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The interview was set for the following morning at eleven, in the theatre lobby. I stood in front of my closet for a good half an hour, trying to decide what to wear. Orlando had his clothes laid out on the bed when I came out of the shower, and I envied his lack of options. I finally decided on a beautiful royal blue sweater Orlando had bought for me in Toronto, and my favourite grey jeans. Orlando was wearing black jeans and a white collared dress shirt, with a dark green sweater over top. He looked positively yummy.

When we arrived at the theatre, there were about 15 people floating around, doing various things. We were rushed into make-up, and had about a thousand photos taken before we were seated at a table with the reporter. His name was Greg Johnson, and he was an older man, in his mid-fifties, I’d say. He kind of looked like a chubbier Robert Redford. I sat there nervously as he and Orlando made small talk for a few minutes, before the interview actually began. Orlando’s hand never left mine as he talked, and every so often he’d give it a gentle squeeze.

“Okay, let’s get started, shall we?” Greg said, setting a tape recorder on the table. He pulled out a notebook and pen as well. “This won’t be too painful,” he said, looking at me. I tried to smile, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. The Wicked interviews weren’t as personal as this would be, and I was nervous I’d say the wrong thing.

“Relax, love,” Orlando whispered, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “You’ll do just fine, I promise.” He gave me that smile that always made my heart melt. I felt my body relax as his slipped his arm around me and I leaned into him. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said to Greg.

“Great,” he said, glancing down at his notebook. “How long have you two been together?”

“Just over three months,” Orlando said.

“And how did you meet?”

“Actually, it was right here in the theatre,” Orlando said, grinning at me. “I had a bit of a clumsy moment, and crashed right into her.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Greg grinned, and so did Orlando.

“Whatever it was, it was strong,” he said smoothly. The truth was, it hadn’t taken very long for us to fall in love, but love at first sight was a stretch. Infatuation was more like it.

“There’ve been some not-so-nice pictures of you two circulating in the media lately. What exactly happened with Sean Bryant?”

I tensed. These were the questions I didn’t want to answer, but knew we had to. “Uh, that whole thing was a big misunderstanding,” I said.

“How so?”

“Sean and I work together, and though we have to kiss in the show, there’s never been anything more than a professional friendship between us,” I said, shifting uncomfortably. Orlando squeezed my hand. “He got the wrong idea, and kissed me offstage, against my wishes. There was never an affair, regardless of what’s been said.”

“How do you feel about this, Orlando?”

I tensed again, waiting for his answer. “I was angry at first,” he said honestly. “When you walk in on your girlfriend snogging someone else, it rubs you the wrong way, you know? It took some time to blow over, for me to realize what had actually happened, but now we’re back on track.”

“What about rumors of a reunion with Kate Bosworth?”

This just kept getting better and better. I looked over at Orlando, but he simply smiled. “Obviously, if I’m with Charlie, those rumors are false, aren’t they?” he said. “Kate’s a friend, nothing more, nothing less.”

The interview went on for over an hour as we answered questions about every aspect of our lives. I managed to get through it, but by the end, I was exhausted.

As we watched the magazine staff pack up their equipment, I couldn’t help but smile. “We did it,” I said, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it, love?” he said, hugging me to him. “We got some things cleared up.”

“Orlando, take me home,” I said softly, nipping lightly at the skin just inside his shirt collar.

“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling back to look down at me, concern on his face.

“I’m fine,” I said, giving him a small smile. “I just want to go home.”

We grabbed our coats and went back to my place.

When we got there, I quickly checked the rooms to see if Lisa was home. She wasn’t, so we settled ourselves on the sofa, after popping a movie into the DVD player. I curled up against him, with his arms securely around me.

I must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew, I was on my bed, with Orlando wrapped around my back. I glanced at the clock, then bolted upright. It was after five o’clock, and I had to be at the theatre for six-thirty.

“What’s the matter, love?” Orlando asked sleepily.

“I have to get some things done before work tonight,” I said, turning to face him. I stroked his hair off his forehead. “You don’t have to get up.”

“It feels good to just sleep for a change,” he said, stretching. “I’ve been working a lot, so sleep has become a luxury I can’t always afford.”

“Poor thing,” I said, laying back down beside him and wrapping my arms around his back. “It’s just another couple of weeks, darling, then you get a week to go home.”

“More jet lag,” he said, burying his face in my neck. “Wonderful.”

“It’ll only last a day or two,” I said, lightly massaging the muscles in his back through his shirts. “Do you want to stay here while I do the show?”

“If you don’t mind,” he said, kissing a trail up my neck to my earlobe.

“Of course not,” I said, squirming against him at the sensations he was creating. “You came last night, and you’ve seen the show how many times now? Stay here, relax, sleep, do whatever you want to do. Lisa won’t be here, obviously, so you’ll have the place to yourself. I’ll come home after I’m done.”

He kissed me firmly on the mouth, his tongue teasing my lips until they opened for him. He rolled over so that I was under him, still kissing me, his hands reaching up to cup my face. I kissed him back, running my hands over his shoulders and neck. Unfortunately, reason broke through my passion, though, and I had to get up.

“Get some sleep,” I said as I stood up. I leaned down and kissed his forehead.

“I love you, Charlie,” he said, gazing up at me. I smiled.

“I love you, too, Orlando.” I squeezed his hand once and left him to sleep.

* * *

The show that night seemed to take forever, but, as Lisa so smugly pointed out, that was probably because I wanted to get home to Orlando. The audiences early in the week were never as enthusiastic, or as full, as the ones toward the end of the week and on weekends, so I didn’t even have the extra energy of the crowd to keep me going. By the time it was over, I couldn’t wait to get out of the theatre.

As I was hurrying through the lobby, anxious to get home, I was grabbed from behind and swept up in a giant bear hug. I shrieked, until I realized who it was.

“Cooper!” I cried, hugging him tightly a second time after he’d put me on the floor. “Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?”

Cooper had been my voice coach before I moved to New York, and was still a very good friend. I didn’t get to talk to him as much as I would have liked, but that was true of most of my friends and family back home. I hadn’t expected to see him at the show, that’s for sure.

“I finally got some time to come and see my favourite student,” he teased, his tan face lighting up. He’d cut his blonde hair into almost a crew cut, but it was flattering on him, and he’d lost a bit of weight.

“It wasn’t my best show,” I said as we walked out of the lobby, onto the street. “But I’m glad you’re here. Orlando’s at home, waiting for me. Do you want to come over for coffee?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he said, zipping his jacket against the bitter wind and light snow that was whipping through the street. “So how is Mr. Wonderful? Those weren’t exactly flattering pictures of you two in the papers, you know. I wanted to call, but I couldn’t find the time.”

“It’s okay,” I said, fighting to keep my teeth from chattering. “We hit a bit of a rough patch over that, but things have settled now. We actually did an interview this afternoon about us, kind of an ‘official’ thing, so that’ll be out next week or shortly thereafter.” I paused. “Cooper, I got a summons in the mail the other day, to testify against Ramsey in court.”

“Are you going to do it?” he asked as I linked my arm through his.

“I think so,” I said. “From what I gathered, there are some domestic violence charges he’s dealing with as well, so my testimony might help convict him. Have you heard anything since I’ve been gone?”

“He beat Joanne pretty badly,” he said somberly. “She was in the hospital for over a week. That’s probably where the other charges came from. At least she had the good sense to get away from him after that. Better late than never.”

“I hoped she’d wise up before that happened,” I said sadly. “But I guess what matters is that she’s away from him now. I never should have gone back after the first time, but I did, and I regretted it. Is he at least locked up now?”

Cooper nodded. “He’s there until his trial,” he said. We increased our pace, anxious to get out of the cold. “He’s facing a pretty hefty sentence, from what I’ve heard.”

“With the list of charges I saw, I don’t doubt it.” I didn’t say anything for a minute. “So what’s new with your other students?” I asked finally, trying to lighten the conversation. “And how’s Allie?” Allie’s Cooper’s four-year-old daughter.

We chatted about Allie’s adventures in Junior Kindergarten as we walked the last block or so to my apartment. We were laughing at her disgust over having to share the bathroom with the other kids when I unlocked the door to let us in. I knew Lisa was out having drinks with the company, and I figured Orlando was sleeping in the bedroom, so I turned on the light beside the sofa, took Cooper’s and my coats, and hung them up, before going into the kitchen to put the kettle on for tea.

“Make yourself at home,” I said, going through the living room toward my room. I wanted to check on Orlando before I settled in with Cooper on the sofa. I opened the bedroom door, and the room was dark. I let the glow from the hall light the room as I went over to the bed. I smiled down at Orlando, tucked into my bed, with the covers pulled to just below his belly button, his sun tattoo peeking out at me, naked to the waist. I leaned over and gently kissed his lips, then straightened and went back into the living room, closing the door behind me.

“Is he asleep?” Cooper asked as I went into the kitchen to check on the kettle. He sat at the kitchen table as I prepared the tea.

“He is,” I said, setting his tea cup in front of him, with the milk and sugar. “Poor thing, he’s been working so hard, and the jet lag from flying back and forth and all over the place is getting to him. He’s leaving tomorrow, and I want him to get all the rest he can before he goes.”

“Is it as hard as you thought it would be?”

I took the kettle off the stove as it began to boil, and poured the water into our cups. “It was at first,” I said, sitting down beside him. “The first week or so was really horrible, and I cried so much.” I chuckled. “I was homesick, barely sleeping, hardly eating, and to top it all off, all I could think about was Orlando and how much I missed him. But then Lisa and I got to know each other a bit better, and I started to get busier with the show, so I was able to push it all aside for awhile.”

“Is this the first time you’ve seen him since you left?”

I shook my head. “No, he flew in for the opening,” I said, getting up to get some cookies from the cupboard. “That’s when the whole thing with Sean happened, and he left early. But I don’t want to talk about that, it’s over and done.”

“Who’s Lisa?” he asked, stirring his tea and taking an oatmeal cookie from the box. I normally hated store-bought cookies, but, let’s face it, I didn’t exactly have time to bake, now did I?

“My roommate,” I said, biting into a cookie myself. “She’s a real dynamo, great sense of humor, and so talented.”

“Sounds like the perfect counterpart for Ms. Serious here,” he said, grinning.

I laughed. “She is, yes,” I said. “I wasn’t sure how I’d like having a roommate, never having had one before, but it’s working out really well.”

We chatted some more, about home, and all the people I missed so much. About an hour and a half into the conversation, Cooper turned very serious.

We’d moved into the living room, to the sofa, and had switched from tea to wine. I was at one end, with my legs tucked under me, and he was at the other end, his feet lounging on the coffee table. He’d just told me about a friend of ours, Janna, a fellow singer, who’d decided to give up singing.

“She just up and quit last week, without really giving me a reason,” he said, downing the last of his wine. “We have a performance coming in a couple months, and she was the only singer I had who could do the material.”

“I’m sure you’ve got someone else,” I said, patting his leg in what I hoped was a reassuring way. “You have over 30 students, after all.”

“None who could carry a show,” he said, setting his glass on the end table beside him. “First you left, now she has, I’m stuck.” A sheepish look came over his face. “When are you coming home for Ramsey’s trial?” he asked, giving me a sideways glance.

“Mid-February,” I said, sipping my own wine. “Cooper, what are you getting at?” I was pretty sure I already knew.

“Headline my show for me,” he said, an excited look on his face. “You’re the only one I had better than Janna. It’s only two nights, the third week of February.”

“I don’t know if I can get enough time off,” I said hesitantly. “Nick’s not exactly impressed that I’ll need a week for Ramsey’s trial, I’m sure he’d hate the idea of an extra weekend. Those are our biggest nights.”

“You have an understudy for a reason,” Cooper pointed out.

“Yeah, I do,” I said, standing up to take our wine glasses to the kitchen. “But that’s for emergencies, not because I need to go perform somewhere else.”

“Charlie, you’re my only hope,” he said, following me from the room. “I need to make a good impression with this show so I can get funding to open my school.” He’d had a dream of opening a music school in Kitchener for as long as I’d known him, but I’d thought that was all it was. He wanted to offer everything from voice and music theory lessons to piano and dance, all in one building, for all ages.

“How is this show going to help?” I asked, putting on a pot of coffee.

“The show is for my investors, to show them what I’ve accomplished,” he said, leaning against the counter. “It’s all of my best students, and some pretty demanding material. We’re actually doing a song or two from Wicked, and some stuff from Rent and Aida, and Phantom and Les Miserables, all stuff that requires a strong voice and a lot of training. Please, Charlie, I need you.”

I sighed. “Having a Broadway headliner in the show isn’t exactly going to hurt you, either, is it?” I said, smirking over at him.

He chuckled. “No, it probably wouldn’t hurt,” he said. “So what do you say?”

“I’ll talk to Nick about the time off,” I said. “But I can’t guarantee anything. If he says no, I can’t do it.”

“As long as you’ll try, that’s all I ask,” he said, hugging me. “Thanks, Charlie, you’re a lifesaver.”

“We’ll see,” I said as the coffee began to drip into the pot. “We’ll see.”

After Cooper left that night, I went into my room, exhausted and anxious to curl up in bed with Orlando. He was still sound asleep, and I didn’t want to bother him, so I changed in the bathroom, and gently climbed into the bed beside him. It was after two o’clock.

“How’d it go?” he mumbled as soon as I laid down, his arms snaking around me. “You were gone a long time.” He glanced at the clock over my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, darling,” I said, rolling to face him. “Cooper came down for the show, and we’ve been chatting since I got home. Did you sleep well?”

“Like the dead,” he said, placing a feathery kiss on my collarbone. “ But I’m wide awake now.” He gave me a wicked grin in the darkness.

I couldn’t help it, I yawned. “I have two shows to do tomorrow,” I said, fighting to resist as he trailed kisses over my shoulder and down my arm. “I really should get some sleep.” He slid the straps of my nightgown down my arms and began kissing my neck, his hands pushing the light fabric down my chest, to my waist. “Oh, what the hell,” I gasped as his mouth came up to mine and he pulled me over on top of him, to straddle his hips. Sleep disappeared from my mind as passion took over, and I gave in to his tantalizing touches. I figured I could always sleep another time.