“Be careful now,” he said quietly.
“Or what?”
“I’m gonna sex you into a coma and make off with your horse.”
“No, please. Not my horse,” Amanda begged.
“You know what they say when you take something with you?”
“What’s that?”
“That you didn’t want to go,” Sam said.
“No, no. That’s if you leave something behind. It means you wished you could stay and you’re looking for a reason to come back. If you take something that just means that. You like. To steal.”
Sam shook his head, another smile spread over his face. “Imma kiss you now, Cha-Cha.”
Amanda leaned forward, making it clear that was exactly what she wanted. Her eyes slid closed just as their lips met. Before, there was kissing, but it was that sort of anonymous stranger kissing. Good, fun, but almost as a formality. This kiss felt different, more intense. The payoff for a day of discreet flirting when she wished she could do so much more. She knew she couldn’t keep Sam, but she gave herself permission to enjoy this kiss.
She took all the moments she needed to savor the soft, perfect fullness of his lips. She didn’t shy away from the way his tongue slid into her mouth and brushed against hers. She only stopped his hand from moving farther up her thigh when her phone started buzzing incessantly on the bed.
Amanda pulled back, breaking the warm connection between them.
“I should grab that. It could be my mom. One second.”
“Yeah,” Sam said as he let out a deep breath. The way he scrubbed his hand over his face as she walked over to the bed sent a little tingle over Amanda’s chest. She was glad she wasn’t the only one affected by the kiss. Amanda reached for her phone, dread draining the joy from her body as Dru’s name scrolled across the screen. She silenced the ringer, then turned back to Sam. There was no way she was answering with him still in the room.
“I hate to do this, but I have to take this. My friend is—”
“No. Absolutely.” Sam cleared his throat, then stood carefully. He failed to hide the erection pressing against the seams of his pants. Later, when she wasn’t dreading a conversation with Dru in front of him, she’d be flattered by the presence of it. She watched him as he came around the back of the couch and kissed her on the cheek. When he pulled back, there was an intensity to his eyes, something she wanted focused on her the next time she found herself under him. And there would be a next time. One last time before she had to turn back to her real life.
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
He leaned closer again and kissed her one more time on the lips. “Get some sleep. ’Cause tomorrow, we’re going to wear this bed out.”
A burst of laughter came from Amanda’s mouth as he backed toward the door. “Okay. Then. I’ll make sure I stretch too.”
“Night.”
“Good night, Sam.” He grabbed his hat off the hook with a wink, then slipped out the door.
The air rushed out of Amanda’s lungs as soon as she heard the door click shut behind him. Sam Pleasant was dangerous. Lucky for her she didn’t have the time or live in the alternate reality where pursuing him made a lick of sense. No, all she wanted was tomorrow and she was giving herself tomorrow, dammit, even if it meant blocking Dru’s calls.
Her phone vibrated in her hand again several times as Dru fired off a series of texts.
Call me back you fucking hag.
I didn’t get the part.
They already gave it to Lacy.
“Oh God,” Amanda groaned out loud. Lacy. Frenemy Number One. The two had known each other since they were kids, and if there was anything they both loved more than the attention that came from acting it was getting under each other’s skin.
Amanda hit the phone icon next to Dru’s name and braced herself for one hell of an outburst. Dru answered, screaming. Some of it was unintelligible, but Amanda managed to get the central themes of her rant. She waited patiently until Dru was out of steam.
“Did either of you know the other was up for the part?” she finally asked. Lacy was white, blonde, tall, and slim—she and Dru would normally not be up for the same parts by Hollywood standards.
“I mean, I told her I was going in for it, and she told her agent she wanted to read for it.”
Amanda closed her eyes and managed not to sigh. Of course she did. Lacy was still upset that Dru had booked Andromeda over her.
“I’m very sorry she did that to you. What can I do?”
“Not a damn thing, but maybe next time do your homework. You know I don’t like going up against her for parts. I usually get them and then when she does, she’s extra petty about it. It’s not good for our friendship.”
“Hmm, you’re right. I’ll pay closer attention next time,” Amanda said, like she actually had access to Lacy like that. Her mother, Justine, was her manager and her PA. She did everything for her daughter. She would never tip Amanda off to her comings and goings. Dru knew that, but the truth wasn’t relevant to this conversation.
“When are you coming back?” Dru huffed.
“Like I said, Sunday night. Why aren’t you out tonight?”
“I am. I’m in a car.”
“Oh.”
“I was out with Lacy. I just left her ass at Cargo.”
“Oh okay. Well, go home and get some rest.”
“No, fuck that. I’m going to meet Kellie at Lux.”
“Or go meet Kellie at Lux.” Kellie was another fair-weather friend, but as a top-tier social media influencer they at least didn’t find themselves competing for work. Guys, on the other hand, were another issue. Hopefully, there were enough men at Lux to keep them both distracted.
“Be safe,” Amanda said.
“Yeah, whatever.” Dru ended
