Annabel

Chapter 18

           

Chapter 18 Annabel

'Annabel, can I call you tonight? Want to talk about Charleston. –Greyson'

I sighed, shoving my phone in my pocket. Would he ever give up? I didn't want to talk to Greyson but he wasn't getting the memo. I needed to be by myself. I needed to leave those memories behind. I associated Greyson with being in Charleston at a time when I wasn't particularly happy, a time when I was actually pretty miserable. I didn't want to think about him, or my mom.  At times, it was almost like that part of my life just didn't exist. Or maybe that was the way I wanted to think of it.

I was currently at Drama rehearsals with Eli. Opening night was in three days and Eli was literally freaking out, completely stressed with everything he still had to do before then. He was so focused and driven, putting everything he had into making the production something special.

"No! No! No! You're throwing everything off. Brenda. Haven't you ever been in love?" He slammed the script down on his desk, charging the stage with a kind of animosity I'd never seen before.

I looked up, shaking my head at him and fighting back a smile. He really could get serious about this stuff.

"You're supposed to be in love with Brad. I know you probably want to strangle him but the audience can't know that. You have to at least act like there's some chemistry there, like he's not some jock made to do this by his teacher after spending several weeks in detention for vandalizing the girl's bathroom. Be in love Brenda. Watch."

Eli grabbed my hand, pulling me off my stool and almost making me trip. I yelped as he tugged me into his body, making me stumble all over the place before I was secure in his arms. One of his hands fisted the back of my shirt, right at my lower back. I could barely breathe with those mesmerizing orbs regarding me with so much love and admiration. I wanted to point out that this would be easy for him, considering he actually was in love with me.

"Now watch Brenda."

Eli took my hand, continuing to look deep into my eyes. He smiled and began reading off Brenda's lines, his voice sultry and silky smooth. Chills dominated my body and crept quickly up my spine.

"It took two days for me to fall into the deep depths of that forbidden place called your heart. Only two days it took for me to find the one person who exceeds everyone I measure them up to, surpassing my every expectation with each passing day. It was only two days before I realized I finally found my one and only...you."

I smiled, my stomach turning into knots at the words he wrote, the lines from a scene he'd spent numerous hours writing. How was he so dang charming? He let go of my hand, turning back to Brenda and smiling. He was wearing a black t-shirt that clung tightly to his torso. I drew in a deep breath as he pulled it away from his chest, flinging his t-shirt back and forth to bring a cool breeze to his body. Even though he was sweating, he still smelled wonderful and I loved sitting in his director's chair, admiring him for hours, studying the way his body moved around the stage.

"I know that it's cheesy." He whispered in my ear but in my opinion, it was anything but. Coming from Eli's lips, lines from a slapstick comedy would sound incredibly beautiful and...sexy.

"See?" he asked Brenda and she nodded as Eli turned back to me, planting a kiss on my cheek. He seemed to be distracted by me and I tried to push him away, tried to redirect his attention on what was important.

"Thank you, my beautiful assistant." He whispered in my ear.

I looked down at my watch and frowned, realizing that time had slipped away from me, that I'd lost track with all the staring at Eli. Sometimes it was hard to look away from him and remember that I had other things to worry about, not just Eli.