Burn For You

Chapter 8: Callbacks

Waking up at the sound of his wife busy in the kitchen, he stretched and his hangover hit him.

He groaned in pain as a blistering headache washed over him.

Rolling out of bed, he walked to the kitchen. The analog clock read 6:00 AM.

So damn early.

Pouring some coffee his wife had made, he wished her a good morning before going into the bathroom. She was oblivious to the fact he had drunk dialed you and admitted his feelings for you .

He took a couple swigs of coffee, popped a few Advil, and turned on the shower. He looked in the mirror.

His thick brown hair was messy in his face. His eyes looked tired and sad. He needed to get presentable. He had callbacks to run today.

Making the shower quick and cold, he tried his best to avoid a leisurely experience. From past experiences that only led to inappropriate thoughts.

Dressing in his blue dress shirt, black work slacks, and brown shiny dress shoes, he grabbed his suitcase, kissed Henry and his wife goodbye and left the apartment.

Arriving at the theatre, he checked his watch.

7:30 AM

Callbacks started in 5 minutes.

Which meant he would be seeing you very soon.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to face you today.

Setting up his notes and papers in his office, he heard voices entering the theatre.

They sounded full of excitement, but Charlie was listening closely for your voice. No matter how badly he didn't want to face you, he needed to apologize.

Walking out to greet the actors, Charlie's eyes found you.

You were dressed in one of those pretty little skirts, this time in black, and you had a long sleeved skin tight blouse on.

He couldn't help himself.

His eyes skated across your body, taking in as much as they would let him.

You saw Charlie staring, his brown eyes intense on yours. You gave him a half-hearted smile, then looked away.

He felt a pang of guilt, but this time not for his wife.
This time it was for hurting you. Lying to you and telling you the call was a mistake. Making you think he didn't mean the things he said. Of course he had meant it, it was just forbidden to act on it.

Charlie spoke loudly, ushering the actors to follow the stage manager for directions.

He watched as you followed behind the manager, all the while chatting away with Jake. There it was again...

Jealousy.

Jealousy because Jake was young, handsome, and most importantly; available.

You were laughing with him. Charlie wanted you to laugh with him like that.

The way Jack looked at you made Charlie angry. He looked at you like he was constantly an inch away from kissing you. He knew how that felt.

Tearing his eyes away from you, he moved to go sit in the audience to watch the actors.

He needed to find someone to fill the character Mary-Ann and the two brothers. He new the only one qualified enough for Mary-Ann was you.

Your presence on stage fit the character perfectly.

Charlie watched intently, taking notes on each actor until he had seen enough.

Sending the stage manager to let the off-stage actors know they could leave, he got up from the audience.

Walking down the stairs and into the lobby, he watched as the actors left one by one. He saw Frank leave but did not see you with him anymore.

Thank god.

Twisting his ring around his finger, he walked back stage to gather and loose scripts.

The few lights that were operational were on backstage.

Opening the double doors, he walked through and stopped in his tracks.

There you were, on the floor, your legs crossed out in front of you, gathering the loose scripts.