Chapter 32 #2
“What are they doing?” he asked. Rhaz kept his eyes on Phin for any sign of discomfort. If she didn’t want to sing, he’d make sure she didn’t have to. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable.
Several more songs passed, some performers better than others. Everyone clapped, cheered, and generally had a good time. Food arrived, drinks followed, and so did more laughter.
Once more, the karaoke host stepped onto the stage with a clipboard in hand. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced.
The room quieted as the host adjusted his glasses and looked down at the clipboard. “Our next song is Never Gonna Get It by En Vougue. Our performers are...” He frowned. “Jessica, Phin, and...” The host squinted. “The Bridgettes?”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Louise looked extremely pleased with herself as she got to her feet. Pearl nodded as though this were the most sensible thing in the world while Sam buried his face in his hands and groaned.
Anon nearly spat out his drink. “That’s my bridge group.”
“The Bridgettes?” Jackson repeated, then laughed.
“We play bridge,” Louise explained. “What did you expect? We needed a name.”
“I think it’s clever,” Pearl added.
“That was the best you could come up with?” Jackson asked.
“It’s an exceptional name,” Louise informed him. “Good thing you don’t play bridge, or you’d have to get up there with us.”
The host shrugged as several more people rose from their chairs, including Anon. “Jessica, Phin, and the Bridgettes, you’re up!” With that, he stepped off the stage.
The women rose from their seats amid applause and laughter and headed toward the stage. Phin shot Jessica a look that promised future retaliation.
Her sister merely grinned and grabbed her hand. “Oh, come on. It’ll be fun, Phin.”
Rhaz watched them head toward the stage and wasn’t entirely sure what was about to happen. Judging by the expressions around the table, nobody else was either. So far, only individuals had gone up to sing. This was an entire group.
As the group climbed onto the stage, Louise whipped a pair of sunglasses from her shirt pocket and put them on.
Pearl immediately followed suit. Sam watched them, sighed, then reached into his own shirt pocket and produced a pair.
Louise’s were large with white rims, while Pearl’s and Sam’s were dark.
They took up positions behind the microphones and motioned Kathy forward.
She threw up her hands. “What’s with the sunglasses? I don’t have sunglasses.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Louise said. “You have actual glasses.”
“Oh.” Kathy shrugged and joined them.
Rhaz stared. “What are they doing?”
Richard laughed beside him. “I have no idea, but it’s going to be hilarious.”
Jackson let out a whistle as Jessica and Phin climbed onto the stage.
“What’s happening again?” Kathy asked.
“You’re backup,” Louise said.
“A what?” Kathy looked from one face to another.
Sam rolled his eyes. “We’re backup singers, Kathy. How hard can it be?”
“Oh.” She nodded. “I can do backup.”
Louise stepped forward and grabbed the microphone. Meanwhile, Anon appeared to be trying to determine where exactly he was supposed to stand. Finally, he threw his hands into the air and took his place beside Louise.
“Whatever are you doing?” he asked. “I thought the girls were singing.”
Louise merely smiled. “Try to keep up.”
Anon looked out at the audience. It was obvious he had absolutely no idea what was happening. Aaron started clapping for him before Betty elbowed him.
Phin, meanwhile, looked as though she wanted to jump off the stage.
Rhaz wondered if he should stop this before it started. Whatever this was.
Then the music began. Louise immediately started moving her hips. “I hope I don’t throw anything out,” she announced into the microphone.
The audience roared with laughter.
Behind her, Sam, Pearl, and Kathy attempted to dance in unison. They were spectacularly bad. Within seconds they were bumping into one another.
Eventually they settled for swaying back and forth while rolling their hands in front of them.
Louise sang the opening lyrics.
Anon raised his eyebrows, stepped up to the microphone, snapped his fingers, and began speaking his lines as though delivering a royal proclamation.
The audience exploded.
Then Jessica grabbed Phin’s wrist, pulled her to the front of the stage, and the sisters began to move together.
A sway to the left.
A sway to the right.
A shoulder shimmy.
The crowd erupted into cheers, whistles, and applause.
Rhaz sat frozen. “What is happening?”
Richard leaned closer. “Oh my gosh. I don’t believe it.”
“What?”
“Jessica told me they took a belly dance class at the community center last summer.” The sisters swayed in unison, their hips moving one direction and then the other.
Richard let out a whoop and followed it with a whistle. “Am I one lucky guy or what?” He laughed and slapped Rhaz on the back.
Louise continued singing while Anon stubbornly talked his way through the lyrics. Rather than sounding ridiculous, he somehow managed to sound like a distinguished speaker addressing a graduating class.
The result was so absurd that the crowd only laughed harder.
All Rhaz could do at this point was stare open-mouthed at the chaos unfolding before him. His eyes locked on Phin as she moved in time with her sister. The sway of her hips. The easy confidence of her smile. The way she spun in a circle and laughed when Jessica nearly missed a step.
He’d never seen anything like it. If anyone in his realm saw this, they would take her immediately and lock her away, a treasure to be savored in private.
The song broke into another chorus, and the sisters continued their dance. Rhaz’s dragon leapt to the forefront, and he had to force him back. He hoped his eyes weren’t changing color.
Ours, Ezrel growled. Mate. Claim her now.
“Back off,” Rhaz muttered under his breath. His eyes never left Phin. The sisters moved together with surprising grace. Not perfect. Not polished. But close enough that the crowd continued to cheer and whistle.
Everyone was laughing. Especially when Anon launched into another spoken verse.
Basil waved a hand in front of Rhaz’s face. “What are you doing? Stop that.”
Rhaz didn’t blink. Basil followed his gaze to the stage, back to Rhaz, and back to the stage again.
Basil’s eyes widened. “Oh!”
Rhaz shoved his hand away.
“My prince,” Basil whispered, leaning closer. “What is the matter with you?”
Rhaz planted a hand on the gnome’s chest and pushed him back.
The girls continued to dance while Sam, Pearl, and Kathy attempted to follow one another’s movements with increasingly disastrous results.
Sam swayed from side to side with grim determination. Pearl was having the time of her life. Kathy was laughing too hard to be of use at this point.
Louise was laughing so hard between lyrics that she nearly lost her place. Even Anon’s carefully maintained dignity appeared to be slipping.
The final chorus arrived.
Jessica and Phin moved together without thinking. A sway. A turn. Another shoulder shimmy and finally, a synchronized pose.
The crowd exploded into applause. Phin laughed so hard she had to cover her face as Jessica bowed. Pearl and Kathy followed suit. Sam stood frozen with a horrified expression, as though someone had just informed him he was about to be executed.
Anon, on the other hand, inclined his head as though accepting praise from a royal audience while Louise executed a dramatic flourish of a bow.
The cheering only grew louder. Rhaz found himself clapping with everyone else. Even Basil applauded, though that might have been more out of self-preservation than enthusiasm.
Across the stage, Phin looked his way. Their eyes met and held. And when he smiled, the noise of the room faded away.
Only Ezrel’s voice remained. Mine.
Rhaz ignored his dragon and continued staring at her. How could he leave this precious treasure behind? He could not, would not. She was his.
And woe to anyone who told him otherwise.