Page 33 of The Scars We Heal

“Flip a coin.” I pulled a quarter out of my pocket. “Heads, you sing the first song you had in mind, tails, you sing the other.”

She nodded, and I tossed the coin in the air, catching it and placing it on top of my hand. “It’s tails.”

“Okay, then.” She scribbled down the song.

“Which one was it?”

A glint of mischief flashed in her eyes. “It’s a surprise.”

However, I was pretty sure I saw her scribble down “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson, the same song she’d sang in that dingy college bar.

We rejoined the group back at the table. Mikey had already ordered a round for everyone and handed me and Cait shot glasses filled to the brim with clear liquor.

“What is this?” She eyed the drink suspiciously before sniffing it and wrinkling her nose.

“Tequila. Thought we’d all need something different for karaoke night. I’m also trying to get Jake’s alter ego to come out as soon as possible.” He winked at me.

“You have an alter ego?” Caitlin’s mouth turned down into a frown.

With an eyebrow wiggle and a nudge to my ribs, Mikey replied, “Oh, yeah. He definitely has one. Sexy, too.”

Her eyes bulged. “Oh?”

Hayden shook his head with a sigh. “We don’t speak of that. Don’t encourage him, Mikey.”

“Is that a challenge?” I joked, downing my shot before Mikey could do one of his silly toasts.

“Well, damn, Jakey.” Mikey raised his shot glass. “Here’s to your alter ego. May he grace us with his presence tonight.” He clinked his glass against everyone else’s then the group followed my lead, drinking down the liquor.

“Yuck.” Caitlin stuck out her tongue in disgust.

Before anyone could give her a hard time, the DJ started speaking. “Up next on the mic, we’ve got Mikey!”

“That’s me!” Mikey pushed past us. When the opening riff to “Sweet Home Alabama” started playing, the group let out a collective groan. Last time we did karaoke at Rudy’s he sang “SexyBack.”

“At least he’s not a good singer, so whoever follows him will look really good.” Sierra laughed.

“Who put in their song after him?” Juniper asked.

“I think it was me.” Hayden lifted a finger in a nonchalant gesture.

“You gonna serenade us all like Heath Ledger again?” I ruffled his hair before he smacked my hand away. “Maybe I should fish some ones out of my wallet, since you put on such a good show for us last time.”

“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Mikey,” he grumbled. “You’re starting to be annoying.”

I scoffed. “Well, I think you’re spending too much time with Colter. I swear, if they ever had an I love my wife-slash-girlfriend competition, everyone would drop out after seeing you two there.”

Although, to be fair, I could probably be the same way if I was with Cait. Adam was a damn fool for letting her go.

Sierra chimed in after standing behind Hayden’s chair and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“Never. I didn’t spend five years of my life waiting for you to come back to not be absolutely obsessed with you.” He turned his head so he was looking at her, and she leaned down to plant a kiss on his lips, the gesture quickly turning into a make out session.

“Get a room,” I grumbled in mock annoyance, though I had to fight to keep up the act and not smile at their relationship.

Mikey’s song ended, and the DJ called up Hayden, finally breaking him and Sierra apart.

She leaned against the table, resting her elbows on the tabletop, her eyes tracking Hayden the entire way to the DJ booth.