Approach Marcus when he enters the store

After Hours Video, back viewing room, at 4:31 PM on Monday, May 13th, 2024

You've spent the last hour in a state of suspended panic, moving between the storage room and the back viewing area while Jordan finishes setting up the camera equipment. The minutes stretched like taffy—each one an opportunity to change your mind that you deliberately didn't take. Around 4:15, you heard the familiar chime of the front door bell, followed by the unmistakable heavy footsteps of someone you'd come to recognize. Marcus.

He's been a regular for the better part of two months, always arriving with metronomic predictability on Monday and Thursday afternoons. You've registered his presence in that peripheral way you register all difficult things—acknowledged but not directly confronted. He's not conventionally attractive; his face carries the soft roundness of someone who spends more time indoors than out, his body thick in the way that suggests a lifetime of compromise between intention and inaction. But his eyes—his eyes track you with an intensity that's always made your skin crawl.

When you emerge from the back room and approach him near the new releases section, Marcus is holding a DVD case without actually looking at it. His attention snaps to you immediately, and you watch the micro-expressions play across his face: surprise, hope, uncertainty.

"Hey, Marcus," you say, and your voice comes out steadier than you feel. "Can I talk to you about something? In the back?"

His eyes widen. "Right now?"

"Yeah. It'll just take a minute."

You lead him back through the storage room and into the viewing area. Jordan is positioned behind the camera, deliberately not looking at the two of you, giving the encounter a veneer of privacy. Marcus enters slowly, cautiously, as if this might be some kind of trap—and then his gaze lands on the setup, the couch, the lighting, and you watch understanding bloom across his features.

"What is this?" he asks, but his voice carries more hope than confusion.

You take a breath. "We're filming original content. Adult content. Jordan and I, we're making it to sell. And we were wondering if you'd be interested in... participating. With me."

The words hang in the recycled air. Marcus stares at you, and you can see his mind racing through the implications, running probability calculations on whether this is actually happening or whether he's misunderstanding something fundamental.

"You want me to... with you?" He gestures vaguely between the two of you.

"Yes. If you're interested. It would be filmed, and it would be sold as content. You wouldn't be paid, but you'd be part of something."

Marcus swallows hard. You can see his throat work, see the flush creeping up his neck. When he speaks again, his voice has dropped almost to a whisper.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm interested."

It's easier than you expected. There's no negotiation, no hesitation beyond that initial stunned moment. Jordan stands up from behind the camera, and you watch them take in Marcus's eagerness with a satisfaction that makes your stomach turn slightly.

"Great," Jordan says briskly, moving into operational mode. "So here's how this works. You and Daisy are going to perform on the couch. We'll film from a couple of different angles if we have time, but our main priority is getting solid footage. You should bring condoms—we're not providing those. Once we're done, we'll handle the editing and distribution. You don't get paid, but you get to be in the film, and you get the experience itself."

Marcus nods, already reaching for his wallet. "I have condoms. Multiple. In my car."

"Perfect," Jordan says. "Go grab them. We'll set up while you're out."

As Marcus hurries back toward the front of the store and out to his vehicle, you feel reality settling around you like something physical and immovable. This is actually happening. In the next few minutes, you're going to remove your clothes in front of a camera with a stranger inside you. Your body isn't going to belong to just you anymore—it's going to belong to the internet, to anyone who purchases this footage, to the permanent record that will outlive this moment by decades.

Jordan catches your eye and offers you a smile that's meant to be reassuring but lands somewhere closer to predatory.

"You're doing great," Jordan says. "Really. This is going to work."

You nod automatically, unable to find words. Your hands have started to shake slightly.