Page 35 of All That Glitters
A playful smile curled her lips. She shook her head. “Nope. But it’s funny watching you try.”
“How about I tell you this — I finished The Frat.”
Debbie’s eyes went wide. She exploded with an excited squeal! “Ohmygosh! No way! It’s done?!”
“Yeah. I was gonna tell you the other night, but you were taking your midterms.”
Debbie launched herself onto him in an excited hug that nearly knocked him off his feet. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor. It was a moment of pure, unbridled joy.
“So, what happens now?” she said as he set her down.
“I mailed a bunch of copies to agencies and production companies this morning, so I guess I wait to see what they say.”
“I’m so proud of you, Tony,” she said, her hands still resting on his shoulders and his around her waist. The closeness felt right and comfortable, along with the sudden tingle that ran up her sides. “I knew you could do it.”
“That makes one of you,” he said. “Seriously, Deb. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“So, my torture camp worked.”
He nodded. “Painfully well.”
She grinned. “Never underestimate the motivational value of avoiding a naked beach run.”
Tony paused as something mischievous flickered in his eyes. “Hey. That reminds me. This means you have to do the naked beach run now since I finished.”
Debbie stepped back far enough to look up at him. “I don’t remember that being part of the arrangement.”
“No? How about just around the living room, then?”
Debbie hated the warm blush that was filling her cheeks. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Harding,” she teased. “And stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re already imagining it.”
Tony laughed. “How about when I sell it?”
“That’s when you’re gonna buy me the Porsche, right?”
“I thought it was a bicycle with training wheels.”
She laughed. “A bike gets you sweatpants and a hoodie.”
Tony laughed, pulling her again into a tight hug. “Joking aside, you made it fun, Deb,” he said, his voice becoming soft and serious. “It gave us a chance to hang out and do Tony-Debbie stuff.”
Debbie squeezed him tightly to her. “I had fun, too,” she said softly, breathing into his chest. The way he felt pressed against her felt so right; so comforting. She never wanted to let go, and have this moment just last forever.
She needed to tell him; to just spit it out there and see how he reacted.
“Tony,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper. She felt her heart pounding so loudly, she was sure he could hear it. “There’s something...”
Just then, the front door swung open and Veronica sailed in, dropping her keys into the bowl by the door. She stopped dead,taking in the scene — Tony and Debbie standing entirely too close, staring at each other with wide, unblinking eyes, a single red rose lying on the table next to a monster truck t-shirt.
“Whoa,” Veronica said, her eyes darting between them, a slow smile spreading across her face. “If you two are about to kiss, I can circle the block and come back later. Just give me a signal. Any signal. A nod. A wink. A subtle hand gesture.”
And just like that, the moment shattered. Tony and Debbie backed apart from each other, a flush creeping up both of their necks.
“No. We were just...” Tony stammered, “... I was telling her about how I finished my script.”
