"I wanted to tell you, Hy," Johnny began.

"Yes?" They were on set, getting ready to film the love scenes for their movie, "Amy and Andy."

"There's an exhibition at the Getty next week on historical European landscapes," John continued.

Hyacinth looked expectant.

"I was going to see if your sister wanted to go. Do you think she'd enjoy it?" John looked earnestly at Hy. He was wearing a robe to cover his nakedness, under which all he had on was a sock to cover his equipment.

"John, you meany, I thought you were going to ask if I wanted to go," Hyacinth said, hitting him playfully. She, too, was wearing a robe over her modesty patch. She would be going topless for the first time in any movie.

"Oh, no, of course, you're welcome to come," John hastily backtracked. "I just thought you didn't like art?"

"It's not that I don't like art, I'm just not super interested, that's all," Hyacinth agreed.

"Maybe all three of us could go," John suggested, heart in his mouth. He didn't want Hy there, and he wasn't sure how he'd handle it if she decided she wanted to come.

"No, of course not, I'd be bored to death, and I'd just keep you and Clemmy from having a good time. You should ask her, though," Hyacinth said, nodding. "Sounds right up her alley." She patted John on the chest. "She might be busy, though," she warned. "Clem's been seeing someone, and it sounds pretty serious. I don't know if even the allure of Johnny Darling can overcome first love."

"Clem's been seeing someone?" John asked. "For sure?"

Hyacinth nodded. "She's being so close-mouthed about him, though. She won't tell me anything except that he's a student like her, and he works in a book store or something. Don't worry, though, I'm going to find out about him if it kills me.

"But back to your original question, seriously, you should invite her, she'll be thrilled." Hyacinth told him.

"Clear the set, necessary crew only," came over the PA. Hyacinth had asked for this, and everyone who didn't have a specific job to do related to filming the scene left, so that there would be very few people watching them.

"Hy and John, five minutes," the director told them.

John nodded and went to his chair to prepare. His acting coach had told him to take a few minutes to calm down before shooting, to mentally center himself.

"Think of a sexual experience that was similar, where you were really in love with the girl," she'd suggested.

John hadn't wanted to tell her he'd never really been in love.

Now, though, now he had Clem, though they'd never made love.

He thought about how weird it was that he had feelings for the sister of the person he was shooting the scenes with.

He got the call, and he joined Hy on set, where he removed his robe and handed it to an assistant.

He looked down at himself, wearing nothing but the sock, and admitted to himself that it would be hard to feel particularly sexy while looking like he did.

Hyacinth, too, was basically naked, and for some reason, seeing her this way reminded him of Clem, even though the sisters were nothing alike physically. Hyacinth had long legs, a flat stomach, and small, pert breasts.

Hyacinth smiled at him, and the resemblance to his Clem was heightened.

Maybe he could do this.

He got on the sofa with her, and took her in his arms.  

"Oh, John?"

"Yeah?"

Hyacinth grinned. "Don't worry if you get, um, excited, okay? It's pretty common, and everyone on the set is used to seeing it."

That had been the last thing on John's mind. He was so nervous that he didn't see how he could get an erection under these circumstances, especially with Hy, whom he wasn't attracted to at all.

"Okay," he said to her, lying down while still holding her. She opened her legs and he settled between them, thinking how he'd been holding Clem this way (very briefly) when she came over to his house the other night.

"Action."

He bent and kissed Hy, and the sensation was startling. He was kissing Hy, but thinking of Clem, and she was enough like her sister, especially around the mouth, that if he closed his eyes he could almost believe it was really her.

He let himself go, moving down Hyacinth's front to kiss her breasts, holding her to his body.

"Cut—the light's wrong, his face is in shadow. Can someone fix that, please?" The director's voice was weary but patient.

They reset the lights, bringing one very close to them, and reshot.

This went on all afternoon, with the camera either on him or on Hyacinth, who seemed to feel no embarrassment whatsoever about her naked state.

Dinner was called, and John put his robe back on to eat. Hyacinth joined him, holding her salad in her lap.

"So? How's it going?" she asked. "You seem to be getting comfortable with everything."

"Yeah, it's not as horrible as I thought it would be."

"You thought filming love scenes with me would be horrible?" Hyacinth asked. "That's not very nice." She laughed to show she was joking.

"Well, you know what I mean. I was bloody nervous about the whole thing, if I'm being honest. But it must be exponentially harder for you, I'd think."

Hyacinth considered. "I don't know, spending the afternoon making out with Johnny Darling isn't the worst thing in the world." She dimpled at him, and John felt awkward in the extreme.

"Oh, come on, John, you aren't completely miserable to be filming with me, are you?"

"No, no, not at all," he hastened to assure her. "You're being very professional and all, I really appreciate it."

"Good, I'm glad." Hyacinth seemed to be fishing for something from him, and he wasn't exactly sure what it was.

Did she want him to say he was getting turned on? Because he wasn't, not in any way. Between the people standing around watching, and the fact that it wasn't Clem, John didn't feel slightest twinge of excitement.

"And you're not having any, um, tumescence issues?" she asked delicately.

John shook his head. "Far too nervous," he said, which was at least half true.

Hyacinth put a hand on his arm. "Don't be nervous, you're doing fine," she said. Whether by accident or design, she left her hand on his arm. John finally had to lift a forkful of food to his mouth before she removed it.

They were called back to the set, and once again removed their robes.

Hyacinth reclined against the sofa, and John reflected that, had he not met Clementine, he might have gone for her. She was pretty, she was famous, and she was nice. But now, now that he had met Clem, all other women simply ceased to exist for him.

Finally, the day was called, and John was free to get dressed. When he was leaving the studio, he found Hyacinth waiting for him.

"You want to grab a drink?" she asked, linking an arm through his. "I asked if Clem could join us, since we're so close to home, and she'll be there in about half an hour. You can ask her about the show at the Getty."

And though Clementine already knew about the Getty, John brightened at the thought of seeing her, and said, "Sounds good, I could use a drink."

They walked to the bar, and John got them set up with drinks, whiskey, neat, for him and a Pina Colada for Hy.

"So, you've filmed your first love scenes," Hyacinth said as she hoisted her drink in a salute. "Welcome to the acting world."

Now that they were finished, John would rather not have talked about it, especially not knowing when Clem would join the conversation, but Hyacinth scooted close to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Makes me feel close to you, you know? Having spent the day doing what we were doing."

She still had her head on his shoulder when Clementine came in. She saw them and swallowed, pinning a smile on her face right after.

"There you are." John rose as she approached, thinking she looked beautiful in her hip length sweater, with her hair held back in its usual ponytail. He pushed the table out a little so she could slide behind it next to him.

After she sat, Clementine wondered if Hy would think it strange that she sat next to John and not her, but Hyacinth, working on her drink, didn't seem to notice anything amiss.

Clementine gave her order to the server and sat back. "So? What have you two been up to?"

Hyacinth giggled. She was on her second cocktail. "Well, funny you should ask, Clem." She scooted close to John and put an arm around him, pulling him closer to herself. "We spent the day filming our big love scene."

Clementine looked at the two of them. "And how did that go?" She tried to make herself sound interested and not worried.

"It went very well, I think," Hyacinth said with a wink. "How do you think it went, Johnny?"

John finished his whiskey and signaled for another. "I think it was fine also. Not nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. I think that's mostly thanks to your sister, she's very professional."

"It was really, really nice," Hyacinth added. "I was saying to Johnny that a lot of barriers come down when you film scenes like that, a certain intimacy gets established, you know?"
Clementine nodded, finishing her drink in one swallow. She, too, signaled for another.

"Oh, hey, Clementine, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Getty with me?" John asked, desperately trying to change the subject. "They're having a show that I think you'd like."

"Sounds like fun," she agreed immediately. And although she'd already known about their date to the Getty for some time, it was a relief that now Hyacinth knew too, and this was one activity with Johnny that she wouldn't have to hide from her.

"We've been spotted, I'm afraid," John said, gesturing with his head. There was a girl at another table who had her phone out and was surreptitiously recording them.

"So what? We're not doing anything, we're just sitting here having a friendly drink," Hyacinth quipped, leaning into John again.

"I don't like it, that's all," John responded, his voice grim. "Every bloody time I'm out with someone new, someone I really care about, someone has to come along and ruin it."

Hyacinth looked at him, beaming at his words.

"No, John, nothing's ruined," Clementine said. "Just relax."

John took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm just over sensitive about these situations, I suppose." He sat back.

"The studio will be happy, anyway," Hyacinth reminded him.

So the trio remained where they were, enjoying their drinks, for a while longer.

"You two must be exhausted," Clementine finally said, looking at her watch. "Isn't it about time we called it a night?"

"I suppose so," Hyacinth said regretfully.

John thought hard about how he could at least say good night to Clementine privately so he could kiss her, but he couldn't come up with a way. He and Hy were parked right next to each other back at the studio, and they'd walked to the bar together.

"Well, good night, then," he said to Clementine outside the bar. "I'll text you about the Getty after my assistant gets the tickets, will that suit you?"

"Sounds good," she responded. "Good night." Clementine hugged both Hyacinth and John, kissing her sister on the cheek as well.

John and Hyacinth walked back to their cars, and she turned to him to say good night, stepping well into his personal space.

John could tell she wanted to kiss him.

How awkward.

"Good night, Miss Hyacinth," he said, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek like her sister had.

"Oh, good night, John." John could hear the disappointment in her voice, and sighed inwardly.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you."