Broken Inside

60 - The Romeo Undone

Jesse was already there, talking to Tony. He was barefooted, like her, and wearing tight black britches with a loose white cotton shirt with lace up collar. As she came closer, Jesse turned his eyes to her and the smile on his face slowly faded. His eyes slowly travelled up and down her body and he swallowed hard. Alex could see his Adam's apple bobbing on his throat.

She turned to Tony and asked, "Where do you want me?"

"Over there," Tony pointed to the set with a fake wall erected.

Alex nodded and headed there.

"Alex, hey," Jesse called her, grabbing her hand as she walked away. Alex quickly pulled her hand away and crossed her arms in front of her body. Jesse looked at her, frowning. "Why are you giving me the cold shoulder?"

"I'm working," Alex said simply and continued walking towards the set.

Jesse came after her and asked, "Can we talk after?"

"I'm busy," Alex said, looking at Tony, waiting for his direction.

Jesse exhaled in exasperation. He dropped it for the time being, as Tony started giving them directions about the scene. He wanted to depict a secret meet between the lovers. The wall will be between them, to Alex's relieve, but they will be holding hands. They did multiple poses until Tony was satisfied.

"Fantastic," Tony exclaimed. "Let's move on to the next set."

They headed to the next set, which was just a red velvet Chaise lounge on a white fur rug.

"Alright, so here it's going to get physical," Tony informed them. "I want to see heat. I want to see passion. Don't hold back."

Alex looked upwards and exhaled deeply. Why was the universe challenging her so much?

As Tony went to reset his camera, Jesse turned to Alex and asked, "Why are you mad at me?"

Alex tried to ignore him but he was persistent.

"We haven't seen each other for years. I know the last time we met, the ending wasn't perfect, but we left it in good terms. We always have," he said quickly but quietly. "So I don't get it. What did I do wrong?"

Alex saw Tony coming from across the room. She turned to Jesse, finally looking at him in the eyes. "I went to see you the next morning. I saw you with the redhead," she said pointedly. From the instant change of his expression, from confused to comprehension, she knew she was right all along. She scoffed and shook her head. "There, you have your answer."

"Alright, people, are we ready?" Tony asked, holding up his camera. He frowned, noticing the tension between Alex and Jesse. "I'm not loving the air in here. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Alex said dismissively. "Where do you want me?"

Tony shrugged and told her to lie down on the sofa. He told Jesse to sit on the rug, with his back leaning on the chair. Tony took a few shots. He looked at the picture and shrugged. "Not exactly what I wanted, too much sexual tension. But let's work with this first."

They did several poses until Tony was satisfied. "Great," Tony said, clasping his hands together. "Now loose the chip off your shoulders and give me some love."

They tried a few poses, but it wasn't working for Tony. "I don't care if you're gay," he said crossly, "Love each other like you mean it."

Alex exhaled and stared at the ceiling as she lay on the Chaise lounge. No matter how hard it gets, she always, always maintained her composure and professionalism at the work place. Always.