The Winner Takes It All (Love in L.A. Book 3)

by Audrey Harte

  “Georgia on My Mind.”

  “I don’t know that song.”

  “Well, I hope you like it. It’s one of my favorites.”

  “Does it make your mommy cry?”

  Annie laughed and nodded. “Yes, it makes my mommy cry, but she says they are happy tears as well.”

  “Mommies are supposed to say stuff like that, cuz they’re growed up,” Lara informed her matter-of-factly.

  “Well, I’m glad we both make our mommies cry with our singing.”

  “Yeah, Daddy says that’s how you know you’re really good. When you can make the chicks cry.”

  Lara’s dad cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening slightly as he patted his little girl and smiled weakly at his wife who was now looking at him suspiciously. “Okay, precious, let’s not tell the nice ladies all of daddy’s secrets.”

  Annie and Erin both giggled again and smiled sweetly at Lara’s parents before turning back around in their seats.

  Just then, Kyle Atkinson walked out on stage and everyone applauded enthusiastically. The TV host briefly explained that the next round of eliminations was about to begin, starting with the dancers.

  The first dance act was a hip hop group made up of six guys and four girls who specialized in breaking, popping and locking. They had been performing together for two years and called themselves the East LA Dance Crew. The ELADC was good. They were so good that after they finished, Annie looked a little worried and exchanged glances with Erin whose expression mirrored hers.

  “Wow. That’s going to be a tough act to follow,” Erin said. “They were really good.”

  “I know…”

  “But hey, you said Casey and his crew are awesome, right?”

  “I said Casey is awesome, but I’ve only seen him dancing back-up for Kayla. I’ve never seen him perform with his crew. I mean, I’m assuming that they’re amazing or they wouldn’t have gotten this far, right?”

  Erin laughed as she put up her hands. “Whoa, girl, I’m not dissing your boy or his crew. No need to get defensive. All I said was that the ELADC is going to be a tough act to follow… for anyone, though. But I’m sure your man’s got skills or he wouldn’t have gotten this far, like you said.”

  “Sorry, I’m just nervous for him. I want so badly for him to wi—” Annie stopped herself. “For him to do well,” she finished lamely.

  “Girl, I don’t enjoy you at all. I don’t know if I could compete against the man I love. But you’re here, which tells me you want this. So go big or go home, chick, but don’t give him the crown before this shit has even started. If he’s meant to win, if you’re meant to win—it doesn’t matter. You make him earn it either way.”

  Annie smiled at her new friend. “You’re pretty awesome yourself, you know? And I’m not even talking about your vocal talent, girl, which you’ve got in spades.”

  “Aww, are we having a mushy girlie girl moment?” Erin said teasingly as she scrunched up her nose at Annie.

  Laughing, Annie shook her head. “We were, but don’t worry. It’s over now, I promise. You’ve fulfilled your quota for the day.”

  “Oh yay,” Erin said right before the lights flickered, indicating that another performance was about to start.

  The next act was four tiny ballerinas in pink and purple tutus who performed a piece from The Nutcracker. Julia and Olivia, as the two eldest girls introduced themselves, were ten-years-old, and their younger sisters, Lilah and Mya, were eight-years-old. And the four of them looked nearly identical. The only noticeable difference between them was that the older sisters were about an inch taller than their younger siblings.

  During the next break, Annie sat there with her eyes squeezed shut as she prayed silently for Casey and his crew to absolutely murder their first performance in the finals. Erin seemed to sense that it would be wise for her to keep quiet and did not make a sound until the lights flickered again.

  “And here we go,” Erin said, reaching over to squeeze Annie’s hand. Annie gripped Erin’s hand tightly and gave her a nervous smile.

  “It’s show time, “Annie whispered into the darkness as she waited for the music to start.

  The beginning chords to Black or White by Michael Jackson began to play and two spotlights lit up the first two members of Casey’s crew who immediately began to pop and lock, making the crowd cheer enthusiastically in response. When Annie saw Casey lit up next with his own spotlight, she and Erin jumped up from their seats and started cheering loudly. This continued until all of the guys had hit the spotlight, and then Casey smoothly slid into the center front where he led his crew in perfectly synchronized movements to a Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake mash-up. As the song transitioned into the next, Casey started doing some old school break dancing, eventually raising himself up to spin on his head.

  Annie loved how her man and his crew seemed to have the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. She would have felt shitty if Casey had been sent home way earlier than she was. In a perfect world, they would both make it into the finale, and then one of them would win and the other would put on their happy face and smile for the other’s good fortune. But with the amount of talent gathered there in New York, Annie guessed that they both would be lucky just to break into the top ten.

  Casey and his crew began to break it down as they executed intricate moves that Annie knew were part of a difficult hip hop style called animation. She’d loved watching him dance whenever she got a chance, but this was the best she’d ever seen from him. He was in his element, and he was sexy as fuck. Annie knew she was going to have to beat the girls off of him eventually, but for the time being, she was trying to live in the moment and revel in the crowd’s response to him.

  As the music ended, Annie applauded furiously along with everyone around her. Casey and his boys stood in the center of the stage and passed the microphone around as they introduced themselves. Casey started by saying that their name was Pure Flow and that most of them had been performing together for over ten years. As he was saying his name, a girl called out loudly, “Hey baby, are you single?”

  Grinning, he shook his head before passing the mic to Chris, one of the other crew members who Annie recognized from the party at Casey’s apartment. Annie beamed a smile at Casey, happy that he wasn’t pretending to be single for appearance’s sake. They left the stage, and about half an hour later, Casey slid into the empty seat she’d saved for him.

  “You were ridic,” she whispered in his ear as he leaned close to kiss her neck.

  “Thanks, princess,” he murmured back into her ear.

  The rest of the day’s performances sped along pretty quickly. There were some questionable contestants who Annie was pretty sure had been thrown in purely for good TV, such as a penguin that could walk backwards and a girl whose talent was nailing her tongue to a wooden board without drawing blood. Then there were some pleasant surprises, such as a young teenage magician who ended up being one of Annie’s favorite acts, and an older lady who was quite the seasoned comic, but had just never gotten her big break.

  By the time evening had approached and the vocal performances were announced, Annie was feeling pretty drained, and her ass hurt from sitting for so long. As she walked down the hall to the backstage entry, she rolled her neck and stretched out the kinks as she hummed the song she was about to perform. Georgia on My Mind was a classic, and Annie knew that as long as she didn’t fuck it up, she had this in the bag.

  When it was her turn to step out on the stage, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for just a few seconds, then opened them and drank it all in as she scanned the room. This was everything she had ever dreamed of. This was all happening to her now. She could feel the heat of the lights that beat down as she stood there. As she pulled the old-fashioned microphone forward on its stand and sang the familiar words, Annie closed her eyes again and swayed back and forth, hearing Ray Charles singing along with her. It was one of her favorite songs, and it never failed to please a crowd. Sh
e could feel the goose bumps on her arms as she wailed on the last chorus, feeling the emotion emanate from her as her voice echoed through the auditorium.

  As she sang the last note, her lips curved into a wide smile. She knew she’d done the song justice. The applause that erupted a moment later confirmed this, and Annie’s heart soared as she basked in the acceptance that radiated all around her. These people loved her voice. They appreciated the gift she had to share with them. They made her feel like she was home.

  It was late by the time the last singer performed that evening. Erin and Annie joined Casey and his crew, who headed straight for a local diner that was open twenty-four hours. While waiting for their burgers and fries to arrive, Erin showed Annie a text that Mike had just sent her. He was in the neighborhood and offered to swing by and join them. Erin was practically bouncing out of her seat with excitement. Annie didn’t have the heart to tell her it was probably a mistake, so she just smiled and said he was more than welcome to join them. Erin wasted no time texting him, and fifteen minutes later, Mr. Green Eyes himself walked in with a sexy swagger that was all his own. Yep, Annie could definitely see why Erin was enamored with this guy.

  Mike was funny and charming and respectful of women, and even though she wanted to hate him on Erin’s behalf, Annie couldn’t help liking the guy. Casey seemed to take to Mike as well. She leaned over to listen in on their conversation at one point and heard them discussing some video game called League of Legends. Casey said he didn’t have time to play video games, but Mike was telling him how advanced things had become and how they’d made a spectator sport out of playing this online strategy game. Erin admitted that she’d started playing the same game because of Mike. Even though she really didn’t have time to game anymore, he’d convinced her to give it a shot. To Erin’s delight, Mike hung out with them for a couple of hours before walking back with them to their hotel.

  When she was about to turn and give Annie a hug and say good night, Mike said, “Well, I’d better get going.”

  “What?” Erin asked a little too loudly, then cringed, looking embarrassed at the volume of her response. “You’re leaving? You don’t want to come up for a bit?” she said more quietly as she moved closer to him to talk.

  “Nah, I’ve gotta be up early tomorrow for work, so I’d better head home.”

  “But you could stay here with me tonight,” she protested, trying to keep the desperate tone from her voice and failing miserably.

  “Nah, you know, I’ve got a meeting early in the morning before my shift starts, and I haven’t been feeling well lately. I need to get home and get some rest. Is that cool?”

  Erin stood there and just nodded dumbly, looking a little shell-shocked. He smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her cheek and hug her good-bye. She hugged him back and waved weakly as he walked out of the hotel.

  “What the hell just happened?” Erin exclaimed as she watched him walk away down the street.

  “Uh, I’m not too sure.”

  “Like why wouldn’t he stay? Why did he even bother coming if he was just going to hang out for a couple of hours and then bail? I wasn’t even going to grill him over what happened the last time I was here. I was just going to fuck him and that was that. Like for old time’s sake.”

  “Yeah, I dunno, dude.”

  Erin shook her head, looking bewildered. “Did he not think I have my own room? Did he think you were staying with me? I should text him.”

  Sighing, Annie shook her head as Erin whipped out her phone and started texting, then started pacing around the lobby while she waited for him to respond. After a few minutes, she paced her way back over to Annie.

  “Ugh, I texted him, but he didn’t answer. Let me try calling him.” Annie started to say something, but Erin waved her hand to shush her. “Sorry, just wait one second. I just want to try calling him before he gets on the subway.” Waiting as the phone rang but no one picked up, Erin chewed nervously on her lip. Finally it went to voicemail, and she ended the call and looked at Annie with a bummed expression. “He didn’t answer. I can’t believe he came and hung out and walked us back here and then just left like that.”

  “I know, it’s crazy,” Annie agreed, shaking her head.

  “Why would he bother walking me back to the hotel?” Erin wondered, unable to let it go just yet.

  Annie shrugged. “I dunno. You said he’s a good guy, right? That’s what you like about him?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, then he has to uphold that image, you know? The good guy.”

  “That’s such bullshit.”

  Annie just shrugged again. “It is what it is.”

  Sighing, Erin leaned forward to give Annie a hug. “Alright, well since I’m not getting laid tonight, I’d better get to bed. You’d better head there, too.”

  “Yeah, except I might be getting laid tonight,” Annie said, winking. Erin smacked her arm in response.

  “Bitch. I hate you.”

  “That’s okay. I feel your pain. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Okay. I’m still probably going to hate you in the morning.”

  “What if I bring you caffeine?”

  “I might hate you a little less… especially if it comes in the form of a large Vanilla Latte with almond coconut milk.”

  “Deal,” Annie said.

  “Deal,” Erin echoed.

  The girls said their goodnights and headed off to their rooms. Casey returned shortly after she got back to her room, but the bedroom shenanigans she had been planning on were sadly absent. He seemed to be preoccupied as they got ready for bed. After brushing his teeth, he crawled into bed and reached to shut off the light, then pulled her close and was asleep in a matter of a few minutes. Annie huffed in exasperation as she listened to him start to snore softly. When was she going to get some again? Closing her eyes, she willed herself to fall asleep. Thankfully, she was exhausted enough that sleep quickly overcame her.

  When she woke up the next morning, Casey was gone. She looked around the room and saw that all of his things were still there. Glancing at the nightstand, she saw a note that he’d hastily scribbled and left for her.

  Early rehearsal with the boys. I’ll see you later. Love you.

  Annie again wondered to herself why she thought that being here with Casey during this competition would mean that she’d get to see him more often. They had the day off while the judges were debating who had made the cut to the next round.

  She texted Erin to see if she wanted to hang out, but due to her being rejected by Mike the previous evening, Erin was in no mood to socialize and told Annie that if she valued her life, she would just give her some space. She patiently explained that she needed to mope for a day as it was part of her healing process. Understanding how shitty it felt to get your heart broken, Annie told Erin to do what she needed to do, then sat back and sighed as she thought about what she should do with her day.

  Suddenly, she brightened upon remembering a restaurant Erin had recommended she try sometime for breakfast, The Clinton Street Baking Company. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out as Erin said they served some pretty fabulous banana walnut pancakes with locally made Maple syrup. Annie was drooling already just thinking about it. As soon as she finished getting ready, she headed downstairs and called Uber for a pick-up. The driver arrived a few minutes later and started off towards her destination.

  Upon arriving at the cozy restaurant, Annie only had to wait for ten minutes before she was seated at a tiny table that was squeezed in between the front door of the establishment and another booth. She perused the menu briefly before deciding to stick with her original choice of the banana walnut pancakes and homemade apple cider that Erin had raved about. When she tasted both her food and drink, Annie thought she’d died and gone to heaven. Everything tasted delicious and was warm and comforting, like home.

  After breakfast, Annie spent the rest of her day walking around the city, taking dozens of pictures as she
eagerly drank in all the sights. Of course using her phone to take so many pictures, she quickly drained her battery. She was just heading back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner and recharge her phone when she bumped into an attractive, familiar face in the downstairs lobby.

  Trey smiled widely as soon as he saw her. “Hey gorgeous,” he said as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek and give her a half hug.

  “Hey yourself,” she said as she returned the greeting. “What brings you to the Big Apple?”

  “Oh you know, just kickin’ it with a friend of mine. She’s here to support her brother—he’s part of this dance crew—oh right, you’re with Casey. Yeah um, her brother, Austin, is in Casey’s dance crew.”

  “That’s cool,” Annie said. “Nice of you to come along and show support.”

  “Yeah, well you know. That’s how I roll,” he said with an easy grin.

  Annie smirked. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I need to freshen up for dinner. Casey’s probably been trying to call me, but I drained my battery taking pictures of the city today.”

  “Well, you can try to call him, but I think he and Trisha and the crew already headed out to dinner.”

  “Wait a minute. Trisha? That’s your friend who you’re here to support?”

  “Yeah, although we kind of got into a fight, which is why I didn’t go with them to dinner.”

  “And now she’s out having dinner with Casey and his boys… and without me. Great.”

  “Well, I don’t have any plans. I’m not saying I’m the greatest dinner date, but I’m a decent substitute on short notice.”

  Annie laughed and tried to calm herself down. So what if Casey was having dinner with Trisha and his dance buddies? Her brother was part of his crew. They were old family friends. They had history. There was nothing she could do to change that. And Trey was an attractive and willing distraction. Why not? Annie nodded her consent.

  “Okay. Just let me head upstairs to freshen up and I’ll meet you back down here in fifteen.”