Page 52 of Vitamin Sea
“Alright,” he said lightly. “I’d like to dedicate this performance to the beautiful and captivating Chloe Ryder. Chloe,” he continued, “this one’s for you.”
The crowd let out a collective “oooooh” and a deep blush blossomed across Chloe’s face.
The music started up and her jaw dropped open. Hewasn’t.Jack absolutely wasnotdoing this. Was he?
The opening bars of Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” started playing and Chloe burst into a fit of laughter.
Jack, still hidden behind the curtain, sang the opening line then flung it open and strutted on stage in a mock sexy walk. Chloe nearly fell off her barstool. Blue, red, and yellow lights came to life and bathed Jack in a disco of colour—it almost looked like a professional pop performance.
“I’m too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt,” Jack crooned while playing to the audience. They whooped, cheered, and catcalled, with their support growing louder as Jack undid the buttons on his shirt with one hand.
Chloe could not believe what she was seeing. Jack, with the swagger of a Bachelorette contestant, was fully committing tothe bit—stripping on stage in front of sixty or so strangers without any hint of self-consciousness or shame.
“I’m too sexy for your party,” he sang while he waved his shirt around his head before casting it off into the crowd.
The audience roared and she heard someone yell, “Take it off!” Chloe was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
As the chorus started, Jack strutted around the stage, swiveling his hips in an exaggerated manner as he belted out the lyrics. God, she wished she had her phone right now to record this. Lala would be so pissed to have missed it.
“I’m too sexy for my car, too sexy for my car,” Jack sang seductively.
Out of nowhere, a bright-blue feather boa sailed onto the stage from the audience and Jack picked it up and put it around his bare shoulders. He gave it a shimmy and then twirled one end dramatically in his hand.
Mercifully, he kept the rest of his clothes on, and Chloe, between laughs, joined in the chorus of cheers. On the final verse, the lights went up and the audience gave him a standing ovation. Tears of laughter streamed down Chloe’s face, and Jack, with a large smile on his face, caught her eye and took a theatrical bow.
A short woman walked up to the stage and Jack handed her the boa before he jumped off and headed towards Chloe. It took a minute for him to work his way back due to the number of people trying to chat with him, and him trying to find his shirt.
“I cannot believe you did that!” Chloe squealed with laughter as he eased onto the bar stool beside her.
Jack, with his shirt back on and buttoned up, shot her a grin. “Ah, I figured I’d have some fun and liven things up a bit.”
“That was hilarious.” Her eyes twinkled. “I would never have the guts to get up there in front of a group of people and sing like that.”
Jack grabbed his beer and leaned back in his chair, totally at ease.
“It’s nothing really. If you can’t laugh at yourself, how can you laugh at anybody else?”
He had a point.
“You’ll miss out on so many things if you let feelings of self-consciousness get in the way. You are funny, beautiful, totally fun company, you have a kick-ass career, and you’re smart. You are the last person who should be feeling self-conscious about anything.”
He clinked his glass against hers and maintained eye contact. Inside, Chloe felt a tug deep in her stomach. It wasn’t butterflies this time, nor was it flip-flops. It was impossible lightness and a heavy dose of adrenaline. A feeling of electricity; it felt like something invisible was tethering them together and Chloe didn’t want to look away.
“Refresh your drinks?” The bartender’s voice cut through them and their gaze broke apart.
Chloe smiled and shook her head while Jack ordered another. When the bartender left there was an awkward silence and Chloe wondered if, like her, he was grappling with the electricity she had felt between them moments before.
She broke the silence first.
“I have to admit, I was starting to get worried about you,” she said lightly. “I thought maybe you had gotten lost or hurt or something. It crossed my mind at one point that maybe you’d ditched me . . .,” she trailed off. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
Jack chuckled.
“Trust me, the last thing I want to do right now is ditch you,” he said sincerely.
They parted ways a short time later in Costa Morpho’s lobby. There was laughter on their lips, a glint in their eyes, and beforeJack left, he gave her a deep, heated kiss. It was exactly what she had hoped for and better than she could have anticipated.
Before Jack got into his Uber, he cupped his hand around her face.
