6. Alanis
CHAPTER 6
Alanis
I laughed at something one of my new friends said. Delia had asked me to come tonight with her friends and it’s obvious that she gets along with everybody. She glows with happiness. I hope it’s rubbing off on me.
“What are you going to sing, Alanis?” The young brunette woman that I found out is the new librarian in town asks me with a smile.
“Oh, ummm.” I hem and haw. “I’m a really terrible singer. I like to listen and cheer but I don’t want to torture all of y’all with my singing voice.”
Delia glares at me. “This is for fun, Alanis! There’s no judgement. I don’t care if you sound like Foghorn Leghorn. We’re just here to have fun!”
I laugh, waving my hands around. “Okay. Okay. I’ll try and come up with a song.”
“Pick something fun. I guarantee you’ll forget worrying when you’re singing. It’s just a good time.”
“Alright, alright!” I laugh and head up to the table where they’ve got the book of songs. “I already said yes!”
I flip through the book and run my fingers down the list, unsure what I want to perform.
“Hello, Alanis! You look beautiful tonight. I was hoping that I’d get to see you.”
I suck in a sharp breath and wonder how I missed feeling him behind me. As soon as I saw him my belly flipped and I blushed like an idiot.
Now it takes everything in me to turn around and glare at him. “I’m sorry, I can’t return the favor since I still don’t know your name. I just know that it’s not Lily L’Amour.”
He grimaces and his dark eyes shimmer with something that looks an awful lot like an apology. “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you so many times. But it’s hard to say in person let alone on a blank sheet of paper. I wish I’d never started it but it’s actually usually my policy to stick to Lily when I answer fan’s letters. And by the time I realized that there was more to you than just a fan, I’d already used my pen name to write you back quite a few times.”
I sigh and nod my head. “I can understand it, kinda.” When he smiles I hold up my hand. “But that still doesn’t entirely excuse you for keeping me in the dark for two years! I mean, that’s a heck of a long time. I’d think in that amount of time you could figure out how to talk to me. I thought we were friends.”
He reaches out and his hand touches mine. “We are! I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just got caught up in talking to a woman who I really liked.”
I smile slowly. “You really mean that?”
He wraps his fingers around mine. “I swear. I do. You made my long days feel a lot better when one of those envelopes showed up.”
I giggle. “I suppose you did the same for me too. But you still haven’t given me your name.”
“Oh…shoot.” He flushes and pushes a long hank of dark hair out of his dark eyes. “I’m sorry. My real name is Drake Masters.” He holds out a large hand to me. I slip mine in his and he smiles. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Alanis.”
I shake my head. “It’s nice to actually meet the man behind the books I love.”
He nods his head towards the stage. “Are you doing a song?”
I roll my eyes and he chuckles. “Yes. Apparently I am but I don’t know what to sing.”
“Do you mind?” He looks at the book and I grin.
“Don’t tell me that you’re going to sing too?”
He stiffens and fakes a haughty glare that makes me giggle lightly. “Of course I am. I’m an excellent singer. Everyone here deserves the rare treat of hearing me.”
I choke on a laugh and nod seriously. “I agree. I can’t wait to hear what you sing.”
“I can’t wait to hear what you sing either. Have you decided?”
I grin. “Oh no. There’s no way that I’m telling you ahead of time what it is. It’s going to be a surprise to you.”
“That’s cheating.”
“How do you figure?”
“I wanted to match my song to yours but I can’t if you don’t give me a hint.”
“No hints. Just sing what you feel.”
“I can’t put all of that into a song.” The look in his dark eyes makes my heart skip a beat.
“Well…I’ll look forward to hearing it anyway.”
“Good.” He glances through the book and then hands the guy running the equipment a slip of paper. The two of them exchange looks that make me wonder what the heck he wrote.
He nods at me and moves to the bar to buy a drink. But when he sits down on the stool his eyes never leave me and I find that I’m too breathless to do more than breathe out a shattered breath.
This guy!
But I look through the book and pick out my own song, handing it to the guy and watching as his eyes sparkle. “Surely not!”
But I grin and walk away. It seems perfect to me.
The crowd goes crazy as the lights dim and the stage lights up! The emcee, our local mayor and a man who definitely knows the meaning of the word drama steps up onto the stage and shoots us all a smirk.
“Thank y’all for being here tonight. I can’t wait to see what you’ve all brought for our annual karaoke event for Valentine’s Day. Each one of you paid a small entry fee and that fee will be used to purchase food and other supplies for our local pet shelter so you all know that it’s going to a good cause! So for now….let’s get this love fest started! Let’s hear it for our first singer, Delia Cross and her ballad to the one that got away!”
Delia laughs and steps up onto the stage with a smirk. She belts the ballad out with her lush hips swinging and a smirk on her face that exactly fits the bouncy tune.
The crowd goes wild, especially since her strong alto is actually very pretty. Unlike my own. Ugh! I cringe.
But I sit up straighter when Drake heads for the stage and smirks at me. A little trickle of unease runs down my spine when he points a finger at me.
“Uh oh,” Delia laughs. “This looks like it’s going to be fun. Didn’t I see that guy at your bookstore today?”
I nod my head and wonder just what I’ve gotten myself into.
And then the music starts and my cheeks flush a bright red that rivals a tomato.
Loverboy by Billy Ocean belts out of the speakers and Drake gives a credible performance with only a few cracked notes. But what really makes me shiver is the way he keeps his dark eyes on me the whole time. Like he can’t bear to look away.
My skin prickles and I can’t take a full breath. My heart feels like it’s about to pound right out of my chest.
And the whole time Delia and her friends sit there with these grins on their faces that makes it clear what they think.
They think we’re together. And I almost agree with them except that I barely know this guy. I’ve written to him for two years but I don’t know if all of what he said is the truth or not.
But my mind is a complete mess when his song finally ends and he bounces down from the stage to a smattering of applause.
Delia leans over and smirks. “Well, he definitely made his point. Even if his voice was a teeny bit pitchy.”
I glance at her and laugh out loud. “If you think that was pitchy you’re gonna love mine!”
Giggling, she waves a hand. “I think you’re up. Let’s hear it, sister!”
I groan and step up on stage. What the heck was I thinking?