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She told herself to peel her eyes away from the mystery man in the front row, but even as she turned her attention to the students and continued her introduction, she found herself studying him from her peripherals, constantly aware of the feel of his gaze on her.
There may as well be a spotlight on him or cheesy music playing,she thought as she fumbled over her acting history and how she got started, because goodness, I’ve never, ever felt something like this.
And it was true. Even when she’d met the guy she would like to leave nameless but who others referred to as Seth, this—whatever it was—hadn’t happened. Sure, she’d thought Seth was cute when she’d seen him at the coffee shop back home. She’d thought he was sweet and charismatic and funny and all of those other misconceptions she’d experienced in what felt like a lifetime ago. Her gaze had perused him, thinking about all sorts of adjectives to describe the muscular guy who stole her heart so many years ago.
But this hadn’t happened. This earth-shattering, stop-you-in-the-moment kind of thing hadn’t happened. This odd sensation that whoever this guy was, he was going to be something to Rachel—and something more than a chaperone on a fieldtrip for a workshop she was almost late to.
There was something in her chest that told her this was going to be a moment to remember.
Rachel didn’t know how to explain it. Was she just feeling lonely? Maybe it was all the extra caffeine creating nervous energy in her blood. Or maybe she was just losing her mind for real. Perhaps she’d been performing in a sappy, semi-romantic play for far too long and the Broadway songs about love had gone too far.
Whatever it was, all Rachel knew was she wasn’t liking it—and she knew her friends wouldn’t like it either. Today was about her career, as it always was. This was no time to slip, to let some blue-eyed hunk pull her attention away from what mattered. She’d been down that road before, and she’d never do it again. She couldn’t afford to do it again at this stage of her life. She had tunnel vision when it came to her career these days. Her focus was a laser beam, and there was no stopping it. She was going to chase her goals and climb the stage ladder, no matter the cost.
There would be no fluttering feelings, heart palpitations, or swoon-worthy moments to distract her. She was adamant that she would chase this dream alone, no manly hands pulling her toward another sunset.
“So, why don’t we start with a tour of the stage? What do you say? Do you all want to see how some of the techniques are done?” she asked, getting out of her head about the gorgeous guy who was still threatening to distract her from the task at hand.
The students erupted in cheers, and a girl stood to give Rachel a high-five. The female teachers and assistants seemed happy to see the kids happy. It was all going well, gorgeous guy in the audience or not.
Rachel led them toward the stage area, the students still bubbling with excitement.
“Mr. Riley, she’s pretty, isn’t she?” Rachel heard one of the male students say.
Rachel tried not to listen to what Mr. Riley—the blue-eyed hunk now had a name—would say. She heard him say something noncommittal, and Rachel wasn’t sure if that was what she wanted to hear or not.
“Right this way, everyone,” she chipperly added, ushering them to the stage. “Now, what do you want to talk about first?”
And that was when the sweet girl who had high-fived Rachel sealed her fate without even knowing it. That was when everything took a huge turn, not just in the workshop but in what was to come.
Because it was when the student said, “The balcony! Show us some lines from the balcony!” that Rachel’s life would never, ever quite be the same.
