Three blocks from the hotel, Ash found a parking spot. He gave her a kiss before sending her on her mission. A block from the hotel, the low murmurs of voices filled the air. She stopped, gawking, at what looked like nearly a hundred eager Angel Fire fans crowded aroundthe entrance. Several hotel employees lined the lower steps, holding the throng back.
Because of the freezing temperatures, everyone was bundled against the cold. She wasn’t the only one hidden behind a hood, hat, or scarf.
She worked her way to the front of the crowd, dodging elbows and earning herself murderous stares, only to be confronted by the row of security guards.
“Sorry, ma’am.” A large man wearing a hotel uniform held out his hand to stop her approach. “You need to stay behind the line.”
The hotel had placed barricades along the front of the stairs. At the cordoned off area, Skye blinked—stunned not only by how many fans had gathered, but also at their expressions. Girls scanned the entrance as well as the road, a look of adoration filling their faces. Most held cell phones, ready to snap a shot of their favorite rock star. The boys and men in the crowd shifted with an amped up excitement. The crowd surged, creating a near frenzy, as people searched for the man they called Blaze.
Whispers of conversation floated to her while she struggled to find her hotel room key.
“Did you know Angel Fire was in Niagara?”
“I thought they were playing in DC?”
“No, just him.” A girl to Skye’s left tugged on her friend’s jacket. “Blaze!”
A voice from behind belted out the latest gossip, “I heard he went to the courthouse.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Did he get arrested again?”
“I hope he’s not drinking.”
“Or back on drugs.”
“But what does that have to do with him being here?”
“Didn’t you hear?”
“No. What?”
The guard stepped in front of Skye, putting up his hands to warn her back into the crowd. “Listen, lady, no card, no entry.”
Now, where was that damn room key?After some digging, she found it hiding at the bottom of her bag. She held it up to the guard barring her path. “See? I’m a guest. I’m trying to get to my room.”
The man blew out his breath. It coalesced in the chill air of the late afternoon, forming a white mist. He examined her key card with a careful eye.
She tried to tune out the crowd and focus on the guard. He was giving her key card more than a casual inspection, and she didn’t know what she’d do if she didn’t get inside.
“I’m telling you, I’m a guest!”
Another snippet of conversation drifted to her ears.
A group of teenage boys stood to her left. One punched his friend in the arm. “Can you believe he eloped?”
Those words had her shifting all her focus from the guard to the cluster of teens.
“Blaze got hitched?”
“That’s what the post said. He married some chick no one’s heard of.”
“No way!”
Her heart skipped a beat. That wasn’t the truth, but it made total sense how the rumor had taken root.
“Don’t know why. Can you imagine what it must be like? To have chicks throw themselves at you?”
