“Cut!” Riley yells for the fourth time. “Damian, you look constipated and Keatyn, you’re supposed to be looking at Damian. It looks stupid.”
“That’s because we’re about to fall off the boards!”
“It’s not just that,” Ariela says. “It looks fake because they’re not wet enough.”
“We spritzed them down,” Peyton says.
“Yeah, but you can’t really see the water. If they’re in the sun and wet, they should sort of shimmer,” Ariela counters. “Wait! I know!” she says, running off set. She comes back with the water spritzer and a bottle of body oil. “Let’s try mixing them.”
“Water and oil don’t mix,” Aiden says, stating the obvious.
“I know, that’s the point!” Ariela replies. She rubs both Damian and me down with oil, then spritzes us with water again. This time, the water beads and slides down our bodies.
“See!” she says to Riley.
Riley grabs her and kisses her. “You’re a genius.”
“Is there any way we could put a second spring under the surfboards, so they’re a little more stable?” I ask Riley. “If we weren’t constantly worried about falling off, it’d be easier to look like we’re having fun.”
“We don’t really have enough time to do that.”
“Come here and help me,” I tell him, “while I figure this out.”
He stands next to me as I get back on the board, putting my hand on his shoulder for balance.
After trying a few different foot positions, I find one that feels comfortable and even lets me move the board.
“That’s it! Damian, put your feet like this, right over the spring. I think that’s why we were struggling. We were doing what’s natural on a surfboard, but it doesn’t work for this because of the middle support.”
Damian quickly gets the hang of it and Riley checks out how we look on camera.
“You look much better,” he says. “You’re smiling.”
“I think we should do some shots of us just sitting and floating together. We do that all the time.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. We could probably lie down on our boards and pretend to paddle, too,” Damian agrees.
“Let’s try it,” Riley says. “And remember to look like you’re having fun.”
We get some successful shots of us lying on our boards and paddling with our arms, then floating on the boards, holding hands.
“Do you think you could do a handstand. Act like you’re showing off?” Damian asks me.
“It’s usually the guy who shows off,” I tease, laughing.
“I love the laughing,” Riley says. “Do more of that.”
I glance at Damian. He gives me a nod, encouraging me to try doing a handstand. I can do one in the water, but I’m not sure if it will work here.
I pop up on the board, place my hands directly over the spring, and flip my feet up into the air.
“Ah!” I yell as my body leans dangerously toward Damian, finally hitting the tipping point and falling onto him.
He laughs, catches me, and pulls me over onto his board, somehow, without knocking us both off.
“That was adorable!” Ariela shrieks, jumping up and down and clapping.
“Can you both stand up on that board?” Riley asks.
“You go first,” Damian says.
I stand up. Once I’m set, I feel Damian standing up behind me. But then he grabs my waist and we both go flying off the board into the fake waves and, thankfully, onto the stunt mats Aiden thought to put below.
“One more time with both of you up on your own boards, smiling this time, and we should have enough for this part.”
The remainder of the day is spent shooting more of the date scenes. We order in food and sit back, watching as Riley works his video magic.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30TH
Sexy and skanky.
1pm
Riley is still putting the finishing touches on the video when I get a call from Kym. She’s in town dressing other stars for their New Year’s Eve appearances and wants us to meet her.
“Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” I ask Riley, who mutters something unintelligible to me and nods his head.
I wrap my arms around Aiden’s neck. He and Damian are sitting on either side of Riley’s workspace, which consists of multiple computer monitors, each playing different footage.
“Do you want to come with us?”
“Naw, you girls have fun. I’ve got a couple new suits at the loft. I’m sure one of them will work.”
“I think Kym wants to dress you. So we kinda match. But she knows your size. If I think you’ll like it, I’ll bring it home.”
He kisses my arm then turns around and kisses me goodbye.
Cooper escorts Peyton, Ariela, and me to Kym’s new digs. Her lab, as she calls it. She thinks of herself as a mad scientist of fashion. Mixing and matching things together and giving each of her clients a different look. When we arrive, she greets Cooper with great enthusiasm, running her hands across his broad shoulders and telling him how fantastic he’d look after she was done with him.
She greets the girls with air kisses, leads us into a showroom space, and directs us to a buffet of snacks and drinks.