Ava: Don’t keep us in suspense! How was the kiss?
Michelle: I bet it was weird.
Ava: Probably, but I still want to know what it was like to kiss... EL LEÓN DORADO.
Michelle: And I’m sure EL DUQUE DE AMOR is GREAT at kissing.
Ava: Better than EL MATADOR, certainly.
It went on from there, with the two of them speculating about Ashton’s kissing prowess while sharing emojis related to his many telenovela roles.
With a groan, Jasmine went in search of coffee while she read. Once she had another cup in her possession, she went to her dressing room to reply.
Jasmine: Omg you guys...
Michelle: You’re here!
Ava: Was it amazing?
Michelle: Was it awful?
Jasmine: It was so...
God, how could she even describe it?
Jasmine: It was... fine.
After a short pause in which Jasmine imagined them howling in disbelief, Michelle’s message popped up first.
Michelle: FINE?
Ava: Fine?????
Michelle: WHAT DO YOU MEAN “FINE”?
Jasmine rubbed her forehead and took a deep chug of coffee before answering.
Jasmine: Rehearsal went well, but then we didn’t get to practice all the way through until it was time to film and then...
Michelle: THEN WHAT
Jasmine: And then the director made us shoot the take 17 FUCKING TIMES
She added a skull emoji to the end.
Ava: OH MY GOD
Michelle sent a line of seventeen kiss emojis.
Ava: That’s so many times!
Jasmine: Tell me about it!
My face is sore!
Ava: So what made it just “fine”?
This part was harder to put into words. Ilba hadn’t been able to put her finger on it during filming either; she just knew it wasn’t working. Ofelia had hovered around the edges, darting in occasionally to offer advice and suggestions. She must haveasked if Jasmine felt “comfortable” at least fifty times—she’d clearly been prepped by Vera.
