Coming back from the dead isn’t as easy as they make it
seem in the movies. In real life it takes forever to do
little things like pry open your eyes. You spend
excruciating ages trying to bend your left middle finger
down far enough to feel the rope around your wrists. Even
longer figuring out that the cold hard thing poking you in
the cheek is one of the handles of a pair of jumper cables.
This is not the kind of action that makes for gripping
cinema. Plus there are these long dull stretches where
people in the audience would probably go take a piss or get
popcorn, since it looks as if nothing is happening and they
figure maybe you really are dead after all. After a while,
you start to wonder the same thing yourself. You also wonder
what will happen if you throw up behind the oily rag duct-
taped into your mouth or how long it will take for someone
to notice you’re missing. Otherwise you are mostly busy
bleeding, trying not to pass back out, or laboriously adding
up the cables, the stuffy cramped darkness, the scratchy
carpet below and the raw hollow metal above to equal your
current location, the trunk of an old and badly maintained
car. That’s what it was like for me, anyway.
I’m sure you’re wondering what a nice girl like me was
doing left for dead in the trunk of a piece of shit Honda
Civic out in the industrial wasteland east of downtown Los
Angeles. Or maybe we’ve met before and you’re wondering why
My name’s Gina Moretti, but you probably know me as
Angel Dare. Don’t worry, I won’t tell your wife. I made my
first adult video when I was twenty, though I lied on camera
and said I was eighteen. It was volume one of Marco Pole’s
now-famous amateur line, Brand Spankin’ New. My scene was
just one of five but there’s no question that I stole the
show. What can I say? I know where my strengths lie. I had a
contract with Vixen Video less than two weeks later and
before I knew it I was on the Playboy Channel doing soft-
focus video centerfold segments for more money than I earned
in a year back home. A porno Cinderella story, but unlike so
many of the girls I worked with, I was smart enough to stay
off drugs, save every penny, and get out before my pussy
Problem was, I just couldn’t stay retired. Like a pro
wrestler or a jewel thief, I was a sucker for an encore. I
had no idea when I said yes to Sam Hammer that I’d end up
Sam’s an old friend. One of the few genuine good guys
left in the biz. Kind of a cross between Santa Claus and
John Holmes. He must have been pushing sixty, burly and
cheerful with a silver ponytail and neatly groomed beard. He
was the kind of guy that always had a sofa to crash on or a
shoulder to cry on, a loan till your next check or a guy he
knew who would fix your toilet for cheap. I’d say he was
like a father to me, but that would sound kind of weird
since we did a few scenes together, back before he started
working exclusively behind the camera. Never mind how long
ago. He had been a perfect gentleman too, easygoing,
respectful and reliable as clockwork. No easy feat before
Viagra became the backbone of the industry, so to speak.
Back when you actually had to count on feminine wiles to
make the trains run on time, a man like Sam who could stand
and deliver on cue was worth his weight in gold. Now you
have guys popping Viagra and Cialis like tic tacs and
shooting Caverject directly into the equipment to get things
up and running. Better loving through chemistry.
Sam Hammer shoots were always a blast. No pressure. Sam
was married to all-natural triple-D legend Busti Keaton,
star of the Topsy Turvy series and Battlestar Gazongas. She
would cook huge amounts of the best down-home comfort food
and fuss around the set making sure nobody was too hot or
too cold or uncomfortable in any way. I’ve been on plenty of
jobs that were just jobs, or worse. Hammer shoots never felt
like work. More like big happy Sunday barbeques where they
just happened to be filming people having sex.
Sam could have easily made the jump to Hollywood. He
had a great eye for composition and wrote witty, original
scripts that actually kept your finger off the fast forward
button. But we all knew that he would never leave the
Valley. Sam was a lifer. He liked being around naked girls
way too much to go legit. So many smut directors are nothing
but jaded hacks who spend most of the shoot snorting lines
or talking on their cell phones, but not Sam. His enthusiasm
When he called, I was having one of those days. Those
sneaking-up-on-forty days when I can’t stop looking in the
mirror. Comparing what I see now to the image of that
perfect, flawless little twenty year old bouncing around on
top of Marco Pole for digital eternity. I’m in better shape
now than I ever was, working out six days a week and
kickboxing to knock out stress, but all the crunches in the
world can’t reverse gravity, or crow’s feet, or the fact
that I have to use the hair dye that advertises “100% gray
coverage!” Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a pretty iron-clad
ego, but I run Daring Angels, a high-class adult modeling
agency out in Van Nuys, and being around all those gorgeous
nineteen-year-olds sometimes gets to me. Makes a girl feel
When Sam called, I was standing in the full-length
mirror beside my desk, topless and sideways. I have always
been proud of the fact that I never had my tits done. I’ve
seen way too many beautiful women ruined by ghastly, wall-
eyed Frankenstein implants. Yet, on that day, I was hefting
my assets in the palms of my hands and wondering if maybe
they could use a little surgical pick-me-up after all.
I called my receptionist, personal assistant and all-
around Mom Friday into my office. Didi was big back in the
Deep Throat days, though if you saw her now, you’d never
know it. She was fifty-two, five feet even, with a plain,
sweet face like your favorite teacher, but underneath that
G-rated exterior was an old-school porn veteran who talked
about sex like other people talk about the weather. She had
a rich, phone-sex purr of a voice and she got asked out on
dates nearly every day by the men who called to book girls.
More than half of the time she said yes, and though they may
have done a double take when she showed up, I doubt any of
those guys were sorry by the end of the night. Didi was
probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t
even want to think about how I would have run Daring Angels
She came in the door with her sparkly vinyl purse on
one arm and the other arm sliding into the sleeve of her
“What’s up, boss?” she said. “I’m just out the door.
Got a hot one lined up tonight.” She looked down at my
exposed breasts and rolled her eyes. “Would you stop it
already! You do not need a goddamn boob job.”
I grinned. “Go on, Didi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She blew me a kiss and split. I turned back to the
mirror. I knew she was right, but still…
When I heard my phone’s electronic chirp, I jumped a
little, feeling like I’d been busted somehow.
“Angel, baby.” Just hearing Sam’s familiar growl was
enough to cheer me up. “How you doing, beautiful?”
“Never better,” I replied, turning away from the mirror
and grabbing my push-up bra off the back of my chair. “You?”
“The usual,” he said. “You know. Making dirty movies.”
“How’s Georgie?” I asked, holding the phone between my
cheek and shoulder and hooking the bra around my ribs.
Georgie was Busti Keaton’s real name. I should have
noticed the tight little pause and the pinched tension in
his voice as he answered much too quickly.
“Fine, she’s real good. Listen, Angel, I got a favor to
“Anything, Sam,” I said, turning the bra around and
slipping my arms through the straps, settling everything
into place. I eyed my reflection. Much better.
“I’m shooting with Jesse Black,” Sam told me. “I had a
new girl flake on me and we’ve only got the location for
I nodded and leaned over my laptop, calling up my
“Okay,” I said scanning the schedule. “Zandora Dior and
Kyrie Li are both out of town featuring, but Sirena, Coco
Latte and Roxette DuMonde are available or I’ve got this new
kid, Molly May. She’s a knockout, a legit redhead -- carpet
matches the drapes. Fresh, petite girl-next-door type but
she also glamours up real nice. She’s only a B-cup, though.
It’s not a busty line, is it? Bethany Sweet is my only
current double-D and she’s booked today.”
“Actually,” Sam said. “Jesse asked for you.”
“Come on,” I said, laughing nervously and turning back
toward the treacherous mirror. “Sam, you know I’m retired.”
“Angel, please, I really need your help on this. Jesse
is threatening to walk out on me and I promised him I’d get
him any girl he wanted. He wants Angel Dare. He says he cut
his teeth on your movies, that you were his favorite since
Now you have to realize that Jesse Black was probably
the hottest new male talent in the biz. He was twenty-one,
Hollywood handsome and legendary below the belt. The bluest
blue eyes. Bad boy smile. More than half the women who who’d
come to me looking for work in the past six months said they
got into porn specifically because they wanted to work with
Jesse Black. Now Jesse Black wanted to work with me.
“It’s pretty short notice, Sam,” I said, already
finding my mind shamelessly wandering over the details of
“No anal,” Sam replied. “Just a simple little boy/girl
scene with a facial pop. I can give you fifteen and a cover.
I had to admit it was appealing. It’d be a phone-in,
plus Jesse Black, plus helping Sam, plus an easy fifteen
hundred bucks and a big fat box cover ego boost. Proof I’ve
still got it. I could feel my resistance wearing down fast,
“I don’t have a current test,” I said. “It’s been
“You can just fax it in to me by Monday,” Sam said.
“Okay, twenty five, what do you say? I’m in a jam here,
Angel. My last three videos tanked and if I screw this one
up too, I’ll probably get shitcanned from Blue Moon. But
with Angel Dare and Jesse Black on the box cover, I got a
He was starting to sound desperate. If it had been
anyone else, I probably would have held my ground, but Sam
had always been there for me whenever I needed anything. No
“Okay, Sam,” I said. “Jesse knows I’m condom only?”
“Sure,” Sam said. “It’s no problem. Look, I’ll put him
“Angel?” a new voice said. “Is this Angel Dare?”
“In the flesh,” I said. “This Jesse?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Angel Dare, wow. I can’t believe
“It’s me alright,” I said, having no idea what else to
“God, you’re so hot,” he said. “I swear I must’ve worn
out, like, three copies of Double Dare. That scene you did
with Nina Lynn in the shower.” He made a breathy little
“Thanks,” I said, eyeing my reflection again. Back when
I shot Double Dare, Jesse probably still thought girls were
icky. It seemed so wild that a toddler like him would have
the hots for me. “You’re not so bad yourself, kid.”
“Will you do it?” he asked. “Please say you’ll do it.
It’ll be like my best fantasy come true. Me and Angel Dare.”
“I’ll make it good for you, Angel,” he said, voice raw
and earnest, like my first boyfriend. “I promise.”
There was some quick shuffling and then Sam’s voice
“Come on, Angel,” Sam said. “Make the kid’s day. He’s
gonna start humping me if you don’t get here soon.”
The location was one of those sad old mansions in Bel
Air. Ostentatious, but had seen better days. Money is so
fickle here in L.A. and a big old house is like an aging
mistress with a plastic surgery fetish. It’s more economical
to just buy a cheap, flashy new one than keep on renovating
the old one. Otherwise, you wind up renting the place out
for porn shoots just to break even on the roofing bills.
There was a pair of twisted pomegranate trees guarding
the open gate and the ground beneath them was gory with
broken crimson fruit that crunched and splattered under the
wheels of my little black Mini. Pulling into the wide
circular driveway, I kept expecting to spot Norma Desmond
burying her pet chimpanzee in the overgrown rose garden. I
felt better once I saw Sam’s red ‘84 Corvette with its
vanity plates that read HAMRXXX. It was parked near a
massive wooden door that looked like it ought to open into a
medieval Spanish dungeon. I parked behind Sam and got my old
shoot bag off the passenger seat. There were a few other
cars I didn’t recognize in front of Sam’s, a generic mid-
sized rental and a tricked out, over-the-top black Ferrari
that had to be Jesse’s. Car like that just screamed dick-
for-hire. Parked directly in front of the Ferrari was the
battered blue Honda Civic with which I would soon become so
I’ve spent a lot of time since then going over and over
those short minutes in the driveway, wondering why I didn’t
sense something wrong, why I just waltzed right in like some
barely legal bimbo from Indiana. I try to tell myself it was
because I trusted Sam, because he was my friend for nearly
twenty years, but if I’m honest I have to admit that was
only part of it. The simple truth is, I had a girl boner.
All the blood had run out of my brain and down between my
legs. I’d had this semi-regular thing with a rockabilly bass
player that had lasted nearly six months, but it had
recently gotten stale and predictable and I’d decided it was
time to move on. It had been nearly three weeks since I’d
gotten any new action. Now I found myself in a ditzy
hormonal fog, gone blonde at the thought of putting Jesse
Black’s lean, hard, twenty-one-year-old body through its
paces. So I walked, crotch-first, right into a trap.
The wheels of my little roller suitcase bumped along
over the cracked pavement and the lonely echoing sound
seemed way too loud in the deserted courtyard. The door
wasn’t locked. I thought they might be shooting some dialog
or pick-up footage so I didn’t knock. I just slipped quietly
The first thing I noticed was that there was no
furniture. It was a huge, hollow room with a cathedral
ceiling, Spanish tile floors and a massive iron chandelier
on a chain that looked like something Zorro would use to
swing over the heads of the bad guys. There were several
large windows, but they were covered with opaque plastic,
letting in only a soft, muted fraction of the afternoon sun.
“Angel?” Sam’s voice called from the top of an elegant,
“Yeah,” I replied, squinting up the stairs.
I pushed down the telescoping handle on my case and
hefted it to carry it up the stairs. Luckily, it was just
the small shoot bag and nearly empty. Sam said I’d only need
lingerie and heels so I had run by the house on my way over
and thrown together a couple of sets and stockings to give
him some options. It’s been years since I had my shoot bags
packed and ready all the time, everything organized into
neatly labeled Ziploc bags and categorized with titles like
fetish, slut or GND, which stood for Girl Next Door.
“Sam?” I called when I got to the top of the steps.
“Come on in.” Sam’s voice came from the far end of a
There was a partially open door with a bright light
inside and I walked toward it. There were no fat yellow
cords duct-taped to the floor, no adjacent rooms full of
giggling girls powdering their implant scars and gluing on
false eyelashes. There was no one hanging around smoking or
talking on a cell phone. Just that long empty hallway. I
like to think I was starting to wonder a little at that
point, but I didn’t leave. I just pushed the door the rest
The room at the end of the hall was mostly empty,
except for a large wrought-iron bed with a bare mattress
covered in plastic. Sam stood against the far wall, beside
an empty fireplace. There were two other men I didn’t
recognize, but I didn’t get much of a look at them because
Jesse was right by the door looking delicious, dark hair
tousled and blue eyes smoldering, ready to go. He wore
leather pants that hung so low on his lean hips that you
would have seen his pubic hair if he hadn’t shaved it off.
His sleek, lanky torso was bare and sheened with sweat that
highlighted the symmetrical perfection of every muscle. He
stepped up to me, gave me an appreciative once-over and
“Angel Dare,” he said. “Wow. You look amazing. This is
He reached down and squeezed his most famous feature
through his tight leather pants. Then he punched me in the
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