Page 29 of Sing Your Heart Out

Smith

At the end of the second week, after another tough round of eliminations, I’m still here. So are Sarah and Mellie. Of the people who ate lunch with us at the diner, only Nate got cut.

I’m too wrapped up in my own burgeoning emotions to even notice that he left, honestly. I don’t know that I would describe my obsession with Sarah as love… but I do know that I’ve shared my room with her for a couple of days. And I woke up early both days to watch her sleep, her chest rising and falling. She looked so peaceful, like what I always imagined an angel would be like if I ever met one in real life.

When the elimination ceremony is over, I know I need to ask her out. Just to see if I really feel anything.

To keep me sane, essentially. So I use my smart phone to Google “good dates in Vegas” and I pick one place off the list.

That just leaves one little part… asking Sarah to go somewhere with me. It shouldn’t be a big deal but it feels like it is.

Butterflies flutter inside my stomach as I sidle up to her. She’s in the living room, stacking a bunch of her notebooks. When she looks at me, she smiles.

“That felt like a close call,” she says. “I mean, I knew elimination rounds weren’t going to be my favorite thing, but…” She spreads her hands out. I can see her trembling. “I’m completely freaked out.”

My mouth turns upward at the corners. “What do you say we get out of here? Just you and me.”

She looks at me really quickly, a little frown on her face. “Like… what, like a date?”

I sigh, crossing my arms. “Do we really need to put a label on it?”

Her brow knits. “I just want to know what I should expect before I agree to go, that’s all.”

I shrug. “All right. It’s a date then. But we have to leave now, because the place closes in a couple of hours.”

Her eyes pin me. She bites her lip and leaves me hanging for a couple of seconds. Then she shyly says yes.

“Okay,” she whispers, not quite meeting my eye.

It’s a little bit a whirlwind for the next half an hour, but soon enough we are standing outside the place I wanted to go.

“Pinball Hall of Fame,” Sarah reads off the sign. “Whoa!”

I open the door, moving back to let her go through. “Ladies first.”

She smiles nervously and goes ahead. I follow her inside, my eyes adjusting to the dimness. Everywhere I look, there are flashing lights and light up pinball machines. There’s a Dolly Parton one, a Jurassic Park one, and even one that looks turn of the century.

In the center of the room is a circular bar, a bartender polishing glasses behind it, looking bored. He brightens when we walk in.

“Welcome! What can I get you?”

I slide a grin to Sarah, putting an arm behind her and pushing her forward. “I don’t know. What will you have?”

Her lip catches between her teeth. “Uhhh… can I just have a Coke?”

She looks to me, her eyes uncertain. I nod to the bartender. “Make that two cokes. And I assume you have some french fries or something?”

He dips his head. “We have tater tots and tater nachos.”

“Sold.” I pull out my wallet. “How do we pay for the machines?”

“It’s just a twenty dollar fee. Then you can play all you want.”

I pull out a credit card, handing it over. “Put it all on that, please.”

The bartender nods. “Right away. You guys can pick a table and I’ll bring it all out to you.”

“Thank you,” Sarah calls to him as I tow her away. She looks at me. “And thank you too. You’ll have to let me know what my half of the bill is.”

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