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said.
    I felt the bubble of the moment burst completely at this sudden mention of a future between us. I didn't like the empty uncertainty of that; it was ridiculous of him to even mention it. Reality seeped over me as if my clothes were wicking up freezing water. My face went serious.
    " This? This is just right now," I said, sitting up and fumbling for my bra. "You really don't need to lie to me or whisper sweet nothings or tell me what you think I want to hear." I gathered my hair so it fell onto one side of my chest, twisting it around my neck and out of the way while I buckled it back onto my body. I reached for my shirt. "I wanted to fuck you, and I did. You wanted to fuck me, so you told me you loved me. Which totally wasn't necessary, by the way," I said thickly through the fabric stretching across my mouth. My head popped out and I saw Wilder's face, which looked surprisingly hurt.
    He's an actor , I thought to myself. This is part of the performance . I stepped into my jeans, pulling the tight fabric up over my thighs. My underwear was no longer in a condition to be considered an item of clothing after Wilder's hasty removal; I picked up the scrap of tattered fabric and shoved it into my pocket.
    "This was fun, though." I kneeled back down onto the ground and kissed him one last time, feeling his warm lips on my mouth.
    Then I walked out of the theater, Wilder still laying on the blanket in silence.
    I didn't like the nagging feeling that I'd left part of my heart on that stage. It was just sex.
    That was all.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    OLIVIA
    "Juliets, please line up over here," barked the director, pushing her glasses up her nose. I nervously shifted in my seat. Why was I doing this again? I had no desire to be an actor. Film production - that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to be behind the scenes.
    Then I heard my mother's voice in my head when I thought that. I heard her telling me to follow my dreams. But I'd watched her my whole childhood stumble from one 'dream' to another. I had no interest in that kind of life. That kind of uncertainty.
    I'd settled for film production knowing that actors had astronomical chances of succeeding. There were far more roles behind the camera than in front of it. Production gave me leeway. Production gave me options. Production gave me security. Production was realistic.
    And yet here I was, my heart beating wildly with anticipation. Some repressed part of me wanted to be here.
    I was standing in line between two gorgeous, gum-chewing sorority sisters. They were both holding their iPhones in their hands. I was holding my script and trying not to thumb nervously through the pages. I was afraid that would be a dead giveaway that I was a complete newbie at this. I'd been in a few productions in high school, but always as Chorus Girl Number Three. I'd never even auditioned for a lead role.
    Auditioning for Juliet was going to be a one-time lark. It was hardly spontaneous, but in some ways it happened to fit Lorna's criteria. I was only young once. Besides, I'd heard from my roommate Lydia that they were desperate. Wilder had scared off all of his leading ladies by being a royal cad.
    I blushed as I thought back to a week before when Wilder and I had been on that stage together. What had gotten into me? The memory of Wilder very literally getting into me made my knees start to shake. I had to lean against the wall, taking deep, fully breaths. The brunette in front of me looked at me like I was losing it. She rolled her eyes.
    Keep it together, Liv, I thought to myself.
    "Adams, Harriet," called out the director from the front row. I put my script down and leaned against the carpeted wall of the auditorium. As Harriet took center stage, I had a flash of what Wilder and I had looked like up there, intertwined together. By the time I finished that daydream, Harriet was finishing up her monologue. A few people clapped politely.
    "Donaldson, Letty!"
    It was another half an hour before they