Bent (30 page)

Her cheeks were heating under his critical gaze. "I'm not really going for the high glamour look when I'm moving set pieces," she said trying to keep from rolling her eyes. She was flustered. It wasn't a condition Carly was used to and that put her on edge.

"That's good because you're off the mark if you were." He grabbed his tool bag from the ground and moved to the front of the stage. "Hey Carly, that's a good look on you." The smile he shot over his shoulder was dazzling. Carly had to fight the warming she felt inside from that single glance.

Nice recovery.

"
Let's go..." This time she did roll her eyes since he couldn't see her. She hoped the awkwardness would recede once he was working. She needed to focus on her checklist, not Julia's kid brother.

Even though she told herself she was going to disappear after showing him the light rigs she lingered on the stage watching him work. "Are you going to be able to get it working?" she asked trying to fill the silence.

"That's the plan." He jumped off the stage heading to the control room. The way his jeans stretched over his thighs with every movement was jarring. She wanted to touch them to see if they were as worn and soft as they looked. There should be rules that kid brothers aren't allowed to grow up into sexy men.

Without Dax's constant interruptions, Carly quickly got the prop tables set for the first act. By the time Dax sauntered in, she had everything ready to go for the evening's rehearsal and Adam had found the problem. Their feet hung over the edge of the stage as they made small talk while Adam waited for a local supplier to check on a part.

"Am I paying you to sit on your ass," Dax barked throwing his purse on the floor. She didn't care what fancy name Dax tried to give it, the brown leather bag was, without doubt, his purse.

Adam raised a questioning eyebrow causing Carly to stifle a laugh. Dax was in a foul mood this morning and she wasn't about to give him ammunition. "My list is done and he's waiting on a part. It's either sit here talking or sit here in silence. I decided to be personable and keep him company."

She stood and reached a hand out to help Adam up. "Now that you're here, I'm going next door to grab something to eat. We'll be back."

Dax narrowed his eyes, "Where's he going?" he spat.

Just a few more weeks,
Carly reminded herself. "He got here right after me so I figure he might be hungry too. Plus, I'm not leaving him here with you. No one should be subjected to your mood. Seriously, you need to take a Valium or something before you start scaring the cast."

Now it was Adam choking back his laughter. She nodded to him and then motioned to the back door. "Let's go."

"That was impressive. I don't remember you being so mouthy," Adam chuckled as he opened the door. As soon as they were outside, he threw an arm over his nose and mouth. "Damn, did something die back here?"

Carly shrugged, "You get used to it," she lied. There was no way to get used to the smell of rancid meat and rotting fruit but there was also no way to change it. It was part of the reality of trying to make it big in New York. Even the shiniest dreams have some tarnish on them.

Carly led Adam to one of her favorite spots a few blocks away. Carly filed into the grill line, "I'll grab us a sandwich to split. You get sodas and chips," she instructed.

When they had been walking to the deli, Carly worried that it would be weird having lunch with Julia's little brother. Instead, it felt completely natural, like they'd been doing it for years. Even more surprising, Adam pulled a Diet Cherry Coke from the cooler and a bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles. Somehow, he knew what she wanted. Could he really have a memory that good?

Adam was the first person from home she'd seen in six years. Her friends from Wisconsin were all so busy with their own lives that it never worked to meet up. Gran Turner, didn't fly and couldn't sit for long car trips. It was nice to be sitting across from someone who understood her. As much as she tried to fit into the New York lifestyle, there were some things that were so Midwest that she'd never get rid of them.

"So, how's your sister?" Carly asked since it was one of the few things she knew they had in common. The last she had heard, Julia was living in Nashville and getting ready to file for divorce. A good friend would have kept in touch, especially when Julia was going through a difficult time. Carly preferred to think their lack of communication had more to do with living life on different schedules rather than think admit they weren't as close as they once were.

"She's good, I guess," Adam said around a mouthful of corned beef and Swiss. After taking another bite, he continued, "She's planning to move back to Wisconsin once the divorce is final. She says she's fine with it, but I'm not so sure."

There was no way to hide the shocked expression on her face. "Julia's moving back to Wisconsin? Nu-uh," she exclaimed. Carly and Julia  swore they'd never go back to Wisconsin once they got out. "Madison or Milwaukee?" Carly asked.

"Not sure," Adam shrugged, "She's been pretty vague."

It bothered her more than it should that Adam didn't seem to know very much about his sister's life. The siblings had relied on each other for support after their mom left. Growing up an only child, Carly liked to think that she would have stayed close to her siblings if she'd had any.

Adam excused himself to answer his phone and Carly found herself, once again, watching him walk away. His confident swagger made it appear as though he was floating out of the room. There had to be some unwritten rule that you didn't check out the butt of a friend's little brother.

"The part will be here in about two hours," he said when he returned to the table. "You in a hurry to get back?"

Carly shook her head. She knew she should get back to the Schumann and see what menial tasks Dax could find for her but she knew she'd have more than her fill of him tonight. Plus, she'd started work four hours early today, that should buy her some free time in the afternoon. "No. I can show you around for a while. I just need to pop back and let Dax know I'm going to take a longer break."

Adam laughed, "Believe it or not, I don't need a tour guide. I probably spend almost as much time in this part of town as you do."

"Huh?" She cringed at the unintelligent utterance. At some point, she'd gather her wits and the ability to form a sentence again.

"It feels like I'm always out here for work," he said bluntly. "I keep telling them it'd be cheaper to just move me out here but they haven't bitten so far."

It didn't make sense that a company the size of ETS didn't have sub-contractors to take care of repairs like the one Adam had been sent to make. "Why are you out here so often? Wouldn't it be more cost-effective for them to hire someone locally to do the work?"

Adam laughed again. Carly wasn't thrilled at the idea of being his primary source of amusement for the day. "I don't normally do repairs. One of the big-shots knows someone at the Schumann so he asked me to come out and personally take care of it. Normally, I'm here on sales calls."

"Oh," she said. Sooner or later, she figured the ability to form complete sentences would return to her. It stung to know that someone she knew had been so close so many times.

As soon as they walked through the stage door at the Schumann, Carly knew a break was out of the question. "Turner, where in the hell have you been?" Dax barked from the empty house.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble," Adam whispered in her ear. Carly swallowed hard. There definitely had to be a rule about getting butterflies over a friend's younger brother.
Oh, to hell with it,
she thought,
I haven't even talked to Julia in over a year.

Carly rolled her eyes, "He's just a drama queen. You know how theatre people can be," she said sarcastically, "I'd better see what his highness needs."

"Rain check, then?" Adam offered.

There was no way she'd have time before Adam went back to Wisconsin. The thought depressed her more than it should. "I'm going to be stuck here late every night this week," she pouted. "Maybe next time you're in town?"

Adam's shoulders fell. "Right," he said, "Opening week--" In a twisted way, it lifted Carly's spirits to see that he was upset.

"Turner!" Dax was in a mood today. 

"I have to get out there. Try to find me when you're back with the part," she grumbled. She turned back as she neared the stage, "Hey, you said two hours, right? The queen will want to know."

Adam chuckled, "Yes, tell his majesty I shall return in two hours." Carly nearly lost it when he bowed flamboyantly before disappearing into the summer sun. Just as the door was about to slam shut, it was thrown open again. "Oh, and Carly... it's good seeing you." With that, Adam was gone.

Two hours later, Adam returned with a box that looked far too small to hold anything that had the ability to cripple the intricate lighting plan for their show. "Time to save the princess from the evil king," Adam laughed holding up the box.

"My hero," she shrieked, throwing her arms around Adam's broad shoulders. She kissed his cheek and immediately felt her cheeks burning red. Between feeling the firm ridges under her fingers and inhaling an intoxicating blend of body wash, soap and woodsy cologne, Carly knew she was in trouble.

"Turner," Dax barked, "What in the hell do you think you're doing? Even if there weren't a hundred things to do, you can't screw the vendors." The embarrassment Carly felt at being caught was replaced by laughter at Dax's stunned expression. The laughter was quickly followed by anger as Carly hit her breaking point with his mood.

"Screw you, Dax," she shouted towards the stage. Not normally one to feel a need to explain her actions, Carly followed him. "For your information, Adam is a family friend. I have no intention on screwing him, backstage or anywhere else. And even if I was going to screw him, you're just pissed that that would be one more man you're not getting." Maybe one of these days Dax would realize that Carly's tolerance for his bullshit directly correlated to the time she was required to roll out of bed in the morning.

Dax didn't respond to Carly's dramatic monologue. In fact, it was as if he hadn't heard a single thing she had said. That was good, she supposed, because she needed to make it through this run so she had one more show on her resume. She couldn't wait until he had to find another whipping post.

When Carly turned to apologize to Adam, he was nowhere to be found. She reached into her bright green leather purse, grabbing a cigarette and her iPhone. She crouched against the side of the brick building and started tapping out an email while she calmed down.

Hey Annie,

Do you ever talk to Julia? I heard a rumor she's moving back to WI, but not where. Let me know. We need to catch up.

C

In high school, Carly didn't go anywhere without Julia on one side of her and Annie on the other. If anyone would know what was going on with Julia, it would be Annie. Asking about Julia wasn't what Carly really wanted to talk to Annie about, but she figured it would be better to wade in to the conversation rather than jumping directly into the deep end by asking for information about Adam.

"You know those will kill you," Adam said plucking the cigarette out of her mouth and taking a drag. She couldn't see his face when she looked up. He looked angelic with the sun creating a halo around his silhouette.

"Have you seen what I have to deal with?" she deadpanned, "I figure it's me or them. I can't go to prison for killing myself. And wouldn't the same go for you?"

Adam extended a hand and pulled Carly so she was standing inches from him. "True," he agreed, "But it'd be a waste to kill yourself. Plus, you're going to wind up one of those scary broads that sounds like a dude someday. That will really kill the innocent sex kitten thing you have going on now. I, on the other hand, don't have to worry about sounding like a guy or killing my sex appeal."

If Carly had been standing in the alley naked she would have felt no more exposed than she did as Adam scanned every inch of her slight frame.

Deflecting the attention off herself, Carly smacked Adam in the chest. "Stop it," she laughed, "You're the creepy little brother. That's just not cool." She steered clear of his sex appeal statement not sure how she would answer if she tried.

For a moment, Adam looked almost hurt by the statement. "Creepy, huh?"

"I...uh..." once again, words failed her. She rolled her eyes, "Shut up, you know what I mean. So, are you done? Does his highness have light once again?"

"Yes, all is well in the kingdom once again." He bowed before her and she broke out laughing. It was fun to have someone laid back to talk to. "Guess I'd better let you get back to it," he said bending down to give Carly a light hug.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said without trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. "Next time you're--"

"Turner," Dax threw the door open, almost hitting Carly in the face. "We're getting ready to have a rehearsal in here. Care to join us?"

"Coming," she snapped. When she turned to give Adam her phone number, he was turning onto the street. She had obviously misread any vibe she thought she had gotten from him.