Debutante by Madeline Moore

her mug and held it out for a refill.
    Luke watched as Emily and Eric locked eyes. It was no surprise to him that Eric was the first to cave.
    â€˜OK, but … maybe I might like to participate as an actor.’
    â€˜I’ll let you know if we ever need an ugly middle-aged guy,’ responded Emily.
    Only Luke noticed the dismay that flashed across Eric’s admittedly unusual face before the bar owner chuckled along with the students.
    Eric patted the front of his jeans. ‘I got a surprise package for you that just might change your mind.’
    The Movie Mob’s hilarity reached a fever pitch.
    Luke sighed.
    â€˜You OK, baby?’ Em touched his arm.
    He smiled. ‘Sure. Maybe a little heartburn.’ He pushed the stale pretzels away and sipped his ginger ale. ‘It’s nothing serious. I’m ready to go, though. As soon as you are.’
    Her disappointment showed. ‘Just a little longer? I’m having fun.’
    â€˜Come to my place when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting for you there.’
    â€˜OK.’ Emily gave him a quick, hard kiss and turned her attention back to the Mob, most of who were peppering her with questions.
    Luke launched himself into the crowd, making a beeline for the front door. Maybe all he really needed was a little fresh air.

Chapter Thirteen
    Emily was feeling what Bobby called ‘priddy giddy’ by the time she and Marion arrived at the big old house at the edge of campus.
    They each grabbed a mug of water and mounted the stairs. Emily stopped on the second-floor landing while Marion continued climbing to her room on the third.
    â€˜G’night, boss,’ she said. She took her free hand from the banister in order to clumsily salute Em and spilled half her water on the floor. ‘Oops. I should clean that up.’ She continued climbing, her free hand once again firmly gripping the banister. ‘Somebody could slip on that and take a terrible fall.’
    Emily quietly opened the door to Luke’s room. She’d expected to find the room dark and Luke fast asleep in his bed. But that was not the case. The room was lit for a shoot. A camera on a tripod was aimed at the bed. Luke was naked but he was lying on top of the covers and he was wide awake.
    â€˜Hi, honey, I’m home,’ said Em. ‘I thought you’d be fast asleep.’
    â€˜The walk revived me. I set the equipment up before I went to the bar, to surprise you. What do you think?’
    Em tried to choose her words carefully but, though she was far from hammered, she was equally as far from sober.
    â€˜I don’t know. It’s … gosh, it’s been a while, huh?’
    â€˜Yeah! Take off your clothes, baby. I want you warm and naked and in my bed. Pronto. Spit spot, as my old nanny used to say.’
    â€˜Your nanny was Mary Poppins?’ Em stripped. Before she joined him, she took the scarf hanging from the inside doorknob and tied it around the outside knob.
    â€˜A kid can dream,’ he replied. ‘Switch the camera on before you get in, OK?’
    â€˜Sure.’ Em did as he asked and climbed into bed.
    Luke cuddled her close. He smelled like mint toothpaste and guy soap and Luke.
    â€˜You’re so clean!’ She giggled.
    â€˜Yeah but I wanna get dirrrrrty,’ he sang.
    â€˜You want to do the “Time Warp” again?’
    â€˜Oh baby, you bet. See –’ he started dropping warm kisses all over her body, interspersed with words ‘– while I was cleaning up the disaster
your people
made of your apartment, I started wondering, How did we get into this mess in the first place?’ Kisses, quick and soft as whispers, landed on her cheeks, lips, eyelids and neck. ‘And I remembered it all started right here. Me, recording us, making love.’ Kisses crisscrossed her breasts until his lips found her nipples and his tongue joined the fun. ‘But ever since NAIL began, our private