Page 56 of Two to Tango

The basement is dimly lit. The ‘stage’ area for the budding karaoke stars is lit by eighties-style multicolored bulbs. It’s an awful place, but we’ve had some seriously good times in here. Two men in vests and shirts are onstage taking the parts of George Michael and Elton John as they slur-sing their way through ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.’

We gather around one tall table. Sarah already has the songbook and she’s looking through it with Izzy.

‘Another Brit to keep me company,’ Becky says, leaning toward me but inclining her head to Izzy.

‘Not you too. She’s not a permanent feature.’

Becky smiles, that cute, dimpled smile she has. Drew drapes a lazy arm across her shoulder and kisses her cheek. ‘You giving my friend grief, baby?’

‘I’m just saying it’s nice to have another British infiltrator around here. I approve of the choice. She was really sweet when I met her in Barnes & Noble the other day. And it was kind of you to set that up for her.’

I wiggle my head subtly. I don’t want Izzy to know I sent them. But I don’t know whether I cut Becky off soon enough, because when I glance at Izzy to check, she is as still as a statue, staring back at me.

‘What will you sing, Iz?’ Sarah asks, stealing her attention.

With his free arm, Drew drops his hand to my shoulder. ‘Hate to tell you, buddy, but once Sarah has gotten involved, it’s a done deal.’

‘Can no one see that the woman is going to put me in a mental asylum?’

This time, Izzy definitely overhears. She glowers at me before turning back to Sarah. ‘I’ve never done karaoke sober. It’s your night tonight.’

‘Or we could remedy that,’ Kit says, returning from the bar and planting a glass of wine in front of her, then a beer in front of me.

Damn, I want that beer. My eyes are fixed on Izzy’s. She wants it too. But she says, ‘I’m okay, thanks. I don’t really drink.’

‘Yeah, that’s why she has no friends,’ I quip belligerently, knowing it will rile her.

‘That was a low blow, tit-face.’

I pick up the bottle of beer and snort-laugh as I take a drink.

‘Ha! I knew you couldn’t stick it!’ Izzy shouts so loud, other heads twist to look at us.

I remove the bottle from my lips and look at it as if it picked itself up and climbed into my mouth. ‘Damn it!’

Izzy laughs and starts doing some goofy dance on the spot. ‘I win!’

‘What the hell is that?’

She stops dancing.

Sarah lifts up the wineglass in front of Izzy and wafts it under her nose. ‘Why don’t you two call a truce and just have some fun with friends for tonight?’

I see Izzy swallow hard. That reached her and I know why. She takes the glass and holds it up in my direction. ‘One night and one night only.’ She takes a large drink and so do I.

An hour later, she’s draining the last of her second glass of wine as I come back from the toilets. I’ve seen this play out enough times to know that if she doesn’t slow down, this night could end badly and her morning tomorrow will be even worse.

‘Go steady, Izzy. You don’t usually drink.’

She registers my hand on the small of her back before I do. I snatch it away from her. ‘We called a truce, Brooks. You can’t tell me what to do tonight.’

I lean into her ear, the soft fruit smell of her hair filling my nose. ‘I’m not fighting with you. I’m trying to keep you from feeling like death tomorrow.’

She spins sharply to face me, the tip of her nose almost touching mine.

‘You didn’t care yesterday how bad I would feel this morning.’

She tries to storm away in the fashion I’m becoming accustomed to. I grab her hand and tug her back to me so fast, I have to lean back to stop our heads from clashing.

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