At 9:00 AM sharp, Noa found herself in a room full of padded mats, beanbags, and an ominous basket labeled: **"Prop Bananas – Do Not Eat."**
Cherry Moon walked in wearing a mesh catsuit and a headset mic like she was about to teach hot yoga in hell.
"Welcome to intimacy class, virgins!" she chirped.
"I'm not a virgin," Noa muttered.
Ren raised a hand. "I... might be again after this."
Cherry clapped. "Today's lesson: Breathplay, Eyeplay, and Accidental Foreplay."
Noa whispered to Ren, "This sounds like a fighting game."
"It kind of is," he replied.
---
First exercise: Breathing in sync.
Noa and Ren sat cross-legged, facing each other. Cherry dimmed the lights.
"Touch foreheads," she ordered.
Their knees touched. Their noses nearly did. Noa could feel the heat off Ren's skin—and worse, she could hear his awkward breathing like a dying walrus.
Cherry said, "Breathe with your partner. Match each other's rhythm. In... and out…"
Ren inhaled too fast. Noa exhaled too slow. They ended up wheezing into each other's faces like broken air purifiers.
"Closer!" Cherry barked. "Your energy is shy. Be bold! Pretend you want to eat each other."
Ren's eyes widened. "That's a felony in most states."
"Shut up," Noa said, suppressing a laugh.
---
Second exercise: Moaning without movement.
Cherry handed them each a pillow. "Lie on your backs and pretend the pillow is the most satisfying person you've ever met. But don't move your hips. Only sound."
Noa stared at her. "Are you serious?"
Cherry stared back. "Do I look unserious?"
Ren coughed. "I think my pillow's name is Brian."
Cherry smiled. "Moan, Brian. Moan."
Noa rolled her eyes and let out a quiet "mmm."
Ren responded with a confused "ah...?"
Cherry clapped like a game show host. "Yes! Yes! Now layer it! More desire! More longing! More internal trauma!"
"Is she okay?" Ren whispered.
"She's thriving," Noa replied.
---
Third exercise: "The Hover."
They were told to hover over each other without touching—just inches apart—and hold the tension.
Ren hovered over Noa, palms beside her shoulders, muscles trembling from holding himself up.
Noa's eyes flicked between his face and the barely-buttoned collar of his silk shirt.
"Don't touch," Cherry whispered like a devil on their shoulders. "Let the air between you catch fire."
Ren's arm shook.
"Don't fall—" Noa began.
He fell.
Right on top of her.
"OH MY GOD," she shouted as they rolled sideways and knocked over a shelf of beanbags.
Cherry beamed. "Best chemistry test I've seen all week!"
---
After class, they were handed robes and pink smoothies that tasted vaguely of strawberries and shame.
They sat on the edge of the stage, sipping in silence.
"I have bruises," Noa muttered.
"I lost circulation in my arms," Ren replied.
They stared at each other.
"Did you… feel anything?" she asked.
"Besides secondhand embarrassment?"
"Yeah."
Ren considered. "You're not bad at this."
"At being sexy?"
"At pretending to be sexy."
Noa smirked. "Thanks. You're pretty okay at… falling on me."
"I try."
---
They walked back to the dorms past a wall covered in vintage posters. One of them featured a young Cherry Moon—barely clothed, posing like a goddess.
Noa stopped.
"She's been here forever," she murmured.
Ren looked at the poster, then at Noa.
"You think we're gonna survive this?"
Noa shrugged. "With enough lube and therapy? Maybe."
He chuckled. "So. Tomorrow's our first scene?"
"Yeah."
They paused.
Noa reached out and fixed the collar of his robe.
Ren didn't move.
"You're blushing," she said.
"You're glowing," he said.
They both turned away.
"I'm going to bed," she mumbled.
"Dream of Brian," he called.
"Shut up."
---
Inside her room, Noa stared at the printed schedule on her wall.
Tomorrow:
**"Scene 1: Bed, Soft Light, First Touch (5 minutes unscripted)."**
She touched her lips, still tingling from nothing.
Not even the scene had started.
And already, something was happening she didn't know how to fake.