Despite my previous resolve to stay in darkness, I flip on the lights and drop to my knees in front of her. "What are you wearing? How does this thing work?"
"It's a leotard. For the audition."
The audition—her walking in the room and belting out that song—feels like a lifetime ago. "Did you think you were auditioning forA Chorus Lineor something?"
"I didn't know if I'd have to dance first. If that was the case, I'd never have made it to the singing round." She puts a finger under my chin and gently guides me to a standing position. "And I didn't know what to expect. Angie's a dancer, so I raided her closet."
"We do dancing at the callbacks. Depending on the part, we can work around a weaker dancer. We can't for the singers."
Her hand drops from my chin to the straps on her shoulders. She pushes them down, revealing a lacy black bra. "I'd think you'd know your way around a leotard."
Nice.
I bend over and kiss her shoulder, right next to her bra strap. "I told you, I don't mix business with pleasure. Plus, starlets aren't my type." I continue kissing up her neck and behind her ear. Tabitha goes rigid.
"I'm a starlet."
I pull back, looking at her. Her lips are swollen and full, absolutely delectable. The rest of her face, however, is pissed off. "Right. But that's not how I know you. You're not climbing up the ladder of success."
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could grab them back and stuff them deep down in a pit and set them on fire so I never say anything so stupid again. Natch, I follow those words up with this gem: "I mean, you're not like a young ingenue just starting out."
For the record, telling the woman you're trying to seduce that she's old is never a smooth move, especially when you've already said she's no longer successful. I've got to make this better. Now.
"Tabitha, I'm saying this poorly. You obviously are quite successful. The most successful person I know, in fact. And you're not old. You're just not starting out right now either."
With her hands on my shoulders, she shoves me back slightly. "But I am starting over, so this is not what I need to hear."
I look at my feet. I don't know how I've bungled this so bloody quickly. "I know, and I'm sorry. I just don't want you to think that I'm some predator looking to seduce every young, nimble dancer who waltzes past. It's not how I work. In fact, quite the opposite. If I'm involved at all with someone, that automatically excludes them from being in my cast. It's a hard no for me. I'm not that kind of director."
Tabitha tilts her head, considering my words. "I wish the entertainment industry had more people like you in it. There'd be a whole lot less of the 'me too' movement going on. For sure."
My mind again flits back to Gloria and her trials with that nob, A.J. Michaels. She was disabled for over ten years while his career went on. I wonder how many more Glorias there are in his past. "There will be none of that here. If you're here, it's because you want to be, not because of what you can do for me. Or even what I can do for you."
Tabitha nods. "I think that's a good rule to have." She steps back again and looks down. Her leotard is hanging down, her leggings keeping it in place. "I haven't always had those clean lines. Maybe I should."
The anticipation of what she's going to do next is killing me. I'd understand if she pulls her top up and hightails it out of here. It's the last thing I want, though.
She looks at me for one more beat before bending forward. In one swift move, the leotard and leggings are down, and she's stepping out of them, standing before me in just her bra and panties.
Thank you, Jesus.
Chapter 19: Tabitha
That was worth the wait.
Henderson's been holding out, not only on me, but on the whole female species by not dating—or whatever this is—more. I've got three full days to relish in his skill set, and I plan to enjoy every single moment.
I roll over onto my stomach and prop up on my elbows. The sheet slides down over my bare back, but it's a little too late for modesty. Certainly not after the night we had.
"What's on the agenda for today, other than more of this?" I nudge him slightly with my elbow.
He rakes his hand over his face. "As much as I'd like to not leave this apartment until you have to pick up your tyke, I'm afraid I've another long work day ahead of me. Gray and I have to make decisions on who we want for call backs. Then I've got to contact them and set up their dance auditions. Gray heads back upstate this afternoon, so I'm on a bit of a time crunch."
Crap.
"I'd invite you along with me again today, but I don't want to bore you to death. It's a lot of talking and arguing, and there's not even singing to entertain us." He rolls over to face me. "Maybe if we can power through—and by power through I mean I just let Grayson do what he wants and not argue every point—I can probably be free by late afternoon. Can we grab a bite?"
It sounds fair. "I don't want you to compromise your artistic vision, though. Not for me."
