“The world would end.”
“Or my career would.” Carly glanced over at her. “You look so pretty today. I’ve thought that eight times since you got in the car, but I feel like I should say it.”
“Thank you. You’re okay, too, I guess.”
Carly gasped as she studied the road. “You’re hard to impress. I’ll have to do more with myself in the future.”
“I know. I mean, look at you.” She laughed and shook her head because Carly was beyond beautiful, and the entire world knew it. In fact, today she seemed like a new kind of attractive, the California girl kind. Something about the sun and the open air. The only thing missing was warmth as evidenced by her already frozen ears. Didn’t matter. Lauren got an uptick in energy just being near her.
“Did you sleep well?” Carly asked.
Just the mention had Lauren remembering the desperate state she woke in, and the very detailed dream of Carly doing decadent things to her in the rehearsal hall. “I did okay,” she said conservatively. “Wild dreams.”
“About me?” Carly joked.
Lauren’s mouth went dry. “Oh. Um, rehearsal.”
“Gotcha. One of those dreams where something goes wrong, or you don’t know your lines. The worst. I had them when we first started rehearsal, nearly every night.”
“No, it was…” She didn’t know why she’d even started the sentence, and now she didn’t know how to end it. “Different than that. I love this song.” She tried to move them off the topic by feigning intense interest in the radio. In fact, she turned up the volume and jammed out to it like an idiot.
Carly looked over at her curiously as she applied her turn signal. “Why are you being weird? Are you Mick Jagger all of a sudden? What kind of moves are those?”
“This is how I dance in the car.” Well, hell, she had to commit now. She tossed her arms around, threw them over her head, and pushed her lips out, trying to stay on beat, which, hello, was not easy for her.
“You’ve got duckface down. Wow. That’s impressive. Do it some more. Yes! Just like that, you sexy party animal.” Carly brought the car to a stop at a traffic light and relaxed. She turned to Lauren calmly. “So do you want to talk about this sex dream, or pretend you always flail around in the middle of the morning to music you don’t actually love?”
Lauren blinked and slowed her dance break. “Wasn’t a big deal. Have you tried that chicken place right there? It’s amazing. Get the extra green sauce. I want to say it’s tomatillo. Watch out for the slight kick, though.”
“Oh my God. You did have a sex dream, you little minx.”
Lauren’s jaw dropped. “You acted like you already knew. You didn’t know?”
“Of course I didn’t know. How could I know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Neither did I! I wondered, but then you fell completely for my trap, and it’s one of the most gratifying things that’s ever happened to me.” They pulled into The McAllister. “I’m crazy impressed with myself right now. I feel like I might be beaming.” She pulled off her sunglasses and checked herself out in the rearview mirror, dimples on full display. “I totally am.”
Lauren scoffed, doing her best to downplay. “Like I said, it wasn’t even that big a deal. We should just focus on our day. I finally have my act one lines down.”
“Not a big deal? Really?” Carly turned off the ignition and regarded her. “I thought we’d be, you know, good at it.”
God, cue the unasked-for blush once again. She felt the heat spread over her face. Lauren hated how suggestible she was in Carly’s presence. “I didn’t say we weren’t good at it.” She looked Carly square in the eye when she said it, having bundled her courage. It felt good.
Carly’s lips parted, and she blinked. Her tongue touched her top lip and Lauren felt it. “It was a good dream then,” she said quietly.
Lauren nodded.
The upbeat music still played from the car’s stereo, and for several long moments that remained the only sound. Finally, much to her own surprise, Lauren was the first one to speak. The spark between them was undeniable. She knew it. Carly seemed to know it. While they still worked together, it was in a different, less regimented capacity. What was Lauren waiting for? “Maybe we could have dinner sometime. Only if that’s something you’d be interested in. You can say no.” She felt like a vulnerable and awkward teenager, asking the cool girl out.
“You’re asking me on a date.” Carly said it more like a victorious statement than anything else. Lauren held off exhaling for a moment until they were through this part. “What about right now?”
“Right now? What? No, we have rehearsal.” She gestured to the theater.
“They can’t get too far without us. Let’s play hooky and go to breakfast. We can find a place with champagne and eggs Benedict.”
“You’re crazy.” Lauren laughed. “Absolutely not.” She pursed her lips. “What about tomorrow night?” She was on some sort of adrenaline high now, and it apparently supplied courage.
Carly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Lauren took in the smooth column of her neck. She had flawless skin, perfect for a cinematic close-up. Lauren wanted to run one finger down that neck, to her collarbone, down the center of her chest to the round—
“I’m free tomorrow night. You pick a place. I’ll drive.” Lauren gave her head a tiny shake to wake herself from the fantasy. Carly quirked an eyebrow and glanced down at her chest. She wore an open collared Henley, and yes, there was a hint of cleavage. “Please tell me you were checking me out.”
Lauren sipped her latte in a very obvious, playful manner. “Fine,” she confessed. “I was, a little.”
“Am I going to be objectified at work today?” Lauren exited the car with a smile, as Carly called after her. “Do I need to report you to my stage manager? Is there a union rep to call?”
“Maybe.” She shut the door to punctuate her point just as Carly’s laugh escaped. Lauren couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such an invigorating morning. She felt alive and ready for all that lay ahead.
As they walked from the parking lot to the theater, the sizzle between them was almost palpable. Lauren felt like she could reach out and touch it. Carly looked back at her with a sly smile. Yep. They were on the exact same page. She didn’t know what this was—a flirtation, a fling, or something legitimate. What she did know was her life sparked into color every time Carly Daniel was around, and she was really looking forward to the rest of their day together. Honestly? That’s all she needed to know.
“Lauren?” Carly said, pausing in front of the door to the rehearsal hall.
“Yes?”
“Just so you know, I plan to objectify you right back.”
* * *
Carly couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone out of her way to pursue a woman. She’d have to study a calendar, but it had definitely been before she’d become a recognizable name in entertainment. Generally, women wooed her. They chased her. They sent her gifts and made huge overtures to win her attention. Sometimes, she let them. Other times, she said thank you, but passed. Just part of the hookup game in Hollywood.