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“Barometer for average.”
“Right.” Clara’s eyes shot down the hall. “There are a lot more people here than I expected.”
“Hey.” Naomi’s voice relaxed from granite to shale. “You can do this.”
The vote of confidence was surprising but nice. Clara smiled. “Thanks.”
“But if you can’t, I’d rather figure it out now.”
Her smile died. “That was less reassuring.”
Naomi shrugged and walked away.
“Um . . . I think your bottle might be full,” a man’s voice said from behind Clara.
She turned to find a handsome stranger gesturing at her overflowing water bottle. He had a similar jawline to Josh’s, actually, though this man’s wasn’t quite as strong and lacked the golden stubble that Clara had come to appreciate on her roommate.
“Sorry.” She stepped out of his way.
“No trouble.” The man flashed a set of very white and very straight teeth at her. “You here for the auditions?”
“No. I mean, yes.” Clara pulled down the sleeves of her favorite blazer. “I’m part of the casting team. I’m not, like, a performer.”
“That makes sense. I’d remember a girl like you.” He extended his tan hand. “I’m Matt. Masterson. I know Josh and Naomi from filming Infinity Orgasm.”
“Oh.” She laughed nervously. “Gotcha.”
“Have you seen it?”
“No.” She took a careful step backward. “No, I’m afraid I’m a bit of a pornography novice.”
“Well, if you ever want any recommendations or . . .” He leaned toward her until she could smell the spearmint of his breath. “. . . a practical demonstration, I’d be happy to help you out.” He flashed his giant, shiny teeth at her again. This guy must floss like ten times a day.
Clara tried not to stutter. “That’s a very generous offer, Matt.”
“Put it away, Masterson.”
She hadn’t heard Josh come up behind her. “Oh. Hi.”
“Just being friendly, Darling.” Matt wasn’t as tall as Josh. He had to tilt his head slightly to look him in the eye.
“Direct your friendliness elsewhere. We’re running behind schedule.” Josh let his hand rest lightly on Clara’s back, a few inches below where her shoulder blades ended, and gently steered her toward the conference room. “We need to get going.” He used a much lighter tone with her than he had with Matt.
Clara leaned in to whisper to him as they walked. “What do you think of that guy? Should we cast him? He certainly seemed . . . hygienic.” The spicy scent of Josh’s soap washed over her and she inhaled superfluously.
Josh pulled out her chair and then his own. “I guess women like him,” he said in clipped syllables.
Clara stared down at her notebook. At the checklist she’d made last night in an effort to come up with an objective ranking system for potential performers. “You don’t think he was flirting with me, do you?”
“Of course he was flirting with you.” Josh had the tip of his pen in his mouth, leaving a faint impression of his teeth on the plastic.
Clara found herself smiling at her notebook. “Really? I think I might have liked it.” It was hard to tell. She didn’t have much practice receiving male attention.
“Matt’s not the guy for you, trust me.”
“Why not?”
“Because you should be with a doctor or a firefighter . . .” Josh sighed. “. . . or at the very least a kindergarten teacher.”
