Page 29 of Ticket to the Stars: Part One

I grinned. “You wound me, Angel.” To Bishop, I said, “Could you hit the button, my good sir?” I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t getting a kick out of the scowl on Bishop’s face. Usually he was a good sport, but something about Angel made him a bit more prickly than usual.

Something about Angel.If that wasn’t the heart of it right there, I didn’t know what was.

Bishop said nothing as he hit the up button on the elevator.

All Angel did was roll her eyes and turn her face away from me, almost like she didn’t want to gaze up at me while I carried her. I tried my best to not to glance at her, but man, was it hard. The feistiness was fun.

Up we went. I received a questioning look from the gentleman working the front desk as we stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the main ones, but he said not a word. Bishop flashed him a Redborne ID card as we walked by. After a certain time, everyone who came in had to show some kind of ID. Lucky for us, this worker was accustomed to us coming and going at all hours.

Once we made it onto the other elevator, Bishop pushed the button without needing to be told. Deacon had to hold onto the railing inside the small square elevator to steady himself, and he hid his eyes with his free hand to shield them from the light.

Did the guy really drink that much? It was like he was hungover already.

Angel yawned, and she didn’t say a word as she turned her face toward my shoulder and leaned her cheek on it. She must not be used to such long days—something that would change in the future. Or she’d learn to sleep in whenever she could. Whatever feistiness she’d shown me in the parking garage was replaced by sheer exhaustion.

She must’ve sensed my smirk, because she muttered, “Shut up.”

I didn’t say anything, so it only made me smirk harder.

The elevator took us to our floor, and we walked out, Bishop taking the lead as he pulled our suite key out of his back pocket. He opened the door and held it with his foot to let me and Angel in, and he glared at us all the while, even as Deacon shuffled by.

Okay, he glared at me, not at Angel.

I ignored the others, taking Angel straight to her bedroom. The lights were off, and I kept them that way. Bishop must’ve flicked the hall light on, because as I neared her bed, the light in the hall illuminated everything in her room in a dull yellow glow.

I laid Angel down on her bed, and she went right down, not putting up a fight. She rolled onto her side and dropped her heels onto the floor. Even though I knew Bishop was probably right outside in the hall, eavesdropping, I found myself kneeling beside her bed, lowering my body to get at her level.

“You were great tonight,” I whispered.

She yawned again, and she didn’t try to hide it behind a dainty hand. “You weren’t bad yourself, as much as I hate to admit it,” Angel spoke with a sigh. Her eyes were open, but they were half-lidded in tiredness. Her head rested on her pillow, her hair splayed around her face in the semi-darkness.

I leaned my arms on the edge of her bed, resting my chin on the one on top. “I didn’t think you were listening. You hardly watched me at all when I was on stage.” For years, I’d been okay being the backup vocalist for our songs because I was fine with Pope taking the center stage. Besides, girls went nuts for a guy who could play guitar, probably more so than the singer.

But now… things were going to be different, and this girl was going to be my co-star on the stage.

“You already had an audience,” she referenced those two chicks. “It felt weird to watch you while you were singing to them.”

I guess my flirtatious nature bit me in the ass tonight, because none of the songs had been meant for Hailee or Tara. No, every single song, even the duet, was meant for Angel. To impress her. To show her that I could rise up and be the face of this band with her at my side.

God, I wished we would’ve sang a duet together tonight. I wished she would’ve been on that stage with me instead of Hailee.

But I didn’t say any of that. Instead, I forced out a smile as I asked, “Need any help getting out of that dress?”

She set a hand on my face and pushed me away from her bed. “Get out,” she told me as I dramatically fell backward onto my ass. “I want to go to bed.” As if to prove her point, she rolled over and gave me her back.

I was sluggish in getting to my feet. “All right, all right. No need to resort to violence. I was only trying to be a good friend.” Anyone with ears would know that was a lie, but thankfully she didn’t address it.

I walked toward her door, feeling… I didn’t know, something strange inside. Something I couldn’t quite describe. Whatever that bizarre feeling was, it made me stop once I reached her door and toss a look over my shoulder, at her darkened figure on the bed.

With my body blocking out much of the hallway’s light, her room was even darker. The shadow of my frame landed just before her bed. “Goodnight, Angel,” I said, my hand curling around the doorknob. I went to close the door.

I assumed she’d ignore that, but right before the door latched, I heard her say, “Goodnight, Priest.” Such a soft, gentle tone, opposite of the one she usually took with me, and it made me stand outside her closed door for a few moments, fighting to get my breathing under control.

That feeling inside… I think I knew what it was.

I wanted to go back into that room, crawl onto that bed with her, and hold her. We didn’t even need to have sex. I’d be happy just to hold onto her all night.

A cough alerted me to Bishop’s presence a bit further down the hall, and as I met his hazel stare, I gave him a stern expression. “What?” I asked in a huff as I walked around him to get to my room. Deacon must’ve already disappeared into his.

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