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INTRO:
Acting has been Curt’s dream and this is his very first role as lead actor in a major motion picture.  Focused on his own glory, Curt pays little attention to the spectators who come to watch him reverse; that is, until one of them knocks on the door of his trailer late one night.  Curt opens the door to find Luke, a young man whose real life experience Curt is now acting out.  Through the adventures of this young man, Curt’s character quickly becomes real.  Led to mysterious places and met by mysterious and often dangerous men, Curt must somehow find his way back to what he once thought was reality.   
 

EXCERPT:
Curt fell asleep early that night, but awoke to the sound of tapping on his door.  He was up and almost in the shower before he realized it was only 2:00 a.m. and that this was a day he was not needed on the set.  So who is tapping on my door, he wondered?  Curt opened the door to find a young man of seventeen, maybe eighteen, his eyes wide with fear.  “Can I help you?” asked Curt.  “Um, I just wanted you to know that I like watching you.  I come here every day,” the scared voice said.  On any given day Curt would see ten to twenty people watching them rehearse.  Some of the actors didn’t like the onlookers, but Curt found that it made him work harder knowing that his performance was being critiqued by the ultimate critics.  “Thanks, kid,” Curt replied, but sensed the kid might be troubled.  He seemed scared of something or someone.  I’ve been researching my character too much, Curt thought.  “So, what brings you here in the middle of the night?”  “I, um, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, and started off.  “Hey there, wait,” Curt said, and stepped outside to stop the boy.  “Come on in for awhile.  You shouldn’t be out in the dark.”  The boy followed Curt inside and stood just inside the door.  “Have a seat.  Want a soda?”  The boy said nothing, but Curt grabbed them both a soda and handed one to the boy.  Curt sat beside him, still wondering what on earth he was doing out in the dark alone.  “I’m Curt.  What’s your name?”  Looking down, the young man replied, “My name is Lucas, but I like to be called Luke.”  “Well, Luke, welcome to Hollywood,” Curt said with a chuckle as he motioned around the inside of his trailer.  They sat in silence for awhile.  Luke was tired, and in fact he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.  “We have the next two days free, so I didn’t want you coming out here for no reason, Luke.”  “Thanks.  I’d better go.”  “No, Luke, it’s okay.  Why don’t you stay, okay?  What were you starting to tell me at the door?”  Luke looked down and spoke so softly that Curt barely heard. 

******

Curt walked into a room with a very inviting whirlpool with its shooting jets of water making the water bubble.  The room was very well decorated and very clean, with a sign that read, “No clothing allowed.”  Curt had no problem with that.  The water was warm as Curt lowered himself until he was seated in front of one of the jets.  The water felt good on his stiff muscles.  The roar of the jets and the bubbling water blocked out any intrusive sounds, and were lulling Curt into a very relaxing state.  He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the side of the pool.  In his dreamlike state, Curt did not hear the door open, nor did he hear the man walk in and join him naked in the pool.  The man watched Curt as the buoyancy of the water bobbed his body up and then back down in the water.  The man stood in the water, watching and waiting for Curt’s erection to take shape. 

******

The whirlpool would feel good tonight.  He put the key in the lock and turned the knob.  This was a different room with much different décor.  He will be here soon, he thought.  Curt closed his eyes and thought about the last time.  His hands had let go of the side of the pool and his body was floating freely in the water when he felt his legs open wide and those same huge hands wrap around his upper thighs.  Taken by surprise once again, Curt reached for the side of the pool to steady himself. 

******

Once outside again, he noticed that he had a voice message from the center.  The director himself had been trying to reach him.  Curt hurried as fast as he could to the center, running down the street like a crazy person.  It was just after 9:00 p.m. when Curt arrived at the center and was rushed into the director’s office.  “We met earlier, Curt.  I’m Daniel, the director here at the center.”  Curt shook his hand, and Daniel informed him that Luke had been kidnapped.  “How could he be?  The kids are watched here.”  “Curt, it was by someone you know.”  Curt could not imagine anyone he knew doing anything such as this.  “Who?”  “There is a man named Michael who has been working in the Davie Village.  The owners of the eatery turned him in.”  “He told me he owned the place,” Curt was almost shouting now.  “He has lied to many business owners in the Village, Curt, and has misled many.  He is a hard worker, and disguises his true motives very well.  The owners of the eatery feel horrible about this.”  Daniel sat beside Curt and tried to calm him down.  “But he lives upstairs from the eatery, right?”  “No, Curt, that was also a lie.  He has offered a place to stay to more than one of our youths here.  He gains their trust, and then tries to return them to their former groups demanding money from them.  Sadly, when he tries to return the youths their groups no longer want them, and they once again are rejected.  Michael has no need for them, and so will often drop them off somewhere on his way back here.  We try to convince the youths to return to the center but as you can understand, many are too confused to feel they can trust anyone.”  Curt was fuming.  “What happens to them?”  “We don’t know, Curt.  We are desperately trying to improve our services, but can only do so much.  There are so many.” 

Curt wanted to throw up.  He felt so guilty, and he felt such shame.  He leaned over and placed his head in his hands.  Daniel placed his hand on Curt’s back.  “We will do all we can,” he offered.  “That’s not enough, sir.  It’s not enough.”  Curt was glaring at him.  “Why was this Michael not stopped sooner?” Curt demanded, thinking back to their almost night together.  “We’ve been watching him, but until we can prove that he has done this we cannot do much,” Daniel stated firmly.  Curt continued to glare.  “I must find Luke, Daniel.  You don’t understand.  He trusted me.  I cannot let him down.”  “If you know where his group is, we can try to prevent Michael from getting there.”  Curt would have done anything for Luke.  He tried to think.

******

He stroked Curt’s smooth hair while he slept soundly.  Curt’s arms were straight out in front of him with his head on Daniel’s abdomen.  His face was turned toward Daniel.  Curt looked peaceful.  Daniel wanted his bed to be the place where Curt found greatest peace.  Curt had kicked the sheet off of him sometime during the night and his naked form was beautiful as the rays of sun formed a spotlight on the area that formed an inverted V where his legs parted, that special place that he shared so unselfishly.  Curt mumbled something and repositioned himself across Daniel so that his butt now formed an arc displaying the treasures hidden beneath.