Page 98 of Angel

Chapter Thirty-One - Angelo

Bass pounded through the open industrial space, multi-colored lights shooting across the floor.

One hand against an ear, I turned to Paige. “I feel like I’m in a rave.”

“What?” she shouted back.

Or maybe it was something else she said. I couldn’t really hear her over the music.

She took a sip from her beer bottle and smoothed her hair. On the other side of the bar a blonde guy eyed her. I shot the guy a look and he quickly turned away.

I put my mouth close to Paige’s ear. “You look great!”

She smiled and nodded, though maybe still had no clue what I was saying.

Indeed, she looked amazing. Delicious, really, what with her tight, thigh length dress and black high heels. I appreciated dressed down Paige as much as any other Paige… but damn it if the tight dresses and red lips didn’t do something to me.

“Come on!” Nodding my head at the other end of the party, I took her hand and led her through the crowd. We wound around a group of Franko and Tre’s buddies, some girls dancing, and over to the far corner.

Sophia and Lia sat perched in a windowsill. They’d cracked the window to get a bit of fresh air.

“What’s up?” Lia asked, taking a drink from a red plastic cup.

“This is quite the party,” was all I could say.

She just laughed. Really, what more were we to expect when our little brother announced he was throwing a New Year’s Eve party? Franko loved coming to New York to party. Give the kid a holiday and some cash to blow and he was bound to go crazy.

Sophia adjusted her miniskirt and crossed her legs. “Just wait till the strippers get here.”

Paige’s eyes went wide.

“She’s joking,” I explained, looking over at the two other women. “Right?”

Sophia shrugged.

“With Franko?” Lia asked. “Who knows?”

“Who are you guys kissing at midnight?” Paige asked.

Lia rolled her eyes. “No one in here. The guy selling pretzels down on the corner looks more appealing than any of the frat boys here.”

Sophia shook her beer bottle. “Probably my drink.”

I tightened my hand around Paige’s. There was something I’d been looking forward to doing all night… Well, all week, actually. I’d been waiting for the perfect moment. At the moment, I was beginning to feel that maybe there was no such timing.

I turned to her. “Hey. Let’s go up on the roof. I want to show you the view from here.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Now? It’s almost midnight.”

“We’ll come back down in time if you want to.”

She glanced at the other two and shrugged. Sophia wagged her eyebrows at me as we walked away. I ignored her.

The rooftop was only a couple floors away, making it a swift elevator ride. The second the door opened a harsh wind swept across the rooftop.

“Yikes!” Paige cried, pulling her coat tighter around herself.

I opened my coat and pulled her into it. “Sorry. I forgot about the wind.”