To the Moon and Back

by Melissa Brayden

  That one apparently hit home and pulled a laugh. Carly liked Lauren’s unabashed smile and wanted to do more to inspire it. “God, it’s rough.”

  There was a pause as they grinned at each other. The moment felt…tentative. Carly wasn’t a fan of those and decided to shatter the hell out of it.

  “If you think I’m attractive, blink twice.”

  “I don’t have to. Everyone thinks you’re attractive. It’s ordained and universally agreed upon.” Lauren set down her martini like it was a period at the end of her sentence.

  “Everyone is not you. I happen to think you’re beautiful, and the alcohol gave me the courage to say so outright. Look at me go.”

  Lauren laughed, and then laughed some more.

  Carly watched, mystified. “What? I don’t see why that’s funny.” But because Lauren was laughing, she was now, too. “Tell me. I want to be in on the joke.”

  “It’s bullshit.” The laughter ebbed slowly, as Lauren sat back in her chair. “Since when do you need alcohol to say what’s on your mind? I’ve never met anyone as confident as you are. You own every room you walk into and know it. Sometimes on purpose, other times, I think it just happens.”

  Carly paused and took a moment to sip her drink. Lauren watched her do it, making Carly hyperaware of the things she was feeling. Correction. Craving. “That’s fair. Is it a turnoff? You can be honest.”

  “Not entirely.” She suspected the three-quarters of her martini Lauren had consumed made that admission possible. Daytime Lauren wouldn’t have said that in a million years. “Another drink?”

  “You’re having a second?” Carly raised an eyebrow. “This is a downright scandal. That’s what this is.”

  Lauren met her gaze evenly, almost in challenge. It inspired an enjoyable shiver. “Uber is real, and I’d like more. Is that a bad thing? I can go.”

  Carly stood. “It’s the best fucking thing I’ve ever heard. In fact, allow me. Don’t move.”

  When she returned to the table, she found one of the scenery people sitting next to Lauren. One of the ones she’d seen painting in the theater. She forgot what they were called. The woman, who sported a dark blond ponytail, turned when Carly sat down.

  Lauren gestured to the woman. “Tinsley Worth, meet Carly Daniel. Tinsley is our assistant set designer.”

  “Very cool to meet you,” Carly said, taking her hand.

  “Likewise. I’m a fan. Loved you in Race the Night,” Tinsley said, but Carly was unable to tell if that was true because Tinsley turned her attention immediately back to Lauren, and began chattering away as if they were alone in the world. It took only two minutes for Carly to understand that this Tinsley girl had a crush, which she totally identified with, but Carly made three and wasn’t the type to nip at heels.

  “You’re just always so great with people,” Tinsley gushed to Lauren. “I’ve always thought so. And this shirt looks great on you. Really.”

  Lauren glanced down. “Just trying to blend.”

  “It’s working. Wait. No. I mean, you never blend, but—”

  Lauren touched Tinsley’s arm to steady her. “I translate you.”

  Yep. There was a definite adoration vibe happening. Bummed to have lost the moment, Carly slid the mango martini across the table to Lauren and headed off in search of fun because the night was too short to waste. She found Trip and TJ, who played the gate agent who informed the main characters that they missed their flight. She’d already decided TJ was good people. The two were in the billiards section of the bar, contemplating a game of pool.

  “You want in?” TJ asked her.

  “I’m not from around these parts, you know,” she told them, batting her eyelashes like a naïve little lady. She wasn’t half bad at pool, though, and was prepared to flaunt the hell out of that. She was competitive to a fault.

  “All right,” TJ said. “You and me versus Trip and—”

  “Me.”

  She turned to see Kirby sidle up next to Trip. The two high-fived and exploded their hands.

  Carly put her hands on her hips. “Well, this should be interesting.”

  It wasn’t, though. She and TJ cleared the table on the other duo in under six minutes. Losers bought drinks, and to slow her roll so the night would last, Carly opted for a dressed Dos Equis she could sip slowly.

  “Who’s taking us on next?” TJ asked. “Where are the brave souls? Step right up. That’s right.”

  “I’m out,” Kirby said. “Gotta call Joe. He waits up to say good night. He’s a doll.”

  “I’ll partner with Trip,” a voice from behind said. Carly turned, and her beer went still on the way to her lips. Lauren.

  Trip walked to her and offered a high five. “All right, Lala. You and me. Let’s do this.”

  “Lauren, do you know the rules?” Carly asked with a small smile. “I can explain them.”

  “I was hoping to figure them out as I went,” she said with a hopeful wince. “Think that might work?”

  Carly laughed. “Let’s give it a try and see.”

  But she was a damn liar, because after just sixty seconds she’d made quick work of three-fourths of the table.

  Carly blinked as Lauren sank another, like the secret pro she apparently was. “What in hell?”

  Lauren straightened and admired the results of her own shot before raising her gaze to Carly. “Wow. It turns out I’m a quick study.”

  Trip laughed. He, of course, would know all about Lauren’s prowess with a cue. “I think the shark just got out-sharked.” Lauren shrugged at Carly and touched her glass to Trip’s in reverence. Carly spent the next few moments with her jaw on the floor as Lauren took them to school.

  The end result? Carly had to buy Lauren another drink. Not that awful a prospect. When she delivered it, she caught the soft scent of her perfume. Hints of vanilla and maybe lavender. Subtle, but very effective.

  “I’d love a rematch,” Carly said. “Now that I know who I’m dealing with, I’ll be sure to focus fully.”

  “Oh, you weren’t before?” Lauren asked in a teasing voice. “Because it looked like you were trying extra hard. It was sweet.”

  The drinks were working. Lauren had relaxed, stepped away from her always-put-together demeanor, and was just…a person. A really witty one, too. It had Carly on a high, and she wanted to soak up every minute until the guard went back up again. What was it about Lauren that had her all hot, bothered, intrigued, and willing to take her clothes off? Part of the fun was not knowing.

  “If you don’t want to go again, we don’t have to,” Carly said with a grin. She turned to TJ. “We’ll just chalk it up to a fluke.” He nodded and touched his longneck to hers. “Everyone gets lucky once in a blue moon.”

  Lauren also turned to TJ. “Rack ’em.”

  And it was on.

  As “Cherry Pie” pulsed over the speakers, Lauren studied the table from one angle, then another, before sinking three balls in a row. Carly and TJ rallied, Trip barely made a difference, but it was Lauren who once again owned the table. While Carly had paid more attention to her own shots this go-round, thought them through, and taken her time, that hadn’t been the reason she’d asked for a second round. No, she’d wanted to watch Lauren, who was clearly in her element. She was something to behold, too. Her eyes shone bright when she spotted her shot and then darkened as she concentrated. Her lips, shiny with gloss, parted slightly just before she delivered her shot, and sigh, the cleavage she glimpsed each and every time Lauren leaned over the table… Do not get me started. As competitive as she was, she’d agree to lose a thousand times over to have that multifaceted sense-inspiring experience again and again.

  “So, what’s your secret?” she asked Lauren after the second trouncing. “Do you have a secret pool hall below the theater that you sneak away to and practice through the night?”

  Lauren met her gaze with a smug smile. “If I told you my secret, then you wouldn’t sit up and think all night about what it could be.” She
took a delicate sip from her martini that did something wonderfully uncomfortable to Carly’s midsection. The skin of Lauren’s shoulder called out to her, and she noticed how ridiculously smooth it was. She wanted to run her forefinger across the curve and follow up with her tongue. Yeah, it was that kind of night.

  “Then the least you can do is teach me how to break like you do.”

  Lauren straightened. “I can help if you want.”

  Carly reached behind Lauren and grabbed a cue, inhaling the vanilla lavender scent once again. That perfume flirted with her all on its own. Who’d invented this stuff? She met Lauren’s gaze. “Oh, I want.”

  Lauren followed her to an empty table and racked the balls. “Secret number one. Make sure the rack is tight.” Carly blinked and held her tongue, but the insinuation was not lost on Lauren, who blushed. She made a rewind gesture. “Taking that back. Just heard how that sounds.”

  “You don’t have to on my account,” Carly said with a playful wink and joined Lauren on her side of the table. She made it a point to lose the shenanigans for the rest of her lesson. “What’s step one?”

  “You want to make sure the cue ball remains in the center of the table.” She placed it on the felt and pointed to the corner pocket. “If it breaks off and bounces back over here? You’re in bad shape.”

  “And I won’t be able to clean the table like you just did, which is now all I want to do in life. Well, almost.”

  Lauren inhaled and blinked. She seemed to decide to plow forward. “Exactly. It’s all about that initial positioning after the break.”

  Carly studied Lauren in the midst of their lesson. “And how do I make sure it remains centrally located?”

  “Easy. You have to connect with the ball in front by tapping the cue ball right here.” Lauren pointed at a spot on the cue ball just above the center point. “If your aim is off, you’re going to have a rogue cue ball and probably miss an easy side pocket sink. Why don’t you give it a try?” Lauren cleared the area.

  “All right.” With cue in hand, Carly lowered her body and surveyed the table, focusing on what Lauren told her was key: the sweet spot on the cue ball. “Like this? Am I doing it right, Ms. Shark?”

  “I prefer Madame. But, oh…” Lauren laughed quietly. “Your stance is off.”

  Carly straightened. “What do you mean? I’ve always been told I have a great stance.”

  “Because they’re probably looking at your ass.”

  “Were you?” Carly asked playfully. Okay, she was also half serious because the combination of alcohol, the perfume, and the way Lauren had cut loose tonight had her in the friendly land of lust. She loved it in Lust Land, where she could frolic with anticipation, hope, and longing. God, if only Lauren would join her there, they could have a little fun while she was in town. Ride a few of the rides.

  “Checking out your ass?” Lauren paused before answering, meeting Carly’s gaze. A ball of tension coiled tight and wonderful in Carly’s stomach, and she felt the slightest tingle between her legs. “Unfortunately, no. My mind was on the break shot.” She fluttered her eyelashes, which told Carly she left room for fibbing. “Now, about that stance.” Carly, always one to help, took up the position once again. “See your back arm?” Lauren asked. “It’s angled wrong, and it’s screwing up your shot line. Here.”

  And before Carly could scream Hot damn! Lauren’s body was at her back and Lauren’s arms came around hers. “Well, hello,” she said to Lauren quietly.

  “Hi,” Lauren said back. “Pay attention.”

  “Trust me. I’m riveted.”

  Lauren let that one go, too. “Level this back arm out so you can draw a perfect line between the cue ball and the front ball. That red one there, see?”

  Carly nodded but was in no rush to take the shot, not with Lauren this close, turning Carly the hell on with the warmth from her body. She hadn’t been wrong about Lauren having a killer body. She could see it in her mind’s eye, the way it pressed against hers. The tingle from earlier was now a full-on throb, and she relished it.

  “Ready?” Lauren asked quietly in her ear. Her breath tickled wonderfully.

  “Ready,” Carly said. Lauren stepped back and allowed Carly to take the shot, which in the end came off perfectly. She nailed the front ball, sank another in the side pocket, and watched as the cue ball hung in the center of the table, just like Lauren had promised it would.

  “Well, now who’s a shark?” Lauren asked, as Carly tossed her hands in the air and held them there. The room broke into applause, and that’s when Carly realized that the crowd had nearly tripled in size, and all eyes were on her…in addition to five or six cell phones. That meant someone had likely tweeted or Instagrammed her location. It happened often, actually. She smiled and nodded to their onlookers as she passed by to retrieve her drink. She remained hyperaware of Lauren’s location in the room, however. She sipped slowly, posed for a few photos, signed the back of a guy’s jean jacket, and watched as Lauren seemed to grow more and more unsteady. Carly got the feeling that she didn’t go out much, and maybe the night had gotten away from her. She was using the backs of chairs to maneuver the space, and that was Carly’s signal to check in and make sure she was okay.

  She touched Lauren’s shoulder. “Hey, you. Are you a little drunk right now? Because you’re looking a little unsteady.”

  “No,” Lauren shouted over the music and grinned. Totally was.

  “Okay,” Carly said with what was probably a disbelieving smile.

  “I’m a lot drunk right now.” She followed that up with the most adorable laugh. “I need to get an Uber so I can…” She trailed off the way drunk people sometimes do and instead stared glassy-eyed at the grooves on the tall wooden table next to them.

  “Tell you what. Why don’t I take you home?”

  Lauren blinked and raised a drunk eyebrow. “I’m not going home with you. You’re not going home with me, I mean. Not that kind of thing. You’re an actress, ma’am, and I haven’t forgotten.”

  “And you’re a stage manager. Ma’am,” she added for good measure. “We have our jobs all sorted out, so let’s get you home safe. I’m in good shape.”

  “Okay,” Lauren said, her eyes now looking heavy. “Listen, I’m in no condition to argue, even though we probably would argue real, real good.”

  “Real, real?” Carly couldn’t help but wonder if argue was a euphemism. She decided it was. “I have a feeling you’re right.”

  Six minutes later, they were in an Uber on the way to Lauren’s, where Carly would get her situated, then do the gentlewomanly thing and head back to the apartment the theater had rented for her.

  “We have arrived,” Lauren said. She stumbled out of the car. “I wonder if Rocky can make me another martini.”

  “Oh.” A long pause. “Rocky is your…boyfriend?” Carly closed one eye as she awaited that little piece of unfortunate news. She imagined a muscle-bound ex-football player appearing on the front porch any moment, looking for his girlfriend. If sexy Lauren was taken, who was she going to have fun with while she was here?

  “Rocky is not my boyfriend. He’s tiny.” She held her hand just slightly above the pavement. “He’s complicated, means well, and is very snuggly. I miss him.” Lauren sighed wistfully.

  Aha. An undefined love interest who was apparently very small. This was complicated, indeed. Lauren was right.

  “He’s also a really good dog. Mostly.”

  Carly froze on her way up the walk. “He’s a dog? Rocky is a dog?”

  Lauren laughed. “Yeah. What did you think he was? A hamster? Hamsters are no Dolph Lundgren.”

  “You’re going to have to explain that one later,” Carly said, watching Lauren try three times to pull her keys from her bag. “Here. Let me do that.”

  “You are really nice tonight.” Lauren leaned against the brick and stared at Carly, who felt Lauren’s gaze boldly roam her body. It sent a flash of heat all over. “God, you’re pretty, Carly Daniel. Just like th
e movies. No. More.” A pause. “Maybe you should come in after all.”

  Damn it. Lauren might actually be into her, and because she was too drunk to decide, Carly couldn’t do a damn thing about it. “I think I’ll just get you in there safely and take off.”

  “Okay, if that’s what you want. Is that what you want? You’re free to say, you know.”

  Carly chuckled, just as the key turned in the door. She opened it for Lauren and stepped back. “If I went after what I wanted, this night would end very differently than it’s about to. Not that you’ll necessarily remember all of this conversation tomorrow.”

  “Right? The world is a little…spinny, which is the most fun word. Spinny.” A pause as she marveled at the sound. “Spinny, spinny, spinny.” Carly laughed. Lauren was cute and made her smile. “Thank you for seeing me home safely, Supergirl. I’m going to drink water and sleep, okay?”

  “Sounds like a great idea to me. Maybe the spinning will stop.”

  Lauren walked past Carly into her home, paused, walked back out, and stared at her with those luminous green eyes. She didn’t say a word.

  “Lauren? You okay?”

  She nodded, grabbed the material of Carly’s shirt with one hand, and kissed her. Well, hello. Carly didn’t have time to think, to stop Lauren, because her body had taken the lead and had elbowed wisdom in its boring face. It was a simple kiss, but Lauren’s mouth was warm and wonderful, and she tasted a little like mango. Her tongue touched Carly’s lower lip and made her shiver. When Lauren stepped back and steadied herself with an arm to the doorjamb, all Carly could do was blink and smile. Well, that was settled. Not straight. Lauren Prescott was one hundred percent not straight. This was big. This was a victory, but it also had to be over for tonight. Lauren was drunk. Not that she could articulate that at this point. Carly, on the other hand, reveled. She bit her lower lip and let her tongue run over the same spot Lauren’s had, still tasting the sweetness from Lauren’s lips.

  Finally, when her language skills drifted back to her, she passed Lauren a soft smile. “You certainly know how to say good night to a girl.”