Tre's Angel

“So Ron, did I hear you say to Billie that you have family coming?” said Tre slouched on the sofa of the hotel room that had been turned into a rest room.

“Oh… uh just my sister.” Said Ron looking over at the brown-haired drummer who he had got close to over the past few months.

“Does she look like you?” said Tre, eyebrows raised.

“Oh no, Tre, please, this is my kid sister we’re talking, don’t even go there.” Said Ron. Tre was so persistent sometimes and was so popular with the ladies; this was definitely something that Ronnie had picked up on from this tour.

“Who? Moi?” Said Tre innocently, well as innocently as he could.

“Yeah Tre, you.” Said Ron trying his hardest to fight the smile forming on his face.

**

“I couldn’t believe that I got parked so easily,” I said to Ron approaching him in the foyer of this top London hotel.

“That’s because you’re in the VIP area of the hotel parking dumbo,” he said. I’d lost count of the times he’d called me dumbo ever since we were kids.

“Well, this hotel is amazing,” I said to him looking around, “its ok for some,” I said going over to give him a hug.

“Hey Ron,” I heard a voice from behind and turned to see who it was.

“So… this is your sister that we’ve all heard so much about huh.” Said a guy with black hair standing there.

“Yeah,” said Ron proudly, “this is my little sister Angela, but everyone calls her Angel. Angel, this is Billie.”

We both exchanged hellos and I recognised him from the magazine, the guy with the eyeliner. Yeah he was actually very good looking, better than the magazine picture. I’d have to call up the office girls and let them know just how good-looking he was, especially Rosie.

Suddenly a small woman came over to join him and she took hold of his arm. She had this marvellous dark hair with dreadlocks and her beautiful mass of hair put my long, thin, straight blonde locks to shame.

“Good to meet you Angel,” said the guy, Billie. “This is Adrienne, my wife.”

She held her small hand out to mine and we shook hands, politely.

“How long are you with us?” said Billie.

“For the weekend, just until Monday,” I said.

“Cool but I hope you don’t drink like your brother or we’ll have run out of beer before we know it.” Billie replied, laughing.

“I never drink,” I said, “and yeah, I know what you mean, Ronnie probably drinks enough for the both of us anyway.”

“Don’t they all?” Replied Adrienne, smiling across to her husband, her arm linked comfortably through his.

“Hey Mike,” shouted Ron, “my sister is here, come over and meet her will you?”

I looked over and ‘Mike’ was already walking towards us.

“Good to met you, I’m Mike.” He was tall and also good-looking.

“Hi Mike, I’m Angel,” I said suddenly a little shy. Where was the other guy, the magazine guy who’d been looking at ME yesterday?

“Hey you know what Ron?” Said Mike, “I can definitely tell who was at the front of the queue when the looks were handed out and who was at the back running behind shouting ‘wait for me’” and then they started pummelling at each other, like good old friends did. Ronnie must have got pretty close to these guys in the time that they have spent together.

But while all this was happening I was only half listening because standing behind Mike was the guy from the magazine, the one that was looking out at me yesterday and he was looking at me now, just staring.

And I was staring back.

I couldn’t help it.

The world stopped for an instant, I swear it did.

My heart missed a beat and my stomach turned over.

This had never happened to me before and it would never happen again, of this I was sure.

We were locked together for that instant like a couple of magnets pulling towards each other.

That was when it happened for him.

He was coming towards the group and we were still staring at each other, neither of us able to look away.

“Hey Tre, this is Angel.” Said Ronnie, again proudly.

“Hi Angel,” he said, “cool name,” and he bent and kissed my cheek.

I wanted to melt against him.

“Yours is cool too,” I said, “but I’m guessing that’s not your real name.”

“No, that’s Frank and your real name?” He said questioningly, still staring.

“It’s Angela.” I said. I still couldn’t look away.

”Angel suits you much, much better, “he said.

“Thanks and Tre suits you.”

I didn’t have a clue what everyone else was thinking and I didn’t even know what any of them were doing.

I didn’t care about anything right at that moment; it was just us.

Tre and me.

Billie coughed suddenly, interrupting us, breaking our spell.

“We’re being collected in half an hour and I’ve got some stuff to do,” said Mike.

“Yeah, we’re going to call up the kids, we’ll catch you guys out at the front of the hotel,” said Billie. “You are coming to see the show aren’t you Angel?” said Billie.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said.” I was dying to hear them now and to watch Ronnie play again, it had been a long time and I was so proud of him.

Then it was just the three of us standing there and there was no way that Ron was leaving us alone, I could feel bad vibes coming from him.

“Look, I’m going to take my bag up to my room,” I said.

“I can take it,” said Tre reaching down for my bag.

“Its OK Tre,” interrupted Ron, “Angel is in the room along from me, I need to get something from my room anyway.” He said hoisting up my bag onto his shoulder.

“OK,” said Tre, “I shall catch you guys out front in half an hour.” But he didn’t move away at all, he just stayed there, got some drumsticks out of his pocket and twirled them around his fingers like batons.

I didn’t want to move away either.

But I had to.

“See you in a while,” I said to him following Ronnie over to the elevator. I let him carry the case because I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

When we got into the elevator Ronnie spoke.

“I don’t believe you,” he said jabbing his finger into the no, 5 button. “Tre of all people.”

“What don’t you believe about me? And what do you mean Tre of all people?” I said questioning him. He was so fucking annoying sometimes.

“I saw you both.” He said looking at me, pissed off with me for some reason.

”What did you see?” I said defensively.

“I’m not sure,” he said looking away. “Its just the way you were looking at each other, we all saw it. I don’t want you getting involved with him.”

“Well… may be I want to,” I said as the elevator ground to a halt and the doors opened in front of us.

“Are you mad?” Said Ron, “what would be the point?”

I didn’t answer him, just followed him out into the corridor.

May be he was right. What was the point?

It wasn’t like I was going to marry him and have his children.

**

When they came off stage at the end of the show Tre spoke to Ron.

“Hey Ron, where’s Angel?” He asked. “I saw her here earlier from the side of the stage, I thought she was going to stay until the end,” said Tre looking around him. Looking for Angel.

“She’s probably having one of her naps.” Said Ron.

“What? With all of our noise going in? How the fuck can Angel sleep through that.” Said Tre, shocked now.

Ron shrugged. “That’s Angel for you.” He said. He couldn’t look at Tre suddenly.

Ron wasn’t happy and he’d wished that Angel hadn’t come. As soon as Tre started talking about her, he had an idea that this would happen.

She couldn’t cope with heartache on top of everything else and Tre, Tre of all people.

“Tre?” Said Ron.

“Yeah dude,” said Tre loosening off his black and white striped tie.

“Look I need to ask you a favour, it’s about Angel.” Ronnie said watching Tre closely.

“What about Angel?” Said Tre.

“I saw the way you looked at her earlier, and…” Ronnie hesitated.

“And what?” said Tre, intrigued now as to what Ronnie here was getting at.

“And.. please don’t get involved with her, no disrespect dude but… she’s my little sis and I know what you’re like and Angel’s not like that, believe me.” There. He’d said what he’d wanted to say all evening.

“Why are you so worried?” said Tre. Ronnie could be weird sometimes. Tre noticed him look away, a strange look on him that he’d not seen before.

“I can’t tell you but…”

“I can’t do it Ron,” Said Tre, practically interrupting him.

“What?” Said Ron spinning round quickly to face Tre.

“I won’t do what you want. I’m sorry, you’ve got me all wrong but I’d never hurt her, I promise you that.” He said sincerely.

Ron knew when he was defeated and sighed.

“You’d better not Tre Cool or I’ll kick your arse from here to kingdom come.” Said Ron, a sick feeling rising up in him. What had he done here?

“I hear you,” said Tre.

*

Ron was right, Angel was asleep on the sofa, she so looked like an angel laying there with her long silky white blonde hair just hanging over the sofa.

Tre smiled as he watched her but then went and dropped his drumsticks and Angel stirred, stretching slightly.

His heart lifted as she opened her eyes up to him.

“Hi sleepy head,” he said to her.

“Hi spiky head,” she said back to him, looking up at his hair.

He came and sat on the sofa watching her and she could feel the heat from him. Glancing at his hands she noticed how red his palms were.

“Ooh, they look sore,” she said taking his hand and opening his hand up.

“No… well may be a little,” he said enjoying the attention he was getting from Angel.

“It happens every time I play.” He said, yeah it did. It went with the job.

“Have you anything to put on them?” she asked.

“Yeah, this,” he said standing and getting a small tube of cream from his pocket. He sat back down and unscrewed the lid knowing that her eyes were on him.

“Here, let me,” she said sitting up. Taking the tube, she squirted the cream onto his left hand and started to gently work it into his palms.

Her hair fell in front of her face and without a free hand herself Tre took his right hand, slipped the silken strands through his fingers and then tucked them behind her ear. Then she did the same with his other hand and he couldn’t help but stare at her, he was entranced.

As she replaced the lid back onto the tube of cream, Tre took his hands and cradled her face, planting a delicate kiss on her rosebud lips.

Angel’s heart was pounding as he kissed her tenderly. She felt amazing as his tongue lapped against hers and she just didn’t want the kiss to end but it did, when someone opened the door.

It was Ron and he had definitely seen them kissing.

“Oh.. uh… sorry,” said Ron, slightly embarrassed.

“Its OK, come in.” said Angel, noting how uncomfortable her brother looked.

“Yeah, I need to get changed out of this stage gear, and grab a shower.” Said Tre standing up. He then bent and kissed the top of Angel’s head quite naturally.

As Tre closed the door behind him, Ron came over and sat with Angel.

“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?” he asked taking her hand in his.

“Most definitely,” Said Angel.

“I’m not so sure, nothing can come of it, you know that,” He said. He hated having this conversation with her.

“You and I both know that but… please Ron I need this… it just feels so right and so good. Tre’s wonderful, let me have this. You may not approve of me and Tre but I need this and I think that he does too.”

“Oh Angel, I worry for you.” Said Ron and he always had, throughout his life he had worried about his little sister.

“I know you do but Tre’s special, I can feel it already.” She said looking at him.

And she could, she’d never known it before, not with anyone. This feeling was new, it was wonderful and… she’d dated in the past but nothing special, not one of them had given her this feeling but it was bittersweet because at the same time she knew it wouldn’t last, she could never be with Tre forever, never marry him or have children with him and as much as she wanted to, she knew it wouldn’t be.

**

Tre was taking a shower and thinking of Angel.

She was beautiful and from the instant he saw her he knew she was special, just like that, like a bolt out of the blue. Slap bang in the face.

He’d never experienced that before, no, never and he was desperate right now to be with her. She intrigued him and he wanted to know all about her so he quickly finished his shower, hurriedly drying himself then dressed quickly checking himself in the mirror before he went to find her.

Angel.