“How are you today?” Sophie asked, giving her an inquiring look that was probably in reference to everything they’d talked about yesterday, but Jules’s mind was still in fantasyland, and she felt a hot blush spread across her cheeks.
She averted her gaze, leading the way to the stairs. “I’m fine. You?”
“No complaints.”
They were the first two to arrive on stage. Jules darted a glance at her, and there it was again. Heat. Awareness. Oh, this was going to be a problem. When she’d been attracted to a woman in the past, it had often been more akin to a crush. She’d never felt anything this intense. It was like their kiss had unleashed something inside Jules, and now there was no reining it in.
Amir joined them on stage. “Morning, ladies.”
“Morning,” Jules said, smiling at him over her shoulder.
“Hey, are we still running lines at your place again on Sunday?” he asked.
“Yes! I meant to bring it up yesterday, but I got distracted. Yes, definitely.”
“Cool,” he said. “Looking forward to it.”
“Are you coming?” she asked Sophie.
“Yeah, of course,” Sophie said. “It was a lot of fun last weekend.”
Jules had no idea whether she was imagining the awkwardness between them this morning. Maybe she was the only one feeling awkward. Maybe for Sophie, this was just any other morning. She probably hadn’t had a sex dream about Jules last night…
Her cheeks were flaming again.
“Are you okay?” Sophie asked, giving her a funny look.
“Yes.”
Luckily, Kari saved her by stepping onto the stage. Within minutes, she had them on their marks and beginning their first scene of the day. As they approached the end of their second week of rehearsals, Jules could start to see the show coming together, and she was ridiculously excited about it. One thing about being the lead: rehearsals were exhausting. The rest of the cast came and went, but Jules was almost always on stage. It was a good kind of exhausting, though, and she was loving every minute of it.
She didn’t get a chance to talk to Sophie again that day. Kari sent the ensemble home early since the last scene of the day only required Jules, Amir, and Micki. Consequently, Jules set out from the theater alone that evening. She was still feeling out of sorts about their kiss. She needed to talk it through with someone. That was how she solved most of her problems, and surely this one was no different.
The problem was, her usual sounding board was her mom, and she wasn’t ready to talk to her about this. Similarly, her brothers were out of the question. And while she had literally dozens of friends that she could call to meet her for a drink after work today, she wasn’t close enough with any of them to trust them with this either.
As she walked, an uncharacteristic melancholy settled over her. What was she going to do?
The answer came to her as she glanced to her left and caught a glimpse of people seated inside a bar. She’d go to Dragonfly. Bartenders were supposed to give good advice, and Josie knew a thing or two about being attracted to a woman.
Relieved, Jules turned around and started backtracking toward the bar. With every step, she became more sure of her decision. Josie was exactly the person she should talk to about this. Ten minutes later, she walked through Dragonfly’s front door. Josie’s friend Adam was behind the bar with a brunette Jules didn’t recognize. Unfazed, she slid onto an empty stool and caught his eye. “Where’s Josie?”
“She’s off tonight,” he told her. “Hey, you’re the actress, right?”
She nodded, deflating slightly at his news. “Jules.”
“Right.” He slid a drink menu toward her, tapping it with a smile. “I hear you had something to do with this.”
She looked down at the glossy lavender card in front of her. Broadway Bubbles had been added to the list of signature drinks. “Oh, wow. That’s really cool.”
“She had them printed up this morning. Should I make you one?” he asked.
“Please.” She snapped a picture of the menu and shared it to her Instagram, tagging Dragonfly in her post. The drink was fun, but she was no closer to finding someone to talk through her feelings with. While she was thinking about Josie, though, she should remind her to figure out a time to come see the cats. She picked up her phone and composed a text message.
I’m at Dragonfly, and you’re not. She inserted a sad face emoji. If you still want to stop by and see Pippin and Phantom, lmk and let’s figure out a time that works.
“Here you go,” Adam said, placing a fizzy orange drink in front of her. “Broadway Bubbles for you.”
“Thank you,” she told him, lifting the glass for a sip. “I hope it’s popular.”
“If tonight’s any indication, it will be.” He gestured down the bar to a couple of women with matching glasses.
Jules’s phone chimed with an incoming text, and she picked it up as Adam moved off to serve other customers.
Aw, I’m sad I missed you! Will you be around for a while? I could stop in and say hi when I get home. And I definitely want to see the kitties. Josie inserted a string of cat emojis and heart eyes.
Jules smiled. I’m going to finish my drink and head home. I’ll catch you next time!
Actually, we’ll be leaving this gallery event pretty soon. Mind if we stop by tonight? Or are you tired? Josie asked.
Jules nodded to no one in particular. I’d love that! I was hoping to see you tonight.
Perfect! See you around 8?
Yes. See you then.
Jules’s night was looking up after all. As she sipped her drink, her thoughts drifted to Sophie. What was she doing tonight? Was she thinking about their kiss even half as much as Jules was?
She pressed a palm against her forehead. Oh boy. She really needed to get a grip. She’d been obsessing about Sophie and their kiss all day. Not to mention the sex dream…
She finished her drink, caught Adam’s eye as she placed cash on the bar, and headed for the door. Luckily, the alcohol helped to numb the cold as she braved the blustery walk home. She jogged up the stairs to her apartment and let herself inside, exhaling gratefully as the warm air enveloped her.
Pippin came running toward the door, meowing in greeting.
“Hey, Pepito.” She stooped to pet him. “Josie and Eve are coming over to see you in a bit. I wonder if you’ll remember them.”
Pippin purred, rubbing against her legs.
Jules hung up her coat and tossed her bag on the bed before pulling the curtain to hide it. She spent the next ten minutes or so straightening up since she had company coming over. Then she settled on the couch with a bottle of water and her tablet to read until they got here. About an hour later, the buzzer rang.
Jules hopped up to buzz them in, and a minute later, she pulled the door open to invite Eve and Josie into her apartment. Eve had on a slinky black dress, her brown hair pulled back in a neat twist. Josie wore black pants, a silver top, and more makeup than Jules was used to seeing on her. “Wow, you guys look super fancy tonight.”
“We were at an art exhibition at the Met,” Josie told her. “Eve’s turning me into an amateur art connoisseur.”
“I’m not sure that’s a thing,” Eve said, giving her girlfriend a faux exasperated look.