39 #3
“Well we’re staying for a little longer, maybe you might change your mind.”
Nicole came over to join them buzzing from her performance.
“Nicole you really are amazing. It’s like you become a totally different person on stage.”
She shrugged shyly, “I just love singing. It helps having Jerome or Kuch with me though, I feel less nervous. What about you?”
Dani shook her head. The next performer was already on stage and Dani made a concerted effort to look only at the stage.
She was desperately avoiding any eye contact with Jerome and equally avoiding Arsenio.
Fleetingly she wondered why Liz wasn’t there.
In an unguarded moment and fuelled by the four double tequilas she’d already had, Dani blurted out.
“How come Liz isn’t here?”
Nicole pulled a face before she answered, “It’s not her kind of thing. She can’t sing and between you and me I think she gets a bit pissy when Jerome gets up. He used to be such fun but over the last five or six years he just seems… I don’t know, less so.”
“She should be really proud of him. He sings brilliantly, even if I didn’t understand a word of it!” grinned Dani.
“Exactly. And he doesn’t care if she can’t sing he just likes the idea that you have a go, you know loosen up. The mike auto tunes you if you’re really bad anyway. She’s just so- stiff! LBB!”
Dani stifled a laugh by putting her hand over her mouth and Nicole giggled.
“Aren’t you going to sing?”
“Me? No. How can I after you?” Dani shook her head.
“Oh come on. Everyone’s had a bit to drink even if you’re not that confident no one will even notice. Go on.” Nicole nudged Dani.
“I really don’t feel that comfortable…”
“What if I sing with you?” coaxed Nicole.
“No offense but that would only solidify how rubbish I am,” huffed Dani.
“Look, the bar is half-empty now so there aren’t as many people.”
Rosa edged in closer. “You know Kuch will be thrilled.”
“I’m not sure if they have anything I know,” squirmed Dani, feeling pressured.
“Well, what do you know and I’ll see if they have it?” suggested Rosa.
Dani thought hard of some song that she hoped they wouldn’t have.
“Erm… I used to like to sing along to The Corrs, Runaway…”
Before Dani even finished Nicole was up and almost ran over to the deejay.
Dani’s eyes followed her and she felt her stomach tighten.
Please, please, please don’t have it. She prayed watching the deejay enter the title into the computer.
Dani’s heart sank as she saw Nicole beam and show a thumbs up. Crap!
“Looks like you’re up,” grinned Rosa. Before she could even grasp what was happening Rosa was pulling her up out of her seat. Dani grabbed her glass and drained it and reluctantly made her way up to the stage where an excited Nicole stood.
“Just focus on the screen and you’ll do great.”
Dani took the microphone Nicole was holding and turned her attention to the screen.
The distinct violin introduction started and the bar suddenly became quiet.
Before Dani could even catch a breath or even compose herself the words appeared on the screen and in a shaky breathless voice she started to sing.
Her stomach was like a stone but she focused on the words.
By some miracle she was able to keep up as the familiar words of this much-loved song appeared.
She hardly recognised the sound that came out of her throat and ever so slowly she began to feel a little more at ease as the seconds ticked by.
Dani’s eyes momentarily flitted up to Nicole and she smiled widely in encouragement.
Before Dani even realised it she’d come to the end of her three-and-a-half-minute performance.
Dani blinked rapidly, then looked down into the bar and was rewarded with the sight of everyone clapping and her party were all standing.
Rosa was whopping loudly with Jamie and Kuch beamed up at her blowing her a kiss.
Nicole hugged her as she guided a rather dazed Dani off the stage.
“You were really great, Dani. You can sing, see?”
Dani mumbled something under her breath, indicating it was the tequila.
She lifted her gaze from the floor and her eyes locked on Jerome, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her during her entire performance.
He was at least twenty feet away but for a few seconds it felt like there was a tunnel between them, blocking everyone and everything out.
Jerome slightly tilted his head to one side and there was a glimpse of a smile on his lips.
He narrowed his eyes and gently pulled at his bottom lip as though he was trying to work out a puzzle.
Then he shook his head and smiled softly at her, his eyes glittering with secret admiration.
She’d surprised him. She had a habit of doing that and he was disturbed at how much he enjoyed every new thing he learned about her.
Dani stifled a shy smile back at him thinking that the nerve-wracking performance was worth every second, just to have Jerome smile at her that way.
Suddenly she felt very hot and fanned herself.
Spotting a waiter she asked for water while Rosa and Nicole babbled around her, clearly thrilled at her performance.
It was getting late and a few of the staff had left, meaning that their seating had become decidedly less cramped.
Dani focused on Nicole and Kuch trying hard to skirt around each other.
She shook her head grinning to herself, how had no one worked it out yet?
She thought to herself. The waiter quickly placed the bottle of water on the table in front of her and turned away.
Dani scowled at it. No glass. Then from over her shoulder a glass appeared and she twisted around to see where it had come from.
Jerome rounded the couch and lowered himself into the space next to her.