Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 12:37:35 -0800 (PST)
From: AngelGabe <carravaggio2000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Jude and I - Part One

Okay gang, you know the routine: This entire story is a work of fiction
(much to my dismay!) and is not intended to imply anything about the sexual
orientation of the real, in-the-flesh Jude Law. Yes, he's one hot stud, but
I don't know which team he plays for; I'm just wishing!

Also, if you shouldn't be reading this for whatever reason - legal, moral,
parental - then please don't. And if you have a problem with man2man sex,
then what the heck are you doing this deep into the Nifty Archive?

This is my first attempt at writing erotic fiction, after having been an
avid reader for over a year of stories posted in the Nifty Archive. It is
intended to be the first of a series of installments, the total length is
unknown right now. Feedback, both positive and negative (or, as I like to
think of it, constructive), is greatly appreciated; flames will be read,
laughed at, and discarded immediately. I can be reached at
carravaggio2000@yahoo.com. Please indicate the name of this story in the
subject line, as I will be filtering your messages into such a folder; any
email that comes to my in-box and is from someone I don't know is
automatically deleted.


**Jude and I**
**by AngelGabe**

	At a young age, the acting bug had already bitten me. My family is
fond of recalling how, starting around the age of four - when my vocabulary
was getting wildly out of control - I had demanded absolute attention
whenever I performed. I was known for shooting withering glares at anyone
who dared to speak if I thought I was center stage; which, according to
family, was 24/7. It was of no surprise to anyone, then, when I finally got
tired of the bug biting and decided to do something about it.

	When I was eighteen, I dropped out of college (after a semester)
and started auditioning for stage shows. It didn't matter where - Denver,
St. Louis, Kansas City, DC - I just wanted to work on stage. Thanks to a
father who had impressed upon me the need to be judicious with money, I had
enough socked away in savings to afford to not have to work for about a
year. And so I packed a few bags of clothes, my CDs and portable stereo,
and a few books, loaded them all into Ethel, my trusty car, and headed out
on the road.

I spent four years going from city to city, landing roles in production
after production. Some were good and some were drivel; some roles were
major, others minor; sometimes the pay was next-to-nothing, sometimes I
could afford to take a break after a run because of the pay I'd received. I
was in two plays Off-Broadway in New York in the space of eight months -
both with short rehearsal periods and short runs - and with one production
out in Seattle in between. I garnered great notices for both of my
Off-Broadway performances, with high praise coming from no less than Ben
Brantley of 'The New York Times'. When I was in New York the second time,
word got out somehow that I pretty much lived out of my suitcase, having
chosen not to put down roots anywhere but rather to canvas the country in
theatre, and 'The Village Voice' decided to do a piece on the Wandering
Thespian, as I was dubbed. I was surprised when the article became the talk
of the town, and pretty soon I was asked to come audition for a revival of
"Sleuth" on Broadway. I landed the role, shared the stage with Tim Curry
(an acting idol of mine), and basked in glowing reviews across the
board. Both Tim and I were nominated for Tonys for Best Actor in a Play;
not surprisingly, Tim won for his tour-de-force performance, but the
nomination opened doors. I was courted for further New York productions,
but had a title to live up to - the Wandering Thespian headed back out on
the road.

I was finally ready to head for Hollywood. I had a great resume built up,
and the Tony nomination was a nice perk. I was well aware that, outside of
New York, I was pretty much a nobody, but the resume did all the talking
for me in La-La Land. I got small roles in small films that often
disappeared shortly after they opened, but my name started to get around
town. The big break came when I was cast in a film that was being financed
by one of the major independent studios - and no, it wasn't Miramax.

The plot was a twist on "Dangerous Liaisons." In our version, a bisexual
young man enters into a bet with an older woman who was his one-time
lover. The wager was that he wouldn't be able to seduce one of the
straightest young men in their upper-class world. I was a bit skeptical
when the script first came my way - I shuddered at remembrances "Cruel
Intentions," a teenybopper take on "Dangerous" - but was highly impressed
when I read through it. Like the novel it was based on, "A Delicate
Balance" was highly erotic, but in a cerebral way: this would be a semantic
seduction rather than a soapy melodrama. I read for, and landed the role
of, Jackson Tremaine, the bisexual character.

I was excited when I showed up for the read-through, and was chatting with
the director-writer, a first-timer named Joshua Jenn, wondering who the
other main actors were, when he walked through the door. Jude Law.

My heart leapt up into my throat and began pounding rapidly, my face became
rather hot, and I felt that familiar tingle in my groin.

You see, it wasn't going to be difficult for me to play Jackson: I was
straight-acting and straight-appearing to be able to play a bisexual
character, but I would have no difficulty at all in having to seduce
another guy. I am one-hundred percent all-American gay. Yes, I am proud of
that, but professionally I was in the closet. I kept my sexual preference
to myself, knowing it was better for my career.

Jude crossed the room to where Joshua and I were talking and shook hands
with Joshua.

"Jude, I'd like you to meet Russell Stark," Joshua said by way of
introduction. "He'll be playing Jackson in "Delicate"."

	Jude smiled that dazzling smile of his, flashing his pearly
whites. "Ah yes, Russell. Good to finally meet you."

	<Likewise a thousand times over,> I thought. "It's good to meet you
as well, Jude," I said, smiling back and shaking his hand. "I must admit, I
am an admirer of your work."

	"Admirer? That's a switch," he said. "Usually, I get 'Ohmygod, Jude
Law, I am your biggest fan ever!'" he screamed in perfect imitation of
teenybopper girls, which I laughed at.

	"I admire your work as one actor to another," I said by way of
explanation.

	He suddenly looked rather serious. "Thank you very much, Russell."

	We heard the door open, and I turned to see Annette Bening. She
caught sight of us, and came over.

	"Mr. Stark, you must get that fixed," she said to me, putting her
finger under my gaping jaw and pushing it shut. I turned several shades of
red, and Jude and Joshua chuckled at my reaction. Then it hit me.

	"You know my name?" I asked, astonished.

	"Oh yes. I read that article 'The Village Voice' wrote on the
Wandering Thespian," she said, smiling. "I must say, I was quite
intrigued. I wanted to come out to catch you and Tim Curry in "Sleuth," but
my shooting schedule simply wouldn't permit it. I'd like to say I'm a fan
of yours, but since I haven't seen any of your work, I don't know what that
makes me."

	I stood there shell-shocked. Here was Annette Bening, whom I
considered one of the greatest actresses, telling me that she was a
quasi-fan of mine. And I was going to be shooting my first big movie
costarring with her. I couldn't believe it.

	"There it goes again," she laughed, once again pushing my mouth
shut. Jude and Joshua were practically on the floor, hysterically laughing.

	"Oh...ah...sorry, Ms. Bening," I said, finally finding my
tongue. "It's a great pleasure to meet you."

	"Please, call me Annette," she said, shaking my hand.

	"Well, now that my principles are here, we can start this
read-through," Joshua said, bringing us back to the business at hand. The
three of us immediately became professional, heading over to the ring of
tables that had been set up. There were only six other actors and actresses
in the film, all of whom were working in a film for the first time.

	Two and a half hours later, the read-through was complete. Joshua
gave us a break, and I leaned back in my chair and sighed, rubbing my sore
neck. Annette excused herself from the table and headed out of the
room. The other actors and actresses talked amongst themselves, leaving me
with Jude's undivided attention.

	"So what's this Wandering Thespian business?" he asked me.

	"A couple of years ago 'The Village Voice' did a piece on me, and
that's what they dubbed me."

	"I kinda guessed that by what Annette said. Where'd they come up
with that one?"

	"Well, for five years I didn't take up residence in any city,
preferring to go from place to place and auditioning for roles. Strictly
theatre work. Someone at the 'Voice' got wind of the fact that I had done
an off-Broadway show in New York, then a play out in Seattle, and then was
back again in New York for another off-Broadway production. For whatever
reason, they found that intriguing, and decided to do an article on me, and
crowned me the Wandering Thespian."

	"Wow," he said, somewhat wide-eyed, "you really were always on the
road for five years?"

	"Yeah. It was a lot of fun, actually. Too many people think New
York is the end-all and be-all for theatre, and I wanted to see the country
by stage, so to speak. So I'd get into town, audition for whatever, get a
hotel room for the duration, then move on to the next city. I realized that
there are a lot of people out there who are hungry for good live theatre,
and I don't mean just in the big cities. I spent one summer as part of the
repertory company at the Arrowrock Lyceum Theatre in Arrowrock,
Missouri. It's this little theatre in an old church in a tiny town, and
people come from all over Missouri to see shows there."

	"That is amazing. Sounds like you're really dedicated to acting."

	"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be pursuing it."

	"I think this is going to be a great shoot, working with an actor
of your dedication," he said sincerely. I started to fumble with the
pitcher of water in front of me, trying to think of what to say, when
Joshua called us all back together. Annette had already returned to the
room, and took her place next to me.

	Joshua addressed all of us. "Okay, this was an excellent
read-through. I've already got a number of ideas, which we'll work through
during rehearsal. A lot of movies don't provide much rehearsal time, but I
insisted on four weeks, which the studio was generous to give us. My
background is in live theatre, so get ready for grueling rehearsals. That
way, we'll hopefully be able to shoot the movie in three weeks, which is
what I promised the studio. I know all of you are good actors, and we're
graced by three great actors, Annette Bening, Jude Law, and Russell Stark."
I was a bit surprised that he included me in the 'great actors' category.

	"We'll be shooting the film in sequence," he went on, "which I know
is unusual. That was another area of insistence on my part. All the action
takes place in five locations, all of which are interiors, so all of which
are sets that we have built on one sound stage. We'll meet back here
tomorrow morning at seven to start rehearsing. Any questions?" No one had
any, as we were all rather tired and ready to clear out. Joshua
chuckled. "I expected as much. After you all go home and rest, if you think
of some questions, we'll discuss them in the morning. See you then."

	Everyone began gathering up their stuff and heading out. Annette
told us that she had to get home to Warren and the kids, and excused
herself. Jude and I headed for the door together. When were we out in the
parking lot, he spoke.

	"You heading back to your place immediately?"

	"Yeah, I'd planned on it."

	"Well, would you like to join me for dinner? It'd give us a chance
to get to know each other a little better, which would be good, since we're
going to be working together."

	"Sure, I'd like that," I said, smiling.

	I followed him to a local seafood restaurant. We soon were deep in
conversation, talking about anything and everything. The food was great, as
was the company. Three hours later - though it certainly didn't seem like
three hours - the waiter came with the check. I began to pull out my wallet
to pay for my share, but Jude stopped me.

	"No no, I've got it."

	"No way, I can't let you do that."

	"Tough. I'm the wealthy actor at this table, so I'll pick up the
check." I started to protest again, but he handed his credit card to the
waiter, who whisked away.

	"I owe you."

	"Don't worry about it. Since I've sat here and picked your brain
for the past three hours, I ought to shell out the cash for the dinner."

	"It's not been a one-sided conversation."

	"I know, but I think I got more out of you than you out of me. You
seem to have one heck of an intellect."

I blushed and fumbled with different items on the table. "Yeah, well,
maybe."

"No, I'm serious. I've never been so exhilarated by a conversation in a
long time. So dinner's my 'thank you.'"

The waiter returned with the credit card slip, which Jude signed with a
flourish. We were soon on our way out of the restaurant.

"Thank you for dinner, Jude."

"No problem. And thank *you* for the conversation. See you tomorrow at the
rehearsal."

He got into his hunter green Ford Explorer and drove away, waving as he
left the parking lot. I got into my black Ford Taurus SHO, and headed out
myself.

On the way home, I mulled over the past three hours. I had had my gaydar
on, of course, and tuned high, but Jude was impossible to get a reading
on. What was even more frustrating was the fact that he had played gay
quite brilliantly in "Wilde," but at the same time had played straight
equally well in "The Talented Mr. Ripley". I had been utterly convinced
that he was Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's beloved Bosie, and utterly
convinced that he was Dickie Greenleaf, the spoilt, occasionally cruel
American playboy. And it wasn't like I could tell from the flow of
conversation; he hadn't dropped any hints.

When I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment building and killed the
engine, I decided to put Jude Law's sexual orientation onto the back
burner. I even felt a bit guilty that I was so concerned about it; I had
greatly enjoyed dinner: was the only thing I could think of was whether
Jude Law was gay or straight? I shook my head and went into my apartment,
got undressed, and collapsed into bed.



Rehearsal the next day was, as Joshua promised, grueling, but at the same
time highly stimulating and rewarding. We spent four hours that morning
discussing characters, motivations, the plot, the dialogue; very little
time was spent on going through scenes. I was quite happy with this, as it
gave all of us a chance to talk things out and think things through out
loud, a rare opportunity on a film. The afternoon was spent in going over
scenes, with rudimentary blocking beginning. A constant refrain of Joshua's
was that "nothing is set in stone," and he encouraged us to do what we
wanted with the text, and he would keep up focused. It was exhilarating and
exhausting, so that, when 5:30 rolled around and Joshua decided to call it
a day, we were all relieved.

This was the basic routine for the first week of rehearsals: discuss in the
morning, block in the afternoons. One evening after rehearsal, Annette
joined Jude and me at a local watering hole for a few drinks. One of the
nice things about LA is that people are, for the most part, used to
celebrities, and don't harass them.

On Friday at the end of the week, Joshua decided to give us the weekend
off. We were a bit surprised at this - time is money in Hollywood - but no
one grumbled; we were more than happy to have a few days of leisure time. I
found myself alone with Jude in the parking lot that evening after we got
done rehearsing.

"We have an important scene to rehearse on Monday," Jude said nonchalantly.

I screwed up my face trying to remember what we were rehearsing on Monday:
while Joshua was going to film in sequence, we jumped throughout the script
when it came to rehearsals. He thought it beneficial to drop us into scenes
and see what we did with them. Jude must have noticed the look on my face,
as he laughed and said, "Monday we'll go over the Conquest scene."

I remembered now: the Conquest scene. That was the name that we used to
refer to the scene in which Jackson's seductions finally pay off, and he
and Lewis have sex. So far in rehearsals, we hadn't even discussed any of
the seduction scenes, of which there were quite a few. I though it odd that
Joshua wanted us to go right into the Conquest scene on Monday, but he was
the director, so I went along with it.

"Oh yeah," I said. "You think you're up for it?"

"That's the thing, I don't know." He paused. "Sometimes when I would do
stage work back in England, some of the cast would get together on our own
time to do rudimentary rehearsals. Usually it was if a difficult scene was
going to be rehearsed in the near future. I was wondering if you'd like to
go over the Conquest scene tonight."

My mind started to race with possibilities, but I told myself to get a
grip: this was a professional proposal, not an indecent one. "Sure, if
you'd like. Do you want to come over to my place?"

He shrugged. "Makes no difference to me."

"Well, follow me back to my apartment."

"Sure thing."

He got into his Explorer and I into my SHO and we headed out. Fifteen
minutes later, we were pulling up in front of Appleford Apartments. The
digs weren't quite posh - I wasn't making enough money for posh - but they
could at least pass for swanky, with a strong dose of bohemian thrown in:
many of the residents were a bit eccentric, which suited me just fine. I
led the way up to my fourth floor residence, unlocked my front door, and
waved Jude in ahead of me.

"I know it's not much, but..." I trailed off, turning on lamps and tossing
things around trying to tidy up a bit.

"Man, this place is fab," he said enthusiastically.

"Fab?" I arched an eyebrow. "How veddy veddy British."

He laughed and punched me playfully on the arm. "I'm serious, this
apartment rocks. It's so...eclectic."

I surveyed my own territory, and had to agree with him: wall hangings
consisted of a black and white poster of Oscar Wilde lounging in a famous
pose, a poster advertising the original Broadway production of "Sweeney
Todd", a poster for the film "Dark City", a print of Georges Seurat's
"Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte," and a poster with a wide-eyed
baby with "Feelin' Groovy!" printed across the middle. As to furniture,
there was a beat-up old recliner that screamed 1960s, a deep-purple
air-chair, and an overstuffed couch that people just sank into. Two
bookcases were crammed with titles ranging from Stephen King's "It" to "The
Lord of the Rings" to Robert Fagle's translations of "The Iliad" and "The
Odyssey". A third bookcase housed my movie collection, my CD collection,
and my stereo.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" I asked, heading into the kitchenette.

"A glass of ice water would be wonderful," he replied.

I returned a short time later with two tall glasses of ice water. I
chuckled as I handed one glass to Jude, and said, "My my my, you big-time
movie stars sure know how to get down and party."

"Shut up," he said, laughing. "If we're going to be working, the last thing
I need to do is be drinking. And besides, I'm rather parched after today's
rehearsal."

"Well, here's to rehearsals - both official and otherwise," I said,
smiling, as I raised my glass of ice water.

"Here here," Jude replied. After we both drank deeply from the ice water -
I didn't realize just how parched I was as well - we picked up our scripts
and began rehearsing the scene. We started to really get into the
characters, starting and stopping when need be to discuss different
aspects. After about an hour, we were starting up again after a brief
pause. My heart began to hammer when I noticed that this section of the
scene would lead directly into the kiss that began the sex scene. I tried
to stay calm and cool.

"You realize, don't you, that a man has never kissed me before?" Jude asked
in character, our faces practically touching, as it called for in the
script.

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it," I replied as Jackson. I hesitated
slightly, then leaned forward and kissed Jude on the lips. He froze - in
character or as Jude? I wasn't sure - then gave into the kiss. I raised my
hands and put them on either side of his face, holding his mouth against
mine. Jude relaxed even more, and opened his mouth; I immediately slid my
tongue in. He stiffened ever so subtly, but relaxed once again,
reciprocating the hot tongue action we were sharing. His body pressed
against mine, and I inadvertently began to grind my crotch against his.

By this time, of course, Jackson had receded to the back of my mind, and
Russell was fully enjoying the experience. I began to frantically fumble
with the buttons of his shirt, trying not to rip it right off of
him. Jude's hands were soon over mine, helping me in my lust-filled
endeavor. Underneath he was wearing a ribbed 'wife-beater' tee, and my
already rock-hard cock throbbed even more at the sight. I leaned down and
began to kiss and lick at his neck.

Finished with the buttons on his shirt, I began to undo his pants, eager to
get at his dick. It was a clasp instead of a button, and I soon had his
pants open and his zipper down. Jude was running his hands through my thick
black hair, and I ran my hand over his boxer-enclosed member, which was
fully engorged and starting to leak precum.

I knelt down, intent on having him in my mouth. Just as I started to pull
at the elastic band of his boxers to free his cock, Jude suddenly jerked
and pulled away from me. I fell backwards onto the floor, shocked and
dismayed. I looked up at him, and could see from his eyes that he had
gotten carried away; I was the one who wanted this to happen, not he.

"Oh God, Jude, I'm so sorry..." I began, stammering through the beginnings
of an apology. I began to mentally berate myself for being such an
idiot. "I just got carried away by the character, I'm sure you don't want
to do this." I was rambling idiotically.

Jude, who had zipped and clasped his pants and was now buttoning up his
shirt, looked at me and spoke. "Are you kidding? Of course I want to do
this." I sat there dumbfounded. "Just not right now."

"Huh?" was all I managed to get out.

"I'm gay, Russell. When I first set eyes on you the day of the
read-through, I wanted to drag you to some private place and ravage you
like an animal. See, I have a history of doing that - conquer and
depart. But since we were going to be working together, I knew that would
be problematic. So instead, I started to get to know you, and you became an
actual human being instead of a piece of meat." He was done buttoning his
shirt, and came over to sit next to me on the floor.

"To be perfectly honest, Russell, I found myself actually falling in love
with you. But I wasn't sure if you were gay or not - I mean, I couldn't get
much of reading on the old gaydar when we had dinner last week." I smiled
to myself, considering I'd been in the same predicament. "Part of the
reason I wanted to come over and work on this scene tonight was to see how
far I could get with you." He grinned. "As we just saw, that would be all
the way." I smiled back at him. "I was perfectly ready to let it go all the
way, then something in the back of my mind reminded me that you're not a
conquest, you're the guy I'm falling in love with. So I stopped."

I was still confused; since Jude obviously saw this on my face, he went
on. "I don't want us to tumble into the sack this soon. If you're willing
to wait, I want to be your boyfriend, and let this develop as a proper
relationship." I was somewhat stunned by what I was hearing: Jude Law
wanted to be *my* boyfriend, and wanted a relationship.

"Jude, I would *love* to be your boyfriend. And sure, I'm willing to wait
on the sex front, if that's what you want."

He flashed his melting grin at me. "Awesome. And yes, that *is* what I
want." He leaned in conspiratorially and said in a husky whisper, "Don't
worry, big boy, you'll get the full-meal-deal when it's time; tonight was
just an appetizer." I laughed at this, and Jude joined in my laughter.

"Now, since we have the weekend off, why not a first official date tomorrow
evening?" he asked. I more than readily agreed.

"Why don't you come over here again and we can watch one of my movies
together," I told him. "I feel like staying in, and I have a pretty varied
collection of films."

"Sounds great to me," he said, smiling. He leaned over and kissed me,
sucking my tongue into his mouth. Just as my head was beginning to spin
with pleasure, he pulled away.

"Damn, if you keep that up, *I'm* going to drag *you* off and ravage you,"
I laughed, slightly out of breath.

"Just wanted to give you a sneak peek of what's to come," he said. We both
got up off the floor, and I led Jude over to the door. He stepped out into
the hall, then turned back to me.

"Thank you for this," he said quietly.

"Consider this to be my way of repaying you for dinner," I said, and we
both laughed. "Good night, Jude."

"Good night, Russell. See you tomorrow."

As he headed down the hall, I closed the door to my apartment, and fell
back against it, sliding to the floor. It was all too much to believe; I
pinched myself lightly to make sure I wasn't dreaming, even though I knew I
was wide awake.

Tomorrow evening was going to be interesting.


To be continued ...