Page 16 of Seven Minutes In Heaven
That was the news that finally got Jake sitting up at his end of the table. “Is that really necessary?” he asked the director. “We can figure out their chemistry from the first two scenes.”
“Are you kidding? That was the deciding factor for the last…”
“It’s not necessary,” Jake reiterated.
“Hey, Jake,” Scott piped up, “just because she’s your dad’s fiancée doesn’t mean she gets out of kissing in a movie that calls for it.”
Wes held up his hands. “Whoa, wait? You’re Arthur Carter’s woman?”
“I’m notanyone’swoman, thank you very much.” Claire crossed her arms. “I’m perfectly capable of handling a kissing scene. I think Arthur would understand that this is a part of the job. I mean, we all know he’s wining and dining starlets at all hours of the day, don’t we? You dare to tell me I can’t kiss for myjob?”
The room fell silent. The one woman on the panel looked around as if she hadn’t believed what came out of Claire’s mouth.
“No, I suppose not,” Jake said. “I wrote the kiss, after all. If my father has a problem with it, he can take it up for me.”
We need to talk, Jake.Claire wished she could say that. Yet when she slyly asked to see a copy of the script to check who wrote it, she encountered the name “J. Dominguez.” Wasn’t Dominguez his mother’s maiden name? Damnit. A pen name! Foiled again by the various names men and women in the industry used.
“I’m ready,” Claire informed the panel. She turned to Wes and said, “Don’t worry. Nobody’s gonna kick your ass because you kissed me in front of these nice people.”
“Let’s take it from the top of the scene,” the director said.
Wes blew air into his cheeks; Claire prepped herself for a kiss scene.Glad I popped that mint.Not so glad that she still felt like shit. She had hoped that the nerves would have abated now that she had a read of the room, but… no such luck. It must have been Jake’s presence that made her feel so shitty.
The director counted down to begin the scene.
“Look here, Andy!” Claire threw herself right into it, jamming her finger into Wes’s chest. “I’m not playing your games any longer. Do you like me or not? Because I’m not spending every night of the rest of my life wondering if we have something going on here. Do you hear me? Because I refuse… Irefuse!” The fake waterworks began.Think of your dead cat from childhood, Claire.That usually did the trick. Tears fell down Claire’s cheeks as she sobbed in frustration. “I’m willing to give up everything for you! I don’t care about the money or my family’s connections, if it means I can be with you for the rest of my life! Well? What do you have to say about that? Are you going to say anything at all?”
Wes hesitated.This isn’t in the script…The character Andy was supposed kiss Claire right away.
“For the love of God, do it…” she murmured. Then, louder, “Are you going to say anythingat all,Andy?”
“I ain’t got anything to say,” Wes finally said. “Not when you never listen to my words.”
Claire was pulled into Wes’s arms and kissed with such ferocity that she almost forgot where she was, what she was doing, and how the hell she ended up kissing one of the biggest up and coming stars in Hollywood. He didn’t go for the tongue, but the intent was there. It didn’t help that half a dozen people studied them and took notes. This was the kind of kiss that could make or break her career.
So, she kissed him back. For the sake of her career – and because she knew Arthur wouldn’t give a shit.
What she didn’t intend, however, was for Jake to give a shit.
“We got it, thanks,” he said. “You can stop now.”
Claire clasped her hands on Wes’s cheeks. Not because she was so enthralled with this man’s kiss, but because she was afraid to move.
She was on the verge of vomiting again.
It was Wes’s damned aftershave. Something about it was so unappealing, so unnatural that it dragged up the nausea and threatened to spew.
“Cut!” the director called.
Wes tried to pull away. Claire clung to him, attempting to muffle a harried cry that said it was dangerous for him to move.
She lost the battle. As soon as Wes got his way and turned around, Claire unleashed the small bit of vomit that had burst up her esophagus and demanded attention.
At least it didn’t get on Wes? The floor was much easier to clean up, even if she had lost every bit of shame she had in front of the casting panel.
“Wow.” Scott turned around, attempting not to laugh. “Youdorealize this is a romance, right, Claire? Not a teen horror film?”
She stared at the puddle of vomit in front of her and wiped her mouth, mortified.
