Chapter 10 The Song of Nora and Raul #2
“Perfect. Your waiter will be with you in a minute to start you off with some water.” She walked away, closing the door behind her.
The moment the three of us were alone, I glared at Nora with the most evil grin I could muster.
“Oh, no,” she laughed, lunging toward Raul, but her attempt to hide behind him failed miserably due to the lack of space. “Don’t kill me.”
“You’re going to pay for this,” I said in my deepest, most evil voice. “And I mean literally, because your credit card is on the tab.”
“That’s even worse!” She yelled, barely able to stifle her chuckles. “Can’t you kick me in the butt instead?”
“Maybe I’ll do both,” I joked, and the three of us laughed. “Metaphorically and physically.”
“How about we have drinks first?” she asked, eyeing me as she leaned over the screen. She pushed herself forward, leaning in so far that it seemed like she was deliberately trying to push her cleavage toward me.
“You know that doesn’t work on me, right?”
“You can’t blame me for trying.” She grinned at Raul. “I guess they’re still all yours.”
We all leaned over the screen and scanned the menu.
“I understand why this place has such high ratings. This is just like in Japan,” Nora announced as she looked through the cocktails. “Everybody up for a Highball?”
“I have to drive,” Raul said. “So, no.”
Nora beamed at me, but I shook my head.
“Alcohol is bad for the voice,” I said, pointing to my throat. I knew why she wanted to get me drunk. That’s when I lose all my inhibitions. Not today, though. “I’d take a Virgin Highball if they have that.”
“Oh, come on.” The corners of Nora’s mouth turned down. “I can’t be the only one drinking.”
“Drink as much as you want. I’ll take care of you, guapa.” Raul put his arm around her and caressed her back.
“No, three Virgin Highballs, it is. I’m not going to get drunk on my own,” Nora announced, hammering her order into the screen. “I’ll also get the appetizer plate, which comes with gyoza, edamame, and harumaki. Or do you guys have anything against that?”
“I’m not that hungry,” I replied. I had eaten enough food for a whole week at the family reunion. “But I won’t say no to some Japanese cuisine.”
“What are Ha-ru-ma-key?” Raul asked.
“Spring Rolls. The Japanese version of it,” Nora explained.
Raul shrugged, his head bobbing left and right as if the new information were floating around in his mind. “Okay, let’s try it.”
Nora clicked the green order button at the bottom of the screen and switched to the Songs tab. She scrolled through all the options, quickly settling for the rock and pop tab. Her determination and quietness as she searched made me narrow my eyes.
“Don’t even think about picking a song for me,” I said.
“Oh, come on,” Nora laughed. “How did you know?”
“After two years of living with you, I should know you at least a little bit.”
“Fine,” she groaned. “But don’t try to weasel your way out of this. Today’s the day.” She shot me a final glare before turning to Raul. “You go first, then.”
“I can.” Raul leaned forward, now focusing on the selection as well. “Let me surprise you with a serenade, guapa.”
Nora beamed from ear to ear as she sat back to watch him make his way to the microphone while an acoustic guitar played a flowery intro.
For the next three minutes, Raul performed a passionate rendition of a Spanish folk song I had never heard before.
He didn’t hit all the right notes, but when he whispered the Spanish lyrics into the microphone and locked eyes with Nora, I totally understood why she had fallen for him.
It was like watching a corny scene from a romance movie, where the hot male lead wears baggy clothes to hide his physique so he can charm the female lead—and the audience—with his charisma.
The only thing missing was the rich rival, whom every other character deemed more desirable in every way, although he wasn’t.
But Nora certainly wasn’t the type to date two guys at the same time.
Besides, after all the nights I spent chatting with her in our shared kitchen over a bottle of wine, I never got the impression that money was something she’d go for if everything else was missing.
As the last notes of the song faded, Nora applauded as if she had watched her boyfriend win a Grammy. I clapped, too, and Raul sat back down next to her, pressing a kiss on her cheek.
The door to our private booth flew open, and a tall, slender guy with round glasses walked in. He was carrying a tray with three glasses of water and three cocktail glasses filled with a shimmering golden drink.
“Good evening,” he said, placing the beverages in front of us.
His head tilted to the right, his eyes shifting between the drinks and me.
“I’m Oliver, and I’ll be your server tonight.
How are you enjoying everything so far?” He glanced briefly at Nora and Raul, but mostly looked at me as he spoke.
“Do you need any assistance with the karaoke machine?”
“I think we’ve figured things out,” I answered.
“Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything. You know how to do that?” he asked, his eyes sparkling.
A sudden coldness hit me at the core. “Yes, the blue button in the upper right corner,” I replied.
Oliver nodded and smiled at me again before walking back out, swinging his hips as if trying to catch my attention.
“I’ll eat a broomstick,” Nora announced the second the door closed. “Did you see how he looked at you? I bet if you asked him, he’d give you his number.”
“And what exactly would I do with that in the few hours we have left here?”
I might be an asshole, but I wasn’t going to ditch my friends on vacation even if I were horny—which I wasn’t, at least not for him.
I had already spent last night with a cute guy whose touch still lingered on my skin.
I didn’t want to replace the memory of Alex that quickly.
In fact, if I were really going to ditch them, I’d rather spend another night with him.
“Also, it’s your turn now.” I pointed toward the console so Nora would leave me alone.
Her piercing gaze lingered on me before she leaned forward and focused on the song list. “Good thing, I already know what I want to sing,” she said. After a few taps on the screen, she stood up, pointing at me with an expression I certainly wasn’t going to disagree with. “You’re next, my friend.”
The moment she stepped behind the microphone, she started swaying her upper body from side to side and shaking her head to the beat of the rock song.
When the first verse began, she didn’t need to look at the lyrics on the screen.
Fixing her gaze on Raul, she sang every line of the love song as if it were our final exam.
I slumped into the comfortable leather cushions.
As much as their singing songs for each other made me happy, it also twisted my stomach.
I wanted to perform for someone like that, too.
To be fair, I did sing for Alex last night, and it was the best night I’ve had in months.
But after years of having only one night, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a relationship like theirs.
Alex could have been that person. We clicked in so many ways.
If we only had the opportunity, we would probably sing songs to each other every day.
My gaze wandered from Nora to the ceiling. Black-painted metal pipes tried to blend in with the black plaster.
What was Alex doing right now? Was he stuck in a conversation with Darcy about bread? Or had he managed to sneak away and hide in his room, working on another song? Was he thinking about me the way I was thinking about him?
After the kitchen incident this morning, when he hugged me, we shared a moment where I was sure we both wanted to kiss, but couldn’t.
If we had, it might have stirred up something that would cause a lot of trouble and heartache.
Then again… what if not doing it kept us from getting the closure we needed to accept that it was just a one-night thing?
Would it be weird to reach out?
I did promise to text him.
Maybe I should…
I fumbled my phone out of my pocket and sat up.
I opened the camera app, turned around, and positioned myself so that Nora and the lyrics projected onto the wall were behind me.
My screen flashed white as I took a selfie.
My smile in the picture was friendly, but not in a way that made it obvious I was thinking about what it would be like if he were here.
A second later, I sent him the image.
Me
Guess where I am.
I think you would’ve liked it here.
It took five seconds for the image and words to go through. I stared at the screen as if Alex had only been waiting for me to text him and would read it right away.
Nora reached the end of the chorus, and as a guitar solo set in, she bent forward, whirling her long hair around so forcefully that her red hairband flew off and landed on Raul.
He caught it, already applauding the show.
I clapped along with him, but just as a second guitar joined the solo, my phone lit up with a message from Alex.
Karaoke Bar?
A beaming emoji with heart eyes followed.
I wish I were there to hear you sing.
But since you promised to keep your promise, I’ll be patient for now.
He sent another emoji, this time with a halo above the little yellow head. Three more dots appeared and faded, then reappeared.
Now you guess where I am.
A picture followed. The right half of Alex’s face protruded into the frame. His tongue was sticking out cheekily. His musical equipment sat on the floor of his bedroom behind him.
It’s probably not difficult to figure it out.
Alex sent a laughing emoji, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I fucking know that smile,” Nora yelled, stopping in the middle of the chorus. The beat kept pumping, but all eyes were on me now. She rushed to the display. As she turned off the song, her hair fell into her face, no longer held back by her headband.