Love and Truth (15 page)

“I’ll go get a catalog and a couple of sodas.” The legal drinking age here was twenty, so there would be no drunken partying. It was for the best, since I started dance Monday morning.

The woman at the bar plopped a phone book-sized catalog down and handed me two sodas. I was stunned by the size of it, and hugged it to my chest to bring it back to our table. After sitting back down with Emiko, I carefully thumbed through the pages. She alternately watched me and scanned the room, looking for people she knew.

“Pretty much any song known to mankind is in that book. Anything you’re looking for should be in there.” Suddenly, she grabbed my arm and squealed.

“Oh my God, Nicole! Don’t look up.”

I looked up instinctively and she elbowed me.

“You’re going to freak when you see who just walked in the door.” She looked down and leaned into me. “Jonathan just walked in and he’s with Mina!”

My stomach twisted and I felt dizzy. “No, Emiko. Please tell me you’re hallucinating. He cannot possibly be here in the same club as us right now.”

I looked at her and watched her nod sadly. I had no idea what I was going to do.

“What the hell am I going to do? We have to get out of here. Is there a back exit? I don’t want to see him right now especially if he’s with her.” I nervously scanned the room and Emiko pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut.

“No there isn’t a back exit. There’s just restrooms back there. I can’t believe he’s here and that he’s with her. I know he told me he was trying to get in touch with her to apologize. He wanted her to see how sorry he was for everything and hopefully give her some closure. But why he would be here with her is beyond me.”

Jealousy fizzed inside me and I hated that he made me feel this way. My fear dissolved into anger. I straightened my back and rolled my shoulders. I flipped a stray strand of hair out of my face and I glared at Emiko.

“No, scratch that. I don’t want to leave. Screw him and his, I will wait for you, I will fight for you, take your time and have some space arrogant self! I came here to have a good time and that’s what I intend to do.”

I grabbed the catalog and yanked it open, flipping to the R section. I suddenly knew what I was looking for.

“This is what I want to sing.” I scribbled the song number and title down. I wrote my name across the slip of paper and handed it to Emiko. “Can you please give this to the announcer for me?” I was anchored to the table and needed help. I wasn’t ready to come face-to-face with him and Mina. Suddenly, I felt his eyes on me and heat rushed through my body. I didn’t want to look but I had to so I glanced to my right and saw a pair of emerald green eyes staring directly at me. I quivered and looked away. His eyes were piercingly sexy. I shook the thought.

He continued to stand there, leaning against the bar with his tall, tan figure and gorgeous, short dark hair loosely brushed, a couple of stray strands lying on his perfectly arched eyebrows. He cocked his head to the side and continued staring at me, barely blinking. His gaze was unflinching and purposeful, and I wondered if he was trying to intimidate me. But then he smiled his “I’m sexy and I know it” grin. He wore dark snug-fitted jeans and a white button-up with the arms slightly rolled up, revealing his sexy tattoo sleeve. The shirt was slightly unbuttoned, enough to make the top center of his chest visible. I tried to stay poised, but I could feel my cheeks heating up.

He traced my body with his eyes and stopped on my legs. He suddenly looked irritated.
Yes, my skirt is short and it looks hot
. I smirked at the idea that he might be jealous. Finally, he looked away and I was released from his spell. I swiveled in my chair so my back faced him. I got up slowly, so as to not look like I was running off, and headed back to the restrooms. I turned one last time as I left and saw that he was talking to Emiko. Mina stood beside him. She was very petite, and wore a jean skirt, black boots, and a black halter top. Her hair was cut in a cute slanted bob. I stared at her and realized I hated her guts at this moment. Any sadness I felt for her melted away in that instant.

Emiko and Jonathan nodded and she walked away. He placed his hand along Mina’s lower back and guided her to a table on the other side of the club. My blood heated through my skin, and I hated him. I shoved the bathroom door and walked to the sink. I cursed my makeup, because all I really wanted to do was splash my face with cool water. Instead, I wet my hands and dabbed them along my chest and the back of my neck. Emiko came in a moment later, looking upset.

“Are you okay, Nicole? I’m so sorry, but Jonathan saw me and then I’m sure you can imagine how he started pigeon-holing me with questions about you. Then Mina walked up and she was surprisingly friendly and I had to stay. I didn’t want to be rude and blow her off, but I knew I needed to get back over to you. I tried to make it quick. I swear.”

I could see the worry on her face. “It’s fine, Emiko. I don’t expect you be rude to someone who used to be your best friend.”

She exhaled and we stood quietly until a group of drunk women burst through the door.

“Let’s get out of here. Do you still want to stay, because we can go if you want to?”

“Are they together?” I asked. I stared at her and knew my anger was beginning to overtake me. “Like are they together, together? Because I need to know what to expect.”

She raised both hands. “I have no idea. This is all so messed up. I didn’t get the vibe that they were together like that, but I didn’t come out and ask them either. Before Mina walked up he said they sat down and talked everything through. She showed him the sonogram pictures of the baby and they mourned the loss together. He also said that they had spent the last couple of days together, just talking and trying to get past what happened.

I shook my head silently. I had no idea what that meant.

“He never said they were a couple. When he started asking about you, he didn’t stop when she walked up. He kept talking about you and showing concern for you in front of her. And she seemed fine with it. So I’d say no, they aren’t.”

I shook my head again. I knew I was acting like a stupid jealous female, but that was what I was feeling right.

We walked back to our table and sat down. My drink was watered down, but I drank it anyway. Suddenly, I heard my name across the speakers and froze. I looked at Emiko.

”Oh my God! My song is up!”

“Do you want me to tell them to scratch you off, Nicole? You don’t have to do this.”

I stood up and flattened my skirt. “Nope, I’m going to do it. I’m going up there and I’ll show him that he doesn’t intimidate me. I came here to sing karaoke.” I raised an eyebrow and glared at Emiko. She smiled and I instantly relaxed. The announcer repeated my name and I flinched.

“Nicole, to sing Rihanna’s
Take a Bow
. Let’s all give her a round of applause.”

I stepped forward and saw the karaoke DJ, who winked back at me. I walked toward him and he handed me the microphone. I turned to face the big screen with the lyrics and stared beyond it to the row of lights up down in front of the stage. The music started and I waited for the first verse. I began singing and turned slightly in the direction of Jonathan’s table. The lyrics floated off my tongue and I sang that it was over now. I looked up as the melody surrounded me. I saw him watching me. I sang about the curtain finally closing and about empty apologies. He didn’t take his eyes off me. Finally, I breathed the last words into the microphone.

But it’s over now...

The crowd applauded, and I handed the microphone back to the announcer. As I stepped off of the stage, I saw Jonathan taking a long draw from his beer and leaning toward Mina. He turned and walked out the front door of the club and I walked slowly back to our table. Emiko smiled from ear to ear, and hugged me.

“You were awesome. You didn’t tell me you had a voice like that!”

“Thank you, thank you very much,” I warbled in my best Elvis voice. We bursted with laughter and I almost forgot that there was nothing funny about this jacked up night.

Chapter Eleven

I rose and scanned the room, looking for Jonathan, but didn’t see him. Mina sat at a table and texted on her phone. I wondered if she was texting with him. The announcer tapped the microphone and cleared his throat
.

“Up next we have a club regular, Jonathan Hayes. Everyone give him a big round of applause. He’ll be singing Lenny Kravitz’s
Can’t Get You Off My Mind
.”

I suddenly felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. I sunk into my seat and looked at Emiko. She lowered her head and rested it in her hands, nodding back and forth. She finally looked up just as the acoustic guitar strummed.

“Nicole, I’m so sorry, but this is so romantic. I feel like I have a front row seat to a romantic movie.” I silently stared at the stage. He sat on a stool and propped up one foot. He stretched out his other leg and rested a hand on his knee. He slowly brought the microphone to his lips.

“This is dedicated to my balcony girl,” he said, staring at me. His voice floated through the air and I melted. It weaved through the crowd and swirled around me, wrapping me in a blanket of passion and desire. I was frozen, unable to tear my eyes away from the beautiful man on stage singing to me. The words of the song pushed into me, making my stomach tense. He sang about life being a lonely highway, he didn’t want to lose her, and when he thought about love he just couldn’t get her off of his mind. His raspy voice filled the room with intensity as he poured his soul into every lyric. With every syllable that fell from his beautiful mouth, a cord snapped from around my heart. The bars of my soul were breaking and the walls were crumbling. My heart was beating out of my chest, begging him to take it, to cherish it, and to never let go. He closed his eyes and his face twisted as he sang about being a fool for thinking there was any hope, and asking her to tell him what to do. He didn’t want to push her and he pleaded for her to tell him what she wanted, what she felt. Then the guitar strummed beautifully as he sang the last line.

I just can’t get you off of mind…

He scanned the crowd as I stood, and our eyes met. He hopped off the stage and I began to walk toward him. Just as I was about to reach him, Mina came into my line of sight. I saw his face fall before he looked back at me. I stopped and turned on my heels, making a beeline for the restroom. I quickly walked inside a stall, shut the door, and locked it. I dropped down onto the toilet, put my face in my hands, and the tears finally won the battle I had fought since he walked in the door. I heard a voice a moment later and looked up at the stall door.

“Nicole? Nicole! Are you in here?” I sniffled and grabbed some toilet paper.

“Yes, I’m right here, Emiko. And yes, I’m ready to leave now. Please call a cab.”

“Okay, I’ll go call a cab. Take your time. I’ll wait at the table for you.”

I got myself together and fixed my makeup in the mirror. I smoothed on some lipstick and threw it back in my clutch. I took a cleansing breath before walking out the door.