Page 50 of Stripping the Sub
The question of the year. But, ever since he’d volunteered to take on opening Marquis with Patrick, he hadn’t felt the same itch to audition. Hell, even before that, he hadn’t really been interested. The theater had lost a lot of its flair for him.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said finally. “I still love to act, but I’m tired of making a career out of it. I want to come home, to the same home, every day. I want to be able to make plans and see my friends in the evenings. I might do some community shows eventually like Angel, but right now I can’t see myself wanting even the time commitment. Theater has a way of sucking away my entire life, and now that I’ve had a break from it, I’m feeling more relief than anything else.”
******
Ellie was feeling relieved too and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
It was silly to feel a stab of anxiety when he hadn’t answered immediately about going back on tour. After all, they were just in a club relationship. Yeah, she wanted a real relationship eventually, if she could get there, but she so wasn’t ready to make such a big step. Heck, she should have been relieved at the idea of him going on tour and giving her some space, especially if things didn’t work out between them, but instead she was just relieved and happy he wasn’t planning on going anywhere.
At least Lexie had been right about just coming out here and getting this over with. She’d decided to stick with his clothes instead of her dress, because they were a lot more comfortable (and, okay, wearing clothes which smelled like him was definitely not the worst thing in the world). At first she’d felt incredibly awkward, now this felt so natural it was a little scary.
“Is the cheddar okay?” he asked, pointing his fork at her half-eaten eggs. “It was the only cheese I had.”
“Oh yeah,” she said, scooping up another forkful. “I love pretty much all cheese. It’s hard to go wrong with cheese.”
“Are there any you don’t like?”
“Mmm… when they put things in cheese to make it taste like something else. Like, fruit or dill or truffle. I don’t understand why people feel the need to ruin the cheese flavor.” She made a face. “Except bacon. Trader Joe’s has a bacon-cheddar cheese that’s really good. But bacon is pretty much the exception to every rule.”
Michael laughed, his eyes twinkling at her. “Okay, good to know.”
Lexie had been right, everything was easier once the conversation was started. She asked him about the posters in his room - she was right, they’d been shows he’d done and particularly loved, either because of the part, the cast, or the play itself. Laramie Projectwas his favorite show he’d ever done, and he’d played the part of the writer, Moises Kaufman, which she could absolutely see with his smooth voice and calming demeanor.
After all her panic about this morning, she was surprised to find she was a little disappointed when breakfast was over and it was time to go. But she needed to get home to Watson and, besides, she shouldn’t get used to this. She needed some time before trying this again. Her freakout when she’d first woken up had proven that.
“Do you mind if I wear your clothes home?” she asked, bringing her plate into the kitchen to set it in the sink while Michael started doing the dishes. “I can bring them to Stronghold tonight if you’re going to be there.”
“That’s fine,” he said, giving her a small smile. “I plan on being there, although I wasn’t planning on scening… we could do something light if you’re feeling up to it.”
One hand automatically drifted towards her sore ass as she thought it over. Sitting on his hard dining room chairs hadn’t done her any favors. Mostly, it had just made her kinda horny again. “Maybe. I’m going to need a little bit of time to recover before another hard scene, but I could maybe do a light scene tonight. If you stay away from my ass.”
Michael bopped her on the nose with a soapy finger. “I’m sure I can find plenty of other parts of you to torture, beautiful. Would you be interested in getting dinner beforehand?”
“Um, no… I can’t… I um, have stuff to do.” She winced at her stammer and the obvious lie, but Michael didn’t call her on it. He just kept his attention on the dishes, as if she hadn’t made the most idiotic excuse in the world.
“Okay,” he said easily, loading a plate into the dishwasher. She relaxed, although her hands stayed in front of her, twisting slightly, and she couldn’t help but wonder why he wasn’t calling her on it. Wasn’t threatening to spank her for such a blatant lie… had she wanted him to spank her? “As for the scene, we can see how we feel tonight when we get there. If you just want to hang out in the club, that’s fine too.”
She relaxed even more, her hands dropping to her sides, although she still felt a little awkward. Especially since she wasn’t sure what she wanted from him right now. Time to get out. Definitely time to get out. “Okay. Um… I’m going to go get my clothes and head out.”
“Alright,” he said, giving her another smile. It was an understanding smile, but somehow that was nearly as bad as pity right now. Ugh. Why did she have to be such a mess?
By the time she came back out with her purse and clothes, Michael had finished loading the dishwasher. He walked her out to her car and gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. For just a second, she thought about what it might be like if she went up on her toes and pulled him down for a kiss on the lips… a kiss like they’d had last night…
And then she regained her senses. That had been during a scene. Not real life. You’re not ready for a real relationship or intimacy, remember, crazy-girl?
But her lips still tingled as she saw him watching her drive away.
When she got home, Watson opened one eye, looked at her, and immediately went back to napping.
“Yeah, I missed you too,” she said with a sigh.
Dropping her purse on the stand next to the door, she headed back to her bedroom, thinking about the difference between her and Michael’s apartments. They were about the same size and had similar layouts, but they were two completely different living spaces. Her apartment was cluttered exactly, but it kind of seemed that way after being at Michael’s. She had pictures of her parents, her brother, and her nephew Austin up on some shelves, along with a few of her favorite books. Her entertainment center was filled with DVDs and little knickknacks she’d collected over the years, and she had a ton of paint and photograph prints up on her walls.
Not to mention the amount of Watson’s stuff which was spread around. His kitty tower, his kitty box, his kitty scratch post, and all the kitty toys strewn around the floor. Spoiled kitty.
Maybe she should get something for Michael for his apartment.
She made a face.
