“Looks like you’ll have to rethink your strategy,” I said knowingly as I picked my way through the piles of makeup to sit next to Ryan. I stumbled slightly over a powder brush and Ryan instantly sprang to his feet, surprising me by his gentlemanly behavior.
“Careful, June, the floor is a little uneven,” he said with a smirk, making me forget my mental impression that he was a gentleman.
“It was uneven,” I muttered under my breath, taking a seat beside him.
“So, how was your date with Mr. Wonderful?” Ryan asked casually. Benjamin gave him an odd look that I couldn’t quite decipher, but he ignored Benjamin, so I did too, focusing on the more worrisome fact that they somehow knew about my date with Lukas.
“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously, wondering if there was any point in pretending like I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“June, this is a film set. You can’t keep a secret here for long. It’s just too many people, too close together,” he explained.
“For way too long,” Candice added, sounding pretty happy despite her sour comment. I figured it had something to do with the blisters she was now applying to Rafe’s face.
“It was fine. We just went out for coffee,” I said, purposefully picking up a discarded magazine on the floor and holding it up over my face.
“You don’t drink coffee,” Benjamin pointed out, never taking his eyes off of his phone.
“I had hot chocolate,” I answered, keeping all of my responses short so that I wouldn’t be implicating myself in any way.
“And what happened after that?” Rafe asked with sarcastic enthusiasm, obviously not happy that they were all so interested in my love life when there were other topics to be discussed, like nail biting and anxious twitches.
“I went home,” I said.
“Did you invite him up to your place so you could 'slip into something a little more comfortable’?” Ryan asked, his voice lighthearted.
“Yeah. I introduced him to my grandma who I live with because I’m sixteen years old and in high school, slipped into something more comfortable, and then told him to hurry up and have his way with me because I had to be in bed by curfew. It was a pretty steamy night,” I said dryly.
“I see your point,” Ryan said, breaking the awkward silence that followed my little story.
“That sounds like a good night to me,” Rafe exclaimed, giving his two cents in a thick accent.
“I don’t know why you went out with him in the first place,” Candice remarked in her familiar monotone.
“New Girl is obviously too blinded by his charms to see his true evil, Candice. We can’t fault her for that,” Benjamin said with a sad, slow shake of his head. “Maybe a dunk in the tank will do her some good.”
I groaned audibly at the reminder. I had been doing a pretty good job of letting myself forget about my little "stunt" throughout the morning, but there was no avoiding it now. I only had a few more scenes to shoot that day before I took the plunge, and I prayed with all my might that the tank didn’t somehow lock once I was in there. I told myself over and over in my head that there was no way this stunt could go wrong, but somehow I wasn’t very convincing.
CHAPTER 18
The thick, itchy rope wrapped around my wrists did little to keep me dangling high above the water tank. In fact, I was pretty sure it didn’t do anything at all. Hidden strategically behind my hair and beneath my sparkly costume was a body harness that reminded me of a very revealing bathing suit made of thick straps. While the harness did distribute my weight pretty evenly, it was still amazingly uncomfortable. I had no doubt in my mind that if I weren’t a "nobody," they’d have a stunt double do this scene for me. But as it was, there I stayed, dangling above a tank full of icy cold water and slowly losing feeling in my legs (which I was pretty sure wasn’t supposed to be happening).
They had lifted me up above the water tank at the very last second when they were ready to film so that I wouldn’t be dangling there long, but after a few takes this painful position was beginning to lose its appeal. I closed my eyes against the headache that had been slowly forming and silently cursed the itch on my cheek that I couldn’t scratch with my hands suspended above my head.
“Are you doing all right up there, June?” Bates called from somewhere below.
“Fine,” I mumbled around the damp cloth acting as my "gag," trying to sound like a good sport when I was actually quite unhappy with my current predicament. If I’m being honest, though, the dangling above a water tank thing wasn’t the worst part of it. The worst part was that after we captured this scene, I’d be dropped into the tank below, have the lid shut over my head, and pray that something didn’t go wrong with the stunt.
The stunt coordinator told me before they tied me up that if need be, they could empty the tank in less than ten seconds through the grate in the bottom. While this did comfort me a little, it gave rise to new and more complex worries. What if I panicked in the tank when there wasn’t anything wrong, and they emptied it in response? Then I’d have to get dried off and do the scene all over, subsequently costing the show hundreds of dollars in time spent because I’d freaked out over nothing.
I hadn’t ever realized how stressful acting was. You didn’t just have to worry about lines. You had to worry about how much you were costing the studio every time you made a mistake, especially with a water scene. I always loved watching bloopers on DVDs with Joseph, but at that moment, dangling above a tank of freezing cold water that they had sworn was room temperature, the concern about creating my own bloopers made me feel slightly nauseous.
“Okay, I think we have the scene where we want it up to the drop, so this next shot we’re actually letting you go June,” Bates called up to me.
“Sounds good,” I lied around the gag cloth.
“Now just remember, when you hit the water, don’t panic,” he said slowly, making me wonder if my worries were that evident on my face. At least acting scared wouldn’t be too difficult. “The lid will shut and you hit the glass and pretend to push up on the lid until Lukas runs over and gets you out.”
The way he said everything made it seem much easier than I was imagining it. If I could just see it as a list in my head, I might actually be able to pull it off.
“The most important thing is what we see when you first drop in the tank. We can shoot your underwater shots all day long, but the first scene where you go from being dry to wet we want to get just once, if we can.”
Oh great. No pressure.
Bates called action and Lukas, Will, and Jim Little (who was playing the theatre owner in love with me) all sprang into action, shouting at each other and making threats while waving guns like crazy people. I tuned them out for the most part, getting into the zone while allowing myself to look distraught and helpless, like a damsel in distress.
I was vaguely aware of Jim’s cue line about me making a lovely corpse when I felt the click behind my back. The mechanism holding me suspended in midair released and there was a moment where nothing happened and I wondered if the stunt had broken. I felt everyone’s eyes turn to me, cast and crew, before the sickening feeling of falling finally hit me and air rushed past my head. I let out a little involuntary scream which was muffled by the gag in my mouth, and then hit the water as Will and Jim ran out of the shot for the chase scene that would be spliced with my rescue scene.
At first everything was silent (and freezing, might I add) when I hit the water. All of the shouted lines turned into nothing more than thick, heavy words muffled by the water. Then I felt a thousand little bubbles rush up my body, making a mad dash for the surface in the icy silence.
And then I heard it.
The dull thud of the heavy metal lid closing above my head.
My eyes shot open wide, and I became terrified that I would drown right then and there. The world outside of the tank looked glassy and blurry all at the same time ,and I could see a dark shape rushing toward me. I assumed it was Lukas, but if the
stunt coordinator had decided to come rescue me early, I wouldn’t have minded that either.
Remembering that I had to do some actual acting, I slammed my bound hands repeatedly against the glass wall in front of me. I looked around hysterically, beginning to actually believe that I was Imogen Gentry, trapped in a water tank and about to die. Some of the long feathers of my skirt floated up around my face, making me feel even more claustrophobic, while the tiny fishing weights holding the rest of my skirt down made me feel like I would be pulled down to the bottom of the tank, preventing me from swimming to the surface at the end of the scene.
In reality, the tank was only about seven feet tall, so I’d only have to push off the bottom, not "swim" to the top. But this was a fact that was lost on me in the moment.
I could feel my air running out as Lukas pretended to throw all of his weight into opening the heavy lid. I knew he was eventually supposed to grab an axe and cut the lock holding the lid on, but surely they didn’t want me to stay in here until he finally did that, right? As it was, I had already been in the tank for about thirty seconds, which I realize doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but when your hands are tied, your mouth is gagged, and you’re being dragged down by tiny little weights, it feels a lot longer.
I saw Lukas run to the side of the stage, presumably to get the axe, but I didn’t think I’d be able to wait for him to open the tank. I could feel my body involuntarily swallowing, trying to force me to take a breath against my will as I continued to hit the glass walls around me. Small pinpricks began to make their way up my arms and legs, but I couldn’t tell if that was the feeling returning to my limbs or the first signs that I was about to be part of a freak on-set accident.
Finally psyching myself out enough, I pushed my feet off the grated floor, my arms above my head and ready to open the lid. At first when they made contact with the metal ceiling of the tank, nothing happened, and the dread took all of one second to spread through me. I saw a large bubble escape my mouth as I opened it in shock, but only a moment later the lid lifted seemingly by itself, letting the welcoming sight of studio lights stream in. A strong hand reached into the tank and grabbed the rope around my wrists, pulling me to the surface of the tank.
Water sprayed everywhere as I tried to breath out of my mouth, still covered by the cloth gag. I began to cough from the unexpected barrier and quickly tore the annoyance away from my face so that it dangled limply around my neck. Continuing to sputter in an unattractive manner, I felt a warm hand touch my ice-cold cheek.
“Are you okay, June?” Lukas asked, his voice full of concern and his face the perfect picture of a prince charming who’d just rescued his princess. Okay. Maybe that was a bit much, but that’s still what it felt like right at that moment. Lukas had been the one to pull me out of the tank. “I would have opened the lid sooner, but you held your breath a lot longer than they expected you to, so they told me to go grab the axe instead just in case we could get that shot in. I’m sorry I didn’t just open it,” he said, making me want to kiss him right then and there. Of course—everything he did made me want to kiss him, so that wasn’t saying much.
“It’s all right. I’m fine,” I sputtered, shaking from the cold water and complete terror I had experienced moments before. “I’m just glad you opened the lid. I couldn’t get it open for some reason.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty heavy,” he explained, though I wasn’t sure if this made me feel better that there was nothing wrong with the lid or worse that even when it wasn’t broken, I couldn’t get out of it myself. Lukas allowed his hand to continue cupping my cheek as he gazed at me with a perfect smile.
“Can you please not touch her? I have to fix her makeup,” Candice said, suddenly beside us, though neither of us had seen her approach. Her tone was dry and flat as usual, but I could sense an uncommon menace in it. Lukas sighed, looking unabashedly annoyed with Candice before rolling his eyes and walking over to Will Trofeos and Jim Little, who had just reappeared on the stage.
“Tool,” Candice muttered under her breath at Lukas’s retreating form.
“He pulled me out of the water tank,” I said in a shaky voice, still unsteady from my little scare.
“Yeah, and he got in the way of a dozen other people who were rushing to get you out of the tank too,” she countered in a hushed voice. “It’s not like he rescued a baby from a burning building. He opened a lid.” Candice looked over her shoulder at Lukas, who was watching her closely even though he appeared to be talking to Will.
“He’s still a nice guy,” I attempted as Candice removed the black makeup that had migrated from my eyes down my cheeks. I could only imagine how scary I looked, freezing with makeup melting all over my face and my lips trembling from how cold I was.
“Haven’t you ever heard that sociopaths are some of the most charming people?”
“I hardly think he’s a sociopath,” I answered defensively.
“Oh, I don’t know. Manipulative, promiscuous, superficial charm, inflated sense of self. Sounds about right to me,” she responded, her mouth twitching in the corner, almost like she was smiling.
“Fine, if you find me murdered and hidden in a crawl space, you can name him as the number one suspect,” I said sarcastically. “But until that happens, you should at least try to be nice to him.”
“Yeah, that’ll happen,” she said with a scoff as she finished touching up my makeup. “Don’t drown,” she remarked as she walked away, shooting a dirty look in Lukas’s direction. He walked back over to me the second she had left the stage to perch behind the cameras once more.
“What’s with her?” he asked, looking more amused than angry by Candice’s obviously cold feelings toward him.
“She’s having a bad day,” I lied. I didn’t want any conflict between them, but I also didn’t want Candice to lose her job just because she didn’t know how to keep her emotions at bay.
“Apparently,” he said with an eyebrow raise. He shook his head, presumably shaking off whatever bad feeling he was having toward Candice, and then turned to me with a winning smile and said, “Ready for another go?”
*****
Lukas and I walked through the silent, dark parking lot of the theatre after work that day. I was surprised that there weren’t any paparazzi surrounding the building, although Bates had told everyone to keep quiet about the location of the shoot. Apparently whenever Forensic Faculty shot outside of the studio, they had a bit of a crowd control issue. But at that moment, walking alone with Lukas, I was glad for the absence of any spectators, including Gran, who was apparently late picking me up.
Lukas and I stopped at his motorcycle. He leaned against it, looking like an angel, and I tried not to let my giddiness show on my face. Here I was, standing alone with Lukas Leighton after having spent an entire day with him fussing over me and making sure I felt safe in the water tank. It didn’t get much better than that.
Lukas pushed a few stray curls behind my ear. My dark curly hair had finally dried after much persuasion from Candice and the blow dryer. That girl could somehow work wonders with my hair. She had managed to coax it back into the big glossy curls she had created before, much to my amazement.
“You were really brave today,” Lukas said softly, letting his hand rest on my jawbone. I was pretty sure being this close to Lukas was exactly what being hypnotized would feel like. My head grew fuzzy and all I could do was smile stupidly at him. It was like being given laughing gas at the dentist. Everything just felt perfect and happy. A bus could mow me down right then and there, and I would simply giggle about it.
“All I had to do was hold my breath,” I said, trying to sound modest even though I was pretty proud of myself for making it through that horrible stunt.
“You can sound humble all you want, but I know it was a scary thing to do,” Lukas whispered, the softness of his voice making the situation seem much more intimate. I shivered slightly at the lines his thumb was tracing on my cheek, and he stood up to his full height
, taking a step toward me. “Are you cold?” he asked.
“A bit,” I replied, wondering what exactly he was going to do to warm me up. All he really needed to do was look at me and I’d burst into flames, but the fact that he was getting closer and closer to me definitely worked too.
Lukas pressed his body against mine, his strong form feeling warm and unfamiliar. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him so that my head rested on his chest. I could hear his heart beating in a slow and steady rhythm. Strong and self-assured, just like him. My heart, on the other hand, was doing its best to imitate a hummingbird’s as it pounded embarrassingly fast against my chest.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to memorize every perfect detail of this moment. I felt Lukas inhale, as if he was preparing to say something, but his words caught in his throat and he pulled away from me, looking over my shoulder. I could see his face illuminated suddenly by the familiar (and unwelcome) sight of headlights.
“Gran,” I breathed, disappointment lining my features.
“Actually, I think it’s your friend,” Lukas said, his voiced filled with something that I’ll call disappointment. At least, I’m hoping that’s what it was.
“My friend?” I asked, a bit slow on the uptake, having just had my brain scrambled by Lukas’s unfathomable perfection.
“Joe. Right?”
“Joseph,” I corrected automatically, more out of habit than an actual desire for Lukas to get his name right.
Turning reluctantly away from Lukas, I could see the well-known sight of Joseph’s green VW Bug. He seemed to have developed a bad habit of showing up at the most inconvenient times lately.
“Hey June,” Joseph said as he walked briskly toward Lukas and me. “Annette had something come up, so I said I’d pick you up from the shoot. Sorry I’m late.”
“That’s fine,” I said with a sigh, unable to completely hide my exasperation over another interrupted moment with Lukas. I turned back to him with an apologetic look on my face. “Thanks for walking me out.” Lukas smiled warmly at me, glancing over my shoulder at Joseph for a moment as he did so. It wasn’t an uncomfortable, "why is this guy watching us so closely?" kind of look, but more of a "yes, I see you standing there and I really don’t care" glance.