Social Survival

I woke up sore. Not injured, just sore in places that made no sense.

Paddleboarding was stupid. I wanted to do it again immediately.

My phone said 8:14. Rehearsal started at ten, giving me plenty of time to stay in bed until the last possible second.

At 9:51, I was power-walking down the sidewalk with coffee in hand and my bag bouncing against my hip. I made it through the stage door at 9:56 and found half the company already stretching onstage.

Jay was on the floor, folded over one leg like his spine was made of ribbon.

“That looks upsetting,” I said, stopping beside him. “Are you aware humans aren't supposed to bend like that?”

“Morning, Tess.” He sat up and switched legs. “You're drinking coffee ten minutes before dance call.”

“I act. Barely move.”

“You fell off a paddleboard twelve times yesterday.”

“A strategic limit. Do we have a plan for tonight?”

Jay smiled. “Live music. Bar near the river at eight.”

“Perfect.”

Someone called places. Jay got to his feet in one smooth motion that made me dislike him briefly, then jogged toward the dancers.

Then I noticed Danny across the stage and immediately stopped thinking about Jay. He was wearing black rehearsal pants and a gray T-shirt, talking to Claire by the piano. Claire said something that made him laugh, then caught me looking. I smiled. She did not.

Interesting.

Today was mostly blocking and music. The first hour went smoothly, right until Claire started helping.

“Tessa, you're a little early into the phrase,” the music director called out. “Let the orchestra bring you in.”

As I marked my score, Claire leaned toward me from two chairs down. “Emily used to breathe after the second measure.”

I looked over. “Who's Emily?”

“The actress who played your role last summer,” Claire said softly. “It kept the phrase from getting rushed.”

“Good for Emily.”

We sang it again. I took the breath where I wanted, came in on time, and moved on.

Ten minutes later, Claire leaned over again. “You might want to save more voice there. For the high section.”

“If my voice falls out of my body, Claire, I'll come find you.”

The actor beside me snorted. Claire's smile tightened. “I was just trying to help.”

During blocking, the director moved me downstage. Claire called from the house, “Emily used to cross behind him there.”

The director paused. “So she did.”

Claire went quiet. I bit my cheek. Across the stage, Danny looked away, but not before I saw his mouth twitch.

We reset for a romantic beat between Ben and my character.

“Play the romance,” the director instructed. “You're both pretending there isn't any.”

Danny held out his hand. It was warm. Annoying.

We ran the scene. The second time through, something shifted. Danny gave me a look that wasn't there before. I reacted without thinking, changing my next line slightly. He caught it instantly and matched me. The scene suddenly had a pulse.

“Yes,” the director called. “Keep that.”

Danny still held my hand, neither of us letting go for half a second longer than necessary.

“That was good,” he said, looking down at me.

“I know.”

His mouth twitched. “You always this modest?”

“Only when I'm right.”

He laughed. A real, unprompted laugh. Oh. There you are.

At the break, I was grabbing my water bottle when Claire drifted over.

“You and Danny have good chemistry,” she said. “He's really easy to work with.”

“I've noticed.”

“So do you and Jay know each other from back home?”

“No. We met yesterday.”

Claire’s eyebrows lifted in that innocent, performative way. “Really? You two just seemed... very close this morning.”

I took a sip of water. “We went paddleboarding.”

“Just the two of you?” She smiled, her expression doing something subtle and suggestive. “I just didn't realize you moved that fast.”

I stared at her until her cheeks pinked, then gave her a tight smile. “I'm efficient.”

At lunch, I found Jay sitting on the low brick wall behind the theater, eating chicken, rice, and broccoli out of a plastic container. I sat beside him with my café sandwich and nudged his knee with mine.

“Claire thinks we're sleeping together.”

Jay choked. Actually choked. He coughed into his fist, grabbing his water. “Oh my God. What the fuck, Tessa?”

“I didn't say we were!”

“You can't just say things like that while I'm eating!”

His ears were bright pink. I grinned. “She thinks that because we went paddleboarding. Apparently going places with another person is sexual now.”

“You told her we're not, right?”

I stared at him. “No, Jay. I told her we've been having violent sex since approximately three yesterday afternoon.”

His face dropped. I lost it, laughing out loud.

“Can you stop?” he groaned, his ears turning nuclear red.

“You're so easy,” I laughed, before realizing how that sounded. I put a hand over my mouth. “Sorry.”

“You're not sorry.”

He shook his head, eating again. “What is the deal with Claire anyway?”

“She keeps telling me what Emily did.”

Jay smiled. “Emily had really nice breath placement.”

“Oh, fuck you,” I said, shoving his shoulder.

“I'm serious! Claire understudied her last year. She wanted the role this season.”

I considered that. “So she doesn't hate me. She simply wants my job and has a detailed archive of everything the last woman did better.”

“Pretty much. She'll calm down next week.”

“Next week? Jay, I have eighty-eight days left. I'm tracking inventory here.”

He laughed. “Inventory?”

The back door opened and a stage manager called, "Five minutes." We gathered our things, confirming eight o'clock for tonight.

“You better not cancel because you're tired,” I warned him as he stood.

“I'm a professional dancer. I have stamina.”

My eyebrows went up. Jay froze, realizing his phrasing, and his ears flushed red all over again. “That was your fault!”

The afternoon brought more scene work with Danny. It involved a close cross, an argument, and Danny placing his hand on my waist.

When the director pushed us to sharpen the tension, Danny's adjustment was seamless. His hand landed at my side, and when the director called cut, his thumb shifted once against my waist before dropping away. Probably accidental. My body noticed anyway.

During the next break, Claire cornered me by the prop table. “That blue dress in act two is really fitted. Emily had trouble moving in it. Just warning you, it's unforgiving.”

I took a sip of water. “I'm sure wardrobe knows what they're doing.”

Danny walked past right then. “Claire, leave her alone.”

“I wasn't doing anything!” Claire snapped.

By the end of rehearsal, I was packing my bag when Danny leaned against the table next to me.

“So, paddleboarding yesterday,” he said casually. “With Jay?”

“How do you know that?”

“He mentioned it.”

“Okay.”

Danny smiled. “Claire bothering you?”

“Claire loves me.”

“She gets weird about casting. She wanted your role,” he noted, his eyes flicking across the room. 

I looked at him, catching the subtle tilt in his tone. “Well, I got the role for a reason!”

“Apparently.” Danny pushed off the table, hands in his pockets. “For what it's worth, I think you're doing a good job. I didn't reject you from the lake yesterday. That was Claire's carpool issue.”

“It was a terrible excuse. You laughed.”

“Social survival,” he grinned, studying my face. “See you tomorrow, Tessa.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Oh. That was definitely flirting.

My phone buzzed with a text from Jay: Outside.

I walked out to find him leaning against his black SUV. He held the passenger door open for me.

“So,” I settled into the seat as he climbed behind the wheel. “What are we doing tomorrow?”

Jay groaned, but I just grinned. Eighty-eight days left, and Day Two was already a win.