Annabella's Oblivion (Hard World Tour #1) (20 page)

Maybe it was about the guy who lost his girl, but some lyrics could be applied to her loss. She remembered the lyrics well, and before I knew it, we were at the end of the song.

Her voice took a higher note and then it finished softly. There were tears in her eyes, and she was breathing hard. I sat there in silence, because she needed that moment.

She’d done it.

It wasn’t her best performance---in fact, probably one of her worst. Her voice was nothing like it used to be, and she needed more practice to come back. That wasn’t the point, though. It was the start for her new beginning.

I knew she would do it without the guitar. She had to learn to live on her own. She couldn’t have Nick’s ghost everywhere with her, and that was what the old instrument represented for her.

Not that she realized it yet.

She stood, and as she came closer, our eyes locked. She leaned down and took my face in her hands, pressing her lips to mine in a gentle and chaste kiss. I didn’t make a move to touch her as she pressed her forehead against mine. I could feel her breath on my cheeks.

“
Thank you.” We were so close that her lips brushed mine when she spoke. Our eyes were closed, and I just absorbed the moment.

Finally, she let go of me and took a step back.

“
I need to go,” she said, and before I could say anything, she ran away from the studio.

I let her, like I always did.

He was standing there again. I felt kind of sorry for him. I mean, I knew he was Nick’s friend and they kept in touch, but he seemed so out of place here. He was wearing a suit that was a bit big for his size. Those big glasses of his looked huge on his face, and he had to put them back in place all the time because they slid down his nose. His hair was messy, but cut short. It was sticky with some kind of gel, too, probably to keep it in place, but all it did was give him some weird look.

Dude probably still had no friends.

A few years back, when he had graduated at fifteen because he was some kind of genius, his mom and dad rekindled their relationship and he moved with them to New York.

His dad was one of the New York Jacksons. The ones who owned a big chain of hotels all over the world. And, apparently, Ryan was his only heir.

Ryan studied at Columbia University, but refused to use money his dad gave him.

Well, yeah. I admired that.

He was pushed in the back by a couple, who were making out, and the Coke he was holding spilled all over his white shirt.

“
Sorry, man,” the dude who’d pushed him said.

“
It’s okay,” Ryan replied and tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

Damn it! He was really too nice for this environment.

We were celebrating the ending of our first world tour with a big wrap party in Manhattan.

People were going crazy, and for some reason, Nick had invited Ryan. Nick and Megan were sitting on the couch chatting with Jeremy, who had his eyes on Sam, who was dancing seductively on a table and looking around for a new guy to spend the night with.

Ariel was already in a hotel room, having fun with some blond dude.

Jane wasn’t interested, and had just gone somewhere. She had this habit of disappearing, and none of us had any idea where.

We tried to ask, but never got an answer, so we decided to let it go.

Ryan went in the direction of the bathroom, and for some reason, I followed him.

He tried to clean his shirt with several papers towels, but just made it worse.

“
Sorry about that.”

He froze for a second, and then raised his eyes to me and blushed. I never understood his reaction to me; after all, we had grown up together. What was there to be embarrassed about? It’s not like I didn’t know how clumsy he was.

Everyone who came in contact with him knew.

Not that I had much contact with him.

“
Don’t worry about it.” His voice sounded a bit down and shaky, and he cleared his throat. “Happens at every party, right?” He tried to smile and, again, that didn’t suit him at all.

“
Not to everyone,” I muttered, and regretted it instantly because he heard me and his shoulders sagged a little bit.

Damn it! I didn’t want to be cruel to him!

“
I know, I’m clumsy, huh?”

I put out my hand and showed a small distance between my thumb and index finger. “Just a little bit.” He chuckled, and I was surprised by how pleasant I found it. He had never done that before. It was a beautiful sound.

“
Yeah. I think it’s a fool’s job, huh?” He stopped trying to make his shirt better and tossed the paper towels in the trash bin. “Maybe I’ll just head home.”

Yeah, that was really a good idea. He wasn’t fitting in here, and it probably wasn’t that interesting for him to begin with.

But for some reason, I couldn’t let him go like that. We might not be friends, but I knew what it was like to be an outsider, who didn’t fit in.

Sometimes you just needed a friend from the inside.

“
Come with me.” He raised his confused eyes to me.

“
I have one of Nick’s shirts in my room. Actually, several of his shirts. I like to sleep in them sometimes.” I realized how creepy it might have sounded and quickly added, “I mean, they are comfortable, and I took them from him. From the laundry. Not that I smell it or anything. I just didn’t want to have to buy guy’s shirts to feel comfortable.” Shit, was I rambling? And why the hell did I feel the need to explain myself?

He just blinked and then smiled, but not his usual grimace. This smile was genuine. Beautiful, it lit up his eyes. Also, who knew the guy had two hot dimples on his cheeks? Now it was my turn to blink in surprise, because that smile transformed his face completely. He looked, I don’t know…

Kind of hot.

Kind of hot? Are you out of your freaking mind, Bella? It’s Ryan. I shook my head and almost missed what he was saying.

“
Sure. Lead the way.”

“
Okay. Let’s go.” We moved through the people who constantly tried to say hello or were just in the way. We finally made it out and arrived at my room. I swiped the key card and we went inside.

“
Nice room,” he said politely, and I just shrugged. I knew it was a luxurious thing, but I didn’t care. It was just a place to crash and was something for me to buy. I finally had enough money to afford it.

“
You’re probably used to it. I mean, with all your dad’s hotels.” He looked down, clearly uncomfortable, and now it was his turn to shrug.

“
I don’t go there much, and I don’t care, either.” Okay, it was probably better not to talk at all.

“
Wait here, I’ll grab the shirt from my room and will be right back.” Without waiting for a reply, I made it quickly to the room and went to my closet, picking up a black shirt. Before I went back, I glanced at the mirror. I looked kind of hot in my leather leggings, black boots, and navy blue strapless top. My hair was made into a braid and I had heavy makeup on.

Why the hell do you care how you look?

Because I wanted to have some fun tonight. Yep, that was it.

I wanted to finally lose my virginity. It was a stupid burden, and I got tired of it.

I went back to the living room, and he was still standing in the same spot, studying the view from the big window. That’s the thing I liked about this room; it had the best view of New York, especially at night. It was breathtaking.

“
Here you are.”

“
Thanks. Where is the bathroom?”

“
You can change here if you want.” He blushed and just shook his head.

Okaaay. It was Ryan, after all. I shouldn’t be surprised.

“
It’s in the right corner.” He nodded his head in thanks and left.

This evening was super weird. I couldn’t believe I was here with my brother’s shy friend, when I should be downstairs having fun and finding some guy for the night.

He was out in less than five minutes. The shirt hugged him a bit too tightly and, well, the guy had abs.

Like really had abs. And shoulders. In fact, he had a really nice chest. There was even a six pack visible through the black t-shirt.

Who hides a body like that?

When I was done staring at it, I raised my eyes and he gave me a questioning look.

Crap, how long had I been doing that?

The guy was doing something to my sanity. First his cheek dimples, now this. What next? Would he have a great ass if he changed his pants?

Maybe I should spill something on his white slacks to check my theory?

God, Bella, stop thinking about the man’s ass!

“
It fits great.”

“
Yeah.” He looked down at it, uncomfortable “A bit small, but it’ll do for the night.” He was holding his dirty shirt.

“
You can leave it here. I can send it to laundry.”

“
No, really, no need.”

“
Please. I’ll give it to Nick and he’ll pass it on to you sometime. It’s probably not your favorite shirt, right?” He smiled again and, God, don’t look at his dimples.

“
No.”

“
Then you can leave it here and enjoy the party downstairs.” That made him frown and clear his throat.

“
About that. I think I’ll just head home. It’s not really my scene, and I have already taken more of your time than I probably should have.”

“
It’s okay, Ryan.” He just shook his head and headed to the door. Twisting the handle, he turned around and looked at me. “Thanks, Bella, for this.” He motioned at the shirt in his hand and the one he was wearing. “I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.” Before I could say anything, he’d left the room and the hotel door quickly clicked shut after him.

It was a good thing he was going.

He probably would never have fit in the scene, and I was free to go and enjoy the rest of the night.

I should feel relieved.

I didn’t.

Before I could stop myself or talk myself out of it, I ran toward the door, opened it, and found him near the elevator.

“
Ryan!” My shout was loud and he spun around. There was worry in his face and eyes.

“
Something wrong?” In quick, straight paces, he was by my door and before my eyes, where I could smell his cologne, which in my opinion didn’t represent him at all, but whatever.

“
Nothing, it’s just… what will you do now?” He raised his eyebrows in surprise but answered anyway.

“
I wanted to head home, maybe grab some ice cream on the way.”

“
What kind?”

He furrowed his brows.

“
Vanilla.” That made me laugh.

“
I meant, where do you want to eat it?”

“
I was thinking about Oddfellows.” I knew that ice cream parlor. It had several branches, but I usually went to the Brooklyn one. Nick and I loved some good homemade ice cream and we enjoyed it there. “It’s close to home and I like it,” he finished.