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I splashed water on my face, then thought about this night. Charles had wanted to do something nice for me. He’d spent time looking up something for us to do, and I knew it was more for me than him. I’d never had someone put so much thought into me before, wanting to include me and be around me. The last thing I wanted was to fuck this up, for him to think I didn’t appreciate it. That thought helped give me the strength to fight through it until everything going too fast started to slow down and the world righted itself again—Charles’s smiling eyes in my head the whole time.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Charles
How much of a stalker would I come off as if I went into the restroom to check on Brian? I didn’t want him to think I didn’t believe he could take care of himself, but I also wanted to make sure he knew he wasn’t alone. Something about him had crawled under my skin and made a home there. This started off as just trying to be his friend, but now all I could do was think about him all the time.
Before I could embarrass myself by going in there, Brian came back out. His shirt looked slightly wet around the collar, and he gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Sorry ’bout that.”
“About what? It’s okay if you needed a little break from me. I know I can be a bit much,” I added playfully, but he shook his head.
“That ain’t it and you know it, but I appreciate your trying to make me think otherwise.”
My stomach felt light and airy all of a sudden.
“Have you thought any more about seeing a doctor for your anxiety?” I asked.
“I get by just fine on my own.” The finality in his tone told me he didn’t want to talk about it, and I had no choice but to honor that. Then he surprised me by saying, “You know you really gotta get up there and play, right? You said it, so I’m expectin’ it.”
“Oh, are you?” I cocked a brow.
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“Stop flirting with me.” I winked. “I’ll be right back.”
I headed up to the table by the stage. “Are there sign-ups to play?” I asked.
“Yep. You can go on after them. You’ll be the first one for open mic. It’s okay if you suck. They like it more if you do,” he teased.
“They’re going to be disappointed, then.”
I filled out the info and returned to the table, where Brian was just finishing up his drink.
“You’re really gonna perform?”
“Yep. If for no other reason than you didn’t think I would.” I slid into my seat.
“You know I’m not, right?”
I chuckled. “I do, and I respect that. Prepare to be impressed, though.”
“We’ll see about that,” he replied, rolling his eyes playfully, and something about it made me smile. Why did I enjoy spending time with Brian so much? We were nothing alike. But then, in some ways we were. We never ran out of things to talk about, we liked music, and our families meant the world to us. Brian had secrets when it came to his, but who didn’t?
The band said their good-nights and left the stage, taking their instruments with them. There was a short intermission while they rolled out a small piano. We hadn’t brought Brian’s acoustic with us, so even if he’d wanted to play tonight, he wouldn’t be able to…but he could sing karaoke—not that he would.
The DJ went onstage, and mouth close to the mic said, “We’re gonna jump right into tonight’s performers. First, we have Charles Wells!”
Everyone clapped, and I stood, bowed, and played up the crowd as I made my way to the stage. A mic was attached to the piano, so I went ahead and sat down. “Wow…this is a little more intimidating than I thought,” I joked. “I’m gonna get you back for this.” I winked at Brian, who shook his head. I wasn’t lying when I’d said I was protective over my singing, but doing it tonight didn’t feel like I was doing it for the people there eating and drinking. I was doing it for Brian. That meant a lot to me.
My gaze caught on Brian again, who smiled and nodded as if telling me I could do this. I knew I could. As a whole, I wasn’t the type to be shy about things, but somehow, seeing Brian offering support and how riveted he was on me, like this moment meant something to him too, helped get my fingers moving. Once they were on the ivories, notes filling the air, the slight nerves I’d felt melted away completely.
They had a screen with the lyrics, so I sang while I played. Every time my gaze met Brian’s, he was watching me, smiling and clapping. The other patrons applauded, and some sang along with me. My whole body buzzed. I hadn’t done this in so long. It was so simple, just singing in front of a bunch of drunk people, but somehow it was nearly impossible to tamp down the excitement bubbling in my chest.
