Page 42 of Falling With a Spin

“Thank you,” I whisper. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” I look at him with a smirk on my lips.

He opens his mouth to say something when Matt jogs over. “Hey guys, the room is ready,” he throws me a smile, “thanks for inviting us out tonight, Em.”

“Oh yeah, no problem. It was Taylor's idea anyway.” I catch a glimmer of sadness over Hunter's face, but it's gone as quickly as it appeared.

“We should go in,” Hunter turns away and walks towards the door. Well, I fucked that up.

Sighing, I walk behind the boys, catching up with Taylor, Garrett's arms still wrapped around her. I give her a quick smile, and she throws me a wink. She mouths something that I can’t quite pick up, and she just rolls her eyes. “I’ll tell you later.”

The Bad Booze and Tunes is the worst name for a karaoke place, but hey, at least they have good booze.

I definitely don’t know that.

There are three rooms that each have a different theme. Room one is decked out in all pink. From ceiling to floor, it has different shades of pink, and the couches are dazzled with pink glitter. Room two is as if you were in a jungle, and they even have the forest mist to go with it. On the floor, there are leopard, Siberian Tiger, and cheetah print rugs. Vines and paintings of different animals hang on the walls. It’s quite creepy. Room three is a blast from the past. It’s an 80s-themed room with everything you can think of. There is a Boombox that sits on top of a worn-out bookshelf that looks as if it was on its last leg, and there are about a thousand cassette tapes that line the shelf. On one side of the room, there is a worn-out blue couch and a coffee table that has magazines that might actually be from that era.

Can you guess what room we chose?

The 80’s was the winning choice.

Hunter refuses to even step into the other two. Cole is terrified of animals that are any bigger than a chihuahua, and Justin goes pale when he sees a certain amount of pink. The other two guys, Taylor and I, just laugh at them for being pussys. But If I'm being honest, I can’t fathom going into the first room with all the pink, and the second one, like I said, was creepy.

“Emma, you're up first,” Cole says, smiling and plopping down on the couch.

“Why me?” I ask, my voice rising a pitch.

“Because you invited us out.” He responds, and I groan, getting up from my spot on the couch.

Walking towards where Hunter and Justin are currently shuffling through the cassettes that were on the shelf. I kneel next to Hunter, our shoulders brushing; he turns to look at me and gives me a small smile.

“Hey, I didn’t mean what I said back there.” I turn towards the cassettes, shuffling through them. “Well, I did because it was Taylor’s idea to invite you all, but I’m really happy that you came. I mean, I’m really happy everyone did, but especially you.” Realizing that I’m rambling, I clamp my mouth shut.

I hear him chuckle, and I attempt to distract myself, but he leans down and whispers in my ear, “Don’t worry, Love, I know what you meant.”

Rolling my eyes, “You need to quit it with the nickname.” I turn to look at him, but the spot is empty. Turning around, I see him walking back to the couch.

I flip through a couple of the cassettes, and I come across the perfect one. I plop it into the boombox, telling Justin to press play on my count. Walking over to the mic, I turn to face Taylor with a knowing smile, and her eyes go wide. She knows exactly what song I chose.

I give Justin my signal, and he hits play. The room instantly fills with the lyrics of “Milkshakes” by Kelis.

I begin singing the first few lines and turn around, singing my heart out to my friends who sit in front of me. I throw my head back laughing and point to Hunter, signaling him to come up front with me. Grabbing his hand, he twirls me around and wraps his arm around my waist to pull me in close.

This confidence is so unknown I’m not sure where it’s coming from. Maybe it's just being tired of tiptoeing around others and what they think of me or what they might say when I start moving on. The mere thought of that causes me to lock up. I cover it up and move out of Hunter’s embrace, hoping he doesn’t notice my sudden change.

“So what did you guys think?” I ask as I fall onto the couch. I take a sip from my drink, eagerly waiting for their answers. I know I’m a terrible singer. I’ve been told my whole life that I’m tone-deaf, but that doesn’t stop me from screaming the lyrics of my favorite songs. Glancing towards Taylor, she avoids my eye contact as she turns towards Garrett. I move my gaze over to Hunter, who gives me a weak smile.

“Emma,” Hunter starts, “you’re very sweet and smart, and I love talking to you.” He nervously looks over to the guys, who are smiling way too wide and encouraging him to go on.

“Oh now I know you’re full of shit.” I glare at him and look over to the others.

Seeing them squirm is too funny.

“Alright, I can’t keep this in any longer,” Taylor jumps from the couch. Her phone falls to the ground and knocks her drink.

“Taylor, what the fuck.” Garrett wipes off some of the liquid from her drink and mumbles a few curses on his way to get napkins.

“Emma, babes, you're my best friend, but your singing voice is like nails on a chalkboard that just keep scratching.” She says, finally sitting back down. Everyone stares at her with wide eyes. She mumbles an apology before sitting down and downing the rest of her drink.

I attempt to hide my smile behind my drink, but a laugh breaks loose.

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