Sex, lies and videotape...a "not so short" short story...

14:50 and off went the alarm...
A hand shot out and slapped it into submission. Both of them went back to sleep...the alarm clock and her mistress. The hustle and bustle at the crossroads outside was not exactly helpful to get back to the dream she was having. Oh my god!! Shut up!!

Too late...she had to wait one more sunrise for her prince charming again...she opened her eyes to the harsh afternoon sunlight, a little drizzle...the possibility of a rainbow could have brightened up her mood on other days...the alarm clock was impassive to her scowl at it...infact, it was smiling back at her...it was that time of the day...as it does each day once every 12 hours...

"Look at you...all smiles. You smile half the day and you are sad the other half. But i guess you are ok...you smile at me each day when you wake me up!"

She left the sheets as they were...some of them liked it a little messed up. She had to meet an agent today who was supposedly high profile...shall do quite nicely to build up some contacts high up.

"Martys Video" read the sign.

The doorbell tinkled...

"Hey Marty...hows the scene looking?"

He looked up from a stack of tapes with a felt pen stuck in one ear and a cigarette in another. Marty was an old hand in the neighbourhood...been around for ages...infact, he is the only person sane enough or insane enough, depends on how you don't want to look at it, to see three generations of the residents of the 4th.

"Hello Miranda...good morning to you too! Not bad at all...business is booming...got a coupla scouts this morning already...maybe you should hang around for a while...try your luck. Bella from 5th hit the jackpot...Micheal's people got her."

"Ah...that bitch...she might ger her moment of fame but where are her old customers now eh...she lost all of them! ha!"

Marty, with a barely deceptable shake of the head, went back to his stack...

"Cmon now Miranda...you dont mean that."

"Argh...who am I kidding!! That lucky bitch. But nonetheless, I am supposed to meet Slim today. Heard he got some good openings up at the studio. Not as high profile as Micheal...but its something. Besides, could use the steady money for a change and could use much less unpredictability...you know...its better to go with a script...besides, I always liked the lines we speak before the main course. I would like to be a star...one way or the other!"

Marty's old grey eyes just glanced up at her from his stack...his eyes smiled. He has known Miranda since she was found an orphan not far away from here. She must have been from a good family, the heritage showed...apart from her delicate features and ever-glowing skin, she always kept dreaming of romance, love, education, children and other stuff which her kind, or rather the kind she was adopted into, never dreamed of. They were different...or rather, she was different. Their needs never went beyond the quick buck and a quick bite somewhere along the way in a fancy restaurant...but Miranda was an Alice stuck in a wonderless-land. No wonder he looked out for her...

He chuckled...

"The lines...the lines...the inevitable lines...sigh...Miranda, you know no one gives a horse shit about the lines...C'mon girl. Grow up!"

"Yeah yeah...I know the routine...the works."
She paused for a while as if recollecting something...

"I just wish someone would just sweep me off my feet you know...you know...like a prince of some country...Academia or Anastasia or some exotic sounding place...you know...well...um... Hey!!!!! Stop laughing!!"

"Ah girl...you never learn do ya! When is Slim coming around?"

"Anytime now...he should be"...

Just at that moment, the doorbell tinkled...not Slim...someone else...tall, dusky...he had a heavy leather biker jacket on...no helmet though. Clearly not a biker...but there was something rugged about him. But he was also...clean. Yes, clean. Rugged but clean. Quite intriguing...His jeans were immaculate with hints of wear at the fringes...he wore a clean white shirt with the top two buttons undone. Clearly defined jaw...with smiling blue eyes...he had that small crinkle of amusement at the corner of his lips...

She felt herself catching her breath...but let it out the next moment...he is obviously in the wrong place. He should be heading up Maple Street...thats where these uptown people go. She saw Marty with his almost boring but quizzical glance...

"Yes sir...what can I do for ya?"

"I am looking for some girls!"

Miranda thought...Oh my...he is totally not used to this is he? He might look smooth, but he aint smoother than an alligators back this fella...she giggled. Marty shushed her up with just a piercing glare.

"Well sir...I am sorry. Do you have the right address? This is a video store...as you can see, we don't have any girls here except this lassie here...she is my niece! May I look at the address again?"

"Um...errr...ok. Here you go!"

The note had all the keywords. It must be from one of the usual guys uptown...this guy must be ok. But was he out of place. He better get him out of here before he gets caught by the papparazi or something! But he did not have any of the girls from the 4th right now at hand...he started walking towards the phone...

"Hey Marty...can I have a look at that address...maybe you can save a call if I know the place!"

She looked almost like a girl wanting to run off and play with the swing now that her homework was done. He liked Miranda a lot...ah...what the hell...if she really wants to be with this guy inspite of Slim coming down any moment, what the hell! She doesn't get this excited normally...

"Sure sweetie. Take a look. Well, Sir, I am an old man now...my niece here knows this place better than I know the back of my hand...its her legs I say. So, lithe and active. They will cover half the block before I could cover half the corridor here! Hehe..."

He looked at her legs at that moment...he might be a stranger in these parts, but he was not dumb. He caught on fast...he started replying to Marty just a moment before he tore his eyes away from them.

"I wonder if your niece will be so kind to direct me to the address!"

She only had to nod to Marty. He mumbled his approval and off they went. He had a car waiting...she was expecting one of those pickup trucks with the superchargers sticking out of the front. But a Ford Taurus! This guy was something of a different kind...

They got in...buckled up. He engaged the gear and off they rolled...

"So, mister...."

"Mr.Monterry...call me Monty"

He must be quite daft to blurt out his name at first...but looked like he was not lying...

"Errr...ok. Monty, you have to take a left at the next cut and a coupla blocks up and another right should get you close to the place. We have to walk the last coupla alleys."

He obeyed the instructions...they got off and he followed her into her apartment. She closed the door and turned around. There he was...quite not entirely comfortable. But so so cute! She smiled...subtle and fleeting...and picked up a bottle of wine and some glasses. Not a word was spoken...beyond a point, there is no real need for words...the rate was fixed by the agent uptown and everything was explained. So, there is no real need to speak to the girl...saves the trouble and the uncomfortable moment...particularly for the especially shy...which apparently he was.

"I am from uptown. I work at this law firm!"

Wow...This guy is bonkers...She thought. But she couldn't help but smile. Here is someone who finally seemed not to concentrate all his energy on her body...this guy actually lets himself be distracted by telling her what he does!! Hellllllllooo...time out!!

"Um...really?!? What do you do there? Do you fight crime and stand up for justice?"

"Well...I am actually a civil lawyer. But I fight crime under the cover of darkness...you will see the mayor flashing my light-call sometimes. But most of the time, the damn lights are fused...so, I have this cute little red telephone with a direct connection to his office. Its quite handy actually!"

They burst out laughing...

"Ah...my hero. Wasn't it you who saved me the other day from this gang of ruffians when I was returning from the movies? You had your mask on...and your rubber suit!! Before I could show you my gratitude with a kiss, you swished away..."

"Ah...that can be mended now...never too late for accepting thanks from grateful damsels in past distress..."

He took a sip of wine...all the time looking into her watery eyes. He suddenly seemed so full of confidence and power that she was awestruck all of a sudden...he got up, walked to her side and kissed her. His power flowed into her...she felt herself rising up to meet his lips...but he pulled away after a few seconds. He looked extremely sad at something...went back to his seat. Gulped down the wine in one go.

"I just had a very painful divorce. After 8 years of marriage..."

She was caught unawares...of all the things she couldn't have expected, this was the last in that long long line. She felt herself stretching out and taking his hands in her own...in a silent show of support. They talked for hours after that about how broken he was...how deep went the hurt...how the scars still hurt. She also told him about her thoughts of freedom to do what she wants, about the romance she so wants, how she is not doing this because she was forced to but was brought up into this...she did not have a choice and it hurt sometimes.

They consoled each other, all the while holding hands...she felt butterflies in her stomach...her skin tingled at each shift of pressure of his hands on hers...she was losing herself...slowly but surely. Usually, she is the one in control...guiding the entire show...but this became something else...two people who so apparently gelled...connecting at another level...was she falling in love? She did not know...she had never been in love...not after seeing the amount of guys she had in the ways she did.

Abruptly, he stopped talking...a few moments of desperate silence...

"You see...I came here because I just wanted a wild night to let it out. The pressure is unbearable at times...I cant stay at that house for long anymore...thought I can find something quick and meaningless here...but...you are not what I expected. You are a woman!"

She did not know what to say...she was floating in heaven...she felt herself getting wet between the legs. She got up and led him by the arms into the bedroom...

"Make yourself comfortable. I will be back in a while..."

She went into the closet and slipped into something she usually reserved for her best customers. Perfume, a little makeup, some sexy fishnet stockings...oh my o my...she is seriously dressing up for this guy...she had no idea what these feelings were that she felt. She spent a good amount of time getting ready...normally, she wanted it to get over with as quick as possible...this was the first time she actually smiled into the mirror while she checked her makeup...

Out she came...not completely...slipped a leg out at first...and called out to him to take notice. She heard him shuffling about as if in a hurry to get somewhere real quick...poor guy...she knew her legs were the best part of her. He is getting quite a treat alright. Still he was shuffling about...haha...poor Mr.Monterry...hope she does not scare him away. She heard him stumble over something and jump onto bed...

She slipped out into the room...he was on the bed now...on top of the already crumpled sheets...and to her surprise, fully clothed! He just managed to remove his heavy jacket all this while...

"Wow...you...you are the most beautiful woman I have seen...I think...I think...ah damn it...I probably shouldn't be saying this...but...I...I never felt this happy to talk to someone about something so close to my heart before..."

She simply walked over to him...sat by him...gently laid him on his back and swung her leg over him and placed her hands on his chest all in one sexy practiced movement.

"What are you saying Mr.Lawyer?"

"I...I think...I am falling in love with you!"

All her mixed confused thoughts now fell in place...she never felt so elated as she did at that moment. She wondered how she must be looking now...the look on the face of a woman who was loved by a man...and who loved him in return. He was so gentle...so sweet...so considerate...he loved like no one else...he loved like a feather loved the spring breeze flowing across the fields at sunset. He satisfied her atleast thrice before he let himself. All the while, she felt herself fall deeper in love with this strange man...she looked deep into his eyes as they were laying on their sides with their legs intertwined like pigtails...

"I love you too!"

He simply smiled and kissed her eyes. And they made love again...and again...and again...

She never went to slept before midnight nor had she slept so peacefully. And for the first time, she had a dreamless sleep...dreams are for those people who dream of something better...her prince charming was right next to her...she dozed off with her arm around his slowly heaving chest...all snuggled into him and slept like never before.

11:00...she opened her eyes...the sunlight did not yet hit her face...but somehow she heard the birds singing today instead of the traffic outside. She turned around to look at him. But just his pillow to greet her...now she was fully awake. Where can he be? Maybe in the toilet...she checked there and everywhere. His jacket was gone...his clothes...his car. No note...no number...he left nothing behind. What could this mean? Did he let himself lose control and get worked up later on? Did he have an emergency in the morning and had to go? Will he come back in the evening?? Will he...?? But something did not seem right...

She dressed up hurriedly and went over to the only person should could...

"Martys Video" read the sign...again...

"Hey Marty...did the agent from uptown come here for the payoff?"

He was smoking his cigarette now...he looked at her through the fog...

"Hey Miranda...good morning to you too! Heavy night last night?"

"Marty...cut the crap. What about the payment?"

He looked at her queerly for a while...she has never been so impatient about the money as the other girls...he smelled yesterdays rat...

"Here it is...came through the usual route! You got double the usual...wonder why though..."

"Marty...who gave this to you? Do you know the agent?"

"Hmmm...it came through delivery....like always. You know I don't see the agents making the payments themselves...you know that!! Miranda...whats wrong? Tell me now..."

"Well...Marty...its like this. The guy...of yesterday...he was...well...erm..."

"No no no Miranda. You know the rules!"

"I am sorry Marty...he was so different...I...I am sorry. Can you help me find him? I am lost now...i am desperate...i dont know how i am feeling what i am feeling...i...please...please help me find him...i beg you..."

A tear trickled...

He considered her...her shivering hands...her teary eyes...her bedraggled look...he felt a little pity for her...he thought about her request for a while. Normally, those who break the rules get no sympathy...in this world of early birds, in the end, everyone forgets about the nectar and goes after the worms...but she was his Sweetie.

"Hmmm....ok...I will try. I will pull some strings if I can find some...don't get your hopes up though..."

"Thanks Marty...I don't know what to say..."

"Just get yourself a bite to eat...you look horrible! By the way, about Slim...I handled it and your lucky ass still got a chance with him today. You can thank me later for that!"

"No..."

"Eh what...? What do you mean No?"

She looked at the old man...he was almost like Mount Rushmore...giving the impression of old age as only mountains can but also somehow with all the wisdom of all the men on it...surely he will understand.

"Well...I don't feel like working tonight...or anynight. I want to find this guy from yesterday and talk to him first!"

"Miranda...honey...this could take weeks...what will you do for the money?"

"I...I don't know...I guess I can borrow some...but I hate doing that. I don't know..."

"Hmmm...this is not taking a healthy turn of events now...ok, as you wish! You are not a girl anymore for me to advise!"

She smiled and hugged the old timer...and made off to her room.

The days went by...she managed initially without much food for thought on this...but the money was not too good. She did not have much savings...she was young and never really bothered about the savings unlike her aunts...she couldn't bring herself to borrow much more than required to scrape together a meager existence...

The days turned into weeks...and the weeks felt like years to her. She lost weight...however impossible that seemed...she just lay in her bed all day...remembering those moments of sheer joy...the pleasure...the joy. Sometimes, she went out into town...sneaked around in the bus ticketless...she was almost caught once though...all the time looking for him. She went all around the uptown region. Damn Ford Taurus...they were too common to really distinguish from one another...besides, she did not have the registration number memorized. A needle in a wide wide teeming haystack...her only hope was Marty. He was not doing any better than her though...

She grew forlorn...she sunk into depression...she started drinking a lot with borrowed money...her debt skyrocketted with the drinking now...she hardly met any people now except Marty to hear him say the same thing again and again...she was losing her will to live.

All the while she kept hearing his words again and again...she kept imagining how she would have looked when he told her that he loved her...she was breaking down before her own eyes...this cannot possibly go on for any longer...

One cold November morning...
"Martys Video" read the sign...as always...

Bella of the 5th was there. She rarely visits Marty unless she had some movie of hers she wants to gloat over. Miranda walked in as usual...

"Marty...anything new abou....oh...Bella!"

"Yeah...Miranda. As you can see, I am doing fine. But look at you dahling...whats down with you?

"Bella...take the tape and get lost. I have something to discuss with Marty!"

"Ooooh...Miss goody two shoes...always the nice one. Always the pretty one. You were not looking too pretty in your last movie dear. What a horrible production!! Only one camera...oh my gawd!! You would think it was almost a home video!!!"

"No it wasnt...it was one from one of the russian guys...hell, you did some with them yourself..."

"Miranda...dont try to fool me now! I know what i saw...and it was at your appartment...you cant deny that!"

Miranda whipped about as if tugged by an invisible rope...she just stared at a spot somewhere between Bella's shifting eyes for what seemed like an eternity....

"What did you say? My place...my apartment? My movie. Where is...but how...is it here?"

"Of course...hey Marty...check for "Lovers In Love" in the Hardcore section willya!?!"

Marty, just through with a cigarette, was calm...he had seen way too much to react to Bella's taunts...but he was curious to know what this was about...and sure enough, there it was. He freed the tape from its place and swung it over to the VCD player...the cover had nothing about Miranda on it...the tape rolled.

A slutty mistress came on and started story telling about how love never pays...and about girls being good and about how evil deeds go unnoticed when its what is true to the art of sex. And the scene shifts to a room...

Miranda almost shrieked out...it was her room. And Mr.Monterry was on her bed...smiling his innocent but confident smile. Arms folded across his chest...looking somewhere to his left...and sure enough, there she was. She was lookin amazing...she never realized how good she can look in a non slutty but sexy way...a good girl...a nice girl...the ones who the mistress was talking about...oh my god!!!

She saw it all...all the whispering...his speech about love...his love making...her reactions. She saw herself...herself in love. Finally, she heard herself saying out loud "I love you too!". Miranda was for a moment thrown back into her room back on that fateful day...now it all came back to her...the shuffling sound she heard all the while she was in the closet changing...how his jacket seemed extremely heavy for that kind of weather...how he insisted on only certain positions...how he never wanted to leave the bed...how she got double the payment the next day...it all made horrible twisted sense now.

Bella was smirking now...glowing over her superior production studio, her more famous co-stars, the set, the story, the variety in her movie. Miranda was still...quiet...did not utter even a single word since the tape started rolling. Bella left the store with her head held high...she had a customer to attend to who requested her after watching one of her movies. A fan so to speak...and this was as good as giving her fans her autograph...well...not entirely.

Marty was quiet too all the while...he looked at Miranda at the end of it all. She looked at him...her lips quivering...she tried to speak...she couldn't. He spread his arms out in a quiet invitation. She accepted. They hugged...been quite some time since he hugged anyone...but this moment so deserved it. A few minutes of silence passed...he stole another look at her now. No tears from her eyes...no sign of shock after her initial reaction...infact, she looked eerily calm...

"Miranda...can you hear me? Are you ok? Talk to me girl..."

She pulled away...made towards the door...opened it...stood there for a while with her back to him...after what seemed like an eternity, she turned around. He was surprised to look at her...she was smiling. Her eyes were laughing again...not the fake smile that he knew quite well to detect...but very genuine, from the heart...then her voice flowed all over the video store...she was laughing out loud. It was too much to take for good old Marty...

"Miranda...what...what...how?.."

"Marty...its ok. Its nothing...it was nothing...it meant nothing...call Slim and see if he is still interested. Oh please do show him that video willya! I am a star!!! Finally...my time has come!! Don't you worry Marty...stardom awaits!! That Bella better watch out...she wont know what hit her!! Seeya around then...btw, got some jobs for the night? Of course you do...I will be around by seven ok. Gotta set my room straight...been a while since I did that...you know how finicky some customers get...till later then...adios!"

Marty...momentarily stunned...standing there in the smoke...swaying about on the spot for a while...digesting what happened just now. He sauntered behind his counter...fished out another cigarette as if by magic from his ear...fumbled for some matches at the back...found some...lit one...but did not light his cigarette immediately. His other hand went down into his pocket...a piece of paper...he lit its edge on fire...put out the match. He watched it burn for a while...watched the words scrawled on it glow for a moment in a final struggle to stay alive. He lit his cigarette with the flames fuelled by the words...an address infact...

"Well...Mr.Monterry, you lucky son of a bitch...that was quite close wasnt it!?! Consider that the closest shave you ever had..."