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“I’ve barely made a snarky comment at you all afternoon. It’s making me twitchy.”
I bellow a laugh. “I’m sure you’re saving them all for another day.”
“Of course I am.” She winks as she stands to walk to the stage, her newfound confidence oozing from her makes me smile as I watch her walk away. She stands on that stage like it was made for her, the spotlight casting onto her dark hair making it look an even deeper shade.
She wraps her fingers around the microphone and nods to whoever is orchestrating this place like it’s her own personal concert. The smile that breaks over me is all consuming, pinging joy in my chest. When the strumming of a guitar filters into the speakers, I instantly recognise the song by Sixpence None the Richer. What I don’t expect is Nora’s eyes to be trained onto mine when her voice sings the first line of “Kiss me”. Her voice isn’t perfect, it wobbles with nerves as she quietly sings.
My body leans forward as I prop my elbows onto the table. Okay, her singing is… it’s awful. Truly awful. But can I look away? Not even a little bit. I watch her sway naturally to the music and sing her way through the entire song as though she’s singing just for me. But I know she’s doing it for her and that makes it so much sweeter.
She doesn’t care that she can’t sing that well, she’s doing it, and owning it. Pride swells in my chest for the umpteenth time today. Nothing else exists for me outside of her in this moment. Even the imperfections in her voice have me fucking drooling over her.Who the fuck am I and what am I doing?One minute I’m freaking out about marriage and the next I’m falling into her orbit like a love sick fool.
The song finishes and Nora does this cute little bow that just makes her more adorable. When she stands, her shoulder length hair has flopped into her face, and as she pushes it out of her eyes, my heart somersaults. Her smile is big and beautiful, on display for everyone to see how proud she is of herself.
I’m on my feet, wolf whistling for her at the top of my lungs. As she gets closer to me, I close the gap quicker and hug her, lifting her small frame off the floor. It isn’t until I hear her grumble that I put her down. “Sorry, did you say something?” I ask.
She straightens her hair and jumper, then looks up at me. “Just that you were squashing me. I’m only tiny and you’re… well, you’re strong,” she says as she pats my biceps. A deep pink creeps into her cheeks as she talks.
“You know that was the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard,” I say as we walk back to sit at our table.
“You’re a terrible liar, Grayson.”
“Not lying, I swear. Liam’s singing is awful, which I tell him every time he tries to sing at work.”
She chuckles, her shoulders bouncing with the movement, “Oh God, he is awful, isn’t he? Cats have more tune than he does.”
I nod. “But you… I like you,” I reply without realising what I’m saying. My cheeks flame instantly.
“You what?” Nora gawks.
“I mean I likedit. Your performance. It was great,” I say quickly, trying to recover my faux pas.Should I have just left it and owned it?
That sweet pink is colouring her cheeks again as she dips her head, pushing her hair behind her ear. “Thank you.”
“So, do you have another song in you?” I ask, hoping that she doesn’t pry more into my reckless words.
“I don’t think so. But I like it here. Can we stay for a while?”
I nod my head and rest my arm around her chair, pulling her closer. “We can stay.”
Something pings in my chest, then warms, spreading over me like a comforting blanket. I shake my head, hoping it’s just the beer giving me a buzz.
Hours have passed, and it happened in the blink of an eye. The bar quietened after our karaoke session. but neither of us want to move and end up talking about everything and nothing for another few hours. I’ve learned that she likes crossword puzzles and board games; she broke her arm in two places when she was younger when she fell off her bike; she has insanely high standards for herself and thrives off helping others, hence her being so good at her job. She loves reading romance books because she likes to escape into fictional worlds. Honestly, I feel like I know so much more about her. She might be competitive like I thought, but it comes from a place of perfectionism, and she is far more creative than she gives herself credit for, too. But what surprised me the most is how easily she’s opened up to me. It’s refreshing. Earlier I thought it was the drink making her more relaxed but we’ve since switched to water so I’m beginning to think it’s that she’s comfortable with me.
Just as the happy hour evening starts to get busy, my stomach grumbles. “Wanna go grab more food?”
“God yes, I’m starving again.”
We both stand and instinctively I reach for her hand. I’m not sure why I did it, but I felt like I needed to hold her hand and when she squeezes it back, I feel that zing everywhere again.
When we step outside the bar, it’s dusk and I know exactly where I want to take Nora. “You like sushi?”
“I love sushi,” she replies with a pep in her step.
Her mood is high and infectious, and I’m right there with her. Enjoying this day together.
When we arrive back at Nora’s house, she slips off my bike, and I feel a pang of emptiness against my back. I pull off my helmet and run my hands through my hair, ruffling it up.
She removes her own helmet and holds it in her hands as her feet shift on the concrete, her gaze downcast. “I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done for me today.” Her eyes tentatively find mine and there’s that honesty again that she’s been blinding me with all night. “I mean it. I never would’ve done any of it if it wasn’t for you.”
