Kimberly Gardner

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Excerpt

The outside door banged open, admitting a rush of frigid air.

David and Bethany both turned to look, and David’s breath caught. Coming toward them down the center aisle was the beautiful young man from the Macy’s fragrance counter. Their gazes met and he smiled. “Am I too late?”

David opened his mouth but found he had forgotten how to form words.

“Too late for what?” Bethany stepped forward.

“To audition.” The young man glanced at Bethany then his gaze turned back toward David. He bit his lip. “Do you remember me? From Macy’s—”

David nodded and found his voice. “Of course I remember you. No, you’re not too late, but how did you know—”

“You said you were a director. And you told me the name of your theatre company. So I Googled it and,” he made a little voila gesture, “here I am.”

Bethany cleared her throat.

Blue eyes looked from David to his sister and back. “The website said the auditions were open, but if—”

“They are.” Suddenly remembering his manners, David tore his gaze from the vision and turned to his sister. “Beth, this is… God, I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Kieran. Kieran Reilly.” He held out his hand.

David took it. The hand was warm. The grip strong and sure. He imagined that hand on more intimate parts of his body and a frisson of lust shivered through him. “I’m David Sullivan.”

He couldn’t believe it. This angel had taken the trouble not only to look him up but to come here in search of him. Stuff like this just didn’t happen to him.

There was another throat clearing from Bethany.

Self-consciously David released Kieran’s hand. “This is Bethany Anderson. She’s the set designer and she also does the costumes.”

“I’m also David’s sister and when I’m not pregnant I hang the lights and work the sound board and do whatever else needs doing.”

“Yeah, Beth is my Girl-Friday for most of our productions.”

Bethany shook Kieran’s hand. “We were just about finished for the night.” She eyed David. “But I’m sure we could hear you read.”

“I don’t want to keep you.”

“It’s no trouble.” Bethany turned to David. “You’re not in any rush, are you?”

David shook his head. “Me? No, no rush.” He set his bag down on a nearby chair and dug inside for a script. He held it out. “We’re doing Twelfth Night.”

Kieran nodded. “You told me.” He flipped pages. “This is my favorite Shakespeare play.”

“Have you acted before, Kieran?” Bethany slipped out of her coat and tossed it over the back of a chair.

“I got my bachelors in acting last year from Arcadia University.”

“Wow, a real actor. We’re not going to know how to act.”

“No pun intended,” David said. He opened his script. “Which part were you interested in?”

Kieran’s cheeks flushed and David felt his heart do a funny little back flip in his chest. God, he so needed to get a grip. He was acting like he’d never auditioned, maybe never even seen, a good looking guy before.

“I’d like to read for Viola, if that’s all right.”

“That would be great,” Bethany said. “It’ll be just like in Shakespeare’s time with a male actor playing a female role.” She nudged David. “Won’t that be great, director man?”

“I hadn’t really thought of having a man play Viola.” But his brain had begun to spin through the possibilities. Kieran was slight, probably no more than five-six or so, and he was certainly as pretty as any girl David had ever seen. And wasn’t the whole premise built around the switching of gender roles? So wouldn’t it be perfect to have a man play a woman playing a man?

And suddenly David knew he’d found his Viola. Now if only, by some miracle, Kieran could actually act.

He offered a script to Bethany. “Feel like being an Illyrian count for a few minutes?”

“I can do that.” She took the script. “Same scene the others read?”

David nodded.

Kieran and Bethany began to read the same lines Julie and Fred had crashed through only moments before.

David took a seat in the front row. He fought to keep his mind on the audition where it belonged rather than on how hot Kieran Reilly looked in his ripped and faded jeans and his white button-down shirt with the tails hanging to mid-thigh. He could almost see himself on his knees at Kieran’s feet, those long fingers fisted in his hair, and how the unbuttoned shirt would frame that slim torso as he mouthed Kieran’s prick through his jeans. David loved sucking cock, and he was good at it too. He would have Kieran trembling with need in no time.

Shutting his eyes, David inhaled. He imagined he could practically smell the other man’s desire as he pictured himself nuzzling the hard, hot length through the snug denim.

“…My state is desperate for my master’s love. As I am woman—now alas the day!—what thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe! O time! Thou must untangle this, not I, it is too hard a knot for me to untie!”

There was a moment of silence.

“Kieran, do you already know this play?” Bethany was studying Kieran, who flushed and bit his lip.

“Sort of. I played Viola when I was in school. It was a long time ago but I guess the lines stuck with me.”

“It can’t have been that long ago.”

He shrugged. “Three or four years.”

“Wow, that’s great. Isn’t that great, David?”

David jumped. His copy of the script slid to the floor in a flurry of pages.

Shit. He’d completely lost track of the action on stage, he was so taken with the action in his head.

“What? Yeah, terrific.” David caught the look his sister sent him and felt his cheeks grow hot.

“Well, that’s one less person we have to worry about getting off book.” Bethany descended the steps from the stage, her hand once more pressed to her lower back. “He’s so cute,” she mouthed then grinned at her brother as she passed him her script. “I’m out of here, if you don’t need me for anything else.” She looked back to where Kieran stood at the top of the stairs. “It was nice meeting you, Kieran.”

She sent David another meaningful look as she put on her coat.

He turned away from his sister’s too-perceptive gaze. Even at twenty-five, she still had the uncanny knack for making him feel like an awkward adolescent.

Of course no one knew him better than she did. It was just the two of them and they had always been close. He adored her and the feeling was totally mutual. So given all that, it was no stretch to think that she could see his attraction for Kieran.

And not more than two minutes later, David found himself alone in the theater with the object of his little fantasy.

Oh yeah, no doubt about it. His sister saw how much he wanted Kieran Reilly, and not just to play Viola either.