A Bigger Stage

[AndreaSubbie]

"If the thong won't be visible why aren't I wearing boring Sports undies?" Rosi had muttered under her breath, not thinking that Cindy and Sarah would hear her as they headed off to brainstorm, as they put it.

They seemed to be pretty good friends, even pretty, good friends, and had Cindy suggested that Sarah might like girls? That quickened her pulse. There was so much going on in her head right now that she really did need some space to calm right down and just relax, and think.

Outside the conference room she started typing her reply to her Mentors, smiling at Doctor Yes's wit, and also listening in to the conversation behind the not so closed door.

Rosi typed in, "I think we can have as many people as we want, Doctor Yes, and Ok Dane, we'll just wait and see if they need to join our 3sum" damn, she'd pressed Send before editing the message to 3-way! What would they think of her?

Sighing, she was about to head off to complete her mission of Ladies Room followed by food, when she listened more closely to the private conversation she should be ignoring.

 

[Blase]

"What did you do to that girl?" Dane asked.

"Oh, come on, Dane," Ray answered him. "I just told her that there was more than one way to look at the song, and encouraged her to think about taking some real chances with it. Which is exactly what you should have been doing, and probably would have been, before too long. I just tried to jump-start things."

"You know," he went on, "I think she likes you, at least a little."

"That's -"

Dane paused, then continued. "Look, she doesn't need to sleep with me to impress me. She doesn't need to sleep with anyone. She's the complete package; singing chops, looks, brains. Heart. And if I do nothing else but help her to realize that, I'll have done well by her."

"Besides, you know I never take advantage of girls. I don't lie to them, and I certainly don't hold things over them. In fact, I'll do my level best to run them off if they seem at all conflicted, or if they don't seem to understand what they're getting into."

Ray snorted. "Yes, I've seen you do that scary-seductive thing you do. Ooh, tremble in my hand, little bird..."

"I've never said any such - "

"You know what I mean. I've watched you do it: You get right up in their faces and it's all, 'There's a different world behind that door, young girl. Can you make a very deliberate choice to step through it?' And it's like you're challenging them to back down."

"And then, half a second later, apparently I must have blinked, because you're still standing toe-to-toe and eyeball-to-eyeball, yet now somehow I'm seeing her panties because her skirt is on the floor!"

"Well, I won't apologize for being ambidextrous..."

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Rosi smiled to herself. She didnt need to hear any more and moved on down the corridor towards the Ladies room.

So she was the CompletePackage, was she? That gave her a little thrill and a boost of confidence. And it wasn't just anyone's opinion, it was Dane's opinion.

And she didn't have to take off all her clothes. Not literally. She was safe. Secure.

Doctor Yes might go on about the need to find her Alpha Male Sexual Mentors, but Dane didn't require that, it wasn't necessary for performing this song. That was just the metaphor she had to convey, not something she had to experience.

Despite all Dane's scary Own It, Make it Real, he didn't actually mean for her to do it for real.

She didn't have to. She was comfortable, within her limits.

After using the bathroom and checking her phone for a reply from the singing coaches, she carried on towards the lobby to get something to eat, suddenly hungry with released tension.

Now she knew where that sense of anticlimax had come from, that nagging worry she'd first recognised back when Doctor Yes called the first break. Over the course of the rehearsal the studio had built up a growing presence, with three cameras and crew and a Director, all those people. Even the Choreographer and Wardrobe Designer. All there for a purpose, all there for a Great TV Moment, to drive it and capture it.

She had expected to really have to do it. To have to take off all her clothes. Right there in the rehearsal room. In front of all those people and cameras. Recorded for ever. She had been building herself up for it, preparing mentally. After all, it was just a rehearsal not a performance. The Production Limits didn't apply, they only covered what was actually done in a live broadcast. And if she was going to do it, might as well do it properly, to maximum effect, not waste the opportunity by having inadequate filming.

But now it just wasn't going to happen.

She was safe. Secure. Not threat. No thrill, no fear. Anticlimax.

Rosi could feel the edge slipping away. Her edge. That extra energy, adrenalin, the spark. She was deflating. She'd lost it.

Cindy was taking no risks with the costume; the daring thong wasn't even going to be seen, for goodness sake. Sarah, who had given Rosi such a rush, was an empty promise. Ready to get naked? Wasn't going to happen. Yes, Rosi felt deflated, like watching action from the sidelines without being directly involved.

She had been ready to do it, but now would never have to.

Rosi let go of the risk and expectation. Now everything was tame. So she ate. She stuffed herself. She was ravenously hungry and helped herself to the spread. It was comfort eating.

Rosi felt let down.

 

[Blase]

"This is pretty edgy for The Choice but it ties in really well with something you said to Dane right after you first met him." Bob, the show's main director, paused for a moment before plunging ahead.

"Do you still sing in the shower, like you told Dane you used to? And could we get a few shots?"

"We'd blur any nudity out, obviously. Hell, we'd probably just use a couple of quick, obstructed view shots, right after that clip of you saying that everyone sounds so good in the shower."

"Limited crew, of course".

 

[AndreaSubbie]

"Limited crew," Rosi hesitated and rearranged her face into a positive, professional expression, or at least tried to, "of course, it would be."

Her head was spinning and the floor was possibly tilting. She had to get a grip on this. A few shots? How long would they need to end up with a few seconds after editing? They'd probably use just a couple of quick, obstructed shots?

"Um, one moment?" She whipped the phone out of her pocket and sent a rapid message to her singing coaches,

"Bob wantz too vilm me zinging im the shpwer" SEND

Then to Bob, the Director, THE DIRECTOR Himself! Talking to Her! "Um, of course I still sing in the shower, but um, what did you want me to sing? One of my audition pieces? Singing in the Rain?"

She hadn't exactly agreed to do this, but she hadn't said no. She wanted to hear what Doctor Yes and Dane thought before committing herself, but crumbs! Could she have Sarah there, as a chaperone?

Why now? Why AFTER she had just let down her armour? The timing was terrible, or great?

"So, um, when do you want to do it? And where? I mean, there isn't much time before Competition night? Is there a shower room here?" So many much more important questions were buzzing round her head unasked, but she didn't feel she could yet voice them.

She needed her phone to vibrate to an incoming message. Or preferebly two.

 

[Blase]

It only took a few moments for a flurry of messages to hit Rosi's inbox.


Dr Yes: Rehearsal time!

Dane: The Doctor's prescription is spot-on. Bob is the best: You can count on him to do a great job and produce something appropriate for the show. So just have fun with it.

Dr Yes: Wait, what happened to the kinder, gentler Dane I've been getting to know?

Dane: He never said that adults needed to be protected from being adults. She's 18. She's allowed to take a shower if she wants to.

Dr Yes: Welcome back, Dane!

Dane: Bite me, Ray.


Bob was speaking again as Rosi finished reading the exchange. "Well, of course the next round is a few days off, but... if we're going to have something usable in time, we can't really wait. I'm, uh, pretty sure that a quick call to your hotel, and maybe a word from you on the phone to the manager, can get at least a couple of our people into your room and setting up so that we can get you back there and start filming in a couple hours."

Rosi's phone vibrated discretely as another message came in, not as part of the group chat she'd started, but from Doctor Yes's number:


Dr Yes: Pics or it didn't happen, lol.

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Smiling as she read the extra message from Doctor Yes, Rosi looked up from her phone to reply to Bob.

"Ok, so I've just been consulting with both my coaches and they think it's a great idea." Rosi swallowed hard. This was a decisive moment. She hadn't actually agreed yet, but all kinds of other possibilities were rattling around and she needed a few moments to get them in some order.

"But a couple of hours? That soon? Um, ok so let me know when you need me to talk to the hotel. I'm gonna sit here a moment and discuss a few things with Doctor Yes and Dane? Can I then ask a couple of questions?"

Rosi's legs were a bit weak and she dropped into a chair, phone in hand as Bob started giving instructions to his crew on his phone. What had she started?

Rosi had to wonder if they were limiting themselves by just going for a few brief shots? What about shooting more of a sequence to use in a Music Video? If she was going to let them film her naked, they might as well make the most of it, get it over with in one go?

She re-read all the comments from her two men and replied first to Doctor Yes on his own, "I had an idea about that but need the advice of both of you"

Next she sent in Group, "happens in a couple of hours in my hotel room, but only a few shots for an intro. DrYes are we missing a chance here? Dane can I sing your song? Do you need to coach me? "

After pressing send Rosi looked back up at Bob and waited for his string of phone instructions to end.

"Um, so can I actually sing, and are you recording the sound, too? And can Sarah help me choreograph some dance moves suitable for a girl in the shower? And will Cindy help me get my hair right?" and then added with a wry smile, "I don't suppose I'll need any costume from her?" Finally as an afterthought, "should my coaches be there to support me?"

 

[Blase]

Rosi's phone lit up again.


Dane: Pretty sure they just want you looking natural while rehearsing on your own. What else would you be singing, if not the song you're preparing to perform? Again, relax and have fun with it.

Dr Yes: The show owns all rights to footage.


A moment later, a separate message arrived.

Dr Yes: Recording anything when someone else owns the rights is a big no-no.

Random Interesting Fact: Private pics taken on things like phones are generally overlooked.


"Of course you can sing!" Bob was saying. "No one lip-synchs on The Choice! And no, no choreography! Reality show, remember? Hair and makeup, in the shower?!"

"Look, can you talk to Tom at the hotel for just a minute? Let him know it's really you and we really do need to get someone out there now?" He thrust a phone at her and turned to shout at the crew.

"Everybody! Ready to leave in twenty minutes! Got it?!"

 

[AndreaSubbie]

"Hello? Is that Tom? Oh right, yes it's me Rosi Diamond, I'm in room 431 and yes that was the Director of ... oh you know ... yes I am, I'm in the Live Sing-off .. they want a few shots from inside my room ... oh he already explained? .. yes of course they can go in and set up .. for breakfast? This morning? I asked for toast and coffee .. no, nothing else .. right ok," and Rosi handed the phone back to Bob.

"He seemed to believe it's really me, so I guess we're on?" Rosi felt a little silly with all her requests for hair and choreography, and was too embarassed to make any more or comment.

The best thing would be to just go along with anything Bob said. After all, Dane trusted him and told her to enjoy the experience.

Rosi sent an update on Group, "we leave in 20. I'm just going with whatever Bob says. I don't think I'll be able to take a pic. feeling a bit lonely"

After she sent the message she regretted the last part, even if it was true. Suddenly she was surrounded by bustle and organisation as people were allocated to various cars and she was left isolated like an island surrounded by a turbulent sea. No one was paying her any attention, except perhaps being a little annoyed at her for being in the way.

What she wanted right now was some sympathetic company. Just someone to hold her hand and tell her it was going to be ok. They didn't seem to understand how much this would challenge her.

Soon she was whisked like a piece of luggage into one of the cars, Bob's as it happened. He was doing a lot of talking and organising while her head was screaming all kinds of questions but she couldn't express them, and simply got queasy as they made their way to the hotel.

She wondered what they would have done to her room.

 

[Blase]

It takes more people to film a show like The Choice than most people realize. The number wound up being pared down, however, after they arrived at the hotel. It turned out that only Bob, Rosi and another crew member went up to the room and joined the cameraman (who turned out to be a camerawoman) and sound man who'd been sent on ahead; which made five people in the room who weren't Rosi.

The shower in Rosi's room had glass doors. Clearly, privacy had not been the designer's chief concern.

Rosi could see that a towel rack had been placed so that it partly blocked the view into the shower. If, that is, you were standing off to the side and viewing the scene from a forty-five degree angle, the way that one of the cameras had been positioned. The other one had a straight-on view.

"Okay, quiet, everyone," Bob said. There was little real need to say it, because most of the chatter typically heard on a film or television set was conspicuously absent.

Everyone was paying attention.

"Rosi," Bob asked, "are you - "

"Rosi, hi!" Sarah entered the room with Cindy in tow. "We were down the street having lunch when we heard you were here doing some slice-of-life stuff! Cindy's got some great ideas!"

"Ah, just what..." Sarah trailed off, puzzled by the quiet and the small crew. Not to mention the cameras in the bathroom.

"If you're coming in, shut the door!" Bob exclaimed. "Guys, we don't have all day, alright?"

Both Cindy and Sarah got it at the same moment. "Oh, wow," Sarah breathed.

Cindy looked at Sarah and spoke softly. "That takes..."

"Guts!" they both exclaimed at the same time. "I can't believe you're going to do that!" Sarah gushed. "OMG, this is so cool!"

She and Cindy both embraced Rosi before standing back to look at her. "Hey," Sarah said, suddenly concerned, "are you alright? As a dancet, myself, I can tell you that there are things that happen on and around stages: Sometimes that's just the way it is, and you know The Choice will produce something tastful."

"And let's face it..." She gave the younger girl an appraising glance. "You've got the body for it."

"Uh, Rosi?" Bob interrupted.

"Oh, sorry," Sarah said, mostly to Bob.

She looked at Rosi again. "Would you like me to hold your phone?"

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Rosi pulled the phone from her pocket putting it on Silent mode and handed it to Sarah, reminded of her feelings the very first time she'd met her and had simply wanted to do anything the choreographer asked. Handing over her phone on demand reignited some of that former excitement, and still warmed and comforted by the double hug she felt the thrill and fear simmering inside.

She so wanted to handle this like a professional, or like she imagined a pro would, and turned her nervous smile to Cindy and asked, "maybe you'd hold my clothes when it's time?" It seemed appropriate given she was Wardrobe Mistress.

Mistress .. now Rosi was letting herself get carried away, her imagination creating an image of these beautiful women in roles not unlike her Alpha Mentors.

Shaking her thoughts clear, Rosi turned to face Bob, The Director, ready to obey at once every instruction, to be totally cooperative, to give him every reason to want to work with her again, to become her ally.

Since she had nothing else with her except a tissue in a jeans pocket and the clothes she was wearing, the same ones she'd been wearing in that conversation with Dane where she mentioned singing in the shower, her goods were taken care of. All that was left for her to worry about was herself, and her performance.

Sarah's enthusiasm and surprise at what Rosi had agreed to do had been another huge boost, an affirming atop Dane's earlier endorsement. The Complete Package, and now You Have The Body for it.

Rosi looked again at the two cameras, the obstructed and the completely unobstructed, at the two camera operators, the sound man, Sarah, Cindy, and Bob with his Assistant.

"Yes, I'm ready when you are; just tell me what you want."

Thrill and Fear, Fear and Thrill. Rosi saw in her mind Dane's kind and supportive advice in Group; trust and enjoy.

Enjoy.

Why not? Relaxing a little and smiling, Rosi decided Yes, she was going to enjoy this, going to play to the cameras, both of them, and she knew which of the two she intended to favour.

 

[Blase]

Another look passed between Sarah and Cindy. Sarah sighed in the manner of one trying to be patient with a pupil who's being a bit slow.

"Rosi, dear, there's something called panache: That's when you not only do something; you do it with flair and verve."

She addressed Cindy. "I'll take the top, you take the bottom? Ten seconds?"

Cindy snorted, kneeling at Rosi's feet even as Sarah moved gracefully behind the girl, her greater height more obviously apparent with the two of them so close together.

"Ten seconds? Are we amateurs?"

"Sorry, obviously I meant to say five."

"Slowpoke."

Cindy reached out, placing her hands lightly atop Rosi's left shoe. Her unexpected actions managed to draw just enough attention that no one else quite noted Sarah putting her hands on Rosi's waist, just underneath the hem of the girl's sweater, until she'd already done it.

Sarah leaned forward from behind Rosi just long enough to give the teen a sidelong wink, then stood straigt again.

"Reach for the sky!" she said with wonderfully ominous cheer.

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Obediently Rosi raised her arms up high, a jolt going through her body at the way Sarah was taking control, a delight at receiving an instruction, a Command.

She was very aware of the scrutiny of the Director, of all the crew watching them, even though she wasn't yet in the bathroom in front of their cameras, wasn't yet 'on set'.

She suspected that she knew what was about to happen, something she hadn't anticipated, but she had promised herself to act like a pro, which meant no complaints, no hesitation.

What had Sarah said? Panache, flair, verve.

Grinning at Cindy in front of her, Rosi got into it, and her body relaxed to cooperate fully with what Sarah was doing. Rosi was getting with the programme, relaxing into what would probably end up as a series of unexpected demands.

Commit with a sense of style, she decided. So she did.

 

[Blase]

Aphorisms about having to do things yourself to the contrary, some things actually go faster and more smoothly if they're done for you. Especially by professionals.

Though the crew were all sure they'd been watching, somehow Sarah was holding Rosi's sweater in her hands.

And almost as surprisingly, Cindy was sliding the sock off Rosi's right foot, when everyone could have sworn her hands had been on the left foot. Except there was no need to do the left, because that one was bare.

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Rosi shook her head in surprise at finding herself without a top or shoe; they seem to have disappeared in the blink of an eye, and she lowered her hands from their no-longer necessary raised position.

Bending a little at the waist she was momentarily distracted again as she watched Cindy demonstrate her skill and dexterity, fascinated at the apparent conjuring trick of the disappearing attire.

 

[Blase]

Dane himself couldn't have done better as Cindy spurned the use of two hands, needing no extra time to unfasten the button on Rosi's jeans with a flick of her thumb, holding the girl's gaze with her eyes as her index and middle finger caught the zipper tab, and Rosi was undone.

It was all so compelling that no one noticed Sarah had gone to her knees until she yanked Rosi's pants down.

Then Cindy had a hand inside either leg of the pile of denim that lay crumpled around Rosi's feet, her raised eyebrows a clear instruction to the garment's owner to step out of it.

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Committed with Panache, flair and verve, Rosi giggled at the incredible performance of Cindy and Sarah, even glancing across to Bob and his crew to share her delight and amusement.

She meant to say,'You must do this a lot,' to the two professionals, but it came out as "you must do this again," as Rosi obeyed the wordless command, her face flushing and breathing quickening, the eye contact exquisite, the Act of Obedience itself raising her temperature.

With a slight tremble in her limbs Rosi raised one foot at a time until she was standing in just her last remaining garments; plain white bra and pale blue cotton briefs.

Her heart was hammering in expectation and something else.

Fear and thrill. Thrill and fear.

 

[Blase]

Sarah was a choreographer. Adjusting performers' positions was second nature to her.

A hand on the small of Rosi's back, coupled with another that pulled her shoulders slightly backwards, served to straighten the teen's posture while arching her back, curving her upper body like a bow towards her audience even as she heard the words naughty kitten barely breathed into her ear.

Exactly how her bra came off at the same moment was a trade secret that those watching were never able to work out for themselves.

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Rosi wasn't sure quite what happened.

Again it was like a trick, one moment Sarah was adjusting her body position, helping her stand up straight from bending to watch Cindy work, the next moment she was facing the whole crew, topless.

Her small bouyant breasts and pointy light pink nipples on show; no, more like presented for them to look at.

And she knew that Sarah understood. Understood what she was thinking. The whispered 'rebuke' sending shivers of delight through her body, the excitement of their possible implication multiplied by her sudden uncovering.

Rosi so wanted to be Sarah's Naughty Kitten, and she found herself nodding, her face turned slightly towards the dancer while she watched the eyes opposite. None of those people were looking at her face.

Rosi felt a surge of confidence, and momentarily forgot the presence of the other magician at her feet.

 

[Blase]

Not every bit of a show was illusion: Some parts were done in plain view.

Cindy did nothing to conceal the hand she placed on Rosi's right hip, hooking her fingers beneath the waistband of her panties.

Neither did Sarah hide the hand that went to Rosi's left hip.

Nor was there any concealment for Rosie as the two girls drew her panties down in tandem, until they were past her knees and gravity did the rest.

A light touch on Rosi's back told her that it was time to take a step forward.

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Rosi again glanced at Bob, trying to read his face as the Final Act of the two entertainers was completed and Rosi was exposed to the scrutiny all present.

She was naked. Her breasts bare, her trimmed and shaped dark bush open to everyone's gaze.

Nudged gently forward, and with heart hammering loud enough surely to upset the sound man, Rosi said, "I guess now I'm ready!" and gave a self-deprecating smile, not taking herself too seriously, trying to relax the tension she sensed in the room as she placed her hands over her boobs and bush.

Rosi stepped confidently forward into the bathroom, into the eyes of the two cameras, and reaching the glass shower doors turned towards Bob and everyone else knowing she was now face on in full unobstructed view of the main camera, though covered still by both her hands, and presumably partly screened from the second camera by the strategic towel rail.

"So how do you want to do this?" she asked, staying casual, natural, relaxed, but carefully avoiding looking at either lense, aware of the blinking lights telling her that they were already rolling, the girl inside her head screaming at her, demanding to know what she thought she was doing.

After the briefest hesitation during which snippets of conversation and comment raced across her mind, Rosi finally got it.

She mentally kicked herself, then shrugged with a 'silly me' expression on her face and said "ok, so this is me!"

Rosi recalled the exasperation on Sarah's face before she and Cindy stripped her of her clothes; Bob's impatient calling of her name, for her to get started; Dane's advice that they probably just wanted her to be natural. It all added up. She wasn't supposed to wait for the Director to direct her; this wasn't acting. He would probably just select and stitch together what they shot. No, this was Reality TV. Unscripted. They were simply observing her being herself.

Turning her back to the cameras and asembled Studio people she opened the glass shower door and turned on the water, warm not hot, avoiding making steam, and started humming Dane's song.

She was going to sing an improvised version of it in the shower.

 

[Blase]

Everyone in the crew knew how to be professional.

None of them knew how to be indifferent to Rosi's complete, and seemingly relaxed nudity, but they all pretended and carried on as best they could.

Unregarded for the moment, Sarah and Cindy stood a little farther back than the camera crew, both of them enjoying Rosi's movements and Rosi's body.

Sarah caught Cindy's eye and mouthed You must do this again?

"Not while she's still in the competition, please," Cindy murmurred.

"Remember that we both like our jobs."

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Rosi stepped in under the stream of water and let the shower soak her hair from behind before turning again to soak her front. Then turning off the water, removed the shower head from its bracket and started singing into it, like an old fashioned cable microphone, mostly keeping her elbows over her boobs and sideways to the camera.

She used the same starting note as in the rehearsal and warmed up quickly, going into a variation of the chorus.

"Dancing naked, in his world,
(Aside ) Danes girl,
Dancing naked, in his world,
(Aside ) Danes girl,
Dancing naked, in his world,
(Aside ) Danes girl,

Her voice strong, secure, full toned, now belting out the improv as a dance song, keeping the distinctive rhythm, and starting to add movements.

As expected, the acoustics were great and emphasised the power of her voice and its emotional versatility, and Rosi made the most of it to thoroughly enjoy singing.

At each 'Danes girl' she wiggled her hips and turned her face to the glass shower doors, then faced the side again for 'Dancing naked, in his world'

 

[Blase]

Interlude: Dane and Ray


"Do you really think she'll believe that Sarah and Cindy just happened to be having lunch at a nearby restaurant?" Ray asked.

"Why not? It's plausible," Dane answered.

"Why didn't you just tell her you were going to send the girls, anyway?"

Dane shrugged. "Doesn't everyone like surprises?"

 

[AndreaSubbie]

Putting the shower head back in its place, Rosi opened the glass door then covered herself again like before with her hands.

"So was that ok or do you need more?" looking at Bob, then glancing over to Sarah and Cindy, suddenly embarassed at how turned on she had been on getting undressed by them, now realising they were simply nudging her into action.

She leaned out, holding the glass door with one hand and trying to reach with the other for a towel from the strategically placed rail, but before she could grab it Cindy was coming forward with another, and stepping out the shower Rosi again covered her boobs and bush with her hands while starting towards Cindy.