Page 37 of So Much More
“Do we have to dance?” Aunt Star asks over the music. “I don’t want to dance.”
“No, you don’t have to dance. Are we all going to do a song together?” I ask.
“Yes,” Leslie says, “I’m not going up there by myself.”
“Any requests for songs?”
“Whatever you want,” she replies. “Pick something that’ll be fun. There’s a table opening up over there in the corner where it hopefully won’t be as loud, so we’ll go snag it.”
I make my way to the bar to flip through the binder of song options, choose one, and sign us up. A few names are on the list ahead of us, which means we’ll need to settle in for a while. We’ll also need a little liquid courage because karaoke is more intimidating than you think it’ll be once you get up there. With that in mind, I stop by the bar to get us a round of vodka shots before heading back to the table with the four shot glasses held precariously between my fingers.
“Why don’t I help you with those?” a familiar deep voice says, and I nearly drop the glasses.
I stop but don’t turn to him, for fear I truly will drop the shots. “Joel?”
“In the flesh.” He deftly slips the two of the shot glasses out of my hands and says, “Where to?”
I finally look up into my former co-worker’s handsome face. “Um, follow me. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
I lead him to the table, and we dole out the glasses.
“I’m Joel,” he says to the others, shaking hands all around. “I used to work with Wendy.”
The other women introduce themselves while giving me questioning glances, as I seem to have lost my ability to talk. I’m dying to cover my face with my hands, as I know I’m beet red, but I realize that would bring more attention to it.
Leslie looks back and forth between Joel and me a few times and asks, “Did you work together for a while?”
“Yes, the whole time she was at Greene PR, so …?” He looks at me. “Five years or so?”
I nod.
“I’ve tried calling you a few times since you left,” he says to me, not needing to add that I never called him back.
“Life’s been a little crazy,” I say, giving him the lamest excuse in the book.
His hand settles on my shoulder and squeezes lightly, and then he leaves it there. I can’t make myself shrug it off, which was always my problem with him.
“Here’s hoping it gets less busy,” he says in a low voice near my ear.
“That’s doubtful, because her boyfriend can’t seem to stay away from her,” Leslie says pointedly, though the fact that Randall’s not with me now doesn’t back up her words.
Joel’s hand slides off my shoulder, and he sticks it in his pocket. “Well, it was nice to meet you ladies.” He turns to me. “Great to see you, Wendy.”
“You, too.”
Once he’s out of earshot, Beckett points at me. “There’s a story there, and we need to hear it.”
“I might have kissed him once.” My face turns red again. “Or twice.”
“Or more than twice?” Aunt Star asks.
“Perhaps.”
“You gotta give us more than that,” Beckett says, “but let’s do these shots first. Maybe that’ll loosen your lips.” She grins at me.
We down the shots, and after some coughs and sputtering, the others look at me expectantly.
