Curt could not believe his eyes. He had seen photographs and paintings of this beautiful land, but if he were not experiencing the wonder of all that lay before him, he would have doubted their validity. Born and raised in the “lower forty-eight”, as the contiguous forty-eight of the United States were referred to up here, Curt had been to almost every one of them, but nowhere within had he seen a land so beautiful and pristine as that which awaited him here in all its glory. This was Canada, and this beautiful place was to be the setting of what promised to be a groundbreaking film. In Curt’s opinion, the producers of this grand venture could not have chosen a more perfect setting. Curt was an actor and had been chosen to play the lead in this, his very first major motion picture. He had had plenty of bit parts in past productions, but this was Curt’s time to shine.

Beauty was not only to be found in the naturalness of Canada, but was also clearly evident in the city of Vancouver, where Curt’s debut film was to be produced. For the next several months Vancouver would be Curt’s home, and from what he had seen so far he couldn’t have chosen a better place for his big screen debut if he had chosen the location himself.

***

Curt knew that he was becoming too involved with his own role, but he couldn’t seem to stop. He had always become a part of the roles that he played which did make him a good actor, but it also had its downside. Sometimes without knowing it Curt would internalize his character and actually believe that he was the character he was playing. He knew he had to stop researching the Lost Boys because only three hours of sleep each night was beginning to take its toll. How he made it through the next day, Curt did not know. He was exhausted the entire day. After today they would be free for two days, though, and Curt desperately needed the time off both mentally and physically.

Curt fell asleep early that night, but awoke to the sound of tapping on his door. He was up and almost in the shower before he realized it was only 2:00 a.m. and that this was a day he was not needed on the set. So who is tapping on my door, he wondered? Curt opened the door to find a young man of seventeen, maybe eighteen, his eyes wide with fear. “Can I help you?” asked Curt. “Um, I just wanted you to know that I like watching you. I come here every day,” the scared voice said. On any given day Curt would see ten to twenty people watching them rehearse. Some of the actors didn’t like the onlookers, but Curt found that it made him work harder knowing that his performance was being critiqued by the ultimate critics. “Thanks, kid,” Curt replied, but sensed the kid might be troubled. He seemed scared of something or someone. I’ve been researching my character too much, Curt thought. “So, what brings you here in the middle of the night?” “I, um, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, and started off. “Hey there, wait,” Curt said, and stepped outside to stop the boy. “Come on in for awhile. You shouldn’t be out in the dark.”

The boy followed Curt inside and stood just inside the door. “Have a seat. Want a soda?” The boy said nothing, but Curt grabbed them both a soda and handed one to the boy. Curt sat beside him, still wondering what on earth he was doing out in the dark alone. “I’m Curt. What’s your name?” Looking down, the young man replied, “My name is Lucas, but I like to be called Luke.” “Well, Luke, welcome to Hollywood,” Curt said with a chuckle as he motioned around the inside of his trailer. They sat in silence for awhile. Luke was tired, and in fact he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “We have the next two days free, so I didn’t want you coming out here for no reason, Luke.” “Thanks. I’d better go.” “No, Luke, it’s okay. Why don’t you stay, okay? What were you starting to tell me at the door?” Luke looked down and spoke so softly that Curt barely heard. “It’s just that you are me. I mean, you are being me and I’m waiting to see what happens to you.”

***

Curt walked into a room with a very inviting whirlpool with its shooting jets of water making the water bubble. The room was very well decorated and very clean, with a sign that read, “No clothing allowed.” Curt had no problem with that. The water was warm as Curt lowered himself until he was seated in front of one of the jets. The water felt good on his stiff muscles. The roar of the jets and the bubbling water blocked out any intrusive sounds, and were lulling Curt into a very relaxing state. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the side of the pool. In his dreamlike state, Curt did not hear the door open, nor did he hear the man walk in and join him naked in the pool.

The man watched Curt as the buoyancy of the water bobbed his body up and then back down in the water. The man stood in the water, watching and waiting for Curt’s erection to take shape. His own penis was large and thick as it hung down, the water reaching only to the top of the man’s thighs. His thighs were also thick, as was the rest of him, in marked contrast to Curt’s much slighter frame.

***

Once outside again, he noticed that he had a voice message from the center. The director himself had been trying to reach him. Curt hurried as fast as he could to the center, running down the street like a crazy person. It was just after 9:00 p.m. when Curt arrived at the center and was rushed into the director’s office. “We met earlier, Curt. I’m Daniel, the director here at the center.” Curt shook his hand, and Daniel informed him that Luke had been kidnapped. “How could he be? The kids are watched here.” “Curt, it was by someone you know.” Curt could not imagine anyone he knew doing anything such as this. “Who?” “There is a man named Michael who has been working in the Davie Village. The owners of the eatery turned him in.” “He told me he owned the place,” Curt was almost shouting now. “He has lied to many business owners in the Village, Curt, and has misled many. He is a hard worker, and disguises his true motives very well. The owners of the eatery feel horrible about this.” Daniel sat beside Curt and tried to calm him down. “But he lives upstairs from the eatery, right?” “No, Curt, that was also a lie. He has offered a place to stay to more than one of our youths here. He gains their trust, and then tries to return them to their former groups demanding money from them. Sadly, when he tries to return the youths their groups no longer want them, and they once again are rejected. Michael has no need for them, and so will often drop them off somewhere on his way back here. We try to convince the youths to return to the center but as you can understand, many are too confused to feel they can trust anyone.” Curt was fuming. “What happens to them?” “We don’t know, Curt. We are desperately trying to improve our services, but can only do so much. There are so many.”

***

There was no shop talk tonight. Daniel wanted Curt to know how he felt about him. In the very back of the limo, Daniel reached for Curt’s hand and Curt gave it freely. Daniel did not want the night to end. He wanted to be alone with Curt, but had to overcome his own fears.
When they returned to the center, Daniel invited Curt to his cottage which he shared with no one. They talked about everything. They laughed at each other’s jokes, and both were surprised at the level of comfort they felt with each other. Curt loved Daniel’s cottage. Daniel had great taste and was quite the decorator. They drank a little more wine until Daniel could wait no longer to kiss Curt’s wine wetted lips.

He took Curt’s glass from him. He leaned his head back on the sofa they were sharing. To Daniel’s surprise, Curt was the one who made the first move. He placed his hands on the sofa on either side of Daniel, leaned in and kissed his slightly parted lips. Curt’s kisses were filled with hunger, a hunger that Curt had until now been unaware. Curt could not stop kissing Daniel, did not want to stop kissing Daniel.

Curt straddled Daniel and rested on his legs. He kissed hungrily, their bodies pressed against each other. Curt’s erection was full and pressed against Daniel’s equally full erection. Curt wanted Daniel. He wanted to make love to him, not just have sex with him. Curt began to unbutton Daniel’s shirt as he continued to kiss him. With Daniel’s shirt open, Curt teased his nipples to hardness, a sensation that Daniel found very erotic. Curt whispered, “Come with me.” Daniel took his hand and followed him to the bed. Curt undressed and got into bed. Daniel sat on the edge of the bed facing away from Curt as he removed his shirt.