Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game (27 page)

It was Thursday night, and Maddie and I were
coming out of the movies. We’d spent every night together that
week. Monday night we’d studied for our finals. I’d even been a
good boy and gone to church with her on Wednesday night. It was
getting serious. Way more serious than I’d ever bargained for. It
wasn’t about Jake anymore. It was about me truly being in love for
the first time in my entire life.

Yeah, I was also a giant ass for scamming on my dead
best friend’s girl—or at least the girl he had feelings for. I
tried defending myself by thinking about how Jake treated
her—hiding her away, only acknowledging her as a friend. I tried
not to think about the carat of commitment or the song lyrics. If I
did, it just made me seem horrible.

I was lost in my thoughts as we walked down the
sidewalk. “Earth to Noah!” Maddie said, waving her hand in front of
my face.

“Huh?”

She grinned. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“I’m sorry. I was thinking about something else.”

She cocked her head at me, and her smile widened.
“Yeah, I thought so.” She stopped walking and motioned towards the
coffee shop on the corner.

“Oh, you want to get something to eat?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “No silly. Look at the
sign.”

I stared past her to the window. “Thursday Open Mic
Night” I looked back at her. “So?”

“Why don’t you give it a try?”

I raised my eyebrows. “You want me to go in there and
sing in front of a bunch of strangers without any preparation or my
guitar?”

Maddie nodded. “Yeah.”

“No, I don’t think so,” I replied and started walking
on.

“Oh come on, Noah. You’re too talented not to give it
a shot,” she called.

What Maddie didn’t know is that I’d seen that sign
before. I’d probably walked past it tons of times and thought about
going in. But in the end, I was too much of a chicken shit to do
it. It was one thing to play at Mom’s reception when I’d practiced
until the callouses on my hands gave testament to how I’d perfected
the song. Just like I had no issues playing around my group of
friends.

Strangers was another thing all together.

When I turned around, Maddie was smiling at me. “Come
on, Noah.”

“Fine,” I huffed before I stalked back to her. “Don’t
say I told you so when you’re embarrassed to be seen with me after
my performance!”

“I seriously doubt that,” she said, as she opened the
coffee house door for me.

It was dark inside except for the tiny stage, which
was bathed in glowing light. Great, I couldn’t see the people
heckling me, but at least they’d be able to see me.

Maddie jumped on the waitress the minute she came
over to take our order. “How do you participate in the Open Mic
night?”

The waitress glanced at her watch. “We’re only doing
a couple more numbers. It turns over to karaoke at ten.”

Maddie nodded. “Well, my friend here is really
talented, and he’d like to perform.”

The waitress sized me up and down. I flashed a toothy
grin and said, “What’s up?”

She stared at me like I was a moron. “Looks like
you’re short a guitar,” she mused.

“Yeah, I wasn’t really expecting to do this
tonight.”

“All right, you can borrow Jimmy’s. You’re up in five
minutes.”

Maddie clapped her hands together. “Thank you so
much!”

When the waitress left, I shot Maddie an exasperated
look. “Seriously, you don’t have to be so excited about me making a
fool out of myself.”

“I’ve never seen you act so unsure of yourself
before.” She shook her head. “Stop beating yourself up. You’ll be
awesome, and I know it.” She then grinned slyly at me. “And deep
down inside, you know it too!”

“Whatever,” I grumbled. For the millionth time.

The performer on stage finished to a round of
applause. Jimmy, the manager, took the stage, and I fought my gag
reflex. He motioned me forward, and I took a huge gulp before
rising out of my chair and making the pilgrimage across the stage.
I stood at the edge of the stairs waiting on his cue.

“For our next performance, we’d like to welcome,”
Jimmy paused and put his hand over the Mic. “What’s your name
again, kid?”

“Noah. Noah Sullivan,” I called.

Jimmy nodded. “We’d like to welcome Noah Sullivan to
the stage.”

The coffeehouse erupted in applause. It looked even
more packed from the stage. I clung to Jimmy’s guitar as I strode
across the stage. I eased down on the stool and tried calming
myself. I mean, I don’t know what I was being such a pussy about.
I’d sung at a funeral in front of hundreds of people. I’d be a
total dipshit if I couldn’t handle a measly crowd of fifty.

I adjusted the microphone. As I stared out into the
crowd, I cleared my throat. “Um, I’d like to do a song by one of my
favorite bands, Lifehouse.” I caught Maddie’s gaze. “I’ve had a lot
going on in my life lately, and it kinda sums it up for me. So
here’s
Storm.
”

My fingers began strumming the familiar chords.
“
How long have been in this storm
?
So overwhelmed by the
ocean's shapeless form,
” I sang clearly. Closing my eyes, I
then focused in on the lyrics. I couldn’t help thinking how much
the song meant to me because of Maddie. She had caught me when I’d
fallen and saved me from the epic storm of grief just like the
lyrics said. I wasn’t drowning in sadness anymore. Instead I was
drowning in her—her smile, her beauty, her giving heart and
beautiful spirit.

But in the back of my mind was crippling fear. As
soon as I told her about Jake, I was going to lose her. The thought
alone was almost too hard to bear. I couldn’t imagine what it would
be like to actually happen. I already cared too much, and she
wasn’t even mine.

When I finished the last chords, I opened my eyes.
I’d done it. I’d actually survived an Open Mic night. The clapping
started slowly at first and then it exploded all around me. My head
jerked up, and I stared in amazement out at the audience—some of
them even got to their feet.

Jimmy met me on stage. “Hey man, that was awesome.
What would you think about singing here sometimes?”

My heart thudded in my chest. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you’ve got some pipes for real, and
I’ve never seen the audience connect with someone like they did
with you.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said. My cheeks were starting to hurt
from grinning.

Jimmy pulled the microphone to his lips. “Let’s give
one more round of applause for Noah Sullivan. Check back with us
ladies and gentleman because you’re gonna see Noah playing here
regularly.”

Before I could get back to the table, Maddie met me
in the aisle. She practically lunged at me, throwing her arms
around my neck and pressing against me. “Oh my gosh, you were so
awesome!” she shrieked. As she pulled away, she kissed me on the
cheek. “You’re my hero!”

I laughed. “Whatever.”

“No, you are.”

“Because I sang on stage?”

“Yes, and because you faced your fear and did
something you’d never do.”

I rolled my eyes and grinned. “All right, come on,
let’s sit down and get something to drink.”

“Okay.” We ordered two coffees and eased back in the
chair to watch the karaoke performances. As the waitress brought
our order, a girl and guy were rocking a serious duet. Leaning
forward on my elbows, I cocked my head at Maddie. “You know, you’re
kinda a hypocrite.”

Maddie lowered her coffee cup and gazed wide-eyed at
me. “What?”

“You pushed me into getting on stage when you know
good and well you’d never do it.”

“Why do you say that?”

I rolled my eyes. “Because I know you too well,
Maddie.” I motioned towards the stage where the guy and girl were
goofing off. “You’re just not the type of girl to do that.”

A wounded expression came over Maddie’s face as her
shoulders drooped a little. I sighed. “Now don’t be that way.
There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“You really think I’m not brave or cool enough to do
that?”

“Well…” I watched the girl shimming for a moment.
“Nope.”

She sat there for a minute, staring into her Caramel
Macchiato. “So, basically all you see me as is this goody-two shoes
virgin, right?”

“No, that’s not how I see you,” I protested.

Maddie shook her head. “That’s all anyone sees! But I
have so much more depth than that—even Jake could see that.”

“Yes, I’m sure he could.” She pouted into her coffee.
“Maddie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re so above
caring what people think, that you should just ignore me,
okay?”

We sat in silence for a few seconds. Then she drew
her shoulders back and smacked her hands on the table. “Fine, I’ll
prove myself to you!”

When she stood up, I choked on my coffee. “Maddie!
Come back here!” I hissed.

She gave me one final death glare over her shoulder
before flouncing over to the stage. She leaned over and whispered
something in the DJ’s ear. He nodded and handed her a notebook. She
peered at the pages before pointing at one.

The song ended, and the couple bowed and started off
the stage. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to welcome a
lovely lady to the stage.

I would’ve imagined Maddie would have worn an
expression like she was going to piss herself, but instead, she
grabbed the microphone and stared confidently out into the crowd. A
couple of guys whistled at her to which she had the balls to wink
at. She nodded at the DJ, and he started the song.

An erotic bass thumped out of the speakers, and it
took me just a second to realize what the song was.

Doncha
by the Pussycat Dolls.

Maddie met my incredulous gaze and arched one eyebrow
at me, showing me she had very deliberately and deviously picked a
song to give me what for. Oh shit, this wasn’t going to be
good.

When the rest of the crowd recognized the song, they
roared with pleasure. Next to the stage sat a table full of frat
guys who’d stumbled in for coffee to sober up. Fuck, this had train
wreck written all over it.

Maddie started off solid in her singing. Her
movements were a little wooden—for a millisecond. Then it was like
she was channeling her inner-Pussy Cat Doll. But that was
nothing.

Slowly and deliberately, she started unbuttoning the
shirt she wore over her tank top. I shook my head in disbelief. As
she shimmied it off her shoulders, she didn’t miss a beat. She eyed
me before tossing it off stage. It smacked me in the face, and the
frat guys cheered.

I had never seen anything so sexy in my entire life.
Talk about lady in the streets and a freak in a bed kinda
situation. By the second chorus, she started tiptoeing off the
stage. Holy Hell. She was coming for me. When she pointed at me,
the crowd roared. As she slid into my lap, I couldn’t help but
laugh. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to ignite a different
kind of response from me. I fought to jerk her closer to me and
bring my lips to hers. I wanted to thrust my tongue in her mouth
while running my fingers through her hair.

Luckily, Maddie began to laugh, and my horny thoughts
momentarily passed. When the song ended, Maddie didn’t leave my
lap. Another eager singer took the microphone from her and hurried
to the stage. A sheen of sweat had broken out over Maddie’s face
and body, and she had a sexy glow radiating off her. It was hard
not to lean over and lick a sweaty trail up her neck.

“So what’d you think of that?” she asked
breathlessly. Her erratic breathing caused her ample chest to rise
and fall, thrusting her boobs closer and closer to my face. At any
moment, my dick was gonna call me out, and there would be no hiding
it from Maddie.

“I think I need to request prayer for you!” I called
over the music. The truth was I needed a prayer request myself.

Maddie grinned. “I was that good, huh?”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Oh yeah, you were
very good and very bad, too.”

“So, you still think I’m still the Pastor’s Little
Princess?anymore?”

“Nope, I think you’re more of a very naughty virgin
tease.”

She cocked her head. “Hmm, maybe I like that.”

“Now wait a minute,” I began, giving her a look. “you
have always worked not to conform to society’s ideals—you’re your
own person, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. And one night singing a little
karaoke to prove a point doesn’t mean I’m abandoning everything I
am, Noah.”

“Are you positive? Cause if you’re not, I’m going to
feel like I had some responsibility in all of this The last thing I
need is to feel like I’ve corrupted you.”

Maddie smiled and leaned forward, sending her tits
enticingly close to my mouth. “I’m positive. I’ll be back to my
boring self tomorrow.” She made a sign across her chest. “Scout’s
Honor!”