I decided to work more on Dylan...dealing with Vance, a friend of Rett's who's on the skeezy side but has all kinds of connections.

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Vance was an anomaly. Long, lean and always in casual designer things that kept him almost completely dressed from head to toe so you couldn’t really make out what he looked like. Aside from his face, which was sharp and intelligent, even when half-hidden by a thousand-dollar hoodie or specialty cap. 

He was always striking to look at when you first saw him, but to this day I don’t know his age or even the color of his hair. It’s like he wanted to be well-seen and invisible. 

We’d met years ago on a no-budget project being mangled from my less-than-stellar script about a serial killer on the loose. Yeah, real original. But it had lots or pretty girls and obnoxious boys being slaughtered, so it got made and used as midnight filler on a cable network that shall remain unnamed. 

He was second camera for a couple of slaughter scenes, and he made no secret about his interest in me, while I made no secret of my disinterest in him. Especially after I noticed how he really got off on one bit where a wannabe James Dean was strangled in a shower. Totally naked, of course. 

I’d written it for a female but Vance’d suggested the sex change and the director, who was a long-term buddy hadn’t cared. The guy they chose as the victim was pretty hot-looking, and he thought it might be his big break so went right along with it all. 

The killer was one of those big, buff, butch, biker boys in a balaclava who stripped down to a black jockstrap to do the deed...which was NOT in the script. Then he got a serious hardon doing it while the victim struggled...tight against him...water pounding down on them both in a way that was so fucking homo-erotic, I found my breath going shallow. Kept up until he passed out. 

Literally. 

Sent the set into shock mode. He came back quickly, but had serious bruises around his neck. Meaning he’d really been strangled. Big, buff, butch, biker boy was lectured about safety as the kid was tended to...and paid extra for nearly being killed. And the scene stayed in thanks to how realistic it was...and despite there being some serious views of the kid’s dick as it flopped around.

Last I heard, that scene had nearly twelve-million views on YouTube.

Funny part is, the kid went on to be big in a sitcom, and whenever he was asked about that scene he’d respond with a shrug and, “I did what I agreed to do. I keep my promises. End of story.” Which shot his reputation up into the clouds. 

And I'm sure the fact that his dick was seriously impressive had nothing to do with it, oh, no. 

Now just between you, me, and the rest of the world, I’m ninety-nine percent certain Vance arranged for that near death experience for the kid. I caught a glimpse of him talking with the big, buff, butch, biker boy after the uproar had settled, as he was pulling his clothes back on, and patted him on his naked ass without so much as a flinch, in response. And I’d swear a couple of fifties were stashed under one of the jock’s straps.

Of course, Vance never admitted to it, nor did I see any clips anywhere of any other footage that was shot that might have been more explicit. But maybe he hadn't done it. While he seemed the type who’d love to sneak shit past everyone, in this business there’s no such thing as dick shots flying under the radar. But I’d also heard he asked to be second camera after he read the script. Which only added to my wary sense of him. 

So did I ghost Vance? Hell, no. He had connections out the ass. I’d just kept contact to a a minimum and wound up with two more rewrite jobs and my second script sale, thanks to him.