“Well, after dinner, we… We’re shooting the kiss.”
“Oh,” Dana replied. “Yeah. I’ve never had an on-stage kiss before, so this is a first for me. Any tips? Bray initiates it, so I want to make sure I do it right and that you’re comfortable with it. They didn’t want us to rehearse that.”
“Because they want it to be the first time we actually kiss on camera, hoping we get it right on the very first take, whichrarely happens. I wanted to tell you something, though.” She hesitated and felt the blush creep up her neck. “Go for it.”
“Huh?”
“For the kiss; go for it. Don’t worry about me, or that it’s weird because there are people and cameras around. Pretend like it’s just you and me in the room, and that Bray and Stella are soulmates, about to have their first kiss.”
“Well, Bryce and Sophiearesoulmates.”
“Right. Just use that,” Samara told her. “And your hero hair.”
She laughed and ran her hand through it, mussing it.
“Hey!” Dana laughed as well. “You’re going to get me in trouble again.”
“I know. Worth it.”
CHAPTER 16
Dana was more nervous than she had been all day, and that was saying something. She thought she’d covered that up pretty well until Samara had caught her zoning out, trying to remember her lines and tryingnotto focus on the lights, the camera, and all the people staring at them. Still, she pulled it together, managing to only flub a line or two all day, which was really good considering Samara had messed up her lines on at least six occasions and the others all messed up at least a few times, too.
Now, she would be filming her very first kiss scene, and it was with Samara Barber, who, as far as she knew, had never kissed another woman. None of Dana’s short student films had female co-leads where she’d had a kiss or a love scene, so she was about to have both for the first time. Of course,shehad kissed women before, but she’d never done so in front of a camera and prying eyes. She calmed her breathing and tried her best to center herself.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Bryce said as she sat down in her chair behind and off to the right of the camera.
“What was it like?”
“What waswhatlike?”
“When you kissed Sophie for the first time that night. What were you feeling back then?”
“Oh,” Bryce said, smiling now. “I thought I was crazy because it was pretty epic to me, honestly. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was likethiswas what I was supposed to be doing all along, kissing Soph, and I’d finally figured it out.”
“Wow! Okay. So, no pressure today, then,” Dana said, laughing.
“Have you ever been in love?”
“Yes.”
Bryce turned a little to face her and said, “And what was it like when you first saw them?”
“Which time?”
“Whichever time meant the most.”
“Oh,” she said. “We were friends first, so not sure that works.”
“Okay. Well, what was it like the moment you realized it was more than that?”
“She kissed me,” Dana said. “It was weird and bad, and then, we laughed about it, but I don’t think that’s what you’re going for here.”
Bryce laughed and replied, “I believe in soulmates. And I believe there might be more than one person on this planet whom I could be happy with, but that Sophie is the person I wasmeantto be with. I felt it that night. That’s all I’m saying. I saw her at that table, and I just knew. Obviously, we had to confirm that by getting to know each other, but that first kiss all but sealed the deal for me: there was no one else in this world I’d want to kiss or fight with or build a life with.”
“How do I convey that in one kiss?” Dana asked.
