Technically, according to Equity rules, rehearsal was over, and asking Carly to work longer went against good standards and practices. She couldn’t do it. Lauren opened her mouth to advocate for Carly, when Carly herself turned from across the room. She’d been engrossed in her phone and had seemed to be out of earshot. Apparently, that had not been the case.

“I’m happy to run the scene, Lauren.”

Lauren stared at her, and then back at Ethan, running out of options. “The last scene?” she asked.

“If you don’t mind, that is. I don’t want to put you on the spot if you’re uncomfortable in any way,” Ethan said, more gently.

It was a big scene, the happily-ever-after fake out that got ripped away from the audience after intermission. There was a kiss in that scene, a pretty serious one. She closed her eyes and did her utmost to appear unaffected. She was a professional, and she could do this. It was for the good of the show. “I don’t mind,” she said, retrieving her script.

She joined Carly onstage.

“You good?” Carly asked and gave her hand a squeeze. That did it. The nervous energy, the self-doubt, the overthinking all seemed to slide away with that one moment of contact.

“I’m great. Shall we?”

Carly nodded.

“So, we’re doing this?” Lauren asked, as Mandy. She went for timid, excited, and fully in love.

Carly stepped into her space, hands at her side, confidence on full display. “Do you know what you’d be getting into? I let teakettles whistle too long on the stove. I scream when spiders show up.” Her proximity alone sent a series of tingles across Lauren’s skin. She didn’t try to move herself out of it, however. She put it into what the character would feel. “I know I’m not the easiest person to love. I’m pretty sure I just lost my job, and my cat moved out. I’ll probably be homeless myself in a matter of—”

“Ashley?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re talking a lot.”

Carly grinned and cradled Lauren’s face with one hand. “Should I stop now?”

“You should definitely stop,” Lauren said. “I have a lot of things to figure out, but one of them is definitely not you. You’re staying.”