Page 16 of Broken Melody
“Good choice,” Erik says with a smile.
“I think so,” I laugh. He hands me the microphone and when he finishes up his set, I move to the stage. I put the microphone in the stand and look up toward Britt just as the music starts and almost curse into the microphone. Standing next to her at the bar and looking up at me is none other than Maddox Colt. I can see their mouths moving, and I can only imagine what Britt might be saying and part of me wants to throw the microphone down and run off the stage. What the absolute hell, is he doing here? Is it to talk to me about the audition? Rick said he would call me, so I can’t imagine it would be regarding that, but I could be wrong.
Doing my best to ignore him, I start singing the song and at first, it feels forced. The turmoil in my mind and the churning in my stomach at wondering why he’s here overtake me. But, as soon as I hit the chorus, the words I’m singing finally resonate within me. Change begins to fall over me; my stance relaxes, as does my grip on the microphone. I can feel my shoulders relax and a smile at the edges of my mouth. Eventually, I’m able to turn everything else off in my mind and simply be in the moment. This song is all about fighting for myself, not caring about what anyone else thinks, about knowing who I am. That’s exactly what I need right now. I not only sing the words, I feel them, I own them. I take them into my heart, make them mine, and then use my voice to let them fly. I want other people to feel the words too, through me.
I smile even more when women in the audience cheer, nod and sing along to the song. Being up here, even a stage in a small bar that does a karaoke night is everything. Up here, I don’t feel silly, invisible, delusional, trashy…lost…or any of the other things I’ve been called. Instead, I feel like I’m exactly who I should be - I can let myself soar.
When the song comes to an end, I open my eyes not even realizing I had closed them at some point. The room stands and cheers and I can feel my face warm from the attention. “Thank you,” I say into the microphone and the room starts asking for attention. They start asking for another song and when I shake my head, they protest. The regulars know I always do two and aren’t going to give up.
I turn to Erik and he lifts his hands up in a gesture where I know he’s asking me what I want to sing. I’m not sure why, but I look back at Britt and see that Maddox is still watching me. Britt looks from him to me and she nods her head encouraging me, with a mischievous smile on her face, like she knows exactly what I’m thinking. “How about ‘Keep Dreamin’ by Graffiti?” I say into the microphone and Erik nods while the patrons clap and cheer excited I’m singing again.
Glancing at Maddox, I see that he now has his arms crossed as he stands and leans back against the bar. I roam my eyes over his form taking in his ripped jeans, white t-shirt and leather jacket and hate myself a little bit when I salivate at how good looking he is. Stupid lady hormones. As I prepare to sing, I glance at him again, and he has a cocky look on his face that makes me think he knows exactly what I was looking at and thinking about. He’s smirking, likely at my song selection, and I can almost hear him thinking,‘This ought to be good’. I barely keep myself from rolling my eyes and instead, look away as I wait for the intro to finish.
Keep Dreamin’ is a man drama song, which is what Britt and I call songs with lyrics about guys boo-hooing over girls. This one is about a girl that likes a guy, but he’s not interested and no matter what he says, she’s just not getting the hint. He tells her to keep dreaming because it’s not going to happen. It’s a pretty egocentric song, and I can’t help but wonder about the story behind it. I’m not sure if one of the guys wrote it, or if someone else did for them. And if one of the guys wrote it, is it from personal experience? Who knows, but it has a fun beat, and the notes can easily be raised an octave to work for me, and have the key be fine.
I start out singing the song and when it calls for “he” and “she” references I reverse them – as I’ve done plenty of times when I’ve sung to the song on the radio. Oh yeah, I’ve always been a Grafitti fan, crazy really when I think about it. I still remember downloading their first album, not that I will ever tell them that if given the chance. Anyway, as I change the lyrics, the people familiar with the song laugh. Britt catcalls and I wink at her as she cheers and claps as I move around the stage unable to keep myself from moving to the music. When I chance a look at Maddox, I swear I see a whisper of a smile upon his lips, even if he is probably trying hard not to show it.
When the song is over, everyone cheers and asks for more, but I shake my head and tell them it’s time for someone else to take a turn. Smiling, I thank Erik like usual before going back to the bar. “Great job,” Dusty says and gives me a smile and hug.
“Thanks for letting me sing a couple songs. I always enjoy it,”
Dusty shakes his head at me. “I’m the one that should be thanking you. You bring in the crowd that buys the drinks. You’re good for business.”
“Loved it,” Britt says enthusiastically, then jerks her thumb at Maddox. “Look what the devil dragged in.”
“So I see.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him, “What are you doing here?” I ask bluntly.
“Wow, such kindness, such stellar customer service. Do you treat all your patrons this kindly?” Maddox asks.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Let me try again.” I roll my shoulders and roll my head around my neck as if I’m shaking off my previous words. Then I shove my hand in his face, snap my fingers and say, “Tell me what you’re doing here.” He jerks his head back avoiding my hand in his face and his eyes blink rapidly at my snapping. “Is that better?” I ask sweetly.
Frustratingly, he smiles broadly, and if I were a lesser woman I would swoon at that damn smile. But instead, I scowl. “I’ll take a jack and coke,” he tells me avoiding my question.
With a sigh I grab a glass and snap it onto the counter a little too hard, pour the drink, then slide it in front of him not caring when some of the liquor sloshes over the side. I raise an eyebrow giving him a look that dares him to make a comment. He chuckles. “That’ll be seven bucks.”
He raises his eyebrows at me as he fishes some money out of his pocket and gives me a twenty dollar bill, “Keep the change, songbird.”
I snap the money out of his hand all the while thinking about telling him where he can take his twenty and shove it. Instead, I smile, turn to the register, make change, and after I turn back around, I watch him as I slip the money into my bra. I swear his pupils flare and Britt laughs at my antics. A slow smile curves Maddox’s lips that I find annoying. He opens his mouth to say something, but I rudely walk away from him and tend to the needs of some other customers at the other end of the bar. Susie is also working behind the bar tonight, and Dusty too, so I know we are covered, but I feel bad having them do all the work.
I throw myself into helping other people, keeping myself turned away from him as much as possible. I can feel his gaze burning into me, but I refuse to look his way. Instead I flirt shamelessly, laugh loudly and most importantly, keep pouring drinks. I’m not sure what is going on with me right now, but I don’t have time to stop and evaluate it either.
The customers are chatty thankfully and I hear everything from how they liked my singing, to their favorite songs, to music artists they like right now to just simply how people’s days were. It’s a hectic wave and we’re all practically yelling the whole time so we can be heard over the singing and loud music.
In the mirror behind the bar, I notice that it isn’t long before people start to notice Maddox’s presence. He is a famous rock star after all. People are kind, but he still gets surrounded and eventually he’s signing napkins and taking photos with people.
While he’s occupied I have the chance to move to Britt to find out what the hell he wants, “What is he doing here? Has he said anything?”
“Well, he won’t say exactly, but it’s obvious that he’s here to see you.”
“For what?”
“Hell if I know. All we’ve been doing is talking about the band, their upcoming tour and the music they’ve been working on. I mean he asked me a few questions about you – but nothing much.”
“Has he said anything about if they’ve made a decision?”
“No, the bastard. And believe me, I’ve tried.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I tell her. Then make a sound of frustration. I probably would have stomped my foot too, but Dusty comes up to us and there’s a look of awe on his face.
