Page 72 of Doing It for Love

“I know. I can hear your laughter on some of the takes.” He reaches up and tucks my hair into my beanie, lingering a little near the fabric, and my breath catches a tiny bit. Sweet damn, these butterflies. They feel like the new-relationship ones, but…somehow, better.

“I really thought when you said ‘zombie movie’ that it was a hard-core horror. And Jace’s wardrobe and the stuff you had in props…” I shiver, and he laughs.

“Maybe down the road…but if I’m going to make a name for myself, I want to start out with comedy.”

“Why?”

“I want…” he starts, then his eyebrows pull in as a set look of determination takes over. “I want to make people smile. I want to tell an epic story…withlaughter. I want to change the way people view the world. I want life to stop being so damn dramatic all the time. I want…what are you doing?”

I grin from behind my phone. “Recording this for your Oscar speech. Creating funny stuff looks like serious work.”

He pushes my hand away and attacks my neck with playful nibbles. I’m giggling so loud and laughing so hard I have to shove him away as soon as the train stops to race to the bathroom.

The light snow trickling down across New York City looks like a postcard. It’s freezing, though, so I tuck into Landon’s warmth and we cuddle-walk up the street toward Times Square.

“Oy, my feet,” I joke only about ten steps into our walk.

“I’m not carrying you.”

“But I workedsooohard today.”

“Not doing it. Every time you piggyback you pinch my nipples.”

“I won’t this time.”

“We’re going to invest in some fireproof pants for you.”

“You’re wearing this big-ass coat! There’s no way I’d even get a good hold.”

“Fine, hop on.”

I squeal in victory and lunge on Landon’s back, swinging my legs and tasting the snow dropping from the skies. I feel young and light, with not a care in the world.

And I pinch his nipples.

“Damn you, woman!”

He bounces me up and down, doing the running bull so my boobs knock into his back. We have to stop, though, when he hits a particularly icy patch of sidewalk and we fall to our asses. Then we rub out the bruises, walking like an elderly couple to a street stand of cheap hot chocolates, then to the tourist attraction that is Times Square.

Landon’s fingers are cold around mine, but he never lets go to put them in his pocket. Like new-relationship hand-holding.

“Do you want to direct on Broadway someday?” I ask, nodding to the ticket booths and the giant billboards of the shows.

“Nah…I’m set on getting my ass to LA.”

“Ah…where the sun still shines in the winter.” I sigh. “I can’t wait to go with you.”

“After school, right?”

I take a deep sip of the hot chocolate, keeping my eyes on the bright lights of the city. “Actually…I don’t think I’ll go back.”

He hesitates a moment. “Liz, we can take out another loan. You don’t have to keep putting it off because of the money.”

“It’s not that.”Or just that.I lean back, letting my head rest on his chest while his arms wrap from behind me. The heat from his hot-chocolate cup warms my hip. “I just…I think you’re right.”

“About what?”

“I’m a flake.”

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