Demeanour | | Joseph Quinn

Chapter 14

"So, how was it?" Annalise locked eyes with the person sitting across from her, pondering their question before answering.

"Yeah, um it was really nice. It felt unbelievably good, actually," she released a breath as she laughed.

"I bet. It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?"

"A whole month. Still another four to go, but I think it'll be easier to handle now that I have a clearer head."

"Good. You deserved a week off. I haven't been to London in ages. Maybe we can go together sometime," Theo leaned forward on the table, a flirtatious look dancing across his features.

"Yeah, maybe," she smiled back.

"In the meantime, though, I'd love to come to see you in action soon. I bet you look hot as fuck all dressed up like a flapper girl."

Annalise could feel her heart rate increase. Did she want that? Theo on set...the thought alone made her feel panicked. Her mind immediately went to Joe. What would he do if he saw the man sitting across from her sitting behind the scenes instead? Did Joe's opinion even matter?

Of course, it did. That was made even more clear a few days ago when she melted into him in Adam's back garden. But he hadn't spoken to her since. Annalise didn't even see him on the train journey back to Bath yesterday evening. Not that she was looking...of course.

Putting thoughts of Joe aside, the Demeanour cast had quickly become like a little family to Annalise. Was she ready to introduce Theo to her family? Did she even like him enough to want to do that?

"Earth to Anna," Theo waved his hand in front of her face, attempting to gain her attention.

"Oh, sorry. Um, yeah maybe. It's a super busy production though. And I'm not even sure they'd allow it," she started gnawing on her lower lip. "I'll be sure to ask though."

"Yeah, just let me know," his dimples deepened as he gave her a charming smile. Theo stood from the table and moved his chair closer to Annalise before continuing. "I'm more than happy to give you a little bit of star treatment if that helps you be more convincing when you ask." His hand slowly made its way up the length of her thigh under the table, causing her to break out in goosebumps.

Annalise giggled softly as she pushed his hand away and changed the topic of conversation. The rest of the evening though, all she could think about it wasn't his hands she wanted to snake across her bare skin, but Joe's.

****

"Have you opened your legs for him yet? Lord knows what I'd do to get that kind of treatment," Jamie's voice reached Annalise before his stride fell in step alongside her on their way to set.

"Christ," she rolled her eyes. "You're not even due on set today. Why are you here?"

"And miss out on seeing you all hot and bothered? Love, that's my favorite version of you."

"For fuck's sake, Jamie," she halted in front of the door to the estate, fed up with his incessant prodding. "You really need to stop with all of this. You know I'm not interested and you yourself even said I should be careful of the conversations I have with people. Can you please just stop?"

He stepped forward, a sly grin on his mouth, "Only if you get on your knees and b–"

"Enough," a stern voice came from the pathway leading up to the building. Joe stepped forward, separating the two, with an angry expression directed at Jamie. "If you say one more inappropriate thing to her, I swear to god."

Jamie rolled his eyes before continuing into the estate, leaving the two behind.

"Thank you," Annalise responded quietly as she and Joe made their way to the set. His eyes floated toward her, lingering for a brief moment before he gave her a soft smile.