Page 31 of To the Moon and Back

Just the mention had Lauren remembering the desperate state shewoke in, and the very detailed dream of Carly doing decadent things to her inthe rehearsal hall. “I did okay,” she said conservatively. “Wild dreams.”

“About me?” Carly joked.

Lauren’s mouth went dry. “Oh. Um, rehearsal.”

“Gotcha. One of those dreams where something goes wrong, or youdon’t know your lines. The worst. I had them when we first started rehearsal,nearly every night.”

“No, it was…” She didn’t know why she’d even started the sentence,and now she didn’t know how to end it. “Different than that. I love this song.”She tried to move them off the topic by feigning intense interest in the radio.In fact, she turned up the volume and jammed out to it like an idiot.

Carly looked over at her curiously as she applied her turn signal.“Why are you being weird? Are you Mick Jagger all of a sudden? What kind ofmoves are those?”

“This is how I dance in the car.” Well, hell, she had to commitnow. She tossed her arms around, threw them over her head, and pushed her lipsout, trying to stay on beat, which, hello, was not easy for her.

“You’ve got duckface down. Wow. That’s impressive. Do it somemore. Yes! Just like that, you sexy party animal.” Carly brought the car to astop at a traffic light and relaxed. She turned to Lauren calmly. “So do youwant to talk about this sex dream, or pretend you always flail around in themiddle of the morning to music you don’t actually love?”

Lauren blinked and slowed her dance break. “Wasn’t a big deal.Have you tried that chicken place right there? It’s amazing. Get the extra greensauce. I want to say it’s tomatillo. Watch out for the slight kick, though.”

“Oh my God. You did have a sex dream, you little minx.”

Lauren’s jaw dropped. “You acted like you already knew. You didn’tknow?”

“Of course I didn’t know. How could I know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Neither did I! I wondered, but then you fell completely for mytrap, and it’s one of the most gratifying things that’s ever happened to me.”They pulled into The McAllister. “I’m crazy impressed with myself right now. Ifeel like I might be beaming.” She pulled off her sunglasses and checkedherself out in the rearview mirror, dimples on full display. “I totally am.”

Lauren scoffed, doing her best to downplay. “Like I said, itwasn’t even that big a deal. We should just focus on our day. I finally have myact one lines down.”

“Not a big deal? Really?” Carly turned off the ignition andregarded her. “I thought we’d be, you know, good at it.”

God, cue the unasked-for blush once again. She felt the heatspread over her face. Lauren hated how suggestible she was in Carly’s presence.“I didn’t say we weren’t good at it.” She looked Carly square in the eye whenshe said it, having bundled her courage. It felt good.

Carly’s lips parted, and she blinked. Her tongue touched her toplip and Lauren felt it. “It was a good dream then,” she said quietly.

Lauren nodded.

The upbeat music still played from the car’s stereo, and forseveral long moments that remained the only sound. Finally, much to her ownsurprise, Lauren was the first one to speak. The spark between them wasundeniable. She knew it. Carly seemed to know it. While they still workedtogether, it was in a different, less regimented capacity. What was Laurenwaiting for? “Maybe we could have dinner sometime. Only if that’s somethingyou’d be interested in. You can say no.” She felt like a vulnerable and awkwardteenager, asking the cool girl out.

“You’re asking me on a date.” Carly said it more like a victoriousstatement than anything else. Lauren held off exhaling for a moment until theywere through this part. “What about right now?”

“Right now? What? No, we have rehearsal.” She gestured to the theater.

“They can’t get too far without us. Let’s play hooky and go tobreakfast. We can find a place with champagne and eggs Benedict.”

“You’re crazy.” Lauren laughed. “Absolutely not.” She pursed herlips. “What about tomorrow night?” She was on some sort of adrenaline high now,and it apparently supplied courage.

Carly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Lauren took inthe smooth column of her neck. She had flawless skin, perfect for a cinematicclose-up. Lauren wanted to run one finger down that neck, to her collarbone,down the center of her chest to the round—

“I’m free tomorrow night. You pick a place. I’ll drive.” Laurengave her head a tiny shake to wake herself from the fantasy. Carly quirked aneyebrow and glanced down at her chest. She wore an open collared Henley, andyes, there was a hint of cleavage. “Please tell me you were checking me out.”

Lauren sipped her latte in a very obvious, playful manner. “Fine,”she confessed. “I was, a little.”

“Am I going to be objectified at work today?” Lauren exited thecar with a smile, as Carly called after her. “Do I need to report you to mystage manager? Is there a union rep to call?”

“Maybe.” She shut the door to punctuate her point just as Carly’slaugh escaped. Lauren couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such aninvigorating morning. She felt alive and ready for all that lay ahead.

As they walked from the parking lot to the theater, the sizzlebetween them was almost palpable. Lauren felt like she could reach out andtouch it. Carly looked back at her with a sly smile. Yep. They were on theexact same page. She didn’t know what this was—a flirtation, a fling, orsomething legitimate. What she did know was her life sparked into color everytime Carly Daniel was around, and she was really looking forward to the rest oftheir day together. Honestly? That’s all she needed to know.

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