Page 9 of Something Cheeky

“Damn right. Everybody looks good in black.” Derek did a very tiny shuffle hop step and narrowly avoided kicking over the table.

“You still got the moves,” Zoe said, chuckling. “After all this time.”

“I’m a bit rusty, but a man’s gotta stay in shape somehow.” He patted his flat stomach.

“Still scarfing down late-night Taco Bell Nachos Bellgrande?”

“Don’t forget the cinnamon twists. Bring on the crunchy snacks.” He grinned.

“Mr. Big Director still orders off the value menu,” she teased.

“Old college habits die hard. After twelve-hour days during tech week hell, my body demands comfort food,” he reminded her.

“Junk food, you mean,” she shot back, the same way she used to during college.

“So Cheetos aren’t junk if you use chopsticks to eat them?”

“Orange cheese dust on Hamlet’s costume didn’t work with his emo vibes.” She raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to counter her.

“Fine. You win this one.” He conceded with a dramatic tight bow.

His anxiety from earlier had dissipated with their playful banter and laughter. He and Zoe had been inseparable in college for a reason. And they’d picked right back up as if no time had passed.

They’d taken different paths since finishing their undergrad theater program six years ago. She’d gone home to DC, and he’d packed his bags to couch surf in New York City, hoping for his big break.

His first year had been rough, especially without his best friend cheering him on. He’d taken whatever gigs he could, even if he was playing nerds or gang members. He even had a couple of roles as extras on whateverLaw & Ordershow was filming at the time.

He did everything and anything to pad his résumé and get his name out. Lucky for him, it took only a year to land a decent role. That same job was where he’d met his mentor, who gave Derek his first job as assistant director. Fast-forward to today, and he had his choice of directing gigs across the country.

Which was what led to his standing in the corner of a wacky boba café in front of the woman he loved. Except she didn’t know he loved her, because he’d been too chickenshit to tell her.

Derek rubbed the side of his thigh.Spit it out and get it over with.He wasn’t a stranger to rejection, but he’d be crushed if she turned down his offer.

“I want you to design costumes for my new musical,” he blurted.

Chapter 5

“You what?” Zoe’s brown eyes widened in confusion. “Did you say new musical?”

“Yes. And I want you to design the costumes,” he repeated slowly, as if she hadn’t heard him correctly the first time.

“What does a big-shot director want with a lingerie designer?”

“You’re more than a lingerie designer. And I’m not a big shot. Not yet anyway.” He shrugged as if he hadn’t received rave reviews in theLos Angeles TimesandtheNew York Timesfor his work.

“You’ll be on Broadway soon enough,” Zoe said with conviction.

She believed this because she had been following his career even though she’d actively avoided him since graduation. It’d been easier to ignore Derek’s texts when she’d been so raw and vulnerable after changing majors at the last minute and barely graduating on time.

“So you’re still keeping tabs on me.” He couldn’t keep a wide smile from forming on his face. She hadn’t forgotten about him all these years or given up on theater.

“My mom keeps me apprised of your accomplishments,” Zoe replied nonchalantly, but the corner of her lips curved up in a half-smile. “I swear she has a Google alert set up for you.”

“Seriously? How are Cô H?ng and Chú Minh?”

“Same. Loud and nosy as ever.”

They laughed. He’d defended himself from her mom’s onslaughtof questions whenever he’d come to DC during school breaks. No matter how much Zoe begged her to stop, her mom interrogated him about everything, from growing up with a single mom to how people in New York could work in all that snow.

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