The weekend passed by as normally and uninteresting as usual, and far before I was ready, Monday had arrived.

Monday meant rehearsal.

Rehearsal meant Kaleb.

Upon arriving to the theater, I was sent right into a one on one rehearsal with Meg, who as it turned out, was acting across from me as Anna in the play.

These events, as unexpected as they were, provided me the perfect opportunity to avoid all contact with Kaleb as inconspicuously as possible.

Meg and I's scenes in the play were brief but intense. I found working with her was fairly easy and our scenes flowed exquisitely when we were in the moment of the characters.

Exiting the two hour rehearsal though, I was mentally and physically exhausted.

"That was so much fun! Who knew secretly hating each other would be that much fun!" Meg joked as she and I walked out of the Lobby where we were rehearsing separately from Kaleb and Jackson, the guy playing Larry.

My stare flew up to the stage where Jackson and Kaleb were currently standing, with Dave on the floor giving them directions.

The door into the theater shut with a resounding, loud noise that alerted everyone to my and Meg's newly entered presence in the room. Everyone in the theater turned to look at us instinctively.

Everyone, including Kaleb.

His eyes met mine in an electrifying stare. The connection was so sudden and so intense that I found it near impossible to tear my eyes away from his prying ones.

His captivating eyes, in which the last time I set my own eyes on them, I had been cowering in fear as I trembled under his gaze, unsure of whether he would take his wrath out on me or not.

I had let my walls down and now he had questions; that much was evident.

Questions I didn't plan on dignifying with a response.

By some miracle, I shut down our connection, shifting my gaze and attention back to Meg as she rambled next to me as we strolled down to the main stage.

"Dave was telling me all about what he has planned for a few of the scenes with your character and girl, prepare yourself. He's always been a director to take risks but with some of the stuff he has planned for you and a couple scenes with Dan, he's even pushing the limits a bit for him," Meg informed me as we grabbed our seats while we waited for Dave to finish up the scene he was working on now.

"What do you mean? What does he have planned?"

"He wants to add two more intimate scenes for your character and Dan and he's contemplating one with Larry. He just thinks its super important to show that there was always sexual chemistry between Alice and Dan; that sex was a vitality to Alice."

Oh god.

Intimate scenes? I thought there would only be a kiss or two?

"How do you know all of this?" I asked in a low, slightly mortified voice.

Meg turned to face me, her porcelain face creased in confusion momentarily before something snapped in her head and a large grin stretched out over her small lips.

"I totally forgot you wouldn't know this already," she said with a giddy chuckle. "Dave and I have been dating for just over two years now. We live together and everything. And before you say it, no, I swear I didn't get this role because I'm sleeping with the director. I had to audition just like everyone else did."

So much information was just thrown at me in the span of less than a minute that I was simply speechless, thoughtless as to how to respond.

Could this rehearsal possibly get any more overwhelming?

"Alright! Ladies, up on stage please. We'll start blocking the museum scene and get as far as we can before calling it a day," Dave bellowed out, turning to face us, leaning his back against the stage casually.

As it turns out, it could.

With a labored sigh and reluctant feet, I got up out of my seat and followed behind Meg as we made our way up the stairs on the side of the stage, leading us up onto stage right.

I could feel Kaleb's eyes burning into my profile, begging me to share a glance with him, to answer all of the questions swirling through his mind.

But I kept my head stoic, my stare straight forward and my body rigid as I waited for further instructions from Dave.

"Okay, so we'll start with Anna and Larry, then Dan and Alice, and then intermingle the two for the end of the scene. So Leah, please go stand with Kaleb on stage left until I've finished with these two."

Seriously?

My mind began to spin, boggled at the amount of terrible luck pushed upon me today. I found my lips were suddenly parched and my mind blank as I gave Dave a measly nod.

Each step I took towards the other side of the stage seemed to ring through my ears, pounding along with my uncontrollable heartbeat. I felt as if I was walking in slow motion, the people surrounding me passing in blurs as my feet took me those final, grueling steps until I was unfortunately right where both Dave and Kaleb wanted me.

"Hey," Kaleb spoke.

Nervously, I pulled my soft lips in between my teeth, nodding a 'hello' and spared a flicker of a glance his way.

I had to bite down on the bottom lip that was captured in my teeth's grasp, holding in the appreciative breath that tried to slip out as I truly took him in for the first time today.

That was it. I couldn't deny it anymore. Kaleb was ungodly attractive and even as I fought it with every fiber of my being, a small part of me was attracted to him.

His midnight black hair was swept back into curled perfection, a stray piece hanging over his forehead enticingly. My fingers twitched, needy to reach out and grab it between my fingers, moving it back in place with the rest of his hair.

His strong torso was covered in an off white, long sleeved shirt that formed to his broad, muscular chest superbly.

"Leah."

Kaleb's voice broke through my sinful thoughts as he called my name. My eyes snapped away from his body and fixed on his inquisitive eyes.

"Hmm?"

I continued to stare at him, my brows raised in question. I was playing dumb and I could see that it was getting to him as his eyes morphed with irritation.

"Really?" he asked in a drawl tone, his eyes hard and intruding into mine.

The intense look engraved within his beautiful eyes had my heartbeat increasing and my insides quivering as his stare became too much, too inquisitive, too extreme.

I opened my mouth to speak, my lips parting and attempting to form the words that weren't there.

So I closed my mouth, shaking my head dismissively as I tore my eyes from his.

"Hold on." Dave's voice, which was lost to me before as he was directing the scene on the other side of the stage, suddenly rang out across the theater.

"Leah, Kaleb," he called, gaining both of our attentions as we swiveled on our feet, bringing us face to face with Dave's aggravated face.

"Jesus, it's like Ice town over there. I need you guys to get with it and start acting like the couple you're supposed to be in this scene. You're at a museum looking at art, so act like you're in a museum looking at art instead of trying to freeze each other out. You're in love. Act like it, please."

Dave's eyes were on us as he finished, his eyebrows raised in a challenging manner, daring us to speak out against him.

Neither of us did. I nodded my head at Dave, mumbling out my apology.

"Thank you," Dave said with a brisk nod and went back to working with Meg and Jackson.

I could feel the bundle of nerves start to roll around in my stomach as I turned back to Kaleb. His lips were pursed, his jaw tensed, and I could tell he was annoyed with me.

Yet, he remained professional enough as he reined in his emotions and held his hand out to me.

Oh no. I'm not in character right now.

My mind started to swarm as I tried to conceive some plausible way out of any physical contact. My eyes were trained on his outstretched hand, staring at it as if wishing that it would simply fall off and I would never have to touch it.

"Leah."

My name was but a sharp whisper coming from Kaleb's lips. My wide eyes settled on his as I tried to look as if I wasn't having a complete mental breakdown inside.

"We're a couple." He wriggled his hand out to me again, signally me to grab for it.

"Uh, yeah," I replied in a wispy voice, the terror ramming around inside of me stealing away most of my volume.

I had no other choice.

As slowly as I could, I raised my trembling hand towards his steady one. I watched with cautious eyes as his hand went to grab mine, bracing myself for the contact.

An embarrassing, audible gasp pushed through my lips when his hot hand enveloped mine.

"Holy shit. You're freezing," Kaleb cursed out as he laced his warm fingers through mine, his heat radiating through to my skin as he brought his other hand up to place over my hand as well.

Now, both of his hands were encased around my much smaller one, warming me through and through with his touch. He ran his thumbs over my knuckles in an attempt to warm them.

His actions, as comforting as they were meant to me, had my stomach flipping and my mind thrashing about, crying to wretch my hand from his hold.

This was too much.

"You're shivering, Peaches," he said, his voice deep and concerned.

And then he moved his arm. My entire body stiffened, the muscles in my shoulders tensing as I sensed what he intended on doing.

A pathetic whimper left my throat as Kaleb's entire arm came around my shoulder, pulling my considerably smaller body into his massive one. I felt his free hand splay out over the small of my back, pulling my body into his chest as he wrapped me in his warm embrace.

I felt like screaming. I had never been this close to anybody in the last two years that hadn't been Zach, and I hated it just as much when Zach and I were this close.

I couldn't handle it. I could feel it coming. Myheart was thrumming wildly and working its way up my throat, lodging itselfthere and constricting my air flow, causing panic to ensue

Oh no. Please no. Not here.

"Better?" Kaleb asked, his voice soft and soothing as his breath kissed my forehead.

My entire body was in frenzy as I turned my head up, my frantic eyes finding his desperately as I prayed that this would all end.

And then it did.

Every rushing emotion of fear and alarm ceased almost instantaneously. My mind cleared of all thought. I felt the tension leave my muscles, my heartbeat slowed to a normal pace.

And all due to one, singular reason.

Kaleb's eyes.

I didn't know what it was about them but something in them stilled my panic attack. I found myself lost in his gaze, entrapped by the profound compassion I could see swimming behind his river blue eyes.

Unconsciously, my body actually relaxed into his. Kaleb's body accepted me into his embrace, securing his hold around me more tightly as the smallest of smiles played at his lips.

"Better," I whispered.

It was the strangest thing, how comfortable I suddenly felt in his arms. It was the calming, almost heady feeling I got from keeping our lasting eye contact that kept me as grounded as I was at the moment.

"So, are we gonna keep ignoring what happened on Friday?" Kaleb asked, his voice low and intimate. He seemed almost as adrift in our connection as I was; the world around us as lost to him as it was to me.

"I'm finding that ignoring it is panning out quite nicely."

Hot breath fanned out across my face as Kaleb let out a short laugh through his nose. His lips titled into a smile and his eyes sparkled down into mine, curious and impressed all at once.

"You're a tough nut to crack, you know that right?"

"Some nuts aren't meant to be cracked. Some are better left unnoticed," I answered back, my voice so low it was almost a whisper.

Kaleb shook his head slowly, our eyes still fixed together in an intoxicating connection.

"You're a hard one to miss, Leah."

The rest of rehearsal went harmoniously after that and a fraction of my mind was somewhat disappointed when it came to an end.

As I was walking to my car, my character heels clicking against the pavement and echoing off into the lonely streets, I was pondering over what to make for dinner when Zach got home later that night.

And then I heard a noise.

All meaningless thoughts of dinner dissipated from my mind abruptly and my steps grew languish as my eyes zeroed in on the noise that originated from the street across from the theater.

A petite blonde woman, probably just a few inches taller than my 5'3' frame was pressing a man up against a car, working her mouth over his. His hands wrapped around her slim waist before slipping down to grab her ass, eliciting a squeal from her loud enough to be heard across the street.

The couple were devouring enough other, her hands running up into the man's midnight black hair, messing up the styled curls. The man's strong arms tightened around the girl's waist.

The hands that had just been around my very own waist.

I didn't know why I couldn't look away, but I found it nearly impossible. Something inside of me needed to burn this memory of Kaleb with this girl into the seams of my brain.

He had a girlfriend. I had a boyfriend.

Seeing him with her solidified my original conclusion that Kaleb was someone to stay away from. A man who would flirt with any woman with a pulse, and even go as far as to ask her out for drink, all the while he had a girlfriend waiting for him at home.

Kaleb was no different from any other man that had tried to sleep with me before; maybe only just a bit cleverer than the rest.

So, with that final thought, I turned on my heel, and resumed my walk to my car just as I had been doing moments beforehand.

The only difference being the painful, twisting sensations crushing through my chest as I my fingers wiped away a few, useless, stray tears.