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The brass instruments and drums of the song kicked in, and Dorian moved across the stage, ignoring his track. Now that the music was playing, I could see that the stutter-step synced with the double-drum snare in the music. It looked perfect now.
I set my feet and tried mimicking the motion. The first few steps were rough, but I quickly got the hang of it as I kept my back leg planted. It was unnatural at first, but I knew with enough practice it would become second-nature.
“Better,” Dorian said as he watched me, “but you’re not shifting your weight as quickly. Here.”
He stepped up behind me and put his hands on my waist, one finger sliding into the waistband of my yoga pants. A firm, yet gentle, touch. He jerked my body along while my feet moved, showing me how I should be moving my upper body.
“Like this,” he said, breath warm on my neck, “but not as exaggerated, obviously.”
He let go of me, though the ghost of his touch lingered on my skin. I tried the motion again without him, and this time the muscle memory helped me move through the song more easily.
“She’s a fucking natural,” Ryan said from the catwalks above. I’d forgotten he was even up there. His compliment made me flustered.
“Thanks.”
“He’s right,” Dorian said with a small smile. “It took me a few days to pick that stutter-step up just right. It took you two tries.”
My blush deepened, and more than just from a professional compliment. Dorian’s beautiful face smiling at me made the words twice as meaningful as they otherwise would have been.
And this is the guy who just wants to be friends with someone?
Andy came out of the tech booth in the back with a big grin on his face. “Can you imagine Tatiana taking constructive criticism?”
Dorian almost choked with laughter. “She’d kill me! And I mean literally kill me. Like, with a gun.”
“No way, bro,” Ryan called down. “Tatiana’s more of a knife girl. She’d gut you and twist the knife.”
“Claws!” I said, eager to share in their humor. “Have you seen her fake nails? Those things could rip someone to shreds.”
“Like Wolverine, but with bolt-on tits,” Ryan said, roaring with laughter.
“We ought to start a pool,” Dorian said. “My money’s on her hiring someone to do it. She doesn’t seem like the kind of girl who does her own dirty work.”
“Or any work, for that matter,” I said. Dorian’s grin split his face in half and made his green eyes sparkle.
“Is that so?” said Director Atkins. He emerged from backstage with a clipboard under one arm. His glare moved to each of us in turn. “What the hell are you four doing?”
“We came in early to practice,” Dorian began.
“It looks like you’re practicing being a bunch of gossipy assholes,” Atkins snapped. “Tatiana is the lead actress in our show, and she is to be respected.” His gaze settled on me. “Especially from her understudy.”
All the shit I’d dealt with so far today came bubbling up and threatened to make me lose my temper. I wanted to insist that Tatiana only deserved as much respect as she gave, which was minuscule. I wanted to demand to know why Atkins was defending her, and why he treated her like she was better than any of us.
But I’d already had one fatal outburst today, and I cared a lot more about my role in The Proposition than I did about my job selling shoes. Challenging the director was a surefire way to end up cut from the show altogether.
And beyond that, he was right. An understudy shouldn’t be criticizing another actress behind her back.
“You’re right,” I said in a meek voice. “I’m sorry, Director Atkins.”
He stared at me a moment longer, then the anger dissipated. But only a little bit. “I’m glad you’re here early. I’m interviewing spotlight operators, and you two can be stand-ins on stage.”
Dorian and I shared a relieved look as Atkins went backstage.
*
Tatiana was on time today, which allowed us to have a normal rehearsal. Braden was actually the last of the cast to arrive, rushing onto stage and apologizing right before we began.
He glanced back at me, but only for a second. Which was good, because even that glance was enough to make me blush. The kiss was still fresh in my head, along with the heavy press of his muscular body against mine. It had happened right over there, on the mattress prop now leaning against the wall. I wanted to do more than just practice…
