Lahat ng Kabanata ng MY FORBIDDEN SHOWMANCE: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

By the time we finished our marshmallows, I was warm again. Possibly too warm. I'd moved my chair back from the fire after Jay pointed out that the soles of my shoes were getting hot.Moose was asleep with his head on my foot. Dolphin Shark was still drying beside the camper, and I was wearing Jay's sweatshirt, which I'd decided was mine now. It had been an excellent evening. Naturally, I wasn't ready for it to end."Let's go for a walk."Jay looked at me. "You were freezing twenty minutes ago.""I'm better.""You were also exhausted.""I've recovered.""You've been sitting in a chair eating marshmallows.""Exactly. Restorative."He glanced at Moose. Moose opened one eye."See?" I said. "He wants to go.""He wants you to stop talking so he can sleep."I leaned down and scratched Moose behind the ears. "Do you want to go on an adventure?"His head came up. His tail thumped.Jay sighed. "Great. Now you've told him."I stood and grabbed my shoes. "Come on. We haven't explored the campgro

By the time we got back to the campsite, Moose was ready for a nap. I was not. I’d spent most of the walk back thinking about kissing Jay. Specifically, how I could do it again. And again. Possibly several more times after that. It was a wonderful problem to have. Jay leaned the paddleboard against the camper while I filled Moose’s water bowl. Moose drank approximately half of it, splashed the other half onto my shoes, then flopped down in the shade. “Thanks,” I told him. His tail thumped once. Jay came around the camper carrying our towels. “You hungry?” “Always.” “I was going to make sandwiches.” “Excellent.” He went inside. I followed him. The camper was warm from sitting in the sun, so Jay opened a window while I put our wet things in the bathroom. When I came back out, he was standing at the counter getting bread out of a bag. I walked over and kissed him. He stopped what he was doing. Then he smiled. “Hi.” “Hi.” “You need something?” “Nope.”

The weather had been beautiful all weekend. Naturally, it waited until our last evening at the lake to turn against me. The sky was gray, the wind had picked up, and the water looked considerably less inviting than it had yesterday.I stood at the edge of the beach, considering it. Jay stood beside me with Moose's leash in one hand."No," he said.I looked at him. "I didn't say anything.""You're looking at the lake.""I'm allowed to look at the lake.""That's not how you look at things you're just looking at."I smiled. He knew me so well."I'm going to get in.""Tess.""What?""You're going to be freezing.""Maybe.""Definitely."I looked at the water again. We were leaving tomorrow morning. I'd spent four days at this campground, and I wasn't going to end my last full day without getting in the lake one more time. Besides, it wasn't that cold.Probably."Seems worth it," I said.Jay shook his head. "Okay.""Okay?""Yeah. Go ahead."I narrowed my eyes. "You're not going to try to st

"I'll drop you off, then take the trailer back to my parents'."I looked over at Jay. "Why?"He glanced at me. "Because that's where the trailer lives?""No. Why are you dropping me off?""Because that's where you live.""I want to meet your parents."Jay looked at me again. This time, longer."Watch the road.""I am watching the road.""You looked concerned.""I'm surprised.""Why? The one time I was at your basement apartment that is under their house I didn't get to meet either of them!""We weren't together then and we only started kissing two days ago.""So?""So now you want to meet my parents?""Yes."He laughed. "What? I've met your friends.""You've met people I work with.""Rebekah is your friend.""That is true. She is.""And now I want to meet your parents.""You don't have to help me return the trailer.""I know.""You can go home.""I know.""You've been camping for four days.""I know, Jay."He smiled. "Okay.""Okay?""Yeah. You can meet my parents.""Excellent."I sett

By the end of rehearsal, I had forgotten how doors worked. Not all doors. One specific door. Unfortunately, it was the door I needed to walk through during the second act."Again," the director called.I backed up to my mark. Danny took his position across from me."I hate this door," I whispered."It's just a door." Danny laughed."From Tessa's entrance!"I took a breath. Opening night was six days away, and the theater had collectively lost its mind. We were running longer sections now, adding costumes, finalizing lighting, and discovering approximately nine hundred things that had apparently worked perfectly until this week.I made my entrance. This time, I hit my mark, delivered my line, and crossed toward Danny exactly when I was supposed to. The scene continued. Danny caught my hand on his line. I turned toward him, looked into his eyes, and became someone else.That part was easy. I loved this part. Not necessarily Danny holding my hand, but the rest of it. The lights. The cost