Music of the Heart (Runaway Train #1)(40)
Author: Katie Ashley

I pushed out of his arms. “No thank you! I think I’ll pass.”

“You would, Angel.” He glanced over at AJ and Rhys who were already surrounded by a throng of girls. “Give me five minutes to change and then I’m taking you to dinner.”

I glanced down at my dress. “I hope somewhere pretty low-key.”

“I was thinking IHOP or somewhere like that. Nothing too fancy, Angel.”

I laughed. “You sure know how to wine and dine me, don’t you?”

“Whatever,” he mumbled before he disappeared into the dressing room. True to his word, Jake reappeared in less than five minutes wearing faded and holey jeans and a black t-shirt. Of course, he could manage to make a burlap sack look hot and sexy. As we made our way to the exit, he asked, “You mind if Bray joins us?”

“No, of course not.” We eased into the Hummer limo. “AJ and Rhys not coming?”

Jake grimaced. “No, they’re busy.”

Suddenly, I got his meaning. “Oh, I see.” Thinking of them with random girls made me nauseous. “If I weren’t here, would you be busy too?”

Glancing out the window, Jake refused to meet my gaze. “Yeah, probably.”

“I’m sorry if I’m keeping you from something.”

His head whirled around to pin me with his stare. “You’re not keeping me from anything. I’m exactly where I want to be at the moment and with who I want to be.”

“Oh,” I murmured.

“You don’t sound like you believe me.”

“No, it’s just I’m surprised that’s all.”

He arched his brows at me. “That I want to eat pancakes with you over hooking up with some random bimbo?”

I drew in a sharp breath at his summation. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Jake grinned. “Well, believe it, Angel because it’s the truth. You’re all I want or need at the moment.”

Turning my head, I tried to hide the goofy grin that spread across my cheeks. Jake Slater wanted to be with me over groupies. That was a pretty amazing feeling.

***

Chapter Eleven

Even though I fought hard against it, the next four days moved at warped speed with back-to-back shows. I would have given anything to have stopped the clock, so my time with Abby could have been savored and lasted longer. She was everything I could ever want or need in a girl, and the longer we spent together, the more I realized I hadn’t been shitting Abby when I told her I’d never met someone like her.

I mean, what other girl would just sit around with me, talking all hours of the night about music, life, and family? She was the only girl I had ever been able to drag to an IHOP after a show and then go back to the bus for a jam session. We sang duets to crazy songs like Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn’s Mississippi Woman, Louisiana Man and then Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford’s If I Close My Eyes Forever.

When Abby managed to one-up me by learning and singing some of our songs, I swore to her that I would drag her on stage with me at the next show. “Oh hell no!” she had replied.

For her last night on the bus, I’d asked Abby to sleep with me again, but this time we had the bed to ourselves. Nothing happened more than spooning, but I was glad to have her by my side.

But all too soon it was Sunday—the day she had to finally meet back up with the boys. We stopped for a somber breakfast at Cracker Barrel—Abby’s favorite place to eat. She barely ate though. Instead, she pushed her food around while looking between us and tearing up.

With a frustrated grunt, I dropped my fork, and it clattered noisily onto my plate. “Would you stop that? These people are going to think we’ve abducted you or are abusing you or something because of how sad you look.”

She sniffled and swiped her nose with her napkin. “I can’t help it. I’m going to miss you guys.” Although she said “you guys”, she stared pointedly at me.

“We’regonnamissyoutoo,” AJ muttered through a mouthful of pancakes. At her disgusted expression, he poked his lip out. “What can I say? I’m feeling your loss, Angel. I just gotta pack it in because I’m an emotional eater.”

His comment brought a fleeting smile to her face, but all too soon it was gone. Once we finished eating, Abby called a cab to come pick her up.

“We can take you to the hotel.”

“It’s out of your way. I’ve imposed enough already,” she argued.

With a grin, I replied, “Yeah, but you’re an awfully cute imposition.”

She laughed. “Thanks.”

It was then that I hung back and watched Abby go through her goodbyes with the guys. Rhys went first. He hugged her and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. When Brayden stepped forward, tears shone in Abby’s eyes. Taking her hands in his, he spoke softly to her to which she bobbed her head in agreement. She leaned up and kissed his cheek before he pulled her into his arms. He rubbed wide circles over her back as she sniffled. When she finally pulled away, Bray kissed Abby’s cheek.

As AJ stepped up to her, Abby couldn’t stop the grin that formed on her lips. In a low and tender voice, he started speaking to her in Spanish. She tilted her head and listened to him, sometimes laughing, sometimes tearing up. When he finished, he wrapped her in his arms and squeezed her tight.

The longer Abby lingered in AJ’s arms the harder I had to fight the jealousy that ricocheted through me. When he finally released her, he kissed both her cheeks. Then Abby turned to me with tears shimmering in her eyes, and I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut.

This was it. The moment I’d been dreading for days—the moment I actually had to say goodbye to my Angel. Taking her hand, I walked her away from the bus, so we could have a little privacy. When we’d put enough distance between us and the guys, I turned around. Dark circles formed under Abby’s eyes, and last night I had felt her sobs even though she thought I was asleep.

Rocking back and forth on my heels, I shoved my hands into the back pockets of my faded and holey jeans. “So…”

“So,” Abby repeated lamely.

I cocked my head at her. “It’s kinda stupid saying good-bye because it’s not like we’re not ever going to see or talk to each other again. I’ve got your number, and you’ve got mine.”

“Yes. Regardless of what happens with us, we’ll always be friends.”

“Exactly. It’s not all ending just because you’re getting off the bus. Hell, we’re even song collaborators now.”