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“No, these were purchased. I hope they still taste good.”

“Thank you,” she says, her smile spreading across her face.

I step closer and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her against me. My lips are inches from hers when I whisper, “You look stunning. Are you sure we have to go to karaoke and we can’t just stay in your bedroom?”

She smiles, our warm breaths mingling. “Sorry. I didn’t get dressed up just for you to take my clothes off five minutes later.”

“Too bad,” I mumble, moving my mouth over hers and capturing her lips with mine in a quick kiss.

“I won’t come in, because I don’t want to test my willpower.” I take a step backwards.

She rolls her eyes, but she’s beaming up at me. “Give me one minute,” she says before disappearing down the hallway.

Twenty minutes later, we’re tucked into a corner at the bar, standing around a small round table. Kora and Robin are talking to each other a mile a minute, and I can’t stop glancing at Robin. I love seeing her like this, happy and carefree, sneaking flirtatious glances at me.

The bar is packed, which doesn’t come as a surprise considering it’s Friday and karaoke night. The incessant bar chatter is bouncing off the walls around us, mingling with someone’s screechy rendition of “Mr. Brightside.”

I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around to face Mike, who’s frowning.

“Hey, you made it,” I say and give him a fist bump.

“Thrilled to be here on my day off.”

“Oh my God, Mike, you’re finally here. Can you ask the karaoke people to put us higher on the list?” Kora shouts over the music.

“Hey, Kora. Good to see you too,” he mutters sarcastically. “And no, I won’t. I’m not working tonight, and there’s no skipping the line regardless.”

“Ugh.” Kora presses her lips together in a hard line.

“I need a few more drinks before I go up anyway,” Robin says.

“I’ll get you guys another round,” Mike announces, and he’s off, moving through the busy crowd with practiced ease.

“Do we think Mike is going to sing?” Robin asks when he’s out of earshot.

“Not a chance,” Kora says, snorting. “He’s too serious.”

“He’s not that serious,” I chime in.

“I don’t believe it until I see it.”

“Hayden, you should ask him to sing a duet with you.” Robin grins up at me.

Before I can respond, someone bumps into her, and she stumbles forward. I take that as an opportunity to grab her by the belt loop and pull her into my arms. I’ve been aching to do that ever since we arrived, but I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about being touched in public. But with the way she tilts her head up with a small smile, I know she’s fine with it.

“Are you okay?” I ask, squeezing her waist.

“Yes, probably not the last time someone will bump into us tonight.”

“Here you go.” Mike is back, handing us all beer bottles.

“That was fast,” Kora says, her eyes lighting up.

“Perks of being able to go behind the bar and grab what I want. Sorry it’s nothing fancy. I didn’t want to hover around the bar area for too long.” Mike’s eyes land on my hands around Robin, but his expression doesn’t give anything away.

Kora, on the other hand, keeps smirking at us.

“Hayden wants to sing a duet with you,” Robin says innocently, looking at my friend.