Page 19 of Quiet
“Not Will, please.”
“You know he’s not that bad.”
“I know, but he’ll tease me about it forever.”
“I was already planning on doing that anyway, so you might as well let me enjoy the eye candy,” Will said helpfully. The darkness was gone, and in its place was his usual spark of cheerful irreverence.
Isa clutched the front of his shirt like someone was about to take it from him by force.
“When are you supposed to go again?”
Isa checked his phone. “In about an hour. Listen, I don’t think this is really necessary . . .”
Ryan frowned thoughtfully, ignoring Isa’s protest. “I’m going to be reviewing the next round of set designs with the director then. Will?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it.”
* * *
It was so much worse than Isa had imagined it was going to be.
“All right, we’re here, sweetie, now strip! Show me the goods.”
“Oh my god, Will. Alex is going to think you’re serious.”
“Who says I’m not? You’re a snack, Isa.” Will slung an arm around Isa’s shoulders and pulled him in close.
“Ryan should have also sent someone to protect me from you,” Isa muttered before saying louder, “Don’t mind my friend, Alex. He has brain damage.”
They’d arrived a few minutes early, and Alex was currently the only artist in the studio.
“It’s okay, Isa, I’ve seen far worse.” Alex stopped working on Isa’s pillow throne and came over to introduce himself. “I’m Alex.”
“I’m Will, your friendly neighborhood queer. I’m here to make sure you folks don’t take advantage of our precious little pumpkin here.”
Isa rolled his shoulders to try and shed Will’s arm, but it only prompted his friend to cling tighter. “No one is taking advantage of me, and I’m not anyone’s precious pumpkin.”
“The entire drama department begs to differ.” Will ruffled Isa’s hair and moved in to kiss him on the cheek.
Isa winced and closed his eyes. Will’s kisses always involved a lot of lip gloss, and it was a pain to clean off. But nothing happened.
He opened his eyes and saw a large hand in his face blocking Will. The hand pushed Will away while a second one pulled Isa in the opposite direction.
“Nice timing, Briar. Don’t damage the merchandise, Will. You’re going to get him all dirty.”
Briar looked at his hand in horror, now covered in bright red lip gloss. A full body shudder went through him, and he hurried to the sink to wash his hands. The intensity with which he scrubbed made Isa wonder if he had sensory issues with things touching his hands.
“Sorry, Briar, that’s going to be there for a while—Will’s makeup is always insanely durable. Thanks for taking one for the team, though.” Isa winked at Briar.
Briar looked like Isa had slapped him and seemed to forget all about washing his hands.
Holy cats, was he flirting? Oops.Dial it back, Isa. No flirting. Ever.
It couldn’t have bothered Briar too much, though. When Alex asked Isa to get dressed, Briar rubbed the side of his head and followed him to the dressing room.
When they got there, Briar handed Isa the same transparent material, but this time it came with a handful of clips from his pocket.
“Need help?” Briar signed.
