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Alicia
Alicia wanted to watch the rehearsal, but she knew she couldn't look Raven in the eyes. Things between them in the hallway quickly grew bizarre, and she found their kiss to be creepy. She just didn't think it would be very important. She questioned whether Raven was as anxious as she appeared to be. When she awoke at Raven's house, the woman had disappeared.
She just vanished, as if she couldn't get out soon enough.
It was clear that she didn't want to remember the kiss. Raven said she didn't like kissing her co-stars behind closed doors. Still, she and Alicia went through with it.
Alicia didn't like getting this close to someone, especially since she wasn't sure what she was looking for. Her subconscious reasoned that she deserved humiliation. And boy, did she indulge in self-pity.
When she looked at Raven, it was like fire ants were on her skin. It took her a while to get over the kiss. She would mess up the entire practice if she didn't learn to control her anxiety. It was time for them to get going. Was she strong enough to handle this without erupting in a fit of despair?
She crossed her fingers that this scene would go as smoothly as possible.
Alicia took a peek at Raven while she watched a scene with their other co-star, Nancy. She changed into the fiery persona of her role, Aryn, and it reflected in her demeanor. Her words were short. Her face didn't show that she was happy or awkward. Alicia would have laughed at how gloomy Raven appeared if she didn't look so natural while acting.
Alicia noticed her mouth lightly open. Lips she touched. Lips she was going to kiss again. And lips she wanted to kiss all the time.
She felt her heart beat fast when she thought about that. Why did she want this? Was she truly beginning to like Raven?
She gazed all over Raven's body. It wasn't that Alicia didn't think she was attractive. Everything felt warm and inviting with her. Erotic. Heavenly.
Heavenly? That word is now in my vocabulary. How serious was I about her?
She needed to get over her crush on her co-star. Fast.
It wasn't fun to like someone at work who might not like you in return. It was awkward. She became sick when she saw Raven leave the set after her scene was over. What was making her feel so strange? Even though she didn't want to date a colleague, she couldn't help but want to kiss and hug Raven badly.
Maybe it had been too long since she'd experienced physical closeness with another person. How lonely was she? All Alicia needed, she reasoned, was a lover. Maybe a girlfriend. She remembered a former employee named Dani who was close with La Rouge's owner, Kevin Gerard.
But she instantly dismissed that idea. Dani had a girlfriend, and Alicia had no intention of ruining a good relationship. That wasn't like her one bit.
To distract herself from her feelings for Raven, Alicia contemplated visiting one of the many LGBT bars in the area. Even with that thought, she knew it was a long shot to find someone genuine.
"Alicia?"
Imani's voice, the screenwriter, startled her, and Alicia accidentally dropped her manuscript everywhere.
Raven and the others in the room turned to stare at them.
"Sorry," she murmured, heat burning her face.
"Oh, dear. I didn't mean to frighten you." Dark arms shot out, and Imani helped pick up the papers, then neatly put everything back into place. With a grin on her face, she returned Alicia's manuscript. "I think everything is all there."
Instead of staring at the crumpled paper in her hands, Alicia looked into the woman's gentle eyes. Only once had she met Imani, but that was enough to form an opinion that she was far too gorgeous to be a screenwriter.
She was a sunflower among an ocean of wheat.
Because she was so pretty, Imani should have been in fashion magazines and on billboards all over the world. Her black, curly hair was much longer than Alicia's. She was also tall and thin, and her characteristics were almost too perfect.
Her face broke into a euphoric grin. "Do you feel better now? I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry about that, Alicia."
"No, no. It's all right."
"Great. I just wanted to let you know that I made slight changes to your and Raven's characters."
"Our characters?" she murmured, giving the tiny group, who were still practicing lines, an occasional glance.
Imani pointed to the script lying on the table. "Yeah. Both Oliver and I had the same idea about how to enhance certain parts of the film. Making the adjustments was quick and easy."
"Oh. It won't be a problem. I have faith in my ability to handle anything." They became silent for a moment until Alicia asked Imani, "Does Raven know about the changes?"
She smiled. "Yes. Her agency emailed her the latest script."
Alicia's eyes narrowed as she nodded. She didn't have an agent like many famous people do, and even if she did, she probably couldn't afford to pay for one. She didn't think she'd ever make it far enough in her career to need coaching throughout auditions. And she really got lucky when part-time gigs for this movie opened up a few weeks ago. If she hadn't made it, she wouldn't be in this rehearsal room and on the cusp of becoming a Hollywood star. In the end, things worked out well for her.
Imani then said, "I've also been wondering how you like your character." This made Alicia stop and think. "I mean, I'm sure being in a movie like this and working alongside Raven Diaz is kind of overwhelming."
She took a deep breath, showing that she understood what the scriptwriter meant.
Curiosity filled Imani's face as she watched Alicia with her intense brown eyes. "But you don't look like what I said. It looks like you've been performing for a long time and that nothing can stop you." They both laughed a little, and she went on. "Anyway, girl, you can do this. Just learn your lines, how to block, and where the director wants you to be, and you'll do fine."
Alicia looked over at Raven as she and their co-star, Nancy, moved over to the window for their exercise.
She gave Imani a quick look before speaking. "You're right. It's a dream, but it's also a lot to take in. I only want to give it my all and do everything I can to make Qala come to life."
Imani frowned. "Do you doubt yourself, Alicia?"
"In some ways, I do. My portfolio consists mostly of small TV series and theater productions. So far, the only thing I've done is play the main character's best friend in a silly romantic comedy. I learned from the experience."
Imani replied, "Exactly," and then she put her dark hand on Alicia's shoulder. "You can ask Cheryl or Martha for help with your scenes. They're great at making newcomers feel at ease in this business."
Alicia smiled and looked at the new script. "I think I'll figure it out. I hope to, at least."
Assuring her, Imani stated, "Just have faith. It will all work out."
"Thank you."
"Hey! Are you guys just going to talk during the rehearsal?" Upon raising her head, Alicia saw Oliver gesturing at her. "You missed your cue, Ms. Steele."
"I'm sorry about that," she said.
"Alicia?" Behind her, Raven's voice reverberated in her head.
She looked at her. "Yes?"
Raven bit her bottom lip and asked, "Can I drive you home so we can talk? I want to tell you what happened this morning."
Alicia inhaled deeply but nodded to show that she was ready to hear her story. "Sure!"
Raven smiled and licked her bottom lip, and all Alicia could think about was how she was going to keep her mouth closed. She knew that the moment they were alone, emotions would heat up.
In her mind, she had to use an imaginary chastity belt to keep herself from giving in to Raven's seduction. After only two seconds, Alicia knew that wouldn't work. What did the kiss do to make things so challenging for her?
• • •
Two hours went by, and Alicia climbed into Raven's car after the last rehearsal. Raven entered her address into the GPS, and they sat in silence as she pulled back out onto the road. Every awkward second ended with the swish of the windshield wipers as the rain continued to pour.
Eventually, Alicia's patience ran out, and she broke down. She began to break the awkward silence with, "Look, I—" but Raven also murmured at the same time.
"Sorry, Ali."
"No. You go first," Alicia urged.
Raven shook her head. "You can talk."
"I was only going to say that I hate the rain."
"No, you weren't. Come up with something better."
Alicia laughed lightly, avoiding Raven's crimson lips. Thoughts of kissing her flooded her thoughts, and she shook her head, trying to shift her attention.
"I don't want you to feel weird around me." Raven sighed as they approached a red light. "Is it about our kiss last night? You shouldn't feel uncomfortable."
"Seriously? You weren't around when I woke up on your couch, so I can't believe you brought it up." She didn't mean for her voice to sound so harsh, but it did. Had she been this annoyed?
"You're upset because I was gone?" A look of realization dawned on Raven's face. "Oh! I got out of the house and went for a run. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I was planning on making us breakfast."
Did that make things better? It felt good when she thought about how caring Raven was. She decided to be upfront with her. "I felt weird coming on to you, and I got the sense that the kiss had scared you just as much as it did me. I didn't know if you wanted to forget about it."
"Quite the opposite, Ali." Alicia smiled when Raven called her by her pet name. She flicked the blinker to signify that she was turning onto the ramp leading toward the freeway. "Maybe having private rehearsals is much bigger than we thought. And our kiss was so connected that it was amazing. I still can't believe I came out to you, but I had a great time."
"Oh. You're bisexuality?" Alicia asked and turned to face Raven.
"Yeah. Only the people I tell know that about me."
Alicia, fidgeting with her thumbs in her lap, said, "Well, you don't have to worry about me saying anything. I find myself attracted to people of all genders, so why should I speak out? I have never defined my sexual preferences, but I'm close to being pansexual."
"Pansexual? Doesn't that make you bisexual?"
Alicia shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. I'm more interested in personalities than gender or sexuality. Hearts—not parts."
"Hmm. I've never thought of it like that."
The GPS got them closer and closer to Alicia's place, and she let out a breath. She didn't want anything to get in the way of their friendship because things were going well now.
They were outside of a red brick building when she had the wildest thought she had ever had. "You're attracted to me, right?"
Raven nodded, her red lips parting. "Since the moment I saw your headshot and knew they chose you to do the screen test with me."
She couldn't help but smile as she heard Raven's confession. "Then maybe we should rehearse until we're more comfortable with each other."
Raven made a face.
Alicia spoke so quickly that she might have choked on her words. "I think our kiss meant more to each other than we thought it would. We should put aside how much we like each other so that we can do our best for the director."
Raven just stared at her, her thick eyebrows showing that she was giving Alicia's idea a lot of thought.
Oh Lord, why had I said that?
Alicia feared that she would think she was a freak for wanting to kiss her, and then trying to get her to do it more often. Not that she was luring her into anything. She only wanted the movie to go well, which meant they had to work out their issues.
Raven still wasn't talking.
Fuck!
She finally turned off the car's engine and took her seatbelt off. "You're right."
"I... I am?"
"Yes, Alicia. Let's practice now."
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Just a quick note that the Dani mentioned in this chapter and the previous chapter is the same one from More Than Friends. And "Imani" is another character from one of my books. I enjoy doing these crossovers as much as I enjoy writing love stories. Thank you for reading.