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Take 10 | Wipe

 

Wipe

A transitional technique or optical effect/device in which one shot appears to be “pushed off” or “wiped off” the screen by another shot replacing it and moving across the existing image; also called a push-over; a flip-over (or flip) wipe is when one scene rotates or flips-over to the new scene; wipes were very commonly used in the 30s.

The most common uses of the wipe effect is the “Invisible Wipe” where a camera follows a person into another room by tracking parallel to the actor. As the wall passes in front of the camera, the editor has the option of using a wipe to be able to choose any other matching take of the same scene. It is also commonly used in quick camera pans in action sequences, to make a cut invisible. Such wipes can be impossible to see in the finished film.

 

 

Lisa didn’t know what to do with the words materialized before her eyes. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, she read the message one more time.

L - think we can talk now?

Was he serious? Now he wanted to talk? After five days? Well, in all fairness he had told her that he hoped they could talk later, when she had caught him with Zoe at Neverland. But he had not been specific, and maybe his concept of “later” was a bit off-kilter. The Michael Time Zone.

Lisa bit her lips. She had waited and waited that day, after driving home from the ranch, but he had not called. And surely he had not run after her. She had gone through a hellish night, imagining him in bed with that woman in a never-ending reel replaying behind her closed eyelids. Because the moment she had seen him on the doorstep she had understood. She knew the way he looked while having sex or right after climaxing. And she had recognized the blush on his skin, his eyes looking even darker than usual, his slightly uneven breath. She had known and had left, and he had not called her.

She had waited some more for the following three days. Every hour of silence told her that Michael did not care that much after all. He had been with another woman only days after their night together at the Hideout. And so Lisa had started feeling stupid for being jealous of the man’s legitimate girlfriend. While she was nothing but her…

…Ex? Whore? Plaything? One night stand? What?

She swallowed. Then brought herself to finally reply to his message.

Sure

This time, he didn’t make her wait longer than a minute before texting back.

Lisa… I missed you

She squeezed her eyes shut. No, it wasn’t true. He had not. Probably he had realized just now that she was not around, and maybe his supermodel lover was busy catwalking in Milan or Paris, and he was bored and felt lonely. Or whatever. Anyway, for once Lisa could divert the conversation to something less disturbing than the agony of the last few days. When once again she had tried so hard not to slip into the utter dismay she had experienced after their final big breakup. Right now, she and Michael could talk business, and for once she was more than OK with that.

Look - we do have to talk 
abt something
And its important
I know. It is! Im so sorry lisa
About the other day
I just wasnt expecting you
But I do wanna talk to you…

Well, of course, he had not been expecting her. Although it had become pretty obvious that whatever love Michael could still feel for her was gone, and hers had been nothing but wishful thinking or sheer imagination, Lisa doubted he had set up the entire situation with Zoe just to humiliate her. He was not that kind of guy. And yet, whatever he had to say to her, he could save it.

On the other hand, there were still a few things they needed to discuss.

M - The buzz about the tape is unrelenting
Thought it would die out but it aint
My PR team is gonna get in touch w/ yours
4 some emergency measures

Michael’s silence spoke volumes, but she was not going to give in. His words – him being sorry, missing her, and everything in the middle – were not something she could deal with, at least at the moment. Too mortifying. Embarrassing. At this point, boundaries and intentions were as clear as it came and the only thing she could do was push forward, wiggle out of this sex tape mess and come out unscathed. If that was even possible. And while she did so, she’d also have to forget about Michael and herself falling back in their own… habits when it came to…

Love.

…Sex. She had to let it go, because there was not a doubt in the world they both had moved on. Or at least Michael had. What they had experienced at the Hideout was nothing but the underbelly of a very complicated moment in their lives, and the residual of some old, dysfunctional routine.

She sighed and typed another message.

My people were thinking abt
A double date
A dinner with u, me, roman, petunia
In public. U can pick the place

A minute later, Michael texted back.

Why

Slowly, Lisa slid down to the floor and just sat there, her back resting against the cold surface of the bathtub.

U know why 
Publicity

God, she hated this…

So the press can think
Its nothing but an old story
We’re all chummy
And we moved on?

Well… He definitely looked like he had.

Yeah.
Havent we after all?

Lisa chewed on her lips. Waiting.

Not sure.
You tell me, L.

Her hands were shaking when she typed her response.

Looks like it.

She heard the phone buzz when she was already back in her bedroom. The room was dark.

OK. 
I will let you know the place.

Lisa glanced at the screen and then flipped her cell phone closed. She switched it off with a sigh and climbed in bed, next to Roman. He had come back from his business trip to Detroit two days earlier, and she had barely given him the time of day. Too trapped in the prison of her mind to even glance at him, to the point that he had noticed, and had asked her if everything was alright. And she had lied again, telling him that she was just “upset” about having to deal with scandalous headlines once again when she had hoped they would die out quickly.

Now she wondered, once again, if she wasn’t the villain in all this. Roman had done nothing to deserve what she had been throwing at him. Despite not regretting her night with Michael in the slightest, Lisa took a moment to just stare at the outline of Roman’s face, in the darkness. From the way he breathed she knew he was awake, but his body was motionless and his eyes were closed. She had been neglecting him, and she knew it. And it didn’t even matter how cold and unpassionate he could be with her, because she always had known the kind of man that he was. When they had started dating and when they had decided to give it a try. The point was that she had not really given it a try in quite some time, and that was on her, not on Roman.

Willing herself to snap out of the pervasive, intrusive thoughts and anxiety clouding her mind, Lisa scooted closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder, looking for comfort. Not really finding it. A minute later he turned his body, facing her, and stroked her cheek. He looked lost in thought.

This time, when he kissed her, she let him. And when she felt his hands finding her naked skin under the t-shirt she wore, she closed her eyes and just went with the flow.

 

 

 

 

On the screen, a naked Lisa leaned forward and kissed the nape of Michael’s neck. She moved his hair to a side and kissed his ear, then her lips trailed down his jawline. She smiled, ever so slightly, as her hands kept massaging his back and shoulders, and whispered something in his ear.

As he watched the footage, at the Hideout, Michael remembered her words and what he read on her lips only confirmed his reminiscence.

“Does that feel good?”

He watched himself smile and bury his face in the pillow. Oh yeah, it did feel good. He recalled how relaxed he was that day, about one year ago. The footage had started with them making love, of course. As usual. Back then, he was not in his best shape and they hadn’t done anything acrobatic. But it had been intense and fulfilling, just like every time, and Michael knew he had loved Lisa with all his heart and soul. He had told her how much he wanted her with every kiss, every thrust, every caress. How much he loved her and needed her. The words too were there, just behind his lips – but too frozen to come out. Wrapped into a thick layer of resentment, exhaustion, fear. Fear of needing her too much. Fear of her staying. Of her leaving. Fear of being unable to function if she only let go. Which she had, eventually. Because of him.

And yet as he watched that last video once again, as he replayed those final serene moments before their big breakup, Michael also thought about Lisa’s most recent words. The ones she had uttered while in front of the TV, at the Hideout, as he showed her that same footage for the very first time. Before they got swept away by passion, only a few days earlier.

“It made me remember how good we could be together.”

True. They could be. And they had been, despite every single shitball thrown at them.

And then…

“You look happy. You look in love.”

Yeah, that was true as well. He had been. He… was.

The realization caused him to close his eyes for a moment and he tried to tune out the whispered words coming from the video, still playing on the TV.

“I love you so much, Mike… So, so damn much, baby…”

At that point, on the screen, he had turned his head and stared at her.

“Show me. Kiss me.”

Lisa had rested her hand on his cheek and had done just that. And a minute later, he had turned fully and made her sit in his lap and had taken her again. Loved her one more time, slow and languid. Just like they needed at that moment. And as Michael watched himself drowning into her body and getting lost in her, their faces showing the ecstasy and emotional fulfillment of that predestined union, he knew.

He was in love with Lisa. Still. Always.

The sudden awareness maybe wasn’t even all that sudden, but more likely repressed. The point was that it was eerie. Loving Lisa was the most beautiful feeling of completeness Michael had experienced in his life, but also the scariest one. Because to him, loving a woman to that extent meant losing a part of himself too. And so many times that huge fragment of his soul that kept flying over to her had always come back bruised and tattered. At this point, he was afraid that frayed part of him would no longer be able to fit and function properly.

And yet… Lisa was also the healer. The mender, the curer, the medicine woman who had held him and sheltered him in the darkest hours of his life, never wavering, never hesitating. Not once.

When a few days earlier Lisa had shown up at Neverland and had caught him with Zoe, Michael had been completely blindsided. True, he had been the one asking Lisa to go with him, but she had told him to leave. Said that he needed to go back home. Not a chance in the world she would run after him. But she had.

In all honesty, Michael hadn’t planned to see Zoe at all, that evening. But when she had called him while he entered the ranch, telling him that she was only five minutes away, he hadn’t sent her back home. He had welcomed her. At first thinking they could just have dinner and enjoy some quiet time together, eventually surrendering to her seduction. She had touched him and kissed him and he was only human. And felt lonely and confused. Needed his frustrating desire for Lisa to water down a bit. Wanted to just stop feeling for a few hours.

But even if he had tried to explain all that to Lisa when she had shown up unannounced, Michael knew it would have been pointless. To tell her that he hadn’t even been into it that much. That he couldn’t stop thinking about her. That he didn’t want her to see him… like that. That what he had been doing didn’t matter that much. That she was the only woman he missed. The only woman he wanted.

Lisa was furious and humiliated beyond belief, and it was self-evident. And Michael knew from experience that trying to reason with her when she was in that state of mind was never the best choice. It only made everything worse. So he had let her go, asking her if they could talk later. And then days had passed, because he didn’t even know how to approach the subject without finding himself stuck in the muddy waters of his complicated feelings for her. And now he’d have to deal with the aftermath of it. Because sure as hell she didn’t seem in the mood to communicate with him that much right now. And they had a double-date to organize. For publicity.

Their love story, their intense, consuming, honest, complicated relationship was now reduced to a sex tape on the internet and a publicity stunt.

Michael glanced back at the TV screen and saw Lisa clinging to his shoulders as he slid into her, kissing him with love and longing, as if she imagined that she was going to lose him soon. And he missed her to the point that, for a moment, he forgot he could still breathe.

 

 

 

 

After thinking about it, Michael opted for a private dinner reservation at the Pacific Dining Car in downtown Los Angeles. Perfect place if you wanted to be noticed by the media and yet enjoy a private dinner. Lisa’s entourage did call him the next day, congratulating him for his perfect choice and pointing out that they would take care of all the specifics. Michael didn’t object. As a matter of fact, he didn’t say much at all. He was far from enthralled by the entire situation and not fond of having to pretend he was involved in something that didn’t exist. He was used to that, of course, it was part of his job, but not when it came to Lisa. If anything, the publicity stunt now in motion reminded him of their wild first years after their divorce, when they had pretended nothing had been going on apart from friendship.

Sure. A very, very close friendship. Intimate as it came. Usually, Lisa and Michael’s “friendly” moments occurred while they were both naked and tangled in the sheets. Or against walls. On the floor. In his limo. Hotel rooms. His place. Her place. And everything in between.

But back then, he was still married to Deb and could not allow any more bad press. The previous years had been a disaster from a PR point of view, and his quick wedding to a woman he so obviously was not in love with had only granted him a never-ending string of side-eyes. It was apparent that he had not married Deborah because of some grandiose feelings of eternal love and commitment. Just like it was obvious that Lisa was not in his suite, in his house or traveling the world with him because she was nothing but a “friend.” At that time, Michael had just chosen to ignore the buzz and for a while had even given zero fucks about what people believed was going on between Lisa and him. He would hold her hand and stay close to her and act utterly nonchalant as they entered hotels, cars, elevators together. Or as they had dinner at the Ivy, and strolled around and kissed and fooled around like any other normal couple.

He had felt invincible and carefree for quite some time. But Deborah had not been amused. And so at one point he had simply stopped and had gone back to being the reclusive star everyone knew. Because he didn’t need any more shit and he had a clear deal with his second wife. A business arrangement that was starting to choke him. More than everything else, Michael couldn’t and wouldn’t risk anything when it came to his kids. Meanwhile, his relationship with Lisa had continued, on and off. At times ecstatic, at times strained. She would tell him she felt like a paramour. Because of the constant secrecy that he would call, very conveniently, “privacy.” Something he had, at one point and especially as of late, started to regret.

Regret… Oh, that crap was a powerful bitch. Contagious, like a virus. It could permeate so many different things the moment one started feeling it.

The business deal with Deb had started out easy, then it had become uncomfortable, finally had turned into one of the worst decisions he had ever made. At least the modality of it. In so many different ways, and with so many consequences, for so many people. Thankfully, what had emerged from it was also something so precious that it had allowed Michael to go through it all with the determination of a tank. His kids. And now… For the first time since his incident in Munich, when his whole world had trembled under his feet – in a quite literal way – and he had not been able to recognize himself for several months, he wondered if something huge was still missing in his life anyway. Something Zoe was not the answer to.

But anyway, Zoe was thrilled that night, as they drove over to the restaurant in Michael’s limo. Glancing at her, he couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of guilt: they had been dating for about six months, and he had never taken her out in public. Not once. Yes, he had been very clear from the beginning: he was not in for a long-term relationship and was just looking for female companionship. He had told her that he wouldn’t always be available as he was a very busy man, but that he liked her and what he could give her was physical intimacy and some time together, just enjoying each other presence. Fun and light, noncommittal. He had been adamant when he had stated, flat-out, that he felt he was still recovering from a previous relationship and didn’t have the right mindset to guarantee anything more than some casual dating. And Zoe had agreed.

And yet now she was ecstatic. She turned to Michael and smiled, then grasped his hand.

“This is weird. I mean, I am used to be stared at, but tonight I’m nervous. I’m going to be photographed with you.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t know how he felt about those words. The sensation was not pleasurable at all. It hid a bitter aftertaste that prompted his alarm system to go off right away. It made him feel uneasy and on alert.

“Being photographed with me is gonna be the highlight of the night?” He watched her reaction with care as he spoke.

Zoe opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. She shook her head, then brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it.

“No, Michael. Being with you is the highlight of my night.” She smiled. “Thank you for this…”

“’kay…” He paused. “You’re welcome.”

He turned and glanced out of the window. They were almost there. Zoe was still holding his hand and pressed it against her breasts. Michael closed his eyes for a moment.

“Mike… I was just thinking… That maybe the highlight of the night hasn’t… come yet, after all.”

Smirking, he turned to look at her and brushed the slope of her breast with the back of his fingers.

“Who knows… You might even be right about that.”

 

 

 

 

The first thing Roman had asked the head waiter was if he could smoke his cigar in the room. Looking a bit uneasy at first, the maître had nodded, telling him that if the other guests agreed, he could. No problem. Roman had been very satisfied with the answer, and Lisa knew why: he was not going to ask anyone permission to smoke. He was going to have his Havana, and that would be it.

And the smell of cigar was already permeating the room when Michael and Zoe finally entered the private dining area. The girl – long legs, perfect skin, silky-looking jet black hair – was clinging to his arm as if she belonged there. And maybe she did. She also looked as if she had just been pulled off a cover of Vogue. Fucking hell…

Lisa willed herself to keep her body motionless and her face plain as the couple walked to the table, and Zoe leaned in, murmuring something in Michael’s ear and then laughing. He just grinned, throwing her a glance, but didn’t seem to register. He looked pensive, but unlike many other times, Lisa had no idea what thoughts were in his mind. Or maybe she never had that power to begin with, after all. He also looked gorgeous, wearing black trousers and a black jacket over a midnight blue shirt. No tie.

Just by looking at the couple, noticing the relaxed, unconcerned body language, Lisa wondered if Michael had taken care of his woman real’ good before jumping in the car and heading to the restaurant. Or maybe on their way over. And the idea generated a sour, acidic sensation in the back of her throat. All of a sudden she felt insecure and inadequate. Zoe was stunning, from head to toe. Not an inch of her body or face was imperfect. When Lisa had seen her at Neverland, she had been too blinded by fury and embarrassment to notice it.

Oh, Jesus Christ… She had to get a fucking grip. What if Michael had fucked the model? She too had been in bed with someone else, a couple of nights earlier. And sex with Roman, which had never been explosive anyway, had been disheartening that last time. Lisa had tried her best to get into it as much as she could, and at one point had even thought she would succeed. Too bad her body seemed to be wholly disconnected from Roman’s ministrations. Malfunctioning. She had felt numb and cold, almost lifeless. It had been embarrassing to realize that she wasn’t even turned on enough to… respond or function properly. Resorting to think about someone else as he got on top of her and entered her lazily had perhaps been even worse. And of course, it was obvious who that someone else had been.

It had been the very same man now looking at her as if he was trying to gauge her intentions or possible reactions. Well, he didn’t have to worry. Lisa was going to behave like the good girl she sometimes managed to be.

“Hello, Michael… Zoe…” Lisa smiled her social smile and tried hard not to remember how her first and last conversation with the girl had gone. Long Legs over there had dared to reduce her to some digital porn star. And no, that shit was not going to fly.

“Lisa Marie…” Zoe tipped her head in her direction as Michael shook Roman’s hand. Roman, of course, was clueless. He was also happy, and he had told Lisa that he hoped being photographed with Michael would be good for his business. So unsurprising. At the same time, Lisa realized that she was not worried Zoe would say anything inappropriate during dinner. She was sure Michael had trained her well, and that as careful as he was, he would never have taken her with him if he had the slightest doubt about her ability to behave and not embarrass him in public. Well, good. Either that or Lipgloss was going to have another taste of what Lisa had wanted to unleash upon her just a week earlier.

“Hey, Lisa… Hi…”

Finally, Michael turned to her. From his demeanor and the look in his eyes, it was evident that he was asking for a truce. And as worked up as she had been in the past few hours, Lisa realized all of a sudden that she didn’t want to fight with him. She was stretched too thin and barely hanging on. She still could almost feel his hands on her, his lips. His body on top of her, branding her, marking her his. She missed him so much. If anything, she wanted to cry because this, all this, was so fucked up.

At this point in time, hadn’t they been two spoiled, arrogant, presumptuous and stubborn brats, they’d be probably working on baby number three. Being married for six years. Enjoying a much quieter time, since Michael had expressed his intention to stop with the world tours. But no. The reality was different and much worse than she had fathomed when he had first asked her if she would marry him. And even now, despite all the pain, and fury, and humiliation she had felt in the past, she remembered how full of love and hope and sheer happiness she had been back then. Because at the end of the day, whatever pain she felt about Michael was always, always intrinsically connected to love. A love she could not entirely get rid of, no matter how hard she tried. The best she could do was pretend it wasn’t there – and that was just as painful.

Love and desperation, the lethal combo.

And just like that, the suspicion crawled into her heart and mind once again, tickling her with its invisible fingers. Did she still love Michael? Was she still in love with him? Had she ever really stopped?

Lisa stared at this now more mature, sexy, quiet guy sitting right across the table and the moment their eyes met – and locked – it felt as if the rest of the world didn’t exist anymore. And she didn’t know if she would ever be able to survive that – again.

“How many photographers are out there? Still a bunch?” Roman’s voice almost startled her and she felt cold. Her fingertips were anesthetized when she took her glass of wine. He laughed, and she tried to smile. She was not sure she looked convincing.

Michael’s eyes stayed tethered to hers just a little longer, then turned to him. He too grinned.

“A bunch, yeah. Looks like the paps are happy they finally have something new to talk about, when it comes to Lisa Marie and me. I guess the news was starting to get stale.”

“Yeah? That’s weird, ‘cause I doubt it. I’ve taken a look online, and they’re still blabbering about that stuff a lot.” Roman drank a sip of his white wine. He looked totally unbothered by the matter – something Lisa had never been able to comprehend.

Michael seemed to be on the same train of thoughts. Still grinning, he narrowed his eyes. “It’s interesting how… unperturbed you seem to be by all this.”

“Is it, really? Interesting, that is.” Roman put the glass down and shrugged. “Why should I concern myself about something that has happened so many years ago? The lady’s mine now, after all, and I know I take care of her needs just fine.” He grabbed Lisa’s hand on the table and squeezed it, smiling. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll even ask her to marry me.”

Lisa wanted to puke. Or go home. Either one of the two would be fine at this point. This side of Roman was something she had not seen before. Well, that was incorrect. He had kind of showed her off when Michael had paid his unexpected visit at Hidden Hills, as well.

“…And I think your gorgeous girlfriend would agree with me, Michael… Right, Zoe?”

Zoe knew how to behave in public. She gave Roman a polite smile and mirrored his gesture, her hand coming to rest over Michael’s, on the table. She interlaced her fingers with his, but Michael’s hand stayed lifeless.

“You mean you marrying Lisa Marie? Oh, yeah. Totally.”

The dinner hadn’t even started and already was a fucking huge cosmological joke.

 

 

 

 

The wine had been a successful escape plan, the moment the grey-haired guy had taken Lisa’s hand. His own bigger palm had covered Lisa’s hand completely, in a very possessive gesture that made Michael think Roman wanted to boast. He didn’t like that, and he didn’t like that he touched her at all. It was the second time Roman treated Lisa as if she was prey or a trophy and he was the hunter. If the first and only time Michael had seen that man had been enough for him to feel utterly unimpressed, the feeling was now confirmed one more time. And then another spoonful of shit had been added to the recipe when Zoe had acted in the same manner. As if she wanted to show off. As if Michael was some kind of prize.

Glancing at Lisa in a very inconspicuous way as he drank his wine, Michael noticed her flushed cheekbones and her eyes. The hue in the irises had turned darker, stormier. That nuance – he usually loved it, because it attested her arousal. But not this time. This time it was all about jealousy and discomfort. He was almost tempted to send her a text message right away, asking her why they had agreed to go through this bullshit. But he doubted it would go unnoticed to the other two people at the table. People all of a sudden he did not care about any longer, in any way, shape or form. It was disturbing to realize how unattached to anything that wasn’t Lisa he could become when she was in his orbit. He had always taken pride in how capable he was of shaking her to the core – but he had to admit she held the same power over him. And seeing her again, right now, had only sealed his suspicion: he was still in love with her.

On a side note, despite looking weary and uneasy, Lisa also looked drop-dead gorgeous that night. She was such a perfect doll. In his eyes, the most beautiful girl in the world. The first thing Michael had noticed entering her room, apart from her eyes, had been the color of her dress and the way it matched her lipstick. Scarlet red wrapping her body just right and enhancing the perfect beauty of those luscious lips he still remembered, scorching hot, worshiping every inch of his body. Red was his favorite color, and Lisa knew it. He could not believe the choice had been random. But what it truly meant, he had no idea.

Lisa wore an embellished waist gown studded with luxurious details. From the elegant lines to the opulent embroidery, from the jewel-encrusted waist to the soft fabric hugging her perfect frame just right, the Alexander McQueen dress seemed designed precisely on her body. Michael had also noticed her ankle strap sandals and the diamond earrings with matching necklace. He remembered that jewelry set very well… as he had gifted it to her during their reconnection in London. Once again, his ex-wife was the queen of mixed signals.

The night had the potential to become the prelude of something so magnificent, but that was not what they were there for. It was all about business. Nothing else. And whatever pending matter he and Lisa had to discuss, this was not the time nor the place, because they were not alone. Michael cleared his throat and took another sip of wine.

The next hour felt excruciating and rousing in equal parts. Given the publicity stunt, they had asked the waiters to leave one of the curtains conveniently open. Just a tiny bit, as if it had been almost an accidental mistake, but enough to allow some photographers and cameramen to take some pictures and shoot some quick clips of their friendly double date. Of course, the entire dinner was accompanied by a perfect performance by everyone at the table – except for Roman. It was apparent that he was genuinely at ease and very giddy at the attention he was receiving. At one point, when he noticed one of the paps lifting his camera in their direction, he turned Lisa’s face to him and kissed her straight on the lips.

Michael blinked, his face immobile, his eyes phlegmatic. Perfect. Too bad the inferno going on inside was too blistering to be tamed. Rage surfaced in a place that he believed did not exist, and he turned to Zoe, bringing her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles, laughing with her, allowing her to lean against him for a moment and rest her head on his shoulder. And when he turned back to Lisa, her eyes told him that she didn’t like what she saw. Well, fuck it. This date had been her idea after all, and she was a big girl. She could take the consequences of her decisions. Besides, she too had been pretending just fine. And although something about her demeanor and the way she carried herself told Michael that she was uncomfortable, he also had to admit that she was doing pretty well. And allowing Roman to be as affectionate as he wanted to be.