The Princess and the Porn Star by Lauren Gallagher

“It wasn’t fun, but it was in my contract, so I gritted my teeth and kept myself going by thinking about spending the entire damned evening in my hot tub.”
    “I don’t blame you.” She took a drink. “So do you have any unreasonable demands written into your contract?”
    “Nah. Though I’ve gotten a little bit of flak for refusing to do bareback scenes and only doing scenes with women who’ve been screened since their last scene.”
    “That…seems pretty reasonable, actually.”
    “Yeah, but everyone’s going to bitch about something.” I shrugged. “If the actresses don’t want to be screened, or the director doesn’t like how condoms look on-camera, then I turn down the job.”
    “You can do that now,” she said. “But what about when you were first starting out?”
    “I was still pretty adamant about it back then. Occasionally meant the difference between paying rent on time or not, but usually, everybody’s screened and insisting on condoms anyway. The industry’s been pretty clean since even before I got involved in it.” I sipped my coffee. “I just added the clause to make sure I was covered. So to speak.”
    “Seems like a smart move.” She idly tugged at the bill of her cap, lifting it enough to let a little more light reach her stunning eyes. Her eyes, which had lost focus like she had an unspoken thought on the tip of her tongue.
    “Something else you wanted to ask?” I’d heard it all. The questions were easier to answer than they were to ask most of the time, so it—
    “Are you happy with your career?” she asked suddenly.
    I sat back. Okay, that was one people didn’t usually ask. People didn’t ever ask. “I…”
    “I mean, even if it’s not what you had in mind when you came out here?”
    I rolled the question around in my head for almost a minute before I answered. “I can’t complain. It’s got its drawbacks, and it’ll probably keep me from ever getting any serious acting jobs, but…” I shrugged and played with my straw again. “But it’s been an experience. Good living. Lot of fun. Met a lot of great people.” I lifted my gaze to meet hers. “So, yeah. Yeah, I’m happy.”
    ‘That’s good,” she said quietly.
    “What about you?” I asked.
    “Well, let’s see how my career goes this time before I decide if I’m happy with it.”
    “You were successful before.”
    “For a while.”
    “Were you happy then?”
    She pursed her lips, glancing out the window at the mostly deserted street. “Honestly?” Her eyes flicked up to meet mine. “I was miserable.” Before I could press any further, she asked, “So how long do you think you’ll stay in this business?”
    “Oh, I’d say Buck Harder’s got a few years left. The money’s great, and it’s fun.” I paused. “Of course, I don’t want to be that guy who’s struggling just to get through a scene. I’d rather go out while I’m still at my peak than get to that point, so I’ll retire before I let myself get to that point.”
    “What will you do after you retire?”
    “Don’t know yet. I’m enjoying it for right now, and I’ll figure out where to go after this when I get there. One career at a time, you know?”
    “Fair enough.”
    “And, hey,” I said with a grin, “for better or worse, both of our careers are better than sitting in a cubicle all day, am I right?”
    “Oh my God, yes. What isn’t?” She raised her mostly empty coffee cup. “To not being confined to an office.”
    “Cheers.” I grinned and tapped my drink against hers.
    She gestured at the counter. “I’m going to go get a refill. Do you want anything?”
    “No, I’m fine. Thanks.”
    She got up and went to the counter. While she was gone, I couldn’t help sneaking a few looks at her. This was a side of Olivia Taylor I’d never seen before, and she had my pulse all kinds of screwed up. Dressed down, relaxed, and out from under the limelight, she was just Rachel, and Rachel was…my God, she was