Gabrielle Demonico (32 page)

“
Yeah, unless you’d rather drive your uhm,
car
, to the private plane. But hey, that’s up to you.” Tanner replied.

“
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with my car. It may not be the prettiest thing around but it’s paid for and it runs.” She said.

“
No worries. We don’t have to send the limo.” Armin replied.

“
Wait, that’s not what I meant. I mean… I just don’t know what to say. No one has ever done anything like that for me before.” She said.

“
Well shame on everyone then…” Armin said. He then smiled, leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek which lasted a fraction of a second longer than it should have. “It was a pleasure to meet you Anabelle, I’ve got to run but I’ll see you soon.”

“
Okay…” she muttered. Anabelle was taken aback. Certainly he was just being polite, right? She tried not to get any hint that it had affected her but there was no denying that it did.

What the hell was that?
She wondered as Armin turned and headed back towards their suite.

After a moment, Tanne
r once more placed his hand in the small of Anabelle’s back and said, “Come on, Anabelle, let’s get you home.”

They exited the hotel and as they did, her taxi pulled up. The doorman stepped in front of them and opened the door for her to get inside.

Tanner stopped, turned to face her and said, “It was nice to meet you Anabelle.”

She smiled, did the best she could to collect herself and replied, “
It was nice to meet you as well Tanner.”

He stepped in closer and stopped. It was an awkward distance and certain
ly one in which anything might happen. He looked down at her and said, “I’m looking forward to spending some more time with you this weekend and getting to know you better.”

She could smell him.

His scent was a masculine mix. It was earthy, carnal and raw. She was finding it difficult to stay focused. With a shallow breath she responded, “Me too. If I don’t, I’ll be in big trouble with my journalism class.” It was meant to be a joke. Making people laugh was something that Anabelle did often in her life. It probably wasn’t the best time for it but old habits die hard.

Tanner nodded slowly and said, “
Ahhh, so a
working vacation
for you then?”

“
I guess, yeah.”

“
Okay, well, we’ll try not to work you too hard.” Tanner replied. “That is, unless you like that sort of thing.”

Anabelle
’s mouth parted slightly and she uttered, “I…”

Tanner raised his eyebrows and said, “
Yes? Was there something that you wanted to say?”

Anabelle shook her head and replied, “
No.”

Tanner smiled. He then said, “
All right then, you can expect the limo there by ten o’clock in the morning. Is that okay for you?”

“
Yeah, that’s fine.”

“
Okay, great. Well, I suppose I’ll see you then.” He said.

“
Alright… See you…” Anabelle replied. As she turned to leave and get into the taxi, Tanner grabbed her at the waist, pulled her close and kissed her other cheek. Wordless, he then guided her towards the cab, Tanner helped her inside and closed the door behind her.

As the taxi pulled away, Anabelle
’s head felt like it was spinning.

What the hell just happened
back there?

***

Twenty minutes later, Anabelle arrived home. A quick jiggle of the keys in the deadbolt and she was inside.

“
What’s up girl?” her roommate Melissa called out from her bedroom.

“
Hey, Melissa…” Anabelle replied. Her cat, Mr. Curly Boo, ran up to her and pressed hard into her leg. She immediately thought about their snide cat remarks.

Crazy cat lady…
She thought as she shook her head.

“
I see you down there Mr. Boo.” She said. “One second.” Anabelle placed her things on the kitchen counter and bent down to pick up her feline companion. As she stood, Melissa suddenly appeared before her.

“
Hey…” Melissa said.

“
Hey!” Anabelle chirped.

Melissa was Anabelle
’s third roommate since coming to the university. The first one, Amy, flaked on the rent and only lasted about six weeks. The next one, Tricia, turned out to be a bit of slut. With strange men constantly around, Anabelle didn’t feel comfortable and eventually asked her to leave. Melissa had arrived shortly thereafter. They clicked almost immediately and had actually become pretty close. It was about as close as Anabelle had ever been to someone so she was grateful that Melissa was in her life.

“
So you’re home a pretty late, aren’t you? Hot date?” Melissa said.

“
Hah, I wish!’ Anabelle replied.

Melissa leaned against the kitchen counter and said, “
Well, it’s not like you to be out so late on a school night. What’s up?”

Up until now, Anabelle had made a point to
not reveal
the nature of her assignment to Melissa. Melissa was a
huge fan
of Stung by Fate. In fact, she was supposed to have been at the very same show that Anabelle had been to the night before but because of some lab work, she couldn’t make it.

She cried about it.

Literally.

“
Oh, I was just working on my journalism assignment.” Anabelle muttered.

“
You were working on your assignment while you were drunk?” Melissa asked.

“
Who said I was drunk?” Anabelle asked.

“
Well… No one but you came home in a
cab
and you have a faded wine stain on your shirt. Where is your car anyway?”

A s
heepish look came over Anabelle’s face. She’d forgotten about the stain. “Ohh… Right. I can explain all of that. My car? It’s, uhhmm, at the Peninsula Grand Hotel.”

Melissa
’s eyes widened, “The Peninsula? What… Are you having an affair with a rock star or something?”

Anabelle let out a nervous chuckle and said, “
No. Really, I can explain everything.”

Melissa smiled and said, “
Yeah, I think you probably should you dork. I’m sure this is going to be good. I’m going to grab a glass of wine. Do you want some?”

“
No thanks. I’ve had plenty…” Anabelle groaned.

Melissa picked up the bottle and the two of them headed to the living room. After they
’d plopped down on either ends of couch, Mr. Boo took his customary position on Anabelle’s lap.

“
Okay, I’m ready when you are.” Melissa said.

“
Okay…” Anabelle said with a bit of trepidation in her voice.

“
What?” Melissa asked.

“
It’s nothing, it’s stupid, really…”

“
What is?”

Anabelle stroked Curly
’s head and said, “Okay, if I tell you, do you promise
not
to get mad?”

Melissa took a healthy swig of her wine and said, “
Depends on what it is…”

“
Come on.” Anabelle moaned.

“
I’m just kidding. Of course, I won’t get mad. Besides, whatever it is, I’m sure it’s nothing to get mad about.”

“
Okay, well, remember the assignment I told you about for my journalism class?”

“
Yeah… The interview thingy? What about it?”

“
Well, I never told you
who
I was assigned to interview.”

A puzzled look came over Melissa
’s face. “Okay?” she said quizzically.

“
Ugggh…” Anabelle sighed.

“
Will you just
tell me
? I mean, it’s not like you are hanging out with Armin and Tanner Vossler or anything.”

Anabelle looked down at Mr. Boo, in silence.

After several awkward moments had passed, Melissa said, “Anabelle…”

Anabelle cleared her throat. “
What?” she asked.

“
It’s…not…like…you…are…doing…that…
right?
” Melissa said.

Anabelle rolled her eyes nervously.

“Well…” Melissa said as she leaned in towards Anabelle slightly.

Anabelle shrugged her shoulders. “
Well…”

Melissa placed her glass down on the table and then turned
back towards Anabelle. “Wait, wait, wait… Wait a second. So you are telling me, your
best friend
, that you were with Armin and Tanner Vossler, the lead singers of my favorite group on earth that I
cried over
not being able to see in person last night. Is that what you are telling me?”

“
Uhhhmm…” Anabelle said.

“
Anabelle! Why would you keep that from me?!?” Melissa shrieked.

“
I wasn’t keeping it from you.” Anabelle pleaded.

Melissa cocked her head to one side, leaned back into the couch and crossed her arms o
ver her chest.

“
Really? You weren’t?” she said skeptically.

“
You promised me Melissa. You said you wouldn’t get mad.” Anabelle said quickly.

Melissa held her breath for a moment. With a grimace and a quick exhale she replied, “
I know, I know. All right, I’m not mad at you. But you better tell me
every single thing
that happened or I will be.”

Anabelle looked down and said in a serious tone, “
I can’t do that Melissa. I would be violating their confidentiality and I couldn’t do that in good conscience. A good reporter never does such things.”

“
You little bitch! You better spill it or else!” Melissa said. She then made a fist and dared Anabelle to defy her.

Anabelle laughed and said, “
Okay,
okay…
I was only kidding.”

She then spent the better part of an hour re
capping all of the events of the evening. It was probably the quietest that Anabelle could ever remember Melissa being in all the time they’d known each other.

As she neared the end of her story, Melissa said, “
Wow, that’s amazing. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous.”

Anabelle swallowed hard. She hadn
’t yet mentioned the upcoming trip or what had happened to her before she left the hotel. The awkward emotion she was struggling with did not go unnoticed by Melissa.

Finally, Melissa said, “
Anabelle? What is it?”

“
Uhhm, I haven’t told you everything quite yet.”

“
Okay… Well, what are you waiting for?” Melissa asked. “After all, what more could you possibly tell me? I mean, it’s not like you kissed them or something.”

Anabelle looked away and then q
uickly stood up. Mr. Boo hopped down to safety. She started to quickly walk towards the kitchen thinking that perhaps another glass of wine wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

From behind, Melissa said, “
No way, no way, no freaking way!!”

Anabelle continued walking towards the kitchen without turning back to face her. But as she walked, she could hear Melissa
’s footsteps rapidly coming up behind. She entered the kitchen and turned to see Melissa staring at her in the face.

“
You
kissed
Armin and Tanner Vossler. Is that what you’re telling me?” She said.

“
Actually, they both kissed me, on the cheek.” Anabelle replied.

“
Bullshit. No way…”

Anabelle looked Melissa without speaking. If there was one thing that Anabelle wasn
’t, it was a liar and Melissa knew it. As the realization sunk in, Melissa sat down on one of the barstools which slid underneath their kitchen counter.

Anabelle paused for a moment and said, “
And… that’s not all. They want me to go with them to their show in Portland this weekend.”

Melissa simply shook her head. It was obvious that she was having a hard time processing everything. “
Incredible…” she muttered.

“
But, I really don’t know if I should. I mean, I have to because of my class and everything but part of me is just unsure.” Anabelle said as her voice trailed off.

“
Are you crazy!?! Assignment or not, this is the chance of a lifetime. Besides, what are you unsure about?” Melissa asked.