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Jade moves the stool forward, close enough now that one of her legs slides in between mine. Her proximity is dizzying. Her breath is warm against my face and smells sweet from the Diet Coke. Her earthy scent—jasmine and musk—envelops me like some kind of invisible hug the longer she stands this close. My hands, which were casually in my lap, take on a mind of their own. My fingertips skim the denim of her jeans along her thigh in some kind of forbidden movement. If she notices the touch, she doesn’t say anything. She’s zeroed in on the makeup, and I’m zeroed in on her.
Against my will, the memory of her body against mine comes to me, the soft curve of her hips at the bowling alley, the . . .
Jesus Christ.
R388, Gaslight Green.
R12, Straw.
R41, Salmon.
R397, Pale Grey.
“Should we run lines?” I ask, desperate for a distraction. I need to be my character, Ben, right now—not me. I make the slightest adjustment to my jeans, hoping she can’t tell they got a little tighter.
“Yes! God, I totally forgot,” Jade says. She dives right into our lines, not hesitating, and I thank whatever god is listening.
I have no sense of time, but we run through the whole scene, Jade occasionally adjusting the angle of my face, her fingers warm on my skin and then gone too soon.
“You’ve gotten pretty good with your lines,” she says.
“Pretty good, huh? High praise considering last week you said I was ‘adequate.’”
“I don’t give out compliments often, so treasure this moment.”
“I’ve already tucked it away in a mental box of my most precious memories. Top ten of my life,” I say.
“Should I be flattered or worried about your life that a compliment from me is a highlight?”
“Flattered for sure. My life is just a series of incredible things, one after the other. I’m positively drowning in memorable moments.”
“Well,” she says, “I hope you aren’t too bored here. I’d hate to keep you from something monumental, but I’m not quite done, so you’ll just have to sit still for a little while longer.”
She starts to move away, maybe to get a new tool, but I take her wrist in my hand, stopping her.
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you.”
“You’re hilarious,” Jade says, the sarcasm implying I’m joking or that I don’t mean it. Her gaze slides away from mine easily, but I don’t let her escape the moment yet.
“I’m serious, Jade. I really like spending time with you.”
Her lips part and her eyelids flutter a few times.
I let my thumb graze the inside of her wrist—an indulgence she’ll probably find annoying, but she doesn’t say anything.
She clears her throat, and the spell breaks. I release her wrist, and she riffles through her makeup. When she turns back to me, whatever moment we just shared has passed.
“Yes, well, that’s just too bad, because you may not have a hot date, but I do.”
Her tone is teasing, and the vibe in the room shifts back to playful.
“Really?” I try to sound like I’m playing along and not like her saying this, even in a joking way, made my stomach do anxiety flips.
“No.” She giggles, and I laugh, hoping it sounds like I liked her little joke and not like I might throw up from relief. “Close your eyes,” she says and tilts my chin up. She’s not standing directly between my legs, but she’s close.
I sit on my hands again to keep from reaching out to touch her.
“I’m not dating right now, actually,” she says.
