Well, What Ever Happened To Romance?

Chapter 6

Waking up on Monday mornings never seemed to get easier, and waking up to a cockroach on my pillow definitely did not make things much better. As much as I loved this city, I'd trade the roach-infested living spaces back in a heartbeat. Having had been up until 3:00 AM the night before working on all of the things that I meant to get done on Saturday at the coffee shop (but didn't because of Ben), 7:00 in the morning arrived just a little bit too soon.

I drag my sluggish body to the kitchen, turning the Keurig on and rubbing my eyes. I check my phone to see a text from my boss, sent several minutes ago. "Change of plans today-- meet at 42nd Street Studios, Studio 7B. We're watching a Mean Girls rehearsal today." As the show's publicists, it was important for us to know the story of the show-- quotes, lines, plot, and all of that-- in order to know how to promote it and what material we had to work with. This also meant that I had to travel further than usual for work today, and considering I was already running a little bit late, I would have to book it in order to make it there on time. The only thing that kept me from crawling back into bed and calling in sick was knowing that I'd get to see Ben at the rehearsal.

I'm several minutes late to rehearsal, and have to sneak into the front of the studio where a few people from work sat. They were rehearsing some song, though I didn't know the songs well enough yet to tell which one it was. I took the empty seat by my boss, smiling at her. The next person I look for is Ben, of course, who's too caught up in the number to notice that I've walked in.

"You should have seen how confused he looked when we walked in and you weren't with us," My boss says, leaning toward me to be heard over the song. "I thought the poor boy's heart was broken." She nudges me, obviously teasing me as my face flushes. I guess I was lucky to have a boss who approved of Ben and I, considering it probably wasn't in our best interest for me to have a 'thing' with one of our clients.

The song ends shortly after that, all the actors breathing heavily from dancing as they listen to instructions from their director. Ben glances my way, perking up when he saw me. It was almost painful to hold myself in my seat when all I wanted to do was run up and kiss him. Suddenly, my rough morning and how tired I was didn't seem to matter.

We sit for a while, watching the rehearsal as I try to focus on the plot line. We take notes, writing down catchy lines or important things we'd need to remember later. As for Ben and I, the entire morning is filled with secret glances and subtle smiles. Something was so exciting about us being in the same room together, but having nobody else (except my boss, of course) know about us. It was just our little secret, something for the two of us to share. My boss was also quick to point out that Ben was 'totally showing off' because I was there, and the butterflies I felt were just enough to keep me awake for the morning.

They call for a lunch break, and I chat with my work people for a few minutes, waiting for the room to empty before going over to see Ben. He sticks around, catching on to what I was doing. Eventually, everyone clears out, and Ben comes up and hugs me from behind. "I thought they'd never leave," he whispers, kissing me on the cheek.

"Eeeew, you're all sweaty," I joke, pretending to pry his arms off of me.

"Aww, I'm not that bad, am I?" He laughs, holding me tighter. "Are you doing ok? You look exhausted. I don't mean that in a 'you look bad' way, or anything like that, I can just tell th-"

"No, it's totally ok," I laugh, cutting him off. "It's a fair statement. I didn't sleep much last night, because I was getting caught up on work stuff."

"Did I keep you out too late on Saturday?" He says, part teasing and part out of genuine concern.

"Maybe... but I guess it was worth it," I say, playfully twirling my finger in his hair. He was still hugging me from behind, his head resting on my shoulder as the two of us looked at ourselves in the mirror that filled one wall of the studio.