Bloom...no, not Bloom, I'm Rebecca now. I'm in character. Bloom thought to herself. Every time she loomed in to kiss Luther (a.k.a Steven Brighingham) she had to repeat the mantra.
Had to remind herself that she wasn't Bloom on screen and that she truly, genuinely loved kissing a man.
Apparently, she decided I'm a pretty good actress...she must be, her ratings have been off the charts for the past few months. And she's had hordes of fanmail coming from all over the place. She bought her lips to Steven's again. She felt his hands slide down her back as they fell onto the bed. He gave her another kiss, this time on the neck.
If she had memorized her lines right, next to come was a false making of love.
Only days after its release it became 'television's most passionate kiss', 'most steamy romance', 'hottest television moment'.
Bloom didn't resent it, not at all—she loved her job—but would it kill them to let her act out sex with a woman every once in a while?
She sighed to herself…it really didn't matter; her real lover was waiting at home where they could make real love. And that's all Bloom truly needed.
Bloom sighed again and grumbled to herself…too bad she had an interview tomorrow night…
She drummed her fingers against the set's nightstand, impatiently waiting to shoot her final scene for the night so she could get home to said lover. Until then she was stuck waiting on Leslie—she had nothing against the girl…in fact she thought Leslie was a sweetheart, but the girl could never seem to get her lines down in a timely manner. She may not be the star of the movie, but she definitely always had the blooper reel in the bag.
Leslie played Rebecca's friend, Maxlee. This was the one scene Bloom didn't share with her; the scene where Maxlee had a 'steamy' scene of her own with Lucas (his actor, by coincidence, shared a name with his character).
As she watched them hold hands and cuddle, Bloom decided that it couldn't hurt to bring Icy along for the interview…
That is she could get Icy to agree. The woman was more of an introvert; despite her high school and college years she really no longer enjoyed the limelight or being the center of attention. She took on a simpler, more quiet career.
Icy had written more books than Bloom could count on her fingers, and only occasionally appeared on TV for interviews.
Oh but Bloom would make her go to this one, one way or another. She was just in the middle of planning the perfect bribe when she was called to shoot her final scene of the night. At the same time as she ran through her lines, she decided that she'd bring Icy mint chocolate chip ice cream—her favorite. And she would…
"Bloom, deliver your line if you will." Lisa Heights, drummed her fingers on her director's chair. She sounded frustrated, and only after one error…
That, Bloom realized, wouldn't be the case had Leslie not showered her with mistakes only minutes ago.
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"Long night?" Icy asked as Bloom pulled the door open.
"Sort of." Bloom replied. She looked over at Icy; the woman was clade in her (as she called them) dorky reading glasses and a silky silver nightgown, sitting cross-legged on the sofa—facing a laptop that rested on the other cushion. She picked up the warm mug of coffee beside her and dropped an ice cube or two into it.
"What's the point of a warm cup of coffee, if you're just going to toss ice into it?" Bloom rolled her eyes.
Icy shrugged. "Not all of us have fire magic, darling." She looked back to the laptop, muttering the last line she'd typed aloud to herself.
"I bought you something." Bloom placed the ice cream on the table.
"And what am I being bribed to do tonight?" Icy took the bowl of ice cream.
"Hmmmm…I was thinking maybe you'd like to join me for an interview tomorrow?"
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Sure Icy said she would not be joining Bloom for this one, but when the day had come, she sat herself in the chair next to her girlfriend. For the most part she didn't speak; she simply listened to Bloom respond to question after question. "What is your favorite role that you played?" "What is your least favorite?" "Are you going to be in a musical…or any live performance?"
Bloom answered them all without hesitation.
Only one question caught Icy's attention…and that was only because the interviewer motioned to her and asked "and who is that?"
Bloom opened her mouth to speak, but—deciding she needed to do something—Icy got there first. "I'm her girlfriend of course."
The interviewer turned to Bloom. "She's joking…isn't she?"
Bloom gave a slight frown. "Is it that hard to believe?"
"Forgive me…I just thought…I mean with the whole Rebecca/Luther scene…"
"She's about as straight as a curly straw." Icy muttered, twisting her hair lazily around her pointer.
Bloom chuckled. "Well yes. I probably have one of the straightest roles on television right now but you're talking to Bloom right now, not Rebecca." She winked.
"Exactly how many people here, do you think, are shocked about this…shocking revelation?" Icy drawled out a question of her own.
"Everyone probably." Bloom replied.
The crowd gave a laugh, Bloom could only perceive this as confirmation.
"Well, you learn something every day." The interviewer state. "Congratulations no less…I think most of us can agree that off-screen relationships are much better anyhow."
"Though I'm sure Blooven fans are disappointed…" Bloom laughed.
Icy snorted, "Blooven?"
"Yeah…the cute couple name they have for Steven and I!"
Icy put a pause on her hair twirling. "I am much more fond of Blicy…"
The crowd snickered.
"You are going to bring your girlfriend for more interviews…yes?"
As Bloom gave a cheerful "yes", Icy gave her own firm "no."
Bloom smirked. "Trust me, she'll come. If I bring home ice cream and a classic rock CD or two, she'll come."