by H. P. Munro
Freya grinned and allowed the subject change, despite feeling enamored by a flustered Jordan.
“So did I, thank you. The Ellis method could be made for the win or it could just be the coffee that I’m mainlining tonight. Either way I’m awake…just.” She wrapped her coat more tightly around her, “You know I’ve lived in London and New York. I’ve wintered in both and yet here I am wearing more technology that they used to discover the North Pole and in a temperature that previously I probably would’ve worn just a sweater to go out in.”
Cocking an eyebrow Jordan turned to look at Freya who was yawning wildly behind her hand.
“LA is making you go soft, you realize a yawn will cost you five bucks.”
Clamping her mouth closed, Freya looked quizzically at Jordan, “What do you mean?”
“The yawn collection. Every yawn on night shoots costs five bucks. The money raised goes to the director’s choice of charity.”
“That was what you shouted over to Toby yesterday?” Freya closed her eyes remembering Jordan’s comment.
“Yup and you owe five bucks,” Jordan chuckled. “You know the best thing isn’t the money raised, it’s watching people yawn with their mouths closed to avoid paying the fee,” she elbowed Freya’s side and pointed towards Dianne whose face was contorting as she tried to disguise her yawn.
“Are you busy Friday?” Freya blurted.
Jordan turned and smiled, “No, did you have something in mind?”
“I thought that maybe you could come to mine and I’ll make you dinner.”
Looking at her suspiciously, Jordan replied, “I thought you didn’t cook.”
“I can cook, I’m hurt at the insinuation,” Freya said playfully.
Grinning in return Jordan nudged her, “Just not macaroni cheese.”
Freya frowned as she remembered their conversation at The Yard, “Okay so maybe I’m just a really good takeaway picker.”
“Then I’d love to,” Jordan responded, happy that she would be spending more time with Freya.
***
“Okay we’re set to go again,” Toby said patiently trying desperately to hide his growing frustration. “Freya all you need to do is hit the ball.”
“Seriously Toby, never go into sports psychology,” Dianne shouted from the sidelines. “It’s not like you were telling her to miss the ball the first thirty times she swung.”
Toby glared round towards Dianne.
“Bite me Dianne,” Freya yelled, as she tightened her grip on the bat.
Chastised, Dianne rolled her eyes. “We’ve been freezing our asses off for forty-five minutes and she’s not done it yet. What makes you think this take will be any different?” she muttered out of the side of her mouth. “This is going to take up the entire bloopers reel.”
“Shush now,” Jordan frowned. “She’ll do it.”
Dianne shot a disbelieving look then sighed before returning her attention to Freya as she bounced up and down to get some heat into her body.
Freya swung the bat several times and nodded that she was ready.
“Action.”
The ball fired towards her and she swung the bat wildly, more in hope than judgment. There was a loud crack as she finally made contact with the softball. Throwing the bat down and pumping her fists in triumph she ran towards her mark on first base.
Watching the small monitor Toby gave her a thumbs up, before a quick glance over towards the Director of Photography who raised his eyebrows. Checking his watch Toby shouted over, “Let’s not tempt fate and try another one.”
Jordan walked over towards Freya who was being handed her coat.
“I’m sorry, I think Dianne is ready to kill me,” Freya shrugged as she pulled the bottom of her coat up to close the zip.
They both looked over towards Dianne who was still looking annoyed as she warmed her hands up around a steaming cup of coffee.
“Yeah well, she spends most of her time annoyed,” Jordan grinned. “So you ready to pummel me?”
Freya turned around startled, “What? Oh, the next shot.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head, “Yeah, I’m ready.”
They returned to the mobile trailers to get some heat while the next shot was being set up. Finally, they received a call for a hair and make-up touch up and headed back towards first base. Taking her position Jordan waited as the scene was called.
A member of the crew threw a ball towards Jordan. She watched it carefully and reached up above her to catch it as Freya barreled into her knocking her off her feet, both of them landing safely onto a crash mat.
“Did I hurt you? Are you okay?” Freya asked full of concern.
“I’m fine, in the same way I was fine when we rehearsed this for an hour on Tuesday.”
Frowning Freya pulled herself up and held out her hand for Jordan.
“Okay, but you’d tell me if I hurt you,” she asked.
Jordan chuckled softly, “Yes, I would tell you.”
They repeated the scene until Toby was happy and called it in. Their next shot was a continuation of that scene. Jordan lay on the ground and Freya positioned herself on top, her elbows either side of Jordan’s head.
“You okay? Am I squishing you?”
Jordan swallowed as she attempted to rid her mind of the fact that she was currently lying underneath Freya in the middle of the night on a softball field populated with the crew and cast from the show.
“I’m good.”
Freya let more of her weight rest on Jordan as the scene marker was removed from shot and action was shouted from behind the cameras.
Pulling herself back up slightly she looked down into Jordan’s eyes, “I’m sorry Georgia, did I hurt you?”
Jordan gruffed back, “No, I’m good. Although I think you made first base.”
Freya bit her top lip before smirking. “I think given our positions I got further than first base,” she said in a flirtatious tone.
Jordan chuckled.
“You’re pretty pleased with yourself aren’t you?” she responded flashing her own flirty smile.
Freya raised her eyebrows in surprise, “Well, what can I say. But you should wait ’cause if you think my batting is awesome wait ’til you see me on the pitcher’s mound.”
“You do realize that you’re still on top of me right?”
Freya pushed herself off her elbows and onto her hands causing her groin to press into Jordan’s as she did so.
“Just enjoying the view,” she smiled as she pushed herself up and off Jordan and held out a hand to hoist her back onto her feet.
“Cut.”
Both women gathered themselves together. The unintentional push of their groins into each other had not happened before as Freya had always rehearsed from a locked arm position. However, Toby had asked them change the angle of their position and start closer together in order to build the tension. The sensation had, despite their location and reason for it, caused a surge of arousal in both of them. They stood not looking at each other as they listened to Toby’s shouted instructions before preparing to redo the scene.
Seeing that both actors looked perturbed, Toby walked over, “That was great, really good work. You good to go again?”
They turned to Toby and nodded.
“Yeah,” they answered as one.
“Absolutely,” Jordan added and returned to her place.
They were working fast to try and get all of the scenes done before sunrise and the production crew were soon setting up the final scene of the night. The rest of the cast had disappeared as this shot involved just Jordan and Freya. Despite the threat of a fine, Freya yawned. By her reckoning she probably owed close to a hundred bucks to the charity collection by now, but was past caring. She was thankful that she was as tired as she was as it meant that she wasn’t spending time stressing that she was about to kiss Jordan again.
“Guys, not to put added pressure on you but we’re running short of darkness, so if we could get this one na
iled quickly that would be great,” Toby said flashing them a quick smile. “We’re doing this with all cameras on continuous motion,” he reminded them as they walked to their marks in the car park beside the softball field.
‘Action’ was called and they started to film the scene that they had rehearsed earlier in the week.
***
Dawn started to break as Jordan was being driven home. She laid her head against the headrest trying to gain some clarity of thought, her mind was a fuzz. Whether it was due to the hours that they had worked or the amount of caffeine that was coursing through her system she wasn’t sure. However, one thing she was sure of most of all was that her current state was not helped by the time that she had spent kissing Freya.
Kisses that meant nothing.
Kisses that were work.
Except those kisses weren’t meaningless to Jordan.
Despite the circumstances, the surrounding lights, sound equipment, cameras and crew, those kisses were not awkward like the ones that Jordan had previously experienced when working. They weren’t the clinical, mechanical, going-through-the motions-of-the-scene types of kisses. Each time Freya’s lips pressed against hers, her professional demeanor left her and it took all her powers of concentration to pull it back.
Jordan lifted her fingers to her lips lightly running her fingertips across her bottom lip as her mind replayed the kisses, the easy laughter between takes and the taste of mint on Freya’s breath from the gum that she had thoughtfully used to disguise the coffee that she had been drinking throughout the night.
What she desperately wanted to know was whether those kisses were meaningless for Freya or whether, on any level, she felt anything more for her than their fledgling friendship. She was startled out of her reverie by her phone buzzing in her pocket.
“Hey early bird,” she smiled as she answered Sabrina’s call.
“So, how’d the kiss go? Did you accidentally slip the tongue in again?”
Jordan rolled her eyes wishing she had never told Sabrina about the incident at the first rehearsal.
“No I didn’t, we’re all done, I’m just heading home now. Whatcha doin’?”
Sabrina opened the car door and climbed in, “Just got picked up for work. So are you ever going to have a conversation with her about how you’re feeling?”
Thumping her head against the seat Jordan frowned, “She’s invited me to dinner tomorrow night. I think I’m going to have to say something then ’cause this is driving me insane.”
***
“Wake up! For the love of God Dan, how much sleep do you need?” Freya shouted down the phone, leaving a message on Dan’s machine. “She’s coming on Friday, I am so doing this!”
She hung the call up and sat back letting a deep satisfied breath leave her body.
Her phone played ‘God Save the Queen’ as Dan returned her call.
“Hey, what you doing not taking my calls again?” she asked aggrieved that Dan appeared to be screening calls.
Even though it was wasted on the empty room, Dan gave a withering look as he pulled clothes out of his dresser.
“Freya, we’re really going to have chat about manners, the sun is only just coming up.”
“How much sleep do you need?”
“The amount of sleep required is in direct proportion the amount of sex had,” Dan responded as he threw clothes onto his bed.
“Ewww,” she screwed up her nose and shook her head to rid it of that image. “Sorry, I’m all out of synch. But I have news!”
Freya felt energized, even though she’d been working through the night. The last scene that they had filmed was enough to make her feel like she was floating. Kissing Jordan, regardless of how false the situation, was still enough to make her giddy.
“She’s coming round for dinner on Friday night.”
“Does she know about your cooking abilities?” Dan asked slightly concerned that Freya’s evening could end with either one, or both, of them with their head firmly stuck down the lavatory, thus ending all possibility of a happy ending and meaning that he was still going to be involved in her drama. The price to pay for being a hag fag, he thought to himself.
“She’s aware of my issues. However perhaps not the exact scale of those issues,” Freya admitted. “But she is aware.”
Dan sighed knowing that he would probably regret what he was about to say, “Come to mine tonight, I’ll make your meal and that way you just have to heat it up tomorrow.”
Clenching her fist at getting what she had hoped for when she called Freya composed herself before answering, “Only if you’re sure. I mean, I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Drop the act princess.”
Freya laughed, “How ’bout we make it movie night and I stay over?”
“It’s a date,” Dan laughed as he selected a shirt from the pile he’d thrown on the bed. “Love you wifie, see you later.”
Freya gripped her cell in two hands excited at the prospect of her evening with Jordan.
***
“What on God’s great earth are you wearing?” Dan looked at his friend in abject horror.
Freya looked down at her attire. “What? It’s a onesie, do you like it?” she twirled giving Dan the full effect of the white all-in-one covered in large black splodges.
Dan pulled a face as if Freya had just held month-old milk under his nose. Holding his palm out as if to ward off Freya and her fashion taste he snorted, “You mean, you’re actually wearing a giant romper suit on purpose? You bought that?”
“Yes I bought it. It’s really comfortable,” Freya pouted, brushing her hands proudly down the front of her clothing.
Walking round her as if she were radioactive Dan pulled at the material.
“Jesus as it it’s not bad enough that you look like a cow, it has a bloody hood,” he said disgusted. “How the hell do you pee in the damn thing?”
“Well, yes, that is its one design flaw,” Freya conceded. “You basically have to strip off, you’d have thought they’d of put a flap or something,” she said bending over to examine the crotch area.
“Because that would have been a redeeming feature?” Still looking as if he was going to throw up, Dan collected the bowl of popcorn and carried it through to his living room, “So what are we watching rugrat?”
Freya shot him a withering look as she left the room to collect the DVD, “We’re watching Saw.”
Recoiling Dan shouted after her, “You know in all those fanfiction things they think you’re this nice person, when really you’re a horrible witch who makes me watch horrors even though you know I hate them. And they think you can play sports. How many takes was it again before you hit the ball?”
Waiting for her to return Dan switched the TV on and started to flick through the channels.
Freya grinned re-entering the room and cuffed the back of Dan’s head as she leaned over the sofa to snag some popcorn, “Oh yeah, I’m a bitch and it wasn’t that man-…Hey that’s me!”
She pointed to the screen as a photograph of her as Emily appeared. She grabbed the remote from Dan and held it out in front of her as she balanced on the back of the sofa and turned the volume up.
***
Jordan was relaxing in her sloppies on her sofa. She had a glass of wine in her hand and for the first time in a long time she was relaxing with a book. Her peace and quiet was shattered when her phone started to ring. Frowning at the interruption she considered leaving it but when she saw it was Sabrina calling she opted to answer.
“Hey what’s up?”
“Turn your TV on now and go to ENT,” Sabrina’s frantic voice ordered her.
Picking up the remote Jordan switched on the television and selected the channel. When the picture appeared she was looking at a photo of Freya. She turned the sound up a couple of notches to hear what the voiceover was saying.
“Yep, that’s right folks she’s gay. We’ve got the insider scoop that Freya Easter is about to come out of the closet in an
interview with V magazine.”
The photo disappeared and footage of Freya from the season finale appeared.
“For anyone that has lived under a rock for the past thirty-four years, Freya Easter is of course the only child of double Oscar winning couple, Dylan and Francesca Conor and the grandchild of Hollywood greats Finn and Anna Conor. An actor in her own right she joined the cast last season of the hit army medical drama Front Line as Captain Emily Dollar and quickly became a viewer’s favorite.”
The anchorwoman appeared, smiling brightly into the camera while perched on the edge of a desk.
“We gave you the story back in July that she was set to become a series regular when they returned to filming a couple of months ago.”
Footage appeared of Freya at a red carpet event, while the presenter continued with her voiceover.
“There have been rumors circulating about the thirty-four-year-old actress and her co- star Jordan Ellis, following the show’s decision to make Emily enter into a lesbian relationship with Jordan’s character, series favorite Captain Georgia Van Hausen. Neither actress has commented on the rumors. Coming up next on ENT, reality show star arrested for DUI for a third time. More after the break.”
Jordan sat dumbfounded, at some point while watching she had dropped her hand holding her phone down on to the sofa beside her. In the distance she could hear Sabrina shouting.
“Jordan, you still there?”
Numbly she picked the phone back up.
“Yeah. I’m still here.”
***
“Nononononononononno.”
Freya paced back and forth as she listened to the TV report.
“Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap.”
Her phone started to ring, she spun and looked in terror at it. Dan reached out and picked it up.
“Hi, I’m sorry she’s not here at the moment. Can I help?” he asked smoothly.
