Chapter Six
They made love on and off all afternoon, neither of them sated no matter how many times they did it. Finally, as their stomachs growled in hungry protest, they showered and Lexi fixed her makeup as he sat on the edge of the tub watching her.
“Tore just texted,” he told her. “I guess he has a date and a few couples are going to karaoke; he thought we might want to go.”
She met his gaze. “You told him we were together?”
“I told him we were going to the movies today. He texted me while you were drying your hair and asked what I was up to. I told him we were going to dinner and he invited us to go along. No one else that’s going is on the team, and even though Tore’s a little crazy, he wouldn’t say anything inappropriate to your dad—he’s not a jerk.”
“Karaoke is fun,” she said. “But do I look okay? Should we swing by the house so I can change?”
“I think you look amazing,” he said, getting to his feet and pulling her close. “It’s a thousand degrees outside, so shorts are perfect.”
“Okay, two minutes to fix my mascara and we can go find food.”
They got to the restaurant where karaoke started at 9:00 and Lexi felt a moment of trepidation as they walked in and she spotted Tore with a buxom blond. They were sitting at a high-top table with another couple about the same age and another blond who zeroed in on Zaan the moment they approached.
“Hey, man.” Tore nodded at Zaan and smiled at Lexi. “This is Mimi and her friend Shawna, and that’s Bill and Samantha. Guys, this is Zaan and Lexi.”
“I thought you said Zaan was single?” Shawna popped a bubble with the gum she was chewing as she turned pouting lips to Mimi.
Mimi shrugged. “Thought he was. Sorry.”
Tore rolled his eyes. “Chill, you guys.”
Zaan pulled up a bar stool for Lexi and leaned against her back, sliding an arm around her waist. “Who else is coming?” he asked Tore.
“My roommate Everett and his girlfriend Trudy.”
“Well, this is no fun!” Shawna huffed, folding her arms across her chest. “I don’t want to be the third wheel. You said Zaan was coming.”
“And he’s here.” Tore scowled at her. “I never said he was coming alone.”
“Oh, shut up, Shawna.” Mimi nudged her. “Lots of hot guys will be here for karaoke.”
“But not hockey players.” Shawna turned to Lexi and looked her up and down critically. “So are you two serious?”
Lexi was shocked at the girl’s forward question and wasn’t sure how to respond. “We—”
“Yeah, we kind of are,” Zaan said easily, smiling. “Sorry. I’m sure every guy in this place will be checking you out, though. You won’t be alone long.”
She flashed him a bright, flirtatious smile. “Thank you!”
Luckily, Everett and Trudy arrived just then, along with another male friend and soon it was too loud and busy to talk anyway.
“She’s a piece of work, eh?” Zaan whispered in Lexi’s ear. “It’s exhausting trying to keep them away without hurting their feelings.”
“I can’t even imagine,” she acknowledged.
He leaned in for a kiss and she forgot Mimi’s glorious breasts and Shawna’s overt flirtation. After more than eight hours of almost non-stop lovemaking she still wanted him; it was ridiculous but kind of romantic too.
“I may have created a monster,” he murmured in her ear.
“You certainly have,” she snickered.
“Are you two going to make out or sing?!” Tore demanded, smacking Zaan’s arm.
Zaan lifted his head, his eyes twinkling. “Can’t we do both?”
“Oh, look!” Trudy giggled. “We could do ‘Paradise By The Dashboard Light’ together,” she said to Everett, who shook his head vehemently.
“Oh hell no.”
She sighed with disappointment.
“I’ll do it,” Zaan said to Lexi, his eyes meeting hers. “You wanna?”
She bit her lower lip, though excitement began building in her stomach. “Sure.”
“I’ll go put our names in.” Zaan went up to the DJ as Mimi laughed.
“That’s awesome,” she said. “Can’t wait to hear it. Can you sing?”
Lexi gave a coy half-shrug. “I’m not bad.”
“Okay, we’re set.” Zaan was back and slid his arm around Lexi’s neck.
“Try not to embarrass yourselves,” Shawna muttered.
Lexi cut her eyes to the other girl but didn’t say anything, opting to surprise her. She didn’t know if Zaan grasped how good of a singer she was, but he was about to find out. Hearing her sing along to the radio in the car was different than the real thing, and she loved a duet like “Paradise By the Dashboard Light.” This was going to be fun, even if Zaan was tone deaf and totally off-key.
When their number was called, their group hooted and whistled as they walked up to the stage. The DJ handed them each a microphone and Lexi felt the familiar energy that preceded every performance; she was always more at ease on stage than anywhere else. She hadn’t had the energy during chemo and radiation, but she’d been practicing the last six months hoping the Julliard audition would happen. Not that singing was hard work for her; she loved it more than anything. Except being with Zaan, of course, but she hadn’t even known him until yesterday.
As the opening guitar riff reverberated through the speakers, her eyes met his and she winked, dancing in time to the music. He started to sing the male solo at the beginning and she grinned at his efforts to stay on key. He wasn’t bad, actually, and she couldn’t help laughing as he wiggled his hips. She kept her voice low as they sang the chorus, warming up to the music and the rowdy audience.
Then it was her turn. She turned to the crowd and let them have it, belting out the song as if it had been written for her instead of a popular rock anthem everyone already knew the words to. Her voice carried through the room, raw and edgy at first, building into a crescendo that eventually had everyone in the restaurant cheering. The moment she heard the applause, everything else disappeared and the performer in her took over. She loved being on stage, especially if she could sing a song she loved, and being up here with Zaan was the best of both worlds. She’d forgotten how much she enjoyed this—the reason she was fighting so hard to get into Julliard—but like everything else, Zaan had found a way to remind her of it. If she hadn’t been having so much fun, she might have thrown her arms around him and kissed him, but she focused on the music and the crowd, because they were eating it up.
Since the original song was approximately eleven minutes long, the karaoke version was shortened and she wished it could have gone longer. Zaan seemed to feel the same, singing his heart out until the very last note. They did the last chorus with their backs to each other, turning to hug when the song ended.
“Oh my fucking God.” Zaan was staring at her. “You’re going to be a star, baby. I had no idea you were that good.”
She flushed with pleasure. “Thanks. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
“Wow!” Tore reached out to high-five both of them, grinning at Lexi. “Your dad never said anything about you singing like that.”
She nodded. “I’ve been really sick the last two years, you know? He probably wasn’t thinking about anything else.”
“What kind of sick?” Mimi asked curiously.
“I had breast cancer,” Lexi lifted her chin a notch, waiting for Shawna to say something. The other girl seemed shocked into silence, though, while Mimi’s eyes widened.
“Oh, wow. Scary. You okay now?”
“So far, so good,” Lexi nodded, keeping her answers simple.
“Did they cut off your boobs?” Shawna finally asked, squinting at Lexi’s chest.
“They sure did.” Lexi met her gaze without flinching, grateful for Zaan’s hand sliding into hers.
“That’s awful.” Shawna seemed more traumatized than Lexi as she stared down at her own chest. “I wouldn’t let them do that to me.”
“You would if they told you it would kill you if they didn’t,” Zaan interjected quietly. “Personally, I think she’s the bravest girl I’ve ever known.”
“But she’s so…flat.”
Lexi resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but Tore did it for her. “Oh shut up, Shawna. Geez. That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.”
“Oh please.” Shawna scowled. “Don’t tell me you don’t like boobs!”
“Of course I do,” he said, “but not if they could literally kill you. Duh.” He shook his head as he motioned to the waitress.
“Well, cancer can fuck right off,” Mimi said, lifting her glass of soda.
“I second that!” Tore raised his as well.
Everyone clinked glasses and the conversation turned to other things, giving Lexi hope the cancer wouldn’t always define her.
It was after midnight when they pulled up to Rob’s condo. Zaan turned off the engine of his SUV and they sat in silence, contemplating their choices for continuing their evening.
“This sucks,” he finally muttered.
“Why don’t you come in?” she asked softly.
He shook his head. “It’ll be too hard to keep my hands off you and I can’t do that with your parents in the house.”
“Okay. Then I guess…” Her voice trailed off, unsure if he wanted to see her again since she’d basically put out on the first date.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, reading her mind. “What do you want to do?”
She snickered, making him chuckle too. “Other than that? Nothing? I just figured out how much I like it and we only have five more days together, so…”
He looked away suddenly, his jaw working slightly. “What if you stayed here this summer?”
“I…” She wasn’t sure what to say. Yes, she was 18, but didn’t have any money of her own and chances were her father would never go for it.
“Cody and Suze have been looking for someone to help out with the kids… I bet they’d give you room and board in exchange for that, and I’m getting my own place soon. The deal with me living there was just for my rookie season, which is over now.”
“I don’t think my dad would let me,” she said sadly. “And even though I could probably live with Cody and Suze, they wouldn’t do it if my dad said no.”
He sighed, his fingers digging into hers. “I’m not ready to let you go. We just found each other.”
“It’s really intense between us, isn’t it.” It wasn’t a question; they both knew it.
“That’s why I don’t want you to go.”
“I don’t want to go either, but I’d have to leave anyway, in the fall.”
“You could go to school here, couldn’t you?”
She nodded, but looked down. “Yeah, but it’s not Julliard. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do—and Julliard will open doors for me. Would you have stayed in your home town instead of going to the Juniors for a girl?”
“Not at 15, which is when I left,” he admitted.
“Would you leave the NHL for a girl?”
He shook his head. “No, but that’s my career, my future—how I make money.”
“And Julliard could mean the difference between me going to ten thousand casting calls before I get a commercial and a role on Broadway. It’s a big deal.”
“I know.” He squeezed her hand. “You’re so talented, you’re going to do amazing things with it, and I would never interfere with that. Just seems so unfair that I finally found someone who gets me and now…”
“I know.”
They were quiet again, sitting with their hands linked between them.
“You should get going,” he said after a moment.
She leaned over as his mouth covered hers. They kissed long and deep, the chemistry between them so much more than sexual. She wanted to spend the night with him more than anything, but there was no way to make that happen.
They broke away reluctantly. “I’ll pick you up around 11:00, okay?” he whispered against her mouth.
“Where are we going?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “but as long as we’re together, it doesn’t matter.”