"I wasn't sure how close you wanted me," Sam said.
"Give me quite a bit more than you showed me just now."
"Are you comfortable?" Sam asked, looking straight at Ty. She was the one who had asked him to tone it down during that scene, and he just wanted to be sure she was okay with what Alex was saying.
"I am," she said, nodding. "I'm not with… It's not a problem with my boyfriend. We-I'm not with him, so it's not an issue. We can do whatever he tells us to do."
She was looking at Sam and talking to him, telling him he could do whatever Alex said. Sam was trying to process it.Had she said she and her boyfriend broke up?
It was Alex who spoke again. "You're not with Jacob?" Alex said to her, looking confused. "What are you saying?" Ty lookedat Alex, who stared at her, waiting for an answer. "What are you saying?" he pressed.
"I'm not seeing Jacob anymore. I know Sam was trying to respect my wishes, but I didn't need him to… he can just act the scene however you want him to. I'm sorry for the confusion. I’m sorry."
"So, are you not with this guy? Are you filming the kissing scenes?" Alex stared intensely, firing off questions.
Ty shrugged and nodded. "I'm fine to do them. I can do whatever."
"Well, what's the problem?" Alex said. "Do you feel uncomfortable?"
"No. Why?" she said.
"Because the scene would be much better without having to consider your personal life." He stared at her. "The scene's going to be a lot better with you kissing him so we can get it from all angles. No offense, Natalie, but, Ty! I can't believe you didn't give me this news. This changes things. Are you doing the kissing scenes now? Is that what you're saying?"
"I mean, I can, but I know you had other plans, and I didn't want to mess with that. I hated to keep making you change your plan."
"Yeah, but this plan is how it should be." Alex paused and craned his neck to look directly at Natalie. "Sorry. Thank you for being here. I think we won't need you after all."
"Should I go?"
"Yeah, go ahead, for now. I might have you get dressed tomorrow just in case. Thanks for being willing to kiss Sam," he said in all seriousness.
Sam smiled and waved at Natalie as she picked up her things and began to walk out. He felt a certain type of reaction to this news.
"Okay, I'm glad we got that cleared up before we put too much work into making the substitute believable. This really simplifies things." Alex said. He had a no-nonsense way of directing, and no one was surprised to see him changing things around on the fly.
Sam pretended to be aloof during this whole conversation, but his heart was about to beat out of his chest. Ty was nervous and vulnerable saying that, and he felt protective of her. He could see her chest rise shakily as she took a deep breath.
"It's going to be great," Sam said to her in a calm, reassuring tone as he nodded.
"Okay, we're going to review the footage now, and I might reposition the cameras for the next shot, but it won't take long. We're running it again in five." He glanced at Sam. "Hold her properly next time."
"Got it," Sam said with a nod.
Alex walked off to talk to the crew, and Ty blinked up at Sam, breathing shakily again.
"You good?" he said, focusing on her and trying to decide if tears were forming in her eyes or if they were just that shiny.
"Yeah."
"Do you want to step outside for a second?"
"Do you think we have time?" she asked, with a worried glance at Alex. Sam gave her a quick nod and then told Cameron that the two of them were stepping outside for a minute and would be right back. Cameron agreed easily, and Ty smiled as she followed Sam outside.
Chapter 10
Ty
My heart was pounding. I had just told Alex and the others that I wasn't with my boyfriend and could now perform my duties as an actress in this role. The whole exchange had only taken a minute or two, but Alex had bluntly asked the extra to leave, and I was left feeling suddenly overwhelmed. I had been through moments like this when I was put on the spot. I would get through it. My nerves were blown out of proportion compared to my circumstances, and I had to talk myself down mentally so that my body would follow suit.
