Ned was, not for the first time, grateful that he wasn’t the Assistant Director. The AD was in charge of wrangling everybody into place, even at a first table read, and he did not fancy that. He much preferred his to-do lists.

Speaking of which…Ned looked down at his. Right, he’d called and gotten the permits for filming in the various locations. He’d scheduled the shoot times, coordinated with the other professionals, set up Jack’s meetings, and gone through his emails. Perfect. He could sit back and relax—or try to—while the table read went on.

He was seated next to Jack, which was good because it meant Jack could pass him notes or whisper to him if something occurred to him during the read, and Ned could add it to his list. If Jack realized that he actually wanted a different kind of wardrobe for Julia, who played Tyler’s sister, or if Jack decided that some lines needed to be changed or wanted Ned to remind him later on about double-checking the camera angles for scene five, then he could just whisper it to Ned, or scribble it on a piece of paper and slide it to him, and Ned would add it to his list.

At this point, after six years of working together, Ned knew Jack well enough to be able to practically anticipate what Jack wanted, often before Jack himself knew. They didn’t even have to speak or write in full sentences, just a few words here and there or even doodled images, and they’d know what the other one was talking about.

It was good, because it meant that unlike the first couple times they’d tried this, back when they were freshmen and still getting to know each other’s tells and quirks, Ned didn’t have to spend the entire time watching Jack like a hawk. He could actually pay attention to the actors around the table and pick up on their energy.

Ned liked observing people. He was good at it. Professor Thomas had always said that it would make him a good actor, but Ned had been adamant about staying behind the scenes. He had no interest in a bunch of people staring at him, even if they technically weren’t staring at him but were staring at his character. Being in front of a camera wasn’t any better. Sure, most of the audience wasn’t there in front of him, live, the way they were when you were on stage, but the very knowledge that people would be watching what he was doing made him want to lock himself in the nearest bathroom and never emerge.

There were few places that were better for observing people than at a table read. Everyone was reading for their character but weren’t actually in character yet. People tended to be relaxed, at ease, safe in the knowledge that everyone at the table would be paying attention to the camera shots, the next line, the stuff written on the script rather than one another. Even when someone read their lines, nobody else was looking at them—they were all reading along with them silently, going through the script to make sure they didn’t miss their next line. It meant that nobody was thinking about how they looked or sounded, and Ned could just watch them and see what they were like.

It was more than just idle curiosity, of course. He needed to be aware of the various personalities involved on set. A director’s job wasn’t so much making their vision come to life as it was knowing how to work with various personalities and getting people to actually do the work they’d signed on to do. It was being good with people, just as much as it was being good with a camera. Ned liked to know what kind of personalities they were dealing with so that he could help Jack in that cajoling, leading, and convincing part of being a director.

Jack sank down into the chair next to him. “I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news.”

If the bad news was that their costumer had quit, he was going to flip the table over. Of all the people they’d needed to sign on for crew, for some insane reason finding the person to be in charge of wardrobe this time around had been the most difficult. It was the little odd, unexpected things like that throughout the filming process that made this job so…exciting, Ned thought, gritting his teeth.

“Hit me. Good news first.” If he got the bad news first then he’d be too busy thinking about how to fix it to pay attention to the good news.

“I think that Mandy likes me.”

Mandy was the actress who played Julia.

“Jack, no.” How in the hell was this good news? “You’re her director, do not pull that, it’s a cliché for a reason.”

Jack looked like a kicked puppy. “But Ned—”

“But nothing. I’m your assistant, it’s my job to tell you when you’re making a stupid decision, and this is a stupid decision. Get through this process, and if you still like her after four months of filming, you can ask her out.”

“Right, like you’d have the same level of self-restraint if you were in my shoes.”

Ned snorted. “As if anyone good-looking enough to be an actor would want to go out with me. But even if they did, yes, I would wait until we wrapped filming. Think of it this way, the anticipation will make it that much more fun when you finally get together. And if we’re halfway through filming and you realize you hate her, you won’t have made an ass of yourself in the process.”

Jack still didn’t look convinced, but Ned was going to be firm on this one. If Jack dated Mandy and it went sour, and they had to find a new actress halfway through filming, or if they had to put up with two months of their lead actress and their director sniping at each other…not to mention that it was hard for some people to separate work and personal life. What if Mandy was one of those? Jack being her director put him in a position of power over her as well—who was to say that she wouldn’t go out with him just because she felt like she had to in order to secure her role? Who was to say that people wouldn’t claim that was the reason she got the role in the first place?

Thank God Ned didn’t have that problem. If he did, he would have insisted they hire James Novak as Tyler, rather than the other way around.

Speaking of which, he was happier than he should have been that James accepted the role of Jerry. He knew that many actors would see it as an insult. “Hey, you didn’t get the psychologically interesting, complex lead role, but we want you to play the mute murderer who has his face covered for the entire thing!” If Ned had gotten that, he’d have chucked his phone out the window in anger. He’d literally done that before, once, when a professor had all but screwed him over on an assignment. He’d thrown the phone out the window, realized what he’d done, and spent the next twenty minutes scrounging through the bushes for it while Jack laughed his ass off.

“If this is the good news,” Ned said, “I’m not sure I want to hear the bad news.”

“Tanya is sick,” Jack said, referring to their AD. “I’m going to need you to read.”

Tanya, their AD, would normally read the parts of the script that weren’t spoken lines—things like “Exterior, the coffee shop, morning,” and “Tyler walks into the next room.” It was, essentially, playing narrator. Now Ned would have to do it.

It wasn’t something Ned enjoyed doing, as Jack knew full well, but who else was going to do it? Nobody else was coming except for the actors, and they would have their own lines.

“Jack, c’mon,” Ned protested, even as he knew it was futile. “You know I hate the sound of my voice.”

“I don’t see why, your voice is perfectly normal,” Jack replied, going over his notes.

“Perfectly normal isn’t exactly a compliment,” Ned said. “How about ‘you have a melodious voice, Ned’ or ‘your voice is lovely and soothing, Ned’?”

“Ah, but why would I lie?” Jack replied, grinning.

“Your voice is lovely and soothing, Ned,” someone said from behind them.

Ned literally jumped, swiveling around in his chair to stare up at the stupidly good-looking face of James Novak. Dammit, the guy looked even better than Ned remembered. He wasn’t wearing his “audition clothes,” which had been a light blue button down and a pair of slacks. Now he was wearing some comfy, if a little worn, jeans that hung low on his hips, and a tight t-shirt that showed off the muscles underneath. Ned found himself swallowing a few times to try and moisten his desert-dry throat.

“James, nice of you to join us!” Jack said, beaming and not missing a beat, the bastard. He stood up and held out his hand for James to shake. “Thank you so much for accepting the part. You had a great presence in the audition, and we wanted to be able to use that.”

“Thank you,” James replied, looking a little taken aback.

“It’s hard to make the audience sense your character’s emotions and such when they can’t even see your face,” Jack went on, gesturing for James to take a seat—right next to Ned. Why, what had he done to deserve this? “I’m looking forward to playing with the character with you and seeing how we can communicate him to the audience.”

“Thanks,” James said again. The smooth, teasing tones he’d used when quoting Ned’s words back at him were gone, replaced by a surprisingly adorable tentativeness. “I was going over the script, and I, uh, don’t have any lines, so should I just…”

“Lucky you,” Ned grumbled before he could stop himself. James stared at him, obviously confused.

“Don’t mind him.” Jack sat back down, clapping Ned on the shoulder. “Ned here has to play narrator, and apparently his perfectly normal voice isn’t good enough to share with the rest of us.”

“Some people think it’s lovely and soothing,” Ned replied, just because he could. “James is on my side here, right?”

“About it being lovely and soothing, yes. About you not narrating? Not so much.” James winked at him, and Ned felt like his stomach was melting. “If it’s really something you don’t like, though, I can read instead. I don’t have any lines, and I really don’t mind. Gives me something to do.”

“You sure it won’t interfere with your work?” Jack asked. “I know you don’t speak, but you do need to pay attention to what the others are saying and doing, since you interact with them.”

“I promise, this won’t throw me off at all,” James said, shaking his head. “I’m used to multitasking, and it might help to have me narrate my own movements in the film.”

Jack nodded. “All right, then. Ned, looks like you’re off the hook.”

“Until you figure out a new way to drive me nuts,” Ned shot back, but he was grinning. He really wouldn’t trade his friendship with Jack for the world. He turned back to James. “Thanks, I really don’t like being put on the spot.”

“It’s no problem,” James replied, but he didn’t wink at Ned this time. In fact, he looked a little pained. “I’m an actor, it’s my job to be put on the spot.”

The others started to file in, Mandy first, wearing a low-cut top and flashing Jack a coy smile. Ned had to resist the urge to bang his forehead on the table. He might have to have a talk with her, too, if she kept this up. Or he could just have Tanya talk to her. That was the AD’s job, after all, making sure everyone was in line. Ned only had to make sure that Jack was in line.

Dex was next, looking relaxed in a hoodie and jeans. Ned had been a little worried that the guy would be arrogant, seeing as he was the most experienced actor in the room, but Dex seemed almost eager to make friends.

Ned commented on it when Dex came over to shake his hand, since James was meeting Mandy and Jack was busy trying not to act jealous.

“It’s so good to be in something you actually believe in,” Dex admitted. “I signed up for some television shows because they seemed like a good career move, but I didn’t really care about them. I cared about the stuff I guest-starred in, but that wasn’t being a regular, so it’s a very different feeling. I’ve never actually starred in anything and also cared about it, so it’s nice to have both for once.”

Ned smiled. “Well, we’re glad that you feel that way. If it’s any further consolation, I believe in this project too. I believe in everything that Jack does.”

“You’ve got reason to, his last two films were great.” Dex looked over Ned’s shoulder. “Is that a triangle I see developing?

Ned looked over at James, Mandy, and Jack, and tried not to sigh. Of course James would be straight, that was Ned’s luck. He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to deal with any relationship drama. For one thing, Jack was no slouch, but James could definitely take him in a fight if it came to that. “I hope not.”

“I gotta admit, when I first auditioned for you guys, I thought you and Jack were dating,” Dex admitted.

Ned burst out into laughter and everyone turned to look at him. It wasn’t the first time that someone thought they were dating, but it still cracked him up every time. Aside from Jack being straight, Ned had never, not even once, been attracted to him. “Sorry, sorry.” He waved at them and turned back to Dex. “No, Jack’s straight, and I’ve so far managed to avoid the timeless tale of the gay man falling for the straight best friend.”

“Glad to hear it, for your sake.” Dex grinned at him, and while Ned was not only aware that Dex was currently dating an actress from one of his failed television shows and Ned wasn’t attracted to him anyway, he could tell that Dex was the kind of guy that he’d easily get along with.

“All right!” Jack said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get started!”

Everybody sat down, and Ned took stock of the group. There was James, on his right, Jack on his left, Mandy on Jack’s left, then Dex, and the rest of the cast. Some of the bit parts, like the boy in the dorm room across from Tyler who was murdered in the opening scene, weren’t cast yet. Mary was still hunting down those small parts. The actors would only need to be paid for the day, anyway, and any lines they might have would be read by the narrator—in this case, James.

“I want this read-through to go as smoothly as possible,” Jack began, “but if there’s something you don’t understand, like a word you can’t pronounce, then don’t hesitate to ask. Why don’t we start by introducing ourselves? Just say your name and your role. Then we’ll get started.”

Everyone nodded, and they went around the table, starting with Mandy. When they got to James, Ned had to force himself not to react to the other man’s voice. “I’m James Novak, and I’m playing Jerry. Also serving as narrator this morning.” He gave Ned a small, conspiratorial smile, like they were sharing a secret.

Ned fought down a blush and looked around at the others. “I’m Ned, and I’m the director’s assistant. Not the same thing as an Assistant Director. That’s Tanya, she’s sick today, but she’s the one you’ll be reporting to on set, and the one calling quiet and stuff like that. I’m the one you’ll see following Jack around and scribbling notes.”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s the puppet master,” Jack joked. “He controls all your fates.”

Everyone laughed.

“In case you can’t tell,” Jack added, “I’m Jack, and I’m the director. I like to pretend that I’m in charge.”

Ned mimed orchestrating Jack’s strings behind his back, like a real puppeteer, and everyone chuckled again.

“All right.” Jack leaned forward, and as always, Ned was in awe of the subtle shift that took place. This was why he couldn’t be in charge of things—he didn’t have this ability that Jack did. It wasn’t so much that Jack changed. It was more like his body became more solid, denser, and a little sharper. He went from being just a relaxed guy you could have drinks with to someone with gravity, someone powerful. You could have stuck a crown on him, and it wouldn’t have looked out of place. Ned didn’t know how Jack did it, but he admired it.

“James, whenever you’re ready,” Jack said, nodding at James.

James held up his script and began narrating. “Fade in. Interior, Tyler’s dorm room, evening…”

Ned sat back and tried to look around the room, to observe everyone, but it was surprisingly difficult. He kept getting pulled in by James’s low, rumbling voice. It was like the voice was a hook, or, no, ropes, or vines, or—something, something that slid slowly through the air and over Ned’s skin, winding its way around him and drawing him in, weaving a net around him. It didn’t matter that James was basically reading the phone book, describing boring actions like Tyler going into the bathroom or Julia breaking a vase. His voice made it sound soothing, sinful, or even exciting by turns. When they started to get to the parts where Tyler was hunting Jerry, or you couldn’t be sure if Jerry was real or not, James managed to infuse excitement and tension into his voice without speeding up or making it impossible to understand him. Ned just let it all wash over him. It built up a low thrum of arousal just underneath Ned’s skin, like an itch he couldn’t quite scratch.

He shifted in his seat and glanced around at everyone else. Jack was idly playing with his pen, the way he did when he was liking how things were going and had to resist the urge to say so out loud, which would have just derailed everything. Mandy was, thankfully, following along with what everyone else was saying, her eyes on her script rather than Jack. Ned had been worried, given her choice of clothing and all, that she’d spend the read-through trying to flirt, but she seemed focused and professional. Dex was on what Ned like to call an “acting high,” his face slightly slack and his eyes bright as he focused so completely on his character and what was happening in the film that the real world didn’t quite exist anymore.

Satisfied that everyone was paying attention, Ned let his gaze go to James.

James was relaxed back in his seat, his legs splayed just enough to make the fabric of his jeans go tight. Ned thought he could see the outline of—no, no, bad Ned, focus—he drew his gaze back up to James’s face. He had a little bit of scruff this morning and his hair wasn’t styled, making him look more like a small-town, corn-fed sort of guy, wholesome and rough around the edges at the same time. Ned’s mouth went dry again, and he had to work hard to focus on what part of the script they were on. But that just made him look at James’ script, which made him look at James’ hands holding the script. They were very large hands, with blunt fingers, the kind that could easily give Ned bruises if they gripped his hips too hard.

Oh, Lord, Ned was in so much trouble. And here he was getting on Jack for having a crush on one of the actresses.

The table read finished up as James read the final narration lines, ending with, “Fade out. Credits roll.”

Everyone sat back. Ned could see the tension of being in character ease out of the actors and then return a moment later as tension over whether they’d done a good job or not. Ned could practically hear all of them worrying that they’d done a horrible job, and Jack was going to regret hiring them.

All except for James. He just relaxed and stayed relaxed, like he knew that he’d done his job and done it well, and there was nothing else for him to concern himself with. Ned appreciated that. If they had even one actor who wasn’t a mess of neuroses, that was a win in his book. It didn’t hurt that he looked annoyingly handsome while he did it, either, his soft mouth relaxed, making his firm jawline look like something carved out of marble.

Ugh. Ned was in so much trouble.

“That went really well, guys,” Jack said. “Great job, all of you. And James, thanks again for stepping up.”

James shook his head and waved his hand in the air, as if to say that it was no problem.

“You’ll be getting your filming schedules from us shortly,” Jack said. “If you have any problems with it, we’ll need to know immediately, so look over it carefully. You’ll all have appointments with wardrobe to pick out your outfits, and James, Dex, you two will have some separate rehearsals where we train for the fight scenes, so keep an eye out for those. Other than that, keep checking your emails, and I look forward to working with all of you!”

Ned began gathering up everything, making sure that things were neat and they left the room as good as they’d found it. He shot off a text to Tanya to let her know that things had gone well, and he hoped she felt better soon. The whole time he could sense James out of the corner of his eye, like he was hovering there, waiting—but that could have just been Ned’s imagination, which apparently had gone into overdrive around the guy.

When he finished, he saw that James and Jack were talking amicably in the doorway, discussing, of all things, how Jack and Ned had met.

“We were assigned to be roommates freshman semester,” Jack was saying. “We clicked right away.”

“I bet,” James replied. Was Ned imagining it or was there something strained in his voice? “You two really balance each other out.”

“It’s all Ned,” Jack acknowledged. “I’m the type to run after anything shiny. Ned’s the one who keeps me on track.”

“He’s being too modest,” Ned replied. “I haven’t got an ounce of creativity in me. Jack here is the artistic genius. Compared to that, reminding him to eat and get eight hours of sleep is nothing.”

Jack rolled his eyes, but he was grinning with affection. With their similar dark hair and eyes, and lean builds, some people said they could have been brothers. Ned often felt they were, in some way, when he and Jack were on the same page like this. He’d grown up without siblings, and it always gave him a warm feeling in his chest when he could feel Jack’s affection. It was the next best thing to getting that brother he had always wanted as a kid.

“So, we’ll see you on Monday?” Jack asked, focusing back on James.

James, Ned noticed, still looked odd, like the coffee shop was out of his favorite pastry—not devastated, not the end of the world, but still, the treat he’d been looking forward to was not there. Which was an odd metaphor to say the least, but the closest thing Ned could think of to explain the look currently on James’ face and the odd note in his voice when he said, “Yeah, Monday, I’m looking forward to it.”

“I think he likes you,” Jack noted, after James had left.

“Don’t be cute,” Ned responded.

“He offered to read for you, and he was definitely flirting when he parroted your words back at you.”

Ned thought about it. That was flirting when James repeated his words back to him. Your voice is lovely and soothing, Ned. The rumbling, seductive cadence of those words as they rolled out of James’ mouth could still be heard in Ned’s mind, fresh as if he’d just spoken them.

But if James was flirting with him then, why the odd behavior later? Why the strangely disappointed air about him? Why no more teasing?

Ned shook his head. It must have just been a one-off. Besides, James had been flirting with Mandy earlier, as Dex had pointed out. The guy was straight, or at the very least, bi and more interested in Mandy than in Ned.

“I think you’re just being hopeful on my behalf,” Ned replied, thrusting all thoughts of James out of his mind. “Besides, I can hardly tell you not to date Mandy and then flirt with one of our lead actors. What kind of hypocrite would I be?”

“Whatever you say,” Jack replied in that tone of voice that meant he wasn’t listening to Ned, and he was going to do whatever he pleased; like when Ned had told him not to have that last cocktail at the end-of-the-year theatre party, and Jack had done it anyway.

Although, Ned hoped that this time it wouldn’t lead to something getting set on fire.