Part 21 (1/2)
”Ah, I forgot. Annie is so above the seedier side of our business.”
”What are you doing here, Tyler?” I asked, feeling tired of the conversation already.
”I knew you'd be here,” he said, leaning forward on his elbows. ”You hang out in this little dump every day, don't you?”
”My apartment is freezing,” I told him. Which was true, but only part of the reason I frequented this diner. The free Wi-Fi was a perk, but in truth, it was just really nice to be around people. My apartment was empty and lonely.
”Well, tomorrow night I think you should get out of that freezing apartment and come hang out with me,” he said.
I stared at him. ”Are you asking me out?”
”Oh, come on, Annie,” he said, rolling his eyes. ”I've been asking you out since the first rehearsal. I know you left things badly with suit-and-tie guy, so I've been trying to give you your s.p.a.ce. But we've been here two months now. Let's have some fun.”
His casual mention of Nate sent my stomach plummeting. It had been like that ever since I got here. Something would happen to remind me of him and I would feel like I'd been doused in cold water. I wondered how long it would be before that went away.
I looked at Tyler. The funny thing is, he would have been exactly the kind of guy I would have gone for before Nate. I'd always liked the skinny, sensitive, scruffy type. Maybe Tyler was exactly what I needed right now. Maybe if I could just get back to the way I felt before meeting Nate, this horrible weight in my chest would disappear.
”You know what? A date sounds perfect,” I told him.
Tyler smiled at me. I tried to ignore how empty it made me feel.
”Great,” he said. ”I'll meet you in your dressing room.”
My foray into tabloid land did not end with that one picture. To my horror, I got a call from Jen demanding that I turn on the television that same evening.
”Access Hollywood is talking about you!” she yelled into the phone.
”What?” I asked, dropping the box of macaroni and cheese I had been about to open.
”Turn on the TV, turn on the TV!”
I rushed over to the little television set in my living room and flipped it on. Sure enough, there was a picture of me on the screen. ”That's my head shot,” I murmured. ”Where would they have gotten that?”
”Who cares?” Jen asked impatiently. ”They know your name and where you're from. They're saying that the two of you are making a home-town love connection, that he rescued you from obscurity in Detroit!”
”That's ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head in bewilderment. ”Where the h.e.l.l are they getting this stuff?”
”Ooh, maybe you have paparazzi outside your apartment right this minute,” Jen said, sounding entirely too excited about the prospect for my liking.
”Jen,” I said. ”This is Chicago, not L.A. They don't have paparazzi hanging around on the street corners.”
”Oh,” she said, sounding disappointed.
I heard the beep indicating call waiting and looked down at the phone. My mom.
”Great,” I said to Jen. ”My mom is probably watching this too.”
”Want to go talk to her?”
”No,” I said firmly. ”I do not want to get a lecture about how a Hollywood man is not worthy husband material.”
”I have to say, you don't sound very excited about this,” Jen replied.
”What's there to be excited about?” I asked.
”Being on TV is kind of a big deal,” she said. ”Especially for someone who wants to be an actress.”
”Yeah, but I don't want people thinking I'm in this show because I slept with Jenner.”
”Good point. Well, why don't you call him? Maybe his people can do something about it.”
I thought about that for a minute. ”I don't want to make too big of a deal out of it,” I said. ”But maybe I'll mention it at the show tomorrow.”
”So Ginny tells me everything is going really well,” Jen said, and I felt a little pang at the thought of the two of them hanging out without me. Which was totally immature, I know.
”Yeah, we're getting great reviews, tickets are selling well. I might be Broadway bound before you know it.”
”That's awesome, hon,” she said. There was a pause. ”I have to say, you don't sound too excited about that, either.”
”No, I am,” I said quickly, ignoring the stabbing feeling I got whenever I thought about moving even farther away. ”It's a great opportunity.”
”You don't have to go,” she said quietly. ”You know that, right? You can still be an actress without going to New York.”
”I know,” I said. ”But it's a once in a lifetime chance. I'd be stupid to give it up.”
”Not if it doesn't make you happy,” she pressed.
”Acting makes me happy,” I said firmly, determinedly not looking around at the crummy, shabby apartment I was now living in all by myself.
Chapter Twenty-six.
”You ready to go?”
I looked up at Tyler, who was standing at the door to the ladies' dressing room.
”Just about,” I told him, leaning forward to peer at myself in the mirror. I grabbed a tissue and wiped the last of the red lipstick off my mouth.
”Aw,” he said, watching me. ”I like you in that shade.”
I rolled my eyes as I stood, grabbing my purse. ”It's stage make-up. Not exactly subtle.”
”Still looks hot on you,” he said, winking at me.
There was a time when Tyler's shameless flirting might have made me laugh. Now it just made me feel tired. ”So,” I said, trying to force myself into the moment as we left the dressing room and headed for the stage door. ”Where we headed?”
”I thought we'd go to that pub down the street, get some food. Then we can hit the town. Sound good?”