BENJAMIN

That’s not true. I have the cure. Drink this.

Nineteen

I knocked on Grant’s trailer door after Donavan left. Amanda answered, pushing it open farther for me and stepping back to let me in. “Hey.”

Grant was sitting on his couch. “Is it time to make out?” he asked.

Amanda’s hopeful face deflated a bit. Grant was so clueless.

“I’ve been studying your videos, Amanda. I need some serious advice.”

“What videos?” Grant said. “Do you have kissing tutorials online?”

“She should,” I responded. “But, no, I mean her actual scenes with fellow actors.”

“Oh, cool,” he said.

“Kissing on camera is different than just making out with a boyfriend,” Amanda said. “Come here, Grant. Stand right here.” She pointed to the spot right in front of me.

He stood, pulled down the leg on his sweatpants that had ridden up, and moved until he was in front of me.

“I’ll keep this professional,” he said.

I laughed. “Because sticking your tongue in someone else’s mouth is very professional.”

“You know what I mean,” he said.

“Yes, I do.”

“There will be very little tongue,” Amanda said. She was so calm. Probably because she knew that in seconds she’d be standing where I was.

He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes. Then he paused and looked up. “What’s my line right here? Before we kiss?”

“‘I don’t want to have to live without you,’” I said.

“I’m so passionate,” he responded with a smile.

“I know. You’re really invested in this.”

“Money, huh? You think I’m doing it for the money?”

At first I thought he was talking about himself, and I said, “No, I never thought that, I didn’t think you were getting as much as . . .” I realized quite suddenly that he was talking about Benjamin, his character, and what I’d said the other day on set about him being after my father’s money. “I mean, yes, I do. You’d know that if you’d actually read the book.”

“So you don’t think I love you, then? Truly love you? True love requires sacrifice sometimes.”

“I think maybe you’re trying to make yourself believe that so you don’t feel guilty. You are a kindhearted man. But if my father doesn’t come up with an actual cure, it will be hard for you to stomach my looks and not fall for my best friend. She’s already helped you through a lot.”

“Yes, I have,” Amanda said. “Including this. Now say your line.”

Despite what Donavan thought of Grant’s acting, I was always amazed at how easily he could fall into character. Like now, he stopped the questions, held my gaze with soft eyes, and said, “I don’t want to have to live without you.”

“I don’t want to make you live with what I will become,” I said back.

He moved toward me ever so slowly, and just before his lips reached mine, I said, “Wait. This feels awkward.”

“It does?” he asked.

“Amanda. Can you play me for a minute so I can watch? Maybe if I see what you do, then I can replicate it.”

Grant looked between the two of us, and for a second I thought he was going to call us out, say he knew what we were up to. But he didn’t. He just released me and let Amanda step into my place.

“So remember the first tip I gave you the other day?” Amanda said. “To imagine Grant as someone you actually like.”

“Hey,” he said.

She patted his cheek. “Don’t worry, babe, I’m imagining you.” The way she said it made it sound like a joke, even though I knew it was true. “But maybe you can imagine that cute tutor of yours,” Amanda said to me.

I smiled. She was relentless.

She shrugged. “It’s obvious.”

“What cute tutor?” Grant asked.

“The one we just saw,” Amanda said.

“Really? I didn’t think he was that good-looking.”

“He’s good-looking,” I said.

Amanda raised her eyebrows at me as though I’d just proved her point.

“It means nothing,” I said. “I was just stating a fact.”

“Whatever. Imagine someone you’re attracted to.”

“Are you implying she’s not attracted to me?” Grant held his hands out to the sides, putting himself on full display. “I’m good-looking too.”

“Life lesson, Grant,” I said. “Just because someone says another person is attractive doesn’t mean they’re saying you’re not. And just because you’re good-looking doesn’t mean everyone is attracted to you.”

“This is a great life lesson,” Amanda said. “Now put your arms down.” She put one hand on Grant’s shoulder and the other she ran along his jawline. “Next, do something intimate before actually locking lips. Something that will clue the viewer into the fact that you are about to kiss so that they can prepare themselves. If you rush into a lip-lock, it can seem too sudden, which can lead to discomfort for the viewer. I’m not saying a kiss can’t be fast or look desperate. But something, even if only a beat of something, needs to precede it—connecting eyes, a sip of a breath, a touch.”

He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her up against his chest. “Just kissing has always worked for me.”

“Then you haven’t been kissed by an expert.” She reached up and pushed his hair back, then she pressed her lips against his. And then they were kissing. I wasn’t sure if both of them were still acting or if neither of them were. But what I saw was a very convincing kiss. Maybe Amanda was right, maybe it helped to know what it felt like to kiss someone you actually cared about. If I’d never done that, could I really convince an audience I was in love?

The kiss continued, and I now felt like I was intruding on a private moment. Was I supposed to leave now? Wouldn’t that make it even more obvious that this was a setup? “Um . . . I thought you said there would be very little tongue.”

They pulled away from each other, and Grant laughed. “Sorry,” he said, though I wasn’t sure to who.

“That was good,” Amanda said, her breath quick and shallow.

“Should we try now?” he asked, holding out his hand to me.

That wasn’t exactly how this was supposed to go. I wasn’t sure how I imagined this playing out, but it wasn’t with Grant James scoring a kiss from both of us in one sitting.

“Actually, I think I got it,” I said. “That was really good info. Kissing for the first time on camera might give us an edge.”

“But, Scarlett,” Grant said, slipping into his accent. “I love you so deeply. I’m not after your father’s money.”

I plopped into a chair at his kitchen table.

Grant sat across from me, and I watched as he processed something. “Wait. You thought I was talking about me a minute ago.”

“What?” I was lost.

“When I asked if you thought I was doing this for money? You don’t think I’m getting paid well?”