For half a second my brain went to knocking down walls and making it a high-end studio apartment before I halted those thoughts. I had other current projects.
My phone buzzed with a text with an unknown number.
If you wanted my number you could have asked before you left my apartment.
I smiled, pleased Leah had responded so quickly. Then again, she was probably bored. Hadn’t she told me she was going to spend the afternoon lying naked in bed and watching YouTube? The image of that made me groan out loud. I texted her back.
I was distracted by you naked in bed.
You could have waited until next Wednesday.
That wouldn’t give me enough time before the weekend anniversary party to convince her to go to the Hamptons with me.
I have something I want to ask you.
So ask.
In person.
I whirled my chair around so I could see out the large window of my office. The view was of Madison Square Park and it was bustling on the fall day. When Leah didn’t respond right away, I texted her again.
Let me see you tomorrow.
I have play practice.
Where is the theater? I’ll meet you there.
I’m not having sex with you in the dressing room.
That made me laugh out loud. I hadn’t even thought about how my request would sound.
I wish you would, though that wasn’t my original plan. I really did just want to talk to you, but thanks for putting the idea in my head.
She sent me an eyeroll emoji.
Since she wasn’t saying yes and she wasn’t saying no, I pushed.
What time tomorrow? What theater?
She responded with an address and seven p.m.
Then she texted, “Bossy.”
I smiled.
Persistent.
She didn’t respond, which didn’t surprise me. I was probably tempting her to send another eyeroll emoji.
I called my buddy Trevor, who was a talent agent. “Hey, how much do theater actresses make an hour?”
“Why, are you hiring a girlfriend, loser?”
“As a matter of a fact, yes.”
“Shut the fuck up.” The wind was rustling and it was clear he was walking outside. Horns blew in the background. “You cannot be serious.”
“Wish I wasn’t.” I gave him the lowdown on the current situation with my father. Trevor and I had gone to boarding school together. He knew my family situation and I knew his. The gay son of a former NBA star, he was no stranger to familial expectations and complicated relationships. “I found a loophole and I’m taking it, so not a word to anyone about this. As far as you know, I’m really fucking into this girl and you think we’re a great couple.”