As I sang my heart out, it suddenly took a flip when I saw Alex. She was watching, but she was trying to hide that she was. Her heavenly big blue eyes were wide, glistening against the light above her. I could tell by the look on her face that she was captivated. Suddenly, my gaze locked on hers, and I was singing to her.

As I continued to sing, I saw a dark gray T-shirt approach her from the corner of my eye. Next thing I knew, she had turned away. My heart twisted, but not in a good way as I watched Liam kiss her on her lips. He introduced her to his group of friends, but I could tell she was not interested. Just before she disappeared out of my sight, she looked over her shoulder and gave me a long, approving smile.

Chapter 11

Alexandria

Wow! What a voice. I was completely blown away. His voice vibrated through every nerve in my body, giving me a sense of pleasure and peace. He not only touched my heart, he touched my soul, if that were even possible. I had chills running through every fiber of my being. I was totally lost, captivated, and I heard nothing but his sexy voice. To top it off, he happened to sing one of my favorite songs.

My heart gave no mercy as it pounded against my chest. I felt dizzy and needed air, but Liam gave me what I needed when he suddenly appeared, wrapping his arms around me, holding me steady. It helped somewhat. What I really needed was a good slap in the face to wake me up and to help me snap out of Elijah’s spell. Looking over my shoulder one last time, my eyes caught his and I pretended he was singing only to me.

After apologizing a few times, Liam introduced me to his friends. We sat at the table and ordered dinner. I smiled and laughed on cue, but my mind was somewhere else. When I noted the redhead across from Liam that couldn’t keep her eyes off of him, I didn’t care. I’d already forgotten her name. Was that normal? Should I care that she was flirting with him in front of me when she knew I was seeing him?

Since dinner was taking so long, everyone kept ordering beer. In order to pass the time, Liam had a stupid idea. He wanted me to sing. The only time he heard me sing was at my father’s funeral, but that was it. He kept persisting and dragged me to the stage.

Knowing Liam didn’t have a great singing voice, I figured I’d choose a safe, easy song, and it was another of my favorites.

After I punched in the number to “Follow Me” by Uncle Kracker, Liam handed me the mic. The music started and Liam sang. He was unable to follow the speed. Just so he wouldn’t make a total fool of himself, I stepped up.

“Way to go, Alex,” I heard Lexy shout. I kept looking at the words since I was not at all comfortable seeing strangers watching me sing. I hadn’t realized Elijah and his friends had gathered close by. Not only was I embarrassed, I was infused with blistering heat from head to toe. I had no choice but to finish, but when I saw Elijah’s huge grin, I couldn’t help but smile, too.

Elijah looked cool and collected leaning against the wall. With his arms crossed, he stared back at me, making me shyly turn away. Seeing him looking so dreamy made me forget about Liam. If only Elijah didn’t smoke. If only he wasn’t my roommate. If only he didn’t frighten me, though I didn’t know why he did.

“My Baby is awesome,” Liam shouted, twirling me around, leading me back to his friends after the song ended. Then the clapping died down.

I’m not sure what happened, but I realized this was the first time I sang karaoke without my dad. Singing in front of my friends was not dreadful. It was actually kinda fun. My dad would have been proud.

As we ate dinner, more people sang. Hearing some oldies that my dad and I used to sing made me teary-eyed. I couldn’t help it. I had to excuse myself to the restroom a couple of times. It had only been three months since he passed away. Was this normal?

When I came back, Lexy was standing by the table. She had already been introduced to everyone. She was so sweet and friendly. It was no wonder everyone got along with her. Lexy had a personality that everyone clicked with.

“Alex.” Lexy gave me a tight squeeze. “Who knew? You’ve been hiding your talent. I’m glad Liam dragged you to the stage.”

“I’m okay,” I said shyly. I wasn’t used to the compliments.

“This was nothing. You should’ve heard her sing at her father’s funeral,” he gushed.

Lexy looked at me with a questioning look, but she knew better than to ask. I’m sure she saw the surprise and sadness in my eyes. She was good at reading people. I hadn’t told any of my new friends about my father’s death, but now Liam just opened his mouth. I was pretty sure it was the alcohol that was making him so insensitive.

“Anyway, I was on my way to the restroom so I’ll talk to you all later.” Lexy didn’t look at me before she headed away.

My dad told me many times when I was young that you could never know how another person felt unless you walked in that person’s shoes. He was right, of course. Liam never lost anyone he loved. He had no idea what I was feeling right now. It was through his actions and words that I knew this.

Liam started talking and laughing with his friends while he placed his arms around me. It was getting close to midnight. I was not only feeling a little tipsy since I rarely drank, but I was also emotionally tired.

Liam bringing up the funeral and hearing songs my dad and I used to sing together was not agreeing with my stomach. The ache in my heart started to twist deeper and I knew I needed to get out of here. The air suddenly became thick and heavy and I couldn’t breathe. I held it together as long as I could, but when I heard the last words my dad sang to me from his hospital bed being sung by one of Elijah’s group of friends, I completely lost it. Why did it have to be that song, out of the hundreds of songs on the list?