Chapter 6

When Andrew thought back to the commercials there was no structure and almost no coherence to them. Now this was mostly due to a combination of the nature of film-making, the non-sequential aspect of it, together with his complete newness to the whole situation. The studio was in the centre of Paris, mere blocks from the hotel but to the east rather than the west in the direction of Hermès’ office. Andrew had gone for a run to try and calm some nerves and when he got back to his room Abi was still there. The reason became clear when she sacrificed one of the hotel towels on the floor of the shower. There were apparently no secrets between Heloise and her and the sparkle in her eyes showed that this was no chore. Her tongue on the bottom of his dick together with the trilling of her fingers on his ball sack had Andrew drained all too soon. He helped her to her feet but then pulled her in for a long hug. It seemed a more significant act than normal, a sex act equivalent of ‘break a leg’.

The two of them found the studio without difficulty and were admitted without delay. With a kiss on his cheek Abi left him to be escorted by Manon and Beatrice. Andrew was introduced to the director of the shoot, a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties, which meant she was anywhere between 25 and 40 and he wasn’t about to ask which. She sat with him and explained in immaculate English what they were looking for with the commercial.

Heloise was 21 and Andrew was 19 and they were going to play on their youth. Hermès was a brand that conveyed exclusiveness, elegance, sophistication but also expense. They were trying for the same thing with their cologne and perfume but appealing to a younger age. It wasn’t going to be cheap but it was going to be relatable. Heloise was the perfect spokesmodel as she was so well known and so popular. The three commercials were going to be over dubbed over with narration and music so there would be no need for them to talk at any point. What Veronique, the director, wanted was chemistry and fun. There were three sets, a bedroom, a bathroom and mostly blank set, dark and moody.

The only initial direction that she gave them was to pretend they were on a full day date, have fun and she would guide them as the day went on. After that the morning was dress up, un-dress down if there is such a phrase, lots of fun, lots of flirting and it was almost too easy. The costume ladies earned their money that day because Andrew had on at least four outfits, Heloise a couple more, and they were shot in a variety of situations. Most intriguingly they repeated their walk through the Tuileries Gardens from back in March. The camera was stationery and they walked towards it, and then away from it, several times. Heloise looked stunning in the outfit chosen for her. Jeans and heels, big jumper, belted coast and a Hermes scarf. Andrew could have been wearing a bin bag and no one would have noticed. Heloise could not have looked more quintessentially French and elegant. What Andrew found out later was that it showed on his face. He could not, and did not, hide his appreciation and that look alone got it into the final cut.

What was a noticeable difference was the way that Veronique treated him. They did not have to do many retakes, it really was just avoid looking at the camera and look like you found Heloise captivating, which was hardly a struggle. So the set was not tense, Veronique did a good job of keeping Andrew calm. After lunch where Abi and Heloise teased him the whole time, it was tough, the rest of the day was in the bedroom and bathroom sets.

In March during the photographs Andrew had been naked under the towel. Today he was given, well it was a sort of cloth condom. It was called a postiche, which apparently meant toupee in French. The process was twofold. First Andrew covered his cock and balls with it, and then he had to tape it in place. He had to tape it so it didn’t fall off but then he also had to tape it against his hip, an exaggerated dressing to the left position. Then he was dressed for the bedroom scene. There were three cameras on each set covering all the action. In the bedroom they entered the set all lovey-dovey before starting to undress. Once down to their underwear the scene was supposed to shift to the bathroom. Before that happened though they changed into the other outfits from the morning and re-entered the bedroom and disrobed again. Now normally on a set they would have then shot the return to the bedroom, even although it was chronologically later, for efficiency and convenience. Veronique had liked the spontaneity of Andrew and Heloise’s interactions and they needed to do this in order for it to appear real. Andrew definitely wasn’t a good enough actor to be able to fake passion after things had got all hot and steamy in the bathroom, without first going through that build-up. So the last shot was him in his briefs walking into the bathroom, well heading to the fake door to the bathroom. Heloise was in a camisole and panties.

Up to this point the fact that there were more than 20 people on set was not a big deal. Half of them were technical types, all but one men, and they were moving cameras, lights, sound booms, all the detritus of making a show or movie that everyone has seen many times before. The rest? Director, her assistant, three or four people from Hermès, two make-up people, three costume ladies, a caterer, a couple of indeterminate hangers-on and Abi. But now it was show time. Upon entering the bathroom Andrew was to turn on the shower, strip and then enter the shower stall. Heloise was supposed to enter the bathroom behind him and ogle his naked body in the shower. A gratuitous bum against the glass was requested to confirm his nudity. After that Andrew was to dry myself with a towel before applying the aforementioned cologne. It is the application of the cologne that breaks the spell and Heloise is all over him, and vice versa. So Andrew was pretty well naked for the whole shot. It was going to take some careful editing to spare the French public from certain parts of him.

Veronique wanted Andrew to be careful to not get his hair wet, which given that the shower was for someone no more than 5’10” was not a problem. He walked into the shower four different times, discarding three different kinds of underwear before on the fourth and final time Veronique had settled on one. After the fourth shower, where he was instructed to bend down and ensure his hair was wet, it was on to the drying and cologne. Here the production designer made everyone’s life easier. The fake bathroom counter was sufficiently high that Andrew could stand in front of it and not be concerned about the mirror catching sight of his dick. He did have to replace two pieces of tape after the shower but everything was still concealed appropriately. So he stood in front of the counter and dried himself normally.

Then the technical side of the film making came to the fore. They wanted shots of Heloise at the door looking at Andrew, both his body directly in front of her but also reacting to his face and expression in the mirror, and after that they wanted the same shot from Andrew’s perspective, a direct shot of Heloise at the door, but also his view of her in the mirror. All without there being any sign of the cameras. So for an hour Andrew stood at the counter drying myself, either with a towel or naked, while Heloise stood at the door of the bathroom watching his body and flirting with his reflection. Andrew would flex a cheek every now and then to make her giggle.

Once they were happy with those shots Veronique reset the shoot back from Heloise’s perspective. So there was a camera focused on Andrew which also captured him and Heloise looking at each other via the mirror. This time when Andrew dropped the towel he grabbed the cologne. Staring at Heloise in the mirror he splashed some on his hands before rubbing it into his chin and cheeks. Heloise stared right back at him for a second and then stalked across the floor. Once she was close enough to conceal him Andrew spun round and kissed her. Veronique was pleased with that, and had them repeat it two more times. Then they reset with Heloise in his arms and Andrew pulled her camisole up and off, not really showing much, before sliding her panties down her thighs until gravity did the rest. That was shot five times, each time with different panties to see which dropped the best. Once the correct pair were determined then the stalking across the room scene was reshot.

Finally, Andrew placed his hands under Heloise’s butt and lifted her up, spinning away from the camera so that there were no groin flashes from either of them, before depositing her on the counter. Given the height of the counter it didn’t really look like they were in a position to fuck but it didn’t stop Heloise wrapping her arms and legs round him. Andrew thought they had taken this slightly farther than Hermès had expected. Veronique asked how they would take this back to the bedroom. Shots of them heading back to the door supposedly leading to the bedroom. Again, full back shots, a little bit of side boob from Heloise. Then they tried one where Andrew just held Heloise under the arse and carried through to the bedroom. And finally, although he knew this would never make the final cut, Andrew flung Heloise over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift and walked to the (fake) door to the bedroom, Heloise was tall enough and had long enough arms that she could smack him on the arse as they walked. That had most of the crew laughing when Veronique called cut but Andrew didn’t expect it to go any further.

The last main shots were the continuation of them coming through into the bedroom. So all the walking was carried on from the bathroom door over to the bed. For the continuation of the final two shots he spoke to Heloise and she explained to Veronique what he proposed to do. As part of the bathroom shots Andrew had flexed his muscles several times which Veronique had really liked and had tried to capture. Andrew was going to throw Heloise onto the bed. Even though he knew it would never end up in the commercial it didn’t seem necessary for her to flash her pussy to the whole set. Thus her postiche, her modesty patch. It was flesh coloured, and looked like the front half of a menstrual pad and was more securely glued in place to provide said modesty. Once Heloise’s modesty was additionally protected Veronique demanded multiple takes of Andrew throwing her down on the bed before getting onto the bed himself. They only did the fireman’s lift drop once, and it wasn’t from his shoulder in case the drop hurt her but it still looked pretty impressive.

After a brief respite they had to do a couple of reshoots, continuity shots for the final clothes they wore in the bathroom. And then they were done. Well with the filming. Heloise was surrounded by a large group of people, Hermès people mainly, as well as both hangers-on. The corporate ‘stroking’ could not have been more obvious. Beatrice seemed happy and the tone and mood was upbeat and positive. Andrew pulled on a robe and walked over to where the dressing rooms were but was intercepted by Abi and Manon. Also tagging along behind them was Joelle, trying not to smirk. Andrew had no idea if Abi was turned on, territorial or just pleased that it was over but the hug was tight and long. Leaning down he kissed her.

“In the arms of another woman already.”

Heloise was also in a robe; her voice was light and happy and she greeted everyone before also giving Andrew a long hug.

“Thank you for today Andrew, everyone is very pleased. They have more than 20 hours of film from all the cameras. I think they might just be able to get a 30 second commercial out of it.”

Five minutes later Andrew was dressed and standing outside the dressing room talking to everyone. Manon was hilarious.

“How can I talk to Phillippe about today! I stood and watched Andrew all day, naked Andrew all afternoon.”

Suffice to say she didn’t get a lot of sympathy from Joelle or Abi. Andrew changed the subject.

“Why are you here today Joelle?”

“I wanted to get an idea of what the studio was like but also to watch you and Heloise. You and she are so comfortable together. I think I am more worried about the scenes with clothes than the scenes without. It is that chemistry that makes what follows so believable.”

Beatrice had been standing to the side listening. Andrew turned to her and brought her into the conversation.

“May I make a suggestion?”

She smiled at him.

“So you want to use your brain as well as your body today?”

Her smile had them laughing.

“Tell me what you are thinking.”

“You know the names of all these clothes so I will just describe them. Everything accentuates and flatters Joelle’s figure. Everything is figure hugging, tight across the bust, tummy and hips. If she looks like that, smiles that smile and flirts like I know she can, we will be fine.”

Sometimes Andrew could say the right thing and that was one of those rare moments. Beatrice did not look upset at his suggestion and Joelle was pleased at the way he thought the day would go. Andrew knew there was nothing to worry about, with her curves there would be no need for acting. When Heloise came out of her dressing room Abi, Joelle and Manon stood talking to her and Andrew took the opportunity to move Beatrice aside.

“I have something I want to ask you privately, about Sunday.”

He spoke for three minutes explaining to Beatrice how he thought he could do Sunday’s shoot. Change the tone, change the emphasis, most importantly get Chiara onside.

“I will think about it. You don’t care?”

“Not in the slightest. We both know why I am here.”

Her laugh answered his smirk.