The Replacement

This is one part of a 5-part story. It is mostly a tale of first-time exhibitionism, but in certain chapters it does contain some incestuous overtones in regard to one of the relationships. If that is not your cup of tea, this probably isn’t the story for you. Consider this your warning.

If you like this story and want to follow my characters’ adventures within their connected universe, I recommend bookmarking my page, as the next story may or may not be in the same category. Constructive feedback is appreciated.

All characters involved in sexual or explicit activity are 18 years of age or older.

This is the first part of The Replacement, and as such, there is more story building than explicit material, but the story (and the sex) builds accordingly throughout the following chapters. Enjoy!

*****

A few minutes before showtime, Opening Night

I was usually pretty confident before a show. I’d been involved in theater for well over fifteen years. But tonight, I was nervous. It was going to be a night of firsts. It wasn’t my first time directing a show containing nudity, but it was the first time I had directed actors to have actual sexual contact onstage. It was also my first time performing in such a show. I had never had intercourse onstage, let alone in front of a packed house of three hundred paying audience members. But it was all happening tonight.

I glanced over at my costar. She was probably terrified. But I had a lot of faith in her. I felt incredibly lucky to have her, considering she and I were never supposed to be in this production. But things had worked out the way they had. There was no helping it.

I stepped out onto the stage to thank the audience for coming to the show and immediately saw lots of familiar faces. My heart skipped a beat as I began to speak.

*****

10 weeks before Opening Night

I pored over the script I had written one last time. On the surface, it was about the death of a relationship. But it had a surprise twist at the end, which revealed that the whole thing had been more about the relationship we have with death. It wasn’t the first play I had written, but it was the best so far, in my opinion. I had tentatively named it Love/Loss.

I glanced around the large room I called my study. It was actually closer to a library, done in an Old English style, with overstuffed leather chairs, and dark wood. It was a dream of mine to someday own a house like this–a mansion, basically–and now it was mine. I’m a lucky man.

My name is Gavin Dillinger, and luck has been a recurring theme throughout my life. I had been lucky enough to get on all the sports teams for which I had tried out in high school. I always received lead roles in the school plays and in the local community theater. After that, I was accepted into my first choice of colleges. I breezed through my accounting major with no serious hiccups. And directly after graduation, I had landed a job with a prestigious accounting firm in Columbus, Ohio, only a few hours away from my hometown of Pittsburgh.

Then, at twenty-eight years old, I won 81 million dollars in the lottery. I promptly retired from my accounting career and went back home. I bought a mansion in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, and then I bought the community theater I had grown up performing in. That was two years ago.

The venue is called the Eidolon. It is fairly large for a community theater, seating around 300 people. It is shaped like an arena–in theater we call it ‘in the round’–and has stadium seating on all four sides, looking down onto the stage. The audience enters at the north side of the theater through the main doors which break up the floor-level seating on that side. Consequently, the south side is usually the preferred seating, with the east and west sides being a close second. But shows in this type of theater need to be staged to take advantage of all four sides. You don’t want to snub paying customers by having them stare at the actors’ backs for the entire show. It can be a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun, too.

Prior to my ownership, it was run by an older man who was into the classic Broadway musicals–Carousel, Oklahoma, West Side Story… You get the point. They did stuff that was extremely family friendly and cast actors without much experience or talent. And as such, the theater wasn’t really taken all that seriously. Pittsburgh is a hotbed of community theater, ranging from high school-quality shows to professional productions put on by the Civic Light Orchestra, among others, and I wanted to lift the profile of my new establishment.

When I took over ownership two years ago, I shook things up. Many of the regulars–directors, actors, and patrons–weren’t happy with me. But I didn’t want to continue to do the same things that had been done for years, resulting in a serious critical downturn. I wanted to bring in some real talent. And I wanted to incorporate shows with more adult themes. We still do some of the family friendly stuff. But now we have broadened our audience and it has worked out wonderfully. Ticket sales are up and there has been a buzz around some of our more adult shows.

Right out of the gate, I put on the stage play of Lolita. My actress was over eighteen, but she looked younger, which fit the part nicely. There was a good bit of nudity and some simulated sex. Many of our long-time patrons boycotted the show, which only made room for a younger audience, hungry for edgier productions. It was a resounding success.

I followed it up with the musical Oh! Calcutta! The actors had numerous scenes where they were completely nude and it too, sold out shows. After that I produced a play that I had written myself. It didn’t have the name recognition of the other shows, so ticket sales were lower, but I got glowing reviews from local theater critics. It encouraged me to do more, and I did.

After two years of this, I finally feel like my theater has found its groove. We have retained most of our audience from before, who enjoyed the Disney musicals and Arsenic and Old Lace-style plays. And now we have a more critical, adult following as well. I only run three or four adult-themes shows per year, but we tend to sell just as many seats as we do with the popular musicals. Like I said, I consider myself pretty lucky.

I wrote my most recent play with certain actors in mind. I had actually discussed my ideas about the play with the married couple who would become my leads, and they had confirmed their desire to be involved before I had even written it. With them in mind, the words just flowed out of my brain and into my laptop.

Normally, the next step would be to have auditions. But, seeing as there were only four people in the cast, and two of those were already on board, I decided just to make some calls. Within a weekend, I had my cast and stage crew locked up.

*****

Saturday evening, 8 weeks before Opening Night

I had invited my cast and crew to a catered party at my place for a readthrough of the script. Some of them had never been to my house, so after they arrived, I gave them the obligatory tour, ending with the showstopper–a huge inground pool completely enclosed in glass walls so it could be used all year long. It was one of the biggest reasons I had bought the house and it never failed to impress.

After the tour, we took seats around my large dining room table and ate while we talked. I always liked to spend some time getting to know the people I would be working with before we jumped right into business. I sat at the head of the table. My two leads, David and Caroline Parker, sat to my right, while my supporting actors, Grant Custer and Carly Stein, sat to my left.

David and Caroline were in their late twenties and had been married for three years. Each of them were blond-haired and blue-eyed, and they both had the physique of people who were avid runners. They were lean and toned and looked like the typical young middle-class couple. The play had been written with them in mind, and I couldn’t envision anyone else in those roles. Within a matter of weeks, they would be fully nude and having real sex on stage. The thought sent a little vibration through my chest.

Grant was a very handsome black guy who was around the same age as David and Caroline. He had been one of my staunchest supporters throughout the tumultuous transfer of management and we had grown to be close friends. Approaching Carly for the other role had been his idea.

Carly was a gorgeous brunette with a beautiful body and solid breasts–which were prominently displayed in tons of bikini photos on her Instagram–and she hadn’t been an easy sell, because of the nudity that was required for her role. Grant was a good friend of hers and he helped me talk her into accepting the role, promising that we would take every precaution to ensure that no photos or video would be taken by audience members. Secretly, I couldn’t wait to see what she looked like under those bikinis.

It wasn’t traditionally necessary to invite the stage crew for a readthrough, but I wanted them to feel as valued as the cast. Kaitlyn Crosby and Quinn Sellers were beside Carly on the left, while Dusty Carter and Sharon Prentiss were on the right. All four of them were my stagehands, with Kaitlyn serving as the stage manager. At the opposite end of the table was Ron Singer. He would be running the lights and sound.

Kaitlyn was a mousy little redhead who had recently graduated high school. Her long, curly, ginger hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore glasses with thick dark frames, which probably seemed cool to her, but reminded me of some of the quiet nerdy girls I went to school with. She wore non-descript clothing–sweats, hoodies, baggy jeans, etc.–that weren’t exactly terrible looking, but they did nothing flattering for her body. I was on the fence about whether I found her attractive. It didn’t really matter anyway since she would be working behind the scenes. She had practically begged me for the opportunity to be the stage manager, wanting the experience before going off to college to study theater. I wouldn’t normally have allowed someone so young to be involved with this production, but I had received the blessing of her parents, so I figured if they thought she could handle it, I should give her the experience.

Quinn was a nerd. He looked and acted like a nerd. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing. He was tall with a moderate build but was surprisingly strong for his physique. He was also a pretty good actor, excelling at supporting roles which required him to be the funny best friend, and when he wasn’t performing on stage he was always volunteering to work backstage. I had worked with him a bunch of times and he was extremely reliable, which you didn’t always get when dealing with divas–male and female–who craved the spotlight.

Dusty was your typical surfer dude. He had long, blond hair and always wore tank tops with board shorts. He was probably the only one who hadn’t driven a car to my house. I was sure if I looked outside, I would find his long board propped against my steps. But he was strong as well, having the biceps and pecs of a gym rat. He was also the comedy relief of the group.

Sharon was a MILF. She was probably six or seven years older than me, and she had a very pretty face. Her body seemed nice as well, and I couldn’t help checking out her toned ass under the gray yoga pants she was wearing. She was physically fit and apparently didn’t mind showing it off in tight leggings. I had worked with her a few times before, and she was a really good stage manager in her own right. She, along with Dusty and Quinn, would be working under Kaitlyn, who was the youngest among them. I made a mental note to keep an eye on that dynamic. I wanted not only to make sure that Kaitlyn knew what she was doing, but also that the older three gave her the respect that she needed to do her job.

Lastly, at the other end of the table, was Ron. He was the oldest in the group, being in his fifties, and was tall and thin. He wore glasses and often sported a trucker cap, even when inside. To be honest, he reminded me of Dale Gribble from King of the Hill, and sometimes when I looked at him, I couldn’t help but chuckle. He was a fantastic light and sound man, however, and I respected him a great deal.

After we ate, and the help I had hired cleared the table, we began the readthrough. The four actors read their parts, while I read the stage directions and the scene descriptions. The first scene began with Caroline, whose name in the play was Josie, and Carly, who was playing her best friend Lynn. The opening scene had them at Josie’s apartment, trying on bikinis that they had bought in preparation for a trip to the beach.

When I wrote the scene, I had wanted to set the stage right away that this was an adult show. Both women would be fully nude on stage as they tried on a handful of swimsuits, while talking about Josie’s relationship with her boyfriend Josh. As the scene progressed, it was established that Josie is head over heels in love.

The next scene was between the male leads. David and Grant, who played Josh and Trace respectively, are at a bar discussing their relationships. Trace, the best friend, is unsatisfied with his string of short-term lovers, while Josh couldn’t be more in love with Josie. Trace is jealous and asks Josh for advice. Throughout the dialogue, it becomes obvious to everyone but Josh that Trace secretly has feelings for his best friend’s girl, Josie.

As we continued to read, we got to a love scene involving Josh and Josie. As David and Caroline read through the scene, they giggled nervously, their faces turning red. During the scene, Josie is seducing Josh in sexy lingerie. I read the stage directions, explaining that Josie would give Josh a lap dance, then pull his boxers down and begin to blow him. Once he was hard, she would turn around, pull her panties to the side, and take him inside her. She would fuck him for a to-be-determined period of time, after which Josh would come. Of course, David would have to simulate the orgasm, since I needed him to save it for later in the play, and I doubted it would be possible for him to reach orgasm twice during the show. After the fake orgasm, while David was still inside his wife, the lights would go down and the scene would end, enabling them to disengage from one another. I purposefully wrote the next scene without him in it, to give him time to lose the erection.

Everyone’s wide eyes were on David and Caroline, smiling uncomfortably at the embarrassment visible on their flushed faces. Kaitlyn, my young stage manager, looked the most uncomfortable, keeping her wide eyes glued to the pages in front of her. Maybe it was a mistake having an 18-year-old participate in this, even from behind the scenes. I would have to see how she handled it as we got into rehearsals.

Making our way through the script to the last scene of Act One, Josh gets into a terrible car accident and Josie has a nervous breakdown. We continued immediately into the second act, with Josh recuperating in bed, and Josie’s mental state beginning to deteriorate as her anxiety and fear begin to take over her life. During the second scene of Act Two, she reminisces about what her life with Josh used to be, and there is another sex scene presented as a flashback.

In the scene, Josh and Josie enter their apartment already kissing and making out, as if they had started on the way up the stairs. They are tearing each other’s clothes off until Josie is bottomless, wearing only a bra. Josh pushes her down into a chair, then spreads her legs and goes down on her. During the scene, she is talking dirty to him, working him up as he eats her pussy. I specifically left the dialogue blank because I wanted Caroline to improvise. I wanted it to sound natural and spontaneous rather than rehearsed.

“During that scene,” I said to David, “I want you to try to make her come.” I looked at Caroline and said, “Do your best to have an orgasm at this point, if you are able. Try to keep a rough count of the time in your head. If it goes beyond like two minutes, then fake it. Obviously, we can’t interrupt the flow of the play for ten minutes so you guys can do this.”

Caroline blushed profusely and glanced over at David, who was staring at the script with wide eyes and a smile.

We picked up where we left off. Throughout Josie’s mental collapse, her friend Lynn is extremely empathetic, consoling her and standing by her side throughout the process. Josh’s friend Trace, however, makes no appearance during Josh’s recovery. Instead, he too, tries to be there for Josie, in the form of phone calls. As time progresses throughout the play, we see him dropping hints to her about his feelings and trying to win her affections, which angers her.

As we approached the end of the script, Josh begins to recuperate and get his strength back, but as he does, Josie becomes increasingly paranoid. She fears that Josh will leave her as soon as he is feeling well enough to leave the apartment. The final scene of the play contained the last sex scene.

Josie comes home from work and immediately begins to take her work clothes off. She is panicked and is talking to Josh as he sits up in bed. He is distant and withdrawn, not saying much, and she is distraught and crying. She decides to use sex to try and persuade him to stay with her, so she uses her mouth on him until he is hard, then crawls on top of him and fucks him in the bed. Both of them are totally nude.

“I know this is asking a lot, guys, but I’m going for realism here,” I explained. “Josie has a desperate need to please Josh at this point. She is going to do everything in her power to ensure that he has an orgasm. I want you guys to try and do that for real. David, it will take a lot of concentration on your part, I am sure. You have a little more time, because Caroline will be going through Josie’s monologue during the sex scene. Josie is spilling her heart out, doing her best to convince Josh that they belong together. I think we could take up to five minutes or so for the scene. I’ve written a lot of lines for you here, Caroline, but I want you guys to play it by ear. You know each other intimately. If it seems like David is close, but not quite there, feel free to improvise, to keep it going a little longer. We could maybe go an additional minute or so, but I wouldn’t take it any longer than that. David, at some point, you may just have to fake it again if you can’t get there.”

They both nodded, looking as uncomfortable as before. But I had told them what to expect as I was writing it, and they were both fully on board. Caroline had previously done a nude scene on stage for me, but this would be a first for David. And obviously, neither of them had ever had sex on stage, so it was going to take a lot of rehearsal and trust to get the scenes down just right.

We went back to the script. After Josh comes, Josie reaches down and begins to masturbate, striving for her own orgasm. I explained that at this point the stage lights would go down and a spotlight would focus just on Josie’s face as she masturbates. I wanted the audience to be fixated on her facial expressions as she makes herself come.

“Caroline, hopefully you can hold off on having an orgasm when you and David are having sex, because this is when I need you to have one. Obviously, if you come early, or you can’t come at all, you can use your acting skills and fake it here. But I would really like you to try to have an orgasm at this point, with the spotlight highlighting your face. Everything else will be pitch black. I’ll explain why in a moment.”

Caroline gave me a resigned smile and nodded her head. I’m sure, by now, she was overwhelmed by all of the public nudity and sex and was just agreeing to everything I said.

I read the last part of the script. After Josie makes herself come, the spotlight enlarges, and the stage lights come back on to reveal that she is alone on the bed. The show ends with Josie calling Lynn and admitting that she needs to seek emotional help. The cast and crew gave me confused glances. Finally, Quinn’s face took on a shocked look and he said, “Oh my god.” I smiled at him and asked him to explain his thoughts.

“He’s not there, because he’s dead,” Quinn said. Everyone stared at him incredulously, still looking confused.

“That’s correct,” I confirmed. “Josh died in the car accident in the middle of the show. He has been a figment of Josie’s imagination for the second act of the play. That’s why Lynn is so empathetic toward Josie because she knows that her friend is delusional and doesn’t believe Josh is dead. And that is why Trace doesn’t come by to visit Josh, as a good friend would, and instead begins to express his interest in Josie as time goes by. He knows that Josh is dead and is confused by Josie’s reactions. But the lines are written in a way as to be ambiguous. If you watch the play a second time, you will see how everything can be interpreted in two ways. But during the first viewing, it’s not all that apparent.”

One by one, as I was explaining it to them, the lightbulbs popped on over their heads and I saw that they understood. They smiled and laughed and congratulated me, giving me a round of applause for the clever twist.

“I’m confused,” said Kaitlyn. “How are you going to make David disappear out from under Caroline? If we get stagehands on the stage to pull him off the bed while she is…you know…doing her thing…won’t people be able to hear us?”

“Most likely,” I replied. “That’s why I’m going to get some of the set construction guys to build a trick bed. I want it to collapse in the middle, right where David is lying between Caroline’s spread knees. Once he sinks down into the bed, he will drop through a trap door in the stage floor. By the time the lights come back up, the bed will be put back together, and the illusion will be complete.”

“Wow…” exclaimed Dusty. “If we can pull that off, it’s going to look badass!”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” I said, smiling. “Take your scripts home and start memorizing your lines. We will have our first rehearsal this Tuesday at 6pm to begin blocking.”

We talked and laughed as we enjoyed some dessert, wrapping things up around nine o’clock. I hugged them all as they said goodbye and reminded them about Tuesday night’s rehearsal. I took one look at the dirty dishes and decided to let the maid service handle it in the morning. What can I say? I’m a lucky guy.

*****

Thursday evening, 4 weeks before Opening Night

All four of my actors were finally off script. Prior to now, we had been running through the entire show with the exception of the sex scenes, pushing them off until later in the rehearsal process. Everything else was running fairly smoothly, so I felt it was finally time to incorporate those more intimate scenes. In addition, my amazing set builders had finished building the bed with the collapsing center and I wanted to try it out. I figured tonight’s rehearsal was as good as any.

Normally, the stage crew wouldn’t be involved this early in the rehearsal process, but since we were using the trick bed and would need the help of the stagehands, I wanted to include as many props as we had already available.

I told David and Caroline that I wanted them to act out the sex for tonight’s practice, keeping in mind the time limits for each sex scene–not only so the scenes didn’t run long, but also so they didn’t short them simply because they were acting and not really engaged in sex. I also wanted to time the show tonight to get an estimate on the length.

As the rehearsal began, Caroline and Carly began pantomiming the changing of clothing as they ran through their lines. It seemed like they were rushing it a little.

“Slow down, ladies,” I said. “Keep in mind that these are actual pieces of clothing that you will be taking on and off. Don’t cheat the movements.”

The women followed my direction and slowed down, finishing the scene at a more normal pace. The bar scene was next, introducing David’s and Grant’s characters. I thought things were going well for where we were at in the rehearsal process, and I had only minor notes for each actor during the next few scenes. Finally, it was time for the first ‘adult’ scene.

David and Caroline took their places and I called lights. Caroline had a sexy smile on her face as she swung her hips and danced in front of her husband. David was smiling from ear to ear.

“Josh wants Josie badly, David. It shouldn’t be funny. Show me ‘turned on’.”

David nodded and dropped the smile from his face, replacing it with a smoldering look of desire. Caroline sat in his lap and began to grind, leaning back into her husband’s chest and wrapping her fingers in the hair at the back of his head. After a few moments, she slid off his lap, turned around and went to her knees. She mimed pulling his boxers off, grabbing his penis, and taking it in her mouth. David made the appropriate sounds and facial gestures. I thought it looked good from an aesthetic standpoint and was pretty happy with how they handled it.

Caroline took less than a minute to get the imaginary penis hard, then turned around, pretended to pull her thong to the side, and aimed his dick inside her. As she sat down, she moaned, then began to thrust up and down on his lap. I began logging the time on my watch.

I had originally planned for this to last 30 or 45 seconds, but upon seeing it, I realized it would realistically take longer. I let it go a full minute and a half before I called time.

David immediately began acting like he was having an orgasm, holding Caroline against his chest, and resting his forehead on her back. He didn’t overact it, which would have made it comical, and that was exactly what I was looking for. I called scene and everyone–the other two actors and all the stage crew–burst out into applause, whooping, and hollering. David’s and Caroline’s faces were already red from the intensity and embarrassment of pretending to have sex, but when they received the applause, they cringed and began laughing. I smiled and chuckled along with them. It was a good tension breaker.

A few scenes later we reached the halfway point in the play, where Josh has been in a car accident. Caroline’s acting was excellent, immediately shifting into panic and hysteria. We took a ten-minute break where the intermission would be and picked up where we had left off. The second scene in Act Two was the flashback scene between Josie and Josh.

They began the scene kissing passionately and pretending to tear each other’s clothes off as they walked on stage. As David pushed his wife down in the chair, he mimed taking her panties off and immediately stuck his face between her legs. Caroline wrapped her legs around his back as he acted out the cunnilingus. About forty-five seconds in, she began to act like she was having an orgasm.

“Go a little longer, Caroline,” I instructed.

She reined it in, and they continued for another minute, then I told her it was time. She faked the orgasm, shaking and quivering, as her body bucked against her husband’s face. Her own face was beet red.

I began to realize that it was going to be extremely difficult for the actors to accurately keep a count in their head. I needed to give them something to check.

“OK, guys, take a break,” I said after the scene was complete. “Kaitlyn, we need to get David a digital watch with a timer display.” The dowdy little redhead nodded and took down a note on a spiral pad. I walked onto the stage and said, “David, I’m going to need you to be the timekeeper for yourself and for Caroline. Give Caroline a little touch or a squeeze when her time is up, and for yourself, just glance at your watch. Don’t make it obvious, or it will look like you are watching the clock during sex and the audience will laugh. Do you guys think that will work?”

David and Caroline both agreed that it would be helpful, and we continued with the rest of the rehearsal. By the time we got to the last scene of the show, David was lying in the bed. Caroline pretended to peel her clothing off, then climbed on top of him. She had a lot of lines and she recited them flawlessly as she used her hand and mouth, pretending to get him hard. Then she straddled him and thrust up and down, pantomiming sex, until I called time. David acted out his orgasm.

“OK,” I said, as Caroline, in character, smiled down happily at David and started moving her hand quickly between her legs, beginning her solo masturbation scene. “The house lights are going to go down as Josie masturbates and the spotlight will be centered just on her face. Everything else is dark.”

There was a trapdoor in the stage, and Quinn and Dusty were already standing in the crawlspace inside the stage floor, directly under the bed.

“Caroline, make sure your knees are far enough apart that you won’t go down when they open the catch on the bottom of the bed.”

I watched as she subtly spread her knees wider overtop her husband’s pelvis. Quinn released the catch on the bottom of the bed and two wooden doors swung down, one to each side. David jumped slightly as he felt the mattress begin to give way beneath him.

“OK, David, the door is open, so the guys are going to reach up through the slit in the mattress and pull you through. Just trust them and don’t fight it.”

Quinn and Dusty shoved their arms up through, one grabbing around his chest, and the other around his thighs. David’s eyes grew wide as he felt himself being dragged through the mattress. It was awkward and he flailed his limbs a bit as he went through, but it worked. The two strong guys caught him with an audible grunt and lowered him to the subfloor under the stage.

Caroline’s eyes went wide as she caught a brief view of the hole in the mattress between her legs and the six-foot drop into the crawlspace. I could tell that she was making a mental note to be very careful, so she didn’t accidentally fall in. Her acting never faltered, though, as she continued to pretend to pleasure herself.

Once the guys had David, they quickly pushed the mattress back in place and secured the doors on the bottom of the bed. They ducked down into the crawlspace and locked the trapdoor in place.

After waiting another half minute, I said, “OK, Caroline, Josie should be having an orgasm at this point.” She gave herself a realistic fake orgasm, then collapsed onto her butt on the bed, her hand between her open legs. “Now the spotlight on your face is expanding and the house lights are coming back up to show that Josh is no longer in the bed.”

Caroline stared at the empty bed and her expression turned from post-orgasmic bliss to tortured anguish. She collapsed into the bed and cried. After a few moments she collected herself, slid off the bed to the floor and grabbed the cellphone on the nightstand. She called Lynn, whose dialogue was spoken just offstage by Carly. The show ended with Caroline collapsing to the floor in tears.

Grant, Carly, Kaitlyn, and Sharon, who were watching from the seats, began to applaud the performance as Caroline smiled shyly, her face red and sweaty. David, Dusty, and Quinn stepped out from backstage and joined the applause.

“Wonderful!” I exclaimed. “Obviously, we will get much better at that transition as we practice it, but that was great for a first try. Speed and total silence are what we are shooting for there. Great finish, everyone.”

They all applauded again and I congratulated them on a fantastic rehearsal. We made plans to meet again in a few days and I headed home feeling an electricity running through my body. It was all finally coming together.

*****

Friday evening, 2 weeks before Opening Night — first (un)dress rehearsal

The mood was tense as my cast and crew arrived at the theater. During the last couple of rehearsals, I had had the leads strip down to their underwear to begin to get them accustomed to being without clothes on the stage. But tonight, was a full dress–or undress–rehearsal. During the scenes where the script required them to be naked, they would be naked. The only things we wouldn’t be doing tonight were the sexual acts.

Caroline and Carly went backstage to change into their first bikinis. They came back out a few minutes later, and we began the show.

Lynn: Does this make my ass look fat? Be honest.

Josie: Hell, no! You look amazing! Stop playing. You know your ass is smoking hot.

Lynn: Psshh. Whatever. Untie this for me.

Carly turned her back to Caroline, who pulled the string on her bikini top. Carly quickly pulled it off, baring her breasts. They were probably a large C-cup with smaller areolae, and her nipples were totally erect. They were the only thing giving away her nervousness besides the color of her face, which was a serious shade of pink.

She pushed her bottoms down her thighs and kicked them off, exposing her pussy as Caroline slipped out of her bikini top. Carly was shaved, except for a dark landing strip above her vulva, and her ass was wider and fuller than the blonde’s. Caroline’s breasts were smaller–somewhere between a B and a C–and her nipples were a lighter pink, corresponding to her paler complexion, with a narrower, but no less alluring ass. Just as she had been during her previous nude scene for me, she was totally shaved. I thought both girls would have grown their pubic hair out to protect at least a little bit of modesty, but a full bush was certainly not in vogue these days. And theater people tended to be a little exhibitionistic anyway.

Both ladies changed into other bikinis as they continued with their dialogue. As they changed again, they turned to grab their third and final swimsuits, bending down and offering a nice view of their backsides. Carly’s thicker ass was really sexy. Caroline’s smaller butt was just as nice in its own way, and I got a quick glimpse of her pink asshole and shaven vulva from behind. Both women were extremely beautiful, and my heart raced as I ogled them, thinking how fortunate I was to have them in my show.

After the scene was over, they walked offstage. We still weren’t performing with lights and sound. That would come during tech week, which was next week–the last five days before the show. The next few scenes went seamlessly, and I couldn’t have been happier.

As the lap dance scene began, David and Caroline walked onto the stage. David was dressed only in boxers and took his seat in the chair. Caroline looked fucking amazing in a skimpy red bustier and matching thong. Her nipples and labia were visible through the mesh material and as she walked toward David, Kaitlyn hit a button on a portable CD player. The sexy song we had selected began to play.

Caroline danced alluringly in front of her husband before sitting in his lap and grinding on him. After a few moments she turned around, dropped down to her knees, and pulled his boxers off. David was already halfway erect, which was a good sign as far as I was concerned, because it meant he didn’t have performance anxiety. Caroline wrapped her hand around his penis and bobbed up and down, pretending to suck his dick. It looked silly, to be honest. She must have thought the same because, to my shock, she actually took him in her mouth and began to give her husband a blowjob.

David and I briefly caught each other’s eyes in a surprised glance, then he quickly got back into character. The impromptu fellatio only lasted about twenty seconds, when Caroline must have come back to reality. She glanced over at me with a look on her face that was either shame or embarrassment. She too went back into character almost immediately, standing up, reaching around and pulling her thong to the side, then sitting on her husband’s lap. I noticed she hadn’t actually impaled herself on him, and I assumed there would be no more real sex happening today.

She acted like she was fucking him, bouncing up and down and moaning. David kept track of the time and faked his orgasm, then they settled into their ‘post-coital bliss’ position, kissing as Caroline slowly gyrated on his lap. That was where the lights would go down. Caroline stood up and adjusted her thong, then headed offstage to change, as David covered his erection with his hands to the best of his ability. His face was red as he glanced at Kaitlyn and me in the seats before exiting the stage.

The next few scenes went by without a hitch, and by the time we got to the scene with Josh’s accident, Caroline continued to impress me with her acting ability. She appeared appropriately distraught as Carly consoled her, doing a damn good job herself. The next scene was the flashback scene. The actors walked offstage, and the stage crew reset for Josh and Josie’s apartment.

After everything was set, I called lights. David and Caroline entered from the right, kissing passionately, and pulling at each other’s clothes. David released the catch on her skirt, and it fell to the floor as she yanked his shirt off. He pulled her panties down to her knees and pushed her down into the chair, then slid them the rest of the way off and tossed them on the floor. His face immediately dove between his wife’s legs, and it looked like he was peppering her pussy with kisses. Caroline acted as if she were receiving the best cunnilingus in the world, moaning as her head lolled around from side to side. Then something changed.

Caroline’s eyes grew wide, and her hand shot to David’s hair, grabbing it tightly in her fist. It didn’t look like he was kissing her anymore. His face was buried between her thighs and Caroline’s eyes squeezed shut as her mouth opened. I looked at my watch and noticed they still had a good minute and a half to go with the scene.

I saw her lips move and it seemed like she whispered, “David–David, stop…” But the scene continued on with the same intensity and within a few moments Caroline was moaning quietly, and her bare toes were curling. David’s hands gripped her ass cheeks as he pulled her closer to him, and her legs spread slightly. I glanced at the time again, seeing that it was almost up.

The two-minute mark came and went, and I was about to call time when I saw Caroline’s face. It was flushed and twisted into a grimace. She cried out loudly, then her entire body bucked four or five times as she trembled in the chair. From some hidden recess in her brain, she had the presence of mind to yell, “Oh god, Josh!” as she came, using David’s character’s name. I smiled at that, proud of her professionalism. She had just had an orgasm in front of seven other people, and she had been able to stay in character.

The orgasm was over quickly, signaling the end of the scene, and David gave his wife a naughty grin as he stood and wiped his mouth. He took Caroline’s hand and helped her stand on shaky legs. A strange look passed between them, and I wasn’t sure if she was upset with him or if she was reeling from the orgasm. She glanced over at me and then quickly averted her eyes as she picked her skirt up off the floor and modestly held it in front of her hairless vulva as she walked off stage.

I let out a nervous sigh and Kaitlyn glanced over at me. Her face was beet red. Even if she weren’t a virgin, I was almost positive that the 18-year-old had never seen someone else have sexual relations in front of her. I imagined she was dealing with a plethora of emotions, and I made a mental note to talk to her after the rehearsal and make sure she was OK.

The last half of the play went very smoothly. The actors knew their lines and the stagehands were on top of their game, placing furniture and props flawlessly. Finally, the time had arrived to do the last scene.

The scene begins with Josie walking into the bedroom. Josh is lying in bed and Josie tries to have a conversation with him, but he looks away, barely responsive. She gets angry with him, but he still doesn’t show any sign of really caring about what she is saying, giving her one-word answers to her questions. She reaches his bedside and slides his boxers down, which finally gets his attention. Josie pulls his underwear off and begins to quickly disrobe until she is standing there naked, begging Josh to look at her. He does, and their eyes connect. Josie carefully climbs onto the bed, straddling Josh. She reaches down and strokes his penis as she pours her heart out to him. When he is hard, she scoots up and sits down on his erection, penetrating herself. She goes into a monologue about her love for him and her desire for them to repair their relationship. She tells him how much she still needs him and wants to marry him someday. Other than the vocal sounds of their lovemaking, he is silent. Finally, he reaches orgasm and Josie smiles as she makes him come. Josie then begins to pleasure herself as Josh’s penis is still inside her. She sits upright, keeping her face in one place, as her hand moves between her lower lips, rubbing her clit. As she is masturbating, in a world of her own, Josh disappears. Finally, Josie comes, her face a mask of ecstatic pleasure as her fingers rub feverishly across her clit. After the orgasm is over, she realizes Josh isn’t actually there. Dejected, she climbs off the bed and sits on the floor. She grabs her phone and calls Lynn, begging her for help, and the scene ends.

We sat in shock as we watched it play out. David and Caroline held nothing back in their performances, except for the explicit sexual acts. It was raw and visceral. Caroline’s moments after the sex scene were emotionally brutal. I glanced over at Kaitlyn and saw that behind her thick glasses, her eyes were red. She wiped a finger against her cheek, trying to hide her tears.

We broke out into applause, and I stood up. Everyone else stood after that as David walked in from offstage and brought Caroline a robe. She stood up with a shy smile and covered her nakedness. I walked onstage and gave them both a hug, thanking them profusely. Without them, this show wouldn’t have happened.

After Caroline and David were dressed in their street clothes, I sent everyone home. I brought my star couple upstairs into my theater office and they sat in front of my desk.

“How are you guys feeling about all of this?” I asked.

David looked at his wife and nodded, urging her to go first.

“I always wondered if I would ever get offered another role for which I had to be nude. I never expected to be having sex onstage. But I trust you, Gavin. You and the rest of the crew have been extremely supportive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m nervous as hell. Especially to be seen by the general public. I mean, I work not far from here. I have family in this area. There’s a very good chance that some of my friends or coworkers, or even relatives, might see me. I’m not only exposing my body, but also my ‘orgasm face’. That’s a much more intimate thing than my breasts, in my opinion.”

She paused for a few seconds, then continued.

“Like I said, I trust you. You have done a phenomenal job so far with this production. The script is beautiful. Even your past plays have been spectacular. I wouldn’t say it was easy to accept this role but knowing you and your work made it a lot easier than it would have been in any other circumstance. So, to answer your question–I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m proud. I’m eager. And I’m nervous. Did I say that already?”

David and I chuckled at that.

“Well, thank you. How about you, David?”

He just shook his head and smiled. “She pretty much said it all. I’m nervous about certain things like, what if I can’t get hard in front of the audience? What if my mind is so focused on the sex stuff that I forget my lines? But like Caroline said, I trust you. I don’t know that I would have done this for any other director. Thanks for believing in us.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “Both of you. You are both so talented. And Caroline, your scenes that delve into Josie’s mental health are just mind blowing. You are going to steal the show. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t get offered bigger and better roles in shows downtown after this.”

Caroline blushed and thanked me, then I sent them home. I spent the next ten minutes at my desk, imagining the first performance and hoping it went off as well as I expected it to.

*****

Sunday morning, 5 days before Opening Night — Tech Day

I had brought donuts and coffee with me to the theater and as the cast and crew arrived, they each grabbed some. I talked about my plans for the day and what I wanted to accomplish, and everyone agreed that it shouldn’t be a problem, even though it was going to be a lot of work. Today would be the first time we were running in full costume–or fully out of costume–with lights and sound and props and the whole shebang, including real sex.

Every so often I noticed someone glancing knowingly and nervously at our two leads. Nothing would be held back today, and it was going to be grueling, considering the fact that we were going to run the entire show multiple times.

Kaitlyn had surprised me by wearing different clothing than I had ever seen her in. She still wore the thick-framed glasses, and her hair was still in a ponytail, although a looser, more stylish one. But she was wearing a sweater that somewhat showed what she had been hiding up top. And I was duly impressed. Gone were her usual sweatpants. Her jeans were form-fitting and showed the nicest, round ass I had seen in quite a while. I wondered what had brought on the sudden change, but it was something I would have to ponder later. We had a full day ahead.

By lunch time, we had completed the first run. I had changed my mind at the last minute and told David and Caroline to save the sex for later. I wanted to concentrate on the timing of the scenes and the lights and sound. We had gotten through it with a surprisingly small number of hiccups, most of those being from misplaced props or missed light and sound cues.

I had had food delivered from a local restaurant and after we took a lunch break, we reset to run the show from top to bottom. The props were set, Ron was in the booth running lights and sound, and Carly and Caroline were dressed in their bikinis, waiting to take their places on the stage for the first scene.

The lights went out and the girls walked on stage. When the lights came up, the scene began. I sat in a seat close to the stage and watched as they changed numerous times, exposing their bare tits, asses, and pussies right there in front of me, probably six feet away. They acted out the scene like true professionals, seemingly unbothered by their state of undress. I crossed my legs as I studied their nakedness. The fact that the show was getting closer and closer to perfect, along with the bare female flesh, was working me into a state of arousal.

This was our first real, complete run-through, and the actors knew what I wanted to see. I wanted this to be the real deal. So, when we got to the first intimate scene, I watched as the lights came up on Josh and Josie’s apartment. A sexy song played over the sound system as Caroline, dressed in her red see-through lingerie, gave her husband a lap dance. I had suggested to David that he should prepare a little bit before the scene and try to make himself somewhat erect, so that he wasn’t going into it with a total softie. As I watched Caroline gyrate on his lap, I saw him stroke himself through his boxers.

Hitting her time cue, Caroline suddenly turned around and dropped to her knees. She pulled David’s boxers down and let them fall around his ankles. His penis was semi-erect, and she stroked it a couple times, giving him a sultry look, before leaning down and taking him in her mouth. She bobbed up and down, coating him in saliva and making him totally hard.

Then she turned around and I watched as she pulled the gusset of her thong to the side. There was a brief moment of exposure, during which I saw her entire pussy–which looked very wet from where I was sitting–and asshole. Caroline aimed her husband’s dick between her lips and sat down on his lap, penetrating herself with his stiff member. The trepidatious look on her face as she realized she was fucking in front of other people, was sexy as hell. But by showtime I hoped that she would be able to get out of her head and put her acting skills to full use.

She bounced up and down and the wet slapping of their sex could be heard even over the thumping song. After a minute or so, David began to act like he was coming, and he pulled Caroline tightly against his body. She smiled, biting her lower lip as she gyrated slowly on his lap, pretending to take his cum. After the scene ended and the lights went out, I could just barely see them stand. David pulled his boxers most of the way up and followed Caroline off the stage, his erection bobbing the entire way. The stagehands began to reset in the dark for the next scene as Ron played interim music.

The last scene of Act One was Josh’s car accident. I was once again impressed with Caroline’s acting chops as she worked through the range of emotions. We paused for intermission, and I wanted to give it the full fifteen minutes so I could see if Caroline came back into the second act at the same emotional level.

When the break was over, she did as I had hoped, continuing the scene just as she had left it–distraught and broken. That scene ended and it took two minutes for the stage crew to reset back to the apartment. When the next scene opened, which was the flashback, Caroline and David were wearing different clothes and she looked as if she had never been crying at all. I was impressed and incredibly happy.

The couple were all frenetic movement–kissing and nibbling and pulling items of clothing off each other. David dropped his wife’s skirt, exposing her bikini panties, then yanked them off as well. Caroline’s shaven pussy was fully exposed as he pushed her down in the same chair he had been in earlier. He spread his wife’s legs as he pulled her closer to him. The split-second view of Caroline’s open pussy before he stuck his face between her thighs was extremely erotic and I caught a great view of the copious wetness between her lips in the bright stage lights.

As David voraciously tongued Caroline’s pussy, she grabbed handfuls of his hair moaned, saying dirty things. By the time one minute was up, Caroline was shaking around in the chair, and I didn’t think we were even going to need the full two minutes that had been allotted for the interaction. Apparently, David knew what he was doing, because with thirty seconds to go, Caroline’s eyes squeezed shut as she shouted and bucked into his face. Her legs seized and her bare feet jittered in the air as her orgasm consumed her. After about fifteen more seconds she calmed down enough to give David a look that seemed to be a mixture of shock and orgasmic satisfaction. Her face was red and covered in a light sheen of sweat. David withdrew his face and leaned up as she closed her thighs. They met in the middle with a passionate kiss, and the lights went down on the scene.

Holy fuck! That was intense to watch, and I was once again fighting an erection. I smiled to myself, because that was exactly what I was going for and I hoped the audience would enjoy the same reaction.

The play progressed steadily, all four actors delivering their lines professionally and believably. Finally, after reaching the end of the second act, it was time for the big scene. I sat in the darkness during the scene change thinking about how good this was going to be, and it made my heart flutter inside my chest.

When the lights came up, David was on the bed under a blanket, propped up slightly on pillows. Caroline entered the stage through the apartment door and walked directly to her husband.

As Josie, she began to take her business suit off one piece at a time. She told Josh that she had been doing a lot of thinking and began to plead her case for them staying together. Josh was quiet throughout most of her speech, looking at her with pity in his eyes and giving her one-word answers to her questions.

Caroline slipped her blouse off, then her bra, unleashing her bare breasts. She unfastened her skirt and let it fall to the floor. Then she pushed her thong over her ass and stepped out of it. She was completely nude as she pulled the covers off David’s body. He was wearing only boxers and Caroline grabbed the waistband and slid them down, taking them off completely. He was flaccid, but chubby, and Caroline took his penis in her hand as she continued talking to him. He listened patiently, closing his eyes as she stroked him into an erection.

When he was fully erect, she climbed onto the bed, straddling him. Caroline placed her husband’s penis between her legs and, after a moment of adjustment and lubrication, sat down fully on him with a moan. She leaned forward and kissed him, and I could see everything from the back. Her pink asshole and vagina were on full display as she moved up and down on her husband’s dick. She continued with her lines, trying to convince him why they should stay together.

Caroline began to speed up, thrusting herself down onto David’s cock. The wet sounds of their sex echoed loudly throughout the theater as her delivery started to become erratic. After a couple minutes of hardcore fucking, David came. His face contorted and his body tensed up. He gripped the sides of his wife’s ass cheeks, spreading them in the process, and let out a low moan, pushing up into her.

I quickly and quietly moved around the perimeter of the stage, sitting in a front row seat on the other side so I could see Caroline’s face.

After David’s orgasm, Caroline smiled, and her hand went to her pussy. With David still inside her, she began to masturbate quickly and forcefully. The house lights faded as the spotlight drew down until it framed only her face. Her expressions as she touched herself were sexy as hell.

I paid special attention to what was happening beneath her. With the bright spotlight on her face, the darkness in the rest of the theater was complete. I couldn’t really see anything other than Caroline’s head and shoulders. I listened closely, but all I could hear were her labored breathing and the wet, rhythmic sounds of her fingers sliding through her lower lips. Her solo scene went a little long, but I could tell she was getting there, and when she started to moan in orgasm, the house lights came back on. Her fingers plunged in and out of her pussy as she came, knees spread wide. A small release of fluid dripped onto the bed as I watched, and it added extra realism to the scene. This wasn’t just a performance by an actress. It was a real woman who was actually masturbating and having a genuine orgasm onstage in front of an audience. And it was hot as hell.

As Caroline’s orgasm waned, she opened her eyes and stared at the bed. As Josie, she realized that Josh wasn’t there, and hadn’t been there since his death in the accident. David and the stagehands had pulled off the disappearing act with such professionalism that I couldn’t even tell when it had happened, and I was elated.

Watching as Caroline perfectly demonstrated the anguish and despair of a lost, lonely woman was heartbreaking. It was a raw scene–sexually and emotionally–and it actually made me tear up. She collapsed onto the bed and wailed, sobbing for almost a full minute before she began to collect herself. With a great effort, she climbed off the bed and to the floor, still completely naked, and picked up the cellphone on the bedside table. She dialed a number and we heard Carly’s voice over the theater sound system. Josie told her she needed help and her friend assured her she would be right over. The scene ended with Josie lying on the floor, as the lights gradually faded out.

I began to applaud and the rest of the cast and crew who weren’t onstage did the same. The actors took their places on the dark stage, David wearing a robe and carrying another for his wife. I could barely see Caroline’s silhouette as she slipped into the terrycloth material. The house lights came up and the cast took a bow facing my side of the theater. They bowed to each side, turning ninety degrees each time, then faced me again and raised their hands toward the light booth. Ron flicked the lights a couple times, acknowledging his appreciation of the applause, then the cast took one final bow as they held hands. After that it was over.

I walked onstage and thanked them for a great performance. I had only minor notes for each of them which I gave to them quickly. When I got to Caroline, I noticed her face was flushed and still showed a sheen of sweat. Her eye makeup had run a little from crying at the end as well.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Uh…I’m not quite sure,” she replied. “I just had sex and masturbated on stage in front of people. It was nerve-wracking and embarrassing. And maybe a little exhilarating,” she added with a shy smile. “I’m worried, though. I was so nervous. I mean, I think I did a pretty good job of fighting through it, but I still felt like my stomach was in my throat most of the time. And this was only in front of a handful of people whom I consider friends. What am I going to do in front of three hundred strangers?” She swallowed as her face grew pale at the thought.

“You did fantastic. It’s just going to take repetition. We are going to run this show again in a half hour, and then if we have time, we are going to run through it once more before we go home. And every night this week until Friday’s show. By the time Friday rolls around, you will be fine. You will still be nervous, but it won’t be the first time you have done this onstage–or even in front of people. It will just be the first time in front of a full house.”

I wasn’t sure if my words had comforted or intimidated Caroline, but she nodded and tried to smile. Kaitlyn approached us and hugged Caroline.

“That was an amazing performance! You were so good!” the young redhead told Caroline as she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. She glanced at me and said, “This whole time, I thought that the sex scenes would be awkward and somehow take away from the narrative, but Caroline and David were amazing. They made it so believable. I’m almost…” Kaitlyn blushed as she cut off her words, then congratulated Caroline again.

After a half hour break, we ran the show a second time, top to bottom. I had informed David that I wasn’t expecting him to come again so soon and I’m pretty sure he faked his orgasm when the time came. Caroline, however, was either a more incredible actress than I had given her credit for, or she had come every single time. It was so hot to watch, and I knew I would be thinking about it as I pleasured myself tonight.

By the time we finished the third run-through, evening had arrived, and everyone was exhausted. The actors changed back into their street clothes, and I sent them home, telling them I would see them in less than 24 hours.

My streak of luck had not failed me–I felt incredibly fortunate to have these fantastic people in my life. The show was going to be amazing, and I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Later that night, just as I had finished rubbing one out, my phone rang. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:24pm. The display on my cellphone read Caroline Parker.

“Hey, Caroline,” I answered quickly. “Everything OK?”

“No, Gavin,” she answered. I could hear the distress in her voice and my heart palipitated.

“What’s wrong?” I asked nervously.

“David and I got into a car accident on the way home from rehearsal. Our car is totaled.”

“Oh my god, Caroline! Are you OK?”

“I’m fine,” she answered. “Just a few cuts and bruises.” It sounded like she began to cry. “David broke both of his legs. He’s in a lot of pain.”

Panic and adrenaline flashed through my body in that moment. Of course, I felt terrible for them–especially for David. But my brain selfishly and immediately began searching for a way to salvage the show. I told Caroline how sorry I was for them and asked her to call me back in the morning when she knew a little more about David’s condition. She said she would, and we hung up.

I thought about the irony of David’s character Josh getting into a car accident in the play, and having it happen in real life. Thankfully, David wasn’t dead. But with two broken legs, his part in the show was definitely over. I spent the next two hours trying to think of who I could bring in to replace him this late in the process and ultimately, I was at a loss. There was no one I could think of who would be able to memorize the lines in just a few days, let alone have the courage to tackle the role in the first place. With a last flicker of hope that the show might be saved, I realized that the only person who could possibly play the role of Josh was me. I hadn’t written it with myself in mind, but at this point I had no choice.

My heart leaped into my throat as I realized all that I would have to do. Not only would I be getting naked on stage–which I had directed others to do numerous times but had never actually done myself–but I would also be performing sex acts in public. I guessed it was time I put my money where my mouth was. The only question was…would Caroline be willing to perform with me?

*****

Monday morning, 4 days before Opening Night

I woke early, even though I hadn’t gotten much sleep, and slammed three cups of coffee as I waited to hear from Caroline. She finally called around 10:30, sounding much calmer than she had last night, and filled me in on the details of the accident.

They had been on the Pennsylvania turnpike, going at least 65mph, when a deer stepped into the path of their car. David swerved to avoid the deer and lost control, flying through the guard rail, and flipping the car into some trees. As Caroline told the story, I found myself amazed that either of them had survived the crash.

She had banged up her elbow, though it wasn’t broken, and they had given her a sling that she should be out of within a few days. She also had some bruising on her face from the airbag deployment. I didn’t think that would be too big of a deal, since we could cover it up with makeup. But we might have to adjust for her elbow, depending on how much pain she was in.

David had definitely broken both of his legs, along with a couple ribs. He wouldn’t be walking for at least a couple months, and Caroline would have to take time off work to look after him. She told me that he should be able to go home in a couple days.

She apologized, as if the accident were her fault, and I dismissed it. Obviously, it wasn’t David’s fault either, although he shouldn’t have swerved to avoid an animal. Hopefully, that would be a lesson he would never forget. It was an unavoidable accident. Deer in Pennsylvania were like roaches in a crack house. But Caroline understood what this meant for the show, and she felt terrible.

“Speaking of the show,” I said, “don’t hate me, but I have been thinking about it all night, trying to come up with a way to save it. There is no one that I can get at this late date to replace David.”

“I know. I’m so sorry, Gavin. I wish there were a way…”

“Well, the only solution I could come up with last night was that there’s really only one option at this point, and that is to have me play Josh. I know the script by heart, and I really have no other choice.” I waited, but there was only silence on the line. “Caroline? Are you still there?”

She cleared her throat and said, “Yes…”

“I know this isn’t fair,” I said, ashamed of myself as I spoke the words. “But I simply have no time. I have to figure this out today, or I will have to scrap the entire thing.”

I heard her breathing deepen through the phone.

“Is there…” I cleared my throat, which was suddenly dry. “Is there any way…that you would consider continuing as Josie…with me playing Josh?”

Again, I heard only breathing.

“I know this is a shitty situation. Especially now, with David being hurt and everything you are going to have to do for him. I’m just wondering if there is any possibility at all that we could still make this happen?”

Caroline took only a few seconds before answering. “I’m really sorry, Gavin, but there’s no way I could do that. Don’t take it the wrong way…it’s not you…or that I would have a problem doing that if I were single…but I’m not single…and the only reason I accepted the role was because David was going to be doing it with me. I couldn’t do…those things…with anyone else. I’m so sorry.”

Three words into her answer, my world came crashing down and the rest was white noise. I let her finish, though, and told her I understood completely, and that there were no hard feelings. We hung up and I spent the rest of the day letting the realization sink in that the show was actually over. At least for the foreseeable future.

So much for Lady Luck. She had finally abandoned me with a Judas’ kiss and a stiff punch to the dick.

*****

Monday evening, 4 days before Opening Night

I thought about calling the rest of the cast and crew and letting them know what was going on, but I decided that it might be better to do it all at once when they showed up for rehearsal. I got to the theater early, bringing coffee and sandwiches, and waited patiently for my friends to show up.

Dusty arrived first and could tell that I wasn’t my normal, smiling self. He questioned me, asking me if everything was OK, but I told him I would explain once everyone was there. The rest of them trickled in over the next fifteen minutes and with the glaring exception of David and Caroline, everyone was there.

“Are we still waiting on the stars of the show?” Grant said with a smile and an eyeroll. “They are such divas.” His friendly dig elicited the appropriate laughter response from the rest, who knew nothing of the accident.

“About that,” I said somberly, “David and Caroline won’t be coming.”

Carly’s face dropped. “Did they drop out of the show? Why wouldn’t Caroline tell me that?”

“I asked her not to say anything to anybody. I wanted to have you all together.” I sighed heavily and began to explain. “Last night, on the way home from rehearsal, they got into a car accident.”

There were gasps all around and all the girls covered their mouths with their hands in disbelief.

“Caroline is OK. She is banged up a little but doesn’t have any serious injuries. David, however, broke both of his legs and a couple ribs. He will be out of commission for a long time. And Caroline needs to be there for him. So, unfortunately, their involvement in this production is over.”

Everyone glanced around the room and at each other as the realization began to set in that the show would be canceled.

“It’s way too late to find replacements for them even if I could. I was prepared to step into the role of Josh as a last resort, but there is no one to replace Caroline.” I glanced at Carly and her eyes dropped immediately as her face reddened, and I knew that she wouldn’t do it.

“I’m sorry to make you guys drive here with the expectation of having a rehearsal, but I wanted you all here in person to tell you. And to thank you for all the hard work you have put in. For what it’s worth, this was going to be a fantastic show.”

We stayed and talked for a little while longer and I told them they were free to go home at any time. One by one, they dispersed until only the awkward young redhead was left. Kaitlyn gave me a hug, thanking me for the opportunity to be my stage manager, even if it was short-lived. I thanked her as well, telling her I hoped I would see her around before she left for college in a few weeks.

I headed home and watched some television to try and get my mind off the massive disappointment of the loss of the show. At 11pm I opened a bottle of 16-year-old scotch that I had been saving for the cast party. I was sipping on a glass when my cell rang. The display read Kaitlyn Crosby, and I wondered why she was calling me so late at night.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Gavin?” Kaitlyn responded.

“Yes…what’s up, Kaitlyn?”

“Umm…” I waited but she didn’t finish.

“Can I help you?”

“Uh…I…” she stammered. I waited again and she finally continued. “I can help you.”

“What do you mean? Help me in what way?” I had no idea what she was talking about, and I wondered if she had been drinking. I knew she was only eighteen, but it was unrealistic to think that underage kids didn’t party or get drunk.

“I can do it,” she blurted out.

“You can do what?” I asked.

“I can play Josie,” she said in a soft voice.

Suddenly, it felt like the air left the room and all I could hear was the pounding of my heart in my head.

to be continued…