She whips her head around to look at him smugly and climbs back down, stalking to the entrance as the cameras follow her.
The clip then cuts to Duncan, pacing in his room, then pounding on his door, yelling for a producer to let him out. Short cuts of Molly walking determinedly through the halls of the ship toward Duncan’s room are interspersed with this footage.
The entire segment ends with Molly knocking on Duncan’s door as Duncan tries to shoulder it open from the other side, and, finally, a producer unlocking the room so the two can embrace.
“I’m sorry I picked Carly—it was the wrong choice,” Duncan breathes into Molly’s neck, his words muffled in the mic attached to his shirt.
“I’m sorry I ran away. Please forgive me,” Molly murmurs, her own voice picking up on Duncan’s mic.
It’s a brilliant scene—finished with swelling romantic music and a slow fade-out as the two kiss passionately in themiddle of Duncan’s messy room, until the door closes on the camera.
THIRTY
Molly’s ‘90s Hits, Now Playing:
CALIFORNIA — WAVE
“Well,that was really something, wasn’t it?”
Tomlinson’s velvety tone washes over the studio, eliciting a swell of murmurs. Camera 4 catches close-ups of audience members nodding and smiling, and Molly grins at Duncan, who ducks his head sheepishly.
“I’ve never met a woman like her, Tom,” he says.
The whole thing—Molly’s desperate return to the ship, theirRomeo and Juliet–esque conversation, her exaggerated antics as she tried to get back on board at any cost, and the heartfelt confession and kiss once the two reunited—causedLove at First Sailviewers to go wild for the two of them after the episode aired.
So much so that the ratings for subsequent episodes nearly tripled, something I learned later was desperately needed, as the show had been decreasing in viewership year over year.
After our little stunt, Glen had pulled Molly and me aside to demand answers. We played it off like this had been the plan the whole time—a desperate attempt to get Molly out from under Demi’s ever-increasing control, and my attempt to show Glen I was more than just some B-roll operator without any vision. Thankfully, he bought it.
And, better yet, Molly told Glen she wouldonlywork with me from that point on, as her DOP and her producer. It was anautomatic yes for Glen, who could see the potential in Molly, even without Duncan around. And it certainly made things easier when I pitched our finale plans to him.
I watch the monitor backstage, my arms crossed over my chest and my foot tapping nervously as Molly and Duncan chatter away with Tomlinson about their relationship.
“Great acting, guys,” I mumble to myself.
It’s really too bad that neither of them is into the other, given how perfect they look together. They even appear to have pretty decent chemistry, if it weren’t for the fact that Duncan’s type is less like Molly, and more like the very tattooed,verygoth girlfriend he left back home—something Molly let me know when we were making our plan in Amalfi.
I wasn’t shocked. He wasn’t the first contestant who had come on the show just for the money alone. Hell, that was why Molly had signed up—aside from wanting to see me.
At the end of the day, though, it was the perfect setup. Molly and Duncan looked, and acted, the part of the perfect couple, and neither was going to be upset when it didn’t work out.
Which was the plan—the not-working-out part.
Because no one likes a happy couple.
But everyone loves a dreamboat who had his heart broken and a bombshell who doesn’t want to settle.
“Well, folks, now that we’ve looked back on the love stories that took place this season onLove at First Sail, it’s time we drop anchor.” I cringe at Tomlinson’s cheesy metaphors, but my stomach does a little flip knowing how close we are to the end. “After the final contestants were eliminated last week, leaving these three gorgeous couples, you all went online and voted for the pair you think should win. Plus, our eliminated contestants cast their votes as well.”
The projector screen behind the couch lights up again, this time showing Carly scribbling a name down on a piece of paper and handing it to a producer as she walks off the ship.A few other clips of former contestants doing the same thing play out while the three couples stand from the couch, which is then removed by two production assistants. When the clip fades to black, the couples are arranged in a line, each holding hands with their respective partners.
I can see Molly shaking from where I’m standing, but thankfully it doesn’t pick up on camera. Instead, she looks demure.
“This is it, the big moment. Are you Love Sailors ready to find out who will sail off into the horizon one hundred grand richer?”
Come on, Tomlinson, get to the point.
The contestants all nod eagerly, and he pulls out a piece of cardstock from his navy suit jacket.
