classmates unless somebody calls attention to it.”
“You’re a good teacher,” he said with a grin. “I wish my teachers had been more like that. They made comments about my height all the time.”
“Well, high school is different,” Annalise said. “High school teachers are less nurturing. Sometimes I worry about my kids when they leave my classroom, because the older you get, the less your teachers try to take care of you. Not all of them are ready for that.”
“They’ve got to face the real world sometime,” Curt pointed out.
“Oh, what do you know about the real world?” she asked with a grin. “Your life can’t be exactly normal.”
“No, it’s not,” Curt agreed. “But because I broke relatively late as an actor, I did live a normal life for a while, even once I reached adulthood. There was a good stretch of time where I was renting a studio apartment in the cheap part of LA, sleeping on a mattress, and riding my bike to auditions every day.”
Annalise laughed. “That’s hard to picture,” she admitted. “The famous Curt Slade, out hustling?”
“You have to, if you want to make it in my business,” Curt said. “Acting seems really romantic and glamorous from the outside, I know. It looks like actors and actresses just latch on to a rising star and go shooting up into the stratosphere, without much work at all.”
“That’s how I always pictured it,” Annalise admitted.
“The truth is a little different, Curt said. “There are moments like that—wild rising-star moments—but you have to put yourself out there to make them happen. You have to go on hundreds of auditions, usually, and face a lot of rejection, before you get a break.”
“But you’re a really good actor,” Annalise protested. “I’ve seen most of your movies. Why would anyone reject you?”
“Most directors and production teams go in with a really specific idea of what they’re looking for,” Curt said, forking up a bite of salad. “Maybe they don’t like the way you interpret the scene you’re given to read. Or maybe they like your reading, but they don’t like the way you look. Or they’ve already cast a different actor, and they don’t like the chemistry between the two of you. Or they think you’re just fine, but someone else really wowed them. Auditioning is a lot like dating, really. There’s no way to be technically perfect. A lot of it is just about vibes and chemistry.”
“It seems like a strange way to manage your career,” Annalise said. “Your success isn’t really under your control.”
“No, it isn’t,” Curt agreed. “Not entirely. Of course, it helps to be good at the craft, because then if the directors tell you what they’re looking for, you can give it to them. That’s how I got Love on Main. They asked me to read twice, and the second time they gave me some direction. They were able to see that I could take their notes and give them the performance they wanted.”
“You really were amazing in that movie,” Annalise said. “I’ve always thought so.”
“Once I got it, and once the movie did well, it was much easier to get other jobs,” Curt said. “People knew who I was, and they knew they could use my name successfully in their marketing.”
Annalise nodded. “I’ve had people ask me a lot recently if I’ve seen the new Curt Slade movie yet,” she said.
“Have you?” Curt asked with a grin.
Annalise laughed. “I haven’t,” she admitted. “Your newest one is the one where you and Jenna Valencia get shipwrecked together, right?”
“That’s right,” Curt said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s definitely no Love on Main.”
“Well, Love on Main is a classic,” Annalise said. “That movie totally revolutionized romantic comedies. Is it awkward if I admit it’s my favorite?”
“No,” Curt said, smiling. “It’s flattering. And if it’s not boastful to say this, I think it’s really good too. I thought it was good the first time I read the script. I was excited to audition for it, and I was thrilled when I landed the job.”
“It’s not boastful,” Annalise assured him. “But can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“It might be awkward.”
“Hey, if my time as a romantic lead has taught me anything, it’s that first dates are awkward sometimes.” He flashed his signature grin, the one she had so often seen on her TV. “That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with them.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “I was just wondering… why me?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Well,