“I don’t understand how that garbage bag got there,” Joy said for the fifth time. “I rarely eat in there, and when I do, it isn’t fast food or frozen pizzas.” The garbage looked like it belonged to a frat boy who gobbled calories for sport.
“There’s no need to be embarrassed about your food choices, Joy,” Prissy said with a sniff. There was a towel wrapped around her wet hair, and she was wearing a silk robe that barely covered her assets. If she moved just the right way, Joy was going to know if she preferred a Brazilian or a bikini wax. “Honestly, it explains a lot about your complexion. But it is a miracle you don’t weigh more. Tell me, do you have a problem with purging? Because if you do, I know someone you can talk to.”
“I don’t purge,” Joy said through clenched teeth. “And that wasn’t my garbage.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Prissy said, patting her arm. “You’re just embarrassing yourself now.”
Joy turned to the PA. “I’ll be in the makeup tent if you need me for anything.”
“All right. Check in with wardrobe, too. There’s been a change in plan for the scene you’re shooting this morning.”
Joy was in too big a hurry to worry about what had changed. She just needed to get away from Prissy, the most condescending, immature person Joy had ever met. After checking in with Sam at the makeup tent, who was pleased to see that her skin had cleared up, she headed next door to the wardrobe tent.
“Hey,” she said to Vince, the movie’s stylist. The short brunette was wearing skinny jeans and a vest with a bowtie and looked as adorable as ever. “I heard you needed me.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” Vince hurried over to a rack and pulled out a hanger with two scraps of leather hanging from the hook. “I need you to try this on.”
Joy took the hanger and stared open-mouthed at what she assumed was a leather bra and G-string. Only it was hard to tell since mostly they were just strips of leather. “You’re not serious.”
“Oh, I am,” he said, nodding. “There’s been a change with the sex scene. Finn wants your character to explore a fetish for the first time with the love interest. The new script is over there on the table.” He took the hanger from her and then started holding the triangles of fabric up against her breasts.
“That’s barely going to cover my nipples,” Joy said, grimacing at him. “Don’t you have a sexy corset and thigh-high boots around here or something?” There was a note of panic in her tone that even she noticed.
“Not one for a dominatrix. There’s a white lace one and a sexy red number, but Prissy has already worn them. We can’t have it looking like you borrowed your daughter’s clothes to seduce a younger man. That’s just a step too far.”
“Seduce?” Joy squeaked out. “I thought he was the one doing the seducing?” Joy’s character was strong and confident, but when it came to getting naked with the love interest, her character was supposed to be hesitant due to past experiences. Joy could not imagine a scenario where her character would be wearing leather and acting like a dominatrix. She hurried over to the table and grabbed the script. After scanning the scene, she let out a groan. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“It’ll be funny, Joy. Come on. It’s not that big of a deal,” Vince said, pulling out a pair of lacy thigh-high stockings. He gave her a kind smile. “You’ll stuff yourself into this outfit and blunder around the stage for a while, and then it will be over. No acting needed.”
“You’ve got that right.” Joy had been willing to try many things to get her husband interested in her over the past several years, but leather and whips hadn’t been one of them. Mainly because Paul would’ve never gone for that. She glanced at the pages again. “It says here I’m supposed to tie him to a horse. What the hell? Why is there suddenly a horse in this movie, and why would I do that?”
Vince snickered. “I’m sure that means a bondage horse, Joy. Like a sawhorse, only padded and big enough for a human to drape themselves over it.”
“Oh. Oh! That’s… not where I saw this movie going,” she said, her voice trailing off as she tried to understand why Finn wanted to go that direction. “I thought this was supposed to be an emotional flick, not slapstick. Because that’s what this scene is going to turn into if you guys put me in that.” She pointed to the skimpy outfit in his hands.
“It’s just a little levity. If it doesn’t work, I’m sure they’ll reshoot it.”
“Perfect. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I’ll get to make a fool out of myself twice,” she grumbled as he guided her toward one of the dressing rooms.
“Relax, Joy. The sex scenes are usually shot with minimal crew for the actors’ privacy. It won’t be as big of a deal as you think.”
Famous last words.
An hour later, Joy was standing on set, holding a whip and shivering as her boobs spilled out of the leather bra. Vince had taken pity on her and let her wear a pair of leather hot pants instead of the G-string, but she suspected that had more to do with her cellulite than concern about her modesty. Still, the outfit didn’t leave much to the imagination, and she felt like a fool. Quinn, on the other hand, playing her love interest, was wearing nude briefs and nothing else. He was two hundred pounds of tanned muscle and dark hair.
Most women would watch the film just for this scene, she thought. But she wasn’t one of them. The man was twenty years her junior, and lusting after a man who was about the same age as her oldest son just made her feel like a perv.
“Quinn, go ahead and lie down on the horse so you’re facing up,” Finn said. “Perfect. Yeah, slide down just a bit so you’re centered in the frame. Just like that.” Finn turned to Joy. “Are you ready?”
Joy swallowed hard and nodded.
“When I call action, kneel down in front of him and make a show of tying his wrists to the metal loops on the horse.”
“Okay.” Joy picked up the red silk ribbon Vince had given her and waited for the signal.
“And, action!” Finn called.
Joy took her time moving toward Quinn, swaying her hips and licking her lips like she was some sort of predator. Then when she reached him, she said, “Tell me what will drive you crazy.”
Quinn looked up at her with smoldering heat in his eyes and said, “Tie me to this horse and ride me like a pony.”
A bubble of absurd laughter got caught in her throat, and she did her best to swallow it down.
But when he added, “Don’t forget to whip me hard when I’m a bad boy,” the laughter slipped out. She coughed, trying to cover it, but it was no use.
Finn heaved a giant sigh and said, “Try to be professional, Joy. We don’t have all day.”
“Sorry. I’ve got it now,” she said, mortified that she couldn’t keep it together. But really, how was she supposed to remain composed when they’d put her in a soft porn scene?
“Start at the beginning,” Finn ordered.
Joy got up and moved to her mark. When he called ‘Action’ they repeated the scene. Joy continued to demand direction from Quinn as she portrayed an awkward dominatrix. Finally, the scene ended when she tripped over him and they knocked heads, resulting in them sitting against the sawhorse, groaning in pain.