Page 55 of Forbidden Romeo
I arrived back at my condo on January 3rd to a full blown party that seeped into the following day and night. Monday morning, I somehow managed to peel myself off the floor of my bathroom where I’d spent the night hugging the toilet and turned on my computer to the add-drop section of the school’s website.
Katherine may refuse to speak to Holden. But she can’t avoid Remy.
That afternoon, still hungover, I made my way to Turner Hall and entered the doors of the theater two minutes past the hour.
The door slammed behind me and the entire class startled, turning around to see me there in the doorway.
McCay on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised at all. “Mr. Dorsey. Are you in or out?”
“I’m in,” I growl, my voice sounding like I swallowed a fistful of dry rice.
I’m so fucking in.
“Then come have a seat,” she said, gesturing to the rows of audience seats. As I made my way down the aisle, I recognized most of the people in our class from Method 101 and there were even a few new faces.
I passed by plenty of open seats until I came to the front row where Katherine was sitting. Next to Nate.
And only one free seat to her right.
I plopped down next to her, watching as the muscle in her jaw jumped.
“As I was saying,” McCay said. “There’s a little change for the Kennedy Center performance in January. We’re no longer doing Keith’s version of Remy and Julie. We’re going to perform the classic Romeo and Juliet. Same exact blocking. Same costumes. Same tech. But with the classic lines. So you all only have less than a month to learn Shakespeare… you better get to work.”
Katherine’s hand shot quickly high into the air. “What happened to Keith?” She’s the only person brave enough to ask the question on everyone’s mind. Everyone but me, of course.
My gaze falls to the massive diamond on McCay’s ring finger.
Our professor drums her long, manicured fingernails against the iPad in her hands with a rhythmic tap-tap-tap-tap. “Nothing happened to Keith. He’s still around, but it’s a new semester and he’s been moved to TA a different class.”
Katherine’s eyes find mine for a brief moment and we share a knowing look.
It’s quickly interrupted by McCay. “Now, I want to work on the beginning monologue. Kate and Holden, please go into the dressing room and work on your first scene together with the new lines.”
The party scene.
I barely suppress my groan. Doing this show with Katherine and not being able to go home and kiss her and call her mine was going to be torture. It was torture I signed up for, but torture nonetheless.
But that’s why I was doing this. To win her back. To show her how sorry I am.
Are you sorry? A little voice in the back of my head said.
McCay might have set us up to sabotage Katherine’s audition.
Or I might have gotten there in the nick of time before anything happened. We’ll never know.
Kate pushed off the seat and stormed up the stairs, heading backstage to the dressing rooms.
I stood as well and followed her, feeling a little bit like a man being led to the guillotine.
As soon as we were alone, she whirled around, so suddenly, I stumbled back into the door. It slammed shut behind me, my back falling against it.
“What are you doing here?”
“Jesus Christ, Katherine!”
“Don’t call me that!”
A smirk teased my mouth. “I know you think highly of yourself, but you’re not Jesus Christ, our lord and savior.”