She watched Trip wince at the reference.
Ethan noticed, too, and pointed at Trip. “What did you think? You were here.”
Trip hesitated and passed Lauren a look, as if to ask for permission to speak honestly. She nodded at him, granting it. “I loved everything about the run today. They had fun together, but there was still this ball of sexual tension that kept me engaged. It’s the first time I’ve been sucked in by the story since we started.”
Ethan snapped his fingers and pointed at Trip. “Thank you. That’s what I’m talking about, too.”
“Ethan, I’d be happy to keep running lines with Carly.”
“Can we do some right now?” He looked at his watch. “I know we’re off the clock and rehearsal is officially over, but if you’ll show me the final scene of act one, I can know more.” He ran his hand over his scruff as he waited for her answer.
Technically, according to Equity rules, rehearsal was over, and asking Carly to work longer went against good standards and practices. She couldn’t do it. Lauren opened her mouth to advocate for Carly, when Carly herself turned from across the room. She’d been engrossed in her phone and had seemed to be out of earshot. Apparently, that had not been the case.
“I’m happy to run the scene, Lauren.”
Lauren stared at her, and then back at Ethan, running out of options. “The last scene?” she asked.
“If you don’t mind, that is. I don’t want to put you on the spot if you’re uncomfortable in any way,” Ethan said, more gently.
It was a big scene, the happily-ever-after fake out that got ripped away from the audience after intermission. There was a kiss in that scene, a pretty serious one. She closed her eyes and did her utmost to appear unaffected. She was a professional, and she could do this. It was for the good of the show. “I don’t mind,” she said, retrieving her script.
She joined Carly onstage.
“You good?” Carly asked and gave her hand a squeeze. That did it. The nervous energy, the self-doubt, the overthinking all seemed to slide away with that one moment of contact.
“I’m great. Shall we?”
Carly nodded.
“So, we’re doing this?” Lauren asked, as Mandy. She went for timid, excited, and fully in love.
Carly stepped into her space, hands at her side, confidence on full display. “Do you know what you’d be getting into? I let teakettles whistle too long on the stove. I scream when spiders show up.” Her proximity alone sent a series of tingles across Lauren’s skin. She didn’t try to move herself out of it, however. She put it into what the character would feel. “I know I’m not the easiest person to love. I’m pretty sure I just lost my job, and my cat moved out. I’ll probably be homeless myself in a matter of—”
“Ashley?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re talking a lot.”
Carly grinned and cradled Lauren’s face with one hand. “Should I stop now?”
“You should definitely stop,” Lauren said. “I have a lot of things to figure out, but one of them is definitely not you. You’re staying.”
Just as the script dictated, Carly brought her lips to Lauren’s and kissed her with determination, and tenderness, and love. Lauren’s entire body went instantly warm, and she had to steady herself or her knees would give out. What was abundantly clear was that they kissed really well together, the perfect amount of give and take. Lauren’s limbs felt like Jell-O when she pulled her lips from Carly’s. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled. Just another day at work, right? She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t for the life of her remember her next line. That’s because she was supposed to be reading from the script. “Oh, um, one moment,” she said, flipping the page, her cheeks on fire with embarrassment.
Before the scene could continue, Ethan’s voice cut them off. “I think we can stop there. I’m going to chat with Wilks about the future of the production. I want to thank you both for such a committed rehearsal.” Ethan didn’t dwell or stick around for chitchat. He left notes for Trip about the breakdown for the following day and was out of there.
“You did great,” Carly said quietly in Lauren’s ear. She kissed her cheek quickly and gave her some space. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Lauren nodded, still in a haze of what the hell was happening. She turned to Trip, who sat behind the table, arms folded with a big old grin on his face.
“Little Lala,” he said. “Who knew?”
She stalked back to the table, disconcerted, excited, and turned the hell on.
Chapter Six
Lauren sat in one of her favorite spots in all of The McAllister, the long hallway off the grand lobby. At the end stood Wilks’s office, but along the way were framed photographs of some of the most noteworthy shows put on by the theater. The faces of Broadway legends dotted the walls, just a sampling of the many great actors who’d performed at The McAllister, the theater Lauren now inhabited on a daily basis. She carried such reverence for the place and sometimes had to pinch herself to remember that she acCtually worked here. Oh, and down the hallway a little way, they’d even added a framed shot of one of their most recent shows. Yep, that was Gyllenhaal she saw in a serious moment from a new play that had been very well received.
“Ready for you, Lauren,” Wilks said, opening the door. He did a little ballerina twirl as she passed in attempt to lighten the mood.
She chucked. “Nice one.”
“I’ll spare you my twerk.”
“And now I’m sad.”
It wasn’t very often that they met in his office. Their working relationship had always been more informal, with him crashing her space as they quickly hashed out daily details like scheduling, budget, or interpersonal matters. The more official meeting in his rarely visited office intimidated Lauren, which was downright ridiculous. This was Wilks! Her Wilks. That reminder didn’t calm her churning stomach, though the twirl had helped.
Once inside, Lauren took a seat. As he walked around to his side of the desk, she nervously grabbed the Rubik’s Cube in front of her. “Mastered this one yet?” she asked. He grabbed the cube, worked the whole thing in under a minute, and tossed it back to her. She whistled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“What do you think I do all day in here?”
Just another testament to Wilks’s ability to deliver. She sat up straighter, because this felt like she’d been called to the principal’s office.
“Well, here’s the crazy thing.” He sat back in his fancy leather chair. “Ethan wants to make a change in his cast.”
“Okay. What kind of change?” It wasn’t a real question. She already knew where this was headed. Hell, it had kept her up all night. What Ethan was angling for was unprecedented. Fear struck first and it landed hard. She was an imposter. For some reason, they seemed to think she was this amazing actress, when in all honesty, she wasn’t. She hadn’t booked a decent job in all the years she tried. Then, the fear danced away and swapped places with a twinge of excitement that twisted, turned, and vibrated pleasantly. She ordered the dueling emotions to stand the hell down, and take twenty. Given it was her job to remain calm at all times, she luckily had the ability to mask the cascade of emotions in front of Wilks. Yep, that was her, completely not in control.