Nadia bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the image that formed in her mind with Patricia literally<span style="font-style: italic">doing her thing</span>and David desperately trying to muster up desire and passion in a situation where anyone would have most likely been slightly amused rather than slightly turned on. Yeah, maybe he was right. Maybe it wasn't the dream of every guy and even if she was absolutely gorgeous, these guys were meeting her for the first time. They were bound to be nervous or at least a bit awkward about it. And since David was looking for roles with more depth in them, Nadia finally understood why he had described the auditions as weird.<br/><br/>"Ah, I see!" She laughed. "I think I would have been very nervous and uncomfortable in a similar situation, so... congratulations for going through it." Nadia smiled widely and then asked: "Did she say anything after that? I mean, do you think she liked you?"<br/><br/>He did add that Patricia wasn't exactly his type of girl, which made Nadia a little suspicious at first. She even arched a brow and looked at him as though she was trying to figure out if he was playing with her. David didn't continue on the subject and she was left unsure about whether he had been serious with his words or not. How could you not like Patricia Jolie? Alright, so the auditions had been a bit weird but she had been voted as the hottest female of the year in a famous men's magazine only a week or two ago. Perhaps she accepted those things a bit too easily and believed everything the media told her with naivety. But dancers were self-conscious about their bodies, set on pushing them to perfection, which was why it was mind-boggling for Nadia when a man stated that a perfect bombshell like Patricia was "not his type".<br/><br/>Pushing the subject aside, she learned that he wasn't a local but from Charlevoix instead. Nadia had spent one summer near Charlevoix and all she could recall was the long car ride from St. Geneviève to their little cottage. So he had come from a relatively far away place, even if it was in the same country. But still, it meant that this was important for him.<br/><br/>At first she was worried that David would be bothered by her bad habits, seeing as he suddenly tensed up a little. Or maybe she was just imagining things, always worrying that others would judge her for having an addiction while also dancing. Yes, she knew it was bad and she shouldn't do it, but everyone else did it, just that no one ever talked about it, so... why not? It made her happy. Then again, so did wine, fried squid and whipped cream, and all the other things she technically wasn't allowed to put in her mouth. Oh well. Nadia blinked her eyes when David said he didn't mind but was trying to quit.<br/><br/>"Don't worry, I understand perfectly. It completely ruins you physically and financially, right? Any smart person would try to quit." She spoke and nodded, trying to convince herself in the process, but soon changed her attitude when David said he needed one as well and wished to join her. "But you know, screw that, right?" Nadia laughed, rolling her eyes as they made their way outside.<br/><br/>She loved the city and everything about it. In fact, she loved it so much she could hardly believe she had once lived on the countryside with her parents. The filthy streets, the suspicious bypassers, the dusty bars and the passive agressive store clerks... Nadia knew she'd never be able to live without them. There was something so cosy about it, the way people didn't pick up their dog shit, spat while waiting for the bus, laughed at the drunk man who was passed out at the corner of the street or gave strange looks at the people who stopped to dance in front of street musicians.<br/><br/>Nadia loved the city precisely because of its ugliness and dislikes the countryside for its beauty. Most people were known to have a bad temper here and for some reason she adored it. It had to be a city thing.<br/><br/>Even now, as she was trying to lit up her cigarette with a mostly empty, cheap lighter she had found in the opera dressing room, she couldn't help but to breathe deeply the stench of the horses that passed them. Nadia sighed and gave up on her lighter, accepting David's with a thankful nod. She'd have to buy a new one if she wished to continue her bad habits. Or maybe it really was time to quit? Hell no.<br/><br/>"Kind of. I've been here for so long that it sure feels like that." Nadia gave him the lighter back. "But no, not really. I moved here from the countryside, a little town called Plaisance." She felt instantly a bit uncomfortable. Talking about herself was one of those things that she really, really disliked. It felt like a duty to always say certain things about yourself to other people. Of course she understood that everyone exchanged personal information on themselves, but for some reason Nadia found it difficult to believe that anyone would be genuinely interested. "I came here for the ballet. Every weekend my mother would drive me here for classes. Eventually we moved here so I could go to high school and still attend dance classes. Now I work at the opera."<br/><br/>She was about to ask something when a young man stormed out and past them, looking quite disappointed. Nadia felt sorry for him, because she knew the feeling so well and it was rare for her to succeed in auditions. Today was a lucky day for her, but tomorrow would most likely be a completely different story. "Look on the bright side: you'll have less competition." Nadia smiled. "I hope you get the part. I mean, I don't really know you, but I just feel like you deserve it."<br/><br/>Tapping her cigarette, she quickly figured out more things she felt like she wanted to know about him and opened her mouth. "An actor..." Nadia spoke and shifted her eyes from the ground to David. "When did you decide that this is what you want to do?"