"Yeah, Alex will tell us what to do, but I see what you're saying. I'm sure I'll say the line by the time I move up behind you and start helping you, but we'll figure it out."
"Yeah, I'm just trying to imagine it, the pacing, the timing."
"Once we start rolling with that dialogue, the whole exchange should only take a few minutes. I'll come close to kissing you, and then we'll get interrupted by little Katherine, and we break apart. Then I have that dialogue with her, and she and I leave the room. That's when they'll cut, and you leave so I can kiss Natalie."
I wanted to tell him that he didn't have to kiss Natalie. I wanted to say that I could do that scene. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him. But the words got stuck in my mouth. It was like my jaw turned to stone. I was nervous and wound up, and there was just nothing I could do to make myself share that vulnerable piece of information. I just nodded dumbly, pretending that I was thinking about the scene and agreeing with him.
"Yeah, it'll be good," I agreed vaguely. "Thanks for helping me out."
"Do you mean by kissing someone else?"
"Y-yeah, no, I was talking about helping me in general, but yeah, thanks for that. Thanks for being so understanding. I hope it's not weird for you." I clamped my mouth shut because I didn't know what I was saying or why I couldn't just come right out and admit that I could kiss him now.
I was in the middle of an internal debate, deciding if I wanted to tell him, and he said, "It's not awkward with Natalie. I like her. We did some practicing last night."
My head whipped around, and I choked when he said that. I took an unexpected gasp of air when I still had a bit of coffee in my mouth, and it went down the wrong pipe. Thankfully, I was able to clear my throat with a few coughs.
"I'm sorry," I said before clearing my throat again.
"I didn't mean to make you choke," he said.
"No, it wasn't you," I lied, glancing at him. "That was just coffee in my throat."
"I was just messing with you, anyway."
"Oh, you were messing with me? About rehearsing with the other girl? You were joking?" I tried to seem nonchalant, but I wasn't sure if it was working.
"Yes. I was joking. I've talked to her, but we haven't rehearsed anything."
I really wanted to tell him that I could film the scene, but I couldn't make myself say it. I was always an open and honest communicator, and it was odd that I couldn't just come out and say the words to him. Maybe it was because admitting it felt like admitting I wanted to kiss him, which I did.
Chapter 9
Sam
Sam had the biggest crush on his co-star. He couldn't help it. She was beautiful and wonderful, and she was a hard worker and so real. He told himself he wanted her because he couldn’t have her, but it was more than that. Not being able to have her was a bad thing. He didn't want to interfere with her relationship, so he had kept his distance, but on the inside, he wished he could make her his.
It was impossible to stay away from Ty completely, and when he did encounter her on set, it just confirmed how much he liked her. He had been dreading how much he was looking forward to filming this scene. They were going to rehearse it today and film tomorrow.
Sam knew his lines, and he had a plan, but he would have to improvise some of the blocking when they first started rehearsing. That would happen any second now. Everyone was in the new building that had been constructed for the series. It was built to look old so they could use it in the film. The set kitchen was located in that building, and the cast and crew were all waiting for Alex to arrive so they could start the rehearsal.
Ty had her hair pulled back in a ponytail that was situated high on her head. She had on a t-shirt tucked into high waterjeans and Converse, and she was adorable. He was a gentleman, and he didn't notice her that way, but it took effort, and he had to work to keep his eyes diverted. He was drawn to her.
She was sitting on a nearby bench with a few others. Natalie was there, also, and he had seen Ty notice the other woman. He thought of how she reacted when he teased her about rehearsing with Natalie. It gave him some kind of odd satisfaction that she was so quick to choke, even though she said that wasn't the reason. She smiled at Sam as he walked over to stand next to her.
"Good luck," she said to him.
"You too," he replied. "It's going to be great."
She nodded, but they both turned because Alex walked in at that moment. Ty stood to attention, knowing that the scene would revolve around her.
"Okay, sorry, thank you all for waiting. Ty and Sam, where are we?" Alex walked toward the stove as he spoke, since that was where the scene was to be filmed. He noticed that both of them moved toward him, and he smiled as he stood back and let Ty approach the stovetop. "Okay, let's get your hair down," he said first thing, pointing at Ty.
She didn't hesitate. She reached up and pulled the elastic out of her hair, causing it to fall onto her shoulders like a shampoo commercial.
"I told her she didn't need to worry about her hair for rehearsal," Cameron said apologetically.
"It's a prop," Alex said to her. "Sam might want to use it."
