Page 14 of Reluctantly Married

Megan grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. “Surprise! I entered us in the contest. Won’t that be fun? It will be just like American Idol.”

He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. Was she insane? He’d told her he couldn’t sing. Hadn’t she remembered? Dale stood behind them, the camera rolling. Adam forced a smile. “Yeah. Fun.”

If it had been just the two of them, he could have laughed it off. Embarrassing himself in front of a bar full of people was one thing. Having it broadcast live on the Internet where nothing ever goes away…that was something else. Maybe he could gracefully get out of it. Fake a cough or something.

Megan grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. The smell of barbecue and fried food filled the air, and his stomach growled. A young woman in tight jeans and a name tag saying “Angela” approached them. Megan spoke to her, and Angela gave them both numbers and led them to a table.

Adam nervously rubbed his hands together as he waited for the food. How was he going to get out of this one?

A look of concern crossed Megan’s face. “Are you okay? You look nervous.”

“Well, I…um.” He cleared his throat. “I can’t sing.”

A devilish look crossed her face for an instant, but then it was gone. She waved his concern away. “No one cares. This is all just for fun.”

He stared at her. She knew he couldn’t sing. She’d brought him here on purpose. But why? Then a thought made his throat constrict. Had Leon told her about Dr. Lemon? Was she mad at him? Or maybe this was something she and Leon concocted together. It would be just like him to turn her against him. See how humiliated he could get on camera, just for the ratings.

Their wings arrived at the table, and he dug in. Delicious. At least he’d get a good meal out of the deal. As he ate, he thought about what he would do. If this was something she and Leon had set up, maybe he could turn the tables on them. Show them it didn’t bother him. Somehow.

The contest started all too soon, and he and Megan sat and watched as amateur singers stepped up on stage and tried their best to win. It didn’t make him feel any better that most of them were really good, hitting all the notes and getting applause.

Megan’s number came up. She grinned at him, then jaunted up the steps to the stage. She whispered what song she wanted and waited for them to queue up the machine. As the first notes played, Adam sunk lower in his chair. He recognized the song. It was an old Weird Al song from the 80’s, titled ‘One More Minute.’

Megan sang the first line, and Adam was surprised at how good she was. She could sing. Really well. She wasn’t afraid to belt it out, nor was she afraid to direct the lyrics toward him. She stared at him and made hand gestures so everyone knew who she was singing to. He smiled as the audience turned to look at him. And as she sang about how she’d rather eat shards of broken glass than spend one more minute with him, people started laughing and hooting.

She’d gotten him. He donned his camera smile and laughed when Dale focused in on him. Megan played up the song, singing dramatically when the part came about how she’d rather rip her heart out and stomp on it until she died than spend any more time with him.

When she finished, the audience went wild, cat calling and giving her a standing ovation. Megan grinned and bowed, and hammed it up. She was cute, standing up there and blushing, even though she’d been trying to embarrass him.

His number was next, and the audience hooted as he stepped up on stage. He took the microphone from Megan, then grabbed her arm so she couldn’t leave. “For those of you who don’t know, this is my morning show co-host, Megan Holloway. Let’s give her another hand, shall we?”

The applause was deafening. As the noise died down, he said, “She’s doing her best to embarrass me tonight.” More hooting. “I think she did a great job, don’t you?”

Megan’s face flushed, and she tried to pull away, but he gripped tighter. “You see, she found out on our last date that I can’t sing. And so, to be wickedly devious, and probably to boost ratings…” Her blush deepened. “She entered me into this contest.”

The room quieted down, and he let her go. She staggered away from him, flashed a quick smile, then held her arms up like Vanna White. “Take it away, Adam!” She hopped off the stage.

He walked over to the guy queuing up the songs and asked if they had Wicked Game, by Chris Isaak. As the first eerie notes played, he took his place in center stage. Instead of singing, which he knew he would do badly, he spoke the lyrics, his voice low and sultry, the microphone close to his lips.

The effect of the haunting music and the powerful lyrics captivated the room. Everyone sat in silence as he spoke the words to Megan and told her what a wicked thing she’d done, to make him feel this way about her. As the lyrics unfolded, he confessed how he desired her but feared she would break his heart. As the last of the music faded, he bowed. The room erupted in thunderous applause.

He jumped off the stage, microphone still in hand, and walked over to Megan, pulling her up from her chair. “I do think you’ll break my heart,” he said into the microphone. “But I can’t help myself.” He tossed the mic, which landed on the table with a loud thunk, and kissed her. The room exploded in another standing ovation.

6

Megan staggered back staring atAdam, unable to hear a thing above the uproar in the bar. He stared at her, a sexy smile on his face, those dimples making her legs feel all wobbly. Her heart pounded from the kiss and from the way Adam had performed on stage. He’d reminded her of a panther, slinking toward her. A predator.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. Adam could melt her heart with his kiss, but that didn’t mean he cared for her. He was playing a game, and he knew how to play it well. His performance, on and off the stage, would surely gain more viewers. And that was what this was all about.

Steeling herself against the effects of his kiss, she picked up the mic. “Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Adam Warner.”

After the applause died down and everyone took their seats, they started up the contest again. Megan did her best to ignore the warmth of Adam’s leg so close to hers. She smiled when he shot her inquisitive glances, and batted her eyes when the camera zoomed in. If he was going to play the part, so was she.

Neither of them ended up winning the $100, although they pulled Adam on stage and gave him a certificate for being the most memorable. As they left, he slid his arm around her waist. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “What did I do to deserve that?”

Megan glanced at Dale, then squirmed out of Adam’s grasp and slapped him on his cheek. “I’m not that kind of girl.” She glared at him.

His cheeks turned red, and he glanced from her to the camera, his eyes wide. “I didn’t…I…you misunderstood me.”

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