Page 16 of Forget About Me

She sighs, and my head bobs, following the swell of her chest.

“It was so fun taking care of them. And it was so hard to leave. I’ll miss them.” Her lush lower lip juts out in a pout. All I can think about is kissing that pout away. She arches her back to tuck the photos in her shorts pocket, and I think I might die, her breasts are so perfect. Before I know it, she’s squeezing me in a side hug and I’m sucking in my belly, suddenly self-conscious at how soft it is. “I’m gonna go show these to Marianne. See you later!”

As she disappears around the side of the house, I hang onto the trampoline to keep myself from following her. “Man, when did Lucy gethot?”

Before I even clock that I said the words out loud, Tony’s got me by the front of my shirt.

“Don’t ever say anything like that again. She’s my little sister, you asshole.” He pushes me away and stalks off. Before disappearing into the house, he points at me. “Don’t even think it.”

A hand clap from the production manager signals the meeting’s end and drops me back to the present, my heart thumping heavily in my chest. Puck whines, and I pat his head absently.

The tall blonde plops down next to us. “Hello, little dog.” Puck immediately abandons me for a new audience. She scratches behind his ears with one hand and holds out the other to shake mine. “Hi, I’m Isabelle—Bella—York.”

“Right. You were Helena inAll’s Well. You were great. I’m Ben.”

“Thanks. Yeah, and you too—nice work with Romeo. I guess you’re new to the company too?”

“Yep,R&Jis my first.”

She nods and looks around. “Are you hanging around now, or…?”

I check my watch. “No, I actually have to get to work.”

“Great, I’ll walk out with you.”

Man, I hope she isn’t going to hit on me. That would be so awkward.

At the door to the stairwell, Bella takes in a big breath. “So, I have a proposition for you.” At what is likely a very clear look of panic on my face, she laughs and holds up a hand. “Not that kind of proposition, don’t worry. I’m a single mom with no interest in—or time for—dating.”

I shake my head, my face heating. “Sorry, I’m an asshole to even assume???—??”

“No problem—believe me, I know how it is.”

I let her precede me down the stairs. “So, what’s your proposition?”

“Well, I couldn’t help but overhear Deb and Pam talking to you about auditioning for Launce, and?—?”

“That’s their idea, not mine.” Puck’s scrambling down the steps, straining against the leash. Maybe he’s finally decided that he needs to pee. “As you can see, this guy is not a trained actor dog or anything, and I haven’t played a clown role in Shakespeare since Francis Flute in high school.”

“I played Snug the Joiner in high school!”

“That’s funny; we had a girl Snug, too.”

“Well, hear me out. I was thinking of auditioning for Speed, myself. It’s tough being the new girl on the roster in a Shakespeare company, or any girl for that matter. And I’m getting old.” She catches my eye after I make apfftsound. “Actor old. I’m thirty-two.”

“You look way younger than that. Anyway, I’m twenty-eight.”

“Yeah, but you’re a guy. It’s different for guys.”

I almost argue that it isn’t for models, but I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole. It’s weird, but being so far away from that world, I don’t even feel like that’s my job anymore.

Bella opens the stairwell door, and we both match Puck’s brisk pace toward the exit. “Anyway, I can’t play the young girls for much longer, but I’m not a matron yet. Helena was a lucky exception. It’s hard to get directors to look at me for male roles, but I think Speed is possible. And I think we’d both have a better chance of convincing them to think outside the box if we come in prepared.”

When I open the heavy doors to the outside, Puck makes a beeline for a patch of grass. “Sorry, nature’s calling.” I look over my shoulder at her. “So, you want to work up a scene for our audition and, what, do it together?”

“Yeah.” She catches up to us. “All three of us. What do you think?”

“I guess it can’t hurt.”

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