Acting Up

by Adele Buck

  Cath’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not exactly dressed down yourself.” She waved a hand at his trousers and linen shirt, topped with a light blazer.

  “I guess we’re both making an effort then. I’m sure Laurie will appreciate it.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Cath, darling,” Cath bent down as Laurie presented first one cheek to be kissed, then the other. A broad smile crossed his face, the light from the apartment shining off the dark skin of his shaved head.

  Sniffing the delectable aroma that drifted into the hallway, Cath said, “Laurie, it smells like you’ve outdone yourself. This dinner is going to be great.”

  “And you brought dessert in the form of delicious man-candy,” he said, eyes twinkling with humor as he hugged Paul. “Honestly, darling, is that hair on your head, Paul? I always thought you were hosting an alien life form up there. But now? Take me to your leader, poppet. Rawr.”

  Paul grimaced and rubbed his head, his cropped hair ruffling up in a familiar way, though without the length it lacked its usual exuberance. “That why you do the bald thing, Laurie? Afraid of alien invasion?”

  Laurie gave Paul a sarcastic look and turned to call back into the apartment. “Karl, sweetheart. Would you please get drinks for Cath and Paul?” Laurie stepped back and waved them into the apartment. “Come in, you two. Catherine, you look smashing. That dress does divine things for your legs.”

  Cath’s cheeks heated at the compliment and forced herself not to look at Paul. Instead, she glanced around at Karl and Laurie’s temporary apartment. “Laurie, how much did you and Karl bring from New York? I know you guys are both designers, but this place looks amazing.” Cath recognized at least two small paintings from their Brooklyn apartment, and was sure that the delicate side table by the door was nothing that would ever come with a furnished rental.

  Karl came in with a tray of glasses of champagne, handing one to Cath and another to Paul. “Antiquing. If Laurie keeps at the shops, we’re going to have to find a bigger apartment soon,” he said, shooting a wry smile at his boyfriend.

  “I have purchased exactly two small, necessary items. Two,” Laurie said, lifting the same number of fingers in a rude British gesture and receiving his glass with a mock scowl.

  “Hm. Yes. Antiques are always necessary, according to you.” Karl’s cheeks bunched over his beard as he teased his boyfriend.

  Ignoring their usual byplay, Cath glanced at the festive drinks in everyone’s hands, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Do you two have something you want to tell us?”

  Laurie raised his glass. “As a matter of fact,” his voice rang triumphantly through the room, “Karl and I are getting married in the fall.”

  “I knew it!” Cath whooped, punching one fist in the air.

  “Drink first, hug second, darling,” he said, raising an eyebrow and taking a sip.

  Paul grinned broadly and lifted his own glass. “To the happy couple.”

  Cath took a quick drink and put the glass down on a nearby table, stepping forward to fold Karl and Laurie in a hug. Squeezing her eyes closed, she felt Paul’s arms wind around as much of them as he could. She felt more than heard his, “Congratulations, you two,” reverberating through her body as the four of them stood for a moment, gripping tightly.

  Breaking the hug, Cath stepped back and swiped under her eyes with a surreptitious fingertip. “I’m so happy for you guys, I can’t even tell you how much.”

  “We’re pretty ecstatic if we do say so ourselves,” Laurie said, retrieving his glass and raising it to his lips with a wink.

  Helping Karl set the small table in the corner of the combined living and dining area of the apartment, Paul snuck a look into the kitchen where Cath was helping Laurie plate the dinner, apparently some sort of Tuscan chicken dish. His stomach rumbled in response to the savory aroma permeating the apartment.

  “How long did you know Laurie before you got together?” Paul asked, looking back at the big set designer.

  Setting the last fork down, Karl straightened up, thinking. “We’d worked two shows together, I think, before I asked him to dinner. But they weren’t consecutive. So…maybe a year?”

  “And it’s never been a problem? Being a couple and working together, I mean.”

  Karl shot a glance into the kitchen and then looked shrewdly at Paul, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t suppose you have any sort of ulterior motive asking me that?”

  Paul’s face heated and he rubbed his hand across his mouth. “Just gathering information.”

  “Sure. Well, it hasn’t always been easy to live and work with Laurie, but you have to talk those problems through. You definitely can’t let anything simmer. Especially not when you take Laurie’s temper into account.”

  “What’s simmering now?” Laurie asked, bringing two plates to the table, accompanied by Cath.

  “Just telling Paul the secrets to a successful romantic and working partnership,” Karl said as Paul’s face got even hotter. Cath set a plate in front of him and he thanked her, his gaze sliding to her face. Their eyes met and skidded away just as fast. Glancing back at Karl, he saw that the set designer had lofted one ruddy eyebrow in amusement.

  “Anyway.” Paul tried to cover his embarrassment as he unfolded his napkin and set it on his lap.

  “Why do I feel like I am missing something here?” Laurie asked, pouring a glass of red wine and handing it to Cath.

  Paul coughed. “Just interesting to me how often people in the industry end up dating and marrying within the industry.”

  “And breaking up and divorcing within the industry,” Cath said.

  “Such a cynic, darling,” Laurie said, handing a glass of wine to Paul.

  Cath’s eyes flew open wide and she looked from Laurie to Karl, her face flooding with crimson. “I didn’t mean you guys. I’m sorry. Please ignore me.”

  Paul swallowed the bite of chicken he had been chewing. “No, you guys are the kind of couple that makes a person into an optimist. By the way, this is really delicious, Laurie. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome, darling. But don’t try to change the subject. Do you two have some sort of…personal interest in this topic?” A soft thud emitted from under the table and Laurie flinched. “What?” he asked, looking at Karl.

  “Don’t pry, dear.”

  Cath’s eyes narrowed as she observed the byplay between Karl and Laurie. She looked at Paul, but he was keeping his gaze fixed on his plate.

  Paul was asking Karl for relationship advice? Relationship advice for couples working in the same industry?

  Cath cut a bite of chicken and chewed it slowly. Savory flavors flooded over her tongue, but she barely noticed. She washed the bite down with a tiny sip of wine.

  She had been so miserable, so sure that all Paul wanted was a fling. A stress release.

  What if he wanted more?

  “How did you guys know you were serious about each other?” Spearing a vegetable and chewing on it, she looked from Karl to Laurie and back again.

  Karl shrugged. “We were never not serious about each other.”

  “Darling, you’re serious about everything,” Laurie said with a wintry little smile.

  “As if you take everything lightly,” Karl replied.

  “So neither of you were ever concerned it was just a fling? That one of you felt more than the other?”

  Karl and Laurie looked at her, identical blank expressions on their faces. “What a terribly odd question,” Laurie said, his gaze shifting to Paul.

  “Never mind,” Cath said. “I’m just always interested in how people’s relationships change and transition. But it sounds like you guys were meant for each other from the word ‘go.’”

  Karl’s eyes warmed as they rested on his fiancé. “We like to think so.”

  Chapter 13

  “Thanks again,” Cath said, straightening up from kissing Laurie’s cheeks and finding herself folded into a warm hug by Karl. “I’m so happy for you both.”
<
br />   “Thanks,” Karl said, his eyes twinkling. Bending forward, his beard tickling her ear, he whispered, “Don’t try so hard to protect yourself. There’s more to life than work. And trust me. Mixing work and play can be a whole lot of fun.”

  Startled at his perceptiveness, Cath stared as he grinned at her then looked at Paul, raising his brows. Almost against her will, she followed his gaze, thankful to realize Paul was still bidding Laurie goodbye and hadn’t noticed their conversation. She darted Karl a narrow look and gave him a “drop it” gesture, her hand slicing across her throat. Karl chuckled.

  Turning to her, Paul smiled. “Ready to go?”

  Cath nodded and waved one last time at Karl and Laurie, who were standing in the doorway, arms around each other, the picture of a happy, settled couple. Following Paul out of the building, she was relieved to find the evening had cooled off somewhat and a light breeze fanned her heated cheeks. Still mortified by her tactless comment about divorce and breakup earlier in the evening, she frowned and looked at the sidewalk.

  “Buck-fifty,” Paul said abruptly as they started to walk.

  “What?” Cath said, startled out of her abstraction.

  “Well, I’d offer you a penny for your thoughts, but it looks like you have a lot of them. Plus, you know. Inflation.”

  Cath barked a short laugh. “Just kicking myself for being such a tactless fool at dinner. Thanks for coming to my rescue and changing the subject.”

  “Not a big deal. I’m always here for you.” He touched her elbow lightly and they both stopped, turning to each other. Paul’s face was half lit by a nearby streetlamp and half in shadow.

  “You always have been,” Cath said. “That’s what scared me…when you…when we…well. The last few days. It’s been so awkward. I couldn’t bear to think about you not being in my life.”

  “You jump really fast from a romantic overture to the idea that it will make everything go straight to hell.”

  She sighed. “Yeah.”

  “Why is that? We’ve always been great together.”

  “As collaborators. As friends.” Cath’s stomach fluttered and her heart began to thud heavily.

  “Friendship is a great foundation to a romantic relationship.”

  Cath swallowed hard. “Is that what you’re asking me for? A romantic relationship?”

  Taking a step forward, Paul raised a hesitant hand to her cheek. “Why would you think I wasn’t?”

  “Well, the other night seemed like it might be…I don’t know.”

  “A one-time thing? A brief fling?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I may not be the smartest man in the world, but I’m not stupid either. You’re too important to me for that.”

  Cath thought for a moment and waved her hand between them. “But how could it last? Neither of us has ever had any successful relationships. I don’t think either of us is a particularly good bet. And after it ends? What if everything is just wrecked? Not just us, but…us.”

  “Well, maybe we weren’t successful with other people because we weren’t meant to be.”

  Rolling her eyes, she said, “You know how I feel about ‘meant to be.’”

  “Yeah, you think it’s bullshit. But that isn’t really what I mean. Maybe we didn’t work out with other people because we weren’t right for them. But maybe we are right for us.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  Paul’s jaw tensed. “Because, like you said, we’re us.”

  The raw look in Cath’s eyes felt like hairline cracks running through Paul’s body. “It was never my intention to offer you anything less than everything. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clearer.”

  Cath took a deep, shuddering breath and the hairline cracks split wide at her rare show of vulnerability. “Okay then. Where do we go from here?”

  “Where do you want to go?”

  Closing her eyes, Cath lifted her hand to his, still lying on her cheek. For a moment, he was afraid she would remove it, but she merely twined her fingers through his. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked at him solemnly. “I’m not quite sure. I’ve been so convinced it wouldn’t work I haven’t let myself think about it.”

  “Well, let’s start to think about it.” He brushed the pad of his thumb across her lower lip and was rewarded by the barest echo of a smile.

  “Where do we even begin?” she asked.

  “Where we always begin. With the text.”

  Cath just looked at him for a moment. “You’re going to treat this like a new play we’re working on?”

  “Why not? We start with what works. We’ve…mounted enough plays.” He felt a wry smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

  Laughing softly at the double entendre and releasing Paul’s fingers, Cath reached out and traced his lips with hesitant fingertips. “Okay. What’s our text? And don’t say Romeo and Juliet, because no. Gross.”

  Paul pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “God, no. We’re not teenagers, we didn’t just meet, and we’re not melodramatic.” Cath’s head tilted, one eyebrow lifting. “Okay. We’re not usually melodramatic.”

  “We’ve been like Waiting for Godot for years,” Cath offered, her eyes on his mouth. “All that not-moving and cryptic innuendo.”

  “Too many years,” Paul agreed. “Though I’m pretty sure you’d look cute in a bowler hat.”

  “Well, The Catalyst is out. I’m not going mad for you or anyone.”

  “I may have a few fantasies about driving you crazy.” Paul slid one hand down to cup her bottom and pull her toward him, the other cradling her neck and jaw. Her pulse thudded against his palm.

  “Somehow I think that’s different.” Cath leaned back slightly so she could look Paul in the eye. Her lips were parted, her breath shallow.

  “Oh, I really hope so,” Paul murmured, leaning forward. Cath tilted her face up to meet his and he kissed her. Her hands moved up to run through his hair and he groaned into her mouth, pulling back and looking at her large eyes in the dim light.

  “We really should have waited to have this conversation until we got home. This is going to be an uncomfortable walk for me.”

  “We haven’t agreed on a script.”

  “Let’s start by improvising.”

  Paul’s hands were shaking as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Cath curled her fingers into her palm to keep herself from reaching out to touch, stroke, or even help him with the lock. Finally getting the door open, he turned and pulled Cath in after him, closing the door and pressing himself to her. Cath gasped at the suddenness of the movement, the solid door behind her, the feel of his body flush against hers. Cupping her face in his hands, he looked down at her, his eyes scanning her face.

  “You okay? Is this still okay?”

  Cath swallowed. “Oh, yes.” Rising to her toes, she threaded her fingers into his hair and kissed him, his momentary surprise melting into eager participation. His arms tightened around her waist. Holding her with one arm, his other hand ran down her leg, lifting and wrapping her knee around his hip, then stroking back up and underneath her skirt, fingertips teasing at the elastic edge of her panties.

  “I do like this dress,” he murmured as he traced the edge of her ear with his lips, his touch feather-light. Cath shivered. “Laurie was right. Does amazing things for your legs. Those legs have been on my mind all evening.”

  A smile stretched across Cath’s face and she tilted her head back as he kissed the side of her neck. “Oh really? I should wear it more often?”

  “As much as I like it, I don’t think you should be wearing anything just now,” Paul growled, lifting her off her feet. Instinctively, Cath wrapped her other leg around his hips and he ground into her, teeth grazing the column of her neck before he spun, half-stumbling, toward the bedroom. Cath started to laugh, her face buried in his neck, overcome by helpless giggles.

  “That’s what I get for trying to be a romantic hero. Comedy,” he grumbled as he got t
o the bedroom door.

  “Maybe we need to rehearse,” she said. “Okay, gang, let’s take it from the top. Paul, if you would start back at the door?”

  “You,” he said, reaching the bed and laying her on it, pulling off her sandals and throwing them to a corner of the room, “are going to be the death of me.”

  “Nah,” she said, propping herself up on her elbows and hooking her toes behind his legs, her expression hard to make out in the darkened room, the only light filtering dimly from the streetlights outside. “I might make you throw your back out, but I don’t think I’m capable of murder.”

  “Unintentional homicide,” he said, leaning in for another kiss. Cath stood up, running her hands under his jacket to push it off his shoulders and onto the floor, then turned her attention to his shirt buttons. Seeming impatient with her fumbling progress, Paul pulled the shirt over his head once she had freed two buttons and dropped it next to his jacket. Cath smoothed her hands across his chest and shoulders, luxuriating in the feel of the long muscles under his skin.

  “I love the feel of your hands on me,” Paul said, his voice gone low and husky, kissing her again. “I’ve been fantasizing about those hands lately.”

  “Well,” Cath said, hooking one finger in the waistband of his trousers. “I think they’re starting to fantasize about you.”

  Paul groaned as Cath unbuckled his belt and started to unbutton his pants. Pulling her to her feet, he unwound her scarf, tossing it aside, and pulled her dress up over her head in one swift motion. He’d seen her in her spandex running outfits and knew her body was lean and muscular, but seeing her revealed in just her bra and panties made his throat go dry.

  Her fingers resumed their quest to free him from his trousers and Paul toed off his shoes, desperately eager to feel Cath’s skin against his own. Easing his pants and underwear off of him, she ran her palms over his butt and pulled him toward her.

  “Oh, Cath, you are going to feel so…good,” he said as he unhooked her bra and threaded the straps down her arms. Tossing it to the side, he dipped his head to lick and suck at one nipple, feeling Cath stiffen and cup the back of his head with one palm. Running one hand up her spine, the cool cascade of Cath’s hair swept across the back of his hand. He felt like every nerve was aware of her, all the tastes and textures of her. Reaching down, he threaded his fingertips into the waistband of her underpants, tugging them over her hips until they fell around her ankles, transferring his attention to her other nipple.