Page 74 of No Interest in Love

The paper on the front door says auditions are being held two floors up, but it says they start on Monday. Shay walks past it without a care.

The building doesn’t look like anything special. I’m not sure if they just rented out some conference rooms or what, but the bottom floor is pretty much empty…just a long, narrow hallway that leads to an elevator.

The whole ride up, I recite my lines under my breath. Shay tries to hide her grin from me, but I catch it.

“Wow,” Shay says, shoulders relaxing as we step out into the foyer. It looks a bit better up here. Large couch, coffee table with a bowlful of complimentary chocolate mints and a bunch of pens, and a guy on the phone behind a cherrywood desk. Shay grabs a handful of mints and tears one open with a sigh.

“We made it.”

“I’d ask for some confidence-building words, but I doubt I’d get them from you,” I joke, fixing my shirt and cracking my neck from side to side. The guy’s eyes widen as he sees who I am, and he gestures for us to go on into the room on his left. Shay nods and turns to me.

“Why?” she whispers, dusting off my black T-shirt. “Because my vocabulary isn’t encouraging?”

“I think last time you said not to moon the director.”

“I felt like you could use the warning.”

“I think mooning Carletta might get me the job.”

“Will you just get in there?” she says with a laugh, jamming a pen into her ponytail. I take a step toward her without thinking about it, and she sets her hands on my shoulders to push me back the other way.

I ignore it. I fight it. The screenwriter of the universe is probably damn tired of our fighting. Shay’s warm eyes flick up to mine, and the pale skin on her cheeks turns a fresh pink color. It has my palms sweaty, my heart pumping fast, and my lips turning upward as I take yet another step toward her.

“I take it back.”

“What?”

“I want to hear something encouraging.”

She rolls her eyes. “Just get your ass in there.”

“Just my ass?” I pretend to grab for my pants, and she slaps her hands over my wrists. I’m grinning like a damn fool at her, knowing that Miss Sure Thing is on the other side of the door and not giving a single shit that we spent all week to get here and I’m stalling just to spend a little bit more time with Miss Unlikely.

She sighs, moving her hands up to my shoulders. She has to stand on her very tiptoes to give me that familiar commanding look. It’s not annoying like it used to be. Not even really amusing either. It’s sexy as hell.

“Go in there and kill this screen test. Get the part. Kiss the lead and have your fling with a gorgeous actress, and I’ll find the next big part for you.” She flattens her lips together and rubs them, and it kills me to not make the move I promised her I wouldn’t. “Pretty soon you won’t even need me.”

I step forward once more, and her hands, which have a firm grip on my shoulders, slide around my neck. My heart’s pounding clean out of my chest when I wrap my arms around her tiny waist and pull her into what is meant to be a friendly hug, but a burst of static electricity shoots through my body, making this the most intimate hug I’ve ever given to anyone.

“Yeah, I don’t want to get to the point when I don’t need you.” And I mean every word that has tumbled off my tongue. Like they weren’t on the script but they are now. I’m forging them in, burning them into the paper, never to be erased.

Shay’s arms twitch around my neck, and her breath sends shock waves of goose bumps up and down my skin. “Can I get that in writing?” she jokes.

“Pretty sure that’s called a contract. And we already have one of those.”

She chuckles, slowly loosening her hold on me. Her face is a little red, almond-shaped eyes a little glassy, but she’s smiling.

“Did I fill my quota of encouraging thoughts for the pep talk? Think you can go in there now?”

“One more thing.”

“What?”

“What happened in that gas station bathroom?”

She pushes my arm, and I grin, tempted to lean in and do the very wrong thing by kissing her cheek. Instead I crack my neck one more time, take a deep breath, and head inside to kick this screen test’s ass. And not for me. But for her.

4:23P.M.

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