Chapter Six
Trust your gut feeling. Something everyone said. Ariel didn't want to trust her gut. She had a pretty bad feeling tonight would be her last night on Sing It!. How could it not? After watching her performance and cringing at how awkward she'd been, no doubt the world saw the same thing she did. Last week's songwriting debut didn't do any better. She would stick to the opinion that she was proud of the song and the reason she sang it, but the judges reactions repeated a lot in her mind. After hearing the other songs, a tiny gleam of wonder struck her. Should she have played something else? What would Lucy have done?
It didn't matter. She'd made it this far. Whatever happened after tonight's elimination would happen.
So be it.
Sing It! didn't make it easy, either. They hyped up the anticipation by stating who was at the bottom of the voting early on, and then spent the next half hour with special performances and clips of the week before. Ariel wrung her hands together, smiling for the cameras every time they zoomed in on her. No, she wouldn't let the world know how nervous she was to be in the bottom three for the second week in a row.
“Tonight for our special performance, we have stand-in judge and first season winner Tucker McGinnis and his wife Quinn. Next week, stay tuned for Zinger, as Zeke Sketcher's band joins him on stage to debut a brand new track off their Loss album. And now, here to perform the title track to his Keep You Forever record, here's Tucker and Quinn!”
Ariel forgot about her impending doom as she watched the performance. The lights dimmed, and flickers of blue lighting lit up Tucker's guitar. He was silhouetted at first, until the lights brightened slowly. The screen flashed to Quinn walking slowly toward her husband. Their voices blended together perfectly. Ariel let out a long, happy sigh. Now that was the kind of love to search for.
“They're hot together, don't you think?” Lila leaned over and whispered in her ear.
“It's beautiful. They're sooooo in love!” Ariel tilted her head, watching them in awe.
“I know, right? Hey, do you know Zeke is totally staring at you right now?”
“What?” Seriously? Should she look? Catch his eye? Why would be looking at her right now?
“Well, he was. I bet he noticed me whispering to you. His gaze was full on sexy. Ooh! I want him to look at me like that!”
“You're exaggerating. He's probably looking at me with pity because I'm gonna be voted off tonight.” With a flip of her hair, Ariel ignored the crack in her voice.
“No, I definitely didn't see pity. And besides, don't sell yourself short. You've got some talent, girl.”
“So do you. I hope you win,” Ariel said honestly. “Your A Cappella group will go far! I've never found one with all females.”
“There's a few. Not as many well knowns.” Lila shrugged. “Maybe one day we'll change that.”
The roar of the audience grabbed both of their attentions. Ariel's stomach rolled. What next? How long would she have to sit here with her fate unknown before the announcers put her out of her misery and unveiled the answer everyone wanted to know?
*****
The feisty redhead by the name of Ariel was hard to miss. Zeke tried all evening to not look at her, but one quick peek at her red hair and blue sparkly number she wore had him unable to turn his eyes away. Hot cleavage played peek a boo from the low cut design of the fabric.
Hell.
The woman was sexy without even trying. Whoever did her wardrobe and makeup brought out her best features without overdoing it.
Jared's warning resounded in his head, and Zeke's publicist was right. Way too soon, and a little too close for comfort.
If his mind would get on the same page, maybe he would have better luck getting her out of his head. Zeke couldn't quit watching her. She was nervous tonight as the show dragged on, torturing these poor contestants with the lowest scores.
“The time has come to finally reveal the act going home tonight. Based on scores and votes, our three lowest scoring acts are...”
Zeke clutched the sides of his seat. Damn, this was just as nerve wracking for him!
“Ariel Lexington.”
She stepped forward next to the announcer, on shaky legs. Zeke had to give her credit, she tried to keep herself together as best as she could. Some would have already cried by now.
“Lou Boone.”
A slightly chubby man stepped up beside Ariel. The guy didn't take himself seriously, and he wasn't that good of a singer, but his stage charisma made up for it.
“And Janelle Hunt. We'll be back after the commercial to announce which one of these singers is going home tonight.”
“This is the part I hated the most. The constant teasin',” Tucker muttered. “Look at them. It's torture.”
“The hype is ridiculous. I'm not one of the contestants, but I'm on the edge of my seat!” Zeke raised one of his hands to ease the tension from the tight grip. So maybe his had more to do with a certain woman who somehow got under his skin, but that was for his thoughts only.
Finally, the damn wait was over. Derek returned to the front of the stage, smiled at the camera, and proceeded to repeat what everyone already knew.
Zeke held his breath for a few seconds as the drum roll sound began.
“Janelle Hunt, you are....”
Get on with it already!
“Returning next week.”
“Ariel Lexintgon, you are...”
Panic shone in her eyes. Zeke watched her carefully. He didn't want to see her go, even though her performance was less than stellar, but he knew the reasoning behind it now.
“Returning next week. Which means Lou Boone is going home tonight!”
The remainder pf the show passed in a blur. Zeke couldn't wait until tomorrow's rehearsal so he could talk to Ariel more.
He sent up a silent victory that his time wasn't over with her yet.
*****
How the hell did she make it another week? Ariel walked off the stage in a complete daze, taking in tonight's events. Her first thought was Jared. Did he pull strings? Zeke, maybe? After Lila's comment about him staring at her, Ariel did her best not to make it obvious she was looking back at him and most definitely caught him staring at her.
“I knew you were staying!” Lila squealed, running up to her. People rushed around them. Congratulations were passed around as the remaining contestants who were moving forward celebrated their successes about making it to next week.
“I seriously...” Ariel put a hand against her chest as her heart continued to race. “I thought this was it. My last performance wasn't my best.”
“Well, obviously it was good enough to go forward. You got this, girl. Just open up and sing. Put your whole heart and soul into your next performance. Shut out the world around you and get lost in the music.”
“Thanks. I haven't been singing publicly very long. I have a lot to learn.”
“Yeah, this is a good place to do it. Look at Tucker. I'm sure you can YouTube his time on the show. He started out a little quiet and unsure. By the time he won, the man oozed confidence and poise. Time will make it happen.”
“Great advice. Thank you.” She shot a sincere smile at her new friend. Lila was one of the friendliest people here.
“We're going to celebrate by the pool tonight. Want to join?”
The invitation sounded great, and it sure beat sitting around her hotel room overthinking life. “Sure,” Ariel agreed.
“Sweet. Meet us there in about an hour?”
“Sounds perfect. See you then.” Ariel thought she heard someone call her name. As she whirled around to find out, she spotted Zeke with Tucker and Danielle. Once again, she'd caught him staring at her. A soft smile played on his lips, and a shiver rippled through her.
What the hell was going on with these looks?
It had to be the flirty side of him. Zeke was all about the ladies. He happened to have his sights set on her at the moment. That was all. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not that it mattered, anyway.
Just as she was about to walk away, Zeke weaved through the crowd and made his way to her. “Congratulations on another week. You've got this.” His voice, gentle and made of sin, rolled across her skin in waves. Her heart thudded and she swallowed hard.
“Umm. Thanks.” Ariel flashed a small smile, heat rushing to her cheeks. She sounded completely stupid right about now, but this man left her tongue tied sometimes.
Zeke stood just a few feet from her, his gaze steady. People continued to stream around them, but for a moment, no one else mattered. And just like that, the connection ended when someone called for Zeke. He turned to gesture at the person before glancing at Ariel again. “So ... see you tomorrow at rehearsal. We have a duet to perfect.” With a wink and a wave, Zeke took off.
Gah, the man sure left Ariel with her nerves frazzled! A hint of a flirt here and there, the memory of sparks between them when they passed her guitar back and forth at the pool the other day, and the way the rest of the world could be ignored when he stood near her.
This whole thing spelled trouble. What would a rock god like Zeke Sketcher want with a wanna be singer such as herself?