Page 25 of Quiet
Will crouched down until they were face to face. “Nor should you. If someone said that to Isa in front of me, they’d be missing teeth.”
Briar narrowed his eyes, not entirely certain how he felt about Will or his antics.
Isa came up beside Will and plopped down beside his friend, letting his legs dangle off the edge of the stage. “Are you okay? I’m sorry about Will, he’s insane.”
Insanely protective—all of them were. Briar took in the way Ryan and the rest of the crew were looking at him appraisingly. Everyone here looked like they were in the process of deciding whether to throw Briar out the door or to invite him onto the stage.
Briar signed, “Okay.” The intense scrutiny of strangers had chased his words far away.
“Do you want me to come back to the studio now?”
Briar shook his head and signed, “Tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there then.” Isa gave him a brilliant smile and reached out but seemed to think better at the last second. He let his hand drop before touching Briar’s arm.
Briar . . . didn’t like that.
He rubbed the side of his head. Were his parents right? Did Briar want to date Isa?
Throughout his life, he’d seen people fall in love, pair off, and do dating things. But Briar had never been interested. He’d always had a project he was soul deep in. One time, his brother tried to set him up with someone, but Briar had gotten so immersed in the museum piece he’d been working on, he’d forgotten about it. He only remembered when he discovered a lot of angry messages on his phone—three days after the date was supposed to happen. Cedar never tried to set him up again.
He stepped closer to Isa, pulled on a lock of his long hair, and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, this?” Isa laughed like he’d forgotten about the wig. “I’m filling in for Benedick today because Sara isn’t feeling well. The hair helps me get in character. What do you think?” Isa flipped the hair over his shoulder and smiled coquettishly.
“Pretty,” Briar signed.
“Don’t mind me, you two. I’ll just be over here, feeling incredibly lonely,” Will said with an exaggerated pout.
“He said I’m pretty.”
“Of course he did, he’s got eyes.” Will pulled Isa close to his face like he was examining the boy’s pretty features, gave Briar a quick look, and let him go quickly. “But you’re not my type, sweetie. We’ve got too much in common, if you know what I mean.”
“I don’t want to know what you mean, Will. I never want to know. Just keep it to yourself, please.” Isa was pink and flustered and lovely. “I’m going back to rehearse.” He stood and was about to go when he stopped and asked Briar shyly, “Do you want to watch?”
Briar put a hand on the stage and vaulted onto it, landing in a crouch. When he stood, he motioned for Isa to lead the way.
Behind him he heard Will whisper, “Choke me, daddy, indeed.”
Briar followed Isa over to the group of women who had been giving him the stink eye earlier. Now they welcomed him with open arms. Apparently, Will’s approval held more weight than he’d realized. Even Ryan had gone back to what he was doing before Briar had interrupted.
Briar watched—and sketched—while Isa went over the next scene with the cast. It was the one where Benedick got tricked by his friends into thinking Beatrice is in love with him.
He drew the mechanical bush from memory as Isa acted like a fool while trying to hide behind the absent prop. Somehow the bush didn’t seem as stupid now.
When the scene was over and they moved on to a scene Isa wasn’t in, Isa dropped down beside Briar and took off his wig. Beads of sweat glistened at his temples and Briar found himself wiping it with his sleeve.
“Oh!” Isa startled but held still and allowed Briar to dry his forehead. “Thanks. It gets hot under the lights.” Isa leaned over to look at Briar’s notebook. “Is that me? It looks so good! Our director would push you down and steal your notebook if she saw these. They’d be perfect for promotional material.”
Briar pulled the notebook away and cradled it protectively. Like hell he was sharing.
“Don’t look at me like that, no one’s going to take your sketchbook. I promise to protect you if they try.” Isa nudged him playfully and gave a Boy Scout salute.
Briar huffed. Isa looked like he could get knocked over by an enthusiastic puppy.
“Hey, I’m stronger than I seem, mister.” Isa rolled up his sleeve and showed off a slim bicep. Briar wanted to draw it.
No. He wanted to interact with it closer than that.
