Eloise #2
I ordered a Diet Coke—I was the DD. She jotted it down and then asked if we wanted any food.
I declined her offer and so did Isabelle.
As soon as she was gone, I glanced over at my table mate to see that whatever anxiety she’d been holding onto before she sat down was now gone.
She looked relaxed as she leaned against the back of her chair.
We listened as a few of the patrons did terrible renditions of their favorite songs.
We laughed and cheered as one man tried to hit the high notes Michael Jackson hit so effortlessly.
Fifteen minutes after my order, Claire finally placed my drink down in front of me.
She apologized for the delay—the bar had gotten swamped—and told me the drink was on the house.
I thanked her before taking a long sip, grateful for the crisp sensation of the carbonation on my throat.
“There you are.” I turned toward Gaines’s voice and saw him standing behind me. Josalyn was to his left and Hudson was to his right.
My gaze drifted to Hudson for a moment, but when he met it, I ripped it away and returned my attention to Gaines. “Here I am,” I said.
Gaines instructed Josalyn to sit on my right while he told Hudson to take the seat on my left—he was going to go in search of an empty chair to pull up.
I introduced Josalyn to Isabelle, and they chatted for a few seconds before the next singer staggered up onto the stage.
Gaines was triumphantly holding a chair as he returned to us mid-song.
He moved to sit next to me and Josalyn. In order to make room, I had to scoot closer to Hudson.
He responded by shifting his chair closer to Isabelle, but even then, he was still too close to me.
I decided the best course of action was to keep my arms crossed and my elbows tucked in.
I endured two songs like this, but by the third one, I was ready to get up and put some space between Hudson and me.
He wasn’t really doing anything per se. He was reclined back against his seat with his legs extended under the table and his arms crossed in front of him.
He nodded his head to the song when the performance was good and squinted his left eye when the singer hit the wrong note. He looked relaxed, and it…annoyed me.
He shouldn’t be relaxed when Hannah was so stressed. He should be taking care of his kid.
When he tipped his head and met my gaze, his eyebrows went up like he’d caught me looking. I didn’t pull my gaze away, which caused him to knit his eyebrows together as if to ask, everything okay?
I just glared at him. I didn’t have to justify myself. He knew what he’d done—what he was refusing to do. And the fact that he was playing dumb just threw logs on the red-hot fire of anger already building inside of me.
“When are you going to go up there and show everyone how it’s really done?” he asked as he jutted his thumb toward the stage. With his other hand, he reached out and grabbed his beer. He stared at me from over the rim as he took a drink.
I scoffed. There was no way I was going to be goaded by this man. “I’m good,” I said.
Josalyn leaned into me. “You should do it.” Her speech was slightly slurred. She was tipsy from the fruity drink she’d been sipping on.
“I’m good,” I repeated to her. I was way too sober to make a fool of myself.
Hudson sucked air between his front teeth before clicking his tongue.
“I think there’s a word for that,” he said as he reached over and grabbed a few of the pretzels lingering in the bowl that they’d brought over with them from the bar.
“I think they call that a chicken.” He smiled at me as he popped a pretzel into his mouth and began chewing.
He raised his eyebrows as if to ask, what are you going to do now?
I frowned. “I’m not a chicken,” I said and winced. My tone was anything but convincing.
Hudson narrowed his eyes before he leaned in. “Bawk-bawk-bawk,” he said softly.
I glowered at him as I leaned closer so we were a mere inch apart. “That’s not going to work on me.”
He held my gaze before he shrugged and pulled back, folding his arms like he’d won. Which was a joke.
Isabelle was watching us with an amused expression. When I met her gaze, she raised her eyebrows. “Do you want to go up there? I can go with you if you want.”
Hudson flicked his gaze over to Isabelle and then back to me. “She can go with you if you want,” he repeated as he studied me as if to ask what my next excuse was going to be.
I glowered at him and then softened my expression as I turned back to Isabelle. “I’m good.” I shrugged. “Not really in the singing mood.” I was the least drunk person at the table. Why were they all determined to get me up there?
“Oh,” Isabelle said, her voice soft as she relaxed back against her chair. Her disappointed look wasn’t lost on me.
“Did you want to go up there?” I’d just met her, but I liked the thought of having a friend on the island once Gaines and Josalyn left. The only other person I knew well enough to talk to was Hudson, and I was determined to limit my interactions with him as much as possible.
She gave me an apologetic smile. “I kind of did,” she said as she scrunched up her nose.
“Oh.” I shifted in my seat—bumping Hudson along the way—so I could scoot my chair back. “Let’s go sing,” I said as I ignored the annoyed glare Hudson tossed my direction.
Once I was free, I stood and tucked my chair in under the table and out of anyone’s way.
“Let’s do it,” Isabelle said as she moved to join me.
I followed behind her as she led the way to the stage. I let her take the lead as she told the DJ that we wanted a spot in line. I spent the next few acts looking over her shoulder as she flipped through pages of songs in the three-ring binder.
“What about that one?” I asked as I reached over to tap on Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.”
Isabelle laughed and glanced over at me. “Really?”
I shrugged. I could think of one man in particular who needed to hear that song. “It’s a good one.”
She narrowed her eyes for a moment and then smiled. “Love it. Feels like the perfect song to sing when you’ve been stood up.”
“Let’s do it.”
We were fifth in line, but it was too crowded to head back to the table, so we leaned against the wall near the DJ until it was our turn. We waited for the invitation onto the stage, and once the DJ handed us the microphones, I followed Isabelle to our spots.
I stood there awkwardly as the intro began to play.
I stared at the screen, ready for the words to start rolling.
A loud cheer sounded from in front of me, so I glanced up to see Josalyn clapping and waving her hands like she was at a concert.
Gaines was shushing her and trying to get her to lower her arms.
I chuckled as I shook my head. Before I dropped my gaze, I glanced at Hudson. My entire body froze as I took in his demeanor. I thought his expression would be mocking, but it was anything but.
He was leaning forward in his seat with his elbows resting on his knees.
His gaze was intense as he stared at me.
There was something in his eyes. They were dark and penetrating as his gaze held mine.
Almost like he wanted to tell me something.
The world around me grew hazy. I was pinned by his gaze, unable to look away even though my head was screaming at me to do so.
Suddenly, an elbow jutted into my side, snapping me from my trance. The sound of Isabelle singing brought me back to the present. I glanced over to see that she had her microphone to her lips and her gaze kept snapping between me and the screen.
Right. We were singing karaoke. She’d asked me to come sing with her.
I shot her an apologetic smile as I brought my own microphone to my lips and started singing. I was grateful for the lyrics in front of me, it didn’t require any brain power to keep up.
My mind couldn’t seem to process what had just taken place between Hudson and me.
I was used to his looks of frustration. I was used to angry stares. I was even used to the mocking amusement he sent my direction every now and then.
But the look he was just giving me. And the way my body responded?
That, I would never get used to.
I needed to be smart and never ever look at Hudson again.
Ever.