Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (58 page)

     
Afterwards, we
had lunch while trying to figure out where to head next. Douglas had been right
about everything being within close proximity, so we were easily able to walk
around and visit most of the various shops that were littered throughout the
area.

     
When it came to
fashion, Jillian was more about quality over quantity, so she tended to lean
towards brand-specific items. I craved limitless diversity and an endless supply
of pretty things in my wardrobe, so thrifting had become a necessity. Because
it
was
a special occasion, I didn't worry too much about how much I was
spending, especially since I only stuck to items that were mostly used or on
sale.

     
"Do you
have enough room in your suitcase for those?" I glanced at the bags of
clothes in my friend's hands.

     
"I came
here with the intended purpose of shopping and partying, so my suitcase is
mostly empty."

     
While browsing
a fancier used clothing shop, I found Jillian ogling over a pair of Yves Saint
Laurent boots in her size. I then decided that it was time to break out the
card. After a few minutes of back and forth jabs, she convinced me to buy
things that were worth at least as much as the shoes. I headed towards the back
area where the sleepwear was located.

     
"You
have
to get this one," Jillian said as she pulled out a long, nude-colored
gown.

     
The straps were
thin and the neckline was a low V-cut. The material was soft, strategically
layered, and gave off the illusion of transparency. It would cling to me like a
second skin, except for where it flared out at the bottom, leaving a trail in
its wake. I was in love. It was the kind of thing that I would never be able to
wear at home - at least not with Dale around. But it was exactly the kind of
thing I could wear while in Ethan's presence.

     
I reached for
it. The moment it was in my hands, I knew that we were meant for one another. I
held it close, eager to get it into my closet with my other precious gems.

     
"You're
going to kill him," Jilly smirked.

     
When it started
to get dark, we gave Dale a call to see if he wanted us to bring back dinner.
Douglas ended up driving us home just before seven. He and Jillian had gotten
rather chatty on the way back as she tried to fish for information about him.
While still remaining friendly, he wasn't very forthcoming. But we did learn
that he was thirty-three, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. I thought he
would've been closer to Ethan's age, if not just a little younger. The two had
known each other for ten years now, and of those ten, Douglas had been
officially employed by him for four. He wouldn't say how they met, only that it
was business-related.

     
When we neared
the apartment, Jillian decided to go for it. "So do you have a
girlfriend?"

     
"No,
ma'am," he smiled at her through the mirror.

     
"Must be
hard finding time, what with the kind of work you do and all."

     
He glanced at
me this time. "Work has been rather light in these recent weeks."

     
She tried to
get him to come to tomorrow's karaoke gathering, but he politely declined. It
was hard to tell, but I think Douglas might have taken a liking to her.

     
We gave our
thanks and headed inside, our arms filled with bags of clothes, shoes, and fast
food. Dale was waiting in the living room.

     
"Finally," he called. "I'm starving."

     
Just as I was
setting the food down onto the table, I remembered something. "Oh, shoot.
I didn't give Douglas back the card."

     
"You can
give it to Ethan tomorrow night, right?" Jillian suggested as she went to
set her bags down.

     
"I guess
I'll have to. I'll be back in a minute." I rushed into my room, dumping all
the bags onto my bed before pulling out my phone so I could text him.

     
Thank you
for today. We had a great time. By the way, I stole your card. - Me

   
  
I was
only a little surprised when he replied just seconds later.

     
You actually
bought something with it, then? - Spook

     
A few pairs
of stripper shoes, cotton candy scented band-aids, a new bed spread, a sex
swing, and a poodle. Her name is Josie. - Me

     
Are you
trying to tell me something, Kitten? - Spook

     
Only that you're
an ass for not asking me about it first. Got to go, dinner is waiting for me.
Goodnight :) - Me

     
After quickly
changing, I dug into my deliciously unhealthy meal and enjoyed the rest of the
night with my two best friends. Although I had once again planned to do some
research on Ethan, by the time it came close to bed I found that I no longer
cared anymore.

The
next day was relaxing for the most part. I stayed home with Jillian and we
spent the better part of the day in the living room, just talking. But as the
hours passed, I began to grow uneasy. When it was only Coops and Jillybean, I
had no fear when it came to being my normal, foolish self. Singing had always
been our thing - a good portion of our last summer together had been spent trying
out various karaoke bars. Knowing that tonight's event would involve others
almost made me feel ill, and I didn't want to go anymore. But as it was my
duty, I would just have to suck it up. Jillian wanted a singing party, so I
would do my best to play along.

     
I texted both
Samantha and Ethan the address of where we would be meeting. The place we had
found wasn't just some open mic joint. We needed it to be legit with our own
private room.

     
"He's
coming back at six or so. He'll probably want to take a quick shower and then
he'll drive us," I let Jillian know when she asked about Dale.

     
When five came
around, I decided to get dressed. Jilly had already spent the previous
half-hour going through her new clothes, trying to decide on what to wear.

     
I didn't want
to think too hard about it, so I kept my outfit rather basic. The weather
wasn't bad, so I could get away with wearing a fitted white crop top and a
black pleated skirt. There was enough coverage that it didn't leave me with a
heap of cleavage spilling out, but it did leave at least a good two inches of
my midriff bare. For extra modesty, I put on some black opaque stockings. As
for shoes, I played it simple with matching booties. And because I knew it
would be cold later, I wrapped an oversized, white fuzzy sweater through the
straps of the miniature backpack I would be bringing.

     
It became
apparent that despite her love for brand items, Jillian was still all for
letting out her inner boho-girl every once in a while. She opted for denim
shorts, a thin white lace top, a kimono cardigan to keep her somewhat room
temperature, the western-style boots we had just purchased with Ethan's money,
and a shit-ton of accessories.

     
Since I wanted
to leave it down, she combed my hair out while we waited for Coops. It was
something she hadn't done in a long while, but, just as always, she fell into
it with ease and it was as though we hadn't been apart for the last few years.
More important than having lots of friends was knowing that I was lucky enough
to have someone like Jillybean and Coops, who would always be there for me -
even if we only met up once in a blue moon.

     
When Dale came
back, Jillian and I began searching through his closet to help find him
something to wear. He complained of course, but Jilly was insistent, letting
him know that she would make him look like walking sex. Thus, she would be
complete in making up for ruining his Saturday night with Samantha.

     
"She'll be
drooling - totally splooshing all over the seats," she said, shuffling
through his shirts.

     
I laughed.
"Gross much?"

     
"This
one!" Jillian held up a plain white shirt.

     
"…That's
it?" Dale looked at it doubtingly.

     
She threw it at
his face. "Trust me. It's thin, low-cut, and on your body it will look
yummy." She also picked out a black jacket and a pair of dark blue jeans.
"Do you have any accessories?"

     
"I'm not
you," he called from his bathroom.

     
"Wear that
necklace I gave you. The one with the leather."

     
True to her word,
Dale did end up a good-looking hunk of man. If Samantha wouldn't be splooshing,
I imagined other girls definitely would be.

     
During the
short ride over, I sat in the back of the car trying my best to calm my nerves.
Maybe Connie wouldn't come. Or if she did, maybe it would just be her and not
Tyler. That I could handle. Maybe.
Oh, wait…Ethan will be there, too. Damn.

   
  
We arrived just after seven. Samantha was already there
with Connie and Tyler. They were waiting in the parking lot - only they weren't
alone. Henry and a slightly familiar looking woman were happily chatting away
with them. And a few feet away from their group stood Ethan and Pierre, the two
most beautiful of the bunch, who both seemed to be in a deep conversation.
While Jillian gushed over Ethan's blonde-haired buddy, I counted the numbers.

     
Ten people in
total. All working individuals who happened to be free on a random Tuesday
night. All grown ups, most of them professional, one of them filthy rich, all
about to do something as laid back as karaoke.

     
Ten.

     
In one room.

     
Well, guess
I'll be getting shitfaced tonight.

     
Like the good
friends they were, Coops and Jillybean each took a place at my side after
exiting the car, both grabbing onto an arm to drag me towards my worst
nightmare.

     
"Kinda
feels like we're intruding on a Luxadigm conference," Dale noted quietly.

   
  
I wanted to cry into his arm. Literally. My heart was
pumping so fast it felt as though it might burst and my stomach was churning
something fierce. Just knowing that I was going to be in a closed room with
this many people, most of whom I didn't really know, made me want to throw up.
Hey,
whatever it took to make Jillybean happy, right?

     
"It'll be
fine, Baby," Jillian spoke softly, rubbing my head. "Once you get
used to the atmosphere, it'll be a blast."

     
I loved her
dearly for her consideration, but her words made me cringe with embarrassment.
I didn't want them to know just how badly this affected me. But I guess my face
must have given me away. Dale quickly kissed my forehead.

     
"One for
all and all for one, kiddo," he said.

     
"In Latin,
now! Go!" Jilly shouted. "
Unus pro omnibus, omens pro uno
!
…Hey, I couldn't hear you guys."

     
I couldn't help
but laugh.

     
"Together,
now!
Unus pro omnibus
…"

     
"
Omens
pro uno
," we all shouted together.

     
"It's
about time, my ass was starting to fall asleep," Connie yelled, rising
from her seated position on the curb. "So…this is the other female
friend?" She looked Jillian up and down with an odd expression, and I
wondered then just what Samantha had told her exactly.

     
"You must be
Ginger Spice," Jillian smiled sweetly. I would have facepalmed, but my
arms were still taken by my friends.

     
"…What?" She didn't seem angry, just confused.

     
"That's
what Baby called you."

     
Connie looked
at me, brows raised. I shrugged. "You remind me of her."

     
"…Fuck
yeah! Ginger Spice was the hottest, right babe?" She turned and smiled at
Tyler, who was laughing.

     
Dale went off
to take his place at Samantha's side as everyone began making introductions.
The unknown woman turned out to be Beth, Henry's assistant. Now that I could
actually see her up close, I could tell that she was very pretty. Her hair was
jet black, short, and very curly. Her face was round, her nose a small little
thing, and her lips, while short in length, were very plump. Even dressed as
though she had just walked out of the office, she reminded me of Betty Boop.
Or
her long lost twin sister.

     
While Jillian
was getting super friendly with Pierre, Ethan came up to me and squeezed my
hand in greeting. He wore a slight frown, his eyes focused on what I was
wearing.

     
Immediately, I
became defensive. "What?"

     
"Where's
your shirt?"

     
I scoffed.
"What are you implying? I'm completely covered."

     
"Hardly." He subtly ran the back of his forefinger over the
small bit of showing skin on my stomach. "Aren't you freezing?"

     
"Not at
all."

     
His frown
deepened as he studied me, contemplating.

     
"Look," I exhaled. "You don't have to like what I'm
wearing. But I'll be damned if
any
man starts telling me what I should
and shouldn't wear." I knew there was nothing wrong with my outfit. Connie
- hell, even Samantha - both were showing more skin than me.

     
"I love
it," he muttered. "I'm just not sure how I feel about other men
seeing you when you look so…edible."

     
"There are
four other gorgeous women here. No one is going to be looking at me except
you." Before he could argue, I quickly changed the subject. "You
don't feel weird about being here? I thought maybe you would have changed your
mind."

     
"It's
definitely weird," he admitted. "Not to mention unsafe…But it's not
really the kind of thing I could easily pass up, is it?"

     
"Alright,
we ready to go?" Dale asked everyone.

     
Beyond the
entrance was a large area with a stage and a live band, just like the place my
friends and I used to visit almost every other weekend. Back then, our nights
would usually end up there - after I figured out how to work around the stage
fright. Despite my nervousness, there was a small part of me that yearned to
hop onto the stage. But there seemed to be some kind of competition going on
right now, and I didn't do competitions.

     
"I want to
go up there!" Of course it was Connie who said that.

     
But Henry
joined in excitedly, "Maybe later, when we've gotten enough drinks
in."

     
A minute or two
later, we were led to our own private room. It was large and had leather seats
lined up along three of the walls. Colored lights ran all across the ceiling
and the screen was fairly big. It was a lot fancier than any of the other
karaoke joints I'd been to before. The ten of us were able to fit comfortably
without feeling crammed. I sat closer to the left side of the room, in between
Jillian and Ethan. Dale sat on Jillian's other side, next to Samantha who sat
on the end. When ordering drinks, I went with a Vodka Cranberry, praying that
it would be more effective in getting me drunk than my regular favorite fruity
choice. I didn't like the idea of having to rely on alcohol, not at all, but it
was better than risking the chance of having a panic attack.
Just this once
- for Jilly.

     
"Who's
going first?" Henry asked.

     
"Is
everyone going separately?" Samantha questioned somewhat timidly.

     
"Of
course. Equal grounds for all to be laughed at."

     
"Solos
come after we get drunk," Jillian insisted. "For now, we do group
songs."

     
"Well,
since I'm now officially Ginger, I demand Spice Girls," Connie smirked at
me.

     
Half of the
guys in the room groaned in protest.

     
"We have
our
Baby
. Sammi's a gymnast, so she can be Sporty. Posh," Connie
pointed to Beth and then nodded towards Jillian, "and Scary Spice. I've always
wanted to be in a girl group, so we're doing this - where are the
microphones?"

     
Jillian
squeezed my hand and Ethan chuckled beside me.

     
"What
song?" Beth asked.