Page 75 of Angel

I don’t know how to answer that question. I’ve thought about it about as much as I’ve thought about moving out of the neighborhood. So I say the first thing that pops into my mind. “Um… Disney World?”

Rhys doesn’t react for a second. Then he giggles, bubbly and bright, wriggling against me until I’m giggling too.

“Disney World? Of all the places on the entire planet, you want to go to Disney World?”

I shrug, still laughing. “I don’t know? Isn’t that where everyone wants to go?”

“I mean, sure? But what about Venice? Rome? Barcelona? Madrid? Paris? Marseille?”

Now my jaw drops. I recognize the names of those cities, of course. But they’re on the other side of the world. We’d have to get on a plane to get there. I’ve never even been on a plane. I’ve never even left America. I don’t even have a passport! “Europe? But that’s so far!”

Rhys runs his fingers through my hair, through my beard. His expression grows so soft and tender that it makes my heart somersault in my chest.

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“You’ve been to those places?” I ask, hearing the awe in my own voice. I knew Rhys was much more worldly than I am. I guess I never really understood what that meant.

“Not all of them. But Noel took us on a Mediterranean cruise for his birthday a few years ago. We stopped at a bunch of cities along the way.”

I blink, not entirely sure I understand what he’s saying. How did Noel take them on a cruise? Does he mean Noel has his own boat? How is that possible?

“Noel’s filthy rich,” Rhys adds when I don’t respond.

“Oh.”

“Would you want to see those places? If you could?” Rhys asks.

The question is so far outside what I’m familiar with, it almost doesn’t make sense. How would I see them? How would I get there? Where would I stay? Would I have to go alone? I don’t think I could do that.

But if I went with someone… someone like Rhys. The images materialize in my mind like photographs. The two of us holding each other with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Us sharing a meal of freshly made pasta. Getting lost together while wandering around a super-old castle.

“Maybe? If we went together?”

Rhys smiles, but not too wide, almost like he’s trying to fight it back. His eyes get a little glassy. He snuggles right into me, face tucked into the crook of my neck. “I would love that.”

Warmth fills me. Heat and desire, but also something more. Something that’s so powerful, it takes my breath away. It rocks me to the core, threatening to rip me right apart.

I cling to Rhys as he clings to me, so tightly it’s like we’re trying to merge into one person. Like we never want to let each other go.

“Teddy bear?” Rhys murmurs, lips moving against the skin of my neck.

“Hmm?”

“How come you don’t have a girlfriend?”

The question sends a sharp pain spiking through me. The reminder that I’ve been alone for so long, that no one ever sees me or takes the time to get to know me. No one until Rhys, that is. I hold him closer, nuzzling my nose into his hair. “Girls don’t like me.”

He scoffs. “What? That’s ridiculous. You’re perfect. What’s not to love?”

“It’s true. I had a girlfriend in high school, but that’s it. And even then…” I trail off, realizing only then that I’ve never told Rhys this before.

“Even then?” He prompts.

I swallow down the flurry of emotions inside me. Some of the lingering pain, some embarrassment and shame. But also the warmth that Rhys brings out in me. I have nothing to be self-conscious about. I can tell Rhys anything.

“Even then… we never…” I can’t say the actual words. “You know.”

Rhys doesn’t respond right away, then he pulls back to look at my face. “Never had sex?”

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