Part 16 (1/2)
The following night I decided to go out with the cast after the show. Everyone was planning to head over to a bar in midtown that Jenner co-owned. He had promised that our drinks would be on the house.
The bar was really nice, though a little sw.a.n.ky for my taste. I noticed that Jasmine seemed to be perfectly in her element. After we arrived, I watched her for a minute. She was still throwing herself shamelessly at Jenner, always standing close to him, touching his arm when she was talking, thrusting her chest out whenever she had his attention. It was nauseating. At least he didn't seem to be at all affected by it. Maybe there was hope for the male species after all.
”So, you decided to join us tonight,” Tyler said, sliding up to me at the bar. ”Whatcha drinking?”
”Newcastle,” I responded, avoiding making eye contact.
”Nice,” he said. ”I had you pegged for a fruity c.o.c.ktail kind of girl.”
”Guess you don't know me so well,” I said.
”You're p.i.s.sed at me,” he said suddenly, smiling like he thought the realization was amusing.
”Why would I be p.i.s.sed at you?” I asked him. ”I barely know you.”
”You didn't like me talking to you last night in front of your boyfriend.”
I turned to him, feeling annoyed. ”Okay, first of all, you can talk to whoever you want. I couldn't care less what you do. Second, he isn't my boyfriend. He's just a guy I'm dating. And none of this is any of your business.”
”He sure didn't like me talking to you,” Tyler said. ”He looked like he wanted to punch me. Not your boyfriend, huh?”
I rolled my eyes. ”He did not want to punch you.”
”I caught that little move he did,” Tyler said, grinning. ”The way he put his hand on your neck it might as well have been a collar.”
”You know what, Tyler?” I said, my face flus.h.i.+ng. ”f.u.c.k off, okay?”
He only laughed. ”Relax, Annie. I'm just messing around.”
I glared at him.
”Look, I'll change the subject, okay? Word is, the suits are really excited about the press we're getting.”
In spite of my irritation, I felt a little glow of excitement at that. We had been written up in the weekend section of the Free Press that morning. It had been a glowing review and I had been singled out. Jen cut it out and hung it on our refrigerator.
”If things keep going like this, we're a shoe-in for Chicago. The investors are meeting with Jenner next week.”
”Do you think they'll re-cast?” I asked, deciding to forget how irritated I was with him.
Tyler shrugged. ”Maybe some parts. I think you're safe, though. You seem to be coming out of this with bells on.”
”What can I say,” I said drily. ”I'm destined to be a superstar.”
”You joke, Annie, but I actually think that might be true.”
Tyler motioned to the bartender to refill us.
”Seriously, you're really good. And you have the looks to go far, that's for sure.” He looked me over in a way that normally would make me want to slap a guy, but something about the joking light in his eyes only made me laugh.
”Have you ever tried to get work in Chicago or New York?”
I shook my head. ”I was never really interested, to tell you the truth. I like it here.”
”Yeah, but how much opportunity is there to really act around here?”
”A lot,” I said, feeling defensive about my city. ”People are doing shows all over the place.”
”Yeah, but none of them are going to make you famous.”
”That's not really a consideration for me,” I said.
Tyler burst out laughing. ”Yeah, right,” he said. ”An actress who doesn't care about fame?”
”I'm serious,” I told him.
”You might think that now, but just wait until we get to New York. You can't get off on standing up in front of a bunch of people, demanding their attention, if a part of you didn't like it. The need for validation is what drives all actors. It's in your blood.”
I shrugged. ”I don't know about that.”
”You'll see,” he said. ”So, now that you're not mad at me anymore, can I ask about the suit?”
”Who?” I asked.
”The guy in the suit. Your not-boyfriend boyfriend. What's the story there?”
Now that I had another beer in me the thought of talking about Nate didn't bother me so much. ”We met in Vegas,” I told Tyler. ”In September.”
”But he's from here?”
”Yeah, Birmingham.”
”What does he do?”
”He works for Ford. He's an engineer.” Tyler smirked at that. ”What? What's the matter with being an engineer?”
”Nothing,” he said, holding up his hands. ”Just doesn't quite seem your type. Suit-and-tie guy and all that.”
”He's very nice to me,” I said, feeling the need to defend Nate. But wasn't Tyler saying the same things I had thought from the beginning?
”So what happens when you go to New York?” he asked.
”What do you mean?”
”I mean, do you stay with this guy? Once you're in an off-Broadway run, living in the most exciting city in the world, how does that work out?”
”I don't know,” I said, feeling uncomfortable. ”I told you, we're just dating. It's not some serious thing.”