“The other two are Blanche and Hamilton,” Josie told them. “My girlfriend adopted them.”
“That’s freaking adorable,” Sophie said as awwws went around the table.
Jules pulled out her phone, scrolling through her photo roll until she found pictures of her cats.
“I assume Phantom is the black one?” Sophie asked, leaning in for a closer look.
“How did you guess?” Jules turned her head, and their eyes met. Sophie’s were warm and brown, crinkled with laughter. She smelled nice too, like spiced vanilla.
“They’ve gotten so big,” Josie said, looking over Jules’s shoulder at a photo of Pippin and Phantom curled up together in her bed.
“They sure have,” Jules agreed. “They look like cats now, but still act like kittens. Thank goodness they take most of it out on each other instead of me.”
“The reason I always recommend that people adopt two,” Josie said.
“If I ever get my own place, I’d love to have a cat,” Sophie said, sounding a bit wistful.
“You should follow Josie’s YouTube channel,” Jules told her. “She posts super cute videos of all her foster kittens. That’s how I got my kitten fix until I was ready to adopt.”
“And generally, all of my kittens are adoptable,” Josie added.
“I’ll check it out.” Sophie reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling out her cell phone, which was ringing. If the wide-eyed look on her face was any indication, her agent was calling. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”
Phone in hand, she rushed out the front door. Jules sipped her drink, swallowing her disappointment that Sophie might have gotten a callback instead of her. Of course, it was possible for them both to be called back for the second round, but it wasn’t very likely, especially after Jules had let her nerves get the better of her during her audition.
“I’m so glad you came in tonight,” Josie said, drawing Jules out of her thoughts. “I had been meaning to catch up with you and see how the kittens were doing. It’s so good to see them. And you, of course.”
“Would you like to come see them sometime?” Jules asked. “I mean, you and Eve could totally stop by and visit them if you’d like.”
“Please.” Josie clasped her hands in front of herself dramatically. “We would love that.”
“Yeah, definitely. You’ve got my number. Just give me a call, and we’ll figure something out.”
“Oh, we are totally going to take you up on that,” Josie said before heading back to the bar with a wave.
Jules was halfway through her second drink and a lively conversation with Gia and Kit when Sophie came back inside. Her cheeks were pink from the night air…or her mood. Jules couldn’t be sure which, but Sophie was rushing toward their table with a visible excitement that seemed to hint at the latter.
She hopped onto her stool and lifted her glass, casting Jules a slightly apologetic glance. “You guys, I did it. I got a callback for It’s in Her Kiss.”
The table erupted in cheers and whoops, glasses being clinked in celebration. Jules joined in, tapping her glass against Sophie’s, happy for her despite the sting of disappointment in her belly. Her phone, poised on the edge of the table, remained silent. “Congratulations,” she told Sophie earnestly.
“Thank you,” Sophie said. “You may still get a call too, you know.”
“Aw, aren’t you guys being good sports,” Kit teased. “No catfights at our table!”
“This is part of the job,” Jules told her with a shrug. “I’ve auditioned with friends before…not that Sophie and I are friends, exactly, but you know what I mean.”
“Yep,” Sophie agreed. “And it’s not like this means I’ve got the part either. But, hot damn, it feels good to still be in the game. I want this one so bad, you guys.”
Jules studied her for a moment in silence. Yeah, she got that feeling about Sophie. There was a hunger about her when it came to this role, or maybe that hunger reflected her attitude toward her career in general. Jules didn’t know her well enough to say. As much as Sophie wanted this role, as much as Jules wanted this role, there were probably a dozen other women across the Manhattan area tonight just as eager, just as sure they were the perfect Bianca.
Jules exhaled slowly. She felt it in her bones, the feeling that this was the one. If only her phone would ring…
Sophie lifted her drink and took a hearty sip in an attempt to ground herself, because she had the crazy urge to dance on the bar, and she wasn’t even drunk. Not on alcohol anyway. She was pumped up on adrenaline, almost giddy with it. She’d actually gotten a callback for It’s in Her Kiss.
Not only was this a lead role, it was a queer lead role. The role of a lifetime.
She’d been at this for over ten years now, a decade of endless auditions that had netted her a decent résumé of supporting roles on and off Broadway, as well as a handful of walk-on parts in television and commercials. But she didn’t want to be Dancer #3 this time. She wanted to be the star.
Maybe even more importantly, she needed the paycheck this role would provide. It had been over a year since Sophie had landed an acting job, and she was sick to death of waitressing to make ends meet. If you could consider sleeping on her friends’ sofa making ends meet. Her parents sure didn’t. Once upon a time, they’d been fully supportive of her Broadway dreams, but lately, they thought it was time for her to accept that it hadn’t worked out and get a real job. Her bank account seemed to agree with them.
But Sophie wasn’t ready to admit defeat. She just needed her big break. And maybe it had come with It’s in Her Kiss.
“What’s that?” Gia asked, pointing to Jules’s drink. “It’s pretty.”
“It’s called a Midnight in Manhattan,” Jules told her, tucking a strand of honey-brown hair behind her ear. “It’s similar to a mojito, but with lemon instead of lime juice. It’s one of the house drinks. Josie convinced me to try one, and now I’m hooked.”
“Oh, that’s the one with the myth attached,” Kit said. “I’m too superstitious to risk it.”
“A myth?” Sophie leaned closer to Jules, peering into her glass.
“If you drink one at midnight, supposedly you’ll fall in love before the end of the year,” Jules told her. “But I’ve been drinking them for months now, and no such luck.”
“You want to fall in love?” Kit gave her a skeptical look. “Girl, I’ve been there and done that, and it sucks. Trust me.”
“I’m in no hurry, but I’m certainly not opposed to the idea,” Jules said, taking another sip.
“Any prospects?” Sophie asked. Yeah, she was fishing. Now that she wasn’t preoccupied with waiting for a callback, she wouldn’t mind asking Jules out, if she could just figure out whether or not Jules was straight.
“Not at the moment.” Jules shrugged. “I dated a guy for a few months over the summer, but things fizzled pretty quickly after that. So like I said, I’m not in any hurry. You should try the drink, though. It’s good.”