The man singing a very tipsy version of Sweet Caroline ended his song with a mic drop and sauntered off the stage. Amid the applause, Ally hopped up to grab the mic to put it back into its stand and waited for the noise to die down. After a couple of wolf whistles from a few guys in the back, she broke into a beaming smile and leaned into the mic. “All right, Rock Valley, we’ve got a special treat coming up for you! Performing for the very first time is Audrey. Please, give her some love and encouragement.”
A crazy roar broke out over the room and I hesitated, feeling as if my feet had been glued to the floor. Ally waved at me, urging me to follow her on stage. This was it. If I couldn’t do this, then I couldn’t do the big centennial performance. My entire senior year would be shot. Not to mention, a lifetime of Grammy award speeches I’d scripted in my head. With a deep breath, I began to walk toward her, doing my best to ignore the obscene amount of eyes on me at that moment.
Immediately, a sweat broke out on the back of my neck and trickled down my spine. The spotlight on the stage was blinding and hot. Ally shoved the mic into my hand with a grin and ran off to start the music. I turned to face the audience, holding a hand up to shade my eyes.
Maybe, if I concentrated hard enough, I could make them all disappear. If there was a time to develop super powers, now was it. Before I passed out and humiliated myself in front of a million strangers — and Collin.
“You’ve got this, baby!” A woman shouted to my right.
I waved half-heartedly at her, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. The moment I did, any courage I had left would disappear. Poof. Into thin air.
Suddenly, the familiar melody of the song began to spill from the speakers. To my left was the karaoke screen, lighting up with the lyrics. I swallowed hard and focused all of my attention on it and getting my voice to work. The first few words of the song came out like a whisper, barely audible in the crowded restaurant. However, I knew this song like the back of my hand and the more I sang, the more confident I became, until eventually my voice soared over the crowd.
Cheers of approval from the audience started to reach my ears, giving me a boost. I jumped into the second chorus and began to bounce around the stage, finally daring to look up from the screen. Everyone was eating it up. I was rocking it. I was Taylor Swift at the Grammys. Beyoncé at Coachella. Ariana Grande at the Billboard Music Awards. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I belted out the last verse.
The song ended to the raucous sound of cheers, clapping, and calls for an encore. I beamed at them and took a bow, feeling utterly exhilarated. Collin had been right. Performing in front of a live audience was totally different. There was nothing that compared to that thrill. And now, I knew for sure that I could do it.
In fact, I craved it. I had to go again.
But this time, I needed someone to join me.
“Ally, Ally!” I ran off stage to find her near the karaoke machine, her face shining with pride. “Can I do another song real quick? A duet?”
Understanding entered her eyes and she nodded eagerly, turning back to the computer. “I have just the thing. Get back out there.”
I hopped back on the stage to the sound of more cheers and shaded my eyes from the spotlight. He was still out there, somewhere. It was time for a little payback.
“I hope you all don’t mind, but I need Collin Preston to report to the stage immediately,” I announced into the mic, still scanning the crowd as they cheered. “Better hurry, before you chicken out.”
Some commotion to the left caught my attention. My eyes zoomed in on Collin approaching the stage, suspicion written on his face. He spanned the large step onto the stage with an effortless leap and approached me, his brow furrowed.
“What are you doing, Audrey?”
“Did I pass your little test?” I asked, holding my hand over the microphone to muffle our conversation. “Was that loose enough for you?”
His lips quirked with a smile and he shrugged. “Yeah, that was pretty awesome, despite your unfortunate choice in song.”
“Don’t be dissing on my girl,” I replied, biting back a grin. “But I think it’s time for a little payback.”
“What? Now?”
Music began pumping from the speakers. Collin tilted his head to one side, a disbelieving grin forming on his sculpted lips. Ally ran up behind us and shoved a microphone into his hand, before sprinting off the stage again.
“I’ve created a monster,” he said, bowing his head and rubbing the space between his eyebrows.
“Who would’ve thought this karaoke thing could be so much fun?” Adrenaline flowed into my veins again, making me jittery. “We might have to do this every night.”
Ignoring the look of mock horror Collin shot me, I kept my eyes on the monitor and smiled when the song title came up. Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Ally did have good taste. This was my jam. And Collin would’ve had to have been living under a rock if he didn’t at least know the tune.
Sure enough, as the lyrics on the screen turned blue for the male part, Collin grasped his microphone confidently and belted out the first few words to the sound of a twangy guitar.
Instantly, my jaw dropped. Collin had a raspy, deep tone as smooth as honey. He owned the song, as if he’d written it himself, and the intense emotion in his face blew me away. In just a few short lines, I could tell he was good. Really good. In fact, I’d never heard any guy sing like him. It was no wonder Mrs. Banks had picked him for the performance. He deserved it.
I would’ve been lost fan-girling over his voice for the rest of the song, if it hadn’t been for his shoulder bumping against mine right before my part came up. Oh yeah. This was a duet. Clasping the microphone tighter in my hand, I leaned into the notes and sang out Lady Gaga’s lines, to the very best of my ability.
Collin’s eyes were on me the whole time, his eyes glittering with a strange kind of emotion. I couldn’t look away from him. The way the stage lights hit him, sharpening the angles of his face and increasing the intensity in his gaze, mesmerized me.
No longer in need of the lyrics scrawling across the screen, we kept eye contact and sang together through the chorus. Electricity danced up and down my spine, making me shiver even in the heat of the restaurant. The connection between our voices was incredible. It was as if we’d been meant to sing this song together. And as I took the lead, Collin stepped back to give me the spotlight. He returned moments later to belt out the final few lines with me and our gazes locked again until the music faded away to nothing.