Chapter 10 #2
Jake pauses. “I’ll take hot as hell.”
I laugh at their bickering.
“It’s our turn.” Em grabs Jake’s hand and practically pushes him out of the booth along with Levi, who sits closer to me.
We exchange a glance before the two blonds line up next to each other, grabbing the mic stands. As soon as they relax, I see what Levi was trying to say earlier. Together, not only do they look like the perfect couple, but they look like they belong on the cover of a magazine.
“They look like the epitome of new and old money, don’t they?” Levi mumbles.
“Yeah, and they’d make beautiful babies.” I turn to smile at him and find Levi looking at me with a smirk. Leaning forward, I ask what I’ve been dying to ever since the night I met them. “Have they ever…you know?”
Levi straightens and cocks a brow. “Now, Stevie. You said you wouldn’t ask anything until they got to know you better.”
I shake my head. “You’re right—”
“I’m fucking with you.” He bumps my shoulder, and I bump his just as hard.
“To answer your question, no. Not that I know of. Jake’s family would love Em and him together.
He’d finally get the fiancée and money, but neither Kamila nor I have seen a glimpse of romantic chemistry between them.
” All I heard from that sentence was the word fiancée.
I turn to him with my mouth wide open, about to ask what that means, when “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee plays.
Jake’s voice fills the speakers with the first line, and it’s not nearly as bad as Levi made it sound.
He’s average, not pitchy or annoying. Then Emma opens her mouth, and my jaw goes slack.
She sounds like a pop princess and has the stage presence of one as well.
It seems like she’s used to being on a stage, and it makes me wonder if she’s on it often.
“Isn’t she a journalism major?” I ask Levi to confirm what I learned the night she and I met.
His smile is full of amusement. “She has no interest in singing professionally, even though we’ve tried to tell her otherwise. Her heart is set on being a writer.”
I sigh in disappointment at the talent the world will be missing out on.
Then, in a matter of seconds, Levi and I are cackling at Jake and Em’s small dance routine, acting out the lyrics dramatically and looking absolutely ridiculous.
Eventually, they end up on one mic together, looking like an all-American couple.
Nudging Levi, I ask what other people have had to wonder as well. “How are you and your friends this good-looking and talented?”
He shoots me a surprised glance, mid-chuckle. “I have no idea,” he relays. “But thanks for the compliment.”
“What—” My face and neck heat as my question registers.
Shit.
Em and Jake finish up their set, and people are whooping around us. I didn’t mean to include Levi in the good-looking category. Talk about awkward.
Before I can come up with some sort of excuse, Em and Jake make their way back to our table, doubling over, giggling and breathing heavily.
“That was awesome!” They high-five and sit back in their spots.
“What’d you think, Stevie?” Jake taps my splayed-out hand. “Not too bad for someone who ‘fucking sucks,’ huh?”
Shaking myself out of my stupor, I confirm his words. “Not bad at all.”
Jake punches Levi’s shoulder. “And that’s coming from a professional, douchebag.”
Levi flinches and rolls his eyes.
I’d hardly call myself a professional. I’m not sure where he heard that, but I keep those thoughts to myself and start showering Emma with compliments and questions until she interrupts me.
“You and Levi are coming up right after this guy. I think you’ll both know the song we chose.” She brushes her curtain bangs off her face and smiles as if she didn’t drop a massive bomb on us.
“What do you mean, Stevie and me?” Levi grits out, his face red. Meanwhile, mine feels as if all color has drained from it.
Fuck.
For a minute there, I was having so much fun and letting loose that I forgot why I was brought here in the first place. Not only am I singing in front of a massive crowd of people, but I’m doing it with another person who doesn’t sing in front of others.
Jake smirks. “You might not have stage fright when it comes to playing, but you do when it comes to singing,” he tells Levi. “And, Stevie, we’re just trying to help.”
“We thought it’d be hypocritical of Levi to send you to sing but not himself. Hence, the duet,” Em finishes.
My mouth opens and closes, not knowing what the hell to say, and it seems as though Levi is in the same boat. Then the DJ announces our names. I had no time to warm up or mentally prepare, as I usually do. What song did they pick for us?
Crap, crap, crap.
“You got this.” Em’s voice is confident. Meanwhile, I haven’t moved. I’m frozen to the spot.
Levi and I glance at each other.
“What song?” he asks both of them.
Oh, he’s pissed.
Jake’s lips tighten. “‘Lovely.’”
My roommate nods once. “You know it?” The question is directed at me.
“Um…” My voice cracks. “Yes.”
It’s a slow song. A sad and slow song that is not easy to sing. It’s also going to be a very different version than the original with my voice. I would’ve expected these two to choose something light and fun, but I was very, very wrong.
“Okay, then.” Levi stands and offers me his hand. “Come on, Stephanie. Let’s go conquer this stupid fucking fear we have together.”
My feet don’t move, my mind is still going haywire, and my breathing is ten times worse than it was when we first came in. How did he get this calm so quickly?
As if sensing how bad I’m doing, Levi bends down.
“Levi and Stevie, please come up. You have thirty more seconds to claim your spot before we move on,” the commercial-sounding person announces.
“Shit,” he mutters. “I know you’re nervous, but do you feel medically okay to go up there?” His voice is gentle and understanding. “If you do, please keep your eyes on me throughout the entire thing or close them if that helps.”
I nod, telling him that I’m not having any auras, which is surprising considering my anxiety and stress. Maybe I’ll end up passing out.
When my eyes meet his, I feel a sort of calmness, similar to the one when we’ve watched TV together or spoken like friends. My breathing instantly slows down, as does my heart rate.
“That’s it. Look at me.” Finally, I stand, and he guides me to the stage where he grabs my mic off the stand and hands it to me.
Taking it, I make the huge mistake of looking at the crowd, and my stomach drops. Levi quickly steps in front of me.
“Eyes on me.” His voice is so demanding, his eyes so dark that it knocks me straight out of my haze.
I must be going crazy because those three words, in that deep voice, make me feel as if I have no choice but to do as he says.
The craziest part is that I don’t mind because the fog of fear clears as my gaze follows his every step.
He hums approvingly. “That’s it. Good girl.”
The phrase surprises me, causing an involuntary shiver. Whether it’s nerves or something else, I’m unsure.
“Once we get up there, look at me or the lyrics, or shut your eyes. But whatever you do, do not forget to breathe, understood?” His voice is as demanding as it was seconds ago.
Usually, I’d playfully slap or push him, but again, I feel as if I have to do as he says. I dip my chin.
“Good girl,” he says again.
The feeling of tranquility that washes over me with those same words is odd and confusing, but right now it’s also useful.
Then the notes of “Lovely” by Billie Eilish and Khalid begin to play, and I know I only have a few seconds before the lyrics commence.
Levi’s dark blue gaze doesn’t falter as he quickly takes our mic stands and places them in front of each other, silently telling me to put my mic back in its stand. It’s a smart move. A move that gives me no choice but to look at him.
Once we settle into our places, I take a deep breath and open my mouth.
My voice is shaky, but it’s there. Levi’s eyes glimmer, and he smiles approvingly at the first time he’s ever really heard me sing.
He backs me up, echoing some of the words with his voice, like on the original soundtrack, giving everyone a glimpse of his talent.
Then he joins me in the chorus, and our eyes widen as we realize that we both have extremely different styles, but here, they’re blending perfectly.
We still don’t look away, both knowing the lyrics by heart.
I place a palm directly on my diaphragm, closing my eyes while I reach the notes I’m less accustomed to, smiling when I hit them perfectly.
Opening them again, I see and hear Levi begin his short solo, and the raspiness in his voice makes everything and everyone around us go completely quiet, like I somehow knew it would.
He grabs the mic with both hands and throws his head back slightly. When I sing with him this time, we never lose eye contact. We grow louder and more confident.
Something in the air shifts, and I see Levi’s expression change. It’s one of the most intimate moments I’ve had with someone in a long time.
Then out of nowhere, Levi takes the mic out of the stand and walks around, coming directly toward me. My voice falters for a moment when he looks at my mic, giving me clear instructions to follow his lead.
My mic slips out of the stand easily as we’re seconds away from the highest note in the song.
He stops a couple of inches away from me as we finish the chorus together and he grabs my left hand with his right, intertwining our fingers.
As soon as they’re locked together, he joins me on the most difficult note in the song, throwing me off guard by both actions.
Tingles spread through my body at our touch, at the harmony, and as the final lyrics leave us.
The crowd goes wild, and I jump, remembering where we are. Levi shakes his head as if he was in a trance, looks at our hands, and turns to the crowd, still not letting go.
Why isn’t he letting go?
There are dozens of people around us clapping. Trying to come to terms with the fact that I sang in front of a large crowd for the first time, I find Em and Jake filming us and cheering while Em claps and wipes a tear off her cheek.
We were…good. No, we were great.
I turn my head back to Levi and find him looking down at me with an awed expression. He finally lets go of my hand, picks me up, and twirls me around, making me laugh.
“That was amazing, Bambi.”
He lets me go, causing me to lose my balance, but I steady myself. “Ditto, Hotshot.”
Levi smiles, and my chest fills with pride and happiness at what we both achieved tonight. While stepping off the small stage, I see a blur of a familiar face surrounded by blonde hair. But they’re gone the second I blink.
“What is it?” Levi scours the room to try to find what I saw.
I shake my head, doubting whether the person I think I saw was here in the crowd. “Nothing, I thought I saw…it doesn’t matter.”
He gives me a suspicious glance before we return to the table where Jake and Em gush over us.
Jake sends me the video, and Em talks about how beautiful everything was.
And although I’m speaking to Emma, I can’t help but feel the shift between me and Levi.
It’s as if the second the two of us stepped off the stage, that intimate moment that occurred before and during the song didn’t happen.
Not the words, looks, touch, or Levi’s new and odd demanding tone that made me feel things I hadn’t before.
Not the sensation of finally feeling comfortable enough to sing not only onstage, but with someone else.
As if sensing my thoughts, I feel Levi’s gaze on me.
Turning slightly, his blue eyes meet my green ones, looking confused, but unlike myself, completely unfazed, as if to let me know that all this was, was a great performance.