"Can I talk to you two alone, please?" Cynthia's voice sounded ominous as she gestured to Penny and Cam.

They rose and followed her out into the hallway, leaving the rest of the cast in the room to take a short break.

"What the hell is going on?" Cynthia asked, fist on her hip as she faced them, pony tail swishing.

"What do you mean?" Penny spoke for both of them, deciding ignorance was the best way to go.

"Are you angry with each other? Fighting?" She gestured between Penny and Cam questioningly.

"No, why?"

"This is a love story," Cynthia enunciated. "And we're well into it by now. You're supposed to be falling in love. You know, sparks? Chemistry?"

She looked at Penny. "You're supposed to be feeling insecure about your looks. That's why you moved to this remote place in the off season. You've had your heart broken by yet another guy who left you for someone prettier, you've been called a 'plain-Jane' for the last time in your life, you're finished with relationships, all that good stuff, right?"

She turned to Cam. "You're tired of women in general. You're sick of relationships, of women who want to get their hooks into you, right? So you just want to be alone? But then you meet this woman who doesn't seem to want anything from you and you start to like her. You spend time together and start to fall for her?"

She raised her voice. "You're starting to fall for each other, for fuck's sake. You two act like you think the other one smells bad or something."

This made Penny and Cam laugh. They looked at Cynthia, smiles on their faces.

She wasn't laughing.

"So I ask again, what the hell's going on?"

Penny and Cam looked at each other uneasily and shrugged. "Nothing," Cam answered. "Maybe we're just having an off day."

"Maybe you're just having an off week," Cynthia corrected sarcastically. She looked around. "Okay, look, you're both excused for the rest of today."

"But it's not even three o'clock," Penny said.

"I know what time it is," Cynthia answered. "We have some village scenes we need to work on, anyway, and John and I can read your parts. You two go and work out whatever issues you're having and come back tomorrow with some chemistry, or at least some fucking affection between you, please?" She gestured to them. "I mean, look at you even now, you're standing a mile apart! What kind of body language is that?"

Penny and Cam moved a little bit closer together, but then Penny grabbed her right arm, which was closest to Cam, with her left, in effect pulling it away from him.

"Great, that's just great," Cynthia lamented. "That's going to play really well. "Look, we take the stage in a couple weeks, and every movement is going to carry and be magnified a hundred times, you know that. You two need to work this shit out, now. Am I making myself clear?"

The two actors sighed while looking away from each other.

"Super. Now get the fuck out of here."

Cam and Penny left the building, walking out into the beautiful, cool, spring day. The median was covered in yellow tulips. When they got out to the street, they looked at each other.

"What should we do?" Penny asked, nonplussed. "I thought we were doing okay?"

"But you knew we were cold, though, right?" Cam answered. "I mean, I did. Kitty cat rescue notwithstanding, I know you don't, um, particularly care for me, you know?"

"That's not true," Penny said without much conviction. "You're very nice. Besides, I know you don't like me much, either, you know."

Cam sighed. "Okay. Maybe we should just go back home and make a list of things that we con't like about each other and talk about them, what do you think?"

Penny stared at him. "How's that going to help anything? All it will do is clarify what we don't like, right?"

"Not necessarily, not necessarily," Cam said with a small smile. "Maybe we can talk about them and work some things out."

Penny continued to look at him. In the direct sun, the cruelest light a person could take, he looked almost sinfully handsome. She finally turned away and shrugged. "Okay, let's give it a try," she said. "It couldn't hurt.

As they headed for the bus, Penny asked a question that had been on her mind for a while. "I don't understand something about you, Cam."

He looked at her and waited.

"You're a European prince who's been a successful model for the last ten years."

He smiled and nodded, looking confused. "You don't understand that?"

They arrived at the bus station, where some schoolgirls started staring at Cameron immediately.

"I've heard you refer you to yourself, very self-deprecatingly, as a millionaire, but you take the bus everywhere and you shop for food at the discount supermarket, even though the really nice, gourmet grocery store is so much closer." She gestured at his clothes. "Your outfits are designer stuff, but you haven't been shopping since I've lived with you."

He looked at her, eyebrow cocked.

"So what is your financial situation?" she finally asked, blinking green eyes at him.

Cam took a deep breath and brushed a lock of curly hair off her face.

"Okay, well, as far as my being a prince, most of that money's in trust, so there's not a lot of cash there," he began. "Most of what money I have I've earned from my modeling, and a lot of that went to pay uni fees for me and my sister."

"Genevieve."

"Yes, Vivi."

"Who lives and works in England now."

"Correct."

"So I had a chunk left after paying for her, and most of it went to pay for my loft. I bought it outright, because it seemed more prudent than buying it bit by bit and possibly having the co-op market tank, or having my finances tank, you see? I had the money now, they were offering a substantial discount for money up front, so I took it."

The bus arrived, and they got on. There was an open seat, and of course Cam insisted Penny take it.

"So I have some money left, enough to be comfortable until I start getting paid for the play, but not a lot, not enough to splash out and be extravagant," Cam concluded, looking down at Penny and swaying slightly with the motion of the bus. "Technically, because my loft is an asset, I'm still a millionaire, but I don't think I have a million in cash anymore. I'm not liquid, in other words."

"You're house poor," Penny supplied.

"Is that what they call it?" Cam asked.

She nodded.

"My friends thought I was crazy to spend all my money on a place to live," he said with a laugh. "They're more the 'pay rent every month and have bollocks kicking parties every weekend' types."

"Not surprising," Penny said without thinking.

"What?"

"I mean, it's how I'd expect people like you to live," Penny said.

They got off the bus and walked toward home.

"Now see, it's remarks like that that make it difficult for me to like you," Cam said. "What do you mean, 'people like you'?"

Penny sighed and shrugged. "You know, models, people who look like you."

Cam unlocked the door and let them in. He helped Penny take her coat off and then removed his own.

"Right, because that's what we do, take our clothes off and get our photographs taken for money, then go to parties in our free time."

Penny shrugged. "You just said it yourself, didn't you? That your friends were like that? That you were the exception and they thought you were crazy?"

"Jesus, what do I have to do to get you to take me seriously?" Cam's voice was getting louder. "I'm an actor, just like you. I trained for it, just like you. I'm serious about it, just like you. I auditioned and got this part, just like you. And I deserve to be taken seriously, just--like--you."

He'd gotten dangerously close during his diatribe, until, by the time he finished speaking, his face was mere inches from hers, brown eyes glaring into green, noses nearly touching, chests heaving.

The buzzer rang, making both of them jump.

"Are you expecting someone?" Cameron asked, stepping carefully away from Penny, who'd backed up into the island, grasping it with both hands behind her.

She shook her head. "Maybe it's Yoko?" she offered.

Cam nodded and buzzed the person up, waiting by the door to let them in, but when he opened the door a minute later, he was shocked to see Frederick Berenson standing on the landing.

"What do you want?" Cam couldn't keep the contempt out of his voice.

"I'm here to see Penny, if you don't mind," Frederick answered.

"Who is it?" Penny asked, approaching the door.

Cameron opened the door wider so she could see, and was gratified by the expression of distaste that appeared on her face.

"What do you want?" Penny asked, sounding surprisingly like Cam had moments before.

"I want to talk to you," Frederick said, removing his hat. "Can you come out? Or may I come in?" He looked only at Penny, ignoring Cameron completely.

Penny sighed. "I don't want to go anywhere with you," she said, crossing her arms. "Cam?" she looked into the apartment, eyebrows raised.

Cam gave her a look of resignation and nodded. He turned to leave, but stopped when Penny said, "I'd like you to stay, though, if you don't mind."

"I was hoping to talk to you in private, Penny," Frederick said, hanging his coat and hat on the coat rack.

"Well, too fucking bad," Penny retorted, taking a seat. "Cam? Will you stay? Please?"

Cam finally nodded and took a seat.

"Actually, could you get me a drink first?" Frederick asked, sitting down in the easy chair, smoothing his thinning reddish blond hair as he did so. "A mineral water if you have it, still if you don't."

Cameron rose and went to the kitchen, returning with a bottle of water which he handed to Frederick before sitting once more.

Penny spread her hands. "So? What do you want? Did you forget to pack some of my stuff?"

Frederick shook his head. "Look. I'm sorry about all that, okay? I was a little off my head about how you'd behaved that afternoon, that's all. I expected a little more support from my girlfriend, a little decorum over something so huge." He looked at Penny, blue eyes asking for understanding.

"But, I understand that you were probably a little gobsmacked by the situation as well, and I want you to know that I'm willing to let what happened that day go, all right?" He smiles at his ex girlfriend.

Cam sat up. Was he insinuating that Penny was wrong for what she did that day? "Are you saying that you forgive her?" he asked in disbelief.

"Could you please not interrupt me?" Frederick asked without looking away from Penny. "It's bad enough that you have to sit there when none of this concerns you, but really, I shouldn't have to put up with hearing your voice as well, should I?"

"Okay, Frederick, then I'll ask it," Penny interrupted. "Are you saying you forgive me?"

"I am," he said magnanimously. "I miss you, and I can only assume you miss me. I had no idea you'd been reduced to living in these circumstances, and I can only imagine how horrible it's been for you, what kind of intellectual wasteland it's been for you.

"So," he concluded. "Get your things, and you can return with me now, my darling. We'll put this whole episode behind us. I'm sure your understudy can take over your part in that hideous little play, and we'll find something else for you straight away. Luckily your name hasn't yet been tainted by association with the production yet, so no harm done."

Penny was looking at Frederick in consternation, and once again, it was Cameron who spoke.

"I think you're being very presumptuous," he said, his voice dangerously low.

"I think you're speaking again in my presence," Frederick said. "Please don't." Again, he didn't look at Cam.

Cam was by now sitting ramrod straight in his corner of the couch. He blinked at Frederick and took a deep breath. "I think--"

"No, you don't." Frederick cut Cameron's words off decisively, firmly.

Penny had had enough.

"Frederick, get out."

"What?"

"You heard me. Get out."

"You can't mean it. I'm giving you a chance to walk this whole mess back, Penelope--"

"Get the fuck out. I never want to see you again."

"You heard her." Cam was on his feet. "Out of my home. Now. You want a repeat of what happened in your apartment?"

"Figures that you'd reduce a civilized conversation to physical violence," Frederick sneered as he rose. "That's all people like you understand, though, isn't it?"

Cameron brushed past him and held the door open.

Frederick grabbed his hat and coat, standing in the doorway.

"Last chance, Penny, I mean it."

"Christ on a bike, Frederick, get a clue, and get the fuck out!"

He stepped out, but turned to say something else.

They didn't hear what it was because Cameron slammed the door, probably hitting Frederick in the nose.

"Oh god, Cameron, I'm so sorry," Penny said, fighting back tears.

"Shh, Penguin, not your fault," Cam assured her.

Penny looked up in surprise, but Cam was heading toward the kitchen.

"Pour you a drink? I know I could use one," he called as he opened the cupboard and pulled out a bottle.

"Yes, please," she answered, following him.