Page 60 of One Life to Loathe

“I know.” As if to prove I could do it, I extended my hand and pressed it to his chest. “See. I can touch you.”

His smirk was quick. “Move your hand a little lower.”

“Hey!” I extended a warning finger. “No flirting.”

“I think we have to flirt.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s how we capture the chemistry. We just can’t act on the flirting. Again.” His forehead filled with perplexed lines. “We just need to pretend the flirting is leading somewhere. Just tell yourself that it will happen tomorrow and we’ll keep doing that until … well, until we don’t feel like idiots around one another.”

It was an interesting suggestion. “So, we embrace the flirting.”

“Yup. We’ll flirt until we can’t flirt anymore, and then things will eventually diminish.”

It wasn’t the worst idea I’d ever heard. “Okay, let’s try that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“THAT WAS MUCH BETTER.”

Miles looked so relieved when we finished our scenes for the day that I thought he might cry. We’d managed to get through everything. Embracing Leo’s flirt philosophy had actually worked, and our later scenes had been a breeze.

“I’m glad you’re happy.” I smiled at him.

“I am very happy.” He practically skipped over to the row of computers so he could look at the dailies.

When I glanced at Leo, I found him watching me smugly.

“If you expect me to say you were right, keep dreaming,” I warned.

He chuckled. “I told you it would work.”

“Yes, well, when you’re right, you’re right.”

“Yeah.” He dragged a hand through his hair. He was done for the day too so it didn’t matter if he messed it up. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good. I mean … better than I was.”

“Me, too.”

“So … we’re good?” It was more of a question than a statement.

“We’re good,” he confirmed. He ran his tongue over his lips, and I thought he was going to say more, but then one of the third-tier vampire actresses called out his name and he looked over.

Her name was Sabrina Duncan and she was twenty-two, model thin, and ridiculously flirty. I’d watched her make her way from Dexter to Miles to several production members and now, apparently, to Leo. When she approached him, it was clearly with a purpose.

“Hey,” Leo said when she wedged herself between us. Her back was to me, leaving little room to debate who she was here to talk to.

Since I was being dismissed, I moved several feet away from them and did my best to tamp down the jealousy threatening to turn me into a monster. Just because Leo and I had decided to flirt to get through our scenes, that didn’t mean other people wouldn’t be flirting with him. He was a good-looking guy. I doubted he made it through a single day without someone making an attempt, despite his surly attitude.

“So, there’s a bar I want to check out,” Sabrina started. Her voice was low, almost like a purr. “It’s supposed to be wheremost of the locals hang out. Low key. Very few tourists. Good food and good drinks.”

“Okay.” Leo looked like a deer frozen in headlights.

“I was thinking you might want to check it out with me,” Sabrina pressed.

---