We exchange a glance before the two blonds line up next to each other, grabbing the mic stands. As soon as they relax, I see what Levi was trying to say earlier. Together, not only do they look like the perfect couple, but they look like they belong on the cover of a magazine.
“They look like the epitome of new and old money, don’t they?” Levi mumbles.
“Yeah, and they’d make beautiful babies.” I turn to smile at him and find Levi looking at me with a smirk. Leaning forward, I ask what I’ve been dying to ever since the night I met them. “Have they ever…you know?”
Levi straightens and cocks a brow. “Now, Stevie. You said you wouldn’t ask anything until they got to know you better.”
I shake my head. “You’re right?—”
“I’m fucking with you.” He bumps my shoulder, and I bump his just as hard. “To answer your question, no. Not that I know of. Jake’s family would love Em and him together. He’d finally get the fiancée and money, but neither Kamila nor I have seen a glimpse of romantic chemistry between them.” All I heard from that sentence was the word fiancée. I turn to him with mymouth wide open, about to ask what that means, when “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee plays.
Jake’s voice fills the speakers with the first line, and it’s not nearly as bad as Levi made it sound. He’s average, not pitchy or annoying. Then Emma opens her mouth, and my jaw goes slack. She sounds like a pop princess and has the stage presence of one as well. It seems like she’s used to being on a stage, and it makes me wonder if she’s on it often.
“Isn’t she a journalism major?” I ask Levi to confirm what I learned the night she and I met.
His smile is full of amusement. “She has no interest in singing professionally, even though we’ve tried to tell her otherwise. Her heart is set on being a writer.”
I sigh in disappointment at the talent the world will be missing out on. Then, in a matter of seconds, Levi and I are cackling at Jake and Em’s small dance routine, acting out the lyrics dramatically and looking absolutely ridiculous. Eventually, they end up on one mic together, looking like an all-American couple.
Nudging Levi, I ask what other people have had to wonder as well. “How are you and your friends this good-looking and talented?”
He shoots me a surprised glance, mid-chuckle. “I have no idea,” he relays. “But thanks for the compliment.”
“What—” My face and neck heat as my question registers.
Shit.
Em and Jake finish up their set, and people are whooping around us. I didn’t mean to include Levi in the good-looking category. Talk about awkward.
Before I can come up with some sort of excuse, Em and Jake make their way back to our table, doubling over, giggling and breathing heavily.
“That was awesome!” They high-five and sit back in their spots.
“What’d you think, Stevie?” Jake taps my splayed-out hand. “Not too bad for someone who ‘fucking sucks,’ huh?”
Shaking myself out of my stupor, I confirm his words. “Not bad at all.”
Jake punches Levi’s shoulder. “And that’s coming from a professional, douchebag.”
Levi flinches and rolls his eyes.
I’d hardly call myself a professional. I’m not sure where he heard that, but I keep those thoughts to myself and start showering Emma with compliments and questions until she interrupts me.
“You and Levi are coming up right after this guy. I think you’ll both know the song we chose.” She brushes her curtain bangs off her face and smiles as if she didn’t drop a massive bomb on us.
“What do you mean, Stevieandme?” Levi grits out, his face red. Meanwhile, mine feels as if all color has drained from it.
Fuck.
For a minute there, I was having so much fun and letting loose that I forgot why I was brought here in the first place. Not only am I singing in front of a massive crowd of people, but I’m doing it with another person who doesn’t sing in front of others.
Jake smirks. “You might not have stage fright when it comes to playing, but you do when it comes to singing,” he tells Levi. “And, Stevie, we’re just trying to help.”
“We thought it’d be hypocritical of Levi to send you to sing but not himself. Hence, the duet,” Em finishes.
My mouth opens and closes, not knowing what the hell to say, and it seems as though Levi is in the same boat. Then the DJ announces our names. I had no time to warm up or mentally prepare, as I usually do.What song did they pick for us?
Crap, crap, crap.
