The character description makes me nervous. I like to think I can rise to a challenge, but this character is so far out of my wheelhouse, I have doubts I can pull it off.
I look through the list of the other plays. They all have an element of the shocking or taboo. It turns out Erika wasn’t joking about Jack’s excerpt. He’ll be playing a married businessman who pays a Dominatrix to regularly spank, degrade, and sodomize him. When I look over at Jack, he’s a little green. Aiyah, on the other hand, is grinning with sadistic glee. She often tells Avery how much she wants to smack him. Now she’s going to get her chance.
Miranda, Troy, and Angela are doing something called Picture Windows, in which people fall in love with inanimate objects. Lucas and Zoe are doing Unwrap Me, a play examining a married couple who enjoys cross-dressing, and Holt has been cast with Connor in …
I almost laugh out loud. It’s bad enough that Erika cast two guys who hate each other in the same play, but to make matters worse, Enemy Inside is a touching love story about a gay soldier coming to terms with his homosexuality.
Oh, my.
Connor is playing the closeted gay soldier. Ethan is the experienced and caring love interest who convinces him that loving another man isn’t a sin.
My, oh, my.
I find the concept vaguely arousing. In reality, I think the likelihood of Ethan pulling off a character who’s loving and patient is a major stretch. Also, he regularly glares at Connor like he wants to pummel him. Trying to convince an audience he’s attracted to him? Erika couldn’t have come up with a more difficult challenge.
I glance over at him. He’s frowning down at the piece of paper like he can make it say something different if he just concentrates hard enough.
A sharp laugh bubbles out of me. He looks up and scowls, so I suck the inside of my cheeks to stop myself.
Oh, this term is going to be fun.
Erika rubs her forehead and sighs. “Miss Taylor, you have to stop laughing. We’re wasting time.”
“I’m sorry,” I say as I fail to stifle my giggles. “I know it’s not funny. I just—”
I’m lying on the floor and Miranda is straddling me, and every time I laugh, she bounces up and down, which makes me laugh more.
“Miss Taylor!”
The giggles abate, and I take a deep breath to try and calm myself.
“I’m sorry. I’m ready.”
Miranda sighs. She’s used to kissing girls. I’m really, really not.
“Right. Let’s try it again. Remember, this is one of the truly intimate moments in the play. It’s when we see a brief glimpse of George’s vulnerable side. How she genuinely cares for Childie despite how she treats her. We need to feel the sexual tension between you. Are you clear?”
“Yes. Clear.”
It doesn’t make this any easier. Doing a love scene with Ethan was difficult enough. Doing one with another girl is totally out of the realm of my experience. Still, that’s what this whole term is supposed to teach us. That passion is passion, no matter who it involves.
My passion is kind of rusty. Maybe that’s why I’m having so much trouble.
“Okay. Stand and go to first positions. Take a moment to center yourselves.”
I stand opposite Miranda and close my eyes. Breathe. Remind myself to treat this just like any other character. I project myself into George’s mind, so I can discover her motivations. She’s experienced with women. With Childie. She loves her even though she torments her.
We start the scene. I’m agitated, but Childie calms me. Strokes my face. For once, she makes the first move. She kisses me gently then pulls back, hesitant as to how I’ll react. I’m shocked by how forward she is, and although my first instinct is to punish her, she’s looking at me with such hope, I can’t bring myself to do it.
I kiss her back, passionately. She’s so beautiful. As innocent as I am corrupt.
We fall to our knees and continue to kiss. Then, in an act of unparalleled boldness, she pushes me onto my back, straddles me, and grinds against me as she buries her fingers in my hair. I pull open her shirt and palm her breasts before flipping her onto her back and becoming the aggressor again. She wraps her legs around me as I kiss her neck.
We say the last few lines as we pant into each other’s skin.
The scene ends, and Miranda and I stand and await Erika’s notes.
“Well, ladies, that was—”
“Fucking amazing!” Jack leaps to his feet and applauds wildly. “Best play ever!”
“Mr. Avery!”
“No, seriously, Erika. Can these girls do that scene for the rest of the year? Because … yeah. It’s seriously … stimulating. Stirring stuff.”
“Dude,” Lucas whispers, “You might wanna sit down. It’s kind of obvious how much you enjoyed it.”
Avery immediately covers his crotch and sits. Everyone laughs.
“Shut up, bitches. There are hot chicks making out in front of me. What do you expect? Every straight guy in this room is currently sporting wood. Hey, Holt. Let’s see the size of your tent.”
Ethan rolls his eyes and flips him the bird, but I notice his legs are crossed in such a way that his crotch is hidden from view.