Heading back to the Doheny Plaza trying to keep steady on Sunset, I ask casually, "Do you know a guy named Julian Wells?" After I ask this I'm able to loosen my grip on the steering wheel - the question is a release.

"Hey, yeah," Rain says brightly, fooling with the stereo. "Do you know Julian?"

"Yeah," I say. "We grew up together out here."

"I didn't know that. Cool." She tries to find a track on a CD Meghan Reynolds had burned for me last summer. "He might have mentioned something about that."

"How do you know him?" I ask.

"I did some work for him," she says. "A long time ago."

"What kind of work?"

"Just like an assistant. Freelance," she says. "It was a long time ago."

"I actually know that you know him," I say.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asks, concentrating on locating the song. "You say that so weird."

"Where is he right now?" I ask. "I'm just wondering."

"How would I know that?" she asks, pretending to be annoyed.

"Well, aren't you his girlfriend?"

Everything is suddenly in slow motion. It's as if suddenly she forgot her lines. Her only response is to laugh. "You're crazy."

"Let's call him up."

"Okay. Sure. Whatever, Crazy."

"You don't believe me, do you?" I say. "You think this is a joke?"

"I think you're crazy," she says. "That's what I think this is."

"I know about you and him, Rain."

"And what do you think you know?" Her voice remains playful.

"I know you were in San Diego with Julian last week."

"I was with my mother, Clay."

"But you were also with Julian." Saying this relaxes me. "Didn't you think I was going to find out about this?"

At the light on Doheny she stares straight out the windshield.

"Didn't you know I was going to find out that you're still f**king him?"

She suddenly cracks. She whirls toward me in the passenger seat. A series of questions pour out in a pleading rush. "So what? What does it matter? What are you doing? What do you think this is about? Will you just leave it alone? What does it matter what I do when I'm not with you?"

"It matters," I say. "In this situation, for you to get what you want, it matters very much."

"Why does it matter?" she shouts. "You're crazy."

I calmly make the left and start heading down Doheny.

"You couldn't even play this part for a f**king month?" I ask quietly. "What, you needed his c**k so badly that you had to jeopardize everything for yourself? If being with me was so important to you, Rain, why did you f**k it up? You could've played me but - "

"I don't play people, Clay."

"What about Rip Millar?"

Chapter 8

"What about Rip Millar?" she says. "Jesus, you need to get over yourself."

The blurry headlights from oncoming cars cause me to pull the BMW to the side of the road across from the Doheny Plaza.

"Get out. Just get out of the f**king car."

"Clay ... " She reaches for me. "Please, stop."

"You're panicking." I smile, pulling away from her. "Look at this: you're really panicking."

"Listen, I'll do whatever you want," she says. "What do you want? Just tell me what you want and I'll do it."

"End things with Julian now," I say. "At least until you get the part."

She pulls back. "How do I even know that you'll help me get the part?"

"I will," I say. "But just tell Julian to go away. I'm not even going to try until he's out of the picture."

"If you get me the part I'll do anything," she says quietly. "I'll do anything you want. If you can get me that part I'll do anything you want."

She grabs my face. She pulls me to her. She kisses me hard on the mouth.

In the darkness of the bedroom Rain asks me, "Why did you do this now?"

"Do what?" I'm propped on a pillow sipping vodka and melted ice.

"Bring this all up," she says. "Try and wreck everything."

"I just wanted to prove that you were lying to me."

"Who told you?"

"Rip Millar."

She immediately tightens up and her voice becomes chilled.