I was simply becoming a fantastic fucking actor so I could land a part beside her. A few weeks ago, I told the guys about my plan, and Hank had a solid question: “What if Shay doesn’t get a part in the show but you do?”
That was an easy answer for me—she’d get the part. Mainly because Little Miss Perfect put her all into any and everything she did. If she was walking into an audition, it was with the utmost perfect performance, which meant she would get a part. If she didn’t, it was because she was screwed over.
I had a good time reading and researching more about Shakespeare. When I’d stumbled across his most public insults on my internet search, that was when the fun began. For example: “Thou sodden-witted lord! Thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows.”
I’d have to use that one on Reggie when I got a chance.
Then again, he’d probably reply, “What, dawg? Man, I miss KFC.”
Shay’s jaw sat on the floor, and she shook her head in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
I walked down the aisle of the theater and then sat in the row behind her, two seats over. “I had some free time on my hands and thought I might audition for the show.”
“Yeah, right. You don’t act.”
“My whole life is an act, sweet pea.”
“Don’t call me sweet pea.”
“I’m testing out new nicknames for you.”
“Well, I don’t like sweet pea. Keep trying.”
“Dollface.”
She cringed. “Absolutely not.”
“Sexy-ass woman.”
“Landon,” she groaned.
I smiled, and she hated it. I loved when she got flustered around me. I also loved that she was so thrown off by me showing up in her theater world. That was quite a plot twist for her.
“Really, Landon—what are you doing here?”
“Really, Shay—I’m auditioning.”
She grimaced and fidgeted with the piece of paper in her hand. “This is part of your game. You’re trying to get close to me.”
“Not everything’s about you, buttercup. It turns out I’m a huge Shakespeare fan. He knew his shit.”
She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You couldn’t name five Shakespeare plays if your life depended on it.”
“Othello,Hamlet,Romeo and Juliet,A Midsummer Night’s Dream,Macbeth.”
You could learn a lot about Shakespeare when you didn’t sleep at night.
“What, did you SparkNotes it or something?”
No, princess. I read my dead uncle’s collection of Shakespeare’s work.
Princess.
I’d have to try that nickname. I was sure she’d hate it.
I leaned forward and placed my hands on her shoulders. “No offense, Shay, but you’re acting like a very big shrew that needs to be tamed right now.”
She swatted my hands away. “I don’t know how you know all this stuff, but it’s annoying, and you’re annoying.”