Someday.
Soon.
7
“Hold! Holdup!” Kyle turned away from the stage and waved at Jake. “Reset, please? Top of this piece.”
“On it.” The stage manager said something low into his headset. The music stopped abruptly, and the lights started changing.
“Danny, come down here. Ali? Come on, baby.” Kyle waved the dancers over to the edge of the stage. Neither of them looked happy about it. Danny had attitude in every fucking step. He sighed and patted the stage, and they both sat. “Okay. You two are kicking ass up there. And you’re the only two. So, I’m playing a little game here, and you two are going to pretend like I’m reaming you new assholes. And then you’re going to get up and out-diva the rest of the company so they’ll snap to. Yes? Otherwise we’re going to be here all night. Hm?”
Allison got it, gave him a nod, and got right to her feet. God, he loved her. She glared at him, fire shooting out her eyes, and then turned and strutted away, heading right for the rest of the company, who were standing there staring. “I need five minutes. Can we take five minutes?”
Danny stood up. “We’re taking five, Kyle. You better cool off too. Asshole.” Danny strutted offstage.
Kyle sighed and smacked his clipboard into the back of a chair before plopping down next to Jake.
“Asshole.”
“Totally.”
Jake snorted. “The things you do for art. Oh, hang on.” Jake said a few quiet words into his headset. “Someone named Colt is here for you?”
“Ah!” Kyle popped up out of his seat.
“Oh, so not a critic.”
“Nope.”
“Or pizza delivery.”
“Ha. No. Musician. Here to watch some rehearsal.” Kyle made his way up the aisle.
“Lover?”
“That too. So nosy, Jake.” He ducked through the doors at the back of house and squinted as he stepped into the bright lobby.
Colt stood there, rocking side to side, looking around, wide-eyed. When those dark eyes landed on him, he got a bright smile. “Hello, you!”
He went right up and pulled Colt into his arms. “Mmm. I’ve missed you.”
They hadn’t seen each other since the weekend. Colt had two really long days wrapping up things in the studio, and he’d been slammed on Wednesday with tech. He was tired, Colt looked tired, but it was nice to hold his lover for a minute.
“Oh, cher. You feel so right.” Colt leaned into him, inhaling deep. “Thank you for asking me.”
“I hope you like what you see. Things are a little nuts just at the moment, but I promise I’m not really as big an ass as I’m about to look.” He let Colt go and kissed him quickly, fairly chaste since they were in the middle of the lobby. “Come on. It’s only a five-minute break.”
“Just show me where to sit and be.” Colt bounced on his toes, expression eager as hell.
“You can sit with Jake and get an eyeful.” Kyle felt like bouncing himself. It was fun having someone interested in seeing him work. Not just dance, but work. And Colt loved new experiences; he was the perfect audience.
“Jake, this is Colt. Colt, this is my stage manager, Jake.”
“Helloooo,Colt,” Jake said, glancing up from a notebook full of Post-it flags and precisely handwritten notes. Kyle rolled his eyes. “Have a seat.”
“Taken, Jake.”
“My girlfriend would like him too.”