Page 58 of Ticket to the Stars: Part One

“I did think about you a lot,” I whispered, unable to pull myself away from her. “I spent so much time thinking about the girl who I left all those years ago, the girl who got me into music. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

She swallowed hard, her gaze falling to my chest as she murmured, “What are the odds?”

“Apparently higher than you’d think,” I whispered, my arms working on their own. Seriously, I had no control over them as my hands lifted to her face. No control at all as they swept back along her cheeks and angled her head back.

What was I doing? This was a bad, bad idea on so many different counts, and yet I couldn’t seem to stop myself. My breath caught, and I watched her lips part slightly, like she was waiting for it, waiting for me.

I closed my eyes and brought my face down to hers. My lips met hers tentatively at first, but when she started to kiss me back, the embrace turned hotter, more passionate. I kissed her like I’d wanted to kiss her all this time, like I’d just found an oasis in the middle of the desert and I was a man in need of a tall glass of water.

And, goddamn it, her lips were so freaking soft I couldn’t think straight. So soft, so supple, melding against mine, joining the push and pull of my mouth on hers.

My hands tangled into her hair, and I backed her up against the table, pinning her there. Her hands gripped my sides, clinging to me as I got to know this girl’s lips intimately. Every smooth curve. Every lush pout. God, I couldn’t get enough. I needed so much more than this. I needed everything.

It didn’t even occur to me that I shouldn’t be kissing her because she was Black Sacrament’s newest member and Ramona had warned us all off her. The only thing that mattered was that, after so many years, we’d found our way back to each other thanks to a twist of fate.

Fate. It had to be fate. I’d never been a firm believer in fate, an invisible hand guiding everything, but what else could I call it? Saying this was just one big coincidence didn’t feel right. It was more than that.

Angel moaned into the kiss, and I’d just started to feel the familiar pangs of longing in my lower half when I heard a clap in the hall and Priest’s voice say, “Let’s get this show going!” His voice was clear and strong—because I’d left the door cracked.

I pulled myself off Angel and took a few steps back, studying her lips to make sure it wasn’t obvious what we’d been doing. Priest barged in, all painted and dressed, mask on his face, ready to go. He wore a smirk as he glanced between Angel and me, but somehow that smirk fell flat.

Oh, God. He didn’t see, did he?

Shit.

“Well, lady and gent, are we ready to get this ball rolling?” Priest asked, cocking his head at us. He unhurriedly took his gray stare off me and brought it to Angel, and that’s where it lingered.

No, if he saw, he would’ve said something. Priest wasn’t the kind of guy who ever kept his opinions to himself, especially when it came to a girl he liked.

Priest would never claim he liked any girl. He was just in it for the pussy, as he’d said so many times before, but when it came to Angel, things were different. Take, for instance, the fact that he hadn’t gone out since she’d come into the picture. Yes, he’d flirted heavily with those two girls at the karaoke bar, but as far as I knew, he’d never hooked up with either of them—and that wasn’t like Priest at all.

I could only assume it was because of the girl I’d just kissed, the girl I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing again.

Angel was the first to respond, saying a breathy, “Yes.” She slipped on her black leathergloves and then threw on her black leather jacket—minus the real wings. Instead, an outline of wings had been sewn into the back. After slipping it on, she fixed her hair and walked past me and Priest, leaving the dressing room.

The smirk Priest wore faded a little, but it didn’t disappear entirely. Once she was gone, he brought his stare to me, and what he was thinking no one could guess.

I hoped he didn’t see the kiss, but the longer he looked at me, the more I started to recognize that his smirk wasn’t a good-natured smirk. No, the expression he wore beneath that face paint was that of an animal, a hunter.

A predator about to make its move.

I didn’t realize what move that would be until it was too late.

Chapter Twenty-Five – Angel

My mind was whirling, my thoughts racing. The others had started the show, while I stood off to the side of the stage, microphone in hand, waiting for my cue to enter stage left. Aegis Theater was not a theater in the sense that there were seats; more like a giant open room where insanely large groups of people could stand super close together and rock out. I had no idea how big the audience truly was. I didn’t want to know.

We’d gone over choreography, where I’d stand, what I’d do, all that stuff, multiple times in the suite. What we hadn’t gone over, however, was what I was supposed to do now that my lips were all tingly after kissing Bishop.

He remembered. He’d known this whole time but thoughtIwas the one who’d forgottenhim. I couldn’t even call him names, because I’d thought the same. And then, somehow, we’d ended up together, embracing, kissing like our lives depended on it.

That meant I’d kissed both Priest and Bishop. What the hell was wrong with me? I shouldn’t be making out with any of them. It’d only lead to heartache and utter disaster; guys like them could have any girls they wanted. Once we got into a routine and the stuff with Pope became last year’s news, I’d probably see them hooking up with groupies all the time.

I shouldn’t be thinking about any of this right now. I needed to not overthink what happened with Bishop because I had a show to put on. My first one. The big one. If I failed, if I messed up in some way, I’d not only disappoint the guys, but also Ramona—and that said nothing about Cleo, who was not so patiently waiting for my angel persona to make her debut.

From where I was hidden, I couldn’t see much of anything on the stage. Deacon and his drums were in the back; that’s about it. Priest and Bishop were too far up on the stage for me to watch them from the side.

Well, if there was one thing the kiss was good for, it was getting my mind off how nervous I was about this show. I just hoped that didn’t mean I’d mess up. Sing the wrong lyrics or come in too early or something. I had to prove myself tonight. It was literally now or never.

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