I was a recent graduate of a well known North Eastern film school trying to become a successful movie director. But despite my solid education, I was discovering what most people had already told me, and what I really did understand: it is very difficult to break into the entertainment industry. After graduation, I had flown to California, the heart of the movie industry, and rented a small studio apartment just outside of Burbank. No one starts out as a director though, and I, like almost everyone else, began my progression to directorial success as a lowly production assistant barely making minimum wage.
I had been a production assistant for a few months when a friend of mine who also lived in California got engaged to his girlfriend of several years. Knowing my formal educational background, he asked me to be the weddings cinematographer. I happily agreed, at that point I was willing to film and direct just about anything, besides I really needed the extra cash.
I asked another friend of mine to assist me at the wedding. I would do the majority of the filming, but it was going to be a long wedding, and I wanted to be able to have time to eat and mingle with some of the guests. At the wedding I was seated at a table with several people that I got to know during my filming breaks. Two of the people at my table were a married couple in their mid-twenties, Paula and Jerry. They looked like they had just stepped off the cover of a romance novel.
Paula had long, flowing flaxen hair, olive skin and a body that was perfectly accentuated by her evening gown. Her full breasts were expertly framed by her plunging neckline, and her dress clung to what appeared to be wonderfully toned legs.
Jerry played the other half of the novel's cover. He was about six foot tall and possessed a toothpaste commercial quality smile. His tuxedo did not reveal nearly as much as Paula's gown, but his broad shoulders and trim waist suggested he also spent ample time at the gym.
I laughed and chatted with everyone at my table, but Paula, Jerry and I got along especially well. The chemistry among was undeniable; the conversation was easy and spirited, and maybe this was just my lustful imagination, but towards the end of the wedding, after we had gotten to know each other fairly well, I thought that both of them were flirting with me. During my one dance with Paula at the end of the evening, she seemed to hold me unusually tightly for a married woman, and Jerry would occasionally touch my arm or brush my knee with his hand. There was little doubt that the three of us had quickly forged a comfortable friendship.