Page 65 of The Good Guy on My Porch

CHAPTER TWELVE

Oscar

Dilly smiled at me as the man on stage destroyed the beauty of an Adele song. I grimaced. I didn’t want to get up on stage, didn’t want to give karaoke a try, had never had the slightest interest in standing in front of a room full of people and making a complete fool of myself. A lot of guys, most guys, would have called me out for going along with her plan. They’d say I was whipped or that she had my balls, but I couldn’t manage to care. I was enjoying this back and forth game of ours too much and looking forward to the next challenge I’d plan for her.

I felt happier just being with her than I’d ever felt before. Now that I got to touch her and kiss her, I took a moment from my thoughts to do just that and her smile grew. I laced my fingers through hers and tried to calm my nerves.

“We’re up next,” she shouted over the loud music, as three women stepped onto stage and started singing an old Guns N’ Roses song. “Want to go up there and get ready?”

“Nope.”

She laughed and stood, pulling on my hand until I followed her. I resisted, because I wasn’t ready for her to know that I’d follow her anywhere she asked, that I’d already fallen so hard and fast I would do just about anything for her. It had been three days since we’d slept together, and she’d spent every night in my bed. The sex was incredible, and I couldn’t keep my hands off her when we were together, but the waking up with her in my arms, seeing her face every morning, that was the best part of my day.

The women on stage finished singing, and I climbed the stairs with Dilly. We’d chosen the Sonny and Cher song, I’ve got you Babe. It would be easy to sing, and the words were nearly impossible to screw up. We stepped onto stage and nerves shook me as I saw the crowd. Granted, most of the people weren’t looking at us. They were chatting with one another, drinking and laughing, mostly unaware of us, but still…I looked over at Dilly and was surprised to see the panic in her eyes. She was afraid? Why would she suggest doing something that scared her?

The music started, and she raised the microphone to hold it between us. She was supposed to sing first, but she just held the mic as her lines played on the screen. She opened her mouth and moved her lips, but no sound came out. She was frozen, absolutely still.

Seeing her fear, I forgot my own. Forgot how much I didn’t want to be up there. I grabbed her and spun her so that she was looking at me instead of the crowd, and I started to sing. I was singing her part, but it didn’t matter. She looked up at me and her fear faded as her eyes roamed my face.

At the chorus, she sang along with me. We stayed like that, facing one another, and sang the song as best we could. I could see the monitor over her shoulder, but she had nothing to feed her the lyrics. She knew the song pretty well, and just stayed silent when she didn’t know the words. I would have prompted her, but she’d never have heard me over the music and the crowd.

When the song ended, no one clapped or hooted for us, except some loud guy who’d obviously had too much to drink. It didn’t matter. We’d done it. I led Dilly down the stairs, right out of the club, and onto the dark street. “I’m sorry,” she said as soon as we were outside. “I didn’t think I’d freeze up like that this time.”

“This time? Why’d you suggest karaoke if it scares you?”

She laced her fingers through mine and we walked together in the direction of home. “I do it because it scares me,” she said. “At least once a week, I try to do something that terrifies me.” She paused and her grip on my hand tightened. “It’s…It’s a sort of reminder.”

“So, you do karaoke, stand on a stage, and freeze in fear to remember what it feels like to be afraid?”

“To remind myself that even scary things aren’t as scary as they seem and, that if the worst happens, like freezing up in front of a room full of people, I can survive it.”

“Is it an adrenaline rush thing?” I basically understood her reasoning, but it seemed like an unnecessary form of torture.

“Sometimes,” she said. “But I’m not addicted to it or anything. I don’t even look forward to it. I dread every new thing I come up with that scares me.”

“That is some serious dedication to overcoming fear. But maybe you can stop with the karaoke, now? If you’ve tried it several times and you still freeze up, maybe it’s just not for you.”

She shrugged, her steps light, quick. I couldn’t help but feel that she was shutting me out, holding back some vital piece of information. “Maybe.” She stopped in front of a small bakery. “I think we should reward ourselves for our karaoke trial.”

I couldn’t resist pulling her close and kissing her. “That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all night.”

She grinned and led me inside, her hand still in mine, any distance I’d felt between us gone.

---