Page 16 of Ticket to the Stars: Part One

“Hi,” I whispered, not knowing if I should get up or say something else. Maybe Ramona wouldn’t like that I knew who Bishop really was. Maybe she’d null the contract and send me home.

As it turned out, eight years was a long time, too long, because Bishop stepped forward and offered me his hand. “Hey,” he spoke with a tentative smile. “I’m Bishop. It’s nice to finally meet you, Angel.”

Nice to finally meet you, as in, he’d never met me before. Was that because he wasn’t Cody and it was all in my head, or did he not recognize me? I didn’t know which one would be worse, honestly.

No, that was a lie. The second one would obviously be worse.

After a few seconds of overthinking things, I leaned forward and accepted his hand, shaking it once while saying, “Same.” If he wasn’t Cody, then I was an idiot and I had to get over it. If he was Cody, then he clearly didn’t remember me, in which case I also had to get over it.

Bishop tossed a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the hall. “I gotta shower.”

Ramona waved him off. “Yeah, go, go.”

It occurred to me then Bishop was wearing workout clothes, and his brown hair was a little sweaty. I tried not to ogle him as he turned and headed toward the hallway, and once he was out of sight, I struggled with the possibilities.

It’d been eight years. Even if it was him, was it really so awful if he didn’t remember me? When we were younger, I hung out more with him than Alexa, since Alexa lived further away and her parents couldn’t drop her off and pick her up every day in the summer. And then, once he’d moved, life had gone on. Eventually I’d stopped thinking about him and Cody became a distant memory, along with all of the time we’d spent together.

Hunting for newts near the river. Singing. Showing me his second-hand guitar set. Seeing who could swing highest on the swing set and then jump off. Stupid summer activities, but man, I remembered having so much fun.

I must’ve zoned out, because the next thing I knew, dusk had fallen on the world outside, and Ramona was busy asking, “Have either of you heard from Deacon?” Bishop had come out and now sat on the couch near Priest.

“No,” Bishop said, while Priest just shook his head.

“Goddamn it, Deacon,” she muttered under her breath. “I’m going to kill that kid.” After checking her phone, Ramona said, “Look, I can’t stay any longer. I have to go.” She pointed at Bishop and Priest. “When he gets here, kick his ass for me—and make sure he’s not a dick to Angel. I’m counting on you two.”

Ramona sent me a look that I couldn’t read before leaving, and I turned my head to watch her go. A part of me didn’t want her to go, because it meant this whole thing would be real. Up until now, it still seemed like a dream.

As soon as the door closed—like, the very same second Ramona left, Priest deadpanned, “So, threesome, anybody?” Both Bishop and I glared at him, but all he did was shrug. “What? We could get it over with. Let’s not pretend there isn’t sexual tension about to boil over in here—”

My cheeks flushed. I could honestly say having a threesome was not something I ever thought about before… before now, that was.Thanks a lot, Priest.

“Did you hear anything Ramona said?” Bishop asked, turning toward Priest.

“I did,” Priest proudly proclaimed as he puffed his chest up. “And I’m electing to ignore her words of wisdom. I say we fuck.” He shot me a lopsided smile and a wink. “We wouldn’t have to tell. It could be our little secret, just the three of us.”

“Priest—”

Whatever Bishop—who may or may not be Cody—was going to say, I ignored. I got up, set my hands on my hips, and told Priest, “You’re disgusting. And just for the record, I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.” And then, before he could say any witty comeback, I turned around and stormed to my room.

It didn’t feel like my room, but maybe if I retreated to it during times of… let’s just call it annoyance, it would start to feel like it.

I made the mistake of not closing my door. I was busy sitting on my new bed, staring at my bookbags, knowing I had to unpack everything, when Bishop strolled in, his hands stuffed into his pockets. After his shower, he’d changed into black pants and a loose t-shirt with a skull design on it.

Don’t ask me why, but my heart skipped a beat when we met eyes. A part of me still hoped he’d recognize me, because it had to be him. It had to be. If it wasn’t, I must seriously be losing my mind.

He wandered toward my bed, a look of guilt on his face. “I’m sorry about Priest,” he said, leaning on the footboard. “He’s… well, I’d tell you you’ll get used to him, but even I’m not used to him, and I’ve known him for years.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, nodding once. He was still acting like we’d only just met… which meant he really didn’t remember me. Maybe I looked too different with this haircut and the white hair.

Or maybe he just didn’t remember.

“Eventually he’ll get used to the fact that you’re off-limits, and he’ll stop being so annoying about it,” Bishop was busy saying, though I’d kind of tuned him out. “He’s really not a bad guy, past the terrible jokes and the eternal horniness.”

“Eternally horny, huh?” I didn’t know what made me repeat those particular words, but once they were spoken, I had to resist the urge to smack myself. Talking about that stuff with these guys was the biggest no-no.

“Oh, yeah. Performing is Priest’s second love. His first is…” Bishop gave me a grin, and it was as I stared at that grin that I knew: it was him. He had to be Cody. The smile was the same, even after all these years. “I think you can guess. I promise you we’re not all like that, though.”

“It sounds like Deacon’s going to hate me,” I whispered, wanting to bring the conversation away from sex and horniness and all that.

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