Page 18 of Fight For Her
Shawn looked from me to Kendahl, surely wondering what my next play would be while Kendahl watched me intently. Her face lit up with a sly smirk. In that moment, my stage fright took a backseat to my enormous competitive streak. This girl drove me crazy. I wanted nothing more than to take her back to my room and fuck that smug grin right off her face.
Without another word, I stalked over to the emcee booth and gave my idea to Jill and the DJ. Jill’s face lit up, and she laughed her ass off, glancing back toward a confused Kendahl. The DJ, who I learned was named Quake. Yes, that’s right, only Quake, no first name or title. Anyway, Quake gave a nonchalant shrug of approval. He must have been the least enthusiastic emcee I’d ever seen. I made a mental note to ask Jill if she was using this guy for her wedding reception. I hoped not for the sake of the life of her party.
A giddy Jill joined Mike in front of the small stage set up, and I turned myself around to face Kendahl. I wanted to watch her expression change, hoping she’d be as nervous as I was.Our eyes connected like magnets to steel as Quake spoke into the mic with the same cadence of Ben Stein repeating “Bueller,” he said, “This guy just asked for a battle and, uh, that sounds dope, so yeah.”
That’s right. Because there’s no better way to win a girl’s heart than crushing her in a karaoke battle. But instead of Kendahl looking mortified she looked ready to draw blood.
Chapter 8
Kendahl
IstareddaggersatCoby, and the scene from my favorite childhood movie,Little Giants,popped into my head. I used to watch it again and again mainly daydreaming about my future wedding with Devon Sawa. But I’d memorized every scene. The scene where the underdogs pull a stunt involving Alka Seltzer and grunting like wild boars stood out, in particular, because just like football was eighty percent mental and forty percent physical…so was karaoke battling. And I was ready to give 120 percent.
Coby wanted to play dirty? Well, he didn’t know who he was playing with.
“Uh, you good, girl?” Mia said beside me. She flashed me a wide-eyed look that brought me back to earth.
“Never better.” I downed the tequila shot I’d ordered when we first came into the bar area and wiped my mouth with a crinkled paper napkin.
Quake’s voice boomed over his mic. “The bride has given me names for the battle so, uh, come up and see who you’re with like, if you want to, or something. Oh, and write down the song you’re vibing with.”
Without another word, I went to talk to Quake. I had the perfect song in mind.Coby’s arm brushed against mine as I went to whisper in Quake’s ear. He shifted closer and tensed next to me. Maybe it was the copious amount of tequila in my system, or maybe, it was the fact that I was finally feeling a spark of life running through my veins again at seeing Coby squirm, but I leaned closer to Quake and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, then winked as I backed away.
A muscle in Coby’s chiseled jaw ticked, but he ground his heels in and glared at no one in particular. I loved seeing those stormy eyes fill with fire. Karma, baby.
Jill hopped onto the platform. The entire room focused on her, which gave me a sneak peek at what it would be like when it was my turn on the stage. A few nervous flutters swirled in my gut, but I forced myself to focus on Jill.
“I didn’t know I’d be starting our wedding weekend by battling my fiancé.” She shifted her weight from one high-heeled foot to the other, then focused her attention toward Mike who clapped his meaty hands as he laughed. “But, Mike, I’m here to win, baby.”
She nodded at Quake and the opening riffs of Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” crackled through the dusty speakers. Jill’s voice matched Cher’s deep, husky tones perfectly, and before I realized it, I was sucked in. She swayed her hips side to side and pointed to Mike adorably.I almost forgot about my annoyance at Coby until he inched closer and murmured to me, “If you think that’s good, just wait, baby. I’m going to have you crooning for me by the end of the night.”
Was it considered uncouth to knee someone in the balls in public? Honestly, I was two seconds away from not caring and doing it anyway.But I scoffed, trying to ignore the treacherous parts of my anatomy that twinged the slightest amount at the way Coby called me baby.
By the third chorus, Mike had climbed the stage to sing. That was when their battle ended and became a duet, which they followed up with a cheesy rendition of “Islands in the Stream.”
Guests whistled, clapped, and catcalled. There was no doubt in my mind that Mike and Jill were in love as well as loved by all their guests. They ended their performance with a loud smacking kiss right in front of the mic.
I needed another shot, stat.
Coby clapped beside me and cheered with gusto. For a guy with commitment issues and no game, he really seemed into all this romance.
The sound of Quake clearing his throat shot through the speakers. “Uh, I guess that wasn’t really a battle so, next pair?”
Coby turned at the same time I did, wanting to go first. Was he sweating?
Fine, I’d let him go first. I needed another drink anyway. While I ordered another double tequila, I pressed back against the bar, waiting to laugh at how horrible he’d sound. Every eye in the room fixed on him, and I noticed the young bartender watching him with wide eyes.
She handed me my shot and nodded at Coby. “He’s cute, huh? I wonder if he’s single.”
I tipped my head back and let the burn of the tequila slide down my throat. She handed me a chunk of lime. I smiled, then sucked before answering.
“Trust me, you don’t want to go there. He gave my friend an STI. And his dick… a baby carrot is bigger.”
She cleared my now empty shot glass away, her mouth agape. “Wow, looking at him, I’d never think that.”
“I know, right? I was shocked too. I guess there’s a reason guys like him look so confident, they need to play a good game to reel a lady in.”
She placed her elbows against the sticky bar and leaned in, giving me a view of her cleavage that was entirely wasted on me. “True. Well, thanks girl.” She handed me a beer from the cooler under her. “Here, it’s on the house.”
