Page 14 of Only One Tent
I took a deep breath and sighed. “What do you have from like Bon Jovi?”
“You know Bon Jovi?” she asked curiously.
“Yep. Probably every single song.” I’d had such a crush on Jon Bon Jovi as a kid. Hell, I still did. He’d grown into a good-looking man.
“Okay. I’ll see what I got. Stand over here. You’re next.”
I don’t know why I didn’t argue. I didn’t know why I was so serious about it. I don’t know why I lied to myself like that.
Yeah, I did.
I wanted Crow to like my performance. And I kind of wanted Danny to like it too. Danny meant something to me. He was like a brother. And Crow…I didn’t want to look at that any closer. Not yet.
Bella went and did her thing, then came back over. “It’sYou Give Love A Bad Name. Can you do that?”
I nodded. I’d actually sung this one at karaoke bars often. There was no lead-in for it. It just started with the first iconic line. That tended to make the intro timing more difficult, but it was going to be what it was. I could catch the beat if I was off. As soon as it started up, I held the mic in both hands and sang, “Shot through the heart and you’re to blame…Darling you give love, a bad name.” It was primarily acapella, and I was right on time with the rhythm. Then the song moved into the verse, and I moved across the fake stage, pointing out at the audience andmaking other hand motions that went with the song. I hardly thought about what I was doing; I focused on singing.
When I got to the end of the song, since turnabout was fair play, I went out to the tables and got other people to sing with me, and then I got Bella to sing. “Madame Bella Donna! I shouted, then aimed the mic at her.” She didn’t disappoint, and we finished the song off together with a round of, “You give love, bad name—Whoa-oh, oh-oh-oh.” Until the music faded out. She towered over me and bent over to sing into the mic, but it was fun, and everyone cheered, which made me blush. Performing like that would have been easier with a drink. Watching was better, so I slid back to my seat.
It wasn’t long before Levi squeezed in beside me at my table and handed me a flask as if he’d read my mind. “You look like you could use one.”
I took a swig without even asking what it was. Apparently, Vodka. “Thanks.”
When I handed it back, Levi took a swig. “Figured you better get some before I drink it all. Cuz I’m going to need it.”
“Why?”
Bella spoke in the mic again. “Okay, PRIDE partiers, we have one last performance…please put your hands together for Little Levi and Sister Bri.”
Levi hid his face behind his hands and groaned. But Brianna wasn’t letting him get out of it. She grabbed his arm, “Let’s do this, Bro.”
“Ohmygawd. You’ll be fine. Go.” I shoved him a little, and he turned to me with a glare and mouthedtraitor.
I just laughed, wondering what they would do.
“Y’all ready?” Bella asked.
Bri nodded. Levi held up his hands as if he didn’t know. Bri stuck a mic in one of them and put it in front of his face. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
Funky, muted music started, and Bri sort of talk-sang, “Okay.”
When the music cleared up, it was sort of a dance beat. Then the first chorus started, and I recognized the relatively new song. It was by Dua Lipa. Bri was good at singing through the chorus.
But.
When the first verse kicked in, Levi sang. “Time is passin’ like a solar eclipse. See you watchin’ and you blow me a kiss.” I was sure Danny was going to be jealous. That boy had chops. His voice was crystal clear and beautiful. His face, on the other hand, looked terrified. He could be a star, but he obviously had horrible stage fright.
When the song was over, I stood to applaud. Bri took a big, dramatic bow. Then hugged Levi, who still looked terrified. Then he practically ran away from the stage and right into the arms of his man, Hudson. It was honestly too cute.
After that, the assistant, who I wasn’t sure what his name was, passed around cards to each table with lyrics on them. Apparently, there was actually one more song.
“Okay, campers. We’re closing tonight with a sing-along. A camping sing-along classic. Y’all probably know the words, but here they are on these cards, just in case. And please leave them on the tables when you’re done.” Everyone picked up their cards, including me. There was plenty of light to read from the porch and party lights strung around, attached to poles in buckets that circled—or squared—the tables. Plus, there were battery-operated lanterns on the tables. So, no worries. “Okay, no music for this one. So, let’s do it, campers! Happy PRIDE!”
Everyone clapped and cheered one more time, and when we settled, she started singing and we joined in. It was the classicKumbaya. Could it have been anything else?
We did not sound like pros. But it was fun. Everyone rocked back and forth as we sang, and when it was over, everyone stood and clapped again for Bella Donna. She was fun and unexpected.
We all headed back to the campsites. Levi caught up to me and slung his arm around my shoulders. “I shared my booze, and you threw me under the bus.”
