Because, baby, I’m a badass rose
Baby, I’m the kind that grows
Stronger when it storms
And weaker in your arms
I might cut you, make you bleed
But I’m all you’ll ever need
Don’t give up on me
Oh, don’t give up on me
And as she drove it toward that verse crescendo, every last one of the men in there imagined what it would be like to feel their hips moving over hers.
And all the women were infused with a sense of their own power.
And Eli was still as a stone, and his arms were still crossed. As if to protect that soft underbelly that she was going for.
By the second verse, the dark in front of her was lit by cell phones that were all up and aimedather, to capture this song and this moment. A few guys attempted to stand on chairs and tables and were quickly all but swatted down by Glenn and Truck Donegal.
The last verse she sang mostly a cappella, accompanied by the softest of heartbeat pats on her guitar.
Are you afraid to love me, baby?
A little scared of pain
Cuz love is kind of messy, baby
And heartbreak leaves a stain
If you’d rather wake up with a stranger
than open up a vein
I guess that’s how it goes
Baby, I’m a badass rose
And when that last note of the song rang by itself, she knew every pair of lungs in the place had stopped moving.
So they could savor that last note until it vanished into the ether.
She remained motionless.
Frozen, as if she’d cast a spell on herself.
And then she leaned once more into the mic.
“I’m Glory Greenleaf.That’swho the fuck I am. Thank you. Good night.”
Just in case The Baby Owls’ management was listening, or something.
A sort of pandemonium ensued.
But not, thankfully, the kind with thrown fists and stools.
