5. Chapter 5
Chapter five
Dane
D ue to nothing but convenience, Dane had been pulled in for lighting on the big idea meeting with Caroline. The house was pretty sizable for one person, but the way it was arranged, Vince and Kyle wanted someone who could squeeze into a tight space without getting in the way. Dane was short and skinny, so he fit the bill, and was wedged between two cameras with a light on a tripod at his back.
He was also very nearly rubbing his crotch against the back of Aras’s skull the way they were all positioned, but he pointedly didn’t think about that. If there was any…southern expansion, his bulge would probably close that gap. Which would hardly be the sort of behavior anyone would call professional. And also, Dane would absolutely melt into a puddle of pure embarrassment if he accidentally cock-checked the back of Aras’s head.
Vince, the director of photography, waved his hands, quieting everyone and drawing attention. Then he held up three fingers. Two. One. The cameras focused in and Dane double-checked that the lighting looked decent. He was on fill light duty. Since they were filming in a house, not a highly controlled studio, it was never one-hundred percent clear whether or not fill lighting or back lighting would be needed, when it would be needed, or how long. In general, he would take his cues from Kyle, but he was on orders to fix something if he noticed it first.
Mason, as per usual, took the lead, tapping the butt of his pen against the folding table they’d brought in. “So, like you said, this place is pretty solid already. Nothing major that needs to be addressed as far as we can tell.”
“Other than being terminally dull,” said Evander.
Caroline nodded, blowing out a slow breath. “That’s good. You always hear horror stories of these new construction houses getting half-assed.” She cringed. “Can I say ass?”
“Don’t censor yourself.” Aras’s voice was low, and he didn’t move at all as he spoke. “That’s production’s job, not any of ours. They have all kinds of fancy beeps they can put in if they don’t like us saying ass or taint or fuck.”
He was really pushing Dane’s buttons and didn’t even know it. Dane quite liked hearing Aras say all those words and he leaned his hips slightly back, just in case the tingling rush actually hardened things up. This is insane .
Mason cleared his throat politely. “So anyway, that means we can basically jump right into the fun design part of this process without worrying about cleaning, fixing, any of that.” He reached down and pulled a laptop from his messenger bag. “We’ve got a little web-app that we like to use that’ll help give us a better idea of your style so that we’re not just making the houses into extensions of our own personalities.” He navigated his way to the app—Dane could just barely see the screen from where he stood—then turned the laptop around and scooted it over to Caroline. “We can answer any questions you might have about it. Otherwise, just go to town and select the stuff that speaks to you.”
“All right.”
“If you can multitask?” Aras shifted a little bit back, barely missing running himself into Dane. He looked over his shoulder and gave a sheepish frown. “Sorry.” He scooted forward again and sat up a bit straighter. “How techy are you? Or how techy do you want to be?”
Caroline clicked a few times, then looked over at Aras. “I don’t want, like, a smart home or anything like that.” A couple more clicks. “But I’d like, I don’t know, lots of entertainment? And I like kitchen gadget kind of stuff.”
Aras nodded. “Entertainment meaning what?”
“I always liked the idea of music in every room. Lots of screens to watch whatever I want.” More clicking, then she looked at him again. “I hope that’s not too selfish or crazy or anything. You don’t have to, I’m just throwing out the ideas. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry either.” Aras’s voice was sharp enough, it sounded more like a command than a consolation. “We’re brainstorming. Say what you actually think instead of what you think we want to hear, otherwise there’s no point to us even being here to do the job.” He scratched a little bit out on the hotel notepad he’d taken with him, then looked around at the others. “Don’t let me do all the talking. Unless you’re all suddenly stricken by idiocy and can’t work your mouths.”
A couple beats of silence, and Dane felt unduly uncomfortable as they all seemed to be judging Aras for his comments. Not that the judgment was necessarily undeserved, but in the time Dane had been working on this production…well, that sort of talk wasn’t out of the ordinary for Aras.
“So, kitchen gadgets.” Robinson didn’t talk much as a rule. His voice was as soft as one would expect from someone who didn’t speak as often. “You like to cook?”
“I like the idea of cooking. I used to like it. It’s been a while since it’s been fun.” She was clicking and talking simultaneously, now, and some of the tension had left her voice. “I’d like to get back into it. Especially since I’m going to be living on a single income. Best to avoid going out and save that money, so I better learn how to make food I really love again.”
Robinson nodded. “And, not to be overly personal. I’m the plumbing guy. So kind of have to ask if there’s any special fixtures or anything you’d want in the bathrooms. Now would be the time to add anything like that.”
Caroline tilted her head side-to-side a couple times, then shook it. “Nothing comes to mind. Just need a shower and a tub and a toilet. As long as I’ve got hot water, I’m good to go. And, like, a sink. Obviously.”
Movement caught Dane’s eye and he flicked his gaze to Kyle. He was pointing up and, as Dane reached for the switch on his light, he noticed the shadows that had begun to creep into the shot. As soon as he turned on his soft, round light, they diminished. All this setup for that. Super worth almost poking my crush with a boner.