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 trying not to 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, she had 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 was what like?”
“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 like this was 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 was meant to 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.
“Well, luckily for you, we have a whole movie for you to use to convey it. Also, it’s not all on you. Samara is there, too. You’ll both be conveying that.”
“Right,” she said.
“Okay. Are we ready?” Reed asked everyone.
Dana moved around to find her mark. Samara hurried in as well to stand by the wall, but she left space behind her at her own mark.
“You okay?” Dana asked her.
“Yeah. Just needed a minute, but I’m okay.”
“You didn’t just throw up, did you?” she asked.
Samara laughed and said, “No. Gross, Dana.” She then playfully slapped Dana’s shoulder. “I was doing some breathing exercises.”
“Good. I don’t want to kiss you if you just threw up.”
“I would’ve at least brushed my teeth and popped a few mints if I had.”
Dana laughed.
“Yes, that,” Reed told them. “More of that. Laugh into the take.”
“What?” Dana asked, still laughing a little.
But Reed was already yelling all her words and phrases, and Dana realized that they were rolling when Samara’s arms went around her neck, just like in the script.
“Action!”
“This feels like it matters,” she said her line.
“To me too,” Samara, as Stella, said with a small smile.
“How?” she asked.
“I have no idea, but it feels really good.”
Someone then bumped Bray from behind, pushing Bray against Stella and Stella against the wall.
“Shit. Sorry,” Bray said.
“Don’t be. You’re closer now. I like you closer,” Stella said, and her hands moved a little at the back of Bray’s neck.
“I can be even closer,” Bray suggested, tilting her head a little, which wasn’t in the script.
“I think I’d like to see that,” Stella replied before licking her lips, which also wasn’t in the script.
Bray licked her lips as well, leaned in, and their lips were now connected and moving together.
Dana tried to focus on the fact that she was Bray right now.
She was supposed to be Bray right now. She wasn’t Dana Sterling kissing Samara Barber.
She was in character, and it wasn’t really Samara’s hands in her hair.
It was Stella’s. Still, Samara’s hands in her hair made it very difficult for Dana to remember that Samara was in character, too, because Samara was really going for it, just as she had told Dana to go for it earlier.
Dana’s hands were around Samara’s lower back at first, roaming under her shirt.
Then, she was supposed to shift her hands around to Samara’s stomach, but she got sidetracked when Samara moaned a little.
Dana knew that wasn’t in the script, so she decided to take Samara at her word and really go for it.
She slipped her tongue into Samara’s mouth, hoping that was okay, and when Samara’s tongue joined her own in that sexy dance, Dana’s hand went to her stomach and stayed under the shirt, running along Samara’s skin, wanting to take it further because Samara could really fucking kiss.
As the kiss went on, Samara’s hands moved to Dana’s shoulders, grazing skin through the sleeves of her shirt, and she pressed Dana into her even more. At some point, Dana remembered that Samara had a line, so she reluctantly pulled out of the kiss but didn’t move away.
“Come home with me,” Samara said, trying to catch her breath a little as she stared into Dana’s eyes.
“Yes,” she replied and went back in for another kiss, moving her thigh between Samara’s.
It was technically in the script, but Dana wasn’t sure she had done it strictly for that reason.
No one would know based on this angle that it was happening, which meant she could have saved it for later when they were shooting a wider shot.
Then again, no one would know that Samara had pressed her sex against Dana’s thigh either from this angle or any other, and that hadn’t been in the script.
Bray was supposed to kiss Stella’s neck next, so Dana’s lips were on the move.
She was only supposed to pretend to kiss Samara there because the camera wouldn’t see if she was actually doing it, but she was going for authenticity.
She pressed her lips to Samara’s neck and felt Samara cling to her.
“We–” Samara began, which was the entirety of that line because the fight was supposed to start breaking out.
They would add that in later, so Dana pulled back and turned to see what was going on, even though nothing was actually happening in this shot.
“We should go,” she said.
“And cut!” Reed yelled.
Dana turned back to check on Samara right after, and Samara looked like she’d been thoroughly kissed, which was what, Dana supposed, she should look like.
“Um…” Reed started. “That was…”
“My first take. I can do better,” Dana said, but her eyes were still on Samara.
“No, that was… perfect,” Reed said, and Dana turned to her then. “I kind of want you to kiss me now, Dana,” she joked, and a few people laughed. “I mean, damn.”
“It was okay?”
“It was exactly what we needed,” Reed replied. “We’ll do it again for coverage, but we might just be able to use the first take. Holy shit.” Reed shook her head in disbelief.
When Dana looked over at Bryce, Bryce actually lifted an eyebrow at her and gave her a smirk. Dana just shook her head and turned back to Samara.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly. “Was it too much?”
“No,” Samara said with a soft smile. “Reed’s right.”
“Can we get some touch-ups in there before we go again, please?” Reed asked.
Dana couldn’t believe she was getting paid to do this. She’d just made out with Samara Barber and would get to do it again and again until they wrapped for the night, and then, again and again until they wrapped the movie.
Still, before the hair and makeup people pulled them apart, she moved into Samara for a second, and checked in a near-whisper, “Really?”
Samara nodded at her.
◆◆◆
They’d wrapped around eleven, and Samara had walked off to her trailer without saying goodbye to her, leaving Dana wondering if they really were okay, because they’d shot that kiss scene ten times, with Reed trying to ensure they had more than enough coverage of that and that the sound on their lines had been decent.
At one point, they’d taken a break to reset a light because a bulb had gone out, but Bryce had grabbed her during, so she hadn’t been able to check on Samara again.
Once home, Dana had taken a shower, wanting to get all of the makeup and hair product off her, and climbed into bed.
She was more than exhausted and ready for some sleep because they would be back at this early tomorrow.
Her lips were kiss-swollen, which they hadn’t been in a while, but it was nice.
Dana smiled up at her ceiling then, thinking that it was Samara who had made them that way, going for it with every single take and even nibbling at Dana’s bottom lip unexpectedly in one of them, which had turned her on in a way it should not have.
When her phone rang, she picked it up and glanced at the readout, surprised to see Miles calling her.
He worked at the catering company, and they’d exchanged numbers about a year ago, when he had asked her out.
They’d had one date, but he’d been a little pushy, wanting to go back to his place after he had paid for dinner, which Dana hadn’t appreciated, so she hadn’t gone out with him again. He hadn’t called her since.
“Miles?” she asked.
“Hey. She’s a bitch, huh?”
“Sorry. What?” Dana asked.
“This Samara Barber woman. I got put on her dinner duty tonight.”
“I know. I was there when you delivered her food.”
“And it was fine, but she just called the boss, asking for a snack. I was about to head home, but I had to make some kind of juice thing for her because the juice shop she normally orders from was closed, and I had to deliver it to her hotel room because she was already gone for the night.”
“Sorry; why does that make her a bitch?”
“It’s after eleven. What the hell did she need the fucking juice for? She couldn’t just make it herself?”
“In her hotel room?” Dana asked. “Why are you calling to tell me this, exactly?”
“I figured you were still up because you just got done filming and that you could understand that this diva bullshit is stupid.”
“Miles, I’m tired. I worked all day, and I have to be up at six, so maybe not.”
“Can you talk to her, though?”
“About what?”
“This ordering late at night thing.”
“Miles, it’s in her contract. She orders food and wants it delivered. Just ask not to have to cover her requests anymore.”
“Someone quit and left us shorthanded,” he replied.
“I’m going to bed now, Miles. Sorry, you had to work late.”
“Whatever. I guess you’ve moved up now, so you’re not thinking of the little people anymore.”
Dana rolled her eyes and said, “No, I’m just tired, and I think you can handle making one trip to her hotel to deliver the food for her.”
When he hung up without saying goodbye, Dana went to put her phone back on the charger but then decided to do something else instead.
“Hi,” Samara said when she answered.
“You just had to order green juice after eleven?”
“What?” Samara asked.
“I just got a call from Miles.”
“The delivery guy?”
“Yes, the delivery guy,” Dana replied with a little laugh. “He wanted us to commiserate because we both had to put up with you and your food.”
“Oh,” Samara said. “Sorry. Did he wake you?”
“No, I was still up. And it’s not your fault. He’s a dick for calling me and complaining about you.”
“Why did he call you?”
“Well, I was responsible for your food as of, like, yesterday, and he and I went out once, so he still has my number. I’m actually thinking he might have expected some kind of booty call situation out of this. Wouldn’t surprise me. He’s tried before.”
“What?” Samara asked. “You went out with him?”
“A year ago. One date. He got handsy, so I passed. We didn’t go out again.”
“He put his hands on you?” Samara asked.
“Not like that,” she said. “He just paid for dinner and thought that meant he’d get laid. I didn’t even kiss him.”
“Oh,” Samara replied. “Sounds like you dodged a bullet. I’ll talk to him tomorrow, if you want, and tell him that it was unacceptable to complain to you.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll handle it. Are you okay? That’s really why I’m calling. You just left earlier, and now, you’re ordering a late-night green juice.”
Samara chuckled and said, “I’m okay. Sometimes, after a day of shooting, I get really wired.
I also felt a little off-kilter, so I needed a snack.
I don’t have anything here but my water, and nothing from the shop by the front desk would work for me.
I feel bad that he called you, though, Dana.
I do not feel bad anymore about making him drive over here to deliver it now that I know he’s an asshole. ”
Dana laughed and said, “It’s fine. I was still up.”
“Wired, too?”
“I’m exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open, but, yeah, there’s something inside me that just isn’t ready to go to sleep.”
“It’s the adrenaline. I know the feeling. You need sleep because you’re going to do the whole thing again tomorrow, but your body is…”
“Tingling all over? Riding the high?” Dana said.
“Exactly,” Samara replied quietly.
Then, neither of them said anything for a long moment, but Samara didn’t say goodnight or hang up, so Dana stayed on the phone, waiting to see what might happen next because she didn’t want to hang up, either.
“What did he say about me?” Samara asked.
“Who? Miles?”
“Yeah.”
“He used words I would prefer not to repeat.”
“That bad, huh?” Samara laughed.
“Not great.”
“I bet he’s doubly pissed at me now because you turned him down for that booty call.”
“He didn’t specifically say anything about that, but it just wouldn’t surprise me if he thought a late-night call complaining about you would earn him an invite.”
“I’m glad it didn’t,” Samara replied.
“You are?”
“Yeah, because it meant you called me instead.”
Dana smiled up at her ceiling and said, “I guess it did.”