“Thanks.” She didn’t know what to do with the dress, her movements awkward and jerky, her limbs not fully back online yet.
“Here, let me.” Jasper set down the bag, took her dress from her, draping it over his shoulder and then let her tug her panties back on. He slipped the bra straps over her shoulders and then stepped behind her, gathering her hair to one side, and hooking the bra. He kissed her shoulder before slipping her dress on for her.
The move was so unbearably intimate that, for some reason, it made her want to cry. She took a deep breath and gathered herself before turning around.
“Thanks,” she said, her brain still whirling and her body still pulsing with aftershocks. “I can’t believe we just did that.”
He smiled, his face a little flushed. “Me neither. Apparently, our improv games are dangerous with or without alcohol.”
“We just had sex at work,” she said, still not believing it. “Improv must be an aphrodisiac.”
He lifted a brow. “Funny, this never happens with my group. Though, Church has looked pretty sexy at times.”
She laughed, thankful to see that he was still the same Jasper she’d gotten to know. Sex didn’t have to make this awkward. It didn’t have to make it heavy or serious. “I’m not sure how to do non-awkward after-sex talk.”
“Oh, no one knows how to do that,” he said, running a hand through his hair to get it back in some kind of order. “You don’t get into a rhythm with that until you’re with someone for a while. Embrace the awkward.”
Her cheek muscle jumped. “I’m a pro at awkward. Still don’t know what to say.”
“How about this? That”—he nodded toward the wall—“was a helluva lot of fun. I think we should continue to do that.”
“Agreed,” she said with a resolute nod.
“Excellent. See, look at us not being awkward. I… Oh fuck.” Jasper’s eyes went wide.
“What?”
He tipped his head back and closed his eyes with a fuck-my-life expression.
“What is it?” she asked again.
“Well,” he said, looking at her. “Dating lesson number two: Never let a dude tape you having sex because you will end up on the internet.”
Her lips parted and her attention swung to his phone. “Oh my God. It was recording?”
“I thought we were going to do an improv scene and then take a look at it,” he said, going over to his phone. “I didn’t think we’d… Obviously, I’ll delete it.”
“How much did it catch?” She stepped over to stare at the camera with him. He hit Stop and then dragged his finger to rewind to the beginning to see what the camera had captured. She leaned over to see.
“We should probably just delete it without watching,” he said resolutely.
“Probably,” she agreed.
But neither of them hit the delete button. The video ran. It started with the two of them talking about the improv scene. They were facing each other, fully under the lights. Hollyn watched with curiosity at first and then with avid interest. As the scene went on and off the rails, she watched their expressions changing. Her and Jasper’s gazes heating, their faces more serious. It was kind of hot. Like she was watching two other people. But that wasn’t what stood out to her. “I’m not ticcing.”
Jasper glanced at her. “What?”
She nodded at the video. “After the initial few seconds, my tics stopped. It means I was totally focused. The tics tend to get quiet when I’m concentrating on something else—or I guess in this case, someone else.”
Jasper looked back to the screen, a small smile touching his lips. “You’re right. You look super into me.”
She smacked his arm and he laughed.
The scene got to K, and they started to kiss. Both she and Jasper went quiet at the sight, each watching their past selves intently. Jasper had been so tender with her, his touch sweet and gentle. Her chest tightened with something unfamiliar, something out of bounds, and she tapped that ridiculous feeling down right quick. None of that. Feelings couldn’t get involved.
“We’re kind of hot,” she said, trying to distract herself from her errant thoughts.
Jasper nodded. “Right? We’re nailing this kiss.”
Their counterparts shifted on the screen, heading to the side wall. The camera had only caught a sliver of the action, but the sound was fully captured. Hollyn’s skin got hot all over again. “We should, uh, delete all of this right now.”
Jasper nodded resolutely. “Definitely.”
They kept watching.
A loud banging on the door startled them, and Jasper almost knocked the tripod over.
Panic zipped through Hollyn. “Uh, one second,” she called out, but she knew whoever was on the other side wouldn’t hear her from the soundproof room. She quickly ran her hands over her hair and made sure her dress was all back in place. “I’ll get it.”
Jasper stopped the video and went to the wall of equipment, putting his back to the door and pretending to be busy with something.
Hollyn took a breath and unlocked the door. When she opened it, she found Andi standing on the other side with a worried look. “Hey, oh, it’s you. Everything okay?”
Hollyn blinked. “Uh, yeah. Why?”
Andi frowned. “You’re fifteen minutes past the time slot, and I had to knock really hard. Plus, since when do you do videos?”
“I don’t. I mean, not yet. We were practicing. I’m sorry about being late. We were just finishing up. I guess we lost track of time.” Hollyn ran a hand over her hair.
“We?” Andi’s eyes narrowed, and she peered past Hollyn to where Jasper was. Her eyebrows went up. “Oh. Ha. Um, never mind.” She smiled at Hollyn. “I didn’t realize it was a…group project. Carry on. I can book a different time slot.”
“Andi, no, it’s fine, we were—”
But Andi was already striding away, wiggling her fingers in a backward goodbye. “Ta!”
Hollyn shut the door and leaned back against it, cringing. “She totally knows.”
Jasper turned around and grinned. “Doubtful. Either way, she seemed delighted to leave us to it. Good friend, that one.”
She put her hand over her face. “I had sex. At work. On video no less. Who am I? What is my life?”
“Did you enjoy it?” he asked, voice closer.
“Obviously. But not the point.”