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“Are you judging me, sir?” I ask, playfully squinting at him.
“Not at all. I really am interested to know why anyone would know that.” He continues laughing.
“Sounds like judgement to me.”
“Maybe a little.” He leans into his seat as we both laugh. He stands and grips the top of his chair.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“To get a straw. You think I’m going to drink without one after your speech?”
“Touché.” I laugh, and he leaves me alone with my whiskey.
When he returns, he passes me a rolled-up napkin. “Quick, shove this in your purse before they catch us.” He struggles to keep a straight face.
“Ha ha, very funny,” I say, taking the tissue and placing it in my clutch.
“Wait, are you seriously going to keep it?” he adds with wide eyes.
“You think I’m playing?” I unzip my cross-body clutch, holding it open for him to see inside.
He erupts in laughter at my stash.
“Wow, this is fascinating. Wait, is that a plastic fork set?” He uses his finger to pry the clutch open wider.
“Two of them.”
We both laugh and drink from our respective glasses.
“So, do you carry like sanitizer and wipes and shit?” He swallows, his pulsing Adam’s apple distracting me for a bit.
“I do, actually.” I pull out a small bottle of sanitizer. “My wipes wouldn’t fit, so I have little packets of alcohol wipes. They work just the same.”
“You’re an interesting lady, Sabrina.” His gaze transforms into one of admiration.
“That’s what they tell me.” I smirk and turn away slightly. Jackson has a way of looking at me that leaves me disheveled. Something I didn’t quite appreciate when we first met, but after last night’s dinner, it does things to me that I’m not sure I want to share with him yet.
The lights dim, and a spotlight forms center stage. A second later, an ear-piercing screech blares through the room as the mic comes to life. I flinch and cover my ears, trying to reduce the effects of the sound.
“What’s going on, ladies and gents? My name is Gabe, and I’ll be your MC for the evening. Welcome to Karaoke Night. We’re going to have lots of fun, share some laughs, and just have an overall good time. This is obviously an adult show, unless we’ve got some lil kiddie CEOs running around here. But, feel free to get rowdy, get sexy, or not. Whatever rocks your boat. If you don’t like a little inappropriate behavior, then this may not be the place for you tonight. I’m going to go ahead and shut my trap, so we can get this party started. Are you ready for some karaoke?” The room explodes with chants of fuck yeah or yeah man. “Good, good! Now, I hope y’all can sing, otherwise, I got earplugs.”
The crowd laughs at his remarks while he proceeds to introduce the first act. The instrumentals for a Britney Spears track plays as a young brunette takes the mic, tapping her feet to the beat.
Jackson leans forward, whispering in my ear, “I signed us up for a few.”
“What? No, you didn’t. When did you do that?”
“When I was grabbing our drinks. Speaking of, let me get us another round.” He’s up, out of his seat and only steps away to the bar.
I watch him place our order, completely floored and intrigued by his boldness. To say that he’s an interesting man would be an understatement. And, while he’s managed to pique my attention, he’s a damned fool if he thinks I’m getting up on that stage. God may have blessed me with many talents, but singing ain’t one of them. Jackson returns to our section, flashing his pearly whites and toting two glasses.
“What?” I question when he doesn’t take his eyes off of me.
“Drink up! You’re doing this with me.”
“No, I’m not.” I laugh in an attempt to conceal my nervousness.
“Yes, you are.” He downs his beverage and refuses to back down.
