Pick Your Bean

Freya was so excited, but a little bit nervous.

Her biggest claim to fame so far, obviously, had been the Witcher. She desperately wanted to expand her career in a new direction, but she wasn't totally sure what direction that might be. Her agent had convinced her that he had finally found a really great opportunity for her to diversify her imdb, to work with some talented peers, and maybe even to have fun (so he had claimed). It was an R-rated romcom with the working title, "Pick Your Bean." ...Okay, it didn't sound like it was gonna win any Oscars, but it was definitely a new direction for Freya. Even better, when her manager had shared the cast list, Freya had seen a few names she was really looking forward to working with.

One of the things that made Freya the most excited but nervous was the planned R rating. She knew it was a bit of a cliche, but she had grown up on camera, and now she wanted to break free of that image - to show that she was an adult and a professional actress. Freya wanted to prove herself to the audience and to the industry. She had read the script of course, but she wasn't totally sure how much she was going to have to do herself, on camera.

On the Witcher, she had always made sure to not-so-casually hang around set when they were filming a nude scene or a sex scene. She had been amazed and envious by the confidence that Anya and Henry had demonstrated in baring all for the camera like they did. Those days were always the most thrilling to her. She would make sure to compliment her co-stars after the scenes were filmed, acting like it was just another day on set... but then Freya would inevitably find an excuse to scurry back to her trailer to masturbate. It didn't really matter who in particular had gotten naked that day - she found it all thrilling and titillating regardless.

She hoped she'd be brave enough to do a good job on this film. If all went according to plan, this would be her nude debut. She had had that one scene in the Witcher, when she'd stepped out of the bath naked, but she hadn't actually shown anything all that interesting. Judging by the script for this film (which she had poured over several times), she'd finally be showing the world her body.

All of these thoughts had been replaying on a loop, as Freya had flown out to seemingly the middle of nowhere. She had grown her hair into a long blonde ponytail, as instructed. A production assistant named Barry picked her up at the airport and drove her even further into the middle of nowhere. They made polite small talk for an hour, but Freya's mind was always on that one part of the script...

Just around lunch time, she arrived at her new home for the next month. It was certainly a small home. Barry pointed out the coffee shop where they'd be filming the whole movie. There were a few cars in the parking lot, and Freya wondered who they could possibly belong to - probably other crew members. Just past the coffee shop, walking distance from set, were several trailers. Barry pulled up next to one, and then ran around to open Freya's door for her. As Freya stepped up to her trailer, the PA retrieved her bags from the trunk and followed her in.

"I'll leave you to get settled in," Barry said. "If you need anything, just call!"

***

Sarah Catherine was hungry.

She had had a few starring roles, but she was just on the cusp of breaking out into A-List status. She had done TV and movies, horror and drama, and she was looking for the next opportunity to show off her range. Specifically, she wanted to make use of her opera training, delve into comedies, and establish herself as a sex symbol.

White Lotus had been another step in the right direction for her career, but she still hadn't quite reached the stardom of Sydney or Alexandra. She was pissed at Mike White when she found out he had cut her sex scene. Sarah Catherine loved and supported Aimee Lou Wood through her topless scenes, of course, but she was still envious of Aimee Lou's opportunity to once again live rent-free in the minds of so many horny men of all ages.

Sarah Catherine had done a few soft spicy scenes before, but limited mostly to making out. She told her agent to forward every R-rated script to her, so she could read them herself. She settled for "Pick Your Bean," not because it sounded Oscar-worthy, but because she saw the most potential to push this film to the very limits of R. She was gonna show the world how fucking sexy she could be, even with her more petite body type.

Now, she was on her way to seemingly the middle of nowhere. She wasn't preoccupied with the script though. In addition to being hungry for career moves, she was also really fucking hungry. She spent the last hour of the flight hoping she could find a good burger when they landed.

Barry picked her up from the airport, swung through a fast food joint at her suggestion, and took her to her new home. They made polite small talk in between bites, and Barry told his passenger how excited everyone was to meet her and work with her.

"Alright, here we are, Sarah," Barry said as they passed the coffee shop. The landscape and the set were dark, but the trailers were well-lit.

"It's Sarah Catherine, actually," she corrected absentmindedly, while she wiped her hands on some napkins from the to-go bag.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the PA apologized. "...You go by your middle name too?"

"No, Sarah Catherine is altogether my first name. It's a southern thing. I have a middle name too," she explained.

"Okay, Ms. Hook," Barry said, clearly still not quite understanding.

"Call me SC," she said as she opened the door and stepped up to her trailer.

***

Emily was anxious about her latest endeavor.

She had modeled, acted of course, and written a book. But "Pick Your Bean" was the first time she'd written a movie (or at least the first time she'd written a movie that had been greenlit). Not only was she the writer, but she was also the director and one of the main actors. She really really needed this to go well. She was very aware that, one way or another, this film was going to be closely identified with her name. Wearing these multiple hats, she also felt a greater sense of responsibility than usual to the rest of the cast and crew. She needed this film to go well, for their sakes.

That's why Emily was so grateful for Natalie. Natalie was not only a good friend, with experience in the industry. Natalie had also signed on as Executive Producer. They had gotten close on the set of In Darkness, which Natalie wrote, starred in, and produced, so she understood better than most all the challenges Emily was juggling. Her advice (not to mention her funding) had been invaluable over the last few months.

Emily's PA had confirmed that the last star had arrived last night, so now it was time to get started. She was ready to address her full main cast altogether for the first time. She straightened her blazer and walked out into the dining area of the coffee shop.

***

"That was excellent, love," Natalie complimented Emily. "Very professional, but also inspiring. I think you're going to make a great film!"

Emily hugged her friend. "Oh, thank you! And once again, I couldn't be doing this without you."

"Oh sure you could, but I'm happy to help," Natalie responded. "First scene filming after lunch?"

"Yes, I'm so excited!"

"Good! And it's good that your character's not in the scene. Let you get your feet wet while you can concentrate wholly on your director hat," Natalie assessed. "Well, I'm going to check in on the girls."

Natalie headed toward the janitor's closet that they had repurposed as the makeup department. She was here to support her friend, but she was also here to protect her investment. Filming was scheduled to take less than a month, so Natalie thought it worthwhile to get her own trailer here and keep an eye on things. She trusted Emily, of course, but she also had to do her due diligence as Executive Producer.

"...to be working with you," SC was saying.

"Oh same!" Freya exclaimed. "The cast list was half the reason I signed on to this movie."

"And what was the other half?" SC smirked.

Natalie could tell from where she stood that Freya was blushing. "Umm, speaking of cast lists," she changed the subject. "Do you know Jake?"

"No," SC answered. "He's the only one who I didn't recognize on the call sheet and I didn't recognize his face at the meeting this morning."

"Me neither," Freya agreed. "So strange. The rest of the core cast are actors I was really looking forward to working with."

"He's probably somebody's nephew," SC surmised. "But hey, maybe he'll be really good to fuck."

"SC!" Freya cried. Both girls broke into giggles.

Natalie decided it was time to step into the conversation. "Hi, girls! Ready for the big day?"

"Hi Ms. Dormer!" Freya greeted her. "I am just so honored to be working with you. You're really an inspiration for me." As excited as Freya was about the climactic scene with SC, she was equally as excited to work with Natalie Dormer. She couldn't articulate it, even to herself, but she knew she had some complicated feelings about the blonde multi-hyphenate.

"Aw, thank you! That's so sweet. You can call me Natalie though, please. I'm really looking forward to working with each of you too." Natalie responded.

"It will be so great to have your experience right here on set, helping to guide the production," SC complimented as well.

"Actually, can I ask you a question right now?" Freya interjected. "Do you know if they're planning to use body doubles?"

Natalie made eye contact through the mirrors with each of the girls in turn. Then, she turned to more fully face Freya.

"Body doubles are available, but the decision is really up to you and to Emily, as the director," Natalie explained. "You don't have to and you should not do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Nobody will say a cross word to you if you opt out of a shot and request a body double. That being said, Emily has the right to push for her artistic vision of what the scene needs. If she wants more - more passion, more skin, more something - than you're giving, then Emily can choose to call in the body double too. What I've learned after doing several nude scenes and sex scenes is that the important thing is to advocate for yourself. Whether you want to do more, or whether you want to do less, advocate for yourself. Nobody will judge you either way - I'll personally make sure of that."

SC thanked Natalie for the information, the advice, and the advocacy. Freya didn't say anything, but seemed to be lost in thought. Natalie wished them good luck with the scenes today and then left to check on other matters.

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating. Or at least, Freya was contemplating. SC soon spoke with absolute confidence.

"I don't want to use a body double for anything," SC declared. "I want to be known for doing all my own stunts, whether they're dangerous or sexual or anything else. If my character is doing something, I want to be the one doing it."

Freya didn't respond at first.

"Don't you?" SC continued. "I mean, you did Witcher!"

"Yes..." Freya started slowly. "And I did a lot of my own stunts there. I was excited to. But this is different! But... it is what I wanted. To be honest, a big part of why I took this role was because I wanted to showcase myself as a professional actress, including doing my first real nude scene..."

"High five, girl!" SC raised her hand to her co-star, who returned the gesture. "Me too. If we're being honest, the nudity and sex scenes were the main reason I took this role. I wanna be the next household name sex symbol. I think the world needs more sex symbols with our body types!"

Freya giggled. "Well, you're right about that. Okay, I'll try!"

"Hell yeah!" SC celebrated. "Let's do this together! It'll be good for the press tour too. If we can say we never used body doubles? The audience will love it! Marketing will eat that up!"

"Well, I don't know about NEVER - I'm not sure I'm as brave as you - but I'll try!" Freya responded.

"We'll see," SC said, with a glint in her eye. "For now, I'm just excited to do today's scene with you. It's a relatively mild one."

"Right. Just butts, right?" Freya asked.

"Just butts," SC confirmed. "Speaking of... how was it working with Henry Cavill? I'm surprised you could even remember your lines while looking at his chiseled jaw - his chiseled everything!"

Freya blushed again, but even deeper this time. She dodged the question. "It was incredible. He's such a talent and such a good guy. The whole cast, really, was incredible and so beautiful. It made for an... interesting place to grow up."

"I can vouch for that," SC said. "There's no better example of how beautiful that whole cast was than sitting here in front of the mirror with you. You're gorgeous! I love your hazel eyes. And you have an incredible ass! You should NOT be nervous about showing it off today AT. ALL. Oh, this is gonna be so good!"

Freya continued to blush and reciprocated the compliments her new friend was giving her. But in her mind, she was thinking hard about the upcoming scene.

***

"Welcome to Beantopia, pick your bean," SC's character Sophie said, without looking up from the register. Sophie was a full-time employee of the coffee shop, and a bit of a burnout. The first scene was an exposition dump, and SC was glad to get it out of the way, especially as this was their third take.

"I'm sorry?" asked Jake.

Jake was the male lead. He actually was somebody's nephew and didn't have much experience (which is to say, he didn't have ANY experience). SC wasn't sure why Emily and Natalie had allowed this clear case of nepotism onto the set, except that, admittedly, he was really really hot. Still, Emily had made the role easy for him by making his character's name the same as his real name. While she was at it, she made the rest of the characters' names start with the same initial as the actor playing them.

"Have you never been here before?" Sophie asked Jake. She looked up into his face for the first time and her jaw dropped. Sophie was supposed to be stricken with lust for Jake at first glance. SC actually did appreciate Jake's good looks, especially his eyes which were the same piercing blue as hers.

"No, I'm new in town, as they say," Jake responded.

Sophie just stared, without answering.

Freya's character Felicity swooped in to help. Felicity was a part-time grad student, part-time barista, who was equally as attracted to Jake, but had come to terms with the fact that she was the dorky loser that guys didn't like (despite being obviously objectively attractive to the audience).

"It's a flowchart style menu," Felicity explained, pointing to the panels above her head. The set design crew had done a great job of making this place look like a functioning coffee shop - which, she realized, it kind of was. "See, you pick your bean (African, Ethiopian, etc), then you move to the next panel and pick iced or hot, then you move to the next panels and pick your milk, etc from panel to panel."

"Shouldn't size be the first panel?" Jake asked.

"And then, what? Welcome to Beantopia, pick your size? Doesn't really work as well," Felicity countered.

"I suppose you're right," Jake answered. "Ah, I wanna end up with a blonde roast. How do I get there with this menu?"

Sophie finally found her voice. "Um, so you prefer blondes then?" She sounded a little dejected.

"Sometimes," Jake said, turning his smoldering smile on the brunette. "I really like any coffee, if you put enough cream in it though."

The scene progressed, with Jake flirting with both girls while his coffee was made. Freya did actually make a real blonde roast drip with heavy cream, which she handed to Jake. Jake saluted the girls with his cup, tipped them in cash, and then made his way to the exit. Felicity and Sophie turned to each other, tittering excitedly, until Emily yelled, "Cut!"

"Ok, great job, I think we got it that time! Let's reset for the next scene!" Emily instructed.

The extras all got up and exited the building. Emily walked over to the manager's office in the set. Freya and SC sipped some of the coffee from the earlier takes. Secretly, Freya's heart was pounding in her chest. This was the first scene where she'd be taking a step forward into the R-rated realm, and it both terrified and excited her.

When everyone was ready, Emily called out to the crew. "Ok, remember, this is the next morning. You've more or less forgotten about Jake. It's just the three of us alone in the shop. And, action!"

Felicity and Sophie made idle chit chat as they got ready for the morning shift. Their opening work was interrupted when their manager, Evangelina walked out of her office.

"Hey girls! Exciting news!" Emily's character started. "New uniforms!"

"Oh, fun," SC answered, sarcastically. "Aprons and a hat?"

"No, it's a whole set!" Evangelina corrected. "White button up shirts, short flowy black skirts, and yes, a hat."

Felicity paused, her hands suspended above the large box Evangelina had delivered. "Oh, ok, so we should take these home and come back wearing them at our next shift?"

"No, go ahead and put them on now," Evangelina instructed. "I wanna take a group photo!"

"I um-" Felicity looked nervously at Sophie. "I- I don't know if I can put this in right now... Could I maybe just do the shirt today?"

"No... it's a uniform. You have to wear the whole thing. That's kinda the point." Evangelina said.

"It's just-" Felicity glanced at Sophie again. "Ok, look, I'm just wearing yoga pants today. I- I don't have anything on underneath."

"Yeah, same," Sophie said.

"Ok?" Evangelina pressed forward. "So? The skirt is long enough to cover anything interesting. Just don't bend over too far unless you're back here behind the counter."

"Umm..." Felicity looked to Sophie again, this time seeking support.

"Andale!" Evangelina commanded, and then she walked back into the manager's office.

"Whatever," Sophie said, crossing her arms to remove her shirt.

"Could you, um, could you maybe just turn around?" Felicity asked.

"Whatever," Sophie said again, shrugging.

The two girls stood facing away from each other (but for the camera's benefit, both turned 30 degrees toward center). They crossed their arms, and in unison, removed their loose shirts. Sophie was wearing a sports bra over her 34B boobs. Felicity was wearing a tight camisole over her relatively smaller 32Bs. They remained shirtless just long enough for the audience to take in their petite bodies. Then, they started putting on their new uniform button-ups.

Felicity and Sophie then pushed their tight yoga pants to the floor. Their lower halves were hidden from the shot by the retail counter (and of course, both actresses were wearing their strapless, skin-toned thongs to protect their modesty on the set). You could, however, see them shift from side to side as they pulled the pants over their heels. They were just about to stand up straight again and reach for their new skirts, when the bell over the door jingled.

Felicity yelped softly, and both girls scrambled to cover themselves and press closer to the counter as they greeted the surprise customer.

"PICK YOUR BEAN!" Felicity yelled, a little too loudly.

"Um, okay," Jake said. "Can I get... are you two alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Sophie interjected before Felicity could be any more awkward. "Pick your bean?"

Jake placed his order, while Felicity squirmed awkwardly. There was a jumpcut to a different angle, taken from behind the counter, where you could see the two girls' bare asses side by side. Freya couldn't believe she was doing this scene herself, seemingly naked on camera for the first time. It thrilled her deeply, to the point she missed her cue. She was supposed to tell Jake she'd get started on his order. Luckily, SC jumped in to help her co-star, just like her character did in the scene.