Page 63 of Broken Romeo
That isn’t entirely true. Sensitive is a better description, but I don’t exactly want to tell Nolan that my ears are my top erogenous zone and guaranteed to have me squirming with arousal that is far from acting.
“Okay,” Holden calls out. “Breathe. Get into character. Then begin when you’re ready, Katherine.”
Oh, fuck. I actually have to start this… initiate with Nolan. With deep, calming breaths, I close my eyes—picturing an ocean, the waves lapping at the wet, dark sand—to center myself.
I’m just on the precipice of finding Skyler when Holden’s voice pierces my concentration. “Any minute now, Kate.”
His tone grates on my nerves. Grinding my teeth, I open my eyes. I’m not centered yet. I haven’t found Skyler, but it’s clear that he’s growing impatient.
With a gulp, I throw myself at Nolan, pressing onto my toes and devouring his mouth.
His muffled surprise doesn’t strike me at all as Zach—and the fact that he isn’t centered yet either makes me feel a hell of a lot better.
My kisses are sloppy and porn-y, but what the hell? I have to do something and not just stand there dabbing the sweat off my forehead. I clutch the hem of his shirt, yanking it over his head. Only, even on my toes, I’m not tall enough to strip him, and the collar of the shirt gets caught between his top lip and nose.
“Oh, shit. Sorry!” I say and step back, falling entirely out of character.
His “It’s okay,” is muffled by the cotton shirt, and he manages to finish taking it off himself.
With a glance over my shoulder, I catch Holden’s bored gaze. He massages his temple with his index finger. “Keep going. We’ll work that out later.”
“Right,” I squeak, and my eyes fall to the top button of Nolan’s jeans. Shit. I have to literally pants the guy. Right here with my ex watching.
Heat blooms across my cheeks and I gulp, hooking my fingers into his waistband and tugging him closer to me.
“Would Skyler really stand there with her hand clawed into his pants?” Holden calls out.
A knot forms at the base of my throat. Maybe he was right to doubt me. Maybe I can’t do this.
This part. This show.
When I freeze, Holden sighs. “Push him onto the bed, Kate. Push him onto the bed and have your way with him. He can’t try to convince you to slow down if you’re not revved up in the first place.”
Humiliation burns through me as I blink and glance up at Nolan.
“Sorry,” I whisper.
His friendly smile reassures me in a way that Holden never did—not when we shared a stage in college and certainly not now.
“It’s okay,” Nolan whispers back. “Just relax.”
Relax. Right. He makes it sound so simple.
I shove Nolan onto the bed and crawl into his lap, straddling him. Raking my fingers through his hair, I jerk his head back and kiss him, simulating a thrusting motion with my hips.
Even through his jeans and dance belt, I feel a twitch of motion in his pants, pressing between my legs.
In acting, this happens, but for professionalism’s sake, we aren’t supposed to touch naughty bits if we can help it. I leverage my weight, pushing more onto my knees so that I’m not nestled directly onto his erection. Folds of fabric from my dress drape over our laps, hiding the fact that we aren’t actually touching.
“That’s… well, good isn’t quite the word. But it’s better. Nolan, this is the moment you say your line and untie her dress.”
Curving a strong arm around my waist, Nolan turns me so that we’re each profile to the audience, kneeling on the bed. He cups my face. “Skyler, slow down,” he recites, and it’s utterly perfect. His words, the emotion behind them… it’s so simple. So endearing. In a snap, with me fumbling around like an idiot, Nolan has found Zach’s character.
“We don’t just have all night,” he says, tugging at the belt of my wrap dress. It billows open in the center, and his breath hitches as he skims his eyes down my body. With a flick of his hands, my dress glides down my arms, pooling onto the bed around us. “We have a lifetime.”
And just like that, I’m left in only underwear on stage.
Half-naked.