Page 33 of One Life to Loathe

“He is,” Leo confirmed. “I think you should go upstairs and get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day.”

“Are you watching out for me?” I teased.

“That’s what friends do, right?” Apparently, he was open to playing the friend game after all.

“They do.” I made up my mind on the spot. “Let’s go.”

We said our goodbyes. Nobody looked in our direction. When we got off the elevator on our floor, I became desperate for something to talk about. “Are you excited for tomorrow?”

“Sure.” Leo smiled.

“No, you’re not,” I said on a laugh. “You’re just doing it because it’s a job. You don’t actually like the material we’re working with.”

“You don’t know.” He stopped with me, his door on his left, mine on my right. “I might learn to love it.”

I didn’t believe him. “Thanks for forcing me upstairs. I would’ve been mad at myself if I let Sylvia talk me into another drink.”

“I figured.” He leaned closer and his lips were tantalizingly close to mine. Or maybe I was just imagining it. Then he leaned back. There had been a moment—I was almost certain of it—but it passed before I could even debate what it meant … or potentially take advantage of it. “Take some Advil,” he said. “Drink a bottle of water. Set your alarm to get up early enough for breakfast. You’re going to need it.”

The sigh that escaped was wistful, and the way he cocked his head told me he registered it. “Thank you for everything today, Leo. I only got through it because of you.”

He swallowed hard. “That’s not true. You got through it yourself. I was just there.”

“You just can’t take a compliment, can you?”

His smile split his handsome face. “I’ll work on it. Now get in there. I’m not leaving until I know you’re safely in your room.”

“I’m going.” I pulled out my keycard. “I’m serious about getting you to try some seafood, though. I won’t rest until my mission has been accomplished.”

“Won’t that be fun?”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

10

TEN

Iwoke in a bad mood.

I wasn’t hungover, and yet I felt heavy.

My dreams had been … not what I was expecting.

Normally, right before a job, I dreamed I was back in high school and somehow I’d missed my advanced math class. Therefore, I had to learn everything and pass the final exam even though I’d never been to a class. It was a recurring dream that I absolutely loathed.

That wasn’t the dream that plagued me after saying goodbye to Sam in the hallway, though. No, my night had been spent tossing and turning because I dreamed about what would’ve happened if I’d followed her into her room. It had been hot…and sweaty…and loud.

There was no denying the vibe between us. It was there, and it was growing. The intensity was firing up. Neither of us were going to act on that vibe, though. This was Sam’s big break—and once she told me that, I couldn’t help feeling even more guilty—and I needed this shoot to go smoothly. I didn’t want to stay in Salem. This show wasn’t going to be my forever. I needed to use it as a stepping stone, however.

Pretending the vibe wasn’t there was disingenuous. The atmosphere had begun to spark whenever we were together. If we were back in LA—and not working on the same project together—we would’ve already explored the spark, and then chased it until we smothered the fire.

That wasn’t going to be the case this time. We couldn’t smother that fire. That meant I had to figure out a way to ignore it.

There had been a moment the previous evening when I realized she was feeling it too. Much like me, she was trying to pretend it wasn’t there. So, we would work together to do it. We would friend zone each other to thenth degree and make it so it would be awkward if we even tried to act on it.

Yeah, we would just be friends. That would allow me to spend time with her because I actually did like her personality. If I kept telling myself that I only liked her as a friend, then that’s how things would work out. I wasn’t big on manifesting, but I could make it work for me this time. It would be fine.

I was almost positive that was the case.

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