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Confessions—plural, my inner voice chides. But instead of reveling in the upcoming misery, I squash it down and shake my ass. Twirling on the narrow bar, I lean down and hand a guy one of the shots. He throws it back and holds the glass back up. Laughing, I shake my head and move on. I'm at number three when the music suddenly stops. What the—?
I glance around, and most of the customers mirror my confused gaze until my eyes land on Mags—who is grinning. Not good. I whip around to find Wes, but he's not at his table.
"Princess!" I almost fall off the bar when Wes calls me from behind the counter. What is he doing? He's holding something up to me, and it takes me a moment to comprehend what it is.
I scowl at the object he's extending. "What's this?"
Wes, in his lovable way, shrugs. "A mic."
I want to whack him with the mic right now.
Mags saunters over to me and leans in, saying, "Show us what you got." Before I can answer, she twirls her finger in the air, and "One Way Or Another" by Blondie comes through the speakers.
You got to be kidding me. I glower at both of them, who have equally mischievous expressions.
"You want me to perform this song right now?"
"You told me how much you love the scene from the movie. You can sing and dance, so…" Wes trails off, and I want to kick myself off the bar for letting him join us during movie night.
"I hate you guys," I hiss at them both.
"No, you don't," Mags deadpans and reaches for Wes to help her down.
He holds the mic up to me once more, and I take it, sighing exasperatedly. Shit, I guess I'm really doing this.
The entire bar erupts in cheers, and I can't help but laugh. Kiwi beams with pride, and my pulse quickens but, for once, not from nervousness.
I look for Dean and signal for him to start the song over. All eyes are on me, and as soon as the first notes fill the room, my hips begin to sway on their own accord. I belt out the lyrics like I've done it a thousand times, and to my surprise, I love it. I lose myself in the song, close my eyes, and forget everything: my past, present, and future.
As the song comes to a close, I let reality flood back in. Everyone stares at me, slack-jawed, before a cacophony of noise nearly throws me backward. Claps, cheers, hollers. The bar is out of control, and I cover my mouth. I don't know what to do. I didn't expectthat. Wes is in front of me, holding his arms high, signaling for me to jump.
"Are you crazy?" I laugh, shaking my head.
"Jump!" The grin on his face is contagious, and I let myself fall. Clinging to him with my arms and legs wrapped around him, I'm looking into Wes's eyes. I love this man with every fiber of my being.
His mouth is on mine before I can react, and I open up automatically. The few hours I avoided him today left me starved, and I can't get close enough. I all but grind myself on him, and he pulls back, chuckling. "Should we take a detour to the employee lounge?"
The lounge. Where it happened.
Wes narrows his eyes at me. "What's wrong, Princess?"
I draw my bottom lip between my teeth, biting down. The sting distracts me from the pain piercing my heart. I place a gentle kiss on his mouth and untangle myself.
"I'll check with Grizz to see if I can leave a little early and grab my stuff from Mags's car. I'll be right back." Before he can ask any questions, I weave through the crowd. I get stopped here and there, customers telling me how much they loved my rendition of the song. All I want is to be alone with Wes. I need to get it all out before I lose the last bit of courage I have left.
Grizz nods from behind his monitors, and I grab Mags's keys out of her purse to collect my backpack. I knew I would leave with Wes tonight, and hope made me pack an overnight bag—hope that he won't kick me out when I come clean.
I push through the back door and veer toward Mags's car, clicking the key fob. In my mind, I go over possible ways to break the news to Wes when a voice stops me in my tracks.
"Hey, baby girl."
The blood in my veins turns to ice. No. Oh God, please no. My body begins to shake uncontrollably, and I drop the keys, the sound echoing in my ears like a wrecking ball demolishing a building.
My breath comes in shallow bursts as I slowly turn toward the one person that could make tonight even worse. He steps out of the shadow behind another car, and my eyes meet his ice-blue ones.
"What are you doing here?" I force my voice to remain steady when all I want is to break down in sobs.
"Didn't your sister tell you I was on my way?" His casual attitude overwrites my fear of anyone seeing us together.
