“Not so fast there, Sherlock. I meant, fine—as in…I’ll be more than thrilled to play you for it.” Dylan’s confidence glowed like a jellyfish in the dark. But that didn’t deter Chloe.
That much.
“Great. Then I’ll sign us up.”
Over an hour later,the stage, located in the center of Wilde Pirate, was on fire, the crowd of teachers, regular customers, and a few tourists cheering each performer on as they sang and danced their semi-tipsy buns off.
Uneasiness swirled in the pit of Chloe’s stomach while she and Dylan stood in the wings, only two karaoke acts before them. “I’m kind of nervous.”
Apparently, they were the last to add their names to the participation sheet the waitress left behind. The preceding performances had been hysterically entertaining, especially Liam and Samantha’s rendition ofThe One That I Wantfrom the movieGrease.
“Getting cold feet?” Dylan rocked back on his motorcycle-booted heels, hands in his pockets, the compound wordsmug-lookpractically written in bold all over his face.
“No,” Chloe hissed, turning her back on him. Peeking at the group of older ladies on stage, she added, “I’ve so got this.”
No joke, she damn well better have it in order to get that manuscript back. Judging would be done by the crowd’s roars, and all Chloe hoped was that the shouts for her performance would be louder than her opponent’s.
“Sure you don’t wanna back out now?” Dylan singsonged his brash retort from behind her.
Chloe’s skin quivered at his proximity. With her eyes squeezed shut, she pushed away thoughts of him moving even closer, wrapping his arms around her.
Woman, breathe. “And miss seeing the look on your face when you lose?” She spun around to face Dylan, his lips widely parted, eyes blazed with shock. “Even more so than the look you’re sporting now.”
Two points for Chloe Davenport.
Roars from the crowd grew loud then soft as the ladies, who sangWe Got The Beat, walked off stage. Their exit only meant one thing: either Chloe or her cocky opponent would be performing next.
