She loved the sound of Lauren’s ragged, hot-and-bothered breathing. “Because I want to take these boots off you and then these adorably cute jeans, and then slide your underwear down your legs until you’re mine to take.”
Lauren rolled her hips in response to the potent words. “Okay, maybe no waiting.”
A loud knock sounded behind them. They froze midkiss. Carly pulled her mouth back and they listened. Another loud knock.
“Yes?” Lauren called, though her voice didn’t sound like it generally did. Carly smothered a proud smile.
“Lala?” Trip said. “I don’t know if you’re naked or what, but we’re going for pizza tonight at Crazy Crust. You in? Listen, the crust is crazy. It’s hard to say no.”
“Yeah, um, sure,” Lauren said, then winced, probably realizing she now had to go out for pizza.
“Carly, too. But I can’t find her. Gee, I wonder where she could be.”
“I think she ran to her car,” Lauren fibbed, as she ran her fingernails up and down Carly’s back. “I’ll let her know, though.”
“Cool. See you in five for notes onstage with Ethan? Tell Carly when she gets back from her car.”
“We’ll—I’ll be there.”
“Thanks, boss.”
“I’m not your boss right now,” she called back.
“You’re always my boss.”
Carly heard Trip’s footsteps retreating and grinned. “I think you just told a lie. Lauren Prescott has a dark side? This is getting good.”
“I’m an awful liar,” Lauren said with a tiny wince. “I should work on it.”
“No, you shouldn’t. I like you the way you are.” Carly held her tighter. “Please remain an awful liar, and always stay a little bit uptight, and don’t you dare lose your cute little organizational skills that make my stomach tighten.”
“You think my color-coded sticky notes are cute?”
“And hot. Those sticky notes get me going. It’s embarrassing to admit that, but entirely true.”
Lauren grinned and pointed at Carly. “Use that onstage. In fact, we could use all of this onstage.”
Carly closed her eyes and dropped her head back like a child on the verge of tantrum. “You’re thinking we should wait until we’re through opening, aren’t you. Just say it.”
Lauren lifted a shoulder. “Well, if Ethan thinks our chemistry is suddenly exponential, it’s something to consider. At least through the reviews. Then, maybe…we reward ourselves, but hang on to that muscle memory of what it felt like. To…want.”
“And I do. Desperately.” Carly headed back to the couch, needing some distance between herself and Lauren if she wanted any hope of clarity on the topic. “I feel like I’m in high school all over again, trying to be good, when I just want to be really bad. Behind the gym. With you.”
Lauren mock-gasped. “There was a time when you tried to be good?”
Carly threw a pillow at Lauren who laughed and caught it. “I’m not a total screwup, you know.”
“Well, you are meeting people behind the gym.” Carly lobbed another pillow, this time smacking Lauren on the shoulder. “But you do have a great right arm.”
Carly stood. “Me, my arm, and my newfound teenage abstinence are heading to our notes session. Coming?”
“Apparently not until we open,” Lauren said with a sly grin.
Carly shook her head and paused. The comment alone had her turned the hell on. “Let’s get out of here before that whole plan flies quickly out the window.”
“Right behind you. Just need to grab my sticky notes.”
Carly blinked. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Maybe it won’t be the worst way to die,” Lauren said with a wink.
Carly didn’t know how she’d ended up here. One minute she was living in the lap of luxury with fans and friends fawning all over her. The next, she was in freezing Minneapolis, of all places, in a historic old theater with a woman who now held the strings to her mind, heart, and body.
She wasn’t sure she ever wanted it to end.
* * *
“Where will we pick up our tickets? I want to make sure I leave plenty of time in case there’s any mix-up, and you know how your dad always putters when I’m trying to get somewhere.”
“I know,” Lauren said.
“That man is a putterer, and it’s not going to ruin my chance to see my baby on her big night. You’ll need to remind me where the bathrooms are, so I can beat everyone there during intermission.”
Lauren smiled. She had her mom on speakerphone in her dressing room as she prepped for their second-to-last rehearsal. “The tickets are at the box office, and there will be no mix-up. Dad is definitely a