Page 56 of Marlowe Banks, Redesigned
“Do what?” she asked.
“He’ll kiss you, of course.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Marlowe gulped back an entire bottle of water.
“I can’t do it,” she said when she finally came up for air, practically gasping.
“So don’t.” Cherry took the empty bottle from her. “It’s not what you agreed to.”
They were seated on a pair of folding chairs behind a generator, just out of view of the group gathered around the set. Marlowe had requested a short break, even though she knew time was money when so many people were standing around waiting for her. Angus was back with Fritz and Wes, talking through options.
“The line’s terrible,” Marlowe said. “I know Jake’s supposed to be a take-what-he-wants kind of guy, but there’s a point where it gets kind of, I don’t know, aggressive, even hostile. Jake and Adelaide barely know each other and he provides no opportunity for her to give her consent. He plunges right in. It’s not romantic. It’s wrong.” She got up to pace, too agitated to sit still. “I’ve spent way too much time in messed-up relationships to perpetuate this crap. Do you realize how many messages the average woman gets in a lifetime, telling her a man’s role is to want and her role is to bewanted? Like why does the guy always kiss the girl while the girl ‘gets kissed’? Why can’t they kiss each other?”
Cherry snorted through a smile. “So youdowant to kiss him?”
“Yes! No!” Marlowe fanned her face, hoping her anger masked her blush. “I just mean that ifJakeandAdelaideare going to kiss, it should be a mutual choice, right?”
“Totally.” Cherry popped her jacket button to reveal the print on her T-shirt. It had four simple outlined figures, each with a word below their feet. The first walked up stairs.ASCENT. The second held a gift.PRESENT. The third and fourth held hands, with semicircle smiles and a heart over their heads.CONSENT.
“Have I ever told you you’re my hero?” Marlowe asked.
“We’ll do karaoke one night. I’ll get you to sing it.”
“For you, anything.” Marlowe managed a laugh before renewing her pacing, still stuck on the issue at hand. “I was up for the fake boobs and the ‘girl has to be shorter than the guy’ gender norms bullshit. I didn’t even mind the slow lean-in. At least it gave Adelaide agency to say no or to meet Jake halfway, but I’m so sick of seeing men in control while women are only in a position of reaction. I swear it’s one of the reasons I stayed with Kelvin so long. I’d been brainwashed into thinking he was more likely to be right than I was. Even though I know—trust me, Iknow—I should see past it all. But when the entire world engages in a conspiracy to make you feel like you’re not even allowed to be the subject of your own story, it’s hard not to buy into it.”
Cherry shot her a wry look. “You do realize you’re talking to a queer woman of color, right? You don’t need to tell me what messages the world sends out.”
“Sorry. I can’t even imagine.” Marlowe sank into her chair andleaned her head on Cherry’s shoulder, reaching out to knit their hands together.
The conversation might’ve continued, but Alejandra approached, wearing tailored separates and vivid purple glasses that formed sharp angles against her soft black curls.
“Wes called me over,” she said. “It amazes me that we’re still having discussions like this, and that I have to argue for why we need more women in writing and directing positions, but change is slow.” She blew out a sigh. “Come on, let’s go talk to the boys.”
For the better part of an hour, Wes, Fritz, Alejandra, Angus, and Marlowe discussed the proposed change to the scene. Some of the writing team FaceTimed in with opinions. Angus even got Sanaya on the phone to talk through contract implications. She apologetically confirmed that asking Marlowe to alter her lines or kiss her costar was within the producers’ rights. Thankfully, with Alejandra’s help, Marlowe’s concerns were addressed and the script was tweaked until everyone agreed on the edits. Marlowe was so wrapped up in ensuring that the scene felt consensual, she didn’t fully realize she’d agreed to kiss Angus until everyone dispersed to set up for another take. As the idea sank in, she took him by the hand and drew him away from the crowd.
“This is weird,” she said, stating the obvious but unable to articulate anything more complex while her adrenaline was spiking and another panic attack was nigh.
“Do you want to talk to Wes again?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She dropped Angus’s hand and chewed a fingernail, continuity be damned. “You get why it’s weird, right?”
“Because I asked you on a date and you turned me down?”
“Sort of. Yeah. And”—the dance, the flirtation, the meaningful conversations, the easy camaraderie, the shower, the hug, the videomontage, the growing desire to be close to him in ways that would only bring her more uncomfortable attention—“and I don’t think I can kiss anyone with all of those people watching. It’s too intimate.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” Angus leaned against a palm tree and tucked a thumb into the waistband of his jeans, his relaxed posture striking a sharp contrast with Marlowe’s almost manic energy. “I’ve done this a hundred times. Think of it as blocking, the same way you grab the necklace or exit toward the diner. It’s basic action. Position hands. Make eye contact. Lean in. It doesn’t have to feel intimate or personal,especiallywith all of the people watching.” He paused there, all easy reassurance while she fidgeted before him, unconvinced the situation was as simple as he claimed. “I’m a big boy. I can take a rejection and be grateful for a friendship. I can also keep my personal and professional lives separate. We’re acting, and if I do anything you’re not comfortable with, just stop.”
She spat out a sliver of fingernail and started tugging at another.
“What if I’m already uncomfortable?” she asked.
“It’s up to you. We can give it a shot or we can demand we stick to the old script.”
She perked up. “We can do that?”
“Officially, no, and I like to play the asshole card sparingly, but they’re not likely to fire me two episodes from the end of the season. It’ll also cost them a hell of a lot more to write you out at this point than it will to finish the scene and move on.” He smiled softly, watching her with all the patience in the world. No pressure. No shaming. Just an unwavering sense of support.
