“We need to talk about your tardiness,” Lauren had said calmly to Carly during a quiet moment the day after that. “This is the third time in three days. It’s eating into our rehearsal time, and I need you to make more of an effort to be here before we begin. Shoot for fifteen minutes early, maybe? And if there’s anything I can do to help the process, please tell me. That’s what I’m here for.”

“Are you offering to wake me up in the morning, Lauren?” She’d said it playfully, because let’s be honest, Lauren was really cute, a little too serious, and Carly was a harmless flirt. The comment fell flat. Ouch. Not that kind of environment, apparently. A shame, too. Lauren was probably very straight, and likely taken. She was a looker with all that thick brown hair paired with a really pretty pair of green eyes, or were they hazel? No, definitely green.

Lauren blinked patiently. “If that’s what you need, I will happily be your wake-up call. I’m serious about making sure we’re able to begin on time each day.”

For the love of a good martini! She’d been only six minutes late. Since when did that constitute a crisis? Their play would still come together. In fact, she’d been impressed with herself lately when it came to focus and responsibility. She’d been hours late for film shoots and heard less about it. People tended to give you whatever you wanted when your name was on the poster. The theater world, she was finding, was way less forgiving and uptight as hell. She swallowed her reaction, however, remembering Alika’s advice to be good.

“Got it, coach. I’ll work on punching the clock more to your liking, so you don’t have to worry about me so much. I mean, unless you want to.”

Lauren smiled. If the coach nickname had rubbed her wrong, Carly never would have known. Lauren-the-organized-beauty was a puzzle, never giving away too much of what she was feeling. It made Carly want to find out and unwrap that mystery one piece at a time. There was a real girl underneath all of the business, and maybe one day, she’d get to meet her.

An hour later and here Carly sat, waiting for notes from Ethan Moore on what was turning out to be a more complicated character than she’d ever anticipated.

Ethan met her gaze with a thoughtful one of his own. “Carly, I love the frustrated sink to the floor, but can we try it again, the moment where Ashley notices Mandy nearby just after?”

Carly nodded at Ethan and reset herself in the scene. “Yeah, of course. As in a fleeting glance, or something more meaningful?”