I choked back a snort. "Karaoke? This place?"
"This guy hates listening to amateurs," Walt said, speaking to me. "Too stuck up for his own good."
"Noah Hart."
I turned to see Jessie grinning at Noah from the stage.
"Is Mr. Cranky Pants here to show us all how it's done?" She spoke into the microphone, speakers amplifying her voice.
"You sing karaoke?" I asked Noah, trying not to laugh.
"Hell no."
"Aw, c'mon," Jessie cajoled.
Noah turned his back on her, facing the bar.
She laughed into the microphone. "Alright boys, who's first?"
A large, muscle-bound man in a leather vest stood from his table with a swagger. Moments later he took the stage to sing a barely passable rendition of Aerosmith'sDream On. I couldn't help wince at his missed high notes.
"Can't believe I'm sitting here listening to this," Noah muttered into his beer.
"You're the one who chose this place."
"Worst mistake of my life."
I suppressed a giggle. "You sure you don't want to get up on stage? Show those guys a thing or two?"
"Why don't you get up and sing, if you're so hung up on it?" he shot back.
"No thanks. I'm good."
"Got stage fright?"
"I'm not a very good singer."
"No one here is."
"I'd rather not."
Noah got an evil glint in his eye. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the stage. I protested the whole way, digging my heels in. It was no use.
"Jessie," he called out. "Got your next one."
Jessie looked beyond thrilled. "This is going to be a nice change."
Somehow I found myself on the stage, microphone in hand. I looked out at all the faces staring up at me. I caught Noah standing right in front of the stage, arms crossed, still smirking. I glared at him, that jerk. He made a waving motion with his hand, as if to say,go on, get to it.
With a heavy sigh I decided to give in and just do it. I flipped through the song list, not sure what I should choose. I had been telling the truth when I told Noah I couldn't really sing. I supposed I wasn't awful, but I was certainly no Noah Hart.
I stopped when I saw one song in particular. It could be a great choice or a terrible choice, depending on how you looked at it. I decided to go for it anyway, programming the song into the karaoke machine.
I had a few moments before the song began. I cleared my throat. I didn't want to stand there awkwardly in silence.
"Um. Hi." I winced as the speakers gave squeaky feedback. "My name's Jen. Um. I chose this song because…" I paused, hesitating, before powering on. "I guess because it helped me through some tough times. So I guess I dedicate this song to Noah Hart. This isBeyond The Lies."
The song started and I began to sing.
