Page 80 of Rebel Romeo

I knew that smile. It was conniving.

Fuck. This was not how this was supposed to happen. Katherine was not supposed to meet him like this. If I had my way, she’d never meet him at all.

Scowling, I slid my arm protectively around Katherine. “What are you doing here, Dad?”

His brows jumped, but I knew better than to suspect that he was actually surprised by my reaction. It was all a game. Every step was calculated when it came to Senator Dorsey. “When my only son doesn’t call me back, it’s not only my right, but my job to check on him.”

His glare shifted again to Katherine, and I noted the way he took inventory of her. She wilted under his gaze—hell, most people did. But it was the worst thing she could have done. Like a limping gazelle revealing that weakness to a lion on the hunt.

“You can’t just come by unannounced?—”

“Can’t I?” he snapped. “I pay for the goddamn condo. I pay for your education. I paid for your fucking LSATs and the groceries in your fridge.”

Katherine reached for her jacket on the hook near my dad. “I-I should go.”

“No,” Dad said. And to his credit, his voice was gentler. “You should hear this. It involves you, too.”

Katherine’s wide eyes darted to mine, filled with questions. I shrugged at her because I truly had no idea what he was talking about. “It does?”

“I scheduled a meeting with your professor, Laurie McCay, first thing tomorrow morning.”

“What?” I shouted.

“Why?” Katherine whispered.

Dad’s hardened stare fell to me. “Because you’re quitting that fucking show. Tomorrow.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

It’s wrong. Everything about this is wrong.

Ellis’s hands are shaky and unsure whereas Nolan was certain in his acting choices. He was direct. He made strong character choices that were unexpected and authentic. And because of that, my acting was stronger, too. Nolan and I might not have had chemistry offstage, but now playing opposite of Ellis, I’m realizing just how good Nolan and I were together onstage.

Because with Ellis as my scene partner? I suck.

In Ellis’s defense, it’s only our third rehearsal since Nolan quit.

But still.

“Okay, stop! Hold, please,” Holden calls out and hops onto the stage, rubbing at his brow. Our show is supposed to enter previews in less than three weeks… which means we really only have two to get this on its feet like a well-oiled machine. Because that last week of rehearsals is typically reserved for the technical side of theater.

But at this rate? Ellis and I were going to get bombed in reviews. And based on the weary lines surrounding Holden’s normally bright, broody eyes, he knows it.

“Ellis, while it’s an interesting choice to approach Skyler nervously, I think I’d like to see you more firm. You’re angry in this scene. She won’t accept her feelings for you and it should piss you off more than anything. It’s not a tentative kiss. It’s aggressive. You’re trying to get her to admit the feelings you both know she has for you.”

A lump lodges in my throat hearing Holden dissect the scene. Amy wrote this show before ever meeting Holden or me, but it’s like she wrote these characters with our exact history in mind… but in reverse.

“What do you think, Ellis? Can you do that for me?” Holden clasps Ellis’s shoulders and gives him an encouraging squeeze as Ellis nervously nods his head, not answering with words.

Even though his nod isn’t exactly believable, Holden flashes him a smile and pats his shoulders. “Great. Take it from tell me you don’t want me.”

Holden gives me a look as he passes by my shoulder, tension radiating off each of us.

That’s his directing style with Ellis? How come this guy who has no history or relationship with Holden gets the nice guy act? How come Holden directs him with compassion and encouragement while I spent two weeks in bootcamp hell? I’m not nearly as green as Ellis and yet Holden treated me like I had no experience whatsoever. It pisses me off even more.

Ellis swallows so hard and so nervously that I can actually see sweat pushing out of his pores. “T-tell me you don’t want me.”

Shit. I slide a glance to Holden whose fist is pressed to his mouth. “No,” I say firmly, tilting my chin higher. “That would be a lie. I never said I didn’t want you. I said I didn’t love you. They’re totally different.”

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