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“I’m definitely not,” Rob chuckles. “Just me and a few thousand of my closest friends.”
More raucous male singing comes through the line, punctuated by laughter and static. I think they’re actually butchering Jingle Bells. How do they not know the melody to that?
“What’s going on?”
“There were a bunch of kids crying about missing Santa Claus so a couple of us decided to go around and sing Christmas carols. We’re all broke, and there’s nothing but little gift shops here, so it’s not like we can go buy presents for all the kids who are stranded, but we thought we could make them smile at least. A few of them even joined in with the singing.”
I blink around me at the mostly dark kitchen, trying to picture the scene he’s just described.
“Evie? You still there?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat of surprise. “I’m just…whose idea was that?”
He mumbles something unintelligible. Either his phone gets terrible reception at the airport, or he doesn’t want me to know.
“Rob? Are you okay?” Singing in front of a crowd of people isn’t really typical Rob behavior. While he’s gotten much better at managing his public persona without losing himself, at heart he’s still as shy as they come.
He sighs. “It’s just weird, you know? I spent the last four years listening to you sing at Christmas time.”
My cheeks heat. As many times as I ogled him in the audience, I never knew he was there for me. Or that he was the one leaving me mystery bouquets after every concert.
“Anyway, it’s stupid, but it was my idea. I don’t sing nearly as well as you, but I miss you, and I hate that we’re spending another Christmas apart. So, I thought maybe singing for everyone else would make me feel closer to you.”
“And did it?”
Rob laughs. “Not by a long shot.”
It never occurred to me the high of his first bowl game win would be tarnished by missing me. “I’m sorry you’re stuck at the airport on Christmas, Superjock. And that your idea didn’t work.”
“Don’t be. Just because it didn’t help me doesn’t mean it didn’t help others. The rest of the guys kind of got carried away with the idea. Now, in addition to caroling all through the airport, they’ve decided to try and pull off every social media stunt in one night. They want to see if it’ll get them in the Guinness Book of World Records.”
He might be an NCAA, bowl-winning quarterback, but my Rob has a heart of gold. Aside from Mike, Alex, and TJ, I’m not too sure of his other teammates yet. “What all are they going to do?”
“So far, the mannequin challenge, the flash mob challenge, the Harlem Shake, planking, the ice bucket challenge, the running man challenge, and…I think that’s it. Maybe more caroling in between. They’re still making a to-do list for the night.”
“I guess that means you won’t be getting any shut eye.”
“Nope.” He sounds more cheerful about lack of sleep than expected. “I’ve been tasked with filming.”
Aha. That explains the happiness. If he’s behind the camera, he doesn’t have to be in front of it.
“Well, it sounds like a night of fun and debauchery as one would expect from a college football team.” At least they’re making the best of a bad situation. It could be worse. Rob’s teammates could be running around trying to find single, stranded ladies to hook up with.
Actually… “Where’s Alex in all of this?”
“Listen for yourself.”
Sure enough, Alex’s voice comes through the line. He’s singing…Last Christmas.
“Does he know that’s a song about a gay couple?”
Rob laughs. “Pretty sure he does. He knows every word. Hang on a second. You’ve gotta see this with your own eyes.”
My momentary sadness at the disconnected call fades when Rob sends a FaceTime request. I accept and within seconds, an image of a very enthusiastic Alex singing and dancing to the same song appears on my little screen. The bedraggled crowd of stranded travelers appears absolutely enthralled by the performance.
“…A face on a lover with a fire in his heart.” Alex latches onto Mike’s arm, staring up at him with an adoring expression that quickly turns theatrically heartbroken. “A man undercover, but you tore me apart!”
He even does all the vocal glissandos like in the original version. I never knew Alex could sing like this.
