Annie couldn't ignore her beating heart as they walked out of the building and to the street. "Well, here we are." Jimmy said. "It's not much, but-."

Her mouth fell open at the sight of the sleek automobile parked against the curb. "Jimmy… is this your car?"

He laughed softly. "Like I said, it's not much, but it gets me where I need to go; mainly to work and to and from Mother's house."

"Y-you have a BMW?"

He unlocked the passenger door, smiling as he waited for her to climb inside. "Well, I wanted something better but the IRS only pays so much. I hope you find it to your liking."

I do like… Annie said to herself. I like it very much. She ran her hand over the luxurious leather seat cushion thinking of her own beat-up bad-model year Toyota and she was strangely embarrassed.

"What kind of car do you have?" He asked, as though reading her mind. "If you don't mind my asking."

Her eyes widened at his uncanny ability to read her mind. "Oh… Well, it's nothing like this. It's hardly worth mentioning."

He smiled and took her hand, kissing it softly. "Everything about you is worth mentioning."

Once more she was rendered speechless as he closed the door and walked around to the driver's side. How was he doing this… managing to lull her into this strange world that she knew nothing about? A world of men who actually cared and, dare she say it, make her care about them? As he stood at the side of his car fumbling with his keys, something inside of her made her lean over and unlock his door. When he opened it and climbed in, he stared at her in what could only be described as astonishment.

"What's wrong?"

"You unlocked my door for me."

"Yeah? So?"

"Annie that's… the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Well, except for your selfless gesture in getting me a part in Cats. I can't thank you enough for that."

She swallowed hard, her breath catching in her throat as he leaned to kiss her.

"But I'm sure going to try." He continued, causing her further confusion.

"Huh?"

"To make it up to you."

The familiar guilt of what she had done came over her and she knew that she should just explain the whole situation about how the audition was a joke, but when she looked into his…. Beautiful blue eyes, she just couldn't do it. Damn, what was wrong with her?

"So what do you think of my car?" He was asking now.

"Oh it's… It's great; really great. I love the interior."

"It is nice, isn't it? Top of the line… the best! Mother said that I've been working so hard that I earned it and I have to say that I agree with her. It's nice to be rewarded for a job well-done. Although…"

"What?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Never mind. We'd better get going."

"All right. Where are you taking me?"

"Oh, it's this great place I found, not too far from here. Trust me, you'll love it!"

She had learned a long time ago never to let those words intimidate her. She'd stopped trusting men eons ago, but somehow she felt that she could trust Jimmy. And it felt… nice. Once again she looked around at the Black BMW's luxurious brown interior. She could never aspire to a car like this, even if she were to finally get the part of Victoria, the white cat whose solo dance began the Jellicle Ball. It was a coveted position to be sure, but the increased paycheck still wouldn't be enough to cover her bills let alone a car like this.

"Annie?"

She blinked, surprised to hear his voice. "Huh? What?"

"You were deep in thought. May I ask what about?"

She couldn't tell him the truth, which was that she, Annie Spadaro, felt like a failure compared to him. And so she simply smiled. "Oh, I was just thinking about how hungry I am."

"Say no more Miss Spadaro! I know just the place!"

"Oh, I can hardly wait." She said, truly meaning it. Her heart raced with excitement as he pulled the car away from the curb and started down the street. "I can't imagine where you'd be taking-."

She froze when he pulled in front of an all-too familiar building and stopped the car.

"Jimmy, what are we doing here?"

He laughed out loud. "What do you think we're doing here? This is our destination! You did say you were hungry, right?"

"Right… but Jimmy… this place…"

"It's wonderful, trust me, okay?"

As he took her hand to help her out of the car, she started at the sign feeling more awkward that she could ever remember. This date…. The one she actually had started to look forward to… had just taken a turn for the worst.