Fallen Angel (16 page)

I shove him in the arm playfully. “You’re nuts.” Of course, then I take a second to think about it. “But just in case you’re for real, do me a solid and hang onto that 1955 Porsche 550 Spider until you kick it.”

Brett’s face falls like I’ve just changed his entire world. “
And
an appreciation for classic cars? You’re killing me, Little B. It’s like we’re soul mates or something.”

And because life is on my side these days, Angel walks in at precisely that moment. “What now? Brett has a soul mate?” He’s trying to sound like he’s joking, but I can tell he’s super annoyed. I love it.

“It’s me. He thinks we’re made for each other.” Don’t ask me where I found this new set of balls I’m using. I have no freaking clue. The only set I’m aware of is sitting firmly on my chest and they have never been all that impressive.

Angel makes a face. “Talk about robbing the cradle, dude.”

Brett just laughs. Mostly because this whole conversation is ridiculous. “Relax, man. Two seconds before you walked in I was calling her my adopted daughter. I’m clearly aware of the age difference.” He turns his attention to the board even while he keeps talking. “Meanwhile, are you aware of the time? You boys aren’t on my schedule for another several hours.”

Angel moves toward the couch and drops down into it. “Yeah, I know. I’m headed to the gym, but I figured you guys were here working so I thought I’d stop by and see how things are going. You know, since I never see you any other way anymore.” He’s staring directly at me, big brown eyes and insanely long lashes just searing into my flesh. And damn it all to hell, I start to blush again.

“What, like you’ve been missing me or something?” I have to avert my gaze completely because my balls are now as flat as my boobs again.

“Actually, yeah. I was really hoping you could show me a couple of your moves on my drums again.”

Over to my right, Brett snorts loudly, because even he knows it’s bullshit.

“Oh, totally. Yeah, Angel Hollis wants drum lessons from me. I absolutely buy that.” I’m nodding repeatedly, but I’m quite sure my sarcastic tone overrides everything else.

“Buy it, don’t buy it, but while we’re talking about buying things, why don’t you let me buy you dinner?”

I did not see that coming. “What? Like, just the two of us?” That came out all wrong. I mean, the words were good, if I hadn’t said them as if I was afraid I might catch leprosy at dinner.

“Yeah, like, just the two of us.” He sits up and leans forward, resting his arms on his knees. “Look, it’s not a big deal, I just want to take you out to celebrate. I mean, I was there when it all started. I handed you your first set of drumsticks. It just feels like we should acknowledge the moment. How far you’ve come. You know? Plus, after the way our last meal ended, I feel like I kind of owe you another one.”

Holy shit. Is he rambling? He’s totally rambling. Am I making Angel Hollis nervous? Not possible. Maybe possible. Totally probable. Fuck it all. Now I’m rambling too. At least it’s internal and no one can hear me. Although, I have been silent for an awkwardly long time again.

“Okay.” I practically shout it when I finally come out of the Angel induced trance.

“Cool.” He gets up. “How’s tonight?”

I turn to Brett who nods without even looking in my direction, then proceeds to put on his headphones. “Tonight’s good.”

“Alright. So, tonight then.” He starts for the door. “I’ll text you later when I know what time we’re getting done here.”

“Sure. Perfect.” I really need him to leave already because I’m about to lose it.

“Cool.”

Yeah, dude. It’s cool. Now go.

Finally, he does.

“Oh my goodness!” I squeal so loud Brett can hear me through his headphones.

“I could be way off here, but I don’t suppose you have a little crush on my man, Angel?” He’s grinning.

I cover my mouth in a panic. “You can’t say anything. You have to swear it. Please, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

He chuckles and now I’m totally getting that dad vibe. Maybe this is the universe’s way of making up for the shit version I got saddled with originally. “What are you worried about? The man’s obviously got it bad for you. And after that little display in here, he’s in no position to tease anyone for anything.”

I shake my head. “No, not him. Eda. Blaise. All of them. They’ll just start making me sound like I’m eleven again and that’s really not the visual I’m going for here.” Then I register what he actually said. “Wait. Did you just say Angel has it bad for me?”

Brett exhales with a winding laugh. “Oh, Little B. So much I have left to teach you outside of music.”

“I’m serious. Why would you say that? Did he tell you something? What do you know?” I’m on my feet and towering over him in a frantic desperation to hear the answer.

“Relax, sugar. He hasn’t said anything to me. And I don’t know a damn thing, other than what I just witnessed.”

I’m not nearly satisfied. “Which is what exactly?”

Brett rolls his eyes at me, but he kindly enables my insanity. “Angel’s got game. In fact, he’s got better game than Hugh Hefner sitting inside the Playboy mansion with all those little bunnies ready to jump in his lap. But, what we just saw in here a few minutes ago. That, was just plain pathetic. I don’t know how you did it, but you disabled his womanizing skills. And judging by the shocked look on your face when he suggested dinner, I’m assuming you did it without even trying.”

I drop back down into my seat, and since it’s on wheels, I nearly miss the damn thing. “I disabled Angel.” I’m repeating it to see if that will help me understand it better. Believe it, even.

“Can’t be that big of a surprise. Your sister did the same thing with Blaise not that long ago. Must be some magic Jennison trait you girls have.” Brett chuckles, only it’s not funny. Ava getting Blaise to settle down really wasn’t that big of a stretch. I mean, if you knew them. Really knew them. But, me and Angel? Was it really possible he and I could, I don’t know...wind up together? Obviously, that was my ultimate fantasy, but there’s a reason I call it that. On some level, the realistic one, I don’t actually expect it to happen.

“Whenever you’re ready to divert some of your brain cells back to music, let me know. I’d love to get this shit done before Angel comes back with the rest of them and I need to switch gears and get to work on
their
album.”

“I’m back. Let’s do this.” Because work is definitely a better friend to me than fantasy. It’s also a lot less scary.

We finish up Nina’s track just in time for me to slip out of the studio before the boys show up. With my impending dinner date, Brett was kind enough to give me the afternoon off completely.

When I get back to the house, not even Ava’s around. Which is both good and bad because I can’t tell her about my date tonight, but I really need to tell someone.

Standing on my tip-toes, I peek over the hedge separating our place from Royce and Hudson’s. Hudson’s truck is parked in the driveway, so I waste no time in following the little cobblestone trail leading straight from our front door to theirs where I let myself in after a brief knock.

“Hudson?”

“Making coffee,” he calls back from the kitchen.

I hurry back there to see him. “What, are you psychic or something?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Saw the top of your head creeping over the hedge though. Figured you’d be by.”

“Oh.” Well, I never claimed to be subtle. About anything. “Hey, how good a friends would you say we are? Like on a scale of one to Royce and Eda?”

He laughs as he hands me my cup. “Well, we haven’t put in the years that Royce and Ava have, so that’s a tricky one. Why? What’s up?”

I go and sit down at their kitchen table, careful not to spill my coffee any. “I need to tell someone something...it’s a very specific something and I need to know that it’s not going to get back to specific someones, so if you and Royce have that ‘we tell each other everything’ bullshit going on, I’m gonna have to move my ass along to Francis and hope for the best.”

Clearly intrigued, he takes his seat across from me. “Angel?”

“I’m going to need you to clarify where you stand on secrets and your marriage before I confirm or deny anything.”

He leans back. “Honestly? We don’t keep secrets from each other. We do keep secrets
for
each other. Meaning, I know some stuff about your sister I’m not technically supposed to know, but no one else knows either, get what I’m saying?”

I nod tentatively. “You’re saying, you’re gonna tell Royce, but he’ll be willing to keep my secret because he only knows it by default which means he’s powerless to tell anyone else. Even Eda?”

“Promise.”

I narrow my eyes. “Because she’ll flip when she finds out. And she’ll have his ass for breakfast when she hears he knew and didn’t tell her.”

“So you do plan on telling her eventually.”

I shift back and forth on my chair. “Well, I’m hoping eventually I’ll have a reason to and it will be unavoidable.”

“Okay, so...Angel?” He’s eyeing me impatiently.

“Fine. Yes, it’s about Angel. We have a date. Tonight.” Then I throw up my hands to slow us both down. “I think it’s a date. I mean, we’re going to dinner. Just the two of us.”

“It’s a date,” he confirms, smiling.

“Okay, that’s what Brett said, too.”

He looks surprised. “Brett knows? I thought this was top secret shit we’re dealing with here.”

“The date isn’t the big secret, although I’d just as soon you didn’t go spreading it around like Nutella on brownies. Brett only knows because Angel came to the studio to ask me.”

Hudson taps his chin thoughtfully with his fingers. “So, if it’s not the date, what’s the major revelation you’re dying to make?”

I bite down on the inside of my lips for as long as I can, trying to keep the words in. Then I spit them out like I’m blowing big fat word chunks. “I slept with him!”

Hudson’s eyes fly open wide and he about spills his coffee everywhere. “Shut the fuck up! When?”

I cringe, feeling slightly humiliated about the words I’m going to utter next. “Like a week after the whole thing happened with his dad. I went over there to bring him some sushi for lunch.”

“And what? Served it to him on your naked body?”

“No!” My outrage is completely misplaced here. “I mean, we never actually got around to eating. He was playing his drums and he was such a mess. It just kind of happened.”

Hudson nods. “Yeah. Sure. I hear that all time. How people’s dads are assholes and so they play their drums and it leads to sex with their friend’s little sister.”

“Could you tell Eda that? Same straight face but minus the sarcasm? Because it could really help my case if shit ever hits the fan.” I pull my hair back around one side and twist it over my shoulder. A nervous habit of mine. As if fixing my hair will somehow fix
this.

Then, Hudson gets serious. “Alright, alright. I’m processing here. So, you two had sex in a moment of despair and misplaced compassion...and then what?”

I frown just thinking about it. “And then he realized what happened, panicked, cursed and apologized and I did my best to hide my humiliation by acting like it was all just my x-rated attempt at comforting him. Then I bolted and we both played our part making sure our paths didn’t cross again for the next few weeks. Next time I saw him was at the studio. By then I guess we’d both had enough time to practice pretending it never happened. Except now he wants to have dinner. Why does he want to have dinner?”

“I’m guessing ‘cause he liked lunch.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re a jackass.”

“Fine. You want to know what I really think?” He sits up straight in his seat and I kinda like where this is going. He’s going to shoot me some solid male insight and I’m going to run with it.

“Yes. Yes, I really do.” I creep to the edge of my chair in anticipation.

“Okay, I haven’t been around long enough to know all there is to know about him, but I’ve seen my share. And not just that, he gave me some really honest, no bullshit advice when Royce and I nearly split. So, I know...things.” He pauses and I get the feeling he’s trying to formulate his sentences before he says them out loud. That’s not something most people do around here, so it’s sort of leaving me in awe as I watch and wait with bated breath. “I think you got to him. And I think he wasn’t expecting it. Worse, I think he feels like maybe you’re the one person on earth who wasn’t ever supposed to get to him. I’m sure he did panic after falling into bed with you. There’s more on the line than just hurting you. There’s potentially blowing the whole band to bits and the band is his whole life. So, you know, that’s some scary shit right there. Add to that the fact that none of these assholes think they’re worthy of being loved and you’re in for one hell of a ride.” He smirks. “Which means now would probably be a good time to ask you what he asked me. Are you capable of the kind of love a guy like Angel needs, but will never ask for? Because if you’re not...now would be the moment you choose to cancel your date. Because it is a date. And it does mean something. Angel doesn’t take out girls he’s already slept with. Angel doesn’t take girls out period. Unless it’s for work.”

I feel blank. Like my entire system just crashed.

Hudson snaps his fingers in front my empty gaze and slowly I reboot.

“You alright there?” He’s silently laughing at me. I can tell by the way his dimple keeps making an involuntary appearance.

“I just...um...yeah.”

“Totally. Yes, I believe that made no sense. At all. Try again.” He gestures with his coffee hand for me to start over. So I do.

“I’m not going to cancel. I am going to hunt you down and kill you though, if I go tonight expecting him to be for real and wind up completely humiliated. I’ve had plenty humiliation to last me a lifetime, so, you know. You better be right about this.”

Hudson’s face, which I was hoping would turn frightened, has moved along to sympathetic and I realize some of the secrets he’s keeping for Royce include some about me.

“The thing with the professor?”

“Oh good. And here I was worried Eda kept my most personal and private dating disasters to herself.” I cross my arms over my chest uncomfortably. It’s been months now, but thinking about it still makes me feel icky all over.