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I lift my widened eyes to hers. “No…I mean, not freaky… I just want to be with a guy who is committed, but also…kinda spicy?” I chew worriedly at my lip.
She raises an eyebrow. “So, it’s just the truth. No harm in that.”
I pout. “But I don’t want Kai to know…”
Leah laughs freely this time. “Well, he does now.”
“Ughhhh…” I moan, dropping my face to my pillow again.
Leah pats my back. “I’m sure it’s not nearly as bad as you remember it. What did he say?”
I lift my head again and shrug. “He didn’t say a whole lot. I think he was just trying to figure out what was wrong with me.”
Leah rolls her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with you. He was probably just trying to understand your feelings a bit better. It’s clear he’s got it bad for you.”
My eyes shoot up to hers. “What?”
Leah chuckles and sits back to watch me. “Have you seen the way he looks at you? He couldn’t take his eyes off you last night.”
I blink at her. “No, he likes Maureen.”
She snorts. “Not the way I saw it.”
“No,” I shake my head. “That doesn’t make any sense. We’re just friends. We agreed on that. And besides, why would he like me? He’s not looking for a relationship, and he knows I am. Why would he waste his time?”
Leah shrugs. “He can like you while also knowing it wouldn’t work out. It doesn’t mean he’s going to act on his feelings. I mean, you like him, but you know it would never work.”
I clench my fists. I thought we’d been over this. “I don’t like him.”
She laughs again and stands up. “You two are hilarious.”
“No, we’re not.” I cross my arms.
Leah heads out the door and I jump up to follow her, padding across the hallway in my bare feet. She enters her own apartment with me at her heels and turns on the coffee maker. She pulls two mugs from the cabinet, ignoring my defiance. “Oh, also, Nick is a complete pig. I can’t believe I kissed him. You’re welcome for that.”
I want to keep defending myself, but I sigh. “Yeah, he’s only gotten worse. Why’d you choose him, anyway?”
She shrugs. “Well, I certainly wasn’t going to kiss Kai. That’s your turf.”
I force out an exasperated breath. “I don’t care who he kisses.”
“Well, apparently he hasn’t kissed anyone since he kissed you last summer.”
I bite my cheek and lean against the counter. “I know, that was kinda surprising.”
“Not to me,” she replies simply, watching the coffee drip into the carafe.
I ignore her. “Well, in any case, I’ll be marking Nick off my list.”
Leah pours us both a cup and eyes me closely. “Yeah, I don’t trust him, Soph. I know he was mad-drunk last night, but…keep your distance.”
I nod. “He’s fairly harmless when he’s sober, but yeah, I agree. He doesn’t deserve any kind of attention.” I take a sip of the warm, comforting fuel. My thoughts don’t remain on Nick for long, though. All I can do is fret over the honest thoughts I shared with Kai and the vulnerable state I find myself in, now that he knows so much.
***
We have the weekend off since we’re coming up on our final week of rehearsals. After this, we have three months of constant performances. Leah and I spend Saturday and Sunday together. We go to the mall, we watch movies, and I do everything in my power to avoid thinking about what I told Kai. But Monday eventually comes, and I find myself on stage at the Belasco.
Nick is there too. He doesn’t seem to care one bit that he made a fool of himself at the party, or that he hurt anyone’s feelings. He just goes back to his job monitoring our accents, like nothing happened. I don’t even know why he’s still around. It’s not like our accents are going to change now.
