“Don’t you think I’m trouble too?” she replies, lowering her voice as well.
I swallow, averting my gaze. “Different kinds.”
“Interesting.” She hums, leaning forward with her hands clasped behind her back.
My eyes snap to her, like she’s some sort of inescapable beacon, and the blush that stains her cheeks makes my pulse quicken.
“Want to know what my advice would be?” she asks. “Generally speaking.”
A knot lodges in my throat. I can’t answer.
“If you’re dead set on Shakespeare for the spring play, you should doOthello.”
“Why’s that?”
“I think existentialism already thrives in academia. Your students and audience don’t need help reaffirming themes of mortality and revenge but the dangers of isolation and the importance of identity.” Elle taps her fingers on the stage, right next to my hip. “And the risks associated with passion and jealousy.”
With that, she grins, then spins and bounces back toward Lexington. He beams as she approaches, and a sharp pang slices across my chest, anchoring deep.
“Everything okay, Professor?” Sabrina asks, appearing before me in the seconds after Elle leaves. She swings her ponytail from side to side, blinking up at me. “You look a little shaken up.”
Shit. I’m worse at masking than I realized. “I’m perfectly fine,” I tell her. “You weren’t at the last Visio Aternae meeting. Is everything all right withyou?”
She nods, rocking on her feet. “Oh yes! I submitted an absentia request to your email a few days before, but I suppose maybe you didn’t see it. I was helping the mayor with some spring equinox stuff and couldn’t get out of it. I promise it won’t happen again, and I especially promise not to miss any fundraising events or rehearsals once they’ve begun.”
“That’s good to hear. I appreciated your assistance with the mixer in the Apollodorus, either way.”
That makes her smile. “You know, with how involved Visio Aternae ends up being in the productions each summer, I’m surprised more aren’t in your classes.”
“Well, acting isn’t for everyone,” I note, shrugging. “However, there are plenty of support roles that go into a play. Anyone who comes will find something to do.”
My gaze wanders as I shift on the stage, bumping into something. I glance down at my hip, noting the little orange fruit sitting beside it that wasn’t there a few minutes ago.
Beckett had eaten my last apricot, and I didn’t have the chance to swing by the refectory for one on my way to class this morning.
I look up, meeting Elle’s gaze as she stares back with an unreadable expression.
“That’s because you’re such a great professor and director,” Sabrina gushes, a light blush staining her cheeks. “No one ever gets turned away from your shows because you recognize the importance of every last detail of a production.”
Clearing my throat, I cover the apricot with my hand and refocus my attention on Sabrina. “It takes many cogs to run a well-oiled machine. Keep that in mind if you don’t get a speaking role, Ms. Taylor.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” she says, a sly grin tugging at the corner of her mouth as she tosses a look over her shoulder, then turns back to me. “I’m prepared for anything. That’s the true mark of a talented actress: her adaptability.”
It’s clearly a jab, but I’m not sure I understand the intended mark. Though it hardly matters, since she skips away to join her friends anyway, and when I look back to the front row, Elle is already gone.
23
ELLE
Sutton’s irritationis instantly palpable the moment he shoves open his apartment door to find me perched on the edge of his sofa, waiting patiently with my legs crossed, a short skirt high on my hips.
It’s more thigh than I really need to show, but there aren’t rules for this sort of thing. The way his piercing green eyes immediately fall to my legs makes me think I chose correctly though.
When he exhales, I wonder if maybe this was a bad idea after all. My nerves are shot, my confidence wavering, and this is the exact thing that got me into trouble with his dad, but… I also want this.
Spot or no spot. I wanthim.
I waited a few days before executing his request in case anyone had overheard, but for some reason, he looks surprised that I took him up on it.
