5
Sophie was wasting her time. Worse, she was wasting time she didn’t have. Between rehearsals for It’s in Her Kiss and finishing up her last few shifts at the diner, she had her hands more than full. And here she sat next to a bubbly blonde named Kim, who’d spent the last fifteen minutes telling Sophie about her cat.
Jules had cats. That was the random thought circling Sophie’s brain. If she was going to listen to a beautiful woman talk about her cat, she’d rather hear about Pippin and Phantom. Theater names. It made Sophie smile. And obviously, her plan to date until she’d gotten over her silly crush on Jules wasn’t working.
“Doesn’t she have the most beautiful eyes?” Kim asked, holding up her phone to show Sophie a photo of a gray-striped cat with amber eyes.
“Yes,” she answered honestly. The cat’s eyes were striking. Unfortunately, she couldn’t care less about Kim or her cat.
“Do you have any pets?” Kim asked.
“No,” Sophie told her.
“Do you at least like cats?” Kim pressed, as if this was a deal breaker for her, and Sophie almost lied and said no, just to let them both off the hook, but lying had never really been her style.
“I do, and I’d love to have one someday.” She finished her beer and set enough money on the bar to cover both of their drinks. “I’m sorry to duck out so soon, but I have to be at work early tomorrow.”
“Oh, I totally understand.” Kim stood, offering her a shy smile. “I need to get home to Twinkle anyway. Can I call you?”
“I think maybe not,” Sophie told her apologetically. “My schedule’s really crazy right now, and I’m just realizing it was foolish of me to think I’d have time to date.”
“Right. Gotcha.” Kim’s eyes fell, as she no doubt heard the rejection in Sophie’s words. “Well, thanks for the drink. I had a great time tonight. Good luck with your new play.”
“Thank you.” Sophie dawdled with her coat as Kim headed for the door, so they wouldn’t end up awkwardly walking to the subway together. Sophie gave her a five-minute head start, then buttoned her coat, wound her scarf around her neck, and set out.
She rode the 2 train to Brooklyn and walked the last few blocks to her apartment. Luckily, Nathan and Anthony were already in their bedroom watching TV when she got home. She called a quick hello from the living room as she rummaged through the armoire containing her belongings.
“How was your hot date?” Anthony asked.
“She talked about her cat the whole time.”
“Well, at least you know she likes pussy,” Nathan joked, causing Anthony to cackle with laughter.
“Ha-ha,” Sophie said, fighting a smile as she carried her pajamas into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
“Hey, one of the dancers at work is going through Tinder hell right now too,” Nathan said when she came out of the bathroom. “I think you two might hit it off. I could get her number for you if you want?”
“Thanks, but I think I’m going to put dating on the back burner right now so I can focus on the show.”
They said goodnight, and she started removing cushions from the couch, her nightly ritual. As she unfolded the sofa bed, she realized how tired she was of living this way. Her roommates were great, but they probably didn’t love having her on their couch every night any more than she enjoyed sleeping here. Like it or not, though, they all needed each other’s help to afford this place.
For now, at least.
Sophie climbed into bed to read on her phone until she fell asleep. First, she checked tomorrow’s rehearsal schedule, annoyed with herself for the little flutter she felt when she saw that both she and Jules would be there all day. Dammit, how was she going to get over this crush?
The next morning, she got up and remade the couch, packing away her things in the armoire in the corner. She took a quick shower and had the coffee pot running when the guys came out of their bedroom.
“Morning,” she called as she started tossing things into her bag for the day. Water, snacks, a protein bar that would have to serve as lunch.
“Morning, dearest,” Anthony called as he sauntered into the room, script in hand, already humming under his breath as he prepared for today’s audition. Ah, living with actors. It was a special kind of crazy, and she really did love it. They maneuvered around each other like a carefully choreographed dance as they all got ready for their day.
Sophie filled her travel mug with coffee and headed out, earbuds in, eager for the “peace and quiet” of her walk to the theater. Sometimes, it was the quietest part of her day. This morning, the sky was heavy with impending rain, cold and damp. She shivered, wishing she’d brought a scarf to keep her neck warm.
After a brisk thirty-minute walk, she let herself in through the back door of the theater, heading downstairs to her dressing room to drop off her stuff. Her gaze automatically fell on Jules’s dressing room as she passed, but either she wasn’t here yet, or she’d closed her door, which wasn’t her usual style.
Sophie set down her bag and slipped out of her coat, taking a moment to fix her hair in front of the mirror. Tabitha came in, and they chatted for a few minutes as they got ready together, stretching and warming up their muscles for another day of dance rehearsals.
When Sophie headed back down the hall, Jules’s door was open. She was inside her dressing room, wearing yoga pants and a figure-hugging blue top, bent in a forward fold as she stretched, giving Sophie a spectacular view of her ample cleavage. “Morning,” she called, dropping her gaze to Jules’s shoes, which seemed the only safe place to look.
“Good morning.” Jules straightened, cheeks flushed, hair piled in a messy knot on top of her head. She grabbed her water bottle and stepped into the hall with Sophie and Tabitha.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those naturally peppy people who doesn’t drink coffee,” Sophie said, giving the water bottle a skeptical look.
“God, no. I drink mine at home before I leave,” Jules said. “And Cuban coffee is basically a sweetened shot of espresso, so yeah, I’m caffeinated.”
“That sounds amazing, actually,” Sophie said, feeling suddenly less excited about her boring vanilla roast.
“I’ll make it for you sometime,” Jules said with one of her effortless smiles, leading the way up the stairs.
Simon and Andrew were waiting for them on stage. For their first number, the cast joined up in a line, with Sophie holding hands with Tabitha and Jules as they danced. Unlike yesterday, Jules never missed a step, not even with Micki adding her extra flair to every move.
At the end of the day, Jules and Sophie walked home together, which seemed to have become a habit, one they continued for the rest of the week.
“I invited a few people over to my place on Sunday to run lines,” Jules said as they left the theater together on Friday afternoon. “Want to come?”
“Who did you invite?” Sophie asked, torn between the desire to jump on this chance to spend more time with her castmates and the knowledge that, with her persistently inconvenient attraction to Jules, hanging out in her apartment this weekend was probably not the best idea.