Mike cackled drunkenly and shoved him. “I dare you to tell her that when she comes back.” He turned after a different waitress walked past the table topless. “And what haven’t you done before? I thought you’ve done it all, man.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Zach laughed as the waitress came back with the pitcher. “So, what time do you get off tonight and could I buy you a drink when you do?”

She smiled at him, placed the pitcher down and turned, making sure her breasts were inches from his face. “Depends on where you want to buy that drink, Baby.”

“Anywhere you choose,” Zach answered with a smile, looking directly at her exposed nipples.

“Hang around for another hour,” she answered as she leaned back and accepted the tip he slipped into her panties.

An hour later, she came over to his table and pressed up next to him. “I’m officially off,” she said with a seductive voice in his ear. “And ready to party – but not here. My boss finds out I’ll be fired. Meet me outside.”

Zach dropped some cash on the table and shook his friends hands to cat-calls and whistles. He pointed to each of his friends and swirled around, walking out the door, finding the waitress smoking by the corner of the building. He hailed a cab and they slid into the backseat where she gave an address, then she turned to him and traced his lips with her tongue before he explored her mouth with his.

His hands reached up immediately to push against her breast and she jumped slightly. “Your hands are cold, Baby.”

“Warm them up for me,” he answered, sliding them between her legs. She pushed her hips forward, finding his mouth again with hers, kissing him deeply and moaning when his fingers brushed against her crotch.

The cab stopped in front of a small bungalow and she slid out of the seat, extending her hand out for him to follow. He paid the driver and stepped onto the sidewalk, feeling it swerve under him and spin around slightly. “Come on,” she said, leading him up the sidewalk under the porch light. As soon as the door closed behind them, she pushed him against it and kissed him hard, pulling his shirt over his head and beginning to unbuckle his belt.

Again, the room seemed to swerve and dip, spin all around but eventually, he saw naked breasts in front of him and a desire to touch them, lick them, suck on them until he heard her moan with pleasure and desire.

Right there on the little mat she wiped her feet on, he slid down to the floor, she was over him, dipping her breasts in his face, and pushing her hips up against his body, her skirt pulled up around her waist. His jeans were down around his knees, but his cock was barely stiff, even as she pulled away and started stroking it, cooing to it to wake up, to come and play with her. Her fingernails lightly scratched up his length and she pressed her lips against its head, flicking her tongue against the very tip. It sprung slightly, but remained partially stiff. “Someone isn’t turned on,” she teased. “What more do you need to get Mr. Droopy here to be Mr. Stiffy?”

He couldn’t speak straight, words slurring together, instead, he reached up and pulled at her breasts, sucking one hard and squeezing the one that wasn’t in his mouth, pinching the nipple. He released it and dropped his head to the hard floor. “You play with them,” he slurred, taking hold of one of her wrists and pushing them towards her breasts. “Let me watch you.”

She arched an eyebrow, but sat up on her knees, a hand slowly rising up her belly in between her breasts, curling around the massive weight, sliding down its shape until she was pinching her own nipple between her thumb and side of her finger. She looked down, heavy lidded, and watched herself caress her skin, doing the same with her other hand on her other breast, only this time, when she pinched her nipple, she sucked her lips together and then licked her lips, lifting up from her heels to shift her hips in a slight circle.

He could feel his breath grow heavier, inadvertently licking his own lips as she did. She cupped her breast again, but this time, as she curled her palm around herself, her other hand reached out to curl her palm around his erection. As she pinched her nipple, her other hand reached up to pinch his tip, her thumb running over the sensitive area back and forth until it jumped in her hand and he gasped in pleasure.

“Oh, you really do like watching me touch myself, don’t you?” she purred at him, crawling on all fours over his body. “But I touch myself all the time,” she continued. “I want your tongue to touch me instead.” She lowered one of her breasts to his mouth. “There.” He flicked the tip of his tongue out to her hardened nipple. She changed sides, lowering the other down. “There,” she commanded. She straddled his body and seemed to dance her torso in waves up until her pussy was over his mouth. “Most importantly—there.” He flicked his tongue out against the small, hardened knob on her clit and she cried out “again” as she writhed over him, lowered further down so he could press his tongue along her clit, darting inside the folds as best he could before she shifted and swirled around him.

“Let me taste you,” she said, pulling away quickly, diving her mouth over his to taste herself on his lips. “Yeah, you suck good,” she purred. “Want to see how good I suck?” She slid down his torso and took him fully into her mouth, her head bobbing up and down his shaft as she sucked at him. Her tongue flattened against his length, caressing him each time she slid up and down his cock, letting the tip of him push against the back of her throat. He reached to either side of his body, his hands forming fists against the floor and he gasped for air as she continued working him.

“I’m gonna come,” he managed to pant, and she stopped immediately, pulling her head back to laugh. “Not without a raincoat.” She reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “I know you have one in here, right?” He nodded, telling her which pocket to look in, and she soon had it unwrapped and sliding over his dick.

“Now, where were we?” She straddled him again, and lowered herself down, guiding him inside her wet pussy and started writing over him, letting him slide in and out several times before they found a rhythm. He reached up to pinch her nipple, but couldn’t keep the rhythm between the floor swerving and her weight shifting above him. Instead, she sat back and started touching herself for him, lowering her head and flicking her tongue out as if she wanted to suck her own tits. “God, I’m so fucking ready to come, Baby. Can you make it happen? Can you make me cry out? Can you fuck me hard enough to make me come?” She dropped her hands to the side of his torso and started pumping harder, biting her bottom lip as she stared him down. “Make me come, rockstar,” she demanded and he did his best to lift his hips up and pleasure her. “I’ll suck you clean if you make me come,” she continued. She pumped harder, but eventually reached down between her legs and started caressing herself, even as he filled her and thrust. Soon, she dropped her head back and started crying out, exposing her entire torso to him, pinching her breast and flicking her own clit. “Keep fucking, keep fucking, keep fucking…” she demanded until she finally cried out “oh, yes!”

Moments later, she climbed off him and pushed her hair out of her eyes before she slid her hands over her body before smoothing down her skirt. “You kinda suck,” she said pointedly.

“I’m kinda drunk off my ass,” he replied. She just nodded and stood up as he struggled to sit up against the door. “We’re also in the doorway,” he continued, trying to find any other excuse he could.

“How long until you’re sober?” she asked.

“It might be awhile,” he told her, rubbing his eye, trying to see if he had any feeling in his cheeks yet.

“Sorry, then.” She shrugged. “I’m gonna have to ask you to go.”

He blinked at her and shook his head, still leaning against the door, pants around his ankles. “What?”

“My boyfriend is going to be home in about an hour and I don’t have time to wait for you to sober up,” she explained, leaning over to offer him a hand up. “You’re gonna have to get dressed and go. I can call you a cab.”

He nodded, dropping back against the door to get his balance as he pulled himself together. She smiled awkwardly at him, neither of them speaking as they waited for the cab to pull up. She offered him a paper towel to clean up and dispose of the condom, and he just nodded with a false smile when they heard the cab blow its horn.

Thankfully, it was still dark so he didn’t get to see him blushing with the embarrassment of his weak performance. He didn’t even know where to tell the driver to drop him off, not even sure of how much money was in his wallet. Eventually, they pulled up in front of Ken’s house off La Brea and he stumbled up the walk to ring the bell.

Moments later, Ken answered in a pair of pajama bottoms, squinting in the light he turned on in the hallway and peered outside. “I’m too drunk,” he told Ken hopelessly, leaning against the doorframe.

“Come in,” Ken said, looking to the cab. “Do I have to pay him?”

“I think so.”

“Don’t sit anywhere,” he commanded, positioning Zach against the wall. He ran out to pay the driver and came back, finding Zach still poised in the same spot, his head leaning back against the wall. “Where the hell have you been? You reek, man.”

“I don’t even know,” he answered helplessly. “I’m drunk and couldn’t get her off.”

“Her, who?”

“I don’t know. I never asked her name. Some waitress from the strip club.” He let Ken lead him down the small hallway to the bathroom, uncaring that the lights hurt his eyes and the floor continued to drop and twist beneath his feet.

“Well, I have a feeling we’ll find out who she was,” Ken drawled in a sigh. “I’m guessing she didn’t sign anything before you left with her?” Zach shook his head. “Get undressed,” he told him, sitting him on the toilet seat before turning the water on in the shower. “Chris comes out and smells you, she’ll never let you use the guest bed. Go on.” He stepped back, letting Zach shuffle into the shower, offering an arm as he maneuvered the side of the tub to step into the stream of water. “Try to use soap,” Ken suggested, pulling the curtain over. “Who did you go out with tonight?”

“Mike and Ray.” He stuck his face into the stream of water and held his hand flat against the wall to keep his balance.

“Where’s your phone? I’m gonna call them and see if they can at least get her name.”

“Pocket.” He answered, turning around to let the water beat against the back of his head, still holding on to the wall. “I don’t feel too good, dawg,” he announced, swallowing heavily as the room shifted violently suddenly.

“That’s another reason why you’re in the shower,” Ken answered, peering around the curtain and holding Zach’s head as he got sick down the drain. “Less clean up.” Zack nodded and spit into the stream of water and Ken released him. “Feeling a little better?” he ventured. Zach nodded again, sticking his face into the stream of water. “Alright. Finish up. I’ll call Mike and get the bed ready.”

When he came out, Ken’s wife Chris was slipping a pillow into a pillowcase in the guest room. She shook her head at him, but smiled slightly when he came into the room and sat on the bed, towel wrapped around his waist. “Rough night, huh?” she asked. “Ken’s getting something for you to wear. I’ll throw your clothes in the wash now.”

“Sorry I woke you up,” he said, his voice scratchy. “I didn’t know where else to go for some reason.”

“You tease us all the time for not living somewhere more swanky, but it’s kind of handy when you don’t have to pay a cabbie to bring you all the way up into the hills, isn’t it?” she teased, coming behind him and dropping the pillow down at the head of the bed. “I’m putting the garbage pail right here in case you decide to get sick again.”

“I think I’m okay now.”

“Just in case,” she said, giving him a stern look before leaning over and kissing his forehead, something like his mother would do. “Get some sleep. I’ll let Ken yell you about being stupid.” She winked at him and headed out. “Be nice,” he heard her say and Ken appeared in the doorway.

He tossed some clothes at him and leaned against the doorframe. “You went somewhere with Crystal Jenks,” he told him, “the waitress from the bar.”

“I think it was her house,” Zach said, slipping the tee shirt over his head.

“Don’t tell me that, Punkass,” Ken said with a sigh. “And whatever cash you had, she cleaned you out. Do you remember what cards you had on you?”

“Just the Visa and the AmEx. That’s all I ever have on me.”

“Well, she’s getting a shopping spree on your Visa, I think. Call and cancel it tomorrow after you get home and double check you don’t have it with you. Tell them it was stolen, and that you just noticed. Lucky for you, that’s the least of your damage.” He went over and tugged the blanket up as Zach lay down. “You okay, now? Feeling a little better?”

“Yeah,” he answered, letting his head sink into the pillow with a sigh. “Sorry for…well, all this.”

“Don’t be,” Ken answered, heading back across the room. “Glad we were home to help out. Get some sleep.” He turned the light off and closed the door over and suddenly, Zach was reminded of being tucked in his own bed, long before any career of his started.

His father used to come, check in on him, and switch off the light, leaving the hallway light on. If he woke up late at night, the hallway light would be switched off, and he’d be alone in the dark with the streetlight shining in through the window as it was now. Later, when his sister shared the room with him, he made sure to be brave and go back into the hallway and turn the light back on, in case she woke up and was scared.

Ken wasn’t much older than he was, but Zach did tend to look at Ken as a kind of father figure. Ken always looked out for him, and he knew it went far beyond what managers were supposed to do for their clients. Ken was the one that explained the birds and bees to Zach, was there when his first girl broke his heart, and taught him not to kiss and tell. When his mom knocked him down, Ken built him back up. When Zach got too cocky, Ken brought him back down to earth. When he found himself staring into the eyes of his teenage sister, wondering what he was supposed to do for her, Ken guided him quietly, helping him choose tutors and helped him find the best hospital for her, sitting with him for hours as he tried to make sense of everything.

And there were times like tonight, when he couldn’t think straight for any reason, he found himself on Ken’s doorstep, ringing the bell at all hours of the day or night, and never once being questioned or turned away. Zach didn’t need to know what his father was like, or what his father would do. He always had Ken and deep down he knew Ken was all he probably needed when it came to having a father.

Somehow, he always managed to make everything seem like it was all going to work out. He’d talk quietly, keep his voice calm and even. When he wasn’t really paying attention, his Kentucky drawl would creep in and take a stronger hold of his words. Breaking bad news, though, his voice would be deep and quiet and his eyes would remain steadily charged on his, stern and comforting all at once.