“I mean, how could you lead Haru on like that?” she asked, and burst out laughing again when I made a face.
“Does Mr. Otsuki know about this?” I asked.
“Everyone knows. It’s great press for the show. They are already predicting it might be one of the most-watched J-dramas in history. All your fans have to know if you and Haru win out in the end. They had planned to show it this summer, but it’s being rushed to air at the end of January,” she explained.
“Come on. They have to know it’s only a story.”
“What would be the fun in that?” Misaki asked.
“So, should I just play along or ignore it?” I asked.
“If you could hang out with Haru and grovel a little …”
“… and let you take a picture of it,” I finished.
“You would be my best friend forever,” she admitted.
“Maybe I could get down on bended knee. I did that once for a photo shoot.”
Her eyes got big.
“You do that, and I will name my first child after you.”
◊◊◊
Mr. Nomura, my Japanese mentor, was helping me learn my lines. I found if I read them phonetically and then listened to him for the right inflections, I could nail my dialogue.
“Have you seen all the pieces about me on the Japanese gossip sites?” I asked.
“I’d just ignore it.”
“Misaki suggested that I act like I’m trying to get Haru to forgive me for the show. What do you think?” I asked.
“It might draw a few more fans, but I suspect Misaki simply wants to sell the picture.”
“What if I got down on a knee and acted like I was proposing to Haru?” I asked.
“When’s the wedding?” he asked and saw my confusion. “Right now, you are the unattainable dream. If someone catches you, then there either needs to be the wedding of the year, or you will lose all your fans as a jerk.”
“So, no proposal?”
“No proposal, and I wouldn’t grovel, either. Your fans don’t want a wimp. They want a confident American playboy they can worship from afar,” he explained.
“Sounds like you have experience in this.”
“That’s why I’m your mentor. I haven’t stayed in the game this long without knowing how to get good press.”
“Completely changing the subject, who should I take to lunch this week?” I asked.
“Everybody. It’s the last one, and they would all love to go.”
“Should I invite my aunt, uncle, and grandmother, too?” I asked.
“Yes. Family is important. I would also like to meet your uncle.”
“Maybe we could do dinner Thursday, if we’re done filming by then,” I suggested.
“I’d like that.”
We got back to me learning my lines for the next scene. I walked on set and did it. Nailed it!
◊◊◊
Haru and I were on set and supposed to be in a disagreement. She didn’t buy that I was sincere about changing for her. What the writers had given us wasn’t working, so Mr. Otsuki had decided to just run the cameras and let us try to work it out.
“Just trust me, Baby.”
I bet every jerk has said almost those exact same words at some point. It ranks right up there with ‘The child-support check is in the mail’ and when you look at your twelve-year-old son and ask ‘Who drank Daddy’s last beer?’
“Baby?” she asked as her eyebrows rose into her hairline, not buying my BS. “Never call me that again; it reminds me of that silly girl in
It took me a moment to get the reference since that movie came out before I was born. Rita James had given me the DVD to watch when I traveled to Cuba. I remember at the time I thought she’d slipped in a few films just to mess with me.
“I would never try to put you in the corner,” I said, alluding to the famous quote from the movie about nobody putting the character Baby into a corner.
Haru looked away, I expect in amazement that I knew the movie, trying not to laugh at me. I saw her shoulders shake, so I decided to play it like she was crying.
“Are you okay?” I ask quietly.
She turned to me and looked determined.
“I’m fine. But there’s something I want you to remember: no one will ever put me in a corner.”
I smiled as I pulled her into my arms, leaned down, and kissed her pouty lips. I pulled back and looked her in the eyes. Haru must have forgotten we were filming because she gave me a look that made me pause. ‘I have a girlfriend’ was just about to come out of my mouth when she laid a serious kiss on me.
“And … Cut!” Mr. Otsuki called out before she forced her tongue down my throat. “I think we got it. Set up for the next scene.”
Haru and I untangled ourselves from each other, and she all but ran off the set. Crud.
◊◊◊
During the break, I finally built up my nerve to call Ben. I wanted to make sure he was okay with what had happened at the party. He certainly didn’t seem happy when he left.
“I wondered if you’d call,” Ben said when he answered the phone.
“I take it you’re not happy with me,” I ventured.
“Well, I was on board with her fantasy, but did you have to do such a good job of fulfilling it?” he asked.
“It sort of went on longer than I anticipated. I kept worrying if you were okay, and that distracted me,” I explained.
“I wish to God I could get that distracted. She complained this morning that she’s too sore for sex still.”
