Tanner threw his arm over Drake’s
shoulder as they walked from the make-up trailer to the set where
the five-minute spot for House Today was being set up, “this is
great. You’re a great-looking guy and you’ll do well at this. Just
imagine you’re talking to a friend.”
Drake didn’t know how to break it to him that his
friends didn’t normally come to him with questions on how to fix a
toilet-or do any home repair. He was better with word tenses and
definitions. Hell, his kitchen faucet had been dripping for months
and he hadn’t even considered fixing it himself. He kept thinking
Molly would bring her tools over when she came to hang out one time
and they’d make the repair together.
Not that he and Molly had been hanging out after they
had sex.
Great sex, really.
He missed her. When he’d called to tell her about the
video shoot today, the conversation had been awkward. After he’d
asked how she’d been doing, he hadn’t known what to say.
A million thoughts had crowded his head. He’d raced
through them all, discarding each as stupid. So, he’d just blurted
out that he was shooting his first video spot for House Today and
then he’d hung up, feeling like a fool.
Nervous as hell about this, he just wished she were
here, even though he didn’t know why. Having had phenomenal sex had
made everything weird between them.
Walking down a long hall with Mike, they went into a
studio set up to look like a regular house interior.
“Hey, Drake.” The producer he’d talked with earlier
came over, followed by another guy in a casual shirt, open at the
collar, who appeared to have several people trailing him like
satellites. “This is our director Silvio Sanchez.”
“Hi, Drake.” A dark-haired man with a quick smile, he
reached out and shook Drake’s hand. “So, we’ve got the bathroom set
and a toilet, of course. I think they’ve set it up to have the
problem you described, so you can fix it. Right over here.”
Feeling awkward and like a total idiot, Drake
followed him into the small space.
“You see the guy with the hand-held camera?” Silvio
gestured toward a guy with a camera. “He’s going to be shooting and
you talk directly to him as you fix the toilet. We have another
camera over here—see? But you just ignore him. He’s doing
supplemental shots that will be edited in for viewer clarity.”
“And the tools are?” Drake tried to act like he knew
what he was doing.
“Over here. That’s right. We put them in this tool
box. It’s made by one of our sponsors. Their name is on the side.”
Silvio turned to talk briefly with one of the assistants following
him.
Taking the moment, Drake waved at Mike—standing off
to the side—giving his visibly-nervous boss the thumbs-up signal.
Mike couldn’t be any more nervous than he was. He was just grateful
he’d never really shown his feelings much.
In a moment of panic, he’d decided all he could do
was fake his way through the situation. His stomach felt like he’d
swallowed nails and Drake wondered how he’d gotten himself into
this mess.
But what choice did he have? He needed to keep the
blog going, since it was currently paying his bills.
“Okay, Drake,” Silvio said with another encouraging
smile, “let’s try this. Just talk right at the camera guy as you
fix the toilet and don’t forget to explain what you’re doing
step-by-step. Think of this as if your viewers are going to DVR
this and watch it before they attempt to fix their own toilet.”
He’d gone over the steps to fixing the toilet at
least a hundred times, conning his notes and rehearsing the
directions Molly had given him. Trying to ignore his desire to
throw up, he took a deep breath and told himself again that, even
if he sucked—which he thought he would—all that could happen was
that the people at House Today declined to have him appear on the
show. Not the end of the world and not the end of the blog. Even if
his bosses did decide to can him,
shoulder as they walked from the make-up trailer to the set where
the five-minute spot for House Today was being set up, “this is
great. You’re a great-looking guy and you’ll do well at this. Just
imagine you’re talking to a friend.”
Drake didn’t know how to break it to him that his
friends didn’t normally come to him with questions on how to fix a
toilet-or do any home repair. He was better with word tenses and
definitions. Hell, his kitchen faucet had been dripping for months
and he hadn’t even considered fixing it himself. He kept thinking
Molly would bring her tools over when she came to hang out one time
and they’d make the repair together.
Not that he and Molly had been hanging out after they
had sex.
Great sex, really.
He missed her. When he’d called to tell her about the
video shoot today, the conversation had been awkward. After he’d
asked how she’d been doing, he hadn’t known what to say.
A million thoughts had crowded his head. He’d raced
through them all, discarding each as stupid. So, he’d just blurted
out that he was shooting his first video spot for House Today and
then he’d hung up, feeling like a fool.
Nervous as hell about this, he just wished she were
here, even though he didn’t know why. Having had phenomenal sex had
made everything weird between them.
Walking down a long hall with Mike, they went into a
studio set up to look like a regular house interior.
“Hey, Drake.” The producer he’d talked with earlier
came over, followed by another guy in a casual shirt, open at the
collar, who appeared to have several people trailing him like
satellites. “This is our director Silvio Sanchez.”
“Hi, Drake.” A dark-haired man with a quick smile, he
reached out and shook Drake’s hand. “So, we’ve got the bathroom set
and a toilet, of course. I think they’ve set it up to have the
problem you described, so you can fix it. Right over here.”
Feeling awkward and like a total idiot, Drake
followed him into the small space.
“You see the guy with the hand-held camera?” Silvio
gestured toward a guy with a camera. “He’s going to be shooting and
you talk directly to him as you fix the toilet. We have another
camera over here—see? But you just ignore him. He’s doing
supplemental shots that will be edited in for viewer clarity.”
“And the tools are?” Drake tried to act like he knew
what he was doing.
“Over here. That’s right. We put them in this tool
box. It’s made by one of our sponsors. Their name is on the side.”
Silvio turned to talk briefly with one of the assistants following
him.
Taking the moment, Drake waved at Mike—standing off
to the side—giving his visibly-nervous boss the thumbs-up signal.
Mike couldn’t be any more nervous than he was. He was just grateful
he’d never really shown his feelings much.
In a moment of panic, he’d decided all he could do
was fake his way through the situation. His stomach felt like he’d
swallowed nails and Drake wondered how he’d gotten himself into
this mess.
But what choice did he have? He needed to keep the
blog going, since it was currently paying his bills.
“Okay, Drake,” Silvio said with another encouraging
smile, “let’s try this. Just talk right at the camera guy as you
fix the toilet and don’t forget to explain what you’re doing
step-by-step. Think of this as if your viewers are going to DVR
this and watch it before they attempt to fix their own toilet.”
He’d gone over the steps to fixing the toilet at
least a hundred times, conning his notes and rehearsing the
directions Molly had given him. Trying to ignore his desire to
throw up, he took a deep breath and told himself again that, even
if he sucked—which he thought he would—all that could happen was
that the people at House Today declined to have him appear on the
show. Not the end of the world and not the end of the blog. Even if
his bosses did decide to can him,
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