by Frank, Ella
“Even better,” Viper said with such glee that I shoved him in the chest.
“If I tell you this, you have to promise to take it to your grave.”
When Viper crossed a finger over his heart, I frowned, not wanting to think about that even in the hypothetical sense.
“Come oooon, stop stallin’. Just spit it out. It’ll be like ripping off a Band-Aid.”
“Fine,” I said, and then quickly mumbled, “Howard Allen Olsen.”
There was a long pause. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
I glared down at Viper, his smirk visible with the lights that illuminated the room. “You heard me.”
“Nope. I didn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “You mumbled.”
I rolled my eyes but repeated, much slower this time, “Howard Allen Olsen.” When Viper just lay there and said nothing, I brought a hand up to cover my face. “I know. I know. It’s a stuffy name. It’s—”
Viper pulled my hand away and then tugged me down over him. “A perfectly proper name for an angel. Howard,” he said, as though he were testing the name on his tongue. “I’ve never been to bed with a Howard. I don’t think? But I don’t always remember their names…”
“Oh my God, stop,” I said, and buried my face in his collarbone. Viper ran a hand over the back of my hair, and when he pressed his lips to the top of my head, I sighed. “Howard is an old person’s name.”
“Hmm. How about Howie, then?”
I jerked my head up to see a ridiculous grin stretched across Viper’s lips. “How about no.”
“Okay,” Viper said as he craned up and nipped at my lower lip. “But only because I fell in love with an Angel. Otherwise, it’d be Howie all the way.”
I crushed my lips against his and pushed Viper back into the pillows, following him down and moving between his spread legs, where I settled.
“Hmm,” Viper said as I raised my head and he trailed his fingers down my spine, where he stopped to draw random patterns over the naked skin of my lower back. “I missed this.”
I shifted a little way down the mattress and laid my cheek on his chest, where I could hear the steady thumping of his heart. The heart that now belonged to me. “This?”
“You. Naked in my bed…in my arms.”
A smile crept across my lips, but I kept it to myself as I snuggled into Viper’s warmth, loving this new vulnerable side he was letting me see. It was like I’d been granted a backstage pass to one of the best shows in the world, but what was behind this curtain was worth more than money could buy.
“I missed it too,” I said, and kissed his chest. “Missed you. I had no idea how I was going to act normal around you when all I wanted to do was shake you.”
Viper chuckled. “And here I was being so…so…”
When he seemed to struggle for the right word, I suggested, “Nice?”
“Yeah. What’s with the role reversal?”
“Hey, I’m taking advantage of this mood of yours while I can.”
Viper sobered, his laugh dissipating as he took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned my face up to his. Then, in a tone that left little doubt to the sincerity behind his next words, he said, “This isn’t a mood, Angel. I’m not going to wake up in the morning and have changed my mind. Tell me you know that.”
As I stared up into his dark eyes, I reached up and traced my finger along his strong jaw line and nodded. “I do.”
Viper bit down on his lip, and then did something he’d never done before: he leaned into my touch until my hand was cradling his cheek, and then he closed his eyes.
“I never knew…” Viper whispered, his voice unsteady under the weight of his confession, and I held my breath as I waited in the silence of the bedroom, watching him, willing him to finish his thought. “I never knew it could be like this. That I could feel so in sync, so completed by another person. But that’s how I feel with you. Like you see me, the real me, and have decided to stick around anyway.”
I swallowed as the enormity of his words warmed my heart, at the same time they made my stomach flip, and then I softly said, “What about Owen?”
Viper’s eyes opened. “Not even close, Angel. Not even a little bit.”
“Good.”
“Good, huh?”
When I nodded, Viper’s eyes all but glittered, and then, before I knew what he was going to do, he wrapped his arms around me and rolled me to my back until he was hovering over me. I spread my legs, and he shifted between them and braced his forearms by my head.
As he stroked my hair out of my face, he pressed a kiss to my lips, and then asked, “You aren’t gonna change your mind, are you?”
I wound my arms around his waist and returned the kiss. “No way. You’re stuck with me now.”
Six
Viper
STUCK WITH HIM? There’s no place I’d rather be, I thought, as I aligned my body with Halo’s and kissed his sexy lips. “Not a bad place to be stuck, if you ask me.”
“That better be your answer,” Halo said, tightening his hold on me. “Especially after tonight. Have you ever seen such a reaction? That was crazy insane.”
I chuckled but shook my head, because honestly, no. I hadn’t. I’d known from the get-go that if Halo and I were to take this thing between us public, the press would go crazy. And that was exactly what had happened tonight.
Once they’d gotten over their initial shock at the words that had flown out of my mouth and Halo’s response, the cutthroat instincts of a very competitive industry had taken over each and every one of them, and the reporters shifted gears, moving into work mode in the blink of an eye, as they’d each tried to get the first comment, the first chance at an interview from us, all by shouting over one another.
Lucky for us, Killian and the rest of the guys had been there to hold them back for the most part. But I was well aware that tomorrow morning was going to bring a whole lot more than the light of day.
“It was super fucking intense,” I said. “But that was just the beginning. It’s only going to get worse. You ready for that?” I held my breath, waiting for Halo’s reaction. But when his lips quirked up and he nodded, I let out a sigh of relief.
“I told you. I won’t hide who I am, Viper. I know this is going to be messy, but there’s no way I can be around you and not want to be with you.”
And thank fuck for that, because these last few days without the angel had been like hell on earth.
“There is something I need to do tomorrow, though. Before I do anything else,” Halo said, piquing my curiosity.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
Halo gnawed on his lower lip.
“Angel?”
“I need to go and see my parents.” He paused, seeming to think that over for a second before he continued. “I need to tell them about this, about you, before they hear about it on TV.”
Oh shit. I hadn’t even thought about that. In Florida we’d been free to explore this relationship without having to explain ourselves to anyone. The guys hadn’t cared, and we’d become so comfortable with one another that it hadn’t even occurred to me that Halo not only had the public to come out to, but also his family.
I was such an asshole. How could I have taken that choice away from him?
“Hey,” Halo said, recapturing my attention by pushing strands of my hair behind my ear. “Where’d you just go?”
“I was just—” I shook my head and looked over his shoulder. “I didn’t even think about that last night, and I should’ve. Fuck. I’m such an idiot. What if you didn’t want to—”
“Viper,” Halo said as he took hold of my face and drew it closer to his. “I wanted to tell you how I felt that night at your mom’s house. Trust me, I said exactly what I wanted to tonight, and I loved that you did too. It was spontaneous, unrehearsed, and the single best moment of my fucking life. Don’t you dare feel bad for that.”
Jesus. How did he always know the right things to say to calm me down? To stop my brai
n from spiraling out of control, and coming up with all the reasons I might use to potentially fuck this thing up? I was so far gone for this guy, and the funny thing was that I couldn’t remember a time since Halo had walked into my life that I hadn’t been. “Still, I all but shoved you out of the closet with no choice. That’s a dick move.”
Halo bumped his hips up against mine and waggled his eyebrows. “Mmm, a nice big dick.”
“Seriously?” I said, arching an eyebrow.
“Seriously. And I should know. I’ve spent many hours looking at it. “
I scoffed and moved off him to lie on my back and stare at the ceiling, my self-disgust still lingering as I thought about how I’d feel if the roles had been reversed.
Halo rolled to his side, facing me, and propped his head up on his palm. “Is this the exact way I wanted to tell my parents?” he said. “No. But I was going to if this turned into more.”
I turned my head on the pillow until my eyes found his. “It should’ve been your choice to decide when.”
“It is my choice. I’m choosing to tell them now.” Halo grinned as he looked down at our naked bodies. “Well, not right now. But tomorrow. I’ll take the train and be back by the afternoon.”
“The train?” I said, and shook my head. “I don’t think so. You’ll be lucky if you can get out the front door of the building tomorrow morning after what happened tonight.”
“Really?”
“Reporters know my address, Angel. It’s gonna be a circus out there. I’ll call for a car.”
Halo nodded, and when he remained silent, I did something else I’d never done before. I offered to go and meet his parents.
The smile that lit Halo’s face was worth the awkwardness I felt, and then he leaned in and kissed the corner of my lips.
“I do,” Halo said, and I felt my pulse speed up. “But I think this is something I should do on my own.”
I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding, and the relief that washed over me was instant and must’ve shown, because Halo laughed.
“Relieved?”
“No. Whatever you wanted was cool with me.”
“Sure it was. But don’t think that means you won’t ever meet them.”
I thought about how that might play out and felt a lump form in the back of my throat. The classical pianist, the music professor, their straight son, and the bad-boy rocker who hadn’t been able to keep his hands to himself.
Yeah, maybe that could happen later. Like, way fucking later. “How about we do that after they get used to the idea of all…this?”
“This?” Halo said, a mischievous light entering his eyes. He was enjoying this sudden, and unheard of, nervous side that I couldn’t apparently hide.
“Us. You, me. Together.”
“Oh, okay,” Halo said, and placed a hand on my chest as he leaned back down to flick his tongue over my lower lip. “But just so you know, they’re going to love you.”
I scoffed, seriously doubting that.
“They will. And you know why?” he said, as he slid his hand up to my chin and angled my face back to his. “Because I love you.”
“Angel…”
“Viper,” he whispered into the night, and that was it. I knew right then and there that I was done for. I was all in with the angel, and when he took my lips in the sweetest fucking kiss I’d ever received, I knew he felt the exact same way.
He might’ve been mine, that was true. But it had never been clearer than in that moment that I was forever going to be his.
Seven
Halo
AS THE CAR Viper had insisted I take pulled up to my parents’ home in Oyster Bay, a good forty-five minutes outside the city, the tangle of knots in my stomach tightened. I hadn’t expected to have this conversation with them—ever—but after the events of last night, I needed to make sure I was the one telling them about Viper instead of them hearing about it through the press. If I’d had any doubts about Viper and me being newsworthy—because that seemed ludicrous—they were thrown out the damn window when I’d made my way out of his building this morning to be greeted by throngs of reporters.
Jesus, would this be my life now? Having press follow me around the city, waiting outside Viper’s apartment, or, shit, mine? Any of them could be following us right now, though at least they wouldn’t be able to get past the neighborhood gates to get to my parents’ place. I wasn’t equipped in the slightest with how to deal with the attention, but the guys had warned me that this would happen, and I hadn’t listened. Because who was I? No one.
“You don’t need to get out. I can get it,” I told the driver, Arnold, as he popped open his door. Before he could step out anyway, I exited the back seat and then leaned in to ask, “You’ll be here when I’m done?”
Arnold looked perturbed by the way I’d taken it upon myself to do his job, but he nodded and held up a worn paperback. “Take your time, Mr. Halo.”
I almost grinned at that. No one had ever called me “Mr. Halo” before, and it sounded about as ridiculous as you’d expect. “Thanks, Arnold.”
I shut the door and turned to look up at the light grey colonial craftsman I’d spent my formative years in. My parents had wanted Im and me to grow up outside Manhattan in upper-middle-class suburbia, while still remaining close enough to the city for Mom’s gigs and our monthly weekend getaways. Those getaways were always packed full of museum visits, theater shows, operas, concerts, and any other cultural event my parents could interest us in going to—which was practically anything. Imogen and I had been greedy for those weekends spent in the city, and as soon as we graduated, that was where we both headed.
For a moment, my thoughts turned to Viper and his vastly different upbringing. I felt a twinge of guilt at having grown up with two parents, wealthy ones at that, who’d been able to provide opportunities for my sister and me that so many others weren’t afforded. It made me equal parts grateful and uncomfortable, especially when I thought of Viper’s mom working several jobs, still finding ways to get Viper into music, and doing her best to raise a wild child.
A smile tipped my lips as I thought of a teenage Viper terrorizing everyone around him, spending his nights with a guitar in his lap, honing his songwriting talents. It hadn’t mattered that he hadn’t gone to some fancy musical conservatory or that he was never able to afford top-of-the-line instruments—Viper had forged his own damn path, and look at him now. A rock legend and all-around badass.
How the hell was he mine?
I made my way up the stone steps and fished the house key out of my pocket. I’d shot Mom a text earlier to make sure they were home, so they were already expecting me. I only hoped they hadn’t turned on the news. Or read the paper. Or had friends calling wondering what the hell was going on.
As I entered, the soft sounds of classical music met my ears. It wasn’t the sound of one of my parents playing, but the constant background noise that floated throughout the house, making it feel more like a home. It eased the knots in my stomach slightly. This was familiar. This was my family. I didn’t have any reason to be nervous…did I?
“Halo? We’re in the study,” Mom called out, and as I made my way to the study at the back of the first floor, I thought about the first time I’d told them I no longer wanted to go by “Howard” but by “Halo.” I’d been seven and so adamant that they call me by my new name that I refused to respond to anything else. For such a by-the-rules, agreeable child, I’d taken them by surprise, and though I knew it had to kill my mom to do so, she and my father both started calling me Halo soon after. I was sure they assumed it was a phase, and that was why they went along with it, but it had stuck, and the “old man” name had been swept under the rug like it never existed.
The double doors of the study were wide open, my mom sitting on the arm of the couch beside where my father worked at his desk. He was pointing at something on the computer screen as she hummed along, but when she saw me in the doorway, she stopped, and a wide smile
crossed her face.
“There’s our rock star,” she said, standing up and crossing the room to give me a big hug. I wrapped my arms around her slight shoulders and kissed the top of her blond head, the same golden color that I had, though it was straight and usually pinned up.
“That’s not what you’ve been calling me to all your friends, is it?” I asked.
Mom pulled back and smiled up at me. “Of course. We’ve got a famous son. You’re all they want to talk about.”
My stomach dropped as I wondered what the last Mom had heard was, but she winked at me. Whew, okay, she didn’t know yet. I’d gotten here as early as I dared, but I knew word traveled fast.
“Hey, son,” Dad said, stealing me away for a big bear hug of his own. That was one of the things I appreciated most about my parents—they weren’t shy about giving affection, not even my dad, who came from a long line of strong, silent types. With hair as fire-engine red as Imogen’s and as curly as mine, he was also the one I’d inherited my easy blushing ability from. His cheeks were stained a permanent pink flush, giving him a look I called “perpetually jolly.” We both had the same tall, lean frame, and though we looked almost nothing alike, I’d definitely inherited my love of music from him and my mom.
“You guys working on something?” I asked, nodding at the computer.
“Your mom was helping me work out a new composition.”
“You’re going to enjoy this one, Halo,” Mom said, taking a seat on the couch and patting the cushion beside her for me to join. “Your dad’s tapping into his romantic side.”
Dad rolled his eyes playfully and sat back in his chair. “Women.”
“You saying there’s something wrong with being a romantic?” I teased, falling onto the couch beside Mom. Viper always called me one, and if it was in any way true, I blamed that on my parents as well.
“Some of the greatest composers were romantics,” Dad said, lifting his chin, and I laughed.
“So how did the release party go?” Mom asked, angling herself toward me. “You’re up earlier than I would’ve thought after a late night.”