Alex approached the set feeling somewhat foolish. She had just come out from makeup and costume, and was currently wearing a large and heavy purple and gold renaissance style dress. She was wearing a really tall wig to complete the look.
Alex practically had to drag herself to the set due to all the weight she was under. But when she saw the set, she was transfixed. They had set up a beautiful garden within the studio, complete with a working fountain in the middle and fresh colourful flowers all around. Alex tried to ignore the green screen in the background, it was ruining the aesthetic.
"Where are my models?" the photographer shouted. He was taking test photos of the scene.
"Here," Alex replied, approaching him.
"Keep your pants on," a familiar sounding male voice said sarcastically from behind Alex. She turned around and they both gaped with surprise. It was Jesse. He was dressed like a renaissance King, clad in red and black velvet. His arms were suspended in front of him as he paused in the middle of buttoning his cuffs. Then a wide smile appeared on his face. "Alex."
Alex felt her heart beat faster. "Jesse."
"Hey, what is this? You don't get paid to chatter," the photographer said in annoyance.
Jesse rolled his eyes and replied, "We get it, Tony." He grinned at Alex and said, "Let's get to work. This is going to be fun."
Somehow Alex doubted that but she reminded herself over and over to be professional.
The first set was easy enough. Tony wanted to depict a lover's first time meeting each other. Most of the shot, Alex and Jesse were standing away from one another.
In the next set, after a change of costume, Tony wanted to depict a lover's first dance. The set changed to a ballroom background. Alex took a deep breath and told herself to be strong. Following Tony's barking orders, Jesse wrapped his left hand around her waist and held her hand with the other. Alex rested her right hand on his shoulder and kept her eyes averted from his face. She could feel his piercing green eyes on her.
"I didn't know you were in London," Jesse said softly, trying to start a conversation.
"Yeah," Alex said simply. She kept her poker face on. You can do this. You make a living like this!
They posed for Tony, changing stances every few shots. Alex could tell that Jesse was suspecting something amiss, but he kept his profiles picture-ready effortlessly.
Alex was glad when Tony directed them to change again, until she saw the costume. It was just a thin, white cotton nightdress, typical of renaissance times. She changed without complaining. Underneath the dress, she wore nude underwear to make it look like she was wearing nothing. They took off her wig and removed her makeup, starting again for a nude makeup style. When they were done, she went back to the set.
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.
She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Forget the pain, forget the anger. Remember the good times. Remember the passion. Remember how you felt everytime he touched you...
She felt the tension leave her body and opened her eyes again. She looked at Jesse, who was sitting at the foot of the sofa. He was deep in thought, with a deep frown on his face.
"Jesse?" she called him softly and he turned to look at her. She reached out her hand to him and said, "Come here."
Jesse didn't hesitate for a second. He shifted his body and slowly climbed on top of her, arms outstretched like he was posed for a push up. Tony was already taking shots.
Alex ignored the sounds of the camera clicking and focused on Jesse. She looked into his deep green eyes, letting herself get pulled into them. She wrapped her legs around Jesse's and holding his hips, she pulled him down until their bodies were flushed together. Their faces were inches away and she could feel his warm breath on her cheeks. She recognised the glint in his eyes. She had seen them so many times before. She could feel him getting hard.
"Wow, amazing," Tony said happily. "Change to a different pose."
Alex wriggled out from underneath Jesse and they swapped positions, with him at the bottom and her at the top. Jesse had one leg dangling off the chair. Alex pulled her hem up to her thigh and straddled Jesse on his laps. He pulled her towards him until they were connected at the hips. She could feel his erection in between her thighs. He pushed her hair away from her face and they looked into each others eyes again. His chest was rising and falling with his rapid breathing. He licked his lips and unintentionally, she mirrored him. He pulled her closer until their foreheads met.
"Oh, perfect, perfect!" Tony chimed in excitedly. He was looking at the pictures on the little screen on his camera. "I think we got it. Thank you everyone, great job! It's a wrap."
Hearing that, Alex immediately pushed herself away from Jesse and climbed off of him. He looked completely taken aback, a deep frown forming on his face. Alex turned from him and started walking away. "Thanks, Tony," she called back.
"Thank you too, love," Tony replied.
*****
Alex just knew that Jesse would be waiting for her when she came out from the dressing room. And she was right.
"What the hell was that?" Jesse confronted her, looking angry and confused.
Alex ignored him and tried to walk away. He grabbed her arm and she angrily pulled it away. "Don't touch me!" she warned him.
"Okay," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Just stop and talk to me for a minute."
"Why?" Alex asked angrily, "So you can lie to me again?"
Jesse sighed and said, "I never lied to you."
She scoffed. "No, you didn't lie in words. But when you cheated on your girlfriend and didn't tell the girl that you're sleeping with, that is a whole different level of lying," she spat angrily.
Jesse opened his mouth, then closed it again. He clenched his jaws tightly. "I'm sorry," he apologised softly.
Alex exhaled sharply. "That means nothing to me," she said flatly. Then she turned away from him and started going down the stairs as fast as she could. Jesse came after her.
Alex pushed open the door and stepped outside. Jesse was beside her in an instant. "Tell me how to fix this," he said to her desperately.
"There's nothing to fix, Jesse," Alex said, looking at him wistfully. "It's not broken. It's gone." She looked away from him as her eyes started to brim with tears. She wiped them away forcefully. "Just forget about me."
Jesse sighed deeply. He looked like he was about to cry too. He opened his mouth to speak but they were interrupted.
"Alex?"
Alex sniffled and turned around. Paul was walking towards her from the car. She managed a smile for him. "Hi. What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"I thought I'd surprise you," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He noticed her reddish nose. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, forcing a smile.
Paul leaned in and kissed her temple affectionately. He turned to Jesse and frowned. "I know you, don't I?"
Jesse's face was a mixture of sadness and shocked as he watched Alex in another man's embrace. He quickly hid his surprise and forced a polite smile. "Yes, Lord Baker. It's Jesse. I'm attached to the Paris office."
"Ah!" Paul exclaimed with recognition. He extended his hand and asked, "How are you, mate?"
"Good," Jesse replied, shaking his hand. He licked his lips and repeated, "Just, good."
Paul turned to Alex and asked, "Shall we go?"
Alex nodded, still managing to smile. Paul leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He took her hand, bid Jesse farewell, and walked her back to the car.
Alex forced herself not to look back at Jesse.