Chapter Nine
Like It’s Her Birthday
The two leftin the morning with Derek and Mark after a breakfast of french toast, bacon, and orange juice. Before they got into Mark’s car, Jimmy hugged me and told me she wants to do it again. I promised we would and then helped her get buckled in. Cleo hugged me as well. It was nice that we were becoming closer, but it still took me by surprise every time she went out of her way to give me attention.
After the crew left, Adrian came and dropped off Rocky to me. He looked extra exhausted today.
“You alright? You want some coffee or something?” I asked him and he shook his head.
“No, I’ll be fine. It was Chase’s night for Rocky duty, but he was fighting sleep all night, so neither of us got any sleep either.”
“Have you tried taking him for a car ride? I’ve heard that can put a baby to sleep quick,” I suggested. He looked at me blankly for a moment.
“I’ll have to try that tonight. What time do I need to pick him again?”
“I have to be at the theatre at five. I know this week got a little confusing, sorry.”
He scoffed.
“You're fine. You have been a savior these last few weeks. Actually, everyone has been a great help with everything,” he chuckled and then rubbed his hair. “It’s crazy. One moment I was thinking Chase was gonna die and I would be completely alone forever and the next I have a baby and Chase is sticking around for the long haul.”
I looked down at the sleeping baby in the car seat.
“It’s crazy how things change so quickly,” I said. He grinned and patted me on the shoulder.
“Oh man, I can’t wait until you guys have your baby. Mark’s gonna flip,” he laughed. I agreed with him and then he realized the time and left quickly.
The rest of my day was spent doing some light cleaning and getting showered and ready for rehearsal. Adrian came to pick up a still sleeping Rocky right on time.
“I tried to wake him, but he only stayed up long enough to eat and poop. Sorry. If he ever gets too much during the night just call one of us. Me or Cleo will come over.”
He thanked me and left.
I drove to rehearsal confidently and overanxious to get this over and done with. We had done this so many times I just wanted to get to opening night. I stepped into the dressing room and slipped on my wig and dress. As I was finishing up my makeup Thomas came in. He greeted us all and quickly slipped out of his jeans and t-shirt and into his suit.
I could see him from the mirror but forced myself not to look. He really kept himself in good shape. When he was pulling off his t-shirt his undershirt raised a little and I saw his abs.
“Cassandra is a lucky girl,” Gabby muttered under her breathe. I looked over at her and saw her ogling him in the mirror, not bothering to try hiding it. I chuckled and hurried to finish up.
Stepping out of the dressing room I stood in the darkly lit backstage area alone. It felt weird just standing here, but I couldn’t keep trying to look away from him anymore. The dressing room door opened and of course, Thomas was the one to come out.
“Hey! Just the girl I was looking for,” he greeted me.
I forced a smile and waved awkwardly.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I was wondering if you had plans for after rehearsal tonight. I thought maybe we could do a little double dinner date. Me and Cassandra, you and your husband?” He gave me an uneasy smile. I thought about it for a minute. I couldn’t decide how to feel about it.
“Sure. That sounds great. I like Cassandra,” he let out a breath I hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
“Sweet. I’m going to be honest here for a minute. This is mostly for her. I thought maybe if she sees you two together that she’ll be a little more comfortable with us tomorrow. Give her a little bit of ease knowing that we are both on the same page- just friends.”
That made sense. I was sure Mark could appreciate that as well.
“I’ll call him now to tell him. Do you have any place in mind?” We discussed some restaurants and afterwards I called Mark and told him about the double date.
“I know you guys are crazy busy, but could you call around and see if we can get reservations for somewhere nice? Oh, and I want you to shower and put on a suit.” He groaned loudly into the phone.
