Beachside Karaoke

Leaning on the bar, I place our order and look around. With only a single wall and a ceiling, the rest of the space completely is open to the beach, and the rhythmic, relaxing sound of the waves mingles with the music coming from the speakers. Moonlight glints off the ocean, but most of the tables have their own faux-candles in the middle. Every table is occupied - mostly by college students like us, or a few slightly older, but no one looks over forty.

I nod over Amy's shoulder at a small, slightly raised platform, where a man in a baseball cap is setting up a microphone and a small TV screen. "What do you reckon that is? Karaoke?"

She follows my gaze, and her eyes light up. "Looks like it. Ooh, what would you say to a duet? A little Wildside?"

I bite my lip. I've always wanted to do karaoke in public, but the fear of that many people watching me fuck up inevitably quashes my excitement every time.

Amy sees my **** and rolls her eyes. "Ugh, fine, I'll go solo, then."

The bartender places our order - six glasses of lemonade - in front of us, and I take the distraction to move on as we whisk them over to our table. "Hey, so what else was on the list of things to do? We've done the hike, we've tanned basically every day, we've played volleyball ... What else was there?"

"Just go with the flow, Alicia. We've only got a couple more days, so if you think of something, just say. And maybe try to relax, huh?" She shoots me a grin.

"Yeah, but that's my point. We've only really got tomorrow and Friday, because Saturday's mostly gonna be cleaning up and driving back." We make it back to our table, and I begin handing out the drinks to everyone. "So if we're gonna make the most of the break, we've only got two more days to do it."

Freddie takes a bottle of vodka out from his bag and surreptitiously adds some to everyone's drink, out of sight of the bartender. Then he leans forward. "I think we should try to go clubbing on Friday. We've all got fake IDs, right?"

"I don't," says Jack, a flicker of embarrassment on his face when he realizes he's the only one.

Freddie waves away his concerns with an easy smile. "If we're all in a group, we'll be able to smuggle you in no problem. Thoughts?"

Elijah glances questioningly at Dani, who hesitates for a moment, then nods. "Sweet. We're in."

"Okay, so that's Friday sorted - Ow!" I wince, clapping my hands over my ears as feedback squeals from the nearby speakers. The man in the baseball cap who was setting up the microphone says a sheepish apology into it before turning it off again. I turn back to the others, rolling my eyes. "What about tomorrow?"

"Alicia, just chill!" Amy says. "If we think of something fun, we'll do it, just don't stress about it now."

"Yeah, but -"

"I'm actually with Amy on this one," says Elijah. "We've been doing pretty much everything as a group so far, and no offense, but I'm kinda getting sick of you all." That raises a few chuckles, from me included. Maybe he has a point. "I think we just do our own thing tomorrow and see how it shakes out."

I open my mouth, searching for an argument that sounds even halfway convincing - even though a day without plans does actually sound like a good idea, I'll admit - but before I can come up with anything, a voice booms from the speakers. All eyes turn to the stage, where a man sporting an impressive mustache and wearing a Hawaiian shirt taps the microphone.

"Howdy, folks. Welcome to karaoke night, every Wednesday right here in the beachside lounge. As a friendly reminder for any newcomers, please talk to my assistant -" He indicates the man in the baseball cap, "- to find yourself a song, and we'll add your name to the queue. As a bonus, anyone who sings gets a free - yes, FREE - shot! At least, providing you don't completely shit the bed. We've had a few people stagger up and scream two words before demanding their shot, and, yeah, that's a no no."

A few of the tables around us laugh. Already, a small queue is starting to form by the guy in the cap.

"Remember folks, be kind - it takes a lot of bravery to come up and sing, so be supportive, please. Anyone who does any booing will be immediately pushed to the stage and **** to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and trust me, no one wants that." He chuckles, then glances over his assistant's shoulder at a piece of paper. "Alright, kicking us off with Shallow, please welcome: Frankie!"

A blonde girl about our age steps up onstage, an air of confidence about her, and starts to sway as the music swells. I turn back to the rest of the group, just as Jack motions for the exit and shrugs. Clearly, he's not interested in sticking around.

However, Amy shakes her head. "Oh no, we're staying. At least until I've done my song." With that, she strides up to the queue and shoots a look back over her shoulder that clearly asks, Anyone else going to join? I'm pretty sure that's mostly directed at me.

Jack sinks into his chair a little further and takes a sip of his drink, and sullenness ghosts behind his eyes. "Anyone else going to sing?"

I bite my lip, hesitating. He notices and raises an eyebrow at me, but before either of us can say anything, Freddie gets to his feet with a grin "Backstreet's coming back," he says, before joining Amy in the queue.

I watch them chatting, a nub of jealousy in my stomach that they actually have the guts to sign up.

Then the blonde girl onstage starts to sing. She's quite good, to be fair - nothing mind blowing, but she's hitting all except the highest notes, and generally would at least be described as 'pleasant to listen to'.

Elijah leans over to Dani and says something in her ear, which I have no hope of hearing over the singing. Dani shakes her head violently, though, and I can guess what he asked. Instead, Elijah just smiles and joins the others in the queue just as they're about to put their names down, leaving us three awkwardly sipping our drinks, completely unable to make any conversation.

Jack's eyes linger on me, a strange expression on his face.

The others arrive back just as the blonde girl finishes her song to a polite round of applause, and a few whistles from her table. Sitting down next to me, Amy stares pointedly at me, her nose inches from my cheek. I shove her aside, blushing.

"What's that about?" Jack asks with a slight chuckle.

"Nothing. Just that Alicia is the best singer out of all of us, and yet she's leaving us to do all the work," Amy says as she elbows me in the ribs.

"I am - ow! - am not!" I protest.

"Come on, I've heard you in the shower. Bathroom acoustics aren't that good. Like, at least do a duet with one of us or something. It'll be fun!"

There's a redness to my cheeks now. Why doesn't she get that singing in front of people is actually kinda terrifying? I shake my head.

"Why not?" Elijah leans forward, concern in his eyes. "Stage fright?"

"No!" I say too quickly.

He smiles knowingly. "Sure."

I slump down in my seat as the next song starts up, ending the conversation. The others make hand signals to rate the new contestant - I'd put him at a four because of the pitchiness, personally - but I withdraw into myself and sip my vodka lemonade. Staring at the table, I start to notice circular marks where beer bottles and glasses have stained the wood.

A tap on my shoulder snaps me out of it. Jack looks down at me and motions for the exit, that same unreadable expression on his face. I glance around at the others, who all simultaneously pretend to be engrossed in the performance onstage. Fuck it. Shrugging, I follow Jack out of the bar and along the beach. Sand works its way between my flip flops and my feet.

He stops a short distance from the bar, still within earshot of the karaoke, and turns to me. My heart flutters as his gaze nips down to my bikini top. Brazen, I think to myself. Placing my hands on my hips, I fix him with a piercing stare. "So ... What's this about, I wonder?"

Jack hesitates, then shakes his head slightly. "Do you want to do karaoke?" he asks coolly.

I fold my arms over my chest, any slight anticipation I was feeling immediately scuppered, and choose a spot on the beach behind him to stare at. "No," I lie.

"Alicia?"

I roll my eyes. "Alright, yes, fine. I get scared, though - I've only tried it once before and I chickened out before I even got onstage. Happy?"

He watches me, gears turning in his head. Then, with a slight smile, he puts his middle finger and thumb together. "Blank."

SNAP

My hands fall to my sides as my eyes go blank. The blissful void rolls in, replacing my thoughts with a heavy nothingness that I float in aimlessly. Distantly, like I'm underwater, I'm aware of Jack stepping closer to me. My body responds with a trickle of arousal down my spine.

"Good girl, Alicia. So empty for me. My words are your only thoughts." His soothing whisper floods my brain, and I'm drowning in the sound of his voice. "Relax. Let go. Even deeper for me, now. Blank."

SNAP

He snaps his fingers again, and my body shudders. Any last remnant of my conscious mind is obliterated by the crisp snap, that addictive sound. It feels so good. I feel so good.

"Now, I want you to focus on the thought of karaoke. Of how the thought of singing in front of all those people makes you feel." I recall the sensation perfectly, the lump in my throat, the nerves that vibrate my whole body. But I feel detached from it, like I'm watching myself from just behind. I can feel the sensations, but also examine them objectively. The feeling would probably give me vertigo if I had any thoughts left to realize it.

"Good," Jack continues. "Now, feel all those nerves, all those feelings drain away down your body, through your legs and your feet and into the sand. Feel them spread through the beach until they dissipate."

My head spins as the nervousness leaves me. I can feel the energy flowing out of me, down through my sandy toes, over my flip flops and away. Just as quickly as he had summoned it into my body, it was all gone, diffused across the beach.

"Those nerves, that feeling, they're going to stay here, locked away in the sand. When you wake, you won't feel them at all. No more fear of karaoke. No more stage fright." He takes a step back and watches me for a moment, as if there's more he wants to say. Then he seems to come to himself, and raises his hand again. "Okay. Wake."

SNAP

I blink. Jack is still watching me, waiting for my reaction. Putting a hand to my head, I sway uncertainly. "Whoa, that is ... weird." He raises his eyebrows as I close my eyes and picture a crowd of people all waiting to hear me sing. Nothing. No nerves, no fear, nothing holding me back. It feels strange, like walking down a dead-end street and suddenly finding the wall at the end is made of paper. "I think it worked."

"Really?"

I glance up at him and give him a slight smile. "Only one way to find out."

We walk back to the bar in silence. I'm still not sure we're completely cool, but at least it isn't anywhere near as awkward as the walk back to the cabin last night was. It's a start, at least. I thought for sure he was going to make some sort of a move on me, or ask me out, but ... Well, let's see whether it works before I give him too much praise.

Joining the back of the queue, I pull out my phone and start digging through my playlists to find a good song. By the time I reach the assistant in the cap, I've got it, and I give him a grin when he takes my name and notes my song down next to it with a nod of approval. I glance at the stage again, and this time, there are no nerves - just excitement.

I'm still wearing the grin when I sit back down with the others. Amy looks at me with a strange expression - is that jealousy? I can't tell, and it's quickly gone, replaced by a genuine smile. "Finally saw sense, huh?"

Briefly, my eyes flick to Jack, then I nod. "Something like that."

Jack offers me an almost sheepish smile.

For the most part, we spend the rest of the night singing along to the songs we recognize or trying - and mostly failing - to talk over the ones we don't. Amy gets a round of applause for her attempt at Manchild, and Freddie and Elijah stagger off the stage to a few drunken whoops for their choice of I Want It That Way - although not so much their rendition of it.

A chubby guy with an amazing voice bows and steps offstage to cheers, and I turn and nudge Amy. "Damn, he was pretty good!" To my surprise, I'm having a great time - good music, drinks, and good company had my spirits at a high point of the vacation so far. Even Jack seems to be actually enjoying himself now, still teasing Elijah about his voice break during the second verse.

"Yeah," Amy grins. Then she sits up, looking at the stage. "Oh shit, Alicia, you're up!" She pushes me to my feet and starts shoving me towards the stage. "Good luck!"

I panic briefly as I trot to the stage and double check that my name was just called. Then the manager hands me the microphone, and I look out at the crowd. A nervous excitement fills my chest - not stage fright, though, just an indefinable tension. I take a breath to steady myself.

The music kicks in, and a few of the girls in the bar cheer at the first few notes of Toxic by Britney Spears. I giggle, looking away from the lyrics, and start to sing.

"Baby can't you see, I'm calling. A guy like you should wear a warning ..." Unconsciously, my gaze lingers on Jack for a moment. "It's dangerous, I'm falling ..."

Maybe half of the crowd joins in for the chorus, and I find a grin stretching its way across my face. Damn, this is a rush! At our table, Amy wolf-whistles, and I trip over the next line, too busy laughing. I don't care. The others are all laughing too, and Dani has her phone out, clearly recording me. A jolt of nerves kicks in, but the high of the performance swamps it in seconds.

Throughout the song, I notice a small, warm smile grace Jack's lips. It makes him look completely different to the leering, triumphant grin he wore that first night he saw me naked. It makes him look like an actual human being.

It suits him.

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