Kismet

8 | Body, Mind, and Soul

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Raven

Raven sat next to Alicia. She chuckled as she noticed at how shocked her friend looked.

"You want to rehearse now?" Alicia asked, her mouth open.

"Yeah. Sure, why not?" Raven replied. "We can't have another awful session. You spilled your manuscript everywhere earlier."

Her mouth tipped down. "That's because Imani startled me."

"So, that little event had nothing to do with looking at me?" Raven asked with her eyes still on her.

Poor thing. She noticed how Alicia stayed quiet. Whatever she was thinking about before her script fell to the floor might have truly frightened her.

Alicia's eyes narrowed as she said, "You're right. I was thinking about what happened in your living room when Imani came over to talk to me. My thoughts were all over the place."

Raven gave her a soft laugh and reached out to grab her hand. "I was having trouble with my lines with Nancy, and you thought you had it hard? Every time I felt like I had a handle on how to get the rehearsal moving smoothly, I managed to screw it up even more."

"And now I know why today went longer than normal."

"Hey!" Raven's jaw dropped as she rubbed Alicia on the shoulder. "It's not my fault if certain people have a way of dominating my mind. Soon enough, it'll be my flesh and blood."

"Oh?" Alicia then moved closer until their noses were almost touching. "You forget that I like a person's heart, and you've already captured mine."

As she stared at her intriguing co-star, all Raven could think about was how amazing Alicia was. She was gorgeous on the surface, but she also had a beautiful heart full of grace and affection. Raven wanted to go into her mind and stay there forever. She was beginning to realize that the actress was more than meets the eye.

This was bad news for both of them. Especially considering how dedicated they were to giving their all in this movie and how well they performed in each scene.

Alicia scooted into her chair and murmured, "Ignore that," while she closed her eyes and leaned back. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's okay," Raven declared while she looked at the extensive building next to them. "Maybe we should go into your apartment and practice."

Suddenly, Alicia's eyes widened. "All right, no problem. It's not quite as spectacular as yours..."

"It doesn't matter to me how it looks. It's probably just as lovely and spectacular as you are, Ali."

The color returned to Alicia's cheeks, and her already enormous eyes grew even bigger. If Raven had been mean, she would have laughed in her face.

Her expectations that Alicia's home would turn out cute were accurate. The building itself appeared historical, yet in a charming way. They rode a shaky elevator to Alicia's fifth-floor apartment, where she unlocked the door.

She cautioned, "Be careful," as she cracked it. "It's quite cluttered near the door, so try not to knock anything over."

"Such cute banter from you."

"I've gotta find a way to keep you amused, Raven." Alicia stepped forward and flipped on a light. "This room was once a small painter's studio, so the construction crew transformed it into a living space. No more than two people at a time can stay here. It's somewhat aggravating."

Small didn't even describe Alicia's home. They could barely fit without bumping into each other between the tiny kitchen, the table, and the loveseat.

Raven said, "Quaint," as if she couldn't help herself.