Page 76 of Love Out Loud

Chapter 26

Lennon

We’re all in the studio on the last day of recording—Noah, Jessica, and me. Even the intern decided to stay to hear the end. Lark and Silas are in their booths, and they share a little smile through the glass before he starts. After a few lines, Lark looks out the window facing the rest of us. Her blue eyes catch mine, and she winks just before she comes in with her dialogue.

I haven’t been in the studio since we started this whole thing. First, it was because I didn’t want to have to hide my raging hard-on every time Lark’s voice dipped into the sultry, raspy tone I heard in her audition. Now I know that’s part of the act. While it’s still sexy as hell, the tone she uses when we’re alone is much closer to her normal voice. The little moans and gasps I’m able to pull out of her are unlike anything I’ve ever heard from her before, and I like that she doesn’t try to mimic that for this recording.

After a while, though, I stayed away to avoid messing her up, and also because by then, I had plenty of work to do on the chapters they had finished. Since we were behind from the start and switched to a more time-intensive duet at the last minute, Noah wanted me to edit chapters as they were finished. It worked well, and it also means the final product will be released within the next couple of weeks.

Seeing the way they work together, it’s easy to understand how they have such incredible chemistry. This is what happens when you have two professionals in a room together. They check in with glances and quick nods or shakes of their heads. Once, Silas clearly doesn’t like the way he delivers a line and winces. Lark doesn’t miss a beat. She pauses before her dialogue, waiting to see if he’s going to redo it, which he does. Their easy rapport is something really special to watch.

When Silas finishes his last chapter, he lingers in silence with his hands over his headphones for a second. Everyone in the studio is holding their breath before he takes them off, a smile slowly working its way upward as he continues to look down at the script in front of him. He nods once, and we all burst into a round of applause.

Noah glances at Jessica, who gives him a thumbs-up. He presses a button on the board so Silas can talk to them. “Really nice, Si. How do you feel?”

Silas swallows a sip of water and wipes his lips with the back of his hand. “Good. It felt right in here.”

“Sounded great out here. Lark, are you ready, or do you want to take a break?” Noah asks.

Lark faces us, her face lit up and her eyes glittering. She’s alive, practically vibrating from head to toe like she used to when she was onstage. She’s so fucking beautiful. I can’t breathe.

“I’d like to keep going, if it’s okay with Silas? I don’t want to lose this energy.” She looks at him for confirmation, and he nods before taking another sip of water.

“Okay, let’s go,” Noah says, then clicks off his intercom so they can get started.

When any performance comes to a close, it’s an emotional experience, and this one is no different. Even though the book itself has a happy ending, as Lark weaves her way through the joy Gia feels at having Marcus with her forever, Jessica sniffles next to me.

“I wrote that,” she says quietly, a tear snaking its way down her cheek. “Those are my words.”

I sling an arm around her shoulders and give a quick squeeze. “It’s cool hearing it come to life, huh?”

“Mm-hmm,” she says, her eyes glued to Lark through the window. She falls silent again as if she’s absorbing every word.

“‘Do you promise, Marcus?’” Lark reads. “‘Will it really be forever this time?’”

“‘Forever and a day,’” Silas promises in character.

They lock eyes through the window as Lark delivers her last line: “‘I looked into his eyes and knew, without a doubt, that this man here—the man who kept all my sizzling secrets—was the only one for me.’”

She lets it hang there for a second—we all do—as if waiting for the curtain to close. Then, she rips the headphones off her ears and is out of the booth in a split second. Silas is close behind her, and they meet in the middle in a tight hug.

“That was so cool.” Her voice quivers as she grips him tight. “Thank you for taking a chance with a rookie.”

“You were a dream,” he says as they pull apart.

Lark giggles and wipes at her eyes before Jessica darts between them, using an arm around each of their necks to pull them into a group hug. Silas pats her on the back, and she lets go of him to hold Lark at arm’s length.

“I can’t tell you what this performance means to me,” Jessica says softly. “Thank you for taking care of my characters.”

“It has been my absolute honor.” Lark squeezes her elbows, then pulls her in for an embrace.

Noah leans over to talk to me as the two women continue chatting. “She’s a natural. Thanks for finding her.”

“She needed this,” I tell him. “Seeing her performing again, excited…” I trail off because I don’t have words for how wonderful it is. The Lark in front of me is an entirely different woman than the one I fell in love with in high school, but in so many ways, watching her today has been exactly like watching her then. Her talent and joy are a privilege to behold. I might have invited her here in a desperate attempt to help her find it again, but that magic I saw in the booth today…that’s all her.

Noah claps me on the back as if he understands exactly what multitudes my silence holds. It’s a show of solidarity; he knows what emotions these things bring up, and he stands there while they run over me.

As soon as Jessica releases her, Lark turns to me and launches herself into my arms. Her feet aren’t even on the ground as I hold her tight, inhaling her citrus-and-sunshine shampoo and kissing her cheek.