In Your Heart - Smeltzer Micalea. Страница 46

“Should we go?” Ezra prompted.

“Oh, yeah.” Emma seemed to realize that Maddox, Mathias, and Remy were already outside waiting.

We all managed to pile into one SUV, so that the other was left in case Hayes and Arden needed it. When we got home, or if I got a chance to catch her alone, I’d have to ask Arden what was going on with the two of them.

Great, now I was going to act like Emma.

Scratch that, I wasn’t asking Arden anything.

I would not be the annoying, nosy friend like Emma. God, I loved the girl, but she was getting on my last nerve. She kept bringing up ‘killing spiders’ in small talk and then eyeing Ezra and me for a reaction. She’d yet to get one. We were masters of disguise. Okay, so not really, but neither one of us wanted to deal with the drama-fest of our friends finding out we had a friends-with-benefits relationship. They’d be mad, tell us we were stupid, and that we should stop immediately. While stopping would probably be the best thing to do the thought of it scared me more than anything else ever had and filled me with a pain far worse and than the crippling betrayal I’d felt when I caught Braden cheating on me. God, that seemed like a lifetime ago.

“We’re here,” Ezra said, bumping my elbow and jarring me from my thoughts.

I looked up to see that we were outside a shack looking building. It had bamboo sides and what looked like a straw roof. A neon sign decorated the front. It was pretty non-descript and I wondered how anyone ever found this place since there were no other establishments nearby.

We filed out of the vehicle and into the building.

It was pretty busy, which shocked me. I figured it would be empty.

A hostess greeted us and led us to a table, setting the menus down.

We were seated near the stage, where karaoke was well underway. The poor girl up there now was butchering a Mariah Carey song. I was pretty sure my ears started to bleed.

“Ow.” Ezra winced.

At least I wasn’t the only one that thought the girl was horrible.

When she finally finished the song I sent up a prayer that she wouldn’t sing again.

She didn’t.

I eyed the menu and ended up ordering a cheeseburger and salad. It seemed safe enough, and I could trick myself into thinking I was being healthy.

“So, are you guys going to sing?” I asked, eyeing Maddox and Mathias. Mathias was the lead singer of the band, but Maddox could sing too. Ezra, however, sounded like a dying cow when he sang. I knew this because I dared him to sing one time.

“Nah,” Mathias shook his head, draping his arm over the back of Remy’s chair, “I don’t want the attention.”

Remy automatically leaned into his body and smiled up at him. “And what makes you think anybody would be paying any attention to you?”

He cracked a half-smile. “Have you seen my face? And this voice? It’s the sound of an angel. The combination is an attention grabber and a panty dropper.”

She rolled her eyes at him and reached down like she was going to feel beneath her dress. “Really? Because my panties are still on.”

He brushed his lips against her chin and growled, “Not for long.” He kissed her then, and not an innocent kiss either. It was the kind that made you feel dirty for looking too long.

“Dude, stop,” Maddox groaned, covering his eyes. “I’m too young to see this.”

Mathias punched Maddox in the arm, all without breaking his kiss with Remy. That took some major skill.

Finally he pulled away and Remy was left breathless. Somehow her lipstick was still perfectly in place and none lingered on Mathias’ lips.

Now that Remy was available to talk, I said, “So, ladies, does that mean we’re going to sing?”

“Absolutely,” Emma chimed.

Remy grimaced. “And this is when I wish I could drink. I hate the thought of doing this stone cold sober, but for you guys I will. The Willow Creek ladies have to stick together.” She held out her fist for a bump. Emma and I quickly obliged.

I liked that. The Willow Creek ladies. But I couldn’t help feeling like I wasn’t really a part of that term. After all, Remy was married to Mathias and Emma would soon be married to Maddox. I was nothing but the friend, the outsider. I existed on the fringes, but not a part of the actual family. I knew if I voiced that aloud everybody at the table would tell me I was crazy, even Mathias, but it was how I felt.

Our food came and we all chatted while we ate.

We continued to talk after the food had been cleared away. It was nice for all of us to hang out and it reminded me of what things had been like before I started dating Braden. Remy hadn’t been a part of our group then, and Mathias had kept to himself, but we all clicked.

“Alright, ladies,” Mathias slid his chair back and crossed his hands behind his head, “it’s now or never. Quit stalling.”

Remy glared at him. “We’re not stalling, we were having a conversation.”

He reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “It’s getting late. We need to head back soon. The baby—”

“Okay, okay,” she agreed, and her face crinkled with worry, “you’re right. One song and then we’re out of here. Sound good?” She turned her attention to Emma and me.

“Yep.” Emma stood quickly, nearly knocking her chair over. Luckily Maddox caught it before it fell. “Oops.” A blush stained her cheeks.

“Have fun,” Maddox told us, sliding Emma’s now vacant chair into the table.

We went over and put our names on the list and picked a song. We were next, which didn’t give us long for the nerves to set in. I knew I didn’t have the best voice in the world, but I wasn’t horrible. Emma was amazing though. Her vocals were featured on several of Willow Creek’s songs and she even had a duet with Maddox.

The guy on stage finished his song and we were handed microphones.

“Ready?” Emma asked.

“Of course,” I answered.

Remy took a deep breath, her face slipping into a mask of confidence. “I got this.”

We all laughed and then stepped up on stage.

Maddox, Mathias, and Ezra began to clap for us before the song even began and Maddox threw in a loud whistle for extra effect.

The music began to play and the lyrics to Fifth Harmony’s "Worth It" appeared on the screen.

Emma started singing the first part. Maddox hollered and pumped his fist in the air.

I came in next, feeling bold and daring I started to move my hips to the song. I shimmied and tried to be as sexy as possible.

If Ezra’s darkened gaze, and the way he carefully covered his lap with closed palms, was any indication then I was doing a pretty good job.

Remy took the next part and she wasn’t bad at all. Although, it wasn’t that difficult to sound better than the girl who butchered Mariah Carey.

We took turns singing verses and even the other two joined in with the sexy dancing. I was shocked when Emma started swaying her hips, and running her hands through her hair sexily, but the fact of the matter was loving Maddox had made her more comfortable in her own skin.

The song ended and the room erupted into cheers—mostly from the guys, but whatever, it still counted.

We bowed and my hair brushed the stage floor.

We hopped off the stage and joined the guys. They’d already paid the bill so we headed outside to the car.

As we were about to exit the building I was jerked roughly into a darkened hallway by Ezra.

Before I could make a sound his lips crashed down on mine.

He pulled away within seconds, but I was still left breathless.

He grabbed my hand and put it over the hard-on straining against the zipper of his jeans. “Do you feel that?” He asked unnecessarily, but I nodded anyway. “That’s what you do to me. I’m hard for you all the fucking time and it’s killing me.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “You’re killing me…but I can’t walk away. I don’t want to.”