Pinching the bridge of his nose the director closed his eyes. Trying to suppress his mounting frustration he rolled his neck and stood up. He turned to the assistant next to him.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked, not really expecting an answer and not caring if the actors on the set heard. "She's a great actress but she screws like a shop mannequin. She's even making David look bad." He shook his head and turned away.
"Okay, so that's lunch," the assistant said slowly, watching the director's back as he weaved his way between production staff towards the soundstage exit.
Jessica watched him leave the set before closing her eyes, her head falling back onto the pillow. She sighed.
"Don't worry, Jess, we'll get it."
Jessica nodded slowly as she felt David lift off her before sliding out of the bed. She clutched the sheet which had been covering them, pulling the material over her bare breasts.
The voices around her began to dissipate as the crew filtered off the set, thoughts of lunch replacing the scene they had been working on all morning.
"C'mon, Jess. Let's go."
Opening her eyes, Jessica looked into the face of her friend and sighed, tears starting to well.
"It's going to be okay," Julie said softly. "You're going to get it. Let's get some food and we can go over the scene. You guys'll get it this afternoon."
Jess shook her head sadly, pulling the sheet around her as she slipped off the bed and stood, the thin material outlining the lines of her slim body. Wrapping a thick toweling robe around Jessica's shoulders Julie removed the sheet, tossing it back onto the bed. Jessica looked around the set before quickly opening the robe and wrapping it around herself, covering her pert breasts.
Flopping down onto the soft couch, Jess put her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes, her long blonde hair falling forward around her face. Behind her the door to her trailer clicked shut.
"Scott is going to fire me off this movie," she said, her voice muffled by the thick robe.
"Honey," Julie said, sitting in the chair opposite her. "You're the star of the movie, you're not going to get fired over one sex scene."
"No, he just won't ever want to direct me on any of his movies again."
Julie shook her head. "Look, you and David are going to get this. You just need to figure out why this scene isn't working. I mean, up to now every scene has been great and Scott is loving you."
"I can tell you right now why it's not working," Jessica said, her face still pressed into her hands.
Julie looked over at her. "Is it David?" she asked. "Do you not think he's hot?"
Jess laughed sadly, shaking her head. "No, I think he's really hot. He's gorgeous. I get butterflies every time he looks at me. I really like him."
"So is that the problem? Are you freaked out because you're attracted to him?"
"No, it's not even that. It's because I don't know what I'm supposed to be acting."
Julie looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Sex," Jessica replied simply. "I don't know how to act... sex."
"What are you talking about? You've had sex."
Jess looked up. "Just, once," she said sadly. "But it wasn't like what this scene is supposed to be."
"Can I ask who it was with? Was it Justine?"
Jess nodded.
"But I thought you were with Justin for about six months. Did you two not..."
Jessica shook her head. "We just did it once. I wasn't ready when we first started going out but then, when I thought he was someone I could be open with, it didn't go so well. It took forever for him to put on the condom and then he was barely inside me when he... finished." She shook her head. "Yep, that was how I lost my virginity. I was ready to try again but I think he was embarrassed and he blamed me. I'm not sure how it could have been my fault but that's why he broke up with me."
Silence filled the trailer and Jess flopped back into the couch, pushing her wavy hair from her face and pulling the robe around her as if the act would protect her from the painful memory.
"Well I guess that explains a lot," Julie said, running her fingers through her hair.
"Yeah," Jessica said, staring at the far end wall of the trailer.
"So this could only have been a couple of months ago," Julie said. "It must be still pretty raw."
Jess nodded. "It was about two months ago, right before I finished on Jess's World on the Teen Channel. I had just turned nineteen, the show was in it's final season and the producers had stopped being so strict about me being seen out with guys." She adjusted her position, the flesh colored spandex panties she had been wearing for the scene were cutting into her. "You know how it is, they don't want you being seen out with boys or partying, not that that was something I ever did."
Julie nodded.
"And so I started to think that maybe Justin was someone I wanted to be with, y'know, long term, so things started to move on. Then one night I told him I was ready. He was pleased because he'd been wanting to get it on with me for months but I wasn't ready. So we went back to my place. I still wanted to take things slow, you know, romantic but he just wanted to get into my panties so I just went with it and, well, that was it."
Julie nodded slowly. "So you really don't have any frame of reference for a scene where you and your boyfriend are supposed to be in love and are having hot, steamy sex."
Jessica shook her head.
"Have you tried watching some other sex scenes?"
"No, I thought about that but I just figured it would be like all my other scenes and I would just know how to do it. But I guess I was wrong and now it's too late for me to research. And I don't want to watch porn on the internet because I don't think that is going to help me in this scene."
"No, it won't," Julie said, her head snapping up. "Well, I mean, I don't suppose it would. I've heard those scenes are usually overacted."
Jessica looked at her friend and laughed at her embarrassment.
Julie looked at her watch. "Look, we still have about twenty minutes of the lunch break left so why don't you drink some water and rest and I'll leave alone for a while. I'll be back before the call time."
Jessica nodded, waving weakly at her friend as she left the trailer.
Taking a deep breath she stood up and walked towards the fridge, reaching for a bottle of water and holding it to her forehead before unscrewing the lid and taking a drink. The temperature of the trailer was much higher than on the air conditioned set and the thick toweling robe was starting to make her hot.
Placing the bottle on the side she stripped off the robe, tossing it back onto the couch. Turning around, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and she paused. Her youth and the hours in the gym ensured that her body was slim and toned. Her butt was small and tight; her breasts were firm with small pink nipples.
"Why can't I get this?!" Jessica suddenly shouted at her reflection, clenching her fists in frustration. "And these damn things aren't helping!" Grabbing the spandex panties she pulled them down, kicking them off. Jess watched them arc across the trailer and disappear behind her dresser.
"Shit," she sighed as she watched the panties drop from sight.
Standing naked, she reached for the water bottle and took another drink. She knew she had to retrieve the panties but she really didn't want to put them back on, the tight fit making her uncomfortable, especially since the gusset was now damp, a result of spending hours with her sexy co-star grinding on top of her. She had often wondered if actors got excited during sex scenes, if the men got hard or the women got wet, and now she knew.
She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Should she feel guilty about the fact that her excitement over another actor simulating sex with her had turned her on to the point where she was getting wet? But perhaps, 'what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him,' was the best way to look at it.
Suddenly the trailer door opened and Julie burst in, leaving the door open behind her.
"Oh my gosh! What are you doing?" Jessica said, grabbing her robe and pulling it around herself before anyone out on the lot could see her.
"We gotta go," Julie said grabbing Jess's arm. "Scott is back on set and he's ready to try the scene again."
"Oh no," Jessica sighed, reluctantly pulling on her robe.
"Come on, let's go."
Jessica allowed herself to be pulled out of the trailer and across the lot. As they reached the door to the set she froze.
"Julie, stop. I forgot my panties."
"What?" Julie said, turning to look at her.
"My panties, those gross things that stop my coochie from coming into contact with David's... Peter. I took them off in the trailer and you didn't give me a chance to put them back on."
"Don't worry about them," Julie said, starting across the set again.
"What are you talking about? I can't do this scene naked."
"Maybe it'll help," Julie said. "I mean, let's face it, it can't get any worse."
"Positions everyone." The assistant's voice echoing around the set drowned out Jessica's protests and Julie continued to pull her across the set to the bed.
"Okay, get in," Julie said as they reached the bed.
"I'm naked," Jess hissed at her friend.
"Just get under the sheets while I hold your robe," Julie said, pulling back the sheet.
Jessica paused for a moment, uncertain, but seeing Scott, the director, lowering himself into his chair she allowed her friend to pull the robe from her shoulders and she slipped under the covers.
"Okay, she's decent," Julie called out, indicating to the crew that they could turn to face the set. She looked down at Jess and smiled.
"I'm naked," she whispered, pulling the sheet up around her neck.
"Stop worrying," Julie said before turning away.
"Where is David?" the assistant called from where he stood beside the director.
"I'm right here."
As Jess looked over toward the door she saw David approaching the bed and her stomach did a somersault. He also wore a toweling robe and his messy hair fell around his forehead. As he reached the bed he looked down at Jessica and smiled kindly.
"Don't worry, Jess, it's going to be good this time," he said, mistaking her look of worry for concern over the scene.
Jess opened her mouth to speak but the director's voice cut her off. "Okay, David, take your position," Scott said as he approached the bed. "Okay guys, now let's not let this get to us," he continued. "I know you can do this, so just relax and make it good."
He turned to Jess as David climbed onto the bed and under the sheet. She pulled the sheet up around herself, becoming more self conscious than ever over her nakedness beneath the thin material.
"Okay, Jess, just remember, you're totally in love with this guy and you are finally giving yourself to him." Scott turned to her co-star. "And David, remember, Jess is the girl of your dreams, the love of your life and all you want is to make this the most wonderful night of her life so that she never wants to be with anyone else, ever again."
David nodded, listening to Scott's instructions but Jess could feel her cheeks beginning to flush as David moved closer to her under the cover.
"Okay, let's do this," Scott said, turning back to the crew.