Page 51 of Angel

I step closer to him, a mild panic seizing me at the thought of Angel leaving so early. “Do you have an early morning? You don’t work on Saturdays, do you?”

“I told Mama I’d clean up the garden first thing.”

“Oh.” My disappointment is so thick, it feels suffocating.

“I was going to offer to drive you guys home, but it’s probably a little early for that, huh?”

“No!” In my excitement, the word comes out a tad too loud and the rest of the dressing room falls silent. Hayden and the other dancers are staring at us now. “I mean, I can leave now. I’m done for the night.” And not at all desperate to spend every last second with you.

“I’m going to stick around a bit longer.”

My head snaps around when Hayden speaks, and only then do I realize that Angel’s offer had been for the both of us. Oops. I totally forgot about Hayden, totally forgot he was still in the freaking room. Ugh. I’m a terrible friend.

“Are you sure?” I ask, torn between loyalty to my best friend and this wild, untamed thing I feel for Angel.

Hayden’s smile is strained around the edges. He knows what’s been running through my mind. “Yeah, I’m sure. I can split a ride with Sebastian and Christian.”

I try to telegraph my apology and Hayden gives me a slight nod to say he’s received the message.

“In that case,” I say, turning back to Angel. “Let’s get out of here.”

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

ANGEL

Rhys keeps up the chatter all the way from The Bronzed Rail back to his place. He tells me about the club and the other performers, about Anna Conda and how she auditioned for Drag Race. He asked me if I watch Drag Race—I don’t, but I might need to start.

He tells me about how Sebastian and Christian got together, and how Noel and Bellamy did too shortly after. There’s a wistfulness in his voice as he recounts their stories, and it makes me wonder whether Rhys is looking for his own love story.

My stomach twists uncomfortably and something hot and uneasy takes up residence in the middle of my chest. I rub at it. Maybe I drank those beers too fast tonight, and they’re not sitting well for some reason.

“It’s very romantic,” I say when Rhys finishes.

Rhys sighs. “It really is.”

“So, uh, are you and Hayden…?” The burning in my chest increases and I cough, trying to clear the constricted feeling.

“You okay?” Rhys reaches across the center console and rubs my shoulder. He’s sitting sideways in the passenger-side seat of my truck, one knee bent so he can face me. The touch sends a completely different kind of heat spreading down my arm and through my chest.

“Yeah, uh, yeah, I was just saying…” I cough again.

“Something about me and Hayden?”

I nod as my throat kind of feels like maybe some beer went down the wrong tube.

Rhys tilts his head and his hair falls in a silky cascade over his shoulder. “Me and Hayden…” Then his eyes widen and his jaw drops. “Are we together? Oh god, no! Not even a little bit!”

The tightness in my chest starts to ease and my coughing subsides. “I just thought maybe… you know, because of your videos… and what you said about Sebastian and Christian.”

Rhys laughs, bright and bubbly, and I smile at the sound. “Hayden and I are only friends. Period. I mean, yes, we’ve got decent chemistry on-screen, and I love the guy to death, but it’s not like that.”

I take a deep breath and my lungs expand like I didn’t just have a weird coughing fit a second ago. “Great! I mean, not great, but like, not not great. Just that, it’s cool that you’re friends, you know, and that, like, you can… do… stuff.”

Oh dear heavens above, god, please strike me down now. My ears are on fire.

Rhys laughs out loud again, leaning over the center console to rest his head on my shoulder. “Teddy bear, you’re amazing. And yes, I do know.”

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