“Amir and Micki,” Jules said. “And you. What do you say?”
Sophie hesitated, but as the understudy for both Jules and Micki, the chance to run lines with them this weekend could be invaluable. “Yeah, sure.”
“Great.” Jules beamed. “Around four? We can run lines for a few hours and order food or something.”
“Sounds great.”
They headed their separate ways. Sophie’s weekend had already been busy, as she was working her last shift at the diner tomorrow and then she had a voice lesson on Sunday morning. But busy was good. Really, she tried to avoid her apartment as much as possible. Without her own space to relax in, she often found herself heading to various coffee shops or the library to sit with her earbuds in and have some “alone” time.
By Sunday afternoon, Sophie found that she was looking forward to going to Jules’s. She confirmed with her via text that they were still on, and then she fussed with her hair and makeup for longer than she probably should have before grabbing her copy of the script and heading out. As often as they walked home together, Sophie hadn’t realized how close she and Jules actually lived to each other until she began her walk to Jules’s apartment.
Ten short minutes later, she pushed the buzzer on a three-story brownstone. Jules buzzed her in, and Sophie climbed two flights of stairs. She knocked on the door Jules had indicated, and it swung open to reveal her standing there in skinny jeans and an oversized red sweater, her honey-brown hair loose around her face. And damn, it really wasn’t fair for her to look so good.
“Hi,” Jules said, gesturing for Sophie to come in. “You beat the others here.”
“Oh. Am I early?”
“Nope. They’re just late.”
Sophie stepped into the living room. The wall to her left was exposed brick. To her right, a brightly colored curtain hung across the room, presumably hiding Jules’s bed from visitors. She’d strung white lights around the ceiling, which made the whole room seem to glow. “This is really nice.”
“Thank you.” Jules motioned her toward the couch, where she’d set out a tray of snacks and a bottle of wine. “I do love this place. I’ve been here about five years.”
“It’s great. I would give my left arm to be able to afford something like this,” Sophie said, grimacing at her admission, but Jules just rolled her eyes.
“My parents helped me out with rent at first, but I’m able to pay for it myself these days.”
“How?” Sophie blurted.
“I’ve done some modeling, voiceover work, a walk-on role on Law & Order: SVU. And I’ve had a consistent run of theater work over the last few years.”
“Impressive.” Sophie sat on the couch and reached for a chip. “You’re living the life I dream of.”
They were interrupted by the buzzer, announcing Amir’s arrival, and Micki got there a few minutes later. They sat around chatting for a while, enjoying snacks and wine, before they got down to business. Jules, Amir, and Micki read their own roles, while Sophie filled in for the remaining parts. After breaking for pizza, they were back at it, working until past nine. Sophie got the chance to read for both Bianca and Melissa, the first time she’d gotten to practice her understudy roles with her castmates.
She hadn’t done this since high school, mostly because she hadn’t had many speaking roles since, but also, the rapport among the cast of It’s in Her Kiss was a lot more collaborative than some of the shows she’d worked on. That was partly due to the cast itself and partly because it was a brand-new production, so everyone was learning their lines together for the first time.
Micki wasn’t Sophie’s favorite person, but she wasn’t awful either. Behind her dramatic tendencies, she was a hard worker and seemingly well-intentioned. As Micki, Sophie, and Amir got ready to head home from Jules’s apartment, they made tentative plans to do this again next Sunday. Sophie was already looking forward to it.
The following morning at rehearsal, they started blocking scenes, which was a painstaking process that involved figuring out where everyone would stand, how best to orient themselves to the audience, and where all the props should go to make it happen. Some of the set work was already done, but they were winging it for most of the details, using metal folding chairs in place of the furniture they’d eventually have.
Monday and Tuesday were fairly tedious for Sophie and the rest of the ensemble, while Jules, Amir, and Micki did most of the work onstage. After the leads had their marks, the ensemble would find their places around them. By lunchtime on Wednesday, they hadn’t even made it to the end of the first act. Sophie ate a power bar in her dressing room before wandering back to the stage.
Jules came to stand beside her, gesturing toward the empty balcony across from them. “I sat somewhere up there for a performance of Romeo and Juliet when I was eighteen. If you had told me then that I’d be back here again twelve years later, performing on stage, I might have leaped out of the balcony in my excitement.”
“And the star to boot,” Sophie said, nudging her shoulder against Jules’s.
“The lead, anyway. I wouldn’t call myself a star just yet.”
“I’d say you’re on your way.” Sophie paused, glancing at the script in her hands. “Ready for the next scene?”
“Yes.” Jules kept her gaze on the empty seats in front of them. The next scene was the one with Bianca and Melissa’s first kiss. Jules’s first onstage kiss. That had to be at least somewhat nerve-racking.
Sophie didn’t envy her having to kiss Micki either. Not that she was hard to look at or anything, but her showy attitude and tendency to offer unsolicited advice made her a potentially awkward person to practice a stage kiss with.
As if on cue, Micki strode onto the stage. “Hey, ladies.”
“Hi,” Jules responded, and Sophie couldn’t quite read her expression when she looked at Micki, but she was definitely feeling some kind of way about this upcoming kiss.
“I’ll leave you guys to get ready for your scene,” Sophie said. “Good luck,” she added, glancing at Jules, who gave her a tight smile in return.
Jules and Micki were the only two actors in the scene, but most of the cast and crew gathered off stage to watch, as had been the case all week. Everyone was eager to see the show come together for the first time, whether they were in the scene or not. And so Sophie found herself standing between Tabitha and Elena, watching as Jules and Micki ran through the scene, scripts in hand.
Maybe watching Jules kiss Micki would help Sophie get over her crush. A girl could hope, anyway.
Jules was standing on what would be their “stage on a stage,” as large parts of the production were set in a television studio. Bianca was an actress at the top of her game who was struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. Kari directed Jules and Micki as they stood facing each other.
“I need to hear you say the words,” Micki read. “I need to know that what I think is happening is real.”
“It’s real,” Jules said, the script held loosely in her hands. She hadn’t even glanced at it yet. “It wasn’t supposed to be you, Melissa, and yet, you’re the only one I can think about.”
“And for me, it’s only ever been you,” Micki said. “Please kiss me, Bianca.”