Over the next year Seth collaborated, created, co-wrote, edited and burned disc after disc. Finally, in November 2012, Seth started feeling overworked, underappreciated and taken advantage of. What Seth really wanted to do was to make a film of his own again, which he missed.
The problem wasn’t in the writing or creating of a film. That was the easy part. The problem was in casting. Who was he going to get to be in his film? Seth didn’t really know anyone anymore, and the thought of advertising online, in the papers or flyers, just sounded exhausting.
Seth thought of asking Brody for help, but most everybody Brody knew, including Brody himself, were across the border making films. So Seth arranged a meeting with his oldest friend, Randi.
“It’s been a while. I figured you dropped off the face of the earth after the trial. What have you been up to?”
“Do you remember that guy from high school, Brody Williams?”
Randi nodded. “Brody Williams? How could I forget? The two of you were the most popular filmmaking duo in the school. Why?”
“Well, over the past year, we’ve been collaborating on film projects. And in the process of writing and editing for someone else, I realized just how much I missed directing films myself.” Seth took a sip of coffee. “So I’ve decided to get back into the groove. And was wondering, if I were to write and direct a film, would you be willing to help me out and be in it?”
Randi thought for a moment over a long sip of coffee. “Well, I guess that all depends on the type of film you want to make. I don’t do horror, and I don’t do sappy romance.”
Seth smiled at Randi. “No need to worry. I don’t do those types of films either.”
Randi held up her mug. “Well in that case, Mr. Zimmer, consider me on board.” They clinked mugs. “So, what film are we doing? Or haven’t you thought that far ahead?”
“Do you remember that comedy Vance and I did in 2010?”
Randi thought for a moment. “The one you had me appear in two parts? The prostitute and Vance’s ex-wife?”
Seth smiled. The memory of that film shoot brought him happiness. “Yes, ma’am. Vance and I originally planned to make a trilogy, but because of the unforeseen circumstances regarding Vance, I was left no other choice but to shelve the other two films.”
Seth continued. “I’ve been thinking long and hard about how to continue a story that essentially involves those three main characters when two of the three actors are absent.”
He took a long sip of coffee. “I tried a few scenarios that I thought were up to par and in similar direction as the original intention of the trilogy. But then I realized, because of various reasons, they just wouldn’t work. But I think I finally found a scenario that I like and works well. But then again, that all depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“Do you know any other women that would be interested in acting with us?”
Randi placed her mug down and reached for her cell phone and started scrolling through her contact list. “Do you have a good idea of the character you want this woman to play?”
Seth thought for a moment. “I do. But what does that have to do with anything?”
Randi placed her phone back on the table. “If you could tell me some of the character’s personality traits, that will help me narrow down my list of potential people to ask.”
Seth considered the characters. “Well, she should have a good sense of humour and be outgoing. Basically, she has to have a bubbly personality.”
“That’s eerie. You just described my friend Paula Destiny to the tee.”
Seth chuckled at Paula’s name. “Destiny? That’s her real name?”
“That’s not her maiden name. That’s her married name.”
“Married? She’s married? Just how old is Paula?”
Randi said, “I’d say around our age, give or take one or two years. But does age or marital status matter?”
Seth shook his head. “Just as long as she’s willing to do the work.”
Randi picked her cell phone up again and texted Paula. After a couple of minutes, Paula replied back. Randi read the text and laid the phone back down.
Randi grabbed her coffee mug and slowly sipped.
“Well? Is she in?”
Randi smiled at Seth. “She is definitely in and is excited about it.”
*
Over the course of several months, Seth spent several hours a day and restless nights refining not only the film outline but the screenplay. He wanted to make sure the new characters worked seamlessly with the original cast. And before Seth knew it, he had a perfect screenplay. Or so he thought. He e-mailed the screenplay to Randi.
After a couple of days, Seth received a text message back.
I read the screenplay with Paula, and we just about split our sides from laughter. I really loved it and thought it was perfect. But Paula thought it could use some tweaking.
Seth read the text and shook his head. Typical! There always has to be a party pooper, he thought.
Tweaking, really? What’s wrong with it?
Paula thought some of the sexual humour is just a little risqué.
Seth couldn’t understand where Paula was coming from. It wasn’t like it was full of sex and hardcore nudity, like some films he could name.
Risqué, really? What’s so risqué about it? There’s nothing too over-the-top. She’s not a religious nut, is she?
No, not particularly. It’s just all the scenes she’s part of, which contain sexual humour, she wants both her and her husband to be comfortable with.
Her husband? Why is her husband reading my screenplay in the first place? He’s not in the film.
Tom feels since he’s allowing our production to film in his apartment, he has the right to read the screenplay. And yes, Tom will be in our film, as our friend Jimmy has dropped out. So Tom will be playing the part of Paula’s male caller.
Seth was disappointed, but he decided to make the changes anyway. All right, fine. Tell Paula to make me a list and I will make the appropriate changes.
That afternoon Seth received the list of changes and then spent an additional two weeks making the changes. He finally e-mailed the revised screenplay to Randi.
Two days later he received another text message.
Paula, Tom and I just finished reading the revised screenplay. Again, I thought it was excellent, but Paula and Tom thought it could use some more tweaking.
Seth rolled his eyes and huffed in anger. Are you freaking kidding me? Again, really?
Tom says if you don’t make these changes we can find ourselves another woman and apartment.
Morons, Seth thought. These people are absolutely clueless and obviously have no sense of humour.
He texted: Does Tom not realize I just spent an additional two weeks on revisions that he wanted in the first place?
We either please the people we already have, or we can start from scratch. Your choice.
If Paula and Tom were being this difficult, annoying and naïve this early on, Seth really wasn’t looking forward to production.
Fine, I’ll do it. But I’m not happy about it!
Don’t have a haemorrhage, Seth. They only want two little changes made. I’ve already e-mailed you what they want, so it shouldn’t be that much of a problem.
Seth ended the conversation and immediately checked the new list of changes and wasn’t happy. Sure, it was only two changes, but the scenes they wanted changed were two of the most crucial scenes in the film.
If Seth had to change these scenes, he had to come up with a whole other angle for the last half of the film. Seth was still working on projects with Brody and wanted to take on other projects as well, so he could start to make some money. He didn’t want to spend too much time on this film, as this was only meant to be a fun little side project.
Seth thought about not even continuing with this project, as certain people were making the experience a nightmare. But after putting this much time and effort into it, he thought it would be idiotic not to continue. Finally, after another week of long days and restless nights, he completed the third and hopefully final revised screenplay.
Seth e-mailed it to Randi, and in the spring of 2013, production began.
To Seth’s surprise, after having a rocky beginning with Paula and Tom, the production was moving fairly smoothly. But then only a few short weeks into the production, the problems began.
Seth and Randi arrived at Paula and Tom’s apartment to film as they would on their scheduled days. Everything seemed normal that day. Seth was setting up his equipment around the apartment as Randi and Paula changed into their wardrobes.
Both Paula and Randi were sitting on the couch as Seth was finishing the setup of his camera. Both women had their cell phones out and were text messaging. Seth found this weird but didn’t really think too much about it. And when he finished setting the camera up, he grabbed his bag of wardrobe and walked into the bathroom to change.
He hadn’t been in the bathroom long, but when he opened the door he could feel that something wasn’t right. He entered the living room and sat on the rocking chair. Paula and Randi were quiet. They stared at one another and occasionally looked at Seth.
Finally, after five minutes of uncomfortable silence, Paula texted. After a moment, Randi’s cell phone dinged, and she texted.
At this point Seth knew something was definitely up. “Okay, ladies, what’s going on here?”
Paula looked over at Randi. The look on her face told Randi to speak for her. “Well, it’s just the part that we’re going to film today makes Paula uncomfortable.”
Seth’s face immediately turned red from his high blood pressure, and his fingers turned white from gripping the armrests of the chair too hard. He took a deep breath.
Paula looked at Seth and immediately became frightened.
He looked at Paula. “Uh huh, I see,” Seth’s sombre tone made both women uncomfortable.
Randi quickly leapt to her feet. “Excuse us, Paula. Seth and I have to talk privately for a moment.”
Randi took Seth’s arm, and they exited the apartment. “I know you’re mad.”
“Mad? Me? No. I’m furious! What the hell’s that bitch’s problem now?”
“Paula confessed to me that she didn’t really read the last revision. She figured she would just agree to it to move things along quicker, as she felt bad for holding up production.”
Seth took deep breaths. But no matter what he did to calm down, nothing worked. “So what does this mean?”
“It means she wants you to do another rewrite.”
“Goddammit, Randi! I don’t have the time or patience for Paula or another rewrite!”
Randi took Seth’s arm and sat him on a bench. She sat beside him and rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. “I know you put a lot of time, energy and thought into each of your film projects. But think of it this way. Paula and I are doing your film for free. This film is being made on a zero budget. We know at the end of production we’re not going to receive any money. The only thing binding us to your film is our mutual trust and support. So you have to ask yourself, is doing a few rewrites really that big of a deal in return for free labour?”
Seth knew Randi was right, and as much as it upset him, he agreed to make the changes yet again.
Finally, after another week, the new changes were complete and production could now continue. On July 31, 2013, production finally wrapped. This film took a lot of work, patience and determination. During postproduction, Seth made his mind up that this film deserved to be shown.
It needed a premiere, otherwise, at least in Seth’s mind, all the pain and slaving he was put through during production wouldn’t have been worth it.
Seth typed up invitations and invited everyone he knew, and September 13, 2013, was premiere night.
Seth nervously watched the screening room at his local community centre fill with family, friends and friends of friends, to see his film. It was nerve-racking but exciting. The thing that was making Seth nervous the most was the fact he had to stand before these people, most of which he didn’t even know, and speak.
One thing Seth really hated was public speaking. But he knew it was something he had to do, not only because it was his film, but because it was something these people were expecting.
He took several deep breaths and swallowed hard. He slowly made his way to the front of the room and stood in front of the projection screen.
He looked around the room. He didn’t recognize anyone in the first two rows. He didn’t know what to say. But all those eyes were staring at him as they waited for him to speak. Seth swallowed hard again.
“Good evening, everyone. My name is Seth Zimmer. Thank you all for coming.”
Seth scanned the room again, and his eyes fell upon the most beautiful, jaw-droppingly gorgeous woman he had ever seen in his life. He didn’t know who she was, but in a split second of laying eyes upon her, something inside him told him to get to know her.
He finally remembered he was in the middle of a speech. “Tonight we’re going to have a double film premiere. I figured since we were already showing the sequel, I might as well show the first film as well. There will be a five-minute intermission between the first and second films, and if you’re not already aware, there will be a reception with drinks and baked goodies after the premiere. So on behalf of myself and my fellow cast-mates, enjoy!”
Seth walked over to the wall, flicked off the lights, walked over to the cabinet beside the screen and pressed play on the DVD player and then took a seat beside Randi.
To Seth’s relief, people seemed to really enjoy the first film. All the jokes and wittiness worked well. It was as though a weight had been lifted.
When the first film ended, Seth stood to a room full of clapping people. “That’s a five minute intermission, everyone!”
The room slowly cleared out except for a few people.
Brianna came running up to Seth. “Congratulations! Well done.”
“Thank you!” Seth turned to look at Brianna, and to his surprise, there was that gorgeous woman standing beside her. He suddenly became nervous again. At this point his inner idiot had a stroke. He couldn’t talk or think straight. Seth really didn’t know what was wrong with him.
He saw beautiful women all the time, and none of them intimidated him or made him feel this way.
“Seth, this is my friend Molly. Molly Featherlite, meet Seth Zimmer.”
Molly smiled gracefully and reached out her hand. Seth couldn’t help but stare at her. Her eyes had to be the most beautiful colour he had ever seen. They were amber and mesmerizing and suited her extraordinarily well.
Finally, Brianna reached out and moved Seth’s hand into Molly’s.
Seth realized he was shaking hands with her. “Uh, hi, hello!”
“Hi, Seth. Great film, by the way. Funny.”
“Thank you.” There was a moment of silence. “So you’re friends with Brianna? Where did you two meet?”
“At college.”
The room slowly started filling back up.
“I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but will you excuse me? I should start setting up the other film.”
“Sure, absolutely. We can talk at the reception.”
“I would love that!”
All through the last film, Seth couldn’t help but think about Molly. He didn’t know why, he even thought it was a bit strange.
And in with keeping her word, Molly took a seat beside Seth at the reception.
“I’ll be honest. I find when people set out to make a comedy, it often sucks. Even though it may have a decent storyline, the comedy usually gets lost in translation due to the actors’ interpretation and delivery. But your films were awesome! You sure know your stuff.”
“What do you do?” he asked her.
“At the beginning of my college career, I dabbled in journalism. But for right now I have steady work at the body shop in the mall. And you?”
“I own Digital Studios Media House.”
Molly was really surprised by this. “You own your own business?”
“Sure do. You didn’t know that?”
“No, I had no idea. That makes sense. So how many films have you done?”
“I’ve worked on a total of 16 films thus far, four of which I wrote and directed. The remaining 12 I co-wrote, produced and edited.”
“Wow, impressive! You must be really good at what you do.”
“I don’t like to toot my own horn …”
“Ah, please. Don’t be so modest.” Molly was quiet. “If someone was interested, how would one join a production of yours?”
“Are you interested?”
“If the right screenplay came along I would be.”
Seth and Molly spent the remainder of the evening deep in meaningful conversation. That was so weird to Seth. Truth be told, when Keri broke up with him, the good-natured, kind and decent man Seth was died.
Seth became hard and mean toward women, and his heart became as cold as ice. For the past four years Seth considered himself a woman-hating zombie. Yet something about Molly started to defrost his cold heart. He didn’t want to be this way anymore. Molly was starting to bring up feelings in Seth he had long forgotten.
At ten-thirty Molly looked at her cell phone and gracefully excused herself, as she had to go to work the next day. As Seth watched Molly exit the room he started feeling sad. For some reason he had the feeling he was never going to see her again, unless he did something about it.
When Seth got home, he started developing his next film, one that was going to star Molly Featherlite.
The only trouble was, what kind of film? He didn’t know Molly that well and didn’t know her preferred genre. He hopped onto his computer, opened YouTube and began looking at amateur films and genres. He came across a few great amateur films, but the subject matter was about drugs. Seth thought for a moment. A film about drugs? That would take him way out of his comfort zone.
He had never made a serious film like that before, with such a sensitive subject matter. He was used to making screwball comedies. He knew if he did a film like that, there would be swearing, drinking, hardcore drug abuse and nudity. He didn’t even know if Molly would be interested. But then, he thought, maybe she would do it for the right cause. Maybe he could convince Molly that he was making a film like this for an anti-drug campaign film festival the city was hosting.
Seth then started feeling bad. He didn’t want to lie to this gorgeous woman. He just wanted to see her again.
Seth figured the only way such a beautiful woman like Molly would be interested in hanging out with someone like him would be for filmmaking. He seriously doubted he could land a woman as sexy as Molly on his own merit. The decision was made. Seth would write a film about drugs in hopes of getting closer to Molly.
After researching and planning, on September 23, 2013, Seth began writing what he knew would be his greatest film. And by October 11, Seth completed a 50-page screenplay.
All he had to do now was contact Brianna.
The two met the next day.
“You sounded excited over the phone, Seth. What’s up?”
He reached into a large cloth bag, pulled out the screenplay and placed it on the table. “This is my new film.”
Brianna opened the script and began reading. “Do you want me in it?”
“Well, I was thinking you could be the casting director.”
Brianna thought for a moment. “Casting director? What does that consist of?”
“You’d be the person who finds people for the film.”
“Really? How many people do you need?”
Seth counted. “The lead female and male, the sister of the lead female, the drug lord and the bodyguard. Five people total.”
“I’ll play the sister of the lead female, if that’s okay.”
“Fine.”
Brianna read the last few lines of the first page and said, “Hey, I know the perfect woman to play the lead female! Do you remember Molly from your premiere? I’m sure she’d love to do this film.”
Seth smiled wickedly as his plan slowly started to come together.
On October 18, Seth, Brianna and Molly planned to meet at seven-thirty at Will’s Fresh Café to discuss the film. Seth arrived at six-thirty.
When he arrived, he was nervous. He started thinking how much of an idiot he was. All this lying and deception just to see a woman he only met once. What if she didn’t like the script? What if she turned down this opportunity?
While deep in thought, Seth received a text from Brianna.
Hey, Seth, Molly is still meeting you for seven-thirty, and I’ll be there at eight. See you then.
Seven-thirty rolled around, and Molly was nowhere in sight. Seth figured she’d try to be there early, but then he figured, as long as she actually showed up, he didn’t really care when she got there.
At eight o’clock Molly and Brianna still weren’t there yet. At this point Seth thought he’d been stood up by both women, but then he looked around and saw Molly across the room, and their eyes locked. Seth smiled.
“Hey, Seth!” Molly shouted from across the room. “Want me to move over there?”
“Sure!” Seth shouted back.
Molly gathered her things and made her way to Seth’s table.
“You weren’t waiting long I hope.”
“I’ve been here since seven,” she said.
“Oh God. I’m so sorry.”
“Please don’t worry about it.”
Seth and Molly exchanged a look.
“Would you like a coffee or tea?” he asked.
“A chai tea latte would be nice.”
“Great, be back in a flash. But in the meantime.” Seth reached across the table and slid the screenplay in front of her. “Why don’t you take a look at the screenplay until I get back.”
Molly opened the script and began reading as Seth went off to get her beverage.
A few minutes later Seth returned and placed Molly’s tea in front of her.
“So, tell me about this film.”
“Well, let me just come right out and say that a film about drugs isn’t my usual cup of tea. I’m only doing it because I believe in the cause.”
“Cause?”
Seth sipped his coffee and then took a deep breath in the hope that Molly would fall into the web he was about to weave.
“You see, as I own my own business in the multimedia industry, the city keeps me up to date with local film festivals. So when I got home from my premiere that night, I checked my e-mails, and sure enough, I received an e-mail from the city about a film festival on the subject of an anti-drug campaign.”
There was a pause as Molly continued to read the script. Finally, she looked up at Seth and smiled. “Wow, this is pretty intense.”
“Again, it’s not my usual type of film. But being a progressive filmmaker, I’m willing to step out of my comfort zone.”
Just then Brianna sat down beside Molly. “Sorry I’m late, but I had some personal business to attend to first.”
Molly was deeply fixated with the screenplay.
“I see you can’t put that down, Molly. What do you think?”
Molly forcefully drew her eyes away from the script and looked at Brianna. “I like it, I really like it.”
Molly turned to Seth. “You know what? Yes, I’m in. I’ll do it.”
Seth smiled. “Really, you’re in? You’ll do it?”
“I’m definitely in, and I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Molly continued to read the screenplay for another few moments and then looked up at Seth. “Do you have any idea who you want to play the main male lead, or is it still too early in the game?”
“No, it’s not too early. It’s never too early. But on this film, casting is not my department. I elected Brianna as the casting director.”
Molly turned to Brianna. “Do you know who I think would be a great male lead? Do you remember that guy from college, Mort? Mort Singerman?”
Brianna thought for a moment. “Oh, oh yeah. Yeah, I think Mort would be perfect.” Brianna chuckled and then said, “You know who would be the perfect drug lord? A guy from college as well, Brian Levinson.”
“Ah, perfect! And for the drug lord’s bodyguard, Josh Heatherbaulm.”
Molly gracefully turned to Seth. “Well, it looks like your film is potentially cast. All we have to do now is approach these people and ask them. So assuming everything goes to plan, how long do we have to cast them? And what’s the next step after that?”
Seth said, “Well, because we are on a tight schedule, I’d say, if possible, have these people cast no later than October 25. And at the extreme latest, October 31. Then the next step after that is to have you guys sign your contracts and then move onto our table read and preproduction. Then finally we move into production.”
The contracts were signed and casting was completed on October 31. Seth couldn’t believe how smoothly things were going.
He knew this was going to be his greatest film. At this point it wasn’t enough for Seth just to see Molly as friends. Seeing her as often as he had over the course of the month was nice, very nice, but it started transforming into something deeper, something Seth could hardly contain.
For the first time in four years, Seth Zimmer was falling in love.
After the second table read at Will’s Fresh Café in the second week of November, everyone except for Seth, Mort and Molly had left. They were getting to know one another. They enjoyed each other’s company.
Molly received a text message. “Hey, Seth, when does this place close?”
“Ten o’clock. Why?”
“Just wondering, Thomas wants to come over and see me for a bit, is that okay?”
Who the hell was Thomas? And why after knowing Molly for almost a month was his name just coming up? “Sure.”
Molly excused herself from the table, and Seth turned to Mort. “Who the hell is Thomas?”
Mort gave Seth a strange look, a look as though Seth should already know the answer. “Are you kidding me? You don’t know who Thomas is?”
“No—should I?”
Mort chuckled. “Thomas Demur is Molly Featherlite’s boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Yeah, a real asshole too.”
Seth sighed with disappointment. He feared for the future of his film at this point. He didn’t want to continue if there was no chance at potentially getting into a relationship with Molly. Now he felt as though the past two months had been a complete and utter waste of time.
Mort continued. “He treats Molly horribly. He’s in my accounting class at school and nobody likes him. We all call him the psycho killer.”
“Why?
“Because he always has a look of hatred on his face and has outbursts of anger and rage at school—mind you, that’s due to his Asperger’s.”
“He has Asperger’s? Why would a normal, decent woman like Molly date a person like that?”
“You mean a jerk? Molly can date whomever she wants. He’s not treating her like crap because he has aspergers, he’s treating her like that because he’s a creep. I don’t know, man, to each their own, I guess. But I’ll tell you, a few other of her friends and I are quite seriously worried for Molly’s well-being.”
“Oh?”
“Thomas has never smacked her around but has given her nasty bruises from grabbing her too hard. We’re afraid that one day he’s going to kill someone, if not Molly. Hence the nickname psycho killer.”
Molly returned to the table. “Anything interesting happen while I was gone?”
Mort and Seth shared a look.
Mort cleared his throat. “No, not particularly. Just talking about the film.”
Seth stared at Molly. He was obsessed now and wanted to know why she was dating someone like Thomas. Did she have some sort of syndrome too? If Thomas treated her that poorly, why didn’t she just leave him?
Molly seemed smarter than that. But now it all made sense. Now Seth knew why Molly was keeping her relationship behind locked doors, and why her relationship status on Facebook was marked as single. Molly was ashamed of her relationship with Thomas. It was a relationship that didn’t work. Seth figured he still had a chance with her, so the film could proceed as planned.
When Thomas arrived, Molly’s personality quickly changed. The fun and wild woman dried up. She reminded Seth of a deer frozen in headlights, and he didn’t like that.
Thomas sat down and stared at everyone for a moment. The look of hatred on his face made everyone uncomfortable.
Seth turned to Mort, and Mort gave Seth an “I told you so” look.
“So,” Thomas said. “You’re Seth?”
It took Seth a couple of moments to realize Thomas was talking to him. “Uh, yes, that’s me.”
“A filmmaker, eh? Man, filmmaking is a dead art; move on.”
Seth’s eyes became narrow slits and he filled with an anger like never before.
Molly quickly interrupted. “Uh, Thomas, was there something important you wanted to see me about? Or did you just come by to insult my friends?”
“I have a job interview tomorrow morning, and I wanted to stop by and get a good luck squeeze from my number one. But since we’re in public, a kiss will suffice, unless you want to sneak off to the bathrooms?”
Molly reached out and pulled Thomas forward and gave him a kiss.
Seth’s blood pressure rose higher and higher, and anger raced through his body as he watched Molly kiss this disgusting creature.
What is this feeling? Seth thought. It had to be jealousy, and if it was, that just confirmed Seth’s love for Molly.
Molly finally released her grip on Thomas. “There you go—good luck tomorrow.”
Thomas chuckled. “Nah, it ain’t me who needs the luck. It’s you guys who need it more.” Thomas got up and left.
Molly looked embarrassed. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“My God. What do you see in that man?” Seth asked.
Molly thought for a moment. “I honestly don’t know. He’s far from perfect in the bedroom, and he’s not the nicest person in the world. Maybe I felt sorry for him for having Asperger’s.”
“Yeah? I’m sorry for butting into your personal life, Molly. But feeling sorry for someone isn’t a reason to date them.”
Molly said nothing, so Seth thought he upset her.
“Well,” Mort said as he got up from the table. “I’d love to stay and finish this conversation, but I have an early class tomorrow morning, so good night, you guys.” He quickly dashed for the exit.
Molly groaned. “You’re right, Seth, you’re absolutely right. I don’t know why. I don’t know what possessed me. But before I knew it, Thomas and I were dating.”
“How long have you been dating?”
Molly looked almost ashamed. “One year this month.”
“Wow, a whole year? Man.”
Molly got quiet and flipped through the script. She became intrigued by one page. “How are you going to do this sketch scene?”
“What do you mean?”
“Mort is the furthest thing from an artist, so how are you planning to do the sketches?”
“I’ll draw them in charcoal myself. I was going to mention it to you, actually. Will you be willing to pose for me?”
“The character in the film is naked, so would I have to be naked too? And how long would I have to pose?”
“If you’re comfortable you can be naked, but if you wish, you can wear a bra and panties. And not for long. I’ll only be photographing you, so I can sketch them in private.”
Molly considered his questions. “Sure, okay. Did you want to do them tonight? We can do a photo shoot at my house.”
“Sounds good to me. Oh, we’ll have to stop off at my place and get my camera.”
Before Seth knew it, he was at Molly’s house. They stood on the porch for a moment.
Molly said, “Before we go in, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“I live with my grandparents, and they’re German. I mean they’re your stereotypical Schindler’s List, hardcore Nazi Germans. They don’t like change, and they don’t particularly like meeting new people—and God help you if you’re British.”
Seth swallowed hard. “Thanks for the warning.”
He nervously followed her inside. Nervous not only because of Molly’s grandparents, but because tonight, for the first time in four, almost five years, he was going to be up close and personal to either a naked or half-naked woman.
Molly and Seth slowly descended the basement stairs.
“Oma, Opa, I’m home!” Molly and Seth turned the corner to the entrance of the TV room.
Molly’s grandparents turned away from the TV and locked eyes with Seth.
“This is Seth Zimmer, he’s my director for that film I told you about.”
Molly’s grandparents continued to stare at Seth. They didn’t say a word.
Seth swallowed hard again. “Hello!”
Molly’s oma and opa remained silent.
“If you need us, we’ll be in my room doing a photo shoot.” Molly pointed and walked to her left, past the full basement bar and turned. She and Seth went to her bedroom.
Seth looked down at the magazine holder on Molly’s floor and noticed Lily Collins, Phil Collins’s daughter on the cover of the September issue of Seventeen magazine.
“Hey, Lily Collins! I didn’t know she was on the cover of Seventeen.” Molly quickly turned and looked. She was surprised Seth knew who Lily was.
“That’s right Seth—how do you know who Lily Collins is?”
“Let’s just say I’m obsessed with her father’s music, both solo and with Genesis.”
“Wow, that’s incredible.”
“Hey, I have the 14 Genesis albums and his eight studio albums, plus his only live album to prove it.”
Molly looked at Seth with amusement. “I have to say you’re unique, one of a kind for sure.”
Seth smiled and blushed. “Thank you.”
Molly walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer. “What do you want me to wear?” She reached in and pulled out a few items.
“A solid black bra and semi-transparent panties? Or a black semi-transparent bra and half-thong?” He would’ve preferred her lovely nakedness, but he didn’t think that was an option, so he chose the next best thing.
“Black semi-transparent bra and half-thong.” Molly grabbed her red crushed velvet robe from her closet. “I’ll be back in a moment, so make yourself comfortable.” Molly exited and gently closed the door.
Seth sat on Molly’s bed and looked around. Wow, he thought. Molly must really like Marilyn Monroe. Molly’s walls were adorned pictures and art and quotes of Marilyn Monroe.
He heard some movement from the bathroom. He unzipped his camera case, removed the camera and then placed the batteries inside.
Molly entered the room as Seth snapped the battery cap back on the camera.
“Wow, that robe suits you perfectly. You look beautiful.”
Molly smiled and blushed. “Thank you.”
“I noticed you have a thing for Marilyn Monroe.”
Molly giggled. “Yes, Marilyn is to me what Phil Collins is to you.”
The two stared at each other for a moment.
Seth finally broke the silence. He got up off the bed. “Well, shall we begin?”
“Sure, where do you want me?”
Seth looked around. “Uh, on the bed is fine.”
Seth closed his eyes and thought, What an idiot I am. He opened his eyes again and Molly was walking over to him.
She got close to his right ear and whispered in a soft, extremely sexy voice, “As you wish, Mr. Director.”
Chills raced throughout Seth’s body, and he couldn’t help but shake.
Molly stood at the edge of her bed and untied her robe, letting it sensuously slide down her smooth body. She got on all fours on her bed. “I’m your lump of clay. Come and pose me.”
Seth stared at her for a moment, not knowing how to take her comment. Did she want him to try something? What if he did and she didn’t mean that?
“Seth, you okay?”
Seth snapped out of his thoughts. “Yes, just thinking of a couple of good poses.” He cautiously approached her. “Let’s get you up on your knees and place both hands behind your head.”
Molly got to her knees. “Pose me. You’re the artist, you know what you want.”
Seth swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
“Seth, it’s perfectly all right, hon. I’m giving you permission to touch me, so don’t sweat it if your hands or arms ‘accidentally’ rub up against something.”
That made Seth feel a little better, and he reached out and posed Molly.
“Wow, Seth.”
“What?”
“You have the most sensual and gentlest touch of any man I have ever been with.”
Seth thanked her as he slowly backed up to snap the shot. He quickly thought of another pose. “Perfect. Now get on your back, arch your back and let your head hang down with your arms to the side.”
“Ooh, kinky!”
Seth walked up to Molly again and posed her. “Hold that pose.” He backed up and snapped the shot. “Perfect; we’re done!”
Molly got off the bed, went to the dresser, pulled out a pair of jogging pants and a sweater and gracefully slipped into them. “What now?”
“When I get home, I’ll begin sketching the photos. And then, before we know it, we’ll be in production.”