22. Jamie #2
I pushed down the snarky comment that Gia wasn’t able to cover everything up and chastised myself.
I had no idea if she was planning on telling Jack about what she’d done.
I didn’t know their situation, and it was none of my business.
In my head, I just kept seeing Jack’s dismay at her betrayal when I told him outside of the thrift store.
It’d eaten at me after the scavenger hunt, and the only way I’d wiped it from my mind was by having sex with my ex-girlfriend.
Like the true asshole I was, my mind went off track, and I started to wonder if that was the way to move on from most of my troubles.
“We’ll get her contact info. It won’t be over,” Emerson promised. “Meanwhile, I can’t wait for karaoke.” She changed the subject, but she was clearly still hurt over Gia’s lack of a farewell.
After we finished eating, we made our way to the campfire and found a couple of counselors setting up mics and messing with a portable karaoke machine.
Someone passed a clipboard to me, and I quickly signed up.
Ren had already added John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to the list with his name next to it, and I was more than excited to see that show.
I’d seen him do karaoke on rare occasion and it always made me smile.
Most of our hangouts took place at our local bar, unless we were at my apartment watching basketball.
His vibrant and animated singing was just as amazing as I’d hoped. Grant gazed yearningly at my friend. He was the first crush I’d seen Ren have, and they appeared to be over the moon with each other.
Autumn’s cohort must have arrived at the same time, because Kell-y and Kell-i went up and sang Beyoncé’s “Halo” and were quickly followed by Janna singing Heart’s “Barracuda.” At some point, real instruments were being used, and Leo’s tambourine made an appearance.
We cracked up as one of the less musically inclined campers tapped the instrument in overly enthusiastic bursts.
Hazel and Leo went next. The other camp counselors stopped their side conversations and immediately turned to the stage.
People were respectful enough to listen and cheer others on throughout the night, but laughter and general conversation still took place around the campfire. That wasn’t the case here.
Leo carried an acoustic guitar, and they both sat on the edge of the wooden stage, no microphone or karaoke machine needed, apparently.
He began playing his guitar, singing an acoustic version of “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers by himself until Hazel came in. A sudden awe came over us as we listened to her ethereal voice mixed with Leo’s dulcet tones, which created a perfect harmony, overshadowing the crackling of the campfire.
Their heartfelt rendition had me wishing for things I couldn’t have. I searched for Autumn in the crowd and found her looking at me. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
I turned back to watch the couple who wasn’t a couple and wondered if there was something I was missing. Leo watched Hazel with apt eyes as she wrapped herself in song, too focused to notice his attention.
When they were done, people remained silent for longer than made sense, before Lamar gave the couple a “Woo!” which reminded us to clap. We did, loudly. Cheers and whistles emitted from campers, and Hazel and Leo humbly smiled before leaving the stage.
“Okay, next up is…” Sawyer shouted as they looked at the paper. “Jamie.”
“Fuck no,” I blurted loudly without thinking.
The laughter that followed made my cheeks burn hot. I reluctantly rushed through the stands to avoid anyone seeing me, especially the gorgeous blonde, whose tear tracks were replaced with laugh lines.
“This goes out to my mom.”
Scattered “Woo!”s came from the crowd, and I smiled as the karaoke machine started playing a very dramatic piano melody.
I sang the first line of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” Three lines in, people started to laugh. I’d expected as much. That was what happened when your go-to karaoke song was an extraordinary ballad from a Canadian female pop sensation.
Then people started singing along, which was the goal. People were drunkenly raising glasses and shouting the lyrics when it was time, which was great because it covered up my voice cracking into the microphone. What can I say? The woman had range, and I did not.
The fire made it difficult to spot people from the crowd, and after a moment of searching for Autumn, I quickly gave up, gazing at the small prompter even though it was completely unnecessary.
When I finished, I received almost as many cheers as Hazel and Leo, which was unexpected.
Ren rushed me from the stage, throwing his arms around me and laughing as he almost took me down. “What the hell was that?” he slurred. He had definitely had too many s’more-tinis “Patricia would be proud.”
“She loves Celine Dion,” I admitted. I remembered nights when me and Marley would go to bed and she’d play the music in the dark living room, prepared to come upstairs if we were too giggly and not going to sleep.
“Everyone’s mom loved Celine Dion,” Ren asserted, as though this were a fact, before he went to get another drink.
I looked around for Autumn and found her staring, her lip between her teeth. She sat down next to me.
“That’s what does it for you, huh?”
“That’s nothing. Imagine how hot I get over “My Heart Will Go On.”” She waggled both eyebrows at me.
“Has anyone seen the Fritos?” Nat asked. She seemed fine, but I had no idea what the fallout was from last night’s indiscretion.
“They’re behind the bar,” Autumn told her, seemingly oblivious to her connection to Jack.
Nat left, thankfully, and I almost said something to my blonde counterpart before thinking better of it.
That was up to Jack to divulge. “She melts chocolate and dips Fritos into it. Doesn’t that sound so weird?
It’s a high snack if I’ve ever heard of one. ”