Chapter 1 - "A Flaming, Ruthless Kiss"

                            Scene #10


The object of much gossip and not a little taunting and 
teasing, Starr decides to abandon the party altogether and go 
for a solo swim.

A former doting -- and rejected -- acolyte of Starr, Force Faraday 
pays her a visit at poolside in order to have a little fun at 
her expense.  Instead, a most provocative and startling kiss 
ensues. 

Rebel Randall, vivacious charmer with designs on Force, is 
Starr's jealous, younger cousin; she spies on the pair...

        
EXT. ESTATE GROUNDS/POOL AREA - NIGHT

SERIES OF SHOTS: Force is weaving his way through extensive 
gardens, racing across grassy areas, bounding across paths.  
He's quite a sight in his evening clothes.  He stops on a dime 
as swimming pool comes INTO VIEW.  He spots Starr walking along 
deck, going around the diving board.

On far side is a bath-house.  As Starr disappears inside, Force 
makes a lightning-like bid for a chair that's next to a table 
with an umbrella.  He gets seated noiselessly just as Starr 
reappears.  Even though out of breath, he tries to look calm, 
nonchalant.

Starr drapes a towel monk-like over her head as she saunters 
toward edge of pool.  She seems to be lost in thought.  The tie 
of the bathrobe is undone; there are flirting peeks now and 
again of her in bikini.  The only lights on are those 
underwater; all about is a shimmery, dreamy glow.

                            FORCE
              Well well well.  How does it feel, 
              Starr?

She glances up, sees him, as he relaxes in chair and is about 
to light a cigarette.

                            STARR
                      (softly; archly)
              What are you talking about?

                            FORCE
                      (laughing lightly)
              How does it feel to be jilted -- even 
              though you are young and rich and a 
              spectacular beauty and... Well, the 
              list goes on and on, doesn't it?

Starr slowly pulls towel from her head, swishes it about, plays 
with it.

                            FEMALE NARRATOR
              So he knew her secret.  He knew that 
              this time she had been dumped -- by 
              Peter Stanhope.  Peter hadn't trusted 
              her.  He, too, thought she was 
              dangerous and unstable.  He had loved 
              her to distraction, but was afraid 
              to marry her.  She managed a small 
              laugh and that lovely chin went up, 
              defiantly.

                            STARR
              What gave you that idea?

                            FORCE
              Oh, things I've heard.  Things... 
              that add up.

                            STARR
              Such as...

                            FORCE
              For one, a rumor that Peter's mother 
              doesn't take to your brand of 
              newspaper publicity.  She didn't 
              think your brief romance with that 
              popular singer was too amusing.  Nor 
              the one with the gorgeous prize-
              fighter, either.  Mrs. Stanhope 
              wasn't at all convinced that you 
              would make her precious Peter a 
              model wife.  And Peter is a young 
              man who believes that mama knows 
              best.  The Stanhopes are terribly 
              conventional, and you -- with your 
              diverse and wayward romantic 
              interests -- are rather a problem 
              child, my love.

                            STARR
              I'm not your love!

Brief pause.  Then softly, almost wistfully:

                            FORCE
              But once you were.

Starr looks down as she moves the toe of her sandal along edge 
of deck.

                            STARR
                      (pauses; then
                       off-handedly)
              I thought you'd just gotten back 
              from... being out of the country for 
              some time.

                            FORCE
              So I have.  But catching up on news 
              of the infamous Starr McCready is just 
              about the easiest thing in the world.  
              Why, you're the subject of a regular 
              little newsletter, the "STARR-
              BULLETIN," updates weekly, if not 
              daily!

He gets up from chair, ambles toward end of pool where diving 
board is.  Pause as Starr watches him closely.

                            STARR
              You think I'm hurt.  You think I 
              still love Peter.  Well, I don't.  I 
              cared for him at first -- or thought 
              I cared.  It was all just a stupid 
              mistake.  Towards the end, Peter knew 
              it, too.

                            FORCE
              You make a lot of mistakes, don't 
              you, Starr?

                            STARR
              All right, so I make my share of them.  
              I think I'm in love -- and then, I'm 
              not.  Any girl with any gumption goes 
              through a sort of trial-and-error 
              period when she's growing up.

Force looks amused as he sits on edge of diving board.  He 
crosses his arms on his chest and shakes his head with a sigh.

GROUNDS

Rebel is gingerly stepping up to the trunk of a palm tree.  
Though still some distance off she has a fairly clear view 
of Starr and Force.

POOL AREA

                            FORCE
              -- sampling people, you mean?  Trying 
              on their kisses for size?

                            STARR
              I wouldn't put it that way at all.

                            FORCE
              Oh?  What would you call it?  On the 
              make?  On the prowl?  Hit and run?

Starr is looking at him, her expression thoughtful.  She runs a 
hand through her hair, looks down into water of pool.

GROUNDS

A trace of an expectant smile is playing on Rebel's lips.  From 
her P.O.V. we SEE Force push away from diving board, slowly head 
toward Starr.

POOL AREA

                            FORCE
              -- smorgasbord, a smorgasbord of 
              handsome young lovers.  And all you 
              have to do is crook your finger at any 
              one of them.  Ah, and don't you do it 
              so well.

                            STARR
                      (evenly)
              Smorgasbord, shmorgasbord.  You make 
              me sound cheap.

                            FORCE
              Aren't you?  You and your 
              experimental romances.  Don't you 
              think you are rather cheap?  There 
              are men who can never settle down to 
              one woman.  Let's face it, my 
              darling, you're that kind of a girl.

                            STARR
                      (with rising emotion)
              No.  No, you don't understand 
              Force...

                            NARRATOR
              Starr felt that she was getting into 
              deep water.  His nearness was 
              affecting her queerly.  She felt 
              uneasy, a little breathless.  She was 
              half-attracted, half-repelled by this 
              new, hard Force Faraday.

                            FORCE
              I don't?  Not at all?  Gee, I thought 
              I had it all figured out!

A few feet apart, they eye one another closely.  After a 
moment:

                            STARR
              Perhaps it's time that I went for 
              that sw --

GROUNDS

Rebel continues to watch them intently.  Then, from her P.O.V. 
we can SEE Starr holding her robe open, showing off her bikini.  
She turns this way and that, modeling for Force.

POOL AREA

                            STARR
              Like it?  It's brand new.

                            NARRATOR
              He was speechless as he took in the 
              sharp, clear beauty of the girl 
              before him.  The flawless perfection 
              of her loveliness mesmerized him.  
              For what seemed an age, though it was 
              but an instant in time, he felt he 
              didn't know this exotic creature any 
              more than he knew the man in the 
              moon.  He immediately sensed that it 
              would take every ounce of his will-
              power to lift his gaze to that face, 
              to forthrightly look into those eyes, 
              and find the challenge -- nay, the 
              double-dare -- that he felt must be 
              found in them.  To his surprise, her 
              eyes were lowered.  She wasn't 
              looking at him at all!

                            FORCE
              It's very eye-c-c-cathing.  
              Emphasizes your good p-points, to be 
              sure.

                            NARRATOR
              Now the eyes had lifted: alluring 
              captivating, exerting an irresistible 
              fascination.  Still he searched for 
              hints of what he thought would be 
              there.  But they did not invite.

GROUNDS

From Rebel's P.O.V. we SEE Force wave his arm in futility and 
step away from Starr, as if quitting the situation altogether.  
Suddenly, he rushes to her.  He impulsively slips the robe from 
the tops of her shoulders.  His hat, a straw boater, gets in 
the way as he kisses a bare shoulder.  Rebel's eyes widen.

POOL AREA

Starr is tossing his hat into the pool.  Force glances toward it 
as it floats on the surface of the water.  Then he kisses her.

                            NARRATOR
              She heard the angry thunder of his 
              heart as he bent his dark head, and 
              his mouth crushed down on hers in a 
              flaming, ruthless kiss that was 
              without tenderness.  It was not a kiss 
              of love -- it was a kiss of hate!  
              Starr knew it, and yet she responded, 
              thrillingly, to him.  She couldn't 
              help herself. She gave herself up to 
              the strange, sweet, hot tide of 
              excitement that swept through every 
              facet of her being, making her weak 
              and defenseless against the spell of 
              his strong arms around her and his 
              warm, possessive lips.  Never before 
              had he kissed her in this way.  He had 
              never been so savage, so demanding, so 
              -- almost cruel!  Starr's head was 
              spinning as she lifted her arms to his 
              neck.  She had been kissed like this 
              in her dreams by a shadowy figure 
              whose face was never clear -- but 
              never in real life.  No man had ever 
              dared to kiss her so fiercely and 
              possessively.  As abruptly as he had 
              swept her into his arms, he let her 
              go.

GROUNDS

Rebel's eyes are more bright and shining than usual -- and now 
a little moist.  There seems to be more color in her cheeks.  
It's as if she has vicariously shared in that kiss.

                            REBEL
              Very good, Starr.  Very nice.

His hands in the pockets of his trousers, Force has walked 
behind Starr and over to the edge of the pool.

POOL AREA

Starr has somewhat righted her bathrobe, but it is still askew, 
with part of a bare shoulder showing.  She tilts her head back, 
shakes her short hair, runs a hand through it.  She turns to 
look at Force's turned back.  He eyes his hat as it floats in 
the pool.

                            NARRATOR
              With a pounding heart, her senses in 
              a riotous tumult, and some inner part 
              of her vibrating as it had never 
              vibrated before, Starr waited for him 
              to say: "Darling, can't you give our 
              love another chance?"

                            FORCE
                      (continuing to
                       look off)
              Well, that's another kiss in the 
              moonlight for your memory book, Starr.

                            STARR (V.O.)
                      (looking about)
              There's no moon tonight.  Not even a 
              sliver of a crescent.

                            FORCE
              Just another romantic moment to 
              record in your trial-and-error 
              casebook.
                      (glancing over
                       shoulder)
              But don't classify me as a new 
              conquest, baby -- or as an old flame 
              resuscitated, because I'm not.

                            STARR
              But I thought --

She cuts herself off.  Force turns, steps toward her, says 
sharply:

                            FORCE
              You thought what?

                            NARRATOR
              Just in time she took refuge in 
              flippancy.  Just in time she realized 
              that that kiss had meant nothing to 
              him.  She held back tears that wanted 
              to flow and flow.

                            STARR
              Oh, nothing important.  Just that it 
              was a nice kiss, sort of...  

                            FORCE
              I ought to slap you silly.  Just to 
              bring you back to earth.  But you're 
              not worth it.  Not worth slapping, 
              not worth kissing, not worth 
              punishing, even.  Because nothing 
              gets through to that block of ice you 
              call your heart.  There's only one 
              thing for a man to say to you -- 
              good-bye.

                            STARR
              "Good-bye"?

                            NARRATOR
              The word, that word, seemed to echo 
              mutely in the air about her.
              Suddenly, inexplicably, she wanted to 
              reach out and clutch at his sleeve.  
              She wanted to hold him, to whisper: 
              "Oh, no!  Not good-bye, Force!"

GROUNDS

Rebel watches Force as he strides away.  A weird half-smile is 
on her lips; her eyes are aglow with heightened emotion.

                            REBEL
              Starr Starr Starr.  Aren't you a 
              lulu, my delicious little cousin.  
              A great start, but a lousy finish.

POOL AREA

Hands on her hips, Starr wanders about.  She kicks a beach ball. 

                            NARRATOR
              Her mind raced to put things in 
              perspective.  His kiss had claimed 
              her, but he didn't want her.  He 
              despised her.  Who could blame him?  
              That fiery kiss of hate that had 
              stirred her so violently had left him 
              unmoved.  Ooh, it was that kiss that 
              was so disconcerting.

Starr heads over to the shallow end of the pool.  At the edge 
she steps out of her sandals.  She lets the bathrobe slip from 
her shoulders.  There's just a blur as she dives into pool.

She's underwater the whole length.  When she surfaces, a MAN in 
his thirties, seemingly one of the guests, is squatting there 
by the edge.  Starr looks at him without surprise.  Friendly-
like, he says:

                            MAN
              Water becomes you.


(End of Scene)