Page 14 of Angel

Sebastian sits bolt upright, eyes shining with a million ideas. “He did? Does that mean he’s interested? What does he look like? Would he want to film with you? Or maybe he’d be more comfortable with someone he doesn’t know?”

“Slow down!” I wave my hands to shoo Sebastian’s questions away. “I didn’t say he wanted to do gay porn. The conversation was just hypothetical.”

Hayden leans toward Sebastian and in a not-so-quiet voice whispers, “He’s friends with Rhys’s older brother. They all grew up together. He’s a total teddy bear. Furry all over and super cute. Even works in construction.”

“Denny!” I give Hayden a harmless slap on the arm. The last thing Sebastian needs is encouragement. Angel is not performing in a video for The Camboy Network. He’s just not.

“A bear, huh?” Sebastian’s got his phone in his hands, typing away with a look of extreme concentration on his face. “Definitely pairing him with someone small, even if you don’t want to do it, Rhys.”

“Sebby! Stahp! You can’t just cast the guy against his will.” I reach across the table and try to snatch Sebastian’s phone out of his hand, but he’s too fast for me.

Pulling it to his chest, he looks at me like I’m the one getting ahead of myself.

“Relax! It’s just an idea. If your Angel doesn’t want to do it, then I can look for someone who resembles him.”

I frown at Sebastian. “He’s not my Angel.” Although the way those two words roll off my tongue does send a tingle of excitement up my spine.

Three sets of eyes stare at me with skepticism.

“What? He’s not!” I exclaim. “Before the party, I hadn’t spoken to the guy in years and I’m probably not going to again!”

My phone buzzes.

It’s sitting face down on the table, so I can’t see who messaged me. Normally, none of us would notice something so quiet, and yet, we all turn to the device like it’s blaring an alarm.

“Are you going to get that?” Noel asks.

“Get what?” I hike up a shoulder, hoping they’ll buy my fake indifference.

“Your phone.” Sebastian pointedly glances from my face down to said phone.

“It’s just a text.” I flick my hand, dismissing their insinuation. “No big deal.”

“But what if it’s him?” Hayden asks.

I can’t believe what they’re trying to imply. There’s no way Angel would text me at the exact moment I’m claiming I won’t speak to him again. I play dumb. “Who?”

Hayden turns his sad, puppy-dog eyes on me. “You know who.”

Meanwhile, Noel doesn’t bother with niceties. He scoffs and grabs my phone.

“Hey!”

He scowls at the screen, then his lips twitch. That’s not a good sign.

“Give it back!”

Noel holds the phone out of my reach, then furrows his brow in confusion. “Who’s Teddy Bear?”

Oh, fuck. “I said, give it back!”

Sebastian takes the phone from Noel, scans the screen, and cocks his head to the side. “Teddy Bear? Wait, that’s not what you saved his number under, is it?”

With a growl, I push my chair back and stand up, stretching over the table to pluck the phone out of Sebastian’s hand. “Give me that!”

When I plop into my chair again, I hold the phone close to my chest. My heart rate picks up and I get a little flutter in my stomach. It’s the same feeling I get right before I go on stage to perform at The Bronzed Rail. Stage fright mixed with a dash of adrenaline. Anticipation heightened by uncertainty.

I peek at my phone. There’s a notification on the screen.

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