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Straw. The final one. Camel’s back is broken.
I push up from Nicole, my head still reeling with the turn this night has taken. “You need to leave. Now.”
I’m all for role play but fuck me, this woman is on a whole other level of crazy. A level I’m nowhere near drunk enough to get onto.
“What do you mean, leave?” She sits up, her brows heavily furrowed in confusion.
I can barely look at her. Smeared lipstick, messed up hair…
“I mean you have to take your shit and get out of here,” I say, scooping up her underwear and tossing it over to her.
She snatches them out of the air and hugs them close to her chest. Crestfallen. “But- I thought-”
“I said get out.” I don’t mean to raise my voice but it happens.
Frustration with Zach and his fucked up comments about me losing my touch because of Cara. But with myself, mostly. Because of Cara.
I once fucked a woman who made sheep sounds the whole night, and I had to be the Border Collie rounding her up from pasture. I’m the guy who doesn’t let anything stand in the way of a good time.
My phone rings just as the elevator doors close on a sulking Nicole. I wait for the numbers to light up, signaling her descent, before I answer.
“Patrick. It’s late.”
My attorney doesn’t even sound fazed as he goes into his briefing. Everything’s in place for the official relaunch of the community theater.
I sigh heavily, trying to extract every last bit of Nicole’s essence from my lungs.
“And what about the thing I commissioned?” I ask, trying not to lick my lips. If I get any more of that stale pineapple-brandy combo I swear I’ll hurl.
Patrick assures me that everything is in place, including the commission. I end the call abruptly and rush off to shower, feeling like at least the night ended with a win. Even if it isn’t mine.
15
Cara
“Oh my God, can you believe it?” I’m so excited it’s hard to breathe.
I felt like I’d burst in the cab on my way to the theater, and the closer I got to finding Zoey in the wings of the auditorium, the more that feeling built up. Now it’s close to bubbling over.
Zoey looks at me with wide eyes. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have to be on set?”
“Late call,” I shake my head, grasping her by the shoulders. “We did it, Zo. We actually did it.”
She grabs me back and the two of us break into a silly happy dance, bopping in a circle, squealing like little girls. I don’t care what we might look like to anyone crossing through the backstage area, because this moment has been years in the making.
“Why do you seem a little surprised?” Zoey asks when we finally stop goofing around. “That was the deal with him, wasn’t it?”
I’ve been thinking about Edward all night, since that email dropped in my inbox. Not that my thoughts haven’t been totally consumed by him anyway, just this time it was different. I can’t explain it, but that’s how it feels.
“It was the deal,” I nod. “I get the part, he saves the theater.”
She gives me a sideways glance and pulls me aside. The kids have started to filter in, talking excitedly among themselves as they walk onto the stage.
Once Zoey’s sure we’re hidden behind one of the heavy rigs, she says, “Has anything else happened between you two?”
I swallow, instantly flashing back to the heated moment we shared in my trailer. I’m aware of how closely she’s studying my face but have total confidence in my acting when I shake my head.
“I told you, Zo, it was a one time thing.” My voice comes out a little choked but I’m hoping she chalks it up to all this excitement. “There’s nothing going on between Edward and me.”
