Page 55 of Gabriel's Album

“That’s probably a good idea,” she agrees.

I walk over to the fridge on the opposite side of the room to Ariana so there’s some space between us. I grab a bottle of water and take a big swig.

I’m trying to calm my body’s natural reaction to Ariana, but she’s staring at me as though she wants me just as badly as I want her.

It’s not just a sex thing, either. Simply being in a room with her is calming for me. Despite her sporadic freak-outs over the rock star lifestyle, I find it soothing to have her around. I remember the way she discounted what she brings to the tour that day in New York, and I’m amazed again that she can’t understand how much she means to me.

Hopefully, my surprise tonight will change that.

The thought brings my nerves rushing back as Ariana says in a husky voice, “We should probably head to the meet and greet.”

She starts gathering up her belongings and looks around the room the way she usually does to make sure she hasn't left anything behind.

“Yes, we probably should.”

I look at her getting her things together. It’s so simple, but the familiarity of the moment hits me. I really do love her, and I can’t wait to tell her, even though the butterflies are back in my stomach causing havoc again.

I walk to the door and open it, allowing Ariana to walk through first. As she passes me, I trail my fingers down her arm, and she shivers. I follow her out, and we start walking to the backstage area.

Ariana hangs at the edge of the room while the meet and greet takes place. I talk to the fans, but I keep my eye on her as I do. Heather joins her after a bit, and they talk while they wait for us to finish. When the meet and greet is over, we head toward the cars that will take us back to the hotel as usual.

As Ariana is about to get in, I stop and say, “I forgot something, you go with Heather, and I’ll grab the next car. I’ll meet you at the hotel.”

I kiss her quickly on the lips and begin walking back in the direction of my changing room, my heart thrumming in my chest and feeling cold all over. If Heather can’t get her to go in that car, our plan is ruined.

“What did you forget?” Ariana calls out.

I pretend I don’t hear her and keep walking until I’m out of sight, not daring to look back and see if she got in the car. I wait thirty seconds before doubling back and am relieved to see that the car is gone. I get in the second car, where everyone’s waiting for me.

“Can we leave now?” Harrison asks.

“Yup. The other car is taking the scenic route, and Heather is going to keep Ariana distracted.”

By the time we get to the hotel, I feel like I might be sick with nerves. I head up to room 1403. I use my keycard to open the door and my mouth drops open in shock. We discussed this with the Hotel Manager, but it’s beyond anything I expected.

The door opens into the sitting area, and the room is aglow with candles that are littered around the room on various surfaces. The entire floor is a sea of red rose petals. Any surface that doesn’t have a candle is covered in rose petals. There’s also a path of white rose petals on them, leading across the room, away from the entrance to the suite and over to the bedroom door.

I walk over to the desk, pulling open a drawer to find the Scotch tape, card, and envelope they left for me. I pull the card and envelope out of the drawer along with a pen. On the card, I write the message I’ve been composing in my head since Heather and I concocted this plan yesterday.

Ariana,

Thank you for coming on tour with me.

You are the best thing in my life.

- Gabriel

I put the card in the envelope and write her name on the front before going back to the entrance and taping it to the outside of the door. Finally, I take pictures of the entire room and then carefully walk the path to the bedroom. Like the sitting room before it, the bedroom is filled with candles, and red rose petals are everywhere as well.

The path of white rose petals continues to the bed, where, on a blanket of red rose petals, the words ‘I LOVE YOU’ are spelled out. The white words are starkly obvious against the red. I snap a picture of this as well, then send all the pictures to Heather as I promised.

Holy shit. It’s better than we ever imagined. They outdid themselves. I didn’t expect THIS!

My text will be the cue for Heather to bring Ariana upstairs. I know she won’t reply because she doesn’t want to give anything away, so I’m on edge for a couple of minutes until I hear Ariana open the door to the suite, followed by a loud gasp.

“Hi,” I say as I walk through the door from the bedroom into the main area.

“How? What? When?” Ariana stares at me with wide eyes from the end of the path of white rose petals.

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