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“Never seen him laugh so much,” I heard from behind me. Ella. She was with Jenna by the bar.
“That’s the love of a good woman, kitten,” Deacon said coming in, looping his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him, her face melting with a look of bliss.
“Oh hey, can I talk to you a minute?” Rob Forker, Ella’s father asked, coming toward us from the back hallway. “Been waiting here for ya.”
“Brother,” I greeted. “Hey. Before you talk to me, know I haven’t seen my girl in nearly a month so I’m hoping what you’ve got to say isn’t gonna take me away from a reunion I’ve been waiting for.”
Rob laughed. “I’ll make it quick then. And I actually need to talk to your girl, not you.”
“Me?” Gigi asked.
“Yeah. You know the big party we have planned tonight?”
Gigi nodded.
“My band The Dubes is the openin’ act. But Bertie woke up with laryngitis this morning and I need a female voice on three or four songs. Spencer says you’ve got a great voice. What do you think about stepping in tonight?”
Gigi looked stunned. “I…”
“It’d help us out in a big way,” Rob added, folding his hands in prayer position. “Bein’ Blow’s celebration of life and all. You know?”
A lot of sets of eyes were on her.
“She’s shy,” I said. “She’s got a voice that says Melissa Etheridge and Amy Winehouse’s love child, but she doesn’t like getting on stage. You don’t have to do this, G. Nobody’s gonna be upset if you can’t do it. Right, Rob?” I gave him a pointed look.
Rob’s mouth opened but before he spoke, my girl spoke up.
“It’s okay. I…” Gigi swallowed. “I am shy. Painfully shy. But this club has done so much for me. The least I can do is step outside my comfort zone a little. I’ll… I’ll be happy to get up there and do it. For all of you. For Blow. I might just need to get shitfaced first.” She shrugged.
“You’re gonna be among friends. You can just picture us all naked,” Ella offered.
“She’s seen most of y’all naked anyway, hasn’t she?” Skip said with a sneer from behind the bar.
I hadn’t clocked him before he spoke. And now I wanted to fuckin’ clock him in the mouth.
I scowled at him as I noticed he looked wrecked. Absolutely wrecked.
“Oi! You wanna swallow your fuckin’ teeth?’ I demanded.
He waved. “Just teasing. Can’t anyone hack a little teasing around this joint?” He wandered off, staggering down the hall toward the main floor bathrooms.
“Skip’s wife kicked him out,” Ella said under her breath.
“Oh?” Gigi asked.
“If he wasn’t three sheets to the wind, he’d get taught a lesson for his fuckin’ mouth,” I stated.
“Like I said, lots to catch you up on, girlfriend,” Jojo said with big eyes.
“Can’t wait,” Gigi said nervously.
“So… you’ll try?” Rob checked.
“I… yes. I’ll do it. Just this once. It’s really not my thing though so…”
“Come to the Roadhouse around three and we’ll run through the set list and have a quick rehearsal. Nothin’ like trial by fire, right?” He laughed. “And that’ll give you two a couple hours for your reunion. Our set starts at eight thirty. The headliner goes on at nine thirty.”
“Okay,” my girl agreed.
“Thanks a million, Gia,” Rob said and then he left.
“You guys are opening for AbstractED,” Jojo told her. “They’re on tour with Gorge right now, but they’re in town this weekend and Chase told Dad they wanted to come and play in The Roadhouse while they’re here; that they liked the acoustics. Good timing.”
Gigi’s eyes widened and she laughed nervously. I squeezed her hand.
“You’re gonna be great, Gia,” Spencer called from the couch he was sitting on. “Wait till you guys hear her voice.”
“He’s right,” Pippa chimed in. “You’re gonna be awesome, Gia. Maybe AbstractED will help you get discovered, too!”
“Uh, thanks, Spencer, Pippa,” G said, “But I’m not lookin’ for that. I’m just happy to help out for the club.”
“See you folks later,” I said and squeezed her hand before leading her to the stairs.
“It’ll be all right,” I said as we climbed, knowing she’d been nervous about running into the lead singer of that band the last time they were here because of his history with Kailey.
“Yeah, hopefully I don’t crap my pants on stage. I peed myself the first time Daddy made me stand up and sing in a smoky country bar. I was so nervous.”
“I meant about AbstractED’s singer. Though… fucking Grant.”
“Oh. That.” She shrugged. “I’m not so worried about that anymore. If he recognizes me, I’ll just have to tell him she’s gone.”
“So, you gonna be okay up on that stage?” I asked.
“Instead of picturing everyone naked, I’ll just sing to you,” she said.
I stuck the key into the keyhole on my door and turned the knob then bent and hefted her over my shoulder before kicking the door wide.
