for tips here, and have to tip out the
bartender and dj. It’s not much, ten dollars a girl per night.”

“That sounds fair,” Cassidy replied. “You are
your own contractor and agent, no benefits, no insurance, but I do
provide bouncers and a pretty good dressing room. You also get one
free drink a night. If you have kids, this isn’t a daycare and no
one under eighteen is allowed inside.”

“I see, do I have the job?” Cassidy
asked.

“I audition all the girls myself,” Paul said.
“Can you do a song or two so I can see what you can do?”

Cassidy was in her element, she lived almost
as much for the pole as for the camera. She loved the attention she
got from men when she was up on stage dancing topless. She was
queen when she was in the spotlight. “When do you want me to
audition?” she asked.

“It’s slow now, you could go on after Dafne,”
he replied rubbing his crotch with his hand. It almost seemed like
a nervous habit that he wasn’t aware he was doing.

“I didn’t bring a costume, can I dance in my
underwear?” she asked.

“This bar is nude optional, we can do topless
or nude. Why don’t you just do yours nude?”

“I don’t have heels,” she said.

“What size shoe do you wear?”

“Eight.”

“I have a stack of heels in the dressing
room, I’m sure there is a pair of eights in there.”

“Why do you have heels in the dressing room?”
Cassidy asked.

“Not all the girls I hire have nine inch
heels, it’s easier to provide a pair until they can afford to get
their own. Keeps me from having to turn away a hot girl just
because she doesn’t have all the required clothes. Most of the
girls I get come from the college in town, they don’t sell heels
like those in the bookstore.”

“Makes sense, Let me go try some on and I’ll
be up when she’s done,” Cassidy said and slipped off her barstool.
She walked over to the curtain that covered the dressing room and
pulled it back revealing a large, long room with a long bench used
by the girls to place their makeup while they got ready to go on.
All along the bench were chairs pulled up close.

“Excuse me,” a woman said from behind
Cassidy.

“Oh, pardon me,” Cassidy replied moving out
of the doorway.

“Are you a new girl” the woman asked.

“I’m auditioning in a few minutes.”

“Great, this is a good club, you’ll like it
here,” the woman said holding out her hand. “My name is
Pancake.”

“I’m Cassidy Rayne.”

“The porn star Cassidy Rayne?” Pancake
asked.

“”The very one,” Cassidy replied with a
bloated smile.

“What are the odds of me meeting you, Paul
loves the shit out of you, he has a shrine built to you in his
office. As well as a few other porn stars. I’m not sure why he’s
auditioning you, you should be a shoo in for the job, hell, he’d
probably promote you to whatever job you wanted if you just
asked.”

“That’s ok, I prefer to dance, not the
management type.”

“Did you bring any clothes, I don’t see
anything?”

“No, it’s a long story, but I only have what
I’m wearing right now. I’ve had some rough times lately.”

“Don’t tell Paul that, he will take every
advantage he can over you, just like he does all the other girls.
If you need an outfit, you can borrow one of mine, what size are
you?”

“Two,” Cassidy replied.

Cassidy changed into red lace bra and panty
set and found a pair of black nine inch heels. It had been years
since she had worn heels that high, and just as many since she was
on the pole, but she knew it would all come back to her once she
hit the stage. Since it was only two thirty in the afternoon, there
were only a few guys at the bar watching, including Paul, so their
excitement wasn’t exactly what she was hoping for.

She climbed the stairs to the stage and
signaled for the dj to start the music. This bar had a large stage
in the middle of the bar with three poles set up fifteen feet apart
from each other. That was so they could have multiple girls dancing
on busy nights. Right now it was her and the pole closest to the
bar.

The music started and Paul leaned back in his
chair to watch his idol do her thing just for him. He was getting
hard. Cassidy took a few steps and jumped up on the pole and
grabbed it firmly spinning around in circles. The pole was on ball
bearings so it spun easily without much effort. She wrapped her
legs around the pole and leaned back letting her hair dangle and
flow in the breeze she created. Her arms hurt. For the next ten
minutes she did as many tricks as she could remember and that her
body would allow her. She hung upside down, she spun forwards, and
backwards, and contorted in ways that looked almost unnatural. She
was back in her grove, only she was getting very sore and knew she
needed to finish up on the pole.

So she went for the one trick that she knew
would seal the deal. Stepping off the pole, she kicked off her
heels and took a run leaping onto the pole spinning as fast as she
could. Once her momentum was at the right speed, she let go and
leaped to the other pole fifteen feet away and crashed into it
shoulder first. Her plan was to grab onto the pole and continue to
spin, but instead she heard a cracking sound as she hit the floor
in a heap.

The music stopped and Paul rushed the stage
to see if she was alright. When he got there she was writhing in
pain holding her left shoulder.

“I think I broke my collarbone,” she
said.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” he asked.

“I thought I could pull it off,” she said. “I
need to see a doctor, I need xrays.”

Paul freaked out thinking that his insurance
would have to cover her injuries. They hadn’t signed any contracts
yet so basically she had the same status as a customer who fell on
a puddle of water. He could be sued.