Page 34 of Breaking Free

“No. The part. There are two sex scenes where I have to bare—everything.”

“Oh wow!”

Silence followed.

“Josie, please. I’m desperate for advice and need you to talk me down from the ledge.”

“I was thinking, Piper. Breathe.”

She tried but failed. Dread about her career going down the tubes before it took off made her chest ache and her head pound.

“If you join the club, you’ll eventually have to bare it all there. Right?”

“Probably, but for 1000 people max with confidentiality agreements. Not on giant screens in ultra-high definition for my parents, my overprotective brother, my Sunday school teachers, and the entirety of my father’s church congregation to see.”

As she imagined their reaction, Piper closed her eyes and tried not to throw up.

“Hon. You still there?” Josie asked after several silent seconds passed.

“I was just thinking about going home for Christmas and facing them after seeing my...well, all of me.”

“Can’t you set limits and have them written into your contract?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Piper resumed pacing while they talked. “No one has asked me to take my clothes off before.”

“But it’s everywhere—on TV and in the movies, especially in dramas, which is your genre. You must have expected it to come up, eventually.”

“I expected to have a resume to fall back on if and when it came up. That showed my acting chops and gave me options to negotiate. I never dreamed I’d be offered a leading role this soon.”

“You sell yourself short, Piper. With your looks, you were bound to get offers.”

“That’s a double-edged sword though. My looks, not my superior acting skills, are why they’d want me to take it all off.”

What had Hunter said? She had exquisite bone structure. More like she had the boobs and ass to jack up the ratings and earn them a second season.

There was more silence on the line before Josie said, “Listen. You’re the one who has to look in the mirror every morning andface your family and friends back home. If you set limits, what’s the worst they can do other than say no?”

“Doom my career before it starts,” she said glumly. “If I get a reputation for being difficult, I might not get offered future roles. It’s not fair. Do you think men have to make this kind of choice?”

“I’ve seen a lot of bare chests and asses lately, but they probably don’t face the fallout from the small-town prudes that women do. What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure.” She was no closer to a decision than when they started talking, but she felt somewhat better having vented a little. “Thanks for listening, Josie. I’m glad I’ve got you as a sounding board and as a friend.”

“Who dressed in a leather mini and hawked my wares when I was in a bind?”

“You’re right! That tookcajonesI didn’t know I had. Coming from a conservative small town, I don’t think of myself as a prude. But if someone had told me before I left for LA that I’d end up selling kinky clothing in a sex club, I would have called them a liar.”

“But you did it for me,” Josie reminded her, “and I’m grateful. Real friendship is a two-way street, Piper. Call me anytime, and I mean that.”

After their conversation, she made another call.

Cindy answered on the first ring. “Piper,” she exclaimed, speaking first. “I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to hear from you. What did you think about the contract and the script?”

“That’s why I’m calling.” Piper took a deep breath, her voice wavering slightly as she explained. “I’m concerned about the love scenes. They call for me showing more skin than I expected. Can we address that, do you think? Without me coming across as difficult?”

“Oh, my dear, you aren’t the first with reservations. I’ll call the casting director and see if we can make a few adjustments. She sounded excited about you in the role.”

“Excited? Seriously?” The casting director she met had seemed completely unmoved by her performance. “Are we talking about Sheryl Martin?”

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