The afternoon auditions didn’t take as long as Annie had anticipated, and she was already back home by early evening, enjoying a celebratory glass of wine with Alex. The producers told her that she would receive a phone call within the next week, notifying her whether she had qualified to move to the next round of auditions in New York City.
“So now that the audition is over with, are you looking forward to your weekend getaway with Casey?”
“Yes and no.”
“No? Why no?”
“I don’t know. I’m just so paranoid that I’m going to fuck it up somehow. Like I always seem to give up the goods too soon.”
“Well, I’m not one to talk, but yeah, sleeping with someone the first time you meet him is probably not the best way to get
and
keep a guy.”
“So you see my quandary.”
“I do, but you just have to be strong and stick to your guns. Besides, there are a lot of things you can do without going all the way.” Alex winked at her suggestively, making Annie choke on the sip of wine she had just taken.
“I think that would kind of defeat the purpose of not sleeping with him right away, wouldn’t it?”
“Maybe so. Honey, if I’m not getting any, you need to so I can live vicariously through you.”
“Just go to a club and pick up a new boy toy.”
“Too much effort.”
“Wow, you have been holed up at home too long. Go get dressed. We’re going out tonight.”
“What? Are you serious? I’m not going anywhere unless it’s back to my place to pass out.”
“Uh uh, I mean it. Go take a shower, douse yourself in some sexy cologne, put on your favorite dancing shoes, and meet me back here in an hour. We’re going out to celebrate my success!”
“No clothes?”
“Clothes would be good. Make sure you look hot and sexy so you don’t embarrass me,” she teased.
Groaning, Alex grudgingly put his glass down and got to his feet, mumbling under his breath in Spanish as he walked out the door.
“I heard that,” Annie called after him.
“Yeah, but you don’t know what it means,” he retorted, sticking his tongue out at her.
“Maybe not, but it sounded dirty. Something about Ben Gay and a ho…”
Alex burst out laughing and just shook his head, closing the door behind him. Just then, her cell phone rang, startling her. Checking the caller ID, she saw that it was Casey.
“Hey you,” she said, answering on the second ring.
“Hey, what are you up to?”
“Just got home from the callbacks not too long ago… was having a glass of wine with Alex.”
“Nice. So obviously your first audition went well.”
“Yeah, it was good. Now I’m waiting to see whether I made it to the finals.”
“Ah, baby girl, that’s awesome news.”
Annie grinned at the use of her favorite term of endearment. “Thanks. How about you?”
“Same here. Killed the audition, made it to callbacks, and we’re waiting to see if we made it to the finals.”
“Hurray!” she cheered, excited that she was going to get to share this experience with him.
“Thanks,” he said, chuckling. “Yeah, the crew is stoked. Actually, we’re having a little get together at my place tonight. I don’t know if you can make it or not, but I’d love to see you.”
“You’re still here? I thought you had to fly back to Denver for a show tonight.”
“Kayla, the artist I’m working for, has the flu. Apparently, she’s been throwing up all day, and they had to cancel both tonight’s show and tomorrow’s. We’re not scheduled for another one until Tuesday night in Seattle, so I’ve got a couple of days before I have to meet back up with the tour.
Annie’s heart sped up and did a little flip as she realized she was going to get to see him again that night. “Well, in that case, text me the address.”
“Already did, check your texts.”
She laughed. “You’re a little too sure of yourself, mister.”
“Nah, just optimistic.”
“Ha… well, alright then.”
“Oh, and are you busy tomorrow?”
“No, I don’t have anything special planned.”
“Great. Pack a change of clothes. You can crash at my place tonight, and then we can spend the day together tomorrow… if that’s okay with you.”
“Hmm, where will I be sleeping?”
Laughing, Casey assured her he didn’t have evil designs on her. “Well, my bed is the most comfortable, but don’t worry—I’ll keep my clothes on.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “What are we going to do tomorrow? Like what kind of clothes should I bring?”
“Just something casual. I thought we could go to the Grove and have lunch, maybe see a movie, and you can shop if you want.”
“Music to my ears. Sounds perfect.”
“So hurry up and leave already. I’ll see you soon?”
Barely stifling a happy giggle, Annie agreed. “Okay, fine. Give me five minutes to pack an overnight bag, and then I’ll start heading over.”
After she hung up the phone, she quickly called Alex and explained to him what had just happened. Thankfully, he was only too delighted to take a rain check and didn’t give her too much shit about cancelling their usual Sunday dinner date. Before hanging up, Annie made him promise that they would go out another time soon; she was still determined to get him out of the apartment for an evening on the town. Quickly she packed a bag with her cosmetics and toiletries, a change of clothes and a cute pair of Victoria’s Secret pajamas.
Pulling up in front of Casey’s apartment building about half an hour later, Annie checked her make-up and put on some fresh lip gloss. She grabbed her things, and then locked the doors before starting up the walkway to the front gate. After locating his name on the callbox, she dialed the number and waited as the phone rang once, twice, then finally someone picked up on the third ring.
“Hello?” a female voice said.
Taken off guard, Annie paused for a moment before saying anything. “Hi, um, I’m sorry. I think I dialed the wrong number.”
“Are you looking for Casey?” the girl asked.
Feeling a knot beginning to form in her stomach, Annie said, “Yeah, it’s Annie. I’m here for the party.”
“Who?”
“Annie,” she repeated.
“What?”
“An-nie,” she said again, slowly and loudly drawing out the two syllables.
“Oh, right. Annie. I’ll buzz you in. Here’s Casey.”
“Hey babe.” Casey’s voice came on over the line.
“Hey, I’m at the front gate downstairs, but she—whoever
she
is—buzzed me in. Where do I go from here?”
“Oh yeah, that was Trisha. Okay, you’re going to take the elevator up to the third floor, go all the way to your right and then all the way to your left. I’m the corner unit at the end of the hall.”
Who the hell is Trisha?
Pushing the jealous thought from her mind, Annie headed for the elevator. When she reached the end of the hall and knocked on the door, it immediately swung open. Casey stepped out and reached for Annie, pulling her firmly toward him as his mouth slanted down across hers. He kissed her like a man who was dying of thirst, yet still savored her lips like they were a fine wine.
“I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he confessed, nuzzling against her neck as he hugged her tight, then stepped back to look her over from head to toe.
“Me too,” she said, smiling shyly at him.
“Mmm… so damn cute. Makin’ me crazy, girl,” he said as he gazed down at her, then pecked her on the lips again before pulling her inside the apartment after him.
“Hey everyone, this is Annie. Make her feel welcome.”
She grinned at all of the various greetings coming from different directions as they walked in.
Casey took her bag and ushered her over to sit down in an empty spot on the couch while he disappeared down the hallway. She assumed he was going to put her bag in his room and would be back shortly, so she tried not to panic when the roomful of people started to introduce themselves to her. How was she ever going to remember everyone’s name? She was sure she was going to embarrass herself by the end of the night.
After a few short moments Casey returned, bending close to ask what she’d like to drink. She asked for a Sea Breeze, and he disappeared again. When he slid the requested drink into her hand, Annie smiled up at him gratefully, and then gingerly took a sip. It slid easily down her throat, making her hum softly with appreciation. The proportion of vodka to cranberry and grapefruit juice was perfect, making the fruity cocktail refreshing and enjoyable. Raising her eyebrows, she looked up at him and smiled before inclining her head.
“Not bad, not bad at all.”
“Oh yeah, Casey is a great bartender,” the guy sitting next to her said. She was pretty sure his name was Chris, if she remembered correctly.
“Had to be. Couldn’t always afford to support myself on dance alone.”
“He’s only that great because I taught him everything I know,” the girl sitting across from her interjected, smiling coyly at Casey. She then flicked a glance at Annie as if she was an afterthought and gave her a very fake smile. Annie immediately identified Trisha by her voice when she spoke. “He was
such
a good student.”
Casey had just taken a swig of his beer as Trisha spoke up, and he choked as he swallowed, wiping his mouth against his arm as he tried to compose himself .
“Trisha, behave,” a guy leaning on the wall behind Trisha admonished in a low voice, making her visibly bristle for a moment before rolling her eyes. But then she leaned back in her chair and redirected her attention to the guy sitting in an armchair next to her.
Great. Again—who the hell is Trisha?
Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Annie quickly drained the rest of her glass. The rest of the evening was going to be interesting. She got up and asked Casey if he could show her where to make another drink, and he beckoned for her to follow him with a nod of his head. Annie’s eyes widened as he led the way into a bright, spacious kitchen which was fully furnished with every convenience a gourmet chef could possibly wish for. A full bar was set up on the middle island with a bag of opened ice sitting in a stainless-steel sink next to it.
As she moved to make herself another drink, Casey stopped her and smoothly extracted the glass from her hand.
“I got it,” he said, pecking her quickly on the lips before he turned to start mixing.
Annie grinned as she leaned back against the counter to watch him measure the liquids separately, pouring everything into a stainless-steel cocktail shaker with a little ice. Covering the top, he shook the container with one hand, and then popped the lid to pour. All of his motions were smooth and practiced, a sure sign that he’d been doing this for years.
“So, Trisha,” she said as he turned to hand her the drink.
He laughed and ran his hand back over his head as he looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah, sorry about that. We go way back – old family friends, but she can be kind of protective of new people coming into my life… especially girls.”
Nodding, Annie took a sip of her second drink. Just as delicious as the first. “Did you guys ever… you know?”
“Nah, we’re just friends. She might wish it otherwise, but that’s never going to happen.”
“I see. Well, she didn’t seem too thrilled to meet me.”
“She just doesn’t know you, yet. Like I said, she’s protective. Just give it some time. Once you get to know her, I bet you guys would get along great.”
He sounded so hopeful that she hated to be a Debbie Downer, so she forced a smile and nodded at him.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”
“Come on—let’s go mingle for a while. I’ll kick them all out of here after an hour or so, two hours tops, I promise.”
A couple of hours seemed like an eternity, now that she had the pleasure of sitting across from Trisha while the girl glared daggers at her whenever Casey wasn’t looking. At least Chris had given up his spot, and Casey was now sitting next to Annie with his arm slung casually, yet possessively across her shoulders. She couldn’t help but shoot Trisha a smug smile at one point when Casey turned to her, smiled and then leaned close to kiss her forehead before returning to the conversation he was having with his other crew members. Trisha scowled in reaction, and then turned back to her conversation with one of the guys’ girlfriends.
Annie felt the effects of the alcohol slow her down and make her sleepy, but finally, people started to take off. As the last couple of people stood to leave, chatting with Casey on their way to the door, Annie started picking up empty beer bottles and glasses to take them to the kitchen.
Casey closed the door, turned around and leaned back against it, giving an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Alone at last,” he said with a grin, but then he frowned as he realized what Annie was doing. “Babe, you don’t have to do that. You’re a guest.” He moved to take the glasses and bottle from her, but she shook her head at him.
“Please, I’m not going to sit around and watch you clean up by yourself.” She turned and left to drop off a load in the kitchen, then returned to the living room. In the meantime, Casey had managed to snag the rest of the empty bottles and glasses and was already heading back to the kitchen.
“I got it,” he said, putting everything down on the counter before starting to load the dishwasher. She helped pass him dishes, then leaned back against the counter and looked around uncertainly, not sure what was coming next. After closing the dishwasher, Casey turned towards Annie, reaching out a hand to snag her waist and draw her to him. “As I was saying, alone at last,” he murmured before lowering his lips to hers.
She sighed softly against his lips as he ran one hand through her hair before gripping it to hold her more tightly against him as his other hand grasped her hip possessively with just enough pressure to make her feel wanted and sexy. After a few moments, he finally released her, his eyes closing as he rested his forehead against hers.
“Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
“Umm,” Annie said hesitantly. She wanted to go to bed with him. She really did. But she was tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. Biting her lip, she looked at Casey and prepared herself for rejection. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”