by Pua Ramona
I walk across the stage to hand Isaac the mic and he cuts me off “Alright, alright before Miss Masina steps off the stage her brother Luka has a few words for her” he says. I look toward the table but Luka’s already walking up the stairs with a grin on his face.
He reaches us and Isaac hands him the mic “What are you doing Luka?” I ask.
He looks down at me and says “We’re celebrating you Sina.” He grabs my hand and pulls me back to the center of the stage. “How’s everyone doing tonight? I just wanted to let our sister know how much we love her, especially for coming back after being gone for eight years” He clears his throat and continues “Sina, you mean the world to us, and for whatever reason you feel like you have to be away, know that we’ll support you, and know that we all love you. Happy Birthday Sis. Alright guys on the count of three we’re going to sing to my sister”
I grab his hand, absolutely mortified with embarrassment, “No Luka stop!” I whisper yell.
“One, two, three... Happy Birthday to you” The whole bar joins in and all I can do is cover my face and laugh.
Chapter Ten
Eli
“Your tongue’s hanging out and you’re foaming at the mouth Eli” Leila says with a smile on her face.
I look at her and glance back to where Sina is standing with her siblings. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” I asked Lei.
She stands to me, wraps her arm over mine and says “She sure is.”
I look down at Lei and kiss her on the head. “Is my heart supposed to be hurting this way Lei?” I ask, feeling the hole in my heart throbbing each time I look at Sina.
She smiles up at me and says “It always does when you’re falling in love. Eli, if you’re serious about her, please be careful with her heart. I’ve gotten to know her and I love her like she is my sister, I know she’s still struggling with trusting people. I hate that she doesn’t think she’s deserving of everything beautiful and of love. So, please be good to her. Who knows maybe you’ll be the beat that her heart needs.”
I feel pain in my chest and my hand automatically grabs at my shirt “Lei, I just want her to see me, just me.”
She wraps her arms around me and says, “She does, but she probably thinks that you don’t see her.”
I sense someone staring at me and I look over my shoulder. My heart stutters because the woman I am falling in love with is finally seeing me. Me. I can’t get myself to move or to look away, all I want is her heart because I’d give her mine if she wanted it, no matter the cost.
“I get it man. I won’t be the one to stop you but I’ll be the one to kick your ass if you break her” Reese says as he nudges me, pulling my focus from Sina to him. “Are you just going to stand here looking like a lovesick asshole, or are you going to at least get her attention properly? Cause if you’re not then I guess you’re okay with that guy asking her to dance” he says smugly. I look back over to where she was standing and see some fucking asshole making her laugh.
I turn back to look at Reese and the bastard has a shit eating grin on his face “Fuck you.” He fucking laughs and I feel Lei’s shoulder moving and I know she was laughing too. Assholes are perfect for each other.
“It’s now or never Eli,” Lei says.
I take a deep breath and ask Reese, “Do you remember that song that we were trying to learn, but never got it right?”
He looks at me and nods with a big ass smile on his face, “Fuck yes, let’s do it. But if you suck that’s all on you, I just want to see you burn so let’s go”, already making his way toward the Petersons.
“Fuck me” I say to myself. Lei hears me and says “Go win her heart stud muffin” as she walks back over to where Mona and everyone else is sitting. It’s now or fucking never, I roll my shoulders and make my way to where Reese and the guys are standing. I look over at the dance floor, ready to rip the hands off of the asshole whos dancing with Sina. I need to calm my ass down man, She’s not gonna be impressed with me if I go wading in like a freaking cave man on her.
“You better not fuck this up Hunter, you’ll have the three of us to deal with” Luka says, pointing at himself, Daniel, and Micah.
Before I say anything I feel a tiny fist in my gut. “What the fuck?”
“You hurt her and I’ll just fucking cut you up into pieces and flush you in the toilet one piece at a time”, Megan says with the cutest fucking pissed off face ever. I love that Sina has her family to protect her. And I respect them more now for it. I’m also glad that Sina has Reese in her circle because he’ll always keep her safe, even if it does piss me off a little that he gets to hug her and I don't. I understand it now.
I give her and the guys my word and ask Reese, “You ready?”
He looks at me, bouncing on the balls of his feet, “I’m ready bro.”
I follow Reese to the stage and know that she’s watching us because I can feel her eyes searing into me. I want to look so fucking bad but I also want her to think I wasn’t paying her any mind and act all cool and shit. I take my spot next to Reese at the booth and I hear the DJ say “Good luck, my dude. Masina is worth the embarrassment.”
I look at Reese then look back at the DJ and say “She’s mine.” They both look at me, a little surprised at what I just fucking said and I feel my face go warm so I grab the mic out of the DJ’s hand and give him a nod. I take one last lungful of air and walk my ass out onto the stage, and it feels like I’m walking off a damn plank into shark infested waters.
“Alright peoples, are you ready for another performance?” The DJ croons over the mic. The place is going fucking nuts, especially the ladies. But I'm only interested in one specific woman in the crowd and I’m looking for her on the dance floor against the glare of the stage lights. My eyes make contact with hers and she gives me a look that I can’t figure out.
“Please show some love for Hunter and Williams.” The whole crowd gets louder as the music starts to play.
“Don’t fuck it up E” Reese says under his breath, winking at me. I look to my left and see the Petersons clapping as one giant unit in the masses. Mona and Lei are standing close by and are both screaming like hyped up groupies. I laugh, shaking my head at them and trying to remember the damn words before I need to start singing.
I clear my throat over the intro of the song and say “I wasn’t planning on doing this at all, but I figured why the fuck not” I pick Sina out in the masses of bodies on the dance floor “This is for a beautiful woman who snuck her way in my heart, but doesn’t know it yet.” I want her to understand that I’m speaking to her. Her hand goes up to her mouth and she looks over to Lei and Mona, they both hold their glasses up and smile at her.
I see someone behind Sina and notice Becca is standing there with a big smile on her face. I’m pretty sure that she probably thinks I’m talking about her. Sina notices me looking past her shoulder and turns to see Becca glaring back at her with a face full of hate. I see Sina’s shoulders fall and she makes her way off of the dance floor, while Becca walks closer to the stage “I love you baby” she shouts up at me. I want to call out to Sina but the music is louder now and I need to start singing any second.
“You know I’d fall apart without you, I don’t know how you do what you do” I sing into the mic. I watch Sina grab her wristlet and I know she thinks I was talking to Becca before, but she is so wrong. I watch her walk over to her brothers and sister, they’re saying something to her but she’s shaking her head no and starting to hug everyone like she's saying goodbye. Dammit, I have to do something and I have to think fast. I see Lei looking up at me with wide eyes, and I’m shrugging back at her whilst still singing along to the music.
“You better fucking do something, and do it now, she's leaving asshole,” Reese growls from behind me. I know that she has to walk through the dance floor to get to the door and I see that she’s having a hard time getting through the crowd so I start walking off the stage. I see Becca’s eyes go wide, but I’ll worry about that later. Rig
ht now I want to get to Sina before she walks out. I push past Becca and I see her face drop when she realizes I’m not here for her. I know I hurt her feelings, but I shake it off. The closer I get to Sina, the faster she’s walking away from me. I reach out for her just as I hear Reese singing the last note and the whole damn Hut goes crazy. People are patting me on the back and the girls are screaming for Reese.
I feel someone walk into us hard and I look up to see Becca turning her body away from us. She looks from me to Sina with a sad look on her face and walks away with tears in her eyes. I feel Sina pulling back and just as I’m about to let her go the DJ plays another song and it’s a slow one. I’m going to have to thank him later. I hear the intro for Sam Smith’s Stay With Me and I hold on to her tighter. I lean in close to her ear and whisper, “Please dance with me?”
I’m nervous as shit that she’s going to say no, but she nods her head and lays her head against my shoulder. I feel her breaking in my arms. Never in my life have I ever felt like this, my heart breaking alongside hers. It’s in this moment that I know my heart and soul belong to no one, but her. She was either my beginning, or the end of me.
Chapter Eleven
Sina
I can’t hold it in anymore. I don’t understand the emotions I’m feeling right now. I’ve felt him watching me since I walked off the stage with Luka. I know he was watching me because I snuck a few glances his way. I saw him earlier standing with Leila having an intense conversation. Every time I looked over during the night I could see how sad he looked. If anything, he maybe even looked a little broken? Sigh. What do I do now? He’s probably upset about something else that’s going on in his life. I feel sick to my stomach when I think that maybe he and Becca are having issues and that's why he looks so tortured. I mean come on, the last time I saw them together, they were pretty much half way naked in his driveway. Okay, let me stop thinking about that before I accidentally throw up on him.
I didn’t even know he was going to show up tonight. When I saw him and Reese walk up on the stage I was terrified for them. Before I knew it he was singing, and it felt like his words were for me when he said something about someone sneaking into his heart. But when I saw that he was looking over my shoulder, I knew Becca was behind me. I watched anyways and turned just so I could torture my very own heart, Becca looked at me with pure venom. She looks at me like I’m stealing her happiness when it was her who stole mine and then threw it away for someone else anyway judging from the way she's looking up at Eli on the stage. Of course any guy would want her, she’s one of the most beautiful girls around here and I can’t hate on her for that. I hear the music playing, and try to tune it out as I start walking off of the dancefloor towards my family.
“Are you okay Sina?” I slow my pace and wait for Marino to catch up with me. He and Daniel met each other when they were in college, and they have been friends since. I look up at him, and notice he’s grown in quite a good looking guy while I’ve been gone. I mean he’s pretty sexy, but he isn’t the guy my heart aches for.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. Do you think we can probably have lunch or something? Cause I think I’m going to call it a night” I say, counting down until I can get out of here and get back to Emma.
He gives me an honest smile and says, “Sure, I’d like that Sina.”
We exchange numbers and he walks back over to where his friends are at. I get to the table and grab my wristlet trying to concentrate on anything but how Eli looks stood on that stage singing to Becca.
“Hey I’m just going to have one of the guys take me home. I’m not feeling so good” I say to Mona and Leila.
They both give me a sad look and ask, “Why don’t you just stay for a little bit, then we’ll head home after?” I look back over to the stage and torture myself some more because now Eli is singing with a slight frown on his face and looking over here and then back to Reese with a shrug. I need to get out of here, now.
“No, I’ll call you guys tomorrow” I promise them. I give each of them a hug and walk over to say goodbye to my brothers and sister. “Micah, can you take me home please?” They all gave me the same pity look that everyone else has been giving me since Becca showed up earlier.
“Yeah let me grab my keys from the office then we can leave” Micah says.
I do my rounds of hugs and goodnights with the rest of our family and friends who have showed up to celebrate with me and tell Micah that I’ll meet him in the car. I’m having a hard time pushing through the crowd, but I try anyway. As I make my way through the sea of people I feel someone gently grab my elbow. I know it’s him because I feel like my heart is both racing and stopping all at once, and whenever he’s around me I feel like my heart is beating outside of my chest. He starts singing again when Reese finishes his verse. His voice is something I don't think I’ll ever forget hearing. I don’t want him to see me crying and ruin his song so I try to hide my face but he runs his fingers down my cheek and takes my chin between his fingers , moving my face so he can see me fully. I keep my eyes closed, listening to him sing to the masses but I can feel him staring at me so I open my eyes. I feel like I’ve been hit in the heart. He moves a loose piece of my hair behind my ear and I lose myself in his touch. He steps closer to me making me feel like the words he's caressing the mic with are for me and me alone. I watch him hand off the mic as the song finishes and he pulls me into his chest and holds me. I grab on to him and I cry. I try so hard to stop myself but I can’t. I am so lost in everything that is him and don’t register that everyone is cheering for him and Reese until it almost deafens me. The Hut is so loud it’s crazy. We’re both jostled by a hard bump and I move my head a little to see Becca glaring as she walks past us. She isn’t looking at me because she is trying to murder Eli with her eyes, but I knew that she’s feeling pretty broken herself after watching the two of us standing here. Broken recognizes broken. I see the pain that’s written all over her face and in her eyes, and my heart can’t take it. If I take her man, that makes me no better than her.
Just as I get ready to pull away from him he pulls me back in and says “Please, dance with me?”
I’m not ready to let him go so I nod and move back to where I was. I feel him holding me closer and I lean my head on his chest. I’m sad for Becca, sad for Michael, sad for my baby girl, for my own reasons, and I’m sad for those who love me because I know I’m not giving them my all. I know I’m hanging by a thread, so I allow myself to cry and I don’t stop because I know Eli is giving me this time to let myself feel my feelings. “It’s okay beautiful, I got you,” he says, and I just cry as he holds me on the dance floor. I don’t know what’s happening between us right now, but I know that he is either going to be the hands that hold my shattered pieces together, or the hands that break me completely apart.
Chapter Twelve
Eli
I'm still holding onto Sina, not willing to let go of her now I have her safely tucked into my chest when the DJ says the words I've been dreading since I caught Sina in the crowd on the dancefloor, “Alright you beautiful people this is the last song of the night, I want to thank you for coming out to The Hut and for helping us celebrate the gorgeous Miss Masina Peterson's Birthday. Don’t forget we’ve got extra cabs outside if you’re too drunk to drive. Be safe and stay blessed, and I’m out.”
DJ Cool Guy walks down from his booth and the last song starts to play and I see the guys, Lei, Mona, Reese and the rest of the crowd that are here for Sina make their way on the dance floor. I’m not sure what this song is but I won't stop moving until I have to. I guess it’s a good song because most of the party goers are singing and dancing to it.I’m not sure if my girl is still crying so I step back to check on her, but she’s already looking up at me with a tiny smile. I smile back at her, lean in and kiss her on the forehead. “Hey birthday girl,” I say, making her blush and it’s a sexy look on her. She takes a couple a steps back, grabs both of my hands and she starts moving her hips. I swallow so fucking
hard I’m afraid I’m going to choke on my own damn spit. I lean into her and ask “What’s this song called?”
Her lips are so close to my ear as she says, “So Lovely, By Fiji.”
I swear she fucking nibbles on my earlobe before she pulls away. I have no idea who Fiji is and I have never heard this song before, but he just became my favorite fucking singer. She slowly dances her way back into my space, she’s so close I swear my dick started getting hard. I clear my throat for distraction, but I know she can see the bulge in my pants. I mean, how could I not be turned on? I’ve got the sexiest and most beautiful woman in front of me. Fuck yes! I’m so turned on, even if I tried to adjust myself it would be no use I’m sure everyone can see this shit.
I try moving back because I can see her brothers watching me, but dammit she pulls me in and my hands automatically go around her curvy waist. Shit! Please, God I don’t want to die tonight. Whatever this little minx is doing she better stop because I’ll take the ass beating if it means I get to grab her ass. I try taking another step back and she starts fucking grinding on me. “Fuck” I’m not sure if she moves in more or my asshole self-moves toward her but right now, I don’t really give a shit because I love the way her body fits right into mine. She wraps her arms around my neck and I know she feels how hard my dick is because she starts rubbing herself against me. “Beautiful, if you don’t stop your brothers are going to beat my ass” I whisper in her ear. Fuck, she smells so damn good, like coconut and sunshine.