A Carousel In Silhouette

The wall had been the most expensive prop he'd made so far for the movie. It was just a PVC sewer pipe, and an end cap with a flange. Glue the PVC to the end cap, screw the end cap to the floor, and voila, a shadow of a wall. That one prop had cost over 25 bucks, and he needed a second one for this scene to represent a door. This second one had a tennis ball screwed to the PVC at about waist level to look like a handle. Another screw was put in about eye level, and a small cardboard sign hung from that screw by a string - the Open/Closed sign for the bar scene. The door cost a total of 30 bucks and was the most expensive prop, and it would only be used once, and that only for less than a second, but it was worth it.

Saturday came. Julia Philips nervously tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She was sitting in her car, in the parking lot in front of a row of identical bay doors. She had found the address. She couldn't believe she was really going to do this.

Of course Julia had checked on Gary's midterm marks. He had managed a B on both his Math and Social Studies exams, and an A in English. The marking schedule was different for his Drama class, no midterm, but she suspected that even the attempt at making this movie would get him an automatic A in that course too. That B in the Math midterm really helped make up for the poor start to the semester. She had to admit, he had turned it around, and kept up his end of the bargain.

She knew Denise and Tracy had already filmed their scenes, but she didn't know who any of the other actresses were, or actors for that matter. They had both been oddly tight-lipped about it, too, but Denise had said that the experience was "fun" and she managed to get Tracy to spill that she had "had a blast".

And yet, Julia was still nervous. The idea of simulating sex on screen... yes, it's in silhouette, so it should be easy to fake... Gary assured me that the makeup completely obscures the faces of both characters from each other, no acting credits... Tracy did say she had a blast... I think I have the lines down... am I really going to do this?

She took a deep breath, and opened the car door.

She walked into the door at the address she had been given, and saw Gary waiting for her. He led her back through the warehouse. "Here's the washroom, only cold water I'm afraid." Past a black curtain at the side of the stage, he parted another curtain. "Your dressing room."

There was a table, with a mirror surrounded by lights. A vase of flowers, a bottle of wine and wineglass, a wash basin, a brush and a tray with purple makeup and a sponge. Hanging from a coat hanger suspended by a wire from the rods holding the curtains was her outfit: a short sleeve button down shirt, a tie, a short skirt, and an apron. Gary had asked her to bring her running shoes.

There were two cheap stacking chairs in the dressing room, one in front of the mirror and the other off to the side. She sat in front of the mirror, and Gary took the other chair.

"Now, I remembered what you said about being worried about remembering lines. So in both your scenes, you will see several copies of each page of the script posted all over the set. There's some taped to the floor, some to the top of the bar, some to the 'wall', some to the backs of the front seats of the 'car', all over the place. If you forget your line, you can just take a second and glance at the script. If the pause goes on too long, I'll tell you to freeze, and then just don't move a muscle and I'll tell you the line and we'll go from there."

He told her about the makeup, how it completely absorbed the green light, and that her face would look totally featureless and black except her eyes and mouth. He also mentioned that her auburn hair would look black in that light, too. He was very reassuring. He ran over the script with her and mentioned a few things about the stage direction, and she became much more comfortable about this movie. Then he left her to get ready while he took care of a few things.

She disrobed and put on the Waitress costume. It's fairly close to what I actually wore as a waitress - is it really nine years ago now? - although the skirt is a little shorter. She thought back to that big lanky cowboy that she had fantasized over so many times. He was tall, and had a mustache, and looked like the Marlboro Man. His jeans were so tight, and he must do a lot of horseback riding, that butt, those thighs... She had fantasies about him giving her babies. But, he was already married and had kids and his wife was so pretty... it was never going to happen. Still, she had had some lovely fantasies.

He hadn't mentioned anything about her hair, but there was a scrunchie on the table, and she figured he wanted her to use it for her hair. There, that took all of two seconds. Now the makeup, just all over everywhere except the eyes and mouth he said. Ok. That was easy. Yikes. I look like one of those creepy California Raisins.

Then Gary was calling The Waitress and The Soldier to the set. She walked down the curtain hallway, turned and climbed a few steps, and took a breath in a gulp.

Oh my goodness. Well, helloooo cowboy. Wow. The script said he was to be "tall and broad and muscular" - yep, yep, and oh my goodness yep. It was like someone took her fantasy cowboy and made him two inches taller, and his shoulders broader, and his muscles bulgier, and put him in a vaguely-military looking costume. He entered the set from the other side. His face had the same makeup. All she could see up there were his eyes and mouth, and a crewcut wig. At least, she could see it was a wig. On the shadow it looked totally natural.

This set had been the most complicated set of the whole shoot. Using a real car was out of the question. Instead, the car was a whole bunch of shadows that all blended together on the screen to make one shadow. There were two chairs with cardboard shapes duct taped to them to represent the front and back of the car. Closer to the lights, the car interior consisted of two stacking chairs with sandbags on them, representing the front seats, and a low wicker love seat from Sophie's parents' patio furniture was the back seat.

Further back still, the two poles that had been used for the coat room scene between the Actress and the Rock Star had been cut down to about five feet high, and a PVC pipe glued in as a cross member. A thin strip of cardboard was taped to the cross member at the top, representing the roof of the back seat of the car. Another strip of cardboard ran along the floor between the two poles, casting the floorboard shadow. More cardboard wedged upright between the "front seats" cast the shadow of the front door, windshield, and roof of the front of the car. Finally yet another piece of cardboard was taped to the love seat, cut to look like the slope from the roof of the car to the trunk.

When all the pieces were in position, the shadow looked like a 1973 Dodge Dart with the back doors removed. There were microphones taped to each of the front seats, and another taped behind the back seat. Copies of pages of the script were taped to the floor and the backs of the front seats.

"Ok, so this scene is the last night before The Soldier gets shipped overseas. He's saying farewell to his girlfriend, The Waitress. So, this scene needs to come across as bittersweet. I want you to listen to this song, and pretend it's about your characters. This should help you to get the right mood for the scene." He nodded to Sophie, and she pressed Play on an old boombox.

There's a ship lies rigged and ready in the harbor

Tomorrow for old England she sails

Far away from your land of endless sunshine

To my land full of rainy skies and gales

And I shall be aboard that ship tomorrow

Though my heart is full of tears at this farewell

For you are beautiful, and I have loved you dearly

More dearly than the spoken word can tell

Roger Whittaker's smooth baritone nearly had Julia in tears by the end of the song. My boyfriend, The Soldier, going away, maybe never coming back, maybe coming back in a pine box... and he's just telling me how beautiful I am and how much he loves me... damn song.

"Ok, so, you guys know how to play this? Ok, any questions? Oh, hey, Waitress, are you wearing the tie and apron? Yeah, you don't need those for this scene, but you will need them for the bar scene, just take them off and toss them off the stage where you came up... ok good. All right then, take your places, and Waitress, whenever you're ready just go ahead and say your first line."

The sat on the loveseat, leaning back. The shadow looked like they were in the back seat of a car with see-thru doors. He was so big they couldn't help but be touching thighs. Wow, she thought, that thigh is nearly as big as my whole torso. His arm is bigger than my leg. He looks so strong - smells a little of sweat, like he's just been working out, it's kind of nice actually. She took a deep breath, glanced at the sheet in front of her - you're being silly, you know the line, "You're right, it is more comfortable back here."

"It's so beautiful tonight. The moon, the lake... you." They kissed, four or five seconds. Mmm. He even tastes good.

"I wish you didn't have to go."

"But I do. My buddies are counting on me. My country needs me. I have to go." Sophie suppressed a giggle. She knew George must have been choking on that line, maybe throwing up in his mouth a little. God, she loved messing with these guys' heads.

That song kept going through Julia's head as they went through the scene. For you are beautiful, and I have loved you dearly - what would that be like, to really be that girl this Soldier boy was leaving behind? This Soldier, with a body that made her cowboy look ordinary. What if it was him? Maybe he beefed up a little over the - has it really been nine years? Can't really make out his face at all... c'm'ere, cowboy...

She needn't have worried about her lines, she'd remembered all of them so far, no problem. They were kissing passionately now, her mind being flooded with memories of her cowboy and that damn song and my god he's so strong. He's built like a Greek god. Really good kisser. Mmm.

Her line again. "I want to do something for you, make you want to come home again." The script called for her to unbutton his shirt first, but didn't specify how. She was so turned on now, unbuttoning his shirt with her teeth. His eyes just stared into hers, and her hands were on his skin. Wow those pecs. Migod abs. Hercules.

She yanked, and the tail of his shirt came out of where it had been tucked into his pants. She pulled the shirt open. No, not Hercules. In this green light, it's more like The Incredible Hulk.

She was kissing back up now, her mouth nibbling on his nipple, her hand playing with the other. All the while he just watched her, his eyes locked with hers. He lifted his hand and palmed her breast, and she felt a thrill pass through her, a bolt of lightning from her nipple to her toes and back up to her sex. Her tongue was tracing circles around his nipple, and her hand slipped down to his waist.

It wouldn't hurt anyone if I just had a little peek, would it? Or just a touch...?

Her hand moved further down, her lips moved further up, and she was kissing him and rubbing him through his pants. Yes, I'm saying farewell to my smokin' hot boyfriend and making him want to come back to me. And now I'm on his lap and he says I'm beautiful and he loves me more than words can say, and I'm going to make my cowboy soldier want to come back home. Back home, to me!

They were really making out now, he with one hand between her legs, the other wrapped around her and palming her breast, she with one arm around his neck and the other opening his button, pulling the zipper down, reaching inside. Oh, he's huge. And hard. For me! He thinks I'm beautiful and loves me and he's leaving and I don't want him to go but he think's I'm beautiful and he's going to go and I want him to come back to me, back home to me.

His hand was moving up between her legs, and she parted them. His big wrist was pushing the skirt up, he was nearly there, oh please just a little further, and she moaned. Then he was rubbing her, and she was stroking his cock inside his pants, and his other hand was at her waist, moving up under her shirt as they kissed. She parted her legs, wider, letting him get that big hand up there to do what he wanted.

He pushed her panties to one side, and she could feel the finger moving over her hair. She was tingling with excitement. My cowboy soldier boyfriend loves me dearly, more dearly than the spoken word can tell, and he loves me but he has to leave and I don't want him to go! She groaned into his mouth as his finger entered her.

Her shirt was pushed up above her breasts, her bra shoved up as well and now irrelevant, her breasts hanging loose as he fucked her with that big thick finger. Her head tilted back at the pleasure, and he bent his head down and started kissing her neck. His right arm was all the way around her as she sat sideways on his lap, holding her right breast, playing with the nipple, his left middle finger feeling like a not-overly-small cock drilling into her, and then he was bending down further and taking her left nipple into her mouth.

She was going nuts. Oh that feels so good, don't stop, don't stop. He curled his finger up and stroked her G spot, and she lurched. Whoa, oh oh oh no don't stop. Don't stop what are you doing? But now he had taken both hands off her. He had to, to get the pants down to his knees.

Now his little soldier was standing at attention, and she was stroking it and kissing him, and it felt so natural to just twist her body a little bit and put her left knee here and her right knee there, and she was facing him, sitting in his lap, that huge member pressed between them. He was kissing her and feeling her breasts and she was rubbing her pussy at the base of his cock.

He's my cowboy soldier and he loves me and he says I'm beautiful and he's leaving and I want to give him something to make him come back home to me. Come home to me!

He put his hands on her sides, his fingers nearly wrapped all the way around her, and lifted her effortlessly. He positioned her pussy right at the tip of his cock. They were still kissing, and he lowered her down onto his shaft.

Yes! Yes! Give it to me, cowboy! Oh my soldier, my boyfriend, he loves me and thinks I'm beautiful, my cowboy soldier, give it to me! Yes!

He was bouncing her on his cock, sliding her up and down, lifting and lowering her with his big, strong arms. She was in ecstasy. She finally had her cowboy, and it was better than she'd ever imagined. Such a hot body. So strong, so... manly! Yes, give it to me, deep, oh, nobody's ever been that deep before. Give it to me, baby! Yes, yes, yes! "Give me a baby!" she screamed and came. That set him off; he groaned and filled her with his seed.

"And cut! That was a great improv line at the end, Waitress, what a wonderful way to end the scene. Soldier, thank you very much, well done. You're done for the day, you can go back to your dressing room and get changed. Waitress, you've got about twenty minutes while we tear down this set and put up the bar set."

Back in her dressing room, Julia's thoughts were swirling. Did I really just do that? Did I really just say that? His cock felt so good, I was so into it, that damn song... I just had sex with The Incredible Hulk, and now every time I see a big guy I'm going to wonder if he's Bruce Banner.

Stop it. You just got caught up in the moment. You were just so in character, and the mood from that damn song, and memories of the cowboy, and damn he had a nice body, his cock felt so good... good thing I'm still on the pill, even though I haven't had a boyfriend in two years... did I really just say "give me a baby"?

Just file it away, just a fling, a pleasant memory, just... oh, wow. It shouldn't mean anything, it should just be something fun, but the emotions... it was artificial emotion, pretend, but the heart doesn't know that. If I ever hear that damn song again I'll probably cum on the spot. Or cry. Or both. But damn that felt good...

She was dressed in her costume again, this time with the apron and tie. She took the scrunchie out of her hair, gave it a quick brushing, and put it back in. She took a deep breath, relaxed, looking at herself in the mirror. She heard a door at the back of the warehouse open, and then close. That's it. He's gone. My cowboy soldier is gone.

She was looking at her eyes in the mirror. Was that just a quirk of all these lights, that twinkle? Looking down at her mouth, she saw a broad smile. Oh, wow, that was way better than I had imagined that scene, so much more emotional, even better than any fantasy I ever had about that cowboy. I never imagined him being so strong! She remembered Denise saying she had fun, and Tracy saying she had a blast - and neither of them would say anything else! Are they trying to hide something? Did they fuck their actors too?

She was chuckling. I read your scenes, I have a pretty good idea who they're playing. Kinda. Tracy could either be Young Wife or Little Miss, and Denise could either be The Actress or The Escort. Either way, that means Tracy fucked The Husband and Denise fucked The Politician. Oh, girls, naughty, naughty, you didn't dish that bit of delicious gossip...

Gary and Sophie tore down the car set, which took much less time than lining everything up had taken. The blanket covering the love seat is old and worn out anyhow, thought Sophie, as she tossed it in the trash. Taking down all the cardboard and moving the love seat off stage, and clearing off all the rest took less than five minutes.

Setting up the bar was much quicker than setting up the car. Gary's dad had built a sort of rec room in the basement, and had a small bar in the corner. Besides the bar and liquor cabinet, there were a few bar stools and a tall but small round table, bar stool height, which included a circular foot rest. The table made a convenient place to put a beer while taking a shot on the pool table.

Gary had borrowed the table and two stools from home. A piece of cardboard hung from the bottom of half of the table, with a notch for the foot rest on that side. The shadow looked like the profile of a bar, solid on one side and a footrest on the other. They taped a microphone under the table, in the shadow of the cardboard. The bar stools were lined up on the other side, offset slightly so that both cast shadows, with the "door" a few feet farther away. The "wall" prop was on the other side of the "bar"; it had taped to it cardboard cutouts representing three rows of liquor bottles. A tall glass - borrowed from Gary's dad's bar - sat on the table, completing the set.

Gary called The Waitress and The Banker to the set. She returned, and got her first look at The Banker. That is a really nice suit. Fits very well. Looks expensive. Nice shoes, too. Blackish Purplish face and fake glasses. His hair looks greenish. Yeah, no clue who this guy is at all. But he looks sharp.

"Ok, guys, so this scene is closing time at the pub, and The Banker and The Waitress are the only ones left there. He's looking for a little fun, and propositioning her. Any questions? Ok, let's take our places... and Waitress, go ahead."

"I think I'm going to close the place a little early tonight. It's really dead in here."

"Really? You'd cut short my chance to talk with a beautiful woman?"

"Oh! Well, I haven't seen any come in here all night."

"I have. She's still here."

"Oh, you! Very funny. Nah, I can't justify staying open, costs too much to keep the lights on, we may as well settle up your tab."