“You’re doing this. You want confidence, don’t you?”
Was he in my head?
I scrunched my face. I want to kidnap Chris Hemsworth and do nasty stuff to him. I waited.
“Stop looking horny. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but stop.”
I jerked back. Did thinking about Thor make me look horny? It was a strong possibility. I shook my head, dissipating the nasty thoughts playing out in my head.
“I’ll never be able to do that.” I tilted my head toward the stage. The girl had pulled some people up there with her, and they were now all doing some dance together.
“Yes, you can. That girl sounds like shit, and she’s still got all these people behind her. Plus, she’s kind of homely. You’re cute. The guys will eat it up.”
I wasn’t sure what to do with that. He thought I was cute. Cute. Heat danced along my face. Thank God, it was dark in this place. It was bad enough he already saw my horny face.
Before I could protest with another excuse, the girl’s song ended, and the host’s voice boomed out of the speakers. “Leigh Clark. She’s our next superstar to grace the stage. Everyone give her a hand.”
I cursed his very existence. Him and Luca, who laughed behind me. I swallowed, feeling like vomit was going to explode from me. I could ruin another pair of his shoes. That would teach him for making me do things I couldn’t.
“Leigh Clark. Where are you? You’ve got sixty seconds, and we’re moving on to the next singer.”
My feet stayed planted. That’s all I had to do. Stay lurking in the shadows, and he’d pass me over for the next sucker.
“She’s right here,” Luca called out. He stepped out in front of me, and pulled at my wrist.
Within a second, a beam of white light blinded me. I squinted, putting a hand over my eyes to shield them. I blinked, clearing my line of sight to find everyone in the room now staring at me. Each table we passed, the people seemed to be sizing me up. I could practically feel their judgment, obviously thinking I would choke.
“Awesome. What is the song choice?” the host asked me.
“I– uh…” My mind drew a blank. Suddenly, I knew what I needed to do. I wasn’t getting up there alone. If Luca wanted me to do this so bad, then he would have to suffer right alongside me. “’I Got You Babe.’”
“That’s usually two people. Do you have a partner?” the host asked.
“Yup. Right here.” I pointed to Luca, who stood there, mouth hanging open. “His name is Luca.”
“Let’s give it up for Luca and Leigh.” The host gave me a slight push toward the steps.
There were only five of them, but as I looked up, it seemed as if I were climbing a steep mountain. One where, at the top, I would fight for my life. I forced myself to climb them. One at a time. My eyes stayed focused on the floor as I crossed the stage. I bumped into the microphone stand, sending it crashing against the wood floor.
Feedback screeched out. Hands shot to ears as the crowd shielded themselves from the noise. I glanced back to the steps. They weren’t that far away. My path was blocked as Luca stepped in my way and shook his head.
He bent low and scooped up the microphone. “You ready to do this?”
“No. I’m going to die. You don’t understand. This is literally going to kill me. Like I will die from a heart attack, and you’ll be burying me tomorrow. That’s how scared I am right now.” If he understood how serious this was, maybe he would have pity on me. Why did I ever agree to have him help me get over these ridiculous fears? They weren’t hurting anyone. Anyone but me, I guess.
“You won’t die from this. Not unless you run. Then I’ll make sure to hurt you.” He shoved the microphone into my palm and squeezed my hand closed over the metal.
I turned toward the crowd. My eyes swept over the throng of humanity, not taking a moment to land too long on one particular face. I didn’t want to remember anyone from this awful experience. After it was over, I could leave. I would never see any of them again. I repeated that to myself over and over again. It was the only thing that helped. My eyes blurred as the music started.
“Fuck yeah! That’s the sexiest couple I’ve ever seen on that stage!”
My stomach dropped. What the hell was Bri doing here? She sat at the front table with Finn beside her. Both of them smiled like this was the best thing they had ever experienced.
The words appeared on the monitor to my right. I opened my mouth. The words came out in a soft whisper.
“Can’t hear you! Sing, girl!” someone yelled.
Luca reached over to me and wrapped his fingers between mine.
I closed my eyes and breathed. He was here with me. I could do this. I belted the next line like I had done many times before in the shower. A hoot came during a pause, followed by cheers. My chest tightened. They were cheering!
I peeled my eyes open to see hands waving, getting into it. I couldn’t help but smile. They weren’t booing me off stage! Luca twirled me around, bringing me close to his side as he sang his part. His voice blew me away. He sounded like he did this on a regular basis. Before I knew it, we sang the last lyric, and the song ended. The entire place roared with applause.
“See? That wasn’t bad now, was it?” Luca asked as went down the steps.
A girl appeared beside us with an unnecessary fake smile across her makeup-covered face. “That was great. You’ve got a great voice. Like really great,” she told Luca.
His eyes stayed fixed on my face, not bothering to look in her direction. I shifted from one foot to the other, feeling a little uncomfortable. She really had a set of balls on her. We could have been dating. I mean we weren’t. That was only in a perfect world. But we could have been.
“Thanks, but I was only good because of her.” His eyes finally shifted to the girl’s. “No one in the place has anything on her.”
Her face twisted into a crooked frown before looking over to me. Her gaze dropped to my feet and slowly came back up before settling on my face. Her lips drew into a thin line. “You sure are lucky.”
“I know, right?” Luca answered. I had a feeling the statement wasn’t directly at him. She wanted me to know I was the lucky one. With a hand, she flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder and twirled around, running into Bri.
Bri stared down at her. “Bitch be gone! No one ain’t got time for bar skanks.” The girl ducked her head and skirted around the side, hitting the edge of a table.
“Come back! He might not want you, but I’ll take you home!” Finn called after her. He stood for a moment, staring after her before focusing on Bri. “You had to run her off, didn’t you? She was down to fuck.”
Bri rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Luca. Can’t stand girls like that. Like she saw you two dancing on the stage. We all know if you guys were like brother and sister or cousins, you wouldn’t be dancing like that. No. You danced like you were together, and then she's going to come over here, trying to throw her runt-ass coochie on him.” Her fist balled up, staring at the direction the girl went. “I really want to go whoop her ass the more I think about it.”
“I think we need to get out of here,” I said, putting a hand on her arm.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” Luca said, meeting my eyes.
We pushed through the crowd and wandered to the parking lot. We climbed into Luca’s truck. “Where to? You ladies ready to call it a night?”
Bri’s head shot to the front, her arms resting on the seats. “Hell, no. Let’s go back to my place and hang out. The night’s still early.”
“I agree. I was gonna be extremely disappointed if you guys went home. Like really disappointed. No one in this truck is old and should go to bed before ten,” Finn said, pushing Bri to the side.
She shoved him back into the corner.
“Whoa, girl. You’re dangerous.”
The two of them continued to bicker back and forth as we pulled out onto the road and drove in the direction of Bri’s place. When we arrived, we all piled out and head
ed toward the house.
“You did great,” Luca said.
He reached the door before me and stood in the doorframe. “After you.” I ducked under his arm and pushed through into the living room.
Bri was already in the kitchen. Glass clinked together as she yelled at Finn to move. “Anyone want a drink?” she asked, stepping out into the hallway.
“None for me,” I said.
Luca shook his head.
The corners of her mouth turned up. “Okay, but you guys are gonna need it for what I’ve got in store.” She laughed manically, leaving the two of us staring at each other.
His eyebrow arched. “What’s your friend got in mind?” he asked me.
I lifted a shoulder. “Why are you asking me? I have no idea.”
“She’s your friend. You should know what goes on in that crazy head of hers.”
Before I could answer, Bri entered with a tumbler full of something that smelled fruity. Finn followed close behind double-fisting two beers.
“Truth or dare, Luca?” Bri asked as she plopped down on the couch and tucked a leg under her.
Luca looked over to Finn. “Did you know about this?”
“She threw the idea at me in the kitchen, and I thought it was a jam-up good idea. I mean, that was after I suggested that me and her give her bed a visit and bump some uglies.” He looked over at Bri, smiling. “She didn’t like that suggestion, though. This girl is going to make me work for it.”
“Never, Finn. Keep dreaming.” She refocused on Luca. “Answer me. Truth or dare?”
“What are we, ten?” he said.
Bri threw a pillow at him. “Stop avoiding it.”
“Okay, okay. Truth.”
Her fingers tapped together. “Have you ever been in love?”
My breath caught in my throat. I leaned toward him, practically dying to hear the answer to that. I knew about his girlfriend from when he was younger. How he ever wanted to be with someone so awful still baffled me. But what if that was the kind of girl he liked? If it were, I would never have a chance.
“No.” His eyes dropped to the table. We all sat in silence, waiting on him to elaborate. When he didn’t, Bri cleared her throat, clearly agitated.
“It’s your turn,” she told him.
He looked at Finn. “Truth or dare?”
Finn’s shoulders rolled back, sticking his chest out. “Dare, bruh. You better hit me something good, too.”
“Good, huh?” Luca asked. “Run around the house…”
Finn pffted. “Is that it?”
“…naked,” Luca finished.
Finn stood, quickly undoing his belt buckle and shoving his pants along with his boxers to the floor. I turned my head, putting a hand in front of my eyes.
“Oh, yeah. Good dare, Luca. I’m enjoying this,” Bri shouted, clapping her hands.
The front door opened, and the room fell silent. I moved my hand, finding Luca still sitting across from me, but the other two gone.
“Thought that would get rid of them for at least a few minutes.” He laughed, leaning back.
“You know he’s going to get you back for this, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Probably.”
The silence was interrupted as a naked Finn came through the door followed by Bri. Before I could cover my eyes, Finn twisted his waist. “It’s a helicopter kind of night!” he yelled.
Luca tossed him his shorts. “Dude. Please. For the love of God, put those back on.”
Finn grabbed them and put them on. “Leigh.”
I jumped at my name. I wasn’t expecting him to take his revenge out on me.
Luca glanced at me and shrugged. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
Finn’s brows rose, and a joker-like grin spread slowly. Instantly, I knew I had made the wrong decision.
“I dare you to kiss Luca. And not just a peck. It’s got to be like tongue for like at least thirty seconds.”
Before I could react, Luca jumped from the couch. “I’m not playing this stupid shit anymore. You can’t make her do that.”
“Why? Maybe she doesn’t mind it,” Finn shot back.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it,” I said, interrupting their heated stare.
Finn pressed his lips into a thin line while rubbing his hands together. “Yes. See, Leigh doesn’t act like a dick. It’s just a game.”
I ignored him and got up. Once I was in front of Luca, my hands were already sweating so bad I needed to rub them across my jeans. “It’s just a kiss. That’s nothing,” I said. It was more to myself than him.
He rolled his eyes and nodded. “Let’s get it over with so we can appease the children in the room.” He leaned down, pausing for a second in front of my lips. I closed my eyes, awaiting his touch.
BAM! I snapped back, looking around. The sound of glass shattering echoed around the room.
Finn and Bri ran to the back of the house. “The damn wind is kicking it out there tonight. Blew something right through the glass door,” Finn said.
“I’ll get the broom. Guess the game is over,” Bri muttered.
Luca and I looked at each other. I wasn’t sure if I was glad we were interrupted or sad I hadn’t gotten a chance to see what it would be like to kiss Luca Bennett.
16
Luca
I was pissed at Finn all the next day, and he knew it. He suggested the two of us go night fishing as a way to apologize. But now that I was at the pier waiting on him, he was nowhere to be found.
“Now that your guest has arrived, are you ready to set sail, Mr. Bennett?” I stared. His words didn’t make sense. My guest? I looked in the direction the steward was facing and saw her. He hadn’t told me Leigh would be here. My eyes flicked over to her slender form, taking in the way she looked against the moonlight as she neared. Perfect was the only word to describe it. Had she known about this entire set up? We were just friends. I thought I had made that clear.
She stopped a few feet from me. Her nose scrunched in an adorable way as her eyes trailed down my body. My clothes weren’t nearly as dressy as hers.
“If you’re going with us, don’t you think you should’ve dressed up a little nicer?” She inched a little closer, studying the people on the boat. “Where’s Bri anyway? She told me to be here at eight sharp because that’s when the dinner cruise was leaving. Did she rent this entire thing for us?”
“Bri isn’t here. It’s only us. I think we got set up. Finn told me to meet him to go night fishing.” I stilled, gauging her reaction to see if she was genuinely innocent in all this.
Her mouth dropped then snapped closed, her expression mortified yet angry. The bottom of her dress flung out as she spun around and started walking back up the pier.
For a few seconds, I watched her. I hadn’t expected that reaction. But I couldn’t let her walk away. Even though I knew something like this would cross the friendship line, I couldn’t stand the thought of her being upset. “Whoa! Where are you going?” I jogged to her, gently grabbing her arm.
She hastily jerked around, her eyes glassed over with tears. “Why would they do that? Can’t they get it through their heads that we’re friends? Was she trying to embarrass me?” She took a ragged breath. “I’m going to kill her.”
She attempted to leave again, but I blocked her path.
“I… bet… you thought I had… something to do with… this… didn’t you?” she stuttered in a panicked tone.
I felt like a dick. She was right. I had thought she was in on it. But I would never admit that to her. She was vulnerable enough at the moment. It was up to me to either make this worse or better.
I bent my head low, putting my hands on her arms. “Of course I wouldn’t think that. But it would be a waste of a beautiful night if we didn’t take advantage of what they put together. The boat’s here and waiting. Let’s enjoy it and then kill them tomorrow. We’ll do it together. All Bonnie-and-Clyde like.”
She closed her eyes in frustration. “You promise
we’ll kill them?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“Promise.”
Grumbling, she moved around me and headed back to the boat. What was happening? Since when did I care so much about how a girl felt? I regretted ever running into her at that bar. My life had been perfectly fine until I met her. I did me. Taking care of myself and being alone was enough. Not worrying about how someone else felt.
“Good evening, ma’am. You’re looking beautiful this evening,” one of the crew greeted.
Silent, I ran my tongue over my teeth to keep from doing something stupid. She wasn’t mine. The guy was only being polite to her. It was his job. He smiled, saying something else to gain a laugh from her.
“That’s so true,” she said, looking in my direction. Shit! What the hell were they talking about?
I narrowed my eyes at the guy. He shifted uncomfortably.
Yeah, back off, playboy. Geez! I shook my head, trying to regroup. She was making me go insane.
“What’s so true?” I finally asked.
“We were talking about how underdressed you looked next to me. Bri could’ve told me something that required comfortable clothes, and not this…” Her hands slowly slid down the front of her dress. It was an innocent move to her, but to me, it was anything but innocent. More than anything I wanted to be the one exploring her body. That almost-kiss last night had my imagination working in overdrive.
A cough erupted, and my eyes snapped up to the crewmember.
“There’s some clothes for you in the downstairs bedroom, sir. Finn said to make sure you changed into them before our departure.”
Leigh’s eyes danced between the two of us. “There’s a bedroom on this boat? How much did they spend on renting this thing?”
The crewmember’s brows slashed in confusion. His mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again. Before the words could spew from his mouth, I held up a hand dismissing whatever he was going to say.
“A lot probably. Of course, Finn probably got a big discount considering we both work for the company,” I answered. “I’ll change. I can’t have you being the only one dressed up out here. You going to be okay alone?”
Fearlessly Yours: Emerald Coast Series Page 14