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“You mean like Dickie?” Jimmy carefully inquired.
Dario’s face darkened. “Hey, fuck that prick. I’m glad he’s dead. He got exactly what he deserved.”
“Sorry,” Jimmy said quickly, cowering at the sudden burst of venom. “I didn’t mean to… You know.”
“How long have you and Cold been seeing each other?” Dario seemed more than happy to divert the conversation, though he still looked grim.
“Like, three days?”
“Fuck, man.” Dario laughed in disbelief. “You are in for a lot of surprises. Now, I can play pretty much anything, but the band really only knows the golden oldies. Like, ol’ Sinatra, Perry Como, and lots of other very talented and equally deceased people. Classic, totally, but stiff as hell.”
“Band?”
“Uh, yeah,” Dario said flatly. “You know, people with instruments?”
Jimmy plopped flat on his butt on the stage, and his head swam. Singing in front of Cold with a live band and less than a day to practice? There was so much that could go wrong. “This is a lot more complicated than singing in the shower.”
“Hey, hey,” Dario soothed. “My man. Mi amigo. Jimmy. I’m here to make you look good. You look good, I look good, okay?”
“Okay.” Jimmy smiled nervously and hugged his knees to his chest.
“And together, we’re gonna what?”
Jimmy stared.
“We’re gonna look really good.” Dario gave Jimmy a proud finger gun display. “All you gotta do is trust me, I got you.”
“Okay,” Jimmy said, still completely stumped as to how to proceed. “So.”
Tapping across the piano keys, Dario asked politely, “Would you like me to make some suggestions?”
“Oh God, yes, please.”
“Open with Sinatra’s ‘The Way You Look Tonight,’ okay? It’s, like, a freakin’ staple here, and it’ll help get the band warmed up to you. And honestly, ‘Since I Don’t Have You.’ The band has totally played it before, and plus, I gotta get my nerd on a little bit, and you know that one.”
“Okay. I’ve never really sung Sinatra. Can we work on that?”
“Of course. Anything special you wanna do for the last song? Rowena said we could have a little fun. Maybe somethin’ sexy for your man.” Dario waggled his eyebrows. “Marvin Gaye? Some Prince?”
“Oh, I know exactly what I wanna do.”
The song had popped right into his head, and it was perfect.
Well…
He hoped Cold would like it anyway..
Jimmy clambered back to his feet, asking, “Do you, uh, know any Halsey?”
“Yeah,” Dario said, intrigued. “What song?”
Jimmy pulled out his phone, and he poked around until he was able to retrieve the internet browser. He did a quick search, scrolled around, and then showed the video result to Dario.
“I can totally dig it.” Dario gave him a big thumbs-up. “I’m thinking, minimal music. Like, just me on piano and you singing. Maybe light strings, our violinist is a pretty quick study. Just go all Mariah Carey up there, and it’ll sound great. I know you’ve got the range.”
“Do you think… do you think he’ll like it?” Jimmy asked bashfully. “Cold, I mean.”
Dario tucked his hair behind his ears. “Uh, guess there’s only one way to find out?”
