"Alright places everyone for Suddenly Seymore," called the director.
Poppy and Josh took their places. They played through the scene where Seymore finally tells Audrey how he feels about her. Audrey has trouble accepting it because of how bad her life has been, but she finally does. And does so with a truly epic duet. Although Poppy and Josh were not your typical Seymore and Audrey, something about the way they sang together made it magical. Their voices blended well.
When the scene was over Poppy looked out into the theater to see the director and Damien whispering in the back.
"Great job, Damien has some notes," Steve called out from the back of the theater.
Damien stood up and strode to the stage. Poppy watched with desire as he jumped up onto the stage, his muscles rippled underneath the plain white t-shirt he was wearing after losing the leather jacket.
"That was good, but Poppy, I think you could be supporting those notes a little more. I think that will help you hit those high belter notes. Try this."
He placed one hand on Poppy's upper back and one hand on her stomach. "Take it from the key change, and keep this tight and supporting," he said as his hand patted her stomach.
Poppy was trying to figure out how all of this was making her feel. He was touching her, but in a professional capacity. Don't make this weird. Also, he had his hand on her stomach, and while Poppy owned her body and all that it was, her belly was still that part of her body she hadn't quite learned to love as much as the rest. But this was professional. He was a professional. He would not judge her squishy belly, even though his was rock hard.
She sang the song again, Josh standing next to her singing his part. Damien's hands heated her skin. As she sang the higher notes, he gently pushed against her belly to make sure she was supporting the note.
"Lift," he said as she hit the high belt at the end and the sound just soared out of her with ease. The sound of it surprised even her. That last high note was tough, and she just sang it like it was nothing.
When the song ended, she looked over at Josh, mouth open in shock. "Oh my god, that was amazing," he said. She beamed at him.
"Great Job, Poppy," Damien said. He removed his hand from her stomach but the hand on her back remained in place. "You’re really talented, you could go far with a little more training." His hand started rubbing her back.
Poppy looked over at him and he winked at her. Poppy was undone. She couldn't believe this man was her soulmate. She needed to learn more about him.
After rehearsal the cast generally went down the street to the Elbow Room for a couple rounds of drinks and some karaoke. It was one of the few bars in their sleepy little town and one of Poppy's all-time favorite places.
"Hey Poppy, you headed to the Elbow Room?" Josh asked her in his casual welcoming way.
"Of course, I am going to check in with Steve before I head out. I’ll meet you down there."
"Sounds good." He finished packing up his bag and got ready to head out.
Poppy walked to the back of the theater where the director and Damien were talking.
"Good rehearsal tonight Poppy, I think we are really coming along," said the director.
"Thanks, I just wanted to come and ask you if you guys wanted to come down to the Elbow Room with us." She looked over to Damien. "It’s a local karaoke bar we go to after rehearsal sometimes."
"I don't think I can join you tonight," said the director. Poppy wasn't really too concerned if he would join, he very rarely did. But she was very much hoping that Damien would come.
"I would love to go. I want to live the small town life while I'm here," he said with a wink. That was the third wink he had given Poppy tonight. Poppy couldn't remember the last time anyone winked at her, let alone three times in one night.
"Great, would you like to walk with me? It's just a few blocks down the street."
"Sure, let me just finish up here and I’ll meet you outside."
"Okay, that sounds great. I’ll meet you outside." Poppy smiled at him. Her heart fluttered with excitement as she went down to the front of the theater to collect her things. She packed up and looked around. She was the last cast member there, most of them were already down at the bar.
She walked out and sat down on a bench and pulled her phone out. She was dying to text Hannah and tell her about everything. Tell her about the spell. Tell her about Damien. She even wanted to tell her about Josh and the weird moment she had with Josh before Damien came. There were definitely some sparks there. But with Hannah in Scotland on her honeymoon, she decided to just take a selfie in front of the theater.
The door to the theater swung open and out came Damien, he had this swagger and confidence that seemed to pull her in. He was just what she had asked for in the spell. He had a life bigger than this little town. He could help her to finally have a big adventure. And he was absolutely gorgeous, so that always helped. And really, Poppy would much rather have a handsome Broadway star than a time traveling highlander. Things were much simpler that way.
"Hi Poppy, lead the way to your local watering hole," he said with a grin.
"Excuse me?" she asked, a little taken back. Watering hole? What did he think this was, the wild west?
"It's just an expression, Lead the way to the bar. I am interested in seeing how you all live."
He put out his arm and Poppy took it, and they walked down to the bar.
How we all live? Poppy thought. That was kind of a weird thing to say, but he was from New York City though, so this place probably did seem pretty small to him.
Oh well, he was here, and she had work to do to make sure this love spell worked.
CHAPTER 5
Josh
There was a chill in the morning air as Josh walked down main street. He was helping his sister out at the Mystic Falls Inn. It was one of his many jobs. Money had always been tight for him and his sister growing up, so Josh became a jack of all trades. He did a little bit of everything from tending bar, driving Uber and being a handyman. Today that was his job. His sister was the general manager at the local inn, and she often hired Josh to fix things up.
His task for that day was sanding down and staining the gazebo at the inn. He needed to get this done before the weather turned too cold. And with it being late September, he was already pushing it. He needed to finish the sanding today.
Walking to the hardware store for some supplies gave him a moment to think. The events of last night had thrown him. First, there was the electrifying moment with Poppy. He could not get the feel of her hand in his and the look in her eyes as she slowly licked her lip out of his mind, and he didn’t know what to make of it all. And then there was the interruption and that guy. Damien St. Cloud. His name was as pretentious as he was.
He set the supplies down on the counter and Theo Williams, the owner of William’s Hardware, started to ring him up.
“What are you working on today?” Theo asked.
“I’m sanding and staining the gazebo at the inn,” he said, taking out his wallet.
“If you are looking for any help I know my nephew, DeMarcus, learned a lot helping you put the deck on the back of the Elbow Room last summer,” Theo said as he rang him up.