14. Emmett
I knew I had it bad as soon as the elevator doors closed and the familiar butterflies in my stomach began to flutter.
Every time my thoughts wandered, they said ‘Cassie, Cassie, Cassie.’
When I arrived back at my apartment, we all agreed to watch a movie, which only made my wandering thoughts worse, as I had to sit in silence.
Luckily, Cassie texted to tell me she made it to work, and that it was busy, but she’s going to quit. Then she sent 10 smiley emojis, and I had to bite my cheeks to prevent the biggest grin in front of my friends.
The rest of the weekend went by quickly. Sundays are my private rehearsal days. I go over the scenes for the week and make sure I know my lines and then spend the rest of the day relaxing. It’s my day to reset.
I decide to go to the studio early on Monday. On my walk to my trailer, I browse social media, knowing I could get to my trailer with my eyes closed.
When I get to the steps, I look up to see Cassie standing at my door, waiting for me.
“Shit,” I mutter and slam my right hand to my chest. “Warn a man, Sass, before you sneak up on them.”
Cassie’s looking at me, smiling. She’s already holding her clipboard, stacked with papers for the week. I can tell she”s happy, probably because she quit the diner Saturday. She’s pairing high waisted jeans with a v-neck today, with her radio attached to her hip.
With a giggle she responds, “Sorry, I would have texted you but figured I’d surprise you with coffee.”
“What did I do to deserve this?” I ask. I’m partially joking, but in truth I’m surprised to see her here. We texted a little yesterday, and I would have asked her to meet me this morning, but I didn’t want to seem desperate to see her or clingy.
“I…” Cassie starts, but then averts her gaze. She bites her lower lip, and upon releasing it, she returns her eyes to mine. “I wanted to see you.”
I nod, and a smile dances across my lips. “I figured it was only a matter of time before you fell for me.” I lean against the railing of the stairs, crossing my arms, while I watch her cheeks fill with pink.
She shifts from one foot to the other, her eyes on the step under her feet. Although she’s looking down, I can see a smile forming. “You wish, Hotshot.” Her gaze snaps back to mine.
”Give it time, Sass,” I say with a smirk, provoking another chuckle from her. “Want to come inside?”
Cassie nods.
I slip past her on the stairs and open the trailer door, holding it for her to go in before me. She turns to the right and heads to the couch, so I follow her. I choose to sit next to her. Not too close, but close enough to feel her warmth.
“Okay. First, know that it’s hard for me to ask this,” Cassie starts in a steady tone. She sits up straighter, turning to be fully facing me. “Second, you can say no.”
“I won’t say no.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.” Her head dips down, eyebrows furrowing.
“Doesn’t matter. I’d say yes to anything you ask.” I lean back on the couch, wrapping my left arm on the back, intruding on her space. She glances toward my arm for a moment before returning to me, but she doesn’t shift away. “I would say yes if you wanted me to jump off of a cliff.”
“Woah now, let’s not be ridiculous. I will definitely not be doing that, thank you.” Her hands flail in front of her.
“Noted.” I decide to push some limits and grab a piece of her hair, twirling it in my hand. Again, she glances but doesn’t move.
“I wanted to ask if your offer to act out scenes for my acting class was still standing.”
“Of course—”
“Remember, you can say no,” Cassie interrupts, lurching forward to emphasize which brings her legs to touch mine.
I bring my hand that was twirling her hair and grab the hand that’s resting on her leg. I offer one squeeze, something that has become a secret tell between us. Something to show that everything is okay and we’re there for one another.
“I was going to say, before you interrupted me…” I raise my eyebrows. “Of course I will. I already said I wouldn’t say no.” Cassie rolls her eyes, her signature move. I think she does it because she can’t believe how much she likes me. “Want to come over tonight?”
Cassie smiles. “That would be great, actually. I don’t have class this week or next, so we can rehearse more. I’ll bring the script over after work.”
Right. Work. That’s a thing.
“Okay.” I smile. “Tell me more about this acting class.”
Cassie stiffens.
I drag my thumb back and forth on her hand. “I’m just curious, Cass.”
“Right. Sorry. I’m not used to others caring about my class or acting in general.” She sighs. I continue to move my thumb on her hand, not letting go. “Um, so I told you I moved here five years ago? I already knew I was going to move in with Lucy, so I had just moved all of my stuff into the apartment before deciding I needed a break. I went to a coffee shop that was around the corner, saw a callout form for a local acting group, and that was it.” She adds a shrug.
“And do you like the class? Has it been, I don’t know, fun? I’ve never been a part of an acting group, so I’m not sure what they’re like.”
Cassie laughs and nods. “I like it. Yes.” She pulls her right leg up more onto the couch. Our legs were just touching, but after moving, her knee is resting on mine. She leans back onto the couch, getting more comfortable. She laughs some more. “Okay, don’t judge me for this.”
I let go of her hand and slam mine to my chest, dropping my jaw. “Me? Never.” I shake my head slowly, back and forth. Cassie playfully pushes on my chest with her now free hand, which causes me to lose my balance, my right shoulder going toward the couch. When I bounce back, I rest my hand on her knee instead of back in her hand.
“The callout form only had an address. No phone number, no building name, nothing. Literally just an address.” She pauses. “Don’t look at me like that. I know the risk I was taking, but I couldn’t find any classes before I moved here that either had openings or didn’t cost too much.”
I realize my jaw is open, for obvious reasons. Someone could have robbed her or kidnapped her. I shut my mouth and let her continue.
“So the building looked abandoned, but when I entered the front door, there were signs leading up the stairs to a room that they were hosting this class in. Turns out their old building had water damage, and this space was the only temporary place available. Still sketchy as fuck, but it turned out to be a fun class and everyone was nice, so I stuck around.”
“Wow. That’s awesome how it all worked out. Kinda like fate, huh?”
“I suppose, yes. If you believe in that sort of thing,” Cassie replies.
“We feel like fate, don’t you think?” I ask before I have time to think about the words coming out of my mouth.
“Emmett.” Cassie dips her head, playfully glaring at me.
I squeeze her knee. “I would love nothing more in the world than to continue sitting here talking to you, but I bet we need to get on the set.”
She responds with a groan, throwing her head back onto the couch. What I would give to lean forward and press my lips on her neck, sucking enough to leave a mark for everyone else to know that she’s mine.
I don’t realize I’m squeezing her knee until her hand covers mine and gives my hand a squeeze. “Careful, Hotshot. You might leave a mark.” She adds a wink and moves to stand up.
My hand regretfully slides off her leg, but my brain is still thinking about what she said. You might leave a mark. I would love to leave a mark. Multiple marks. One on her neck, a few on her chest, her hips, her inner thighs. I can tell my little touches are getting to her. Her pulse quickens when our hands lace, and she fidgets to distract herself from thinking about us too much.
She pauses by the door, turning around to look at me. I’m still sitting on the couch, afraid that if I get up and say goodbye, I won”t let her leave.
“See you on set?” she asks.
“Oh, possibly, who knows,” I say, smirking the entire time.
Cassie opens the trailer door cautiously, leaning her head outside to check for others. The coast is clear; she lets me know and says bye on her way out of the door.
I don’t see Cassie a lot for the rest of the day. Ed has me running around and re-filming scenes because he wanted to “try” something to please his drifting brain of ideas that pop up while filming. I entertain his ideas because it normally helps the day go faster. I don’t even make it to the cafeteria, I just eat food from the table on set.
Each time I catch sight of Cassie, our eyes meet, and we exchange a small smile, silently acknowledging each other from opposite sides of the room.
On my way out of the studio, Tyler catches me by the gates.
“I’m still irritated with you.” I greet him with a stare and an even tone.
“Oh, shut up.” He gently nudges my right arm, causing me to readjust my balance as we walk side by side. ”I was helping you break the ice,” he adds with a mischievous grin.
“You weren’t helping anything worth for shit. You put her on the spot, and Marcy is already angry about the whole situation.”
“Well, Marcy can get over herself. You’re clearly in love with her.”
“I am not.” I like her a lot and I want to be around her all the time, but I don’t love her.
“I was exaggerating. You two are fine though, right? I saw her in your trailer this morning.”
I whip my head to the right to look at him. “How?”
“I saw her leaving.” He glances at me. “After call time this morning.”
“Great.” Looks like we will need to be more careful about hanging out. I know Tyler wouldn’t say anything, but staff at the studio like to gossip during their free time. I don’t need an article written based on a story a staff member sold for a few bucks.
We stop walking when we reach the front gate. My driver is waiting outside and I know Tyler parks in the lot to the right.
“Just be careful,” Tyler warns. “You know how some people get around here. Little gossip machines.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I know. Thanks, man. Let’s grab lunch tomorrow.”
Tyler nods. “Sounds good.”
As he walks away, I walk through the gate and get into the car’s backseat.
By the time I get home, I already know Cassie will be here any minute. She texted me while she was leaving the studio to let me know she would stop home first to change into comfortable clothes before coming over. That was only a few minutes after I left, and ever since then I’ve been spiraling, thinking about what she meant by comfortable clothes. Why? I don’t know.
Ever since deciding to not filter myself around Cassie, I’m falling faster and faster for her every day just from being around her and talking to her. Tyler wasn’t far off, and I’m aching to cross a line with her. I want to destroy the barrier she has set up. I want to kiss her and hear the gentle moans she makes as my fingers graze her skin.
I need to get my shit together. These thoughts will make nothing easier when Cassie comes over. It’s one thing to want to hang out and talk to her, it’s another to want to touch her, and I can’t. Or, at least I shouldn’t.
I want her to make the first move. I need permission to touch her.
I walk into the kitchen and turn on the electric kettle to make tea for us. I have two cups steeping with some decaf chai when knocking comes from the front door.
“Come in,” I yell, taking a moment to pour a little bit of honey in each cup.
When I turn around, I drop the spoon I was holding to stir. Cassie is wearing the shortest shorts. It’s a matching pink sleep set. Simple, yet it’s filling my head with dirty, dirty thoughts about dragging the shorts down and slipping the thin shirt over her head.
Clearly my thoughts are displaying on my face because when I meet her gaze, she winks. “Are you done eye-fucking me, Emmett?”
“Hardly,” I respond, turning to grab another spoon to stir the honey in the mugs. I reach to pick up the dirty spoon and toss it in the sink. “That’s what you consider comfortable clothes? Are you staying the night?” I slide the mug across the island as Cassie takes a seat on one stool on the opposite side.
She nods, taking a sip of the tea. “Yes, these are my comfy clothes. And no, I’m not staying the night.” Damn, what I’d give for her to say yes.
“Well, drink up, Sass. We have scenes to rehearse. Do you have the script?” I ask.
“Oh! Yes!” She hops down from the stool, walking back toward the front door. She bends over and dear god, I know I should look away but I can’t. My gaze remains on the way her shorts cling to her, leaving me wondering if she’s chosen to go without underwear. Leaving herself bare for me, hoping tonight will lead to somewhere.
I get my composure back once she stands up and walks back to the island. “Here.”
She hands me one of the pink folders with the word “ROMANCE” written in the middle in Sharpie, keeping the other for herself. I lean forward on the island, resting my elbows on the counter. Opening the folder reveals three pages of paper, with words printed on both the front and back.
I take out the first page, skimming the scene. They’re your typical romance scenes, full of cheesy lines and all.
“You don’t have to do it, you know. You can still say no,” Cassie blurts out.
I raise my eyes to meet hers and stand up from the island. Cassie looks at her hands. She’s nervous, which is not like her.
“Come on.” I move toward the living room. I look back to make sure she’s following me. “You coming?”
She nods, biting her lip.
I stop in front of the couch and wait for her to stand in front of me. She stops, but not as close to me as I’d like. There are a solid two feet between us, a gap I plan to close once we act. Her eyes are looking at the scenes.
“You need to relax,” I tell her.
“You’re not supposed to tell a girl to relax.” Her eyes shoot upwards, but her head remains tilted down toward the floor.
“Do you trust me?”
“I don’t not trust you.” Her lips turn up in a smile, then her eyes return to the script.
I roll my eyes. “Let’s do this.”
“And you’re sure you don’t have any problems rehearsing with me?” Cassie looks up at me again. “Even after reading the first script?”
“I wish you’d stop asking me that. Of course I’m sure.”
“Did you read the whole script?”
“Yes. Are you asking because it ends in a kiss? Nervous you won’t be able to resist me?” I tease.
She rolls her eyes this time.
There’s my girl. Those three words echo through my head. I try to hold in a smile, but it doesn’t work. My mouth forms into a grin.
She smiles but then bites her lip to stop herself from blushing, which does not work one bit. Her cheeks are a soft pink, increasing to the color of a rose.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Cassie finally says after what feels like an hour of waiting for her to go through the pros and cons of us running lines together in her head.
“It won’t be any different from you being an extra, Sass, no pressure.” I shrug.
Cassie takes a deep breath and begins the scene.
When she delivers the first line, I try my best not to drop my jaw. She’s a natural. The perfect amount of emotion, not too much to be overly dramatic and not too little to seem dry. It’s enough to distract me from responding with my line.
“Emmett, that’s your cue,” Cassie says, smirking at me. I blink my eyes a few times, considering I was just staring at her like she’s some rare diamond. Can you blame me? This girl randomly stumbled into my life and has me on my knees. Not literally, although… no. I need to focus and not think about my head between her legs.
“Right.” I look at the script and then back up to resume the scene. “Don’t tell me to leave you. Not now, not ever.” I improvise and reach out to grab her hand in mine. She flinches the slightest bit, surprised by my touch, so I give her hand a squeeze.
“It was never meant to get this far. You’re better off without me,” Cassie says. Dropping my hand, she turns around to face the opposite direction. She peeks back at me, giving me a slight smile, which I can’t help but return.
I grab her left hand and pull, twisting her back around to face me. This time, she’s mere inches from me instead of the original two feet. I wanted, no, needed, her closer to me.
It’s time for me to deliver the closing line. I take a step closer and place my left hand on her cheek. “Don’t you understand? You’re it for me. There is no one else.” She leans into my touch, as if we’ve done this before and it’s now muscle memory.
A single tear falls from her face. “It’s always been you for me, too,” Cassie replies, and with that, I lean in and press her lips against mine, sealing a single kiss.
If this was a Disney movie, fireworks would go off in the background and there would be romantic instrumental music playing right now. That’s how this moment feels. It sure as hell doesn”t feel like we’re acting.
I take two steps back, dropping her hand, to give us space. It’s clear she’s as affected by the kiss as I am. It felt overdue. We’ve been dancing around each other, pulling at the tension between us, and flirting on the edge of pushing the boundaries for weeks.
“That was incredible, Cassie. Did you want to run it again?” I just wanted another chance to kiss her.
“Um, I have another scene we can do. If that’s okay?” She glances down at the folder, opens it, and takes the next scene out. I can see her read the scene from left to right, skimming the words on the page.
I copy her, taking out the scene and doing the same.
Once I get done reading the page, I look up to see her already looking at me, studying me. She bites her bottom lip. She still has a slight flush on her cheeks from our first kiss. Our first kiss. It’s not how I expected things to progress between us, but if I need to pretend with Cassie to show her we can be more than friends, I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever I need to do to show her I’m not the same as the other guys she’s been with. I won’t screw her over.
My mouth turns into a smile, and she responds with a small smirk back. The next scene is more intimate, with a little more touching and romantic lines.
“Okay, let’s do this,” I say, hoping that by the time we finish rehearsing lines, the wall Cassie built up will shatter and disappear.