Page 22 of Gabriel's Album

“I can’t wait; it’s going to be great performing our songs live in front of our fans.”

Honestly, I might as well have just answered the first reporter’s questions and he could’ve passed his notes along.

“Have you started working on a new album yet?” the other journalist asks.

“I’ve written a couple of songs, but nothing is fully formed yet; these things take time,” I reply.

“Are you seeing anyone at the moment?” an attractive redheaded woman joins in the questioning.

My eyes dart involuntarily toward the entrance to Ariana. I’m close enough now that she can probably hear my reply, and I don’t really want to give it. Our gazes lock for an instant before I turn back to the reporter. I can’t not answer, though.

“Not at the moment,” I lie, and force a big smile onto my face. “When the right person comes along, you’ll be the first to know. Maybe she has already!”

With that, I wink at the reporter, wave one last time to the crowd, and walk through the entrance toward Ariana. We walk side by side through the doors and into the crowded room.

I can see how tense she is, so as soon as we’re out of the view of the paparazzi outside, I place my arm around her waist, and she relaxes into me. The party is in full swing, people are everywhere, dancing, chatting, or at the bar getting drinks. Nearly everyone here is a household name. I’ve been to a thousand parties with these people, but Ariana looks overwhelmed.

I lead her over to the bar, thinking that if she has a drink, it might help her to feel more comfortable. I get myself a beer while Ariana orders a vodka and orange. Obviously, that’s her go-to drink. As we wait for our drinks, I look around the club, then point out Hayden to Ariana. He’s dancing with a guy I’ve never seen before and seems to be having a good time.

I also point out Sebastian, who’s sitting in a booth in the corner of the room with Harrison. Sitting between them is Heather, of course. Harrison’s girlfriend is tall, blonde, one of the most beautiful women I know, and an unofficial member of our band. She used to help us lug our equipment to gigs, designed and sold merch at those gigs, and she basically just stops us from turning into massive douchebags now that we’re famous.

The bartender gives us our drinks as the song that’s playing comes to an end, and we arrive at the booth at the same time as Hayden, who seems to have left his dance partner behind.

“Hi, guys!” I call over the sound of the pumping music as it segues into another dance anthem.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Hayden asks as we all take our seats.

“Not too bad. Didn’t get stuck outside for long. What about you?” I ask.

“We were stuck there for a while, weren’t we, Sebastian?” Hayden replies, and Sebastian nods his agreement.

“I see you already found yourself a friend,” I grin at Hayden.

“You know me; I’m a friendly guy,” he laughs.

“How are you, Ariana?” Sebastian asks her.

Heather had already talked to him about Ariana by the time I spoke to him, but when I did, I told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t to be a dick to her tonight. He told me that Heather had already said that to him, so I’m certain that he’ll be on his best behavior.

“I’m fine,” she replies in a stiff tone that I haven’t heard her use before.

“It’s good to see you again,” he says. “Gabriel’s been telling us a lot about you.”

Ariana raises an eyebrow at me.

“All good things, of course,” Sebastian clarifies.

I actually told Harrison and Heather a lot more than I told him, but we all know that telling Heather anything means telling us all everything. Somehow, along the way, she just became the person we run all of our shit past.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Ariana replies a little more warmly. “I’d hate to have to rough him up if I heard he’d been slandering me!”

Everyone laughs, and Ariana seems to relax. Sebastian is actually making an effort, which is rare, so I’m guessing that Heather might have been more forceful with him than I was.

“Hi Ariana, I’m Hayden, since Gabriel is obviously not going to introduce us.” Hayden shakes her hand with a laugh.

“I’m Heather.” Heather smiles as she shakes Ariana’s hand as well.

“And I’m Harrison,” Harrison tells her and shakes her hand.

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