Stage Kisses

Chapter 2

My phone woke me up the next morning. It was Jay wondering if I needed a ride to rehearsal. I jumped out of bed and looked at the clock; we needed to be there in fifteen minutes.
“Yes! Beep when you get here!” I said before hanging up.
I dashed into my bathroom and got in the shower without waiting for the hot water. Hopping out three minutes later, I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it into a ponytail. I shoved my makeup and my toothbrush into my dance bag to do before practice, and grabbed clothes out of my closet. It’s normally acceptable to show up late to rehearsal if you’re a lead, but I wasn’t that kind of a girl; I didn’t want anyone saying or thinking I was a diva or ungrateful for my part.
I heard Jay beep from the driveway below my window and ran up the stairs, clothes in hand. As I got into the car, Jay took one look at my dripping ponytail and blue bathrobe and shook his head.
“We could’ve just been a few minutes late. No need to have no clothes,” he teased.
“Oh, shut up, and drive kid! I’m gonna use the backseat. Keep your eyes on the road,” I instructed, tossing my stuff into the back.
Jay tapped my back as I climbed over the seat.
“What?”
“You dropped this,” he said, holding up my purple sports bra.
“Thank you, now drive<” I said snatching it back, and trying to sound commanding.
“Yes sir,” Jay laughed, backing out of my driveway and onto the road.
Getting dressed in a car isn’t that easy, especially if you’re worried about people seeing things they shouldn’t be seeing. I turned so my back was facing the front seat and slid my robe off my shoulders. I could’ve sworn I heard Jay inhale sharply as I pulled my bra on, but it might’ve just been my imagination. Tights are also annoying in a car and this particular pair especially. I have one pair of “lucky” tights that I wear to every rehearsal; they are black small fishnet with seams up the back and ripped up all over. The shorts I’d grabbed were actually cheer spanx and are black as well. I turned back around to find my cami and caught Jay’s eye in the rear view mirror. So I hadn’t been imagining things; he had been watching me. I was suddenly very aware of my bare stomach and that my bra showed a lot of my cleavage. Fumbling with my shirt, I hurriedly pulled it on and adjusted it so it covered me. I opened my dance bag and pulled out my script to look over notes my director had given me the practice before. Most of them said the same thing: talk slower, have more fun with the role, and stop concentrating so hard. My notes were all written in a blue fountain pen that Aaron always uses. He is one of the most detail oriented people I’d ever known.
Jay pulled into the parking lot, and I shoved my script back into my bag. Once he parked the car, I got out of the backseat and reached down to grab my bag off the floor. Jay got out and walked around to get his stuff out of the trunk. We walked towards rehearsal in silence. I didn’t know whether to tease him about gawking at me, or just pretend like it didn’t happen.
Before either of us had a chance to say anything, three of the Hot Box Girls (aka my back up dancers) ran up to Jay. They started cooing over him and rubbing their barely clothes selves up against him. I felt jealousy well up from somewhere deep inside mw, and I knew I had to get out of there.
“I’m gonna’ go try and catch Aaron before rehearsal starts,” I tell Jay before speeding off towards the theater building.
As I walked I wondered what the hell had come over me. Why was I jealous that girls were flirting with Jay? Girls always flirted with him, he is charming. They were drawn to his blond hair, blue eyes and gorgeous smile like moths to a flame. I pushed open the front door of the theater and made my way through the mass of people towards Aaron’s office. I knocked before walking in.
“Hey kid. How are ya?” he asked, looking u from his computer screen.
“Good,” I smiled. “How are you?”
As I sat down on the couch along the wall of his office, I caught a glimpse of what was up on the computer screen. He was working on the posters advertising the play.
“I’m alright. Did you need to talk to me about something or just escape the madness?” Aaron asked grinning.
Something you need to know about Aaron is that he’s extremely young. Only twenty four, but he’s worked in some of the greatest theaters in the country. He is an extremely talented actor, and is an awesome director. He also plays piano at my church, so I’ve known him forever. Aaron is also very fair. I had to pay my dues as a chorus girl and with smaller parts before landing a lead. He just didn’t hand it to me because we’re friends.
“Both actually, but it’s not really play related,” I said smirking back.
“Hun, you can talk to me about anything. What’s up?”
“Well, Jay…” I started.
Before I could finish my thought, Aaron’s office door burst open, and the other female lead, Liz, came storming in with a problem that Aaron needed to deal with right that second. Yeah, Liz is kind of a diva, but she’s talented, so…
“Liz, I’m a little busy at the moment. Can it wait for a few minutes?” Aaron asked.
You’d have thought he asked her if she would wear something from Wal*Mart the way her face got all contorted and her glare turned to me.
“It’s okay, Aaron. I’ll talk to you later. It wasn’t that big a deal anyway,” I said, getting up and moving towards the door.
“You sure?” he called after me as I opened the door.
I gave him a quick smile and nodded before joining the mass of students in the lobby. The crowd was surging all around me as I made my way towards the auditorium doors. Once I’d made it safely inside, I sighed happily as I took in the empty theater. Aaron wasn’t out of his office yet so the other cast members didn’t acknowledge that rehearsal had technically started five minutes ago. Making my way down the aisle, I dropped my dance bag in the last seat in the second row, like I always did. I ran up the stairs and onto the stage. Power and happiness coursed through my body as I stood in the middle of the stage, looking out. This is where I was supposed to be.
A voice behind me startled me out of my trance. I turned slowly and saw that Jay was backstage talking to one of the “techies” or stage managers that ran all the behind the scenes details of the show. I strained to hear what he was saying, but quickly gave up after a few seconds. I wandered to the edge of the stage and sat down so that my bare feet dangled off the side. I surveyed the empty theater before closing my eyes. I imagined the place packed to beyond full capacity, everyone on their feet, cheering for our show. It was daydreams like this that kept me going when rehearsals were extremely hard; it also helps to jump start my energy at the beginning of rehearsals too.
“Daydreaming again, huh?”
I opened my eyes, and smiled over at Jay, who’d sat down beside me. He always teased me about imagining the crowd; said it made me expect too much from opening night. It was sweet in a way; he didn’t want me to be disappointed.
“Always,” I reply.
He smiled at me and bumped my shoulder with his. I sighed happily and leaned my head against his shoulder. I knew the rest of the cast and crew thought that Jay and I had a thing going behind Will’s back because of the way we act around each other. I’m a very touchy feely person, but not in a slutty way. I hug my friends and stuff like that; we’re close, and I’m not going to change anything about our relationship because the other girls have a problem with it.
“All right children! Let’s get this show on the road, literally!” Aaron’s voice boomed through the theater as the rows began to fill with cast and crew members.
Jay and I hopped off the stage and took our seats in the second row as Aaron continued to talk.
“Alright, I need Hallie and all my Hot Box Girls to stay here with Brittney to run through choreography. I need Jay, Liz, and Steven to come with me. I have some more notes for you from last rehearsal. Techies, you know what you’re supposed to do, and everyone else I need you to grab a brush and help paint the set. I have a feeling today’s going to be a great rehearsal everyone!” he exclaimed before everyone went to their assigned locations.
Lucky for me I didn’t have to move. Choreo was always run and practiced on the stage. I reached into my bag and pulled out my character shoes, which were really just ball room shoes. They’re supposed to have a super grippy sole, so you don’t go sliding all over the stage during your number. Jay stood up and followed Aaron out of the theater, but glanced back to smile in my direction before disappearing out the door. I hummed while I did up the buckle on my shoes. Brittney, our Choreographer, and also Aaron’s fiancée, was standing on stage attempting to get warm ups started. I ran up onto the stage and smiled at her. She smiled warmly back, before clapping her hands for attention. Warm ups aren’t’ very strenuous work, basically it’s just stretching and moving to warm up your muscles. They only last about five minutes max.
“Okay, girls! We’re gonna learn the next section of Take Back Your Mink. But before we do, I want to see what you’ve learned so far, and how much you remember,” she said before instructing us to move to our starting positions.
She hit the play button on the portable stereo that stood on the stage, and instantly all my energy became focused on the dance, well that and my singing. We posed on the last count we’d learned and waited, a little out of breath, for her approval. Brittney’s eyes skimmed over the group of dancers and paused on me.
“Hallie, that was excellent. The extra work you’ve been doing shows. Great job,” she said.
I held her gaze wondering how she’d known about the extra time Jay and I spend practicing.
“Again!” she called before I could ask.
As we reset, I felt the other dancer’s angry glares hit my back like a sack of bricks. Taking a deep breath, I told myself over and over that it wasn’t anything personal; they just wanted Brittney to recognize their hard work too. The moment the music started, I moved my focus to my dance steps and let the music carry me away.
After running the number a few more times, Brittney decided that we were ready to learn the new section. The moves she taught us weren’t complex, but were done in time with a fast tempo, which caused a few girls trouble. Any attempt I made to help was shot down immediately. I tried not to look wounded as the girls one by one glared at me as Brittney had me show them the moves one more time. My heart was in the right place; I wanted these girls to like me. My smile faltered a little as I thought about how any one of these dancers would gladly push me off this stage then learn from me.
Lunch was called before any of them could fulfill the plan that was swirling through each and every one of their minds.
I hurried off the stage and flopped down in my chair in the second row. I bent down to undo my dance shoes, and also so that none of the other dancers would see the tears that had welled up in my eyes. I sniffed quietly and brushed a hand over my eyes. Traitors, I thought catching a stray tear. I didn’t want any of them to know that they could affect me like this, or they would do it whenever they got a chance. As I sat leaning forward fiddling with my shoes, most of the people ran out of the theater to wherever their group of friends was headed for lunch, but I always stayed a little after they left. Today I needed time to collect my thoughts and get my emotions in check.
“Halls?”
I knew without turning that Jay was standing beside me. Slowly, I slid my shoes off, and sat up. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to observe that I’d been crying. Jay sat down next to me, and put an arm around me, not saying a word. I cuddled into his shoulder, and took another deep breath, trying to reign in my bucking emotions. It was a battle I quickly lost. Tears began to roll down my cheeks as I sobbed into my best friend’s shoulder. He pulled me in tight and stroked my hair while murmuring something I couldn’t quite catch.
When my sobs quieted and I felt entirely ridiculous for being such a baby, I looked up at Jay expecting him to tease me for being a crazy emotional diva. Instead, I saw something in his eyes I couldn’t quite place. It looked like a mix between deep rooted affection and something resembling longing. I felt his body shift and move closer to mine. His eyes flickered down to my lips as his inched closer to mine. Feeling myself lean into what I assumed would be a kiss, my mind turned back on, and I pulled back. Wiping my eyes and face with my palms, I bent down and tossed my shoes in to my bag, not wanting to meet his eyes.
“Lunch?” Jay suggested softly after a moment of silence enveloped the theater.
I nodded and glanced over at him. He looked normal, not like I’d just crushed his dreams or anything; not that I thought I was his dream. How weird would that have been? I stood up and followed him out to his car.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Jay asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Maybe later,” I said quietly, glancing at my reflection in the side car mirror.
I looked horrible. Frowning, I tried my best to rub off the excess mascara and eye liner that had relocated itself onto my cheeks. Cursing silently, I rubbed my cheeks vigorously. How had he wanted to kiss this? I wondered, wetting my fingertip with my tongue. I paused mid motion; how did I know that he was going to kiss me? Maybe he was going to get all the extra makeup off my face. Doubtful, a small voice in the back of my mind whispered. I pushed that thought to the very farthest corner of my mind and returned to the task at hand, my face. By the time we reached the restaurant, my face looked semi normal once again.
As the two of us walked through the door of the small, family run diner, I felt more like myself. This is the diner we always go to, Manis’; it’s not far from the school’s campus. The owner’s sons go to the school and immediately recognize us when we walk in.
“Hey Hallie! Afternoon Jay. Yall are right on time,” the head waitress, Deb, crows accent thick. She had been up here since college and yet she still had a thick southern accent.
“Hi, Deb! Can you add pie to our normal order? Today’s feeling like a pie day,” Jay said smiling warmly at her.
“Of course, that’s no problem sugar. There’s nothing wrong with a pie day,” she said with a chuckle before moving to wait on the table beside us.
Sitting across from Jay, I studied his face. He was looking down, and playing with his car keys under the table. I got the feeling he didn’t know what to say to me like I didn’t know what to say to him.
“So what notes did Aaron have for you?” I asked, hoping to spark a conversation.
Jay looked up at me, and smiled before launching into his story. I smiled back and was glad that my world was aligned once again.