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Lauren made a gesture as if to erase the board because she had anurgent need to understand what was happening, and it felt acutely like Trip hadadopted another language entirely. “Can we start over? I think we’re talkingabout different things. At least, I hope we are, for the good of all thingssacred.”

He squinted at her. “I’m talking about the Instagram post thatwent up Saturday night of you and Carly getting cozy over the pool table. Theone where you were all up in her space, teaching her your break shot, lookinglike a total badass.”

Her mind stuttered to catch up. She remembered putting her armsaround Carly to teach her to break properly. It had been a little intoxicating.“How is that online?”

He stared at her like she should know this. “Cell phones wereeverywhere that night. One of her adoring fans snapped it, and it got sharedabout a million times.”

“Right,” Lauren said, squeezing the spot between her eyes.

Trip continued to talk as he prepped the set. “She’s crazy famous,and people are clamoring to know who she’s dating. She stays tight-lipped inthe press about it.”

“How do you know so much?”

“I collect gossip for a living, Lauren. You know me. Flip on anepisode ofAccessHollywoodonce in a while.TMZcan be fun.”

“Gotcha,” Lauren said, numbly. While learning that the ill-advisedkiss wasn’t public information provided Lauren a small measure of relief, thephoto wasn’t exactly fantastic news. That kind of cozy relationship with herlead actress wasn’t the image she wanted out there. Her cast would see that,not to mention the wider world. “Can I see it?” She had an Instagram accountbut rarely opened it these days.

It took Trip only a few seconds to produce the image. “It’snot…awful,” he said, clearly doing his best to minimize the perceived fallout.“Actually, it’s a really hot photo of the two of you. People will talk about itfor a few days and then move on to something else.”

She looked down at the photo on Trip’s screen. She was crouchedover Carly, their faces very close together, their bodies touching back to front.It looked like she was speaking quietly into Carly’s ear. Carly was smiling.Wonderful, Lauren.

“They should fire me now,” she said with a sigh and tossed thephone onto the table in front of her.

Trip abandoned his task and headed over. His hair seemedsympathetic, having lost its festive bounce, and that helped.

In favor of the larger issue, she shoved aside theother thingsthatviewing the photo did to her, the tightening of her stomach muscles, the warmththat started at her hairline and moved rapidly down her body, making herfingers tingle and dance nervously. She’d never really had to deal with dancingfingers before.

She remembered the moment itself clearly, how Carly’s blond hairhad tickled Lauren’s collarbone as she’d spoken quietly. She swallowed.

“Lauren, my noble leader, you’re blushing profusely.”

She glanced up. “Am not.”

“And now you’re telling outright lies, and it’s me.” He turned achair backward and sat next to her as if in down-to-business mode. “Lala, youhave a thing for Carly Daniel? You wouldn’t be the first in this life, so it’snot at all a surprising thing. Let me tell ya. She’s a lesbian. You’re alesbian. Sometimes lesbians get together and do lesbian things.”

“Please, Trip. I was drinking and trying to be…I don’t know, fun?”She sighed. “Look where it got me. Definitely not a mistake I’ll make again. Ineed to keep my distance. Decided.”

“Stop it right now, or I’ll hurl this chair through a window likePatti Lupone in a rage.”

“Dramatic.”

“When it comes to this? Yes. I loved that you came out with us.It’s been a while since you’ve attended any kind of gathering outside of theones that come with formal invitations, and you’re not a nun. Yet.”

Trip’s pep talk fell flat, ineffective in the face of her ownminor freak-out. Lauren blinked several times, waiting for her emotions tosettle. Any moment now. When they did, she would take full grip of the reins,and conquer this situation the way she did all others. She was type A for areason, damn it.

Because she didn’t respond, Trip punched her in the arm. Hard.

“Ow,” she said, rubbing the spot. “Why are you beating on me, youlunatic?”

“Because you need to snap out of it. We have a rehearsal to getto, and we can’t do it without you.” A pause. “Our resident Casanova poolshark.”

She gasped in outrage as Trip bounded away. His upbeat,lighthearted demeanor helped alleviate some of her stress. As did his hair.

It didn’t last long.

Ten a.m. came, and with it, the entire cast gathered. Well, exceptfor one. Carly was MIA again, and this time Ethan seemed to truly take notice.“Why are we waiting on her again?” Ethan asked Lauren with an unusual bite inhis tone. Even he was growing weary, which said something.

“I’ll call,” she said, offering him an apologetic glance. Not thatthis was her fault, but stage management often took the brunt of the disdainfor rehearsal not going according to plan. That came with the gig. Carly didn’tpick up her first call, or her second, nor her third either. It was now fortyminutes into rehearsal, and her understudy, Nia, had taken over to keep themfrom losing any more valuable time.