"Ari, could you come help me a second?" Kacey called from the office.
"What do you need Kacey?"
"I need help with this sex scene," she said.
"Right, Ms. Porn Writer needs help with a sex scene," Ari said sarcastically.
"No, really. I'm trying to get this one right, and it just won't work. I can't get the mechanics right. So, I figured you, the ex-military computer geek, should be able to help. Plus, you're a guy."
Ari thought about this for a moment. He and Kacey were on again off again lovers. Sort of friends with privileges. So, her request wasn't all that off.
"Okay, what's the scene you can't wrap your brain around?" he asked.
"I have this Special Ops guy that left the military. He is really good at his job and the military wants him back. So, they send out a team to pick him up. However, he's hiking up in this remote wilderness and the team they send in is really ignorant of the area. Most of them get killed. One of the survivors is a woman. The Special Ops guy and her are hiking their way out and a relationship develops."
"Okay, what's so hard about that? You've written that type of scene before," said Ari.
"Yeah, sorta. However, I need to be in his head more and understand her reluctance or shyness to be with this guy who is not exactly a saint."
"Oh, I see the problem... You don't know how to deal with a sweet and innocent? Or, is it the head case?" Ari teased.
"It's both. I'm use to doing the slam-bang-thank you for the orgasms, slutty crowd. The story originally didn't have any sex in it. It was suppose to be a story about this guy and how he evades the bad guys. Then it morphed. Now I'm stuck trying to get into the proper head space and I can't even get the dialog right, let alone the actual sex," she said getting up from her computer.
"So, how do you want to do this?"
"Well, read what I have so far and then let's talk. Maybe if I can figure out the dialog, I can manage the sex scene."
"Okay, pull the story up," said Ari.
Kacey sat down at the computer and pulled up the story. She set it to page one and walked away. She knew better than to stand over Ari's shoulder while he read.
Ari sat down and started to read. About ten pages in, this story started sounding really familiar. He turned to Kacey who was in the kitchen and caught her attention. "Hey, I thought you said you were having trouble getting into this guy's head?"
"I am. Just not in that section."
"Okay. Cause at this point, it looks like you picked my brain and I didn't even notice."
"I... I sorta did. Took all the stories you've told me and set them in a framework for this guy."
"Alright, so we know we have a special ops guy who sleeps with a 9mm under his pillow, has a bit of Post Tramatic Shock going on because he had to blow away a few two many civilian types that aimed guns at him and that while he left the military, the military wants him back."
"Right. And they have gone to some pretty extensive lengths to try and get him back. And before you ask, I have not set out the reason they want him back. There is a section I'm going to set in when I finally get that bit done. The sex scenes blew that out of the water."
"I'm going back to reading now," he said. Reads like my fucking diary he thought as he clicked the page down button. Kacey had a good story going and the gory bits were... gory. She had listened to him probably one time to many. Or, she'd been watching movies like The Hunted. That one made his skin crawl the first time he saw it. Way too close to the truth. Hell, it was like watching himself on the screen. Ari stretched and kept reading.
Kacey watched Ari read her story when she passed back and forth between the office and the kitchen. She still had no clue of how to write this bit coming up.
"Hey! I like the bit where he throws her in the river tied up in the tent. Good mechanism to get rid of any weapons."
"Thought you'd like that. Took me thirty minutes to figure out that bit," she said.
"I can believe that."
Twenty minutes later, Ari walked into the kitchen. He sat down at the table and watched Kacey finish up some supper. She put the bowls of stew down on the table and they started eating.
"Kacey, how about we role play this?" asked Ari.
"What?"
"Role play. Act it out. Put some paper by the bed if your wonderful eidetic memory craps out on you," Ari said between bites.
Kacey thought about this for a minute. "Hmmm, that just might work. You willing to play along?"
"Hey, you asked me for help, remember?"
"Yeah. Let's finish this and then go work," she said.
Ari nodded and they both worked on finishing the stew.
Kacey sat on the bed. She'd put on jeans, a tee shirt and a long sleeved shirt on. She pulled her hair back in a tight braid and waited for Ari to finish.
"You know, I haven't played dress up in years," he said.
"Yeah, but this is for a good cause. My story and we both get laid," Kacey said with a smile.
"Uhuh. So where do you want to start?"
"Well, they've broken into this cabin. Plenty of supplies, wood and a bed. First one either has seen in a week of living rough. It isn't so hard on him, because he's use to living a little rougher. She on the other hand is usually a desk jockey. She might be a soldier, but she hasn't played in the dirt since basic."
"Okay. So, I've taken the ropes off of your wrists and we've eaten. Next is to get ready to sleep for the night," said Ari.
"Yeah. They've been sleeping side by side for the last week and neither one wants to admit that there are any feelings of attraction for the other. Oh, and you can't forget that he got hurt falling down that section of the cliff face."
"How in the hell am I suppose to play that out?" Ari asked.
Kacey smiled and handed him the duct tape. "Put a piece of it where Diego in the story got hurt. That way when it pulls, you'll remember that you're injured. If I touch it, you flinch. Got the idea?" she asked.
"Yeah." Ari took the tape, pulled his pants down and stuck duct tape in places where the story has him injured. He pulled his clothes back in place and gave Kacey the tape.
She took the tape and put some on her wrist where she was suppose to have scraped it. Her characters had fallen and gotten rather bruised up.
"Now what?" Ari asked.
"You know the basics. Diego and Sara go to bed, He's hurting and so she offers to massage a cramp. It goes from there and they have sex."
"Gee, from that description, you might get two whole paragraphs."
"Oh shut up! This is why I asked for your help. I'm stuck."
"Okay. Ten seconds until characters. After that, you are Sara and I am Diego. Got it?"
"Yeah. Just stay in character," Kacey said. Part of the reason she agreed to this is because her own sex life was a bit jaded and trying not to write that into the character of Sara was making her crazy.
"Get your boots off and lay down." Diego said quietly.
Kacey was still trying to get in the head space and didn't pay attention to Ari. Next thing she knew, Ari was next to her and had grabbed her wrist. This startled her.
"What?"
Get your boots off now. I'm tired and not into playing games." he said gruffly.
Suddenly, Kacey realized that Ari was in character. Damn, that was fast she thought. He jostled her again and she sat on the bed to take off her boots. She got that done and then laid down on the bed. Ari was still struggling with his boots. Injury tape reminded him to move slowly.
"Can you give me a hand?" he asked.
"Yeah."
She stood up, and knelt in front of Diego to undo his boots. As she pulled he winced. She wondered why he did that and then remembered that 'Diego' was injured and she was suppose to be helping him.
"Where does it hurt?" she began, slipping into character.
"Where doesn't it hurt?" he asked. "Left hip, knee, left forearm, elbow and shoulder. Oh, and I think that there is a gash across my back. Just haven't tried to look," said Diego, listing the injuries from the story.
"I guess you have to trust me to look at them," she said.
Diego rolled his eyes. He started to unbutton his shirt and fumbled it. Sara noticed.
"Here, let me help."
"Hate feeling helpless. Dammit."
"Too damn bad. Not my fault you fell."
"Wouldn't have fallen if I wasn't babysitting you"
"I didn't ask you to babysit me. You could have left and been home by now," she said.
"Yeah right. Then I'd have felt guilty for leaving an innocent to die."
"Bullshit. I'd have made it out," she said as she got his shirt off.
"No you wouldn't have. You're too damn soft."
"I disagree," she started and then pretended to see the bruises, cuts and scrape. "Umm, I need to get some water and clean you up. You're a mess."
"I guess I am," said Diego, craning around to look at the supposed damage.
Sara walked to the bathroom got a washrag and then went through the motions of washing the wounds. When she wasn't gentle enough, Diego grimaced. Once she was done, she laid down beside Diego.
"Lay next to me. I want to have a hand on you."
"What?" she asked.
"I am not having you run off in the middle of the night. You either lay where I can touch you or I'll tie you to me," he said in that low tone he had adopted for the character.
"Fine," she said and lay next to him. He wrapped his arm around her as best he could and pulled her close. Then he pulled the quilt up over them.