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It was true. Since the billboard had gone up, I’d been stopped in the street twice and asked for my autograph. It was kind of fun being recognized, but the second person had mentioned she specifically remembered me because “That kiss was so hot.”
Her words had surprised me. “You noticed the kiss?”
She’d exchanged an incredulous glance with her friend before saying, “Uh, yeah. Everyone talks about that kiss. Your chemistry with that guy was like… holy hotcakes.”
Her words had stayed with me. She wasn’t wrong. Our chemistry onstage was off the charts. It was our relationship offstage that was hopeless.
“He goes out with you guys?” I asked.
Letty sighed. “Just ask him out. It’s not like you haven’t rounded first base already. Everyone has bets on when you two are finally going to do it.”
My stomach dropped. “What the fuck?”
She flapped her hand dismissively. “You know how it is in theater. Everyone’s all up in everyone else’s shit. Somebody’s gotta be talking about somebody.”
“Is he talking about it?” I asked in a low whisper. “Jem?”
She pursed her lips again and shook her head. “Naw. That boy has some kind of issue with you. Don’t know what that’s all about, but he shoots you murder eyeballs. Goes to great pains to act like he don’t care about you one bit.”
I hated hearing confirmation of what I thought, but before I could say something dismissive, she continued.
“But, honey, when you’re not looking? Mm-hm. That boy shoots you a different kind of eyeball, you feel me?”
“No. I don’t feel you. What do you mean?”
“I think he wants a piece of this,” she said, waving an open palm around my face and body. “All of this.”
If only. I gave her a half-smile and stayed as still as I could until she was done. Thankfully, I’d come in early today so she could get to me first. It meant Jem wouldn’t be here for a little while longer, long enough for me to escape into one of the hidden nooks backstage where I put my earbuds in and went through some guided meditation.
When the curtain went up, Jem was there ready to go. He looked dapper, as usual, and his energy was as high as ever onstage. It was one of the things I appreciated about him. Despite not having any formal training, the man was as disciplined as if he’d had the strictest teachers in the industry. He gave the audience everything he had during each show and never seemed like he was phoning in his performance. It made me want to do better and constantly improve. It was one of the reasons I’d started ad-libbing our nightly kiss in the first place.
But now I just did it because it was fun.
As soon as it was time to kiss him, I reached behind his back and pulled him in close before grabbing the side of his face with my other hand and dipping my head down to drop a trail of tiny kisses from his collar up the side of his neck. I could have sworn I felt a little groan escape his throat, but maybe it was wishful thinking.
The crowd always laughed and hooted during that scene. The six mobsters turned from evil criminals into pussycats in various over-the-top ways. One guy pulled a baby doll out from a hidden basket and pretended to feed it. Another one produced a tall ice cream sundae and leaned across the table to share the pair of straws with another mobster like they were on a date at a 1950s soda fountain. And another pulled out an iPhone and began idly scrolling social media. The audience loved it, especially when the woman in the role of Alfred’s wife put her hands on her hips and looked confused.
But tonight, the crowd’s roar of laughter seemed louder and went on for longer.
The following matinee brought the same sustained response. And then again that night. By Sunday afternoon’s show, the cast and crew were trying to figure out what was going on until one of the director’s assistants finally got the scoop.
She brought a popular news site up on her tablet and showed the headline to us.
Kissing Couple Steals the Show!
In the body of the article, there were details about how the kiss changed every night. The writer had interviewed several audience members after the show who admitted to coming back again and again just to see how the kiss changed each time.
“Repeat business for the win,” one of the lighting guys muttered, nudging me in the shoulder. “Am I right?”
I glanced up to see if Jem was around, but I didn’t see him. What would he think when he realized our kisses were causing such a reaction in the audience?
“Places, everyone!” the stage manager called.
The lead actor winked at me. “Go out there and work your magic.”
