Page 40 of Love: Take Two

He toasts me with his own cup and goes back to his laptop.

"So, are you ready for today?" he asks. I look up from my own screen.

"What do you mean?"

Noah stops typing and turns to face me.

"The first intimacy scene?" He checks the clipboard with the printout of today's schedule. "Unless I got it wrong…Nope!" He points to the clearly labeled scene next to the name of an intimacy coordinator Tabitha's worked with in the past.

"They're shooting it right before lunch. I think Yong-rae's in his trailer breathing into a paper bag," he adds with a chuckle.

They're shooting an intimacy scene the first day back from the holiday break, and I'm just now finding out? How did I miss this? I feel a bead of sweat slide down the back of my spine and try not to show the shock on my face.

"Oh right. The intimacy scene. Tabitha's such a pro at these, it must've slipped my mind," I fib. "I'm going to stop by her trailer and see if she needs anything before they get started."

Noah gives me an understanding smile.

"Of course. And tell her to go easy on Yong-rae. It's his first time."

I force a smile when he winks and break into a jog once I'm out of sight. Thank goodness I'm wearing boots instead of my stilettos, or they'd be ruined.

"Tell me you knew about the intimate scene on the docket today?" I ask after bursting into Tabitha's trailer. The single bead of sweat has graduated to a flood seeping through my foundational garments, and I may need to stop by wardrobe before the day is done.

The consummate professional, she merely grins at me from her reflection in the mirror.

"When I received the call sheet with the details but not your usual prep email, I figured you didn't realize." She swivels to face me, faint worry lines marking her brow. "Is everything OK?"

I sigh and sink onto the tiny couch.

"Everyone's been asking me that today."

"It's because we can see that you're burning the candle at both ends, babe," she says gently. She reaches out to pat my knee. "I thought having you here would ease the pressure a bit, but—"

I gasp and swat her hand away.

"Iknewyou were faking about needing me here!" I answer, affronted. Tabitha turns back around, but not so fast that I don't see her smirk.

"I may have fudged how much you're needed around here," she says, pulling the pins from her curls, "but you need to slow down. I'm easy; you know that—"

I level her with a look that makes her stop short.

"Well, easier, anyway," she pouts. "I paid all my dues before I was ever a pain in your ass. That's more than most of your clients can say."

I nod, a small smile peeking through.

"So, be honest," I start, back in business mode, "how are you doing? Are you sure you don't want to save this for when you and Yong-rae have had more time to build a rapport?"

Tabitha shakes her head, sending a few curls cascading down.

"No. Definitely not. These scenes are awkward regardless. I'd rather just get it out of the way."

The first time an actor told me she was dreading a nude scene, I was shocked. Unlike me, with my plentiful stretch marks, round belly, and boobs that require heavy boning to stay upright, she had the body of a Victoria's Secret model and regularly posted thirst traps all over Instagram. So many men were sending her inappropriate DMs, she had to get a PA to handle them. So why would she be nervous about baring a little skin in front of yet another camera?

I was just a baby lawyer then, and hadn't experienced firsthand the horror stories of steamy scenes gone wrong. How the glaring lights, loud equipment, and poking and prodding by a small army of film crew could deflate even the strongest ego. How some productions thought an intimacy coordinator—or even a small modesty cloth—was an impediment to "true art". How studios and directors would fight tooth and nail to keep an edit that included more skin than agreed upon in the contract, or threaten to fire an actor if they requested a body double.

Thank God those days are largely in the past. All those protections are now commonplace and built into every Tabitha Styles contract.

"If you're good…?" I push, and relax when she readily agrees. "OK. In that case, Yong-rae's agent asked that you please take it easy on him today. This is his first ever nude scene."