Page 32 of A Hard Sell

Shut uuuuup,Luka thought, glowering at Morgan.

“I thought you might want to do a duet with me,” Thomas said to Luka. He waved his hand at their costumes. “There’s the obvious one…”

Luka swallowed hard. “I don’t think I can.”

Morgan rolled his eyes. “Well, if Luka is going to be weird about it, I’ll sing with you, Thomas.”

The hell you will,Luka thought. His eyes swept the room. It was all people he knew, and they were all laughing, smiling, drinking, having a good time. They’d barely even notice he was up there. He could either suck it up and go for it, or let Morgan sing with Thomas. “Okay. Okay, let’s do it.”

Morgan huffed while Thomas smiled. “Great.” Luka could have sworn for a second that one of Thomas’ eyelids fluttered in a wink. He replayed the moment in his mind as they made their way over to the karaoke machine.

Luka hummed under his breath as Thomas flipped through the tablet to find the song.Holy shit, am I really doing this?He picked up a mic. For a split second, he was in front of the junior high audience again, but then he looked over at Thomas who gave him an encouraging nod. He took a breath and relaxed. Just a small crowd with a few friends paying attention. Well, a few friends and Morgan.

The music forSummer Nightsbegan. He tried to let the tension out of his shoulders. He’d been singing this song his entire life and could do Sandy’s part in his sleep.

Thomas started, his voice smooth and nice to listen to. Luka sucked in a breath and sang when it was his turn. The back-and-forth nature of the song meant he didn’t have a chance to get into his head about it, and all he could see around the room were people happy and having a good time. Lots of them were smiling at him and Thomas.

Morgan got bored, flouncing off to the bar to down another shot. But Thomas… Thomas’ gaze was on him almost the whole time. Luka’s heart thudded against his ribcage whenever their eyes locked, until he had to look away.

Luka’s breath left him in whoosh as the song finished. There were a few scattered applauses that he barely noticed.

“That was…” Thomas swallowed. “You are…really good.” They put their mics down and shuffled away to make room for the next performers.

“Thanks.” Luka tucked a stray piece of hair back under his wig. His face was so hot. “You were good, too.”

“No, but like…you’re a singer.”

Luka’s face grew hotter. “Not really.”

Thomas looked skeptical. “If you say so.”

Luka searched for words but the blood pounding in his head was making it hard to latch onto any of them. All he could think was that he had done it.Thanks to Thomas.

“Can I get you another drink?” Thomas offered.

“Sure, thanks.” Luka saw a glimmer of amusement cross Thomas’ face. He suddenly knew what was coming.

“Don’t—” he started, right as Thomas said, “I’ll be back,” terrible Arnold accent and all.

Luka laughed, then gave a dramatic groan. “Okay, but that’s the only one you’re allowed tonight.”

Thomas smiled back, holding his gaze longer than necessary. “Deal.”

Luka licked his lips, mouth very dry, then Thomas turned and melted into the crowd.

Did someone crank up the heat?Luka wondered as he pulled his wig off and fanned his face. He was pretty sure he wasn’t imagining the tension tonight. A small part of him was starting to wonder if perhaps Thomas was also interested. He exhaled. Maybe he should ask Thomas what he was up to tomorrow. Maybe they could meet for coffee again, just as friends…for now.

He plopped his wig back on, tugging it into place with resolve. Yes, he could do this. It was just coffee. No big deal. A noisy group of accountants took to the mic for an off-keyGhostbusters, so Luka retreated to the snack table for a few pigs-in-a-blanket and a handful of veggies.

Ilona came over and selected a lollipop from the giant bowl of candy. “Evening, Luka,” she said, pulling the wrapper off.

“Ilona!” Luka gasped. “Wow, look at you!” She was dressed in a skintight latex bodysuit and tall black boots, with her hair loose about her face. She looked ready to kill. “You might pull that off better than Kate Beckinsale herself.”

Ilona slid the lollipop into her mouth and gave him a pleased look, then popped the candy out again. “Officially, how dare you.”

Luka snickered. “We won’t tell Kate.”

“Mmm.” She gave it another lick. “So. You and Thomas are getting along well.” It was not a question. “Your duet was fantastic.”

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