Page 41 of Sing Your Heart Out

Sarah comes to sit next to me, her hand finding mine. She leans her head against my shoulder.

It’s like someone lanced a boil or something… everything that made me angry and upset just drains away, leaving just a vaguely lovesick feeling in its place.

“All right,” Dee says, looking around the room. “I’m excited to see what y’all came up with today. Who wants to go first?”

To my surprise, I find myself raising my hand. “I’ll go.”

“Okay! Thanks, Smith. You and Marco, right?”

Steeling myself, I shake my head. “No. Marco couldn’t be civil, so I have a song of my own. I came up with it today, as planned.”

She raises both of her brows. “Marco? Is this true?”

Marco glares at me and waves a hand in the air. “He started it, Dee. You know how he likes to goad me.”

Dee’s expression turns a little sour as she looks at Marco. Then she turns back to me, nodding. “You can go ahead and perform, Smith.”

I do, a little shaky at first. But then the ease of performing kicks in and I wail out my angst, finishing with what felt like a sock straight to the gut.

Dwayne nods with enthusiasm. “Well done! I could totally see that song on the radio. Couldn’t you, Dee?”

Dee puffs out her cheeks, glancing at Marco. “Yeah, Dwayne. I really think that song has a lot of commercial appeal. And that’s basically why we are all here…”

Marco shoots me a black look. Dwayne brightens and calls Marco up. Marco, to exactly no one’s surprise, plays a version of the same fucking song he’s been pushing since he got here.

Dee actually stands up halfway through and cuts him off. “Is the rest of this song the same?”

Marco looks at her like she’s just turned green with pink spot. “Yes, Dee. It is a variation on the love song I played for you the first time we made love.”

Dee turns so red that she’s practically purple. “Enough! That’s enough.”

Dwayne looks smug and satisfied behind her back. Dee calls for the next couple to present.

Mellie and Karl play a poppy song that makes me want to sort of tap my toes. Sarah and Buckeye play a slower, more sad song about loss. It’s pretty poignant, making the decision on who to eliminate very tough.

After asking Sarah and Buckeye some questions about who did more work, Dee and Dwayne go to the corner and whisper.

Then they turn around, announcing that Marco and Karl will be sent home. I instinctively make a fist; they didn’t think mine was terrible at all.

At least not enough to get sent home.

Sarah clings to me, a bit sad that her partner got cut. But Marco has the best reaction.

He gets angry, tries to flip a table, and then stomps out of the room. “You will never see me again!” he calls, presumably to Dee.

“I think that’s enough for tonight,” Dee says, sinking onto the couch. “Everybody go, go get ready for bed. You have a week of this contest left and two elimination rounds, so…” She makes a tired face. “Good luck sleeping, knowing all that.”

Looking down at Sarah’s sad face, I get up and tug her along with me upstairs.

16

Sarah

Still bathed in the sweaty afterglow of making love, I look at Smith. There is a little bit of his hair plastered to his forehead and I reach over to push it back with careful fingers.

He catches my hand before I can withdraw it completely, kissing my palm and drawing my hand to lay on his chest. I can feel his heartbeat just now. It’s still galloping against his ribs.

I tug my lower lip between my teeth, my gaze dropping to his perfectly shaped mouth. It’s only been two minutes since we last fucked. I want him again though, somehow.

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