Chapter 38

GRACE'S POV 

Two hours into the night and Susan was on the better way to being drunk quicker than I expected. She was currently on the stage belting out a Luther Vandross song, the one about dancing with his father again. Yes, she was singing that with all her entirety. 

She wasn't the best singer, but she could hold a good enough note. Her performance was so moving, and drunk, that some people were legit in tears. They were also drunk, like her, so it wasn't totally abnormal. She was doing everything a singer would do at her concert. 

A lady in front of me was sobbing her eyes out as she downed more alcohol. Her two friends tried but failed to pry the bottle from her hand. They looked obviously frustrated, but the option of leaving her was out of the box 

“No, let me drown in my daddy issues. Why did my dad have to leave? Why couldn't he take me with him?” She cried, downing another gulp.

I blinked twice, then I slowly looked away, because I had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. She wanted to die with her dad? I lost mine and I don't want to go with him, not yet at least. 

Her friends were trying, really trying, to calm her down, but she clutched that bottle like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. And honestly, it probably was the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Babes, you’re making a scene,” one of them whispered urgently, looking around.

“I am the scene!” she cried dramatically, taking another sip.

“Oh God” another of her friends groaned. 

I pressed my lips together, fighting the urge to laugh.

“Okay, we're done here. We're taking you home and that's it.” One said and forcefully pried the bottle from her hand. It looked like she was on her way to the bottom of the bottle honestly. No wonder.

After a lot of going back and forth with the drunk friend, the group finally got her to stop struggling and follow them out of the building. I don't know what they told her, but it quickly stopped her protests. 

This place was something else entirely.

On stage, Susan had reached the emotional peak of the song. Her eyes were closed, one hand was pressed dramatically to her chest. The other hand stretched out like she was reaching for an invisible figure in the distance.

“IF I COULD GET ANOTHER CHANCE…” she belted emotionally.

Someone in the crowd yelled, “Sing it!!”

And just like that, the entire room was invested. Very invested. People were swaying, phones were out. A couple of more people started tearing up. It was that serious for them. 

Craig would have had a field day here, I knew that. Maybe if I got the courage, I could invite the entire office to bond here. 

I snorted at the thought. Susan would cackle at that, especially knowing that I definitely would do no such thing if I wasn't pushed.

I leaned back in my chair, letting out a small breath as I watched Susan, my best friend who would betray me in the worst way. It was terrifying how much everything would and could change in years to come. At that point, I was past angry at her for something she was aware she would do. The situation with that hooligan, Daniel, shook her.

She looked free, like nothing else mattered in that moment. Or that it did, a lot of things did, but she just couldn't bring herself to care about them. 

Like work, responsibilities, consequences. They mattered, but she couldn't care about them right then. Just the music, that's all she cared about. That was what she wanted anyway.

“Your friend is amazing.” 

A voice said from beside me and I turned around. I froze, almost gasping at the sight of the person before me. 

For a long second, I just stared, silent, and unblinking.

“Are you okay?” He asked, leaning forward to get a better look at me, a look of concern stretching across his young and handsome face.

I snapped out of my head and shook my head, trying to shake off my thoughts. “Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, so sorry. Yes, she's amazing. Thank you.” I was being too polite, but it was just the nerves. 

He didn’t look drunk, just amused. That was good. He'd definitely remember this encounter.

“She’s really feeling it.” He added, smiling and glancing at her shortly. “Like she owns the stage.”

“That’s one way to put it.” I said, glancing at my drunk and singing best friend too.

He chuckled. “You did good too.” He pointed out.

“Oh, you saw that?” I asked, immediately regretting going on that stage.

“That was hard to miss,” he said. “You looked like you were about to pass out at first.”

“I was,” I admitted, almost groaning. I wanted the ground to just open up and swallow me. Why didn't Susan just let me stay where I was without pushing me up the stage?

“But then you didn’t.” He pointed out again, willing me to be proud of myself.

“I survived,” I corrected, chuckling weakly. Proud was one thing, horrified was another thing entirely. You can guess what I felt.

He grinned. “I like that. ‘Survived.’ That’s the real goal of karaoke, to survive.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little. “Exactly.”

He stared at me with a small smile, like he was wondering what to say next. I decided to help him out.

“Why haven't you gone up there? You look like you can sing. And dance.” I said, shrugging.

He paused, and then laughed. “I'm better off just watching, trust me. If I went up that stage, the owner would chase me with a broom.”

“No way.” I laughed. 

There was a brief pause. Not awkward, just quiet.

“I’m Michael, by the way,” he said, extending his hand slightly.

I hesitated for half a second before shaking it. “Grace.”

“Nice to meet you, Grace.”

“You too.” If only he knew, if only.