Sarah suddenly finds herself walking up the three cramped steps leading to the trailer, following closely behind Kate. She is pleasantly surprised when she enters the mobile home, which turns out to be rather spacious and trendy. Sarah spots what seems to be the bedroom at the end of a narrow hall. The immediate interior consists of a huge couch, an LCD TV up on the wall, a kitchenette with fridge, and an awful lot of cabinets and cupboards; there seems to be all the furniture and equipment of a home.
« Wow! » She marvels. « This is pretty cool. »
« You ever had one of these? »
Kate removes her keys and a pack of cigarettes from her back pocket, and casually drops them on one of the counters. She rests her back against it, facing Sarah, observing her explore the surroundings.
« No… I've never had such a leading role that entitled me to have something like this. And every one of you guys has one of these? »
« Sure. Gotta go somewhere before and after we shoot a scene, right? »
« Right, » Sarah concedes, still looking around.
« Plus, you're not gonna hang around on set naked, are you? »
Sarah skips a beat and looks up, as Kate lets out a chuckle. « Kidding, » she reassures her, with her hands in the air, taking a don't shoot me stance.
« I actually like to hang out on set a lot, » she resumes, clearing her throat. « I always try to show up for Jenn's scenes. »
« Jennifer Beals? »
« Yeah, she's such a great performer… But mostly, I stay here, or squat Leisha's trailer. In fact, we pretty much all squat Leisha's trailer, » Kate adds, giggling, reminiscing all the crazy parties they'd had over there. « She has way more stuff than I do. »
Sarah starts pacing, noticing a PlayStation and a handful of video games scattered on the floor, a skateboard in the corner, and an iPod with headphones on the couch.
« Is this yours? » she asks, pointing to the skateboard.
« Yeah, actually, it is. I started a couple of months back. Ilene mentioned something about Shane being good at it, and that it might come up in one of the episodes or something, so I'd thought I'd try… I have to say, I'm pretty good at it, » Kate declares proudly.
Sarah smiles. « I'm sure you are. »
« Just gotta have balance, you know? I surf, too, so I guess that helps quite a bit. »
« You surf? » Sarah raises an inquisitive eyebrow.
Kate nods again, pleased with herself. She's usually not of a very boastful nature, but for some reason, she wants Sarah to be impressed.
« Not much of a girly girl, are you? »
« Ah, what I can say, » Kate counters with a shrug. « I suppose I'm a bit like Shane that way. »
Back to Shane. Back to the show. Back to the reality that the audition process is not yet over, and that the most difficult part of it might be yet to come. Sarah avoids Kate's eyes for a moment, studying every corner of the trailer to keep herself occupied.
Kate clears her throat, and starts with a banal, « So… » to catch Sarah's attention. « You've never, hmmm, have you done this before? »
Sarah turns around. She finds Kate where she's been all this time, resting her elbows on the counter, leaning her back against it casually, looking relaxed and unabashedly sexy. Her worn-out jeans look damn good on her, and so does her vintage rock t-shirt. Her hair is messy and disheveled, but it looks perfect on her somehow; that hairstyle definitely matches her attitude and personality, and that cute, tomboyish look certainly goes well with her green eyes and black Chuck Taylor's. Sarah starts to wonder how much of Kate truly is the inspiration for Shane.
Wait. There was a question. « Kiss another woman? No, I haven't. » Sarah finally looks up to deliver an honest answer.
« Are you completely freaked out? » Kate surprises her with a resolute stare, challenging her, smiling slightly.
« No. »
« Good. I mean, you might be initially, and a lot of the actors and extras that come in on the show are, but my take is, you know, to just go for it, » she adds, with a shrug, making her point.
« Right. »
« Well, I don't know what Ilene is gonna want us to do this time… »
« What, hummm, what does she usually have you do? For those auditions… » Sarah interrupts, eager to find out more about the task at hand.
« Well, in recent weeks, she just asked us to... make out, basically, and she or Rose Troche, that's one of our directors, would sorta guide us through the moves. »
« Guide you… » Sarah repeats, as if to formulate her uneasiness.
« Bring her closer. More tongue. Lower your hands. Tilt your head to the right… That kind of thing. »
Sarah nods silently. This is going to be more difficult than she thought.
« Now you're freaked out. » Kate chuckles.
« No! No, I… it's just… No, I'm not freaked out. » Sarah tries to convince herself of those words as they are spoken. Deep down, however, she feels like she really wants to try this; like she is ready for this.
« It's actually helpful. Well, sometimes at least; that's how some of the sex scenes on the show are done. »
« Yeah? »
« Mmmm, yeah, depending on the actors and directors, of course. For instance, I know that the first couple of sex scenes with Jenn and Laurel were highly choreographed. It was the first week of shooting; they barely knew each other, and it was kinda new to both of them. Well, mostly Jenn, but now it's like… »
« Now, it's like another day at the office? » Sarah jokes lightly.
« Exactly. Now they both know exactly what needs to be done to make it look good. Most new pairings need the extra help, though. I mean, for me, last season was crazy. I had to get it on with a different girl every other week almost. »
Sarah tries not to roll her eyes. « Really? »
« Well, the story lines for Shane are… complicated. » Kate quips. « When you get with a new person each week, and when you know you're never gonna see them again, you just get down to business, like, you don't bother to know them or try to be overly friendly. It's sounds harsh, but the reality of it is, you have a job to do... Leisha and Erin don't know how easy they have it right now. »
« You mean because their characters have been a couple onscreen for a while? »
« Exactly. They don't get the crazy stuff I have to pull each week. »
« That may be, but you're the popular one everyone wants to jump, right? » Sarah blushes the second that comes out of her mouth, but she hears Kate's laughter and forgets about it right away.
« I don't know about that, » Kate taunts, « but from what I understand, everything will change this season. » She tilts her head slightly, raising an eyebrow seductively, and adds, « Looks like I might get a serious girlfriend soon. »
« Right. » Again, this brings them back to what they came in here to do.
« Okay, let's just do it and get it over with, » Kate utters, her hands pushing the counter for leverage as she makes her way to Sarah, slowly.
Sarah readies herself on her side of the trailer. Her own hands come to grasp the counter tile behind her; there's no going back now. Her heart starts to beat faster. She can feel her pulse rage in the back of her throat. Her palms are sweaty. Yet, there is nowhere else she'd rather be. Apprehension gives way to oblivion as Kate steps closer and closer, filling her vision. Kate's green eyes fixated on hers is all Sarah sees.
« So… » Sarah blurts out, in a vein attempt to buy time. « Do you usually do it choreographed? »
« No. » Kate gently shakes her head, her composure poised and assertive. She adds, « I don't really need directions. »
« Oh. » Sarah lets out a sigh. There's nothing else she can think of to say, so she lets Kate take the lead once more.
« I'm gonna kiss you now, » Kate whispers. She leans in slowly, giving her one last chance to change her mind, but Sarah feels hypnotized, and just stands there. She looks up, captured by Kate's penetrating stare, and then down to her lips, slightly parted and already moist. She can feel her breathing on her skin now, and goose bumps on her arms. As Kate closes the distance between them, Sarah manages to let out a faint « Okay. », consenting to Kate's unspoken question.
Their faces are now inches apart. And then she feels Kate's lips on hers, as they both close their eyes. Kate is barely moving, her hands not even touching Sarah. The kiss is tender, soft. Sarah feels the pounding in her chest subside, little by little, as anxiety and disbelief give way to a very warm feeling, inviting, almost appeasing. Kate suddenly moves in closer, as if there were any space left between them - their bodies now connected. She brings her hands up to Sarah's waist, gently resting them there, not forcibly, not pressing, just barely touching. Sarah can feel the connection through the fabric of her jeans even though Kate's fingers are not actually touching her skin. Her heart starts pounding again a little bit louder as a tingling sensation inside her chest is building. Kate tilts her head to the right, gaining easier access, deepening the kiss, this time parting her lips further apart, testing, inviting her in. Sarah suddenly feels her own hands come up to delicately rest on Kate's upper arms, both holding on to her and encouraging her intentions. Kate feels right then Sarah's mind letting go as her lips move over hers gently, skillfully, the kiss growing more passionate, and drawing from Sarah a falling, sighing, almost inaudible sound. Then, Kate pulls away, and they look at each other for a long minute, pupils dilated, flushed cheeks, reddened lips, eyes locked on each other. Without a word, Kate takes a step back, letting go of Sarah's waist, reluctantly. Sarah looks down, unable to meet her eyes, bringing a hand to her lips instinctively, as if to remove the imaginary traces of what has just transpired. She eventually brings herself to look back up.
Kate just stands there, in front of her, gauging her reaction, a couple of dark hair strands clouding her gorgeous eyes.
« We should go, » she says, matter-of-factly.
Not expecting this kind of immediate response, Sarah forces a shrug and nods with a mechanical « Okay. »
Kate turns around to go pick up her keys and the pack of cigarettes from the counter, stuffs them in her back pocket, and goes to open the trailer door, disappearing before Sarah's eyes. Sarah gathers herself for a second, taking a deep breath, looking down at her chest for an instant, as if to make sure her heart is still there, beating. She exits the trailer to find Kate waiting for her outside.
« Ready? »