ログイン* Daniel *I was standing on the terrace of the university theater again, looking out over the snow-dusted quad. The winter sun was hanging low and pale in the sky. Jeff stood beside me, holding my gloved hand in his. The breeze was chilly, but his body was warm next to mine. I pressed closer to him, drinking it in. He waved his free hand toward the view."It's all for you, Danny Boy. All for you. I'd give you the world if I could. You know that, babe, don't you? You're the one I've been waiting for. You deserve it all."My breath caught in my throat at the passion and sincerity in his words. Mark was wrong, he had to be, all he knew was the actor, not the man. He didn't know this side of Jeff, the side that cherished and protected and thought the world of me, little as I deserved it."I want you so much," I told him, the words coming more freely than I ever thought possible. "I don't need the world, I just need you. Don't ever leave me, Jeff."
* Jeff *Snowflakes began to patter sporadically against the windshield. The traffic was moving slowly, but at least it was moving. Aretha was off the radio, replaced by The Turtles singing "Happy Together." Was it me, or was all the music they were playing on this station older than I was?Finally, Mom cleared her throat. "So... anyone special I should be aware of?"God, no, not this conversation."Mom, can we not go there?""What? You're thirty-six, Jeff, you can't expect me to believe you're not interested in some kind of a relationship.""You sound like Scott. He said his whole goal in directing this play was to get me laid." I winced all over again remembering that particular conversation."Not to be crude, babe, but I think Scott has the right idea. If he's worried about you, then I know it's serious. Ever since you came back from Hollywood you haven't been yourself. Before then, really. When's the last time you we
* Jeff *Mom was all packed and ready to go when I arrived at her sprawling ranch house on the outskirts of town. I greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "Where are your things?" I asked."Already waiting in the Explorer. Come on, let's get your stuff loaded," she answered."I thought I was driving...""You? Behind the wheel in the snow? In a sports car? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?""It's going to snow?""Don't you watch the news?""I've been in rehearsal...""Jeff, I'm your mother, and I love you, and I'm very proud of you, but I do wish you'd plan ahead a bit more often." Remembering my first night with Daniel, I internally conceded she might have a point."Your father would have already checked the weather report three times, double-checked the tires, and planned an alternate route in case of delays," Mom continued."You divorced Dad.""Just because my marriage to Gary
* Daniel *Things went as well as or better than expected at Wednesday's rehearsal, but you could still feel the tension among the cast and crew. Even Scott, who had been our unfailing cheerleader throughout hell week, was a little brusque. We would all be coming back from our food comas into one final day of rehearsal and a Saturday preview before opening night. Ironically, the problematic scene seven was working like a dream now; it was the opening and closing scenes—the only ones that involved the entire cast onstage at once—that had everyone nervous. Scott's clever, complicated blocking still had the potential to turn into a traffic jam if someone got their timing wrong. Christina—who despite her heritage ordinarily spoke without a trace of an accent—broke into an impressive round of cursing in fluent Spanish when she flubbed a line and had to start her entrance over.At the end of the day I was huddled in conversation with Mark when I
* Daniel *Wednesday's rehearsal was gruelling. Not only did I have to finish drilling scene seven with Joseph, I had to give him a quick review of the rest of the play to make sure he was up to speed. Scott was on hand most of the day to provide criticism and input, but it was slow, frustrating work. Still, Joseph made steady progress, and by the end of the day, Scott was sure that he would be ready to join the rest of the cast Thursday afternoon.At the lunch break, I checked in with Mark. Before long, I would be rejoining him instead of being off on my own, and we needed to be on the same page when that happened. Dress rehearsals were about to start. Apart from juggling all the props, there were relatively few technical pitfalls in this production, but that certainly didn't mean we could expect this to go smoothly without careful preparation on our part.Jeff waved to me as he walked past to get his own lunch. I smiled happily, devouring the man with my
* Jeff * I would have died rather than let anything on to Daniel, but my heart was pounding as we walked into the karaoke bar together. The sweetheart thought I was the one being brave for us both by holding his hand; in reality, I needed his touch to get me through this. I know what you're thinking, you're just saying hi to your boyfriend's friend, who's pretty much already figured out the score. You've met her before and you liked her, so what's there to be scared about? Truth? I'd never had to seek approval from anyone before. My liaisons before Timothy had all been short-term flings, and his strict rules about keeping up professional appearances had kept me from ever having to face this situation during our relationship. Kelly was as close to family as I was likely to meet with Daniel; her goodwill was going to be essential to our going forward. And I so very badly wanted to keep going forward. How far forward, I wasn't ready to explo