Page 25 of Gabriel's Album

Ariana follows my instruction and looks at the floor once again. I open the door, and the limo is about fifteen feet away, but nothing has ever felt further away. As soon as the doors open, the flashes start. There’s nowhere near as many people here as there would be out the front, but there’s enough to make headlines tomorrow, even if they don’t get a picture of her face.

I move forward slowly, and I can feel Ariana following closely behind me. When we’re nearly there, the driver opens the door to the limousine. I slip inside quickly, and Ariana follows so closely that she practically lands on my lap.

The driver shuts the door behind her, and I relax now that we’re in the safety of the limousine. I hold her head against my chest again as we drive away. Once we’re moving, she sits up.

“Can you make sure no one is following us?” I ask the driver after sliding the partition down between us.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m going to drop Ariana off first,” I say. “Maybe you could take the scenic route, though?”

“Not a problem, sir.”

“Thank you,” I reply, making a mental note to give him a big tip as I slide the partition back up.

It’s the first time since we’ve officially started seeing each other that there’s been this kind of awkward silence between us. I wish that I could climb inside her head and find out what she’s thinking. I’m terrified that whenever this conversation between us happens, she’s going to tell me that she never wants to see me again.

I’m surprised by just how much this concept hurts me. I’m not ready to stop seeing her, but I also know that she really has some kind of problem with the whole celebrity lifestyle. I put my big boy pants on and start the conversation before I chicken out.

“Ari?”

“Yes.”

Well, that’s a start, I guess.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” I ask.

She’s so quiet, and I’m really concerned by what she’s thinking.

“It’s always going to be like that, isn’t it?”

I take my time replying, because I don’t want to give her the answer that we both know is the truth.

“You mean it’ll always be like that if you’re seen with me in public places?” I ask, knowing where she’s going with this.

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“Yes, it’s probably going to be like that. It would’ve been slightly easier if you hadn’t minded having your photograph taken, though.”

I’m struck by the thought of how different our night would’ve been if she hadn’t had a problem with having her picture taken.

“Does that upset you?” she asks.

“That you don’t want to be seen with me?” I can’t stop myself from frowning. “A little bit, but I can understand why you don’t want to.”

“I don’t think you really understand, though.”

She sighs, and I’m confused because I don’t know what reason she could have for acting the way she has tonight.

“Do you remember my Aunt Susan from the night we met?”

“Vaguely. She was worried about her Porsche seats.” I grin at her, but it slips off my face quickly when I see her expression, because I can tell this isn’t the time for witty quips.

“My dad is an only child, and my mom just has the one sibling. So, Aunt Susan is one of my favorite people in the world, and I’m certain you’ll know of her husband, Darius Thompson.”

“TheDarius Thompson?” I can’t help asking.

I mean, I know a lot of famous people, but even I’m impressed. Darius Thompson is the most famous movie star on the planet. I’ve seen him at a few events, and even knew he was from Chicago, but he doesn’t come out much these days. I’m surprised I didn’t recognize his wife at once. Then again, I was pretty wasted that night.

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