Page 52 of Gabriel's Album

“Woo, Gabriel,” Heather says. “Take it off!”

“Maybe if you two weren’t in the room, I would,” I say and give an obvious wink to Ariana, who flushes pink.

“Come on, you two, we don’t have time for this,” Harrison comments while looking at his watch. “Hurry up and get dressed; we’ve got to leave in five minutes.”

“Chill out, Harrison,” I say as I put my shoes on and start grabbing the last-minute things I need. I can’t resist teasing him, “It’s not like they can start the show without us!”

“Very funny, but Cooper will be pissed if Tanya tells him we were late to the show because you two couldn’t stop screwing for five seconds,” Harrison says with a wry smile.

Sebastian and Hayden have already left for the venue, so we share a van with Harrison and Heather to get there.

“I know we had ‘Devil’s Chance’ third in the soundcheck, but would it be better after Hayden’s solo?” Harrison asks me.

I consider the suggestion. “It’s a faster song, and it would segue nicely into ‘Playing Me’. You’re probably right. We’ll have to tell them as soon as we get there. Russell will be pissed if he doesn’t have enough time to prepare the lighting.”

I grin at Harrison, who laughs, and then Ariana’s conversation with Heather catches my attention.

“Gabriel wouldn’t sing it to me,” Ariana sulks.

“And rightly so,” I interject. “It would spoil the surprise.”

“I tell you,” Ariana jokes, “What on earth is the point in knowing the band if you don’t get sneak previews!”

“Oooh, oooh, I bet I can tell you the point!” Heather says before I can respond.

“Do tell,” Ariana indulges her, and I feel like she might regret this.

“Well, there’s the limo rides, the hotels, and above all, thereallygreat sex!” Heather announces with glee.

I burst out laughing as Harrison flushes the same shade of pink that Ariana does. He’s pretty used to this kind of talk from his girlfriend, but I know he hasn’t quite had the time he needs to get used to Ariana and feel completely comfortable with her the way he has with the rest of us.

When we reach the venue, the minivan pulls through the massive doors into the back entrance of the arena. The backstage area is a flurry of excitement, with people moving about, preparing for the show.

Ariana and Heather walk off in the direction of the dressing rooms while Harrison and I make our way over to Sebastian and Hayden, who are standing near the stage and talking to one of the techs who walks away as we approach them.

“Hey, guys,” I greet them.

“I never thought I’d see the day that I arrived somewhere before Harrison Fletcher,” Sebastian jokes.

“Yeah? Well, you’d have been late too if you’d had to wait for Gabriel to finish ‘showering,’” Harrison smirks.

“Ah, I knew better. We’ve all been warned how long it takes him to get Ariana to scream his name, remember?” Sebastian teases me, and both Harrison and Hayden laugh.

I roll my eyes and shake my head but smile at him all the same. “Anyway, my sex life aside, Harrison and I were thinking that maybe we should move ‘Devil’s Chance’ to after Hayden’s solo.”

The guys agree, and Hayden goes to talk to the technical team about it while I walk with Sebastian and Harrison to our dressing rooms. Mine is the first one we come across and I wave at my friends as I enter it.

Ariana isn’t in here, and a part of me is relieved. I’m not usuallythisnervous before a show, but I have a million butterflies flying around my stomach. I drop onto the sofa and rest my head against the back of it, closing my eyes as I do.

I don’t think it’s the show I’m nervous about. Well, I know it’s not; it’s her song, and everything after the concert. If it goes according to plan, it’ll be amazing. But I’m relying on so many other people that I’m worried. They always say that if you want a job done right, you should do it yourself. No way could I have done this myself, though.

I hear the door close and open my eyes to see Ariana standing there, looking as sweet as she always does. I feel the butterflies ease a tiny bit, because she’s perfect, and nothing that might go wrong tonight can change that.

“How long do we have?” she asks me.

I glance at the clock on the wall before answering. “About fifteen minutes before I have to go prepare,”

Ariana walks over to the sofa and sits down, astride me. The effect this has on me is instantaneous. I can feel my cock stiffen, and I want to bend her over and bury myself inside her.

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