The Star

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This story has many elements of truth to it. I spent 12 years on Los Angeles. During that time I met some amazing women. Some of my experiences are too hard to believe. Even for me and I lived them. Enjoy.

"The Star"


He wasn’t completely uncomfortable in this crowd of glitz and glitter. In his career, award shows were part of his life for over twenty years and he had won scores of them. But tonight he was the guest of a special person at a very special award presentation in completely different world.
The tux chafed a bit. Suits were not his strong suit. He was more of the laid-back, relaxed fashion. He was considered handsome by most people who met him. Even in this stratosphere of elite world of superstars surrounding him tonight, he could feel the paparazzi giving him a second look. But once they realized he wasn’t part of this circus they continued to troll for a household name.
He smiled.
The most beautiful people on the planet were here to award the top honor of their craft to the most deserving actor or actress, director, writer, etc. It didn’t get any bigger than this.
At first, he felt awkward. Somewhat embarrassed. He shouldn’t be here. But then he thought I’m glad I am.
He was there for her.
 
They’d met seven years ago when he cast her for a soft drink commercial he had written. She was a fresh-faced blond with a smile that could melt a glacier. And, then in a matter of minutes, could be transformed into a night-prowling vamp. Perfect for the concept.
They spoke at the audition. Verbal sparring. Eye wrestling. Sexual grins. Sensual smiles. It was all there.
He was fifteen years older than she was but that didn’t seem to matter to either of them.
At the call back it was narrowed down to three women. One of the models fell out because of a prior commitment.
So now it was just two.
It was no contest.
The client, director, and, most important, he liked her. It was agreed. She was the one.
He was bold enough to ask her to dinner to discuss the spot. She agreed. It was there he learned she was new to the land of fruits and nuts. The stereotypical, I’m going to Hollywood and become a big star. He nodded as he admired her energy and commitment.
This was her first job and it was a national commercial. That meant a good income for at least three months. The sparks continued during the entire shoot but nothing happened. Life got in the way.
The commercial was a hit. They negotiated to a hefty contract for her to be the spokeswoman in print, radio, and television.
He became a partner at the ad agency.
During the fourth commercial something unfortunate happened. They were shooting a scene on a farm and she couldn’t get her lines right. After six takes, she stormed off the set yelling expletives and calling him a hack in front of the entire crew.
He took her outburst all the while biting his tongue. The light was being wasted and it was costing the client a small fortune.
“I’ll go talk to her.” He said stalking toward her trailer.
His knuckles stung as he wrapped with purpose and intent.
“Jessica. Open up. It’s Derek.”
“Go to hell.” Came the muffled voice through the door.
“Come on, Jess. We’re burning light and the client isn’t happy.” He said through his teeth as if his jaws were wired shut.
“Well, what about me? I’m not happy either.” She pouted.
“What do you have to be unhappy about? Now open this door so we can talk like adults.”
A whoosh greeted him as the door swung opened and Jessica Richards stood at the entrance with her hands on her hips.
“What? I’m not an adult?” she babied.
Derek bulled his way into the trailer. She jumped back in order not to be stampeded. He crashed the door closed.
“No. The answer to your question is, no. You’re not an adult. And worse than that you’re not a professional. In all my years in this business I‘ve never seen more unprofessional behavior.”
“Well, in all your years…that was before television, I guess.” She said as her robe flung open revealing a quick glimpse of her well-toned thigh.
“I’m not in the mood, Jessica. Now, let’s get out there.” He said walking toward the abused door.
“I’m not going any where. I hate this script. I’m tired and I want to renegotiate my contract.”
“What?” He bellowed.
“You heard me. Get the wax out of your ears. And if you don’t do what I say, I’ll request a different agency.” The sentence had a tongue sticking out the end of it instead of a period.
Derek counted to ten in his head. Then,to twenty. It wasn’t working.
“Listen to me, you spoiled brat, I was the one who gave you this job and I’m the one who can take it away just as fast. While we’re talking I have Georgia, my producer, calling in Amber Hill. If she can get here within the next hour, you’re gone. We’ll pay you off and you can do any thing you want.”
Advantage, Mister Derek Cole.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“Get the wax out of your ears, Jessica. I’ve been doing this almost as long as you’ve been alive. Now what’s it going to be? Make up your mind because I don’t have a lot of time to play around.”
“I hate you so much. Get out of here.” She screamed.
“Fine. I’ll tell the client you’ve quit. The agency will eat today’s production cost and Amber Hill will be our new spokesperson.” Derek turned to open the door and felt a rush of air fly by his ear. The crash that followed made him realize that Jessica had just thrown a vase.
He turned heel, walked up to her and grabbed her by the wrist.
“What the hell are you thinking? It’s time you’ve grown up, Jessica. This might help.” Derek said as he sat down and pulled her over his knee.
“No way.” She said straining her neck to look back at him. She saw his arm raise up and she closed her eyes.
SLAP!
“Ow. No. Derek.”
SLAP
SLAP
SLAP
SLAP

And it continued that way for at least two minutes. She struggled to get free. “Oh my God, I can’t believe…stop…no…I’m sorry.” echoed through the trailer and fit in perfect harmony of the high-pitched smacks on her not-so-protected bottom.
“Are you going to do as I say?”
“You’re a bully.”
“No, if I was a bully, I would do this.” He said as he yanked the thin, silk robe over her hips and pulled down her baby blue panties.
SMACKSMACKMSMACK SMACKSMACKMSMACK
He peppered her cheeks with hard, no-nonsense whacks and watched her bottom transform to a hot, burning crimson.
Tear were brimming in her eyes. She bit her lip.
“Derek, I’m sorry. Please stop. I’ll be good. I will. No more. Please.” Then the torrent of tears flooded her cheeks. She sniffled and sobbed.
He stopped and let his hand rest on the well-padded cheeks.
“I’m sorry I had to do this, Jessica but you can’t treat people like that and expect to get away with it.”
“I know.” She sniffled. “But I’ve always got my way and nobody ever…ever…” then the adult woman crumbled into a well-spanked little girl. She started sobbing and sniffling as she tried to rub out the inferno that engulfed her tender cheeks.
He lifted her onto his lap and put his arms around her. “I know, Jessica, I know.”
He allowed her to cry out her embarrassment and guilt. Derek dried her eyes and stood her up.
“Now, I’m going to get Colleen to come in here and fix this beautiful face. Ok? I’ll just tell them you’re not feeling well and needed some rest.”
Jessica was rubbing her bottom and looking down. He placed his forefinger under her chin and directed her eyes up to him. “Are you ok?”
“Yes…sir.” She said as her eyes brightened.
“Good girl. I’ll be out there waiting for you.”
As he opened the door, she said: “Derek?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.” She said rubbing her freshly scalded cheeks.
He just smiled and nodded. “Any time.”
Derek went out and gave the incident a positive spin. Jessica returned to the set and was greeted with a round of applause. All was forgiven.
Jessica Richards was the spokesperson for Colossal Cola for the next two years. Derek and Jessica became very good friends. She would often call him for career advice. He became her mentor.
Then, came the sitcom.
“Permanent Solutions” was one of the biggest sitcoms of the eighties and its star was Jessica Richards. She played the owner of a hair salon who had to deal with a cast of characters including the stylists, shampoo girl, and a gaggle of interesting customers.
Everything was going well. The show was number one. Jessica made the cover of magazines, a favorite guest on talk shows, a make-up endorsement,the whole schmear.
Derek was proud of the woman he discovered. She’d become a household word and a very successful and famous star.
But then, he read the article: Jessica Richards Busted.
As he read the article each syllable made him more angry. She was pulled over by the Toluca Lake Police. They found a joint in her ashtray and she was abusive to the policemen.
She was out of control. Drunk with fame.
This was not acceptable.
Derek drove to her house that night. It was a gated community with houses surrounding a beautiful body of water that wasn’t quite a lake but it worked.
He buzzed the button and announced who he was. The gates parted and he drove to the entrance of the house.
Jessica was waiting for him.
“Hey you.” She said. “What a great surprise.”
They hugged for a good thirty seconds. The embrace increased as time ticked by.
Derek looked her in the eyes and said: “We’ve got to talk.”
She knew that “talk” was a euphemism. Her eyes caught the terra cotta tiles and she turn and walked into the house.
“Fatima, you can leave now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Her housekeeper scampered out the door and drove into the warm night.
“Derek, I can expl…” she started.
“Stop. No explanation. No excuses. What are you thinking? Do you understand the responsibility you have? How many people count on you for their livelihood? You control the future of at least a hundred people. Their dreams depend on you. College for their kids. A house. Medical insurance. What happens to them if you implode because you want to get “high”? You don’t need more money. But they need their job. You’ve disappointed me, Jessica. You’ve become a predictable casualty of this disgusting business.”
Surprisingly, Jessica felt her eyes sting with tears. But that didn’t stop her from protesting his harangue. “It wasn’t my fault. Lori left it there. It wasn’t mine.”
“So, you didn’t smoke any of it?”
“I didn’t say that. Look, can’t you just leave me alone? I’m a big girl now, Derek.”
“Yeah, a big girl with people who can pay off papers and networks. You’re farther away from a ‘big girl’ than you’ve ever been in your life. I liked the old Jess I knew. Now you have people to clean up your mess but none of them care enough to give you what you need.”
“Oh, and you do? Please. Why don’t you keep writing your stupid commercials and leave me be?”
“Is that what you want?”
The question hung in the air for an eternity.
“Just leave. Ok? I’ll get through this.”
“Yeah. I’ll leave you be. But first there’s something I need to do.” Derek said as he walked over to Jessica and took her by the arm. He led her toward a chair. After the third step she realized what was going to happen.
“Oh no, Derek, no, not that. Stop.”
Jessica found herself over Derek’s knee once again. He adjusted her and held the actress in place. “Please don’t disappoint me again, Jessica.”
SMACK!
“Yeow. I won’t.”
“I know, sweetness, but I hope this is going to make sure you don’t. Hold on.”
The initial volley of slaps covered her entire bottom. Derek could feel the effects of her personal trainer. Her cheeks were well-toned but it didn’t prevent her from feeling every well-placed swat. Her legs pedaled and kicked and scissored. She pounded the tiled kitchen floor out of pain and frustration. But she also knew that this is exactly what she needed. Why wasn’t he around more often?
Jessica felt herself being lifted off Derek’s lap. With one tug her sweats were puddle at her ankles. “Derek, no, not bare. Please.” She pleaded.
Her protestations were met with silence and a quick tug of her wrist.

“I care too much for you to allow you to throw it away, Jessica. I care way too much for that.”
The high-pitched report of his palm meeting her hot, red cheeks echoed throughout every inch of the ten thousand square foot house.
“Oh my God, Derek, I won’t do it any more. I promise to be good. Please stop.”
She might as well been speaking Greek. He continued to discipline the sitcom star until his palm stung as if he put it in a wasp nest.
The tears that filled her eyes were from the blazing heat he deposited into her cheeks but also from the joy of having someone care enough to take time to discipline her.
He stopped. His palm grazed over her bottom. It was the color of an Arizona sunset and as hot as the surface of the desert.
“Now, Jessica, do we have an agreement here?” he said with a soft squeeze.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, Derek. The pressure is getting too much.” She confessed.
He helped her onto his lap. She rubbed her cheeks as she put her head onto his shoulder and sobbed softly.
“I know, sweetness. But you’ve won the lottery here. Don’t blow it. Stay focused.”
“I’ll try. I really will.” Jessica said looking back at her burning buns.
“Good girl. Now, get up and bend over the counter. Bottom way out.”
“But I thought we were…”
“Finished? No, Jess, this is one you’re going to remember for quite a while.” Derek said as he pulled the thick leather belt through the loops of his Armani pants. Its soft, hissing whisper deafened Jessica as she saw it uncoil.
Derek doubled it and snap it loudly.
“Get over, girl.”
She obeyed. “Derek, please…”
The cold, hard granite countertop created a galaxy of goosebumps over her body as her stomach came in contact with the smooth icy surface.
“I want that bottom out and your legs spread wide.”
He didn’t have to wait.
WHISH!
“Oh, Derek!”
He waited. Derek wanted to wait for that searing wide band of heat to take effect. Jessica rolled her bottom back and forth. Her thighs pressed together. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the counter tightly.
“Please, Derek, don’t make me wait. I know I need this but please get it over with.” She craned her neck over her shoulder only to be met with a furrowed brow and an implacable frown. He meant business.
For the next five minutes the strap cracked over her bottom turning it a deep crimson. Jessica cried as if her heart was permanently broken. She sobbed knowing she disappointed the one person who had given her the confidence to face a town that ate it’s young. She had succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations and in one stupid night almost threw it away. Yes, she deserved every hot, hard kiss of the strap.
When he stopped, Derek glided his hand along Jessica’s bottom, leaned into her neck and whispered: “I’m sorry, sweetness, but I care too much not to do this.” He gave her a soft kiss on the ear. She stood up slowly. Her face was stained with tears. Stuttering breaths and sniffles were buried in his chest as he held her and let the cathartic sobs melt into him.
“How come I always want to thank you for this? Huh? My bottom feels like twice it’s size. I won’t be able to sit tomorrow, Derek. But, thank you.” That epiphany gave her a chuckle that was interrupted by an “oooohhh, my tushie.”
Derek smiled and kissed her forehead. “You’re welcome, sweetness.”
During the last year of her sitcom, Jessica Richards starred in an independent movie that got excellent reviews. She had done two other movies and garnered even more attention as more than a sitcom star.
And then her breakout movie: “Concrete Cowgirl”. She played a girl who goes to New York from Texas and conquers the fashion world. It made her an instant international star.
Her next project was, “Inside Out”. Jessica portrayed a hard-hearted detective who had to coax an agoraphobic murder witness into leaving his home and testifying. As the movie said: it’s about a man who’s afraid of everything who meets a woman who’s afraid of nothing. And although the script wasn’t recognized for the ultimate award, Jessica was. It should have been the best time of her life but it wasn’t. The sycophants who surrounded her encouraged bad behavior. Temper tantrums, screaming matches with anyone within sight, and a diva-like persona that alienated most of her friends.
She was beyond listening to anyone. Anyone except Derek. She knew he would help her sort things out.
He took her call while he was producing a radio commercial in a recording studio in Sherman Oaks.
“Derek, I need you to come over as soon as you can.”
“Ok. But what’s up?” he inquired.
“I need some serious attention. I’m out of control. I fired my agent about an hour ago.”
“What? Shelly’s been your agent since you got to town. What happened?”
“I don’t know. He said the next film would net me twenty million but could only guarantee three per cent back end money. And…”
“Stay right there, young lady.”
 
It took Derek thirty minutes to get to Toluca Lake. He made one stop before arriving at her house.
Jennifer was standing in the doorway.
He marched toward her with a scowl. “Get in the house.”
She disappeared inside the foyer. Derek took her by the arm and whisked her into the living room. “What in hell has gotten into you?” he demanded to know.
“I don’t know. The movie. The interviews. The demands are insane. I can’t handle it, Derek.” She whined.
“I can understand a lot of that. I really can. But Shelly is the man who got you here.”
“He’s one of the men who got me here.” Julie looked him in the eye and his heart melted.
“You have given me more time and attention that all the managers, agents, and business people I’ve ever had, Derek. You’re the only one who understands me.” She paused. “You’re the only one who understands what I need.”
Derek nodded.
“And I need it now, more than ever. Please.”

No words were exchanged. He took her by the hand and led her to the room off the living room. It was her office. The walls were littered with photos and magazine covers. Scores of awards and plaques occupied shelves and the tops of tables. A shrine of
success that was being transformed that very minute into a very modern woodshed.
Derek slid the armless chair into the center of the room. Jessica walked slowly toward him. Her eyes never left the hardwood floor.
“Thank you.” She said as she unbuttoned her pants and let them drop.
“Be careful what you wish for, girl.” He said in a petrified timbre.
He led her over his knee and with one motion bared her bottom. Derek then lifted Jessica so the top half of her body was over his right thigh. He swung is left leg over the back of her thighs and clamped it tight.
Jessica eyes became the size of two small planets.
“Derek?”
Her question was answered with a stinging answer. Over and over he replied to her inquisition. She couldn’t’ move or kick. His palm jackhammered up and down relentlessly onto her blazing cheeks.
“Oh, Derek….I….oooooooooohhhhhhh, no……..I, please………..”
This time he said nothing. His palm said it all. Over and over. Up and down. Painting her bottom a searing red.
He reached over to the bag he’d brought with him. It contained the contents of his purchase at the drug store. Jessica had her face in her hands only heard the rustling behind her. The pain in her bottom was all she could concentrate on at the moment. Until…
She heard a sound she equated to a balloon being stretched. And then she heard the snap. It was then she recognized the sound. She had heard in many times in the gynocologist’s office. It was a rubber glove. She also heard the top of a bottle being twisted open. This couldn’t be a good sound.
“Jess, the way you’re acting is very strange. I think you may be ill. You behavior is that of someone who is not well. So, let’s just see what your temperature is and we’ll know for sure.”
“What????????????”
By the time the question hit the air, Jessica felt her cheeks being pried open with Derek’s thumb and forefinger. The next sensation was an invading thick, long, greasy finger into that tight, hot space between her cheeks.
“Oh, Derek, noooooooo….what are you…oooooooh…”
“Yes, Jessica. Now, stay still.” He slowly removed his well-lubricated finger from her clenching bottom. A yawning aperture winked at him. Her cheeks tried to clench as the thin thermometer was dipped it her.
“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, it’s cold. Derek, what are you doing? This is so humiliating. Take it out, please.”
“Now that I have your attention, listen very carefully. I have, over my knee, one of the highest paid people in the world. She has been thoroughly spanked like a little girl and is currently entertaining a thermometer in her bottom like a child. I have just one question: how important do you feel right now, Jess?” he punctuated his question with a firm tap on the top of the thermometer.
“I, for one, am sick and tired of this behavior. Who do you think you are? You are living a dream that only a handful of people ever realize and you throwing it away. I won’t stand for it.” Derek punctuated his scolding with two well-place slaps to the top of her thighs.
“Oh, Derek…..” she squelled.
He extracted the thermometer.
“Now, get into the bathroom.”
“But…why?”
SMACK
“Ok ok ok ok, I’m going…Derek.” She said as she penguined into the large bathroom complete with sauna and steam room. Derek followed her clutching his bag and watching her blazing cheeks metronome to and fro.
 
“Are you still seeing Baba Shree?”
“Yes, I am.” She said. She was glad he had changed the subject. “He said my aura is almost cleansed completely.”
“That’s good to hear because I’m going to be sure that you’re totally cleansed right now.”
“Huh?”
“Get into the corner. Now.”
She knew he meant business as she shuffled toward the corner she wondered what his last comment was all about.
Jessica kept her eyes front as she heard Derek working furiously behind her. A box was being opened. Plastic was being ripped. It took every inch of her reserve to not look behind her.
Then, she heard the rush of water splash into the twenty thousand dollar sink. The gurgling sounded as if the water was running into a receptacle. The next two minutes seemed like centuries until Derek walked out of the bathroom and said: “Put this on the bed and get on your knees. Legs spread. Wide. Forearms on the mattress.”
When Jessica turned around she saw Derek holding a red rubber bad with a long hose with a nozzle at the end of it.
“Do I have your attention? Now, do as I said.”
As if she was hypnotized, Jennifer crawled onto the bed with her eyes fixed on Derek.


“Derek…what are you…please…I’ll be good…this is too..”
“Quiet.” He said as we walked over to her and guided her into position. Jessica’s legs were obscenely spread wide. Derek snapped on another rubber glove and generously coated his long, thick fingers with lubricant. He drizzled a thin string of the lotion between Jessica’s cheeks. Her face was flushed with embarrassment. But as Derek slid his fingers between her crimson cheeks he noticed her sex was a gaping, wet, slit that seemed to pout out of being ignored. He had to remain focused.
The first finger invaded the rosette between her cheeks. “Oooooooooooh, nooooooo, Derek, too big….”
SMACK
“Behave.” The knuckles slid into to her bottom as she relaxed her muscles. Deeper and deeper the finger traveled to the hilt. Derek moved it back and forth. “Good. Now I want this nice and relaxed. Hold on.” He said as she felt his finger glide toward the top of her tight, clenching hole. She could feel the tiny hooded pebble turning to granite. This couldn’t be happening to her. She was Jessica Friggin’ Richards. If her fans could see her now.

“Yieeeee. Oh my God, no, what are you doing now? Please, Derek, I can’t…..”



Jessica felt pressure against her probed bottom. It was true that it had grown in diameter but now she could feel not one but two fingers drilling into her. She was feeling stretched but the deeper the two fingers plunged the hotter she was becoming. Jessica had to hide it from Derek. But she secretly knew he probably noticed her excitement before he took her panties down.

“Nrrghhhhh, wheeeeeewwwwwwww…..mmmm….” her groans became moans.

In and out and in and out and in and out his large fingers pistoned. “Uh huh, I think you’re ready.”
Derek ever-so-slowly began to extracted his fingers from her bottom. Jessica’s thighs shook and she felt a mini-tremor as she came and buried her face into the bed.
Derek was oblivious to this Shangri-la because he had gone to fetch the red rubber bad. Her beautiful sex-pouch was glistening with juice and lubricant. Derek anointed the nozzle and pressed it against Jessica’s now gaping yawn between her cheeks.
“I hope this helps to get some of the badness out of you, Jessica. I am not going to stand for this type of behavior again.”

And with that the water began to flow deep into America’s Sweetheart. Derek monitored the contents of the bag and watch hit begin to deplete.

“Ooooooooooooooh, Derek, I can’t…………oh, dear God, I’m sorry……..I’ll call Shelly……..let me up…….”

“Just a little bit more.” He said as he squeezed the last bit of humiliation into her.
The deflated bag hung motionless. She squirmed and pressed into the mattress.
“Oooooh, Derek, please…I’ve got to…oh my dear, God,..I’m going to…”
Derek placed his hand on her spine and with his other hand rubbed her distended stomach. He smiled with satisfaction.
He patted her crimson bottom and said: “Ok, go ahead. I’ll be here waiting for you.”
Jessica shot up and minced her way toward the bathroom. One hand holding her stomach and the other squeezing her cheeks together.
The next fifteen minutes produced a myriad of sound effects from the bathroom. And following a long shower, Jessica emerged in a bright, white robe. Her eyes cast down. Hair-dark and wet. Even without a trace of make-up she was world-class beautiful. Derek got up from his chair and met her. He walked toward her and enveloped her in his arms. He gave her a paternal embrace and held her tightly. Rocked her.
She wept. Not from pain or embarrassment. But from joy. This was true love expressed in a way most people could never understand. The tears flowed because she knew she couldn’t have this relationship in her world.
Derek kissed the top of her head. “Are you ok?”
Big, round, tear-stained eyes looked up fill with a world of gratitude and she said: “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now, you know what you have to do now, don’t you?”
She nodded her head and replied: “I’ll call Shelly now.” Jessica tiptoed a kiss and walked toward her office.
She called Shelly and everything was wonderful again. She felt clear and light. Her body tingled. Faint slivers of pain shot through her cheeks. Her world was right again.
When we returned to the living room he was gone.
Derek was in Dallas shooting a pack of commercials for a monolithic phone company when he heard the news. Jessica was nominated for “Best Actress” in “Inside Out”. He held the paper and shook his head. His “Sweet Jess” had done it.
The invitation was handwritten and was accompanied by a first-class round trip ticket and a suite at the Four Season’s hotel in Beverly Hills. It touched him deeply.
That night, he was more nervous than anyone in the building with the exception of her, of course.
To keep himself amused and awake, Derek replayed the times she had called him to help “adjust” her attitude.
Then it was time for her category. When they flashed her mega-watt smile on the huge screens the room erupted in an explosion of applause. He could tell she was inebriated with the prospect of what this night could mean to her, her career, and her life.
And then they played a scene from her movie. Derek watched with pride and happiness. He felt his throat tighten and his eyes stung with salted moisture.
He knew she’d be fine if she didn’t win. She didn’t have to win to become the woman she wanted to be. She had already succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. Nothing got in way. Her path was clear. While many espoused the rantings of a sci-fi novelist and threw millions into his folly, she remained lasered on what she wanted and worked hard to get it.
The young, pencil-thin actor who won last year’s Oscar for Best Performance by an actor strode on stage and approached the podium. He read his lines flawlessly. The leading man read each actress’s name and the title of the movie.
Derek felt his heart skip when her name was read.
“and the winner is….”
Screams, applause, whoops, and hollers resounded against the walls and ceiling of this great theater. Her table jumped as if the bottle of Cabernet had been spilled. Jessica covered her mouth and shook head in disbelief. Kisses, hugs, and congratulatory pats on her arms followed her to the stage.
His eyes leaked tears of joy as he stood with the adoring throng applauding until his hands stung. The hours of attention had paid off.
She squeezed the heavy statue with a death grip. Her surprised evident in her actions and words. Her voice quivered as she thanked a legion of agents, managers, studio heads, fellow actors, and a high school drama teacher. And then, she paused and said: “There’s someone I’d like to thank who has helped me more than anyone in my life. He’s been my mentor, my inspiration, and my conscience. I can’t begin to thank him for what he’s done for me or what his attention has meant to me. Thank you.” She looked in his direction to acknowledge a friendship that changed her life. Derek gave a faint nod to her acknowledgement.
As she left the stage floating on air and he walked into the warm L.A. night, they both realized that there would be a sequel to their story.

[needsaknee_f_nyc]

Great story, thanks for sharing it with us. We all could use someone like Derek in our lives, eh?