"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?"

"Sure," I said, trying to suppress the desire to call the whole thing off and go home. My bed and a pint of ice cream was sounding better and better.

When we reached the pub, I was not at all surprised to find a group of actors and crew members huddled around a table. Though I rarely joined them, I knew this to be a popular post-show hang out.

"Wanna join them?" Tyler asked. "Or-" he leaned closer to me, whispering in my ear-"would you rather have some privacy?"

Though his breath tickled the skin on my neck, I felt nothing from his proximity. No b.u.t.terflies, no tingles. Just...nothing.

"Let's sit with them," I said, taking a step back.

"Good idea," Tyler said, winking at me. "We can save the privacy for later."

We joined the group at the table, which was overcrowded for my taste. The close quarters seemed to encourage Tyler to sidle up next to me, his hand ever present on my knee.

"So, Annie," a woman named Calllie said, looking me over in an appraising sort of way that immediately made me feel uncomfortable. Callie was new to the show in Chicago, and I hadn't gotten to know her very well. To tell the truth, she kind of seemed like a b.i.t.c.h. "I hear you and Jenner have some hot romance going."

Everyone at the table laughed, and I tried to set my mouth in the general appearance of a smile. "I wouldn't believe everything you read, Callie."

"Well, to be honest, it was kind of hard to believe," she said, looking down at my admittedly flat chest. "I mean, you and Jenner."

I was visited with a sudden urge to slap her, but managed to contain myself. Tyler slid his hand a little higher on my leg. "I don't know about that," he said, grinning. "I think Jenner would be lucky to have you."

I laughed along with everyone else, trying to pretend like none of this bothered me.

"Alright," said Bill, the middle-aged man who played my father in the show. "I want to hear who everyone at this table has slept with to get ahead in your career. I'll go first. In 1993 I had a brief but torrid affair with the female producer of a B-list sitcom."

Everyone laughed. "You should be particularly impressed," Bill continued, "seeing as how I'm a raging h.o.m.o."

"I once slept with a college professor," Tyler said, squeezing my knee under the table. "And she didn't even put me in the show, can you believe it?"

It continued like this for a while, everyone trying to outdo each other with tales of their (hopefully exaggerated) s.e.xual exploits. After a few minutes, I began to lose interest. I was hardly a prude, but even I was feeling uncomfortable with the graphic descriptions flowing freely from these people I hardly knew.

Talk then turned, predictably, to shows people had done and who had worked with whom. I had heard it all before, from these same people, and the bragging was starting to get old. When our food was brought out, I felt immensely relieved that I would have something to distract me with.

"Wow," Callie said, eying my cheeseburger as I raised it to my mouth. "You have quite an appet.i.te, don't you?"

"Mmmhmm," I agreed, taking a huge bite. I'd had about enough of this whole scene.

"You'll want to watch that," she cautioned, adding a miniscule amount of dressing to her salad. "If you want to stay in this business, calories like that definitely aren't your friend."

"Oh well," I said, reaching for my pop. "Guess I better enjoy it while it lasts."

I finished my meal in silence. Tyler tried to draw me into the conversation, but there was no point. A few of these people might have been cool on their own, but put them in a group like this and all anyone cared about with one-upping each other. I thought of Jen and Ginny, wondering what they were up to tonight.

"Wanna get out of here?" Tyler whispered in my ear after our plates had been cleared.

I nodded, eager to be anywhere else.

Tyler threw some bills on the table and we said our goodbyes.

Outside, the cold February air bit against my skin and I huddled down into my coat.

"Let's get a cab," Tyler said, looking over at me.

"Let's just go somewhere close," I said.

"Wouldn't you rather head to a cooler neighborhood? Test out your newfound celebrity and all that?"

I rolled my eyes. "I would rather just be inside."

"There's a bar down here," he said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. "Come on."

We hurried the two blocks to the bar Tyler had in mind. I was hoping for a laid-back place where I could hear myself think, and was somewhat disappointed when we entered a very loud wine bar. There was a live jazz band playing in the back of the room, and a throng of well-dressed professional-looking yuppies standing around talking. I sighed.

"Let's head over here," Tyler said, leading the way to a low couch on the side of the room. There was barely enough room for a single person there, let alone both of us, but he was undeterred, pulling me down next to him so I was practically on his lap.

"There," he said, smiling at me. "That's much better."

I didn't feel much better. In truth, I was feeling pretty d.a.m.n miserable. I didn't want to go out with Tyler. Why had I thought this would be a good idea?

He gestured to a pa.s.sing waiter and ordered us both a gla.s.s of red. "Unless you'd like a bottle?" he asked me. I shook my head vigorously, already counting down the minutes until I could get out of here without seeming too rude.

"So, you really don't like that crowd, huh?" he asked.

"At the pub?" I asked.

"Yeah. You were so tense in there I could have bounced a quarter off your leg. What was up with that?"

"I just don't like that scene," I told him, shrugging. "I'm not into the bragging and cutting people down."

He shook his head at me. "Sorry to say it, Annie, but you need to toughen up a bit."

I bristled. My nerves, already stretched so tightly, felt ready to snap.

"I just mean," he said, reaching over to rub my shoulder, "that if you want to be in this business, there are certain things you'll have to get used to. How do you think things will be when we get to New York?"

"I don't care where I am," I said flatly. "I can't imagine ever enjoying hanging out with people like that."

"So what will you do, be a hermit forever?"

"I have other friends," I said.

"Yeah, in Detroit. Who do you expect to socialize with in New York?"