Book 2 Chapter 1
1646 Words
Chapter One
“It’s duet night?” I ask the guy running the karaoke at the bar.
He nods, his attention fixed on the song requests in front of him.
“As in I have to find a woman to sing with?”
Now, anyone who knows me knows I won't have any trouble finding a sing mate, but I want to sing my usual “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC. That's how I get the women in the first place.
He clicks a few buttons with his mouse. “Sorry, come back tomorrow,” he says in his Korean accent. A couple approaches the podium and he shifts his attention their way.
Shaking my head, I sit back down at the table with my friends.
“Why so glum?” Skylar puts a pouty face on like I'm two and scratched my knee.
“It’s f*****g duet night,” I say.
“Oh,” Mia whips her head in Grady's direction. “Let's sing.”
Grady eyes Beckett, blowing out a breath. What, did he think he would do it for him?
“I prefer to watch,” Grady says.
Mia tugs at his shirt, placing her head on his shoulder and batting her eyes. “Please.”
He stares down at her and we could poll this entire table on whether or not Grady will agree and they’ll all say the same thing. He will. Grady's totally p***y whipped at the moment.
“Fine.” Grady stands and holds his hand out for Mia.
“YAY!” she screams, plucking her phone from the table. “I have to find the perfect song for us first.”
The two of them disappear, leaving me with Ross and Rachel, aka Beckett and Skylar.
“f*****g asshole.”
Oh yeah, and Demi, the girl who gives me death stares on the daily. She’s currently directing that talent down at the phone in her hands.
“What's the matter?” Skylar bends forward on the table toward her friend.
This should be good. Everything in Demi's life is sooo dramatic. I lean back and sip my beer.
Focusing my attention around the room, I notice that the small space is filled with men and women cuddled up to each other. Then I look at our table.
Six people. Three girls. Three guys. Hmm...
“Is it fuckin’ couple’s night?” I interrupt. My bad mood over how my practice runs have been going since we arrived—shitty, in case you were wondering—seems to be affecting my mood tonight.
Classic Demi death stare commences.
“No.” Beckett answers. I'm sure he really doesn't give a s**t what's up with Drama Demi.
“Look around.” I gesture with my arm to the room around us and Beckett’s gaze follows.
“Well, we're not a couple.” He actually points between him and Skylar.
“Sometimes I wonder how you can see the tracks.” I shake my head.
His eyebrows scrunch. Seriously, never in my life have I met anyone so blind. I mean, look next to you, dude. I get if he doesn't want a relationship, but he's practically in one. The last time I saw either one of them date anyone else was over a year ago and that was short lived.
“Next up is Grady and Mia,” the announcer says over the speaker and we all turn toward the stage.
Grady stands there while Mia bounces up and down, smiling down at her friends.
“Go, Rogue!” I scream except he's not really living up to his nickname right now.
The song starts and beer flies out of Demi's mouth. Skylar starts laughing while I hand a napkin to Demi who seems to be over whatever pissed her off a minute ago as she and Skylar dance in their chairs while watching Grady and Mia sing, “Don't Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John.
I lean back in my chair, smiling because Mia is belting out the song, dancing around Grady as he stands there, singing the lines in a monotone voice. He can't even look at Beckett or me.
“We should be taping this s**t,” Beckett says, pulling out his phone.
Skylar looks over at her ‘friend.’ “Let's go next.”
Beckett smiles and nods. “You pick the song.”
Of course, he's the only guy I know who would be excited about singing a duet.
Grady and Mia's song fades, and Mia rises on her tiptoes pulling Grady's face to her lips.
“Thank you,” she murmurs and his face lights up. After handing both microphones to the guy, he grabs her hips and hoists her up into his arms.
The two kiss the entire time they’re coming off stage. At least he's going to get laid later for singing.
“Let's go.” Skylar jumps up, grabbing Beckett's hand.
“Way to go, guys!” Demi claps, giving a high five to each of them.
“Yeah, great job, Grady. You didn’t seem to be having as much fun as Mia,” I point out.
He rolls his eyes. “I don't see your ass up there.” He sits down and takes a large swig of his beer.
“I have no one to sing with.”
Mia's eyes shift and if I had time, I'd reach across and put my hand over her mouth.
“Demi. You two sing together.”
Demi says nothing.
“I thought she had some hot boyfriend,” I say to Mia.
Demi's been raving about some guy she met all night—what a gentleman he is and how he's so considerate. He skis for the French team. As far as I’m concerned, he's the f*****g enemy, but whatever.
Demi lifts her phone. “Guess not.”
So, that was the bad news.
“What, he likes brie and you don't?” I smirk.
I think that’s the fifteenth death glare she’s given me tonight.
“Actually.” She leans back, crossing her arms over her chest.
Damn it, her t**s are so f*****g perfect. The memory of motorboating them last Winter Classics surfaces as clear as glass in my mind. Wouldn't mind doing it again, except she hates me now.
“You two have a lot in common, Dax,” Demi snips. “According to his text, he'd like to take the games as a break—aka screw every female he can.”
“Ah, assumptions and stereotypes.” I down another gulp of my beer.
“All the more reason you two should do one,” Mia urges.
I'll take Demi’s silence as a no. Whatever, there's gotta be a single girl here who wants to sing with the hottest guy in the room.
“Beckett and Skylar are up,” the announcer says into the microphone.
The two are all smiles. Beckett's line is first and he's dancing, his shoulders moving up and down as the two walk in circles around each other and pretend to be Estelle and Kanye West singing “American Boy.”
“Look at Beckett, he's totally into it,” Mia says to Demi, sliding onto Skylar's seat to get closer.
The two are cute. Like sugar-coated candy store cute.
I finish my beer and slide it to the middle of the table. Since I capped myself at two drinks tonight, I'm on to water from here on out.
The girl’s heads are bobbing to the beat and they start singing along with Skylar in their seats. Then Mia stands, rounds the chair and starts singing American Boy to Grady. The guy can't even fight the smile on his face.
The song ends, and Skylar jumps into Beckett's arms.
“So much fun!” she screams as he lowers her to the floor and they find their seats.
“Looks like you two are next?” Beckett waggles his eyebrows.
I look around the room to find someone else who didn't know this was couples’ night.
“That f*****g asshole.” Demi's gaze is set on the door.
A guy stands there with a girl hanging off him. Short skirt, tight shirt, overly made-up face and a bottle of hairspray holding up her hair.
“Is that him?” Skylar asks, peeking around Beckett to get a better view.
“Yeah. Guess he sent the text right before he picked up his date.”
His eyes sweep the room. He's probably checking out who else is here, in case the chick on his arm doesn't pan out.
Demi stares down at her drink, picking at her beer label looking glum and uncertain.
Fuck this.
The legs of my chair scrape across the floor. “Let's go.”
Mia and Skylar smile over at me, and Skylar nudges her to go.
“No. I'm not singing. Especially in front of him,” Demi says.
“Listen. I'm a more than a suitable stand-in. Show him what he's missing out on.” I keep my hand outstretched.
She looks to the table, taking a silent poll from her friends. Then she stands up and takes my hand.
On the way up to the small stage, I swing my arm over her shoulders. She immediately tries to circle out. “You have to act like you’re into it,” I whisper to her.
She stops trying to flee.
“You found someone.” The karaoke guy looks surprised. Maybe I should strip my shirt off, so he can see exactly what I have to offer the female species.
“’Promiscuous,’ by Nelly Furtado,” I tell him.
Demi huffs, her mouth hanging open.
I wink because there's no halfway with me. We're going all the way on this one.
- Writer
