Jake’s hand came slamming down on the table. If I hadn’t already known it was coming, I would have jumped. Instead I just looked from his fist to his face, slightly amused but mostly looking bored. “Charlotte, you need to tell me, you do understand that, don’t you?”
I stared at him. And then continued to stare at him. I couldn’t remember my line. I had practiced this scene a million times and I just couldn’t remember my line. I turned and looked over at Josh. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I couldn’t remember my line.”
“Cut!” Josh said. He came over to me and I was actually genuinely nervous that he would be incredibly pissed at me and that he would call up Isabelle Monroe, diva or not. “We’ll take it again. You did a great job, McKinley. Try not to be too pissed off. Charlotte is protective but she’s also scared at the same time, which is what is causing her to lash out at Mikey. Remember, she’s going to fall for him. We need to see more of that hesitation.”
I nodded, taking a deep breath, hoping it would help to get rid of the huge lump in my throat.
“Now, lets start from ‘Charlotte, you need to tell me…” He walked back over to one of the main cameras. One thing I had always found pretty awesome about Josh was that he never sat in his actual chair; he was always standing, walking about, watching every angle of the shot to make sure that it was perfect. He counted down the scene and we started once more.
“Charlotte, you need to tell me, you do understand that, don’t you?” Jake said, his hand slamming on the table again.
“Listen, Mikey, I’ve told you. I’m not going to tell you. There is literally nothing you can say or do or promise that will make me say anything.” I glared at him, daring him to go farther.
“I’ve already tried making promises with you,” Jake said, sitting back in his chair. “And you know what? You wanted nothing to do with them. I’m done with making promises. And don’t call me Mikey; it’s Detective.”
“Well, I wanted nothing to do with your promises anyway, Detective, so you lost that bargaining point,” I said.
Jake ran his hands through his hair and again, I felt a pull in the pit of my stomach that had nothing to do with the scene and everything to do with him: Jake Kennedy. “I don’t know what to do with you. You need…you need to understand! Your brother is going to go to jail if you don’t tell us something, anything! Is that what you want, for David to go to jail?”
“Of course I don’t want him to go jail!” I yelled back at him, standing up. “But the idiot doesn’t have anybody; I’m the only one he’s got and who the hell else is going to protect him if I don’t?”
“You can’t protect him by keeping quiet, Charlotte. You can’t! Keeping quiet is only going to send him straight to jail,” Jake said, standing up as well, his hands gripping the table.
“And cut!”
I blinked a couple times and turned to Josh, who had a beaming smile on his face. “Great, just great. I think we’ll run through the scene one more time but you did great, both of you.”
Jake leaned across the table and placed a quick kiss on my forehead before I could even react, sending a jolt through my body. “Good job,” he said. “And thanks.”
I frowned up at him. “Thanks?”
“For helping me with my lines,” he said, smiling. “You’re 100% responsible for how great that scene was. He came around the table and wrapped an arm around my waist. “So, seriously, thank you.”
“Yeah, definitely,” I answered. “They say you should always learn from the best.”
Jake raised his eyebrow but Josh came over before he could respond. “All right, let’s run this through one or two more times and then we’ll break for lunch.”
It was the last week of November when my first episode on Crime Scene aired. I refused to watch it with anyone around, though both Jake and Luke even wanted to throw a viewing party in Jake’s theater room. Instead, I holed up in my bedroom, the covers of my bed pulled up to my chin, waiting for the moment where I could yank them over my head in embarrassment. I’d filmed three episodes as Charlotte and only had three more to film before her story would finish and I wouldn’t be necessary anymore. Josh, Jake and Cam had been singing praises my way the entire time.
Andrea, on the other hand, was not pleased. I was doing well on the set, the crew and cast were all super nice to me, and pictures of Jake and I kept appearing in random magazines. Andrea was pissed, especially since most of her press was negative. Her husband was spending a lot of time back home, in Scotland, supposedly because his mother was really sick. Despite what seemed to be a legitimate excuse, the press was eating it up with rumors of an impending break-up, especially with Jake and I appearing all over the place, looking pretty happy.
The show played every Thursday at eight p.m. I had gone downstairs into the diner, fixed myself a sandwich and then went upstairs to my room. Luke had the game on but I knew he was waiting for the show to start. He smiled and shook his head as I went into my room and shut the door.
After the show, I sat on my bed, not exactly sure how to feel. I felt like I had done a good job but that didn’t necessarily mean I had actually done a good job. I had just turned off the TV when I heard my phone vibrating on my desk. I grabbed it and immediately answered it. “Hello?”
“You were fantastic.”
“You really think so?” I asked. I shook my head. “I mean, of course I did.”
I could hear Jake’s laughter easily through the phone. “You are one of a kind.”
“I know,” I said, smiling. Luke peeked his head in and, noticing that I was on the phone, gave me a thumbs up.
“Seriously, Kinley, you rocked it. People are going to be talking about you tomorrow,” Jake said. “ I am so proud of you!”
Jake wasn’t lying. The next morning, I was mentioned on several of the morning news and talk shows and Adrienne called me to tell me that last night’s ratings of Crime Scene were the highest they had been since last season. My phone was ringing off the hook the next few days and I had to shut it off during business hours to keep it from interrupting me while I was taking people’s orders.
* * * * * *
Today was the day that I would film my first ever kissing in the history of my short career as an actress. I shouldn’t have been nervous. Obviously, I had kissed him before, considering that most nights I had spent at his house were nights spent in between those fancy silk sheets on his bed. I had never kissed anyone for an audience though, or in front of a camera and people kept telling me that it was extremely awkward.
“You’re really nervous, aren’t you?” Jake asked, as we walked down to the set.
“Absolutely not,” I said, firmly.
He reached out and took my hand for a brief moment. “It’s not a big deal, I promise. You have been doing an awesome job and everyone loves you. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Right, of course,” I answered, as we walked on set. Wendy came out of nowhere and started straightening my hair. She looked way more nervous than I felt. “I’m fine, Wendy.”
“Look, we can barely keep our hands off each other so I’m sure you’ll be fine in front of the camera,” Jake whispered in my ear. I felt a shiver go down my spine and I resisted the urge to kiss him already.
“You guys ready?” Josh asked, walking over to us. We both nodded and we walked over to the set. Today we were filming the first time that Charlotte and Mikey, inside Mikey’s apartment. Things were already set up and I noticed Andrea out of the corner of my eye, even though I knew she wasn’t filming any scenes today.
Josh came over, gave us a bit of a pep talk, and got us both in our places. I stood by a table in the apartment, where I was supposed to stare at a photograph of Mikey and Maggie together. Jake was on the other side of the room. Josh counted down and the scene began.
“Why are you here, Charlie?” Jake said, softly.
I kept my eyes away from him. Charlotte was trying hard to fight Mikey. She had feelings for him, especially because he was fighting
so hard to protect her brother. However, she actually wanted to be the good person and respect his relationship with Maggie. “You tell me, Mikey. I told you, I could have just stayed in a hotel. You offered me your spare room and I’m here.”
“You could’ve said no.” Jake’s voice was tight. Mikey too was trying hard to resist. He was both pulling her in and pushing her away.
“Right,” I said. I turned to him, my face hopefully expressing all the desire that Charlotte was supposed to be feeling. “But I didn’t say no, Mikey. So now what?”
“I guess I can make up the guest room…”
I shook my head. “Mikey…” I said, softly.
He shook his head; once, twice, three times. “No, stop, Charlotte. We both know that this can’t happen.”
I crossed the room over him and stood right in front of him. I took a deep breath, glad that the script called for that because I needed it. I placed my palms on his chest and stepped closer to him.
“You should really stop,” he whispered, loud enough to be picked up.
“I don’t see you stopping me,” I whispered back, my palms snaking up his chest and around his neck to pull him down toward me. Our lips met and suddenly, I forgot that I was only supposed to kiss him once. I pulled my hands tighter around his neck and pressed my lips tight to his. God, he was a fantastic kisser. I was actually getting paid to kiss him and he was kissing me back like we were back in his bedroom, instead of on set. On set. Shit.
I pulled away, and looked over at Josh, who had an amused look on his face. “Oh my god, I am so sorry,” I said, feeling incredibly embarrassed.
“That was a great kiss, McKinley, honestly. But remember, Charlotte kisses him very lightly first and then Mikey initiates the rest.”
“I know, I remember,” I said, feeling ashamed. I saw Wendy, who was trying very hard not to laugh and saw that Andrea was looking both pissed and satisfied at the same time.
“Let’s try that again, okay? From your last line, McKinley,” Josh said.
I placed my palms on Jake’s chest and looked up at him. “Sorry,” I whispered.
“That was quite a kiss,” he whispered back before settling into character.
“I don’t see you stopping me,” I whispered, my hands travelling up chest to his neck again. I pressed my lips to his softly, quickly, and pulled back. Jake stared for a moment.
“Okay, now,” Josh said. Jake leaned forward, and swept me up his arms, pulling me in for the kiss that was supposed to be the one that changes everything. For a moment, there was no sound on set except for the two of us basically making out. Then, Josh called cut.
“Good, but let’s try it again. McKinley, try to use less tongue next time, okay? And Jake, I want you to be possessive of her. Grab her; pull her close to you, like you’ve been waiting forever for this to happen. Let’s go again.”
I flushed a little but nodded. “Okay, let’s do it again.” Who knew there was a right way to kiss on camera?
* * * * * *
“Relax, its going to be completely fine,” Wendy said, brushing powder across my face. “Just be yourself.”
“You know I’m a huge bitch, right?” I said, making a face. The brush tickled my face, though I knew the powder was necessary to cover those damned freckles. “Being myself is not a good idea when talking to a reporter from TEEN! Magazine.”
Wendy rolled her eyes at me, in the mirror. Over the past few months, Wendy had become a friend to me. She was the first person that really helped usher me into this world and she was the last person I saw before every scene I acted in. My favorite part about her was that she put up with my shit. “Do you always have to put yourself down all the time? I swear, it’s completely ridiculous.”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Seriously, you think you’d know me by now.” I looked at myself in the mirror and down at my outfit. “How do I look?”
“You look…” Wendy paused, head cocked to the side as she studied me. A smile spread across her face. “You look like you’re ready to be on the cover of TEEN! Magazine.”
I sighed with relief. I had the photo shoot first, which is why I had spent so much time being poked, prodded, pinched and plucked into perfection. I had a white lace blouse on, with a thin black belt buckled right under my breasts for accent and a pair of black shorts. Wendy had instructed me to wear black flats but my feet would be bare for the photo shoot.
When Adrienne had called me the day after my premiere episode, I expected congrats or even just a “good job” or something. I had never expected her to tell me that her phone was ringing off the hook, and that the phone calls were about me. She said no to all the “lower” magazines, whatever that meant, and the gossip rags but had booked a front page spread plus interview with the top selling teen magazine, TEEN! After she had walked me through what was expected, I hung up and called Jake. And then called Adrienne right back to make sure I hadn’t imagined it.
After I was done being made to look camera ready, they drove me out to some park, where everything was all set up already. Wendy was nearby for touch-ups and there were plenty of assistants with water bottles and snacks for me, if need be. The entire situation was surreal. There was an old picnic blanket set up on the ground. I was directed over to it, where I was instructed to sit with my legs crossed.
The photo shoot ended up being a lot harder than I had previously imagined. I had thought that I would show up, smile and they would take a few pictures. Boy had I been wrong. First off, I wasn’t comfortable. I was holding my neck in a weird angle, bending my legs in strange ways, or straddling tree branches. Secondly, smiling was out of question. I looked like I was smiling for a Sears’s portrait, or so the photographer said. I had to look fierce or pensive or sexy or playful…and none of that was as easy as it sounded.
Then they gave me a puppy to play with…for the photo shoot. It was hard to look cute and sexy and playful and whatever when you had a rambunctious puppy crawling all over you or running around chasing bugs or looking for the perfect spot to take a pee. Don’t get me wrong; I wanted to him home but he was not easy to work with.
Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time the photo shoot was over. We drove back to the TEEN! Building where I changed into something more comfortable. And by more comfortable, I meant ridiculously expensive True Religion jeans and a loose black Burberry top, the price tag of which nearly made me faint. This was too ridiculous for words.
I was driven back out to the diner, where the journalist from TEEN! was going to be interviewing me. It was the one stipulation I had. If I was going to be interviewed (which was already too weird to begin with), I was being interviewed where I was most comfortable.
Erin Lennox was sitting in the Audrey Hepburn table. I crossed the room, waving nervously at Frank and Oliver. I slid into the booth, smiling. Erin looked up, looking way too excited to see me.
“McKinley! Hi!” she said, extending her hand across the table to me. “You look adorable. Is that Burberry?”
I looked down at the blouse, feeling self-conscious. “Um, yes, I think so,” I said. I laughed. “I’m still learning all these fancy brands.”
She laughed as well. “I’m sure! I’m sure you’re learning all kinds of new things.”
“You can definitely say that,” I agreed.
She reached into her large tote and pulled out a small recorder. “Do you mind if I record this?”
I shrugged. “Not at all.”
So, McKinley, what’s it like…going from a waitress to the hot new guest star on Crime Scene?”
I paused for a long moment before answering. I was stalling for show. To my surprise, I had learned that stars didn’t just do interviews on the spot. There were always pre-interviews, where the questions and the answers were gone over to see what was allowed and what wasn’t. For instance, I made sure that no mention of Jake or my mom was allowed. “Weird,” I said, finally. “It all sort of happened by accident. I’m still trying to process what’s happening.
”
“Were you a fan of Crime Scene before?”
“Yeah, definitely, who isn’t?” I said. “I’ve always been a huge fan of the show. It has a fantastic cast and the story is so addicting. And I’ve always had a huge crush on Cam Daniels.”
Erin raised her eyebrow. “Oh? Cam? And what about Mr. Jake Kennedy?”
I tensed up at the question but tried to keep my smile on. I looked over at Adrienne, who pursed her lips. It hadn’t taken long at all for them to break our agreement. I had talked to an intern at TEEN! for my pre-interview so I tried not to be mad at Erin. Adrienne opened her mouth to say something and I shook my head. “What about him?” I asked.
“Well, you’ve been dating him for awhile now and everyone is dying to know what its like!”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. “Its great. Jake is a fun guy, great…” I swallowed before I said “great in bed”. This was a teen magazine, after all. I needed to be appropriate, which wasn’t always an easy thing for me to do, even when I was a teenager. “He’s just great.”
A Little Less than Famous Page 16