He cracked open one tired lid and gave her a stink eye. “Yes. Why? You have an issue with CSUN? Where’d you go to school?”
“No, I don’t have an issue with it. I just expected something else. I went to Cal Arts.”
He huffed out a breath.
“What the fuck was that?” Try as she might, she couldn’t hide the nasty in her tone. Not that she tried too hard. She zoomed up behind the semi in front of them and darted to the left lane to pass, flooring the accelerator.
“It was the same reaction you had to my answer, only without words. At least I got my degree at a normal school.”
Carrie Ann clenched her jaw tight. She’d heard that same crap from people for years. She’d auditioned and gotten into Cal Arts, and Julie had auditioned and landed her own fucking show at seventeen. Carrie Ann had been thrilled for her. She’d also been sure it wouldn’t last more than a few episodes. She’d been sure that busting her ass at a school geared for the performing arts would not only set her up to be well-rounded and versatile, it would give her the credentials needed when she went to future auditions.
What a fucking joke that had been.
She never should’ve spent three years of her life there. She’d have been better off trying to land an agent and more auditions.
She took a deep breath to calm the anger raging through her system.
“What’s got you pissed off now?” Geekboy asked.
The fact that he was obviously watching her made her even angrier. “I thought you were sleeping,” she snapped.
“Not with you going a hundred miles an hour. I’m kind of getting ready to die.”
She glanced at the speedometer and took her foot off the gas. She’d passed that truck a long time ago, but hadn’t let up on the accelerator. “You’re not going to die. We’ve got a surprise party to get to. God isn’t going to punish you when you’re doing a good deed.” Like she really believed that load of crap. God had left her to the mercy of Hollywood years ago and Hollywood was not a kind master. It bled a person dry. Drew was the perfect example. He’d had hope and the chance at his dreams, but inevitably he’d been stripped of everything including self-respect and dignity. He’d seen what had happened with her staying in school and Julie getting her television show. He’d opted to jump right into auditioning and forgo his education. And what had that done for him? Hollywood had made a joke of his life. It had ruined her brother, made Julie a star, and it was the one place where Carrie Ann wanted to succeed more than anywhere else.
If getting rid of Julie gave Drew back some of his mental health and set her on the right track, she had to try.
Fuck this. She stepped on the gas.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Julie stretched in the big bed and opened her eyes as the afternoon sun threw brilliant rays through the window. Troy’s arm tightened around her waist and pulled her more snugly against his chest. She molded to the curve of his body, enjoying the feel of his growing erection against her ass. The man had stamina.
He fascinated her with his contrasting character. His behavior said I’m cool, but his body said I’m ready to get down and dirty whenever you are. He didn’t act like a rutting stud, didn’t constantly handle her or seem to need to touch her. She didn’t get any type of possessive vibe from him, but as soon as they locked lips or touched each other, he was all about making the sparks fly. He was unlike anyone she’d ever dated.
Dated. A word she absolutely could not use when thinking about this man simply because they’d never been on one date. Not the traditional kind anyway. Sure, they’d spent time together, and recently all their meals together, but could she classify any of their time together as a “date”?
Had he picked her up and taken her to dinner or a movie or all the things couples were supposed to do when they begin a relationship? Had they shared a first kiss at her doorstep? None of the old-fashioned ways she used to date applied to this man.
So what? It didn’t change the fact that, yes, dammit! They were in a relationship.
So what if their beginning hadn’t been traditional. So what if they hadn’t talked about it. He’d been there for