by GA Hauser
“Yes. Did you?”
“I did. Something about not acting grossed out. What does she expect us to do, spit and wipe our tongues on our sleeve?”
Keith looked back at Charlotte as Carl’s eyes seemed to find her in the group. Clearing his throat, Keith asked, “Uh, have you ever kissed a guy before, Carl?”
“No.”
That made Keith feel a whole lot better.
“You?”
“Nope.” Keith shifted side to side nervously.
“I really think they’re making too much of it. I can’t see how it could be such a big deal with the kind of movies they have in theaters nowadays.”
“You’re right. I have to admit I was getting myself worked up about it.”
“Don’t. It’s not worth it, Keith. It’s two seconds in the shot.”
“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” Keith’s nerves settled down. He touched Carl’s arm through his suit jacket. “Thanks. I mean it.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Both of them stood waiting as Charlotte answered some technical questions from her crew.
Finally she addressed them. “All right. Let’s get this going. You guys ready?”
Keith nodded, turning to see Carl giving her the same indication.
“Okay, this is our camera rehearsal. Let’s get quiet on the set!”
Keith relaxed his arms to his sides and looked at Carl who was staring at him with the same intensity.
“Living room scene. Take one! Action!” was shouted and the surroundings became dead quiet.
“Thanks, Troy. I mean that. I don’t have too much money…” Keith said, waiting for Carl’s line.
Carl cupped Keith’s face. Even with Carl’s reassurances Keith felt his body become a bag of nerves.
“You don’t worry about money, Dennis. We’ll work something out.”
Keith swallowed down his dry throat. “But I don’t know what else I can offer you.”
“Don’t you?” Carl purred.
“You…you mean…” Keith felt his skin cover in goose bumps.
“I find you very attractive, Dennis.”
“But, Troy, I’m not, you know...” Keith tried not to flinch as Carl cupped his jaw with both hands.
“First kiss me, then tell me that.”
Knowing it was coming, Keith closed his eyes. Carl’s lips brushed gently over his. Keith felt as if he were about to pass out from humiliation knowing so many people were watching them.
Carl parted slowly from the contact.
Opening his eyes, seeing the kindness in Carl’s face, and knowing that wasn’t an act, Keith felt slightly less freaked out.
“Well?” Carl smiled. “Still need convincing?”
“No. It’s a deal.” Keith breathed, panting from the nerves and wishing he wasn’t.
Carl caressed Keith’s hair affectionately. “I knew you would see it my way.”
Keith smiled at him in reflex, not knowing if that was appropriate.
Charlotte shouted, “Cut!” followed by, “Beautiful, boys. Absolutely beautiful. Okay, let’s check out what we have.” She headed back to a monitor.
Keith moved away from Carl, trying not to make eye contact with him because his cheeks were hot and he knew that meant they were red. There was some commotion about lighting and sound in the background. Carl mumbled, “You ready to do it again?”
Keith looked up at the group. “How many times do you think we’ll repeat the scene?”
“Who knows? After the camera rehearsals, one or two times? Hell, she’s a perfectionist and it’s her budget.”
Waiting for someone to tell them what to do, he and Carl stood idly by until the adjustments were made.
“Sorry. Where were we? Let’s do it again.” Charlotte relaxed in her chair. “Ready?”
Someone shouted, “Living room scene. Take two! Action!”
Repeating the same dialogue, Keith felt like the ice had been broken somewhat between he and Carl. His shaking had subsided and he wasn’t as terrified of the kiss. Well, it was barely a kiss at all in his opinion. He couldn’t remember the last time he did nothing but brush his closed lips against a woman’s. He preferred a more sensuous version. Keith wondered if eventually, as this television relationship evolved, if they would be expected to open their mouths when they did it. Trying not to feel nervous about it, he decided he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
~
Carl just wanted the damn scene completed. How many times was he supposed to kiss this guy? Trying to get into character, shaking off his annoyance, Carl resumed his position on the stage.
Running over the same dialogue again, Carl cupped Keith’s face and noticed he appeared considerably less nervous this time.
“First kiss me, then tell me that,” Carl echoed the rehearsed line. Reaching up his other hand to urge Keith to his mouth, Carl lightly caressed Keith’s lips with his own, parting and staring into Keith’s face. “Well?” Carl smiled. “Still need convincing?”
It was a pretty harmless scene as far as Carl was concerned. Since this was cable television, Carl had a feeling this was only the beginning of the on screen love affair, and truly had no clue how it would feel to do simulated sex scenes with Keith, or to even kiss him with more passion.
When he had asked Charlotte about the coming episodes, she had given him a vague reply, something about wanting to keep the plot fresh and not having too many advanced scripts to peruse.
Was that really it? Or was she afraid of someone getting cold feet? Carl had asked himself how far he would be willing to go for his career. Nudity? Front? Back? What?
He didn’t know. His agent promised him even if his bottom was shown on television, naked and exposed, it would be a boost to his career.
Carl assumed everyone with a cut of his paycheck would want him to agree to anything. So he didn’t take anyone’s advice by his own.
“Well done, boys. Take a break.”
Carl tapped Keith on the shoulder, gesturing to a refreshment table set up with soft drinks.
After getting them each a bottle of ice water, Carl asked, “You survive?”
A soft nervous chuckle preempted Keith’s response. “I did. It was pretty benign.”
“I thought so as well, but don’t get too comfortable thinking that’s going to be the extent of it.”
“No. I agree. I’ve seen some of the other shows that were on television with gay characters. Some of them can get pretty racy.”
Carl looked around the area first, gesturing for Keith to walk away from the few people who lingered. “How much have you been told about the upcoming storyline?”
“Not a lot.” Keith sipped the water. “Just two guys in a relationship, why?”
Taking another scan quickly, Carl whispered, “I have a feeling it’s going to be cranked up to another level very soon.”
“Shit. Really? After barely a peck on the lips?”
“You remember that series, Ties That Bind?”
“Yes. It dabbled in some sexual bondage, but it never really showed much whipping or torture.”
“That was Charlotte’s.” Seeing Keith’s expression, Carl added, “Did you know that?”
“No. It was on ages ago.”
“Not that long ago. Only two years or so.”
“Is she going to turn this drama into some S and M fantasy?” Keith laughed.
“No. I doubt it. That’s not what I’m getting at. Do you recall the sex scenes in it?”
“Hell yeah. They were fucking hot.” Keith took another sip of his water. “But they were between a man and a woman.”
“That show was getting non-stop publicity for its nudity. Remember?” He paused, waiting for Keith to get the picture.
“But…” Keith shook his head.
Nodding, Carl replied, “Yes. She will.”
“No one shows a man’s dick on television.”
“You wait.”
“Yours or mine?” Keith gasped.
&
nbsp; “Flip a coin.” Carl peeked back at the action, making sure they weren’t needed.
“Holy crap. You know, Carl, I haven’t even told my parents I got this role.”
“You’d better. If they find out from reading the gossip columns they’ll be pissed off.”
“No one ever said I was expected to be naked. I’m not very happy about that.”
“No one’s said it to me either, Keith. But that doesn’t mean it’s not hanging out there.” Pausing, Carl realized his pun and started laughing.
Keith caught it immediately and joined him.
“Shit. I didn’t mean it to come out like that.” Carl dabbed at a tear in his eye.
“I know what you meant.” Keith fought to control his laughter. “Look, Carl, I imagined the usual. You know, some scenes in a bed where we had no shirts on. I really didn’t expect more than that.”
“What bothers me is that they won’t give me advanced scripts.” Carl finished his water and crushed his plastic bottle in his hand.
“Is that unusual?”
“Yes and no. Sometimes the writers just go with the flow, others have the entire series mapped out. Charlotte tends to allow the characters to evolve.”
“Then don’t imagine it as sinister, Carl. And why are you asking me about what’s going to happen? You’ve been doing this for one season already. I’m the new guy.”
“I know. I just can’t help but wonder if they told you these things up front to prepare you.”
“No. My agent told me it was a gay character. That was it.”
Nodding, Carl replied, “Just hold onto your hat when this show begins rolling to mid-season sweeps.”
Someone was calling their names. They returned, tossing out their empty bottles and taped the final scene of the episode. It was just dialogue so Carl didn’t think much about it, until he was given the next script.
~
Keith drove home, the new episode sitting next to him on the passenger’s seat. Parking, knowing Patty was at work, he entered the building, jogged up the stairs and through his front door. Once he had a beer in his fist, he sat down on the couch and began reading.
Skipping passed the scenes he was not in, Keith slowed down at his and Carl’s dialogue, noting the action in parentheses. Sucking on the beer, imagining the details, Keith choked and reread the paragraph. “Fuck. Carl was right. Jesus! Already?” His heart beginning to pound in his ribcage, Keith set the script aside to recover. “I don’t believe this.”
Resting his beer on the coffee table, checking the time, Keith picked up the phone and dialed.
“Hello?”
“Adam? I hope it’s not too late.”
“No. Not at all. How’d the first episode go?”
“It was fine. No problems. Look, when you sent me on that audition, did you realize I would have to do some nude scenes?”
A pause followed before Adam replied, “I didn’t get anything specific from them. I figured since it’s a cable drama, there may be some slight nudity. Why?”
“I’m sitting here with the script on my lap for the second episode, and I’m already supposed to be naked.”
“I wouldn’t worry, Keith. It’ll be shot either from the back or something will block the view of your dick.”
“Are you sure?”
“No one shows a man frontally nude. Not on cable. There are very few exceptions, Keith.”
“Carl thinks Charlotte Deavers wants something shocking for February sweeps.”
“What do you want me to do, Keith?”
That shut Keith up. He didn’t know the answer to that question. “I just wanted to know if someone advised you I would be doing nude scenes.”
“The answer to that question is no. All they said was that it was a gay romance. That was it. You want to quit?”
“No. I just think it would have been nice to have been forewarned.”
“Would it have made you reconsider?”
Again, Keith didn’t know the answer. “I’m not sure.”
“Do you just want me to reassure you? Is that what you’re looking for?”
Did he?
“Yes. Yes, Adam. Maybe that’s what I want.”
“Okay, look, Keith…you are in the best…the best new drama series in cable history. The amount of good, and even controversial, publicity this show is creating is already making each and every star a household name. You know that guy who plays Xavier? Omar Desmond? He’s already been cast in a big movie production. The guy has no other credentials on his resume but Forever Young.”
“Good. Very good.”
“Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes.”
“Did you have to kiss Carl yet? Is that why you’re so freaked out?”
“We did, but it wasn’t even a real kiss. It was just his mouth brushing against mine.”
“You sound disappointed.”
Keith could hear the amusement in his voice. “Funny, Adam.”
“I’ve got to go. But call me whenever you need a pep talk. I’m here.”
“Thanks, Adam.”
“I’m dying to see the first new episode.”
Laughing, Keith answered, “I bet you are. You get off on men kissing.”
“You said it! See ya, Keith.”
“Bye.” Keith hung up, smiling. Setting the phone back down, he kept reading the script, the expression falling from his face.
~
When Patty finally arrived home, Keith had most of his lines already memorized. It was something he prided himself on. He didn’t have trouble with the dialogue like some actors tended to.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Patty,” he shouted to her.
She poked her head into the bedroom. “New script?”
“Yes.”
As she shed her uniform she asked, “And?”
“It’s top secret. You have to keep your mouth shut. No gossip around the kitchen at work.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I’ll wait. I don’t want it to spoil the show for me.”
She disappeared into the bathroom. Keith heard the shower start soon after. Setting the script on the floor, Keith slipped off his briefs and pushed the blankets to his knees. He wanted to make love. There was something about the upcoming scenes with Carl that compelled Keith to reaffirm his manhood. And in his mind, that meant screwing a woman.
Digging into the nightstand for a condom, Keith set it out within reach and began masturbating to get hard. As he did, flashes of the action in the script kept popping into his head. It began getting him irritated. Cursing at himself, he climbed out of bed and entered the steamy bathroom, staring at Patty’s nakedness behind the blurry shower doors.
“Keith?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m really wiped out.”
“You say that every night, Patty.”
“I know but I am. I’m on my feet for nine hours.”
“Can’t you just lie there? I’ll do all the work.”
“No. Please?”
“Jesus, Patty. Why do we even sleep in the same room?”
She shut off the water and pushed back the door. “I thought you liked sleeping together.”
“I’d like to have sex once in a while.”
“We do. That’s not fair, Keith.”
His body deflating as she stepped out of the tub and dried off, Keith asked, “When? When was the last time?”
“I don’t keep count. Do you?”
“Never mind.” He left the bathroom and burrowed under the sheets again, feeling frustrated. He had to find a willing woman or his frail ego would fall apart.
Chapter Three
Carl choked as he read the script. Sitting at his kitchen table, munching a piece of toast for breakfast, Carl shook his head in awe. “I knew it. Christ, Charlotte, you didn’t waste any time. The second episode? Holy shit.” Carl sipped his coffee, his eyes glued to the written words. “Keith. You did it to Keith. That poor
schmuck.” Carl wished he had Keith’s phone number. He reminded himself to ask for it. They had to talk about this and there wasn’t much privacy on the set.
“Oh well, you want ratings, Charlotte? This will get you viewers, but I don’t know about accolades.”
Carl finished his breakfast and cleared the dishes. Hurrying, he grabbed his keys and locked his condo, jogging to the elevator and then the garage. Opening the car door with a remote control, he climbed into his Corvette and started the engine, heading to the studio.
On the drive there he tried to remember some of the lines he had read, but also thought about the next scenes he and Keith were about to do. If it was making Carl nervous, it must be driving Keith insane.