Page 49 of A Little Bit Extra

“Okay. First, know that it’s hard for me to ask this,” Cassie starts in a steady tone. She sits up straighter, turning to be fully facing me. “Second, you can say no.”

“I won’t say no.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.” Her head dips down, eyebrows furrowing.

“Doesn’t matter. I’d say yes to anything you ask.” I lean back on the couch, wrapping my left arm on the back, intruding on her space. She glances toward my arm for a moment before returning to me, but she doesn’t shift away. “I would say yes if you wanted me to jump off of a cliff.”

“Woah now, let’s not be ridiculous. I will definitely not be doing that, thank you.” Her hands flail in front of her.

“Noted.” I decide to push some limits and grab a piece of her hair, twirling it in my hand. Again, she glances but doesn’t move.

“I wanted to ask if your offer to act out scenes for my acting class was still standing.”

“Of course—”

“Remember, you can say no,” Cassie interrupts, lurching forward to emphasize which brings her legs to touch mine.

I bring my hand that was twirling her hair and grab the hand that’s resting on her leg. I offer one squeeze, something that has become a secret tell between us. Something to show that everything is okay and we’re there for one another.

“I was going to say, before you interrupted me…” I raise my eyebrows. “Of course I will. I already said I wouldn’t say no.” Cassie rolls her eyes, her signature move. I think she does it because she can’t believe how much she likes me. “Want to come over tonight?”

Cassie smiles. “That would be great, actually. I don’t have class this week or next, so we can rehearse more. I’ll bring the script over after work.”

Right. Work. That’s a thing.

“Okay.” I smile. “Tell me more about this acting class.”

Cassie stiffens.

I drag my thumb back and forth on her hand. “I’m just curious, Cass.”

“Right. Sorry. I’m not used to others caring about my class or acting in general.” She sighs. I continue to move my thumb on her hand, not letting go. “Um, so I told you I moved here five years ago? I already knew I was going to move in with Lucy, so I had just moved all of my stuff into the apartment before deciding I needed a break. I went to a coffee shop that was around the corner, saw a callout form for a local acting group, and that was it.” She adds a shrug.

“And do you like the class? Has it been, I don’t know, fun? I’ve never been a part of an acting group, so I’m not sure what they’re like.”

Cassie laughs and nods. “I like it. Yes.” She pulls her right leg up more onto the couch. Our legs were just touching, but after moving, her knee is resting on mine. She leans back onto the couch, getting more comfortable. She laughs some more. “Okay, don’t judge me for this.”

I let go of her hand and slam mine to my chest, dropping my jaw. “Me? Never.” I shake my head slowly, back and forth. Cassie playfully pushes on my chest with her now free hand, which causes me to lose my balance, my right shoulder going toward the couch. When I bounce back, I rest my hand on her knee instead of back in her hand.

“The callout form only had an address. No phone number, no building name, nothing. Literally just an address.” She pauses. “Don’t look at me like that. I know the risk I was taking, but I couldn’t find any classes before I moved here that either had openings or didn’t cost too much.”

I realize my jaw is open, for obvious reasons. Someone could have robbed her or kidnapped her. I shut my mouth and let her continue.

“So the building looked abandoned, but when I entered the front door, there were signs leading up the stairs to a room that they were hosting this class in. Turns out their old building had water damage, and this space was the only temporary place available. Still sketchy as fuck, but it turned out to be a fun class and everyone was nice, so I stuck around.”

“Wow. That’s awesome how it all worked out. Kinda like fate, huh?”

“I suppose, yes. If you believe in that sort of thing,” Cassie replies.

“We feel like fate, don’t you think?” I ask before I have time to think about the words coming out of my mouth.

“Emmett.” Cassie dips her head, playfully glaring at me.

I squeeze her knee. “I would love nothing more in the world than to continue sitting here talking to you, but I bet we need to get on the set.”

She responds with a groan, throwing her head back onto the couch. What I would give to lean forward and press my lips on her neck, sucking enough to leave a mark for everyone else to know that she’s mine.

I don’t realize I’m squeezing her knee until her hand covers mine and gives my hand a squeeze. “Careful, Hotshot. You might leave a mark.” She adds a wink and moves to stand up.

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