A while later we were at this karaoke bar. Luckily Krys had just turned twenty-one recently so it wasn't that hard to get in. There were a few people there, but not many. I didn't want the place to be entirely deserted.
AJ and Leighanne got to be the designated drivers for the night and Brian, well he wasn't going to be drinking anyway. But one of the goals that night was to get Krystal drunk off her ass. And I guess I was supposed to get drunk too, but neither one of us wanted that. We wanted to remember what we were doing. Nick was absolutely drooling waiting to get the first beer in him. After everyone was settled around three tables, we allowed some of the other people in the bar to sing a few songs and then Krystal and I went up there to do one together. We decided on "As Long As You Love Me," being it was one of the few Backstreet songs that didn't have personal pronouns. Plus we wanted to annoy them by singing one of their songs. While we were walking up there, she told me, "You're singing Nick's part."
"No, you are."
"No, you are."
I sighed. "Okay, I'm pulling rank. I'm older, you're singing Nick." We figured this out just as the song started. We sang it together, glancing in each other's eyes every so often. The guys got a kick out of it, laughing and clapping along. When we were finished, we were cracking up too because Krystal was trying to do the dance moves and failing miserably. I on the other hand had them memorized. We stepped away from the microphones and relinquished them to the professionals. AJ and Howie decided to sing 'NSYNC's "Pop." Brian had to be a sap and sing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" because his wife was there. Krystal and I held hands through that song, half-paying attention to Brian. Nick, true to character did a Journey song. I believe he did "Faithfully," again, Krystal and I were paying too much attention to each other to really notice anything. Krystal pried herself away from me and went up and did Boyzone's "No Matter What" which reduced me to tears. I was supposed to go next, but I passed because I was too emotional. Kevin got up this time. I don't remember what he sang, Elton John I think, but by the time he had finished I had managed to pull myself together and pick a song. I picked Joe Diffie's "So Help Me Girl" and I just prayed it turned out all right. Apparently it did. When I finished the song, Krystal kissed me and we let someone else have a chance at making fools of themselves.
"So was Paul late today?" Nick asked starting on his third beer.
I stared at him quizzically. "No. Why do you ask?"
AJ leaned over and said to me, "You told Krys that you'd leave when Paul got there. So what took you so long?"
"Oh, I had to talk with Skip, the boss." Everyone "ooh-ed" like we were all back in school and I had said I had gone to the principal's office. I looked down and traced the rim of my coke glass. "I got my own show," I said softly.
"Your own show?" Kevin asked. I nodded my head.
"Well that's wonderful news," Howie replied.
I just smiled up at them. I didn't tell them the reason why I got the show or my time slot. "Yeah, well..." I replied.
"Aren't you excited?" Leighanne asked me.
"Oh yeah," I replied absently. "I start Monday." I was excited, some part of me was. This was my dream; to be on the air, but it wasn't exactly the way I wanted to do it.
Krystal, sensing I didn't want to talk about it, changed the subject. "Do you realize you sing really well?"
I giggled at that and replied, "I'm a DJ. I'm supposed to be playing the songs, not singing them."
The group got a chuckle out of that. "No, she's right," Kevin said. "You can sing. It may take a little tweaking here and there but you could do it."
I shook my head. "Unfortunately Kevin, I'm doing what I want to do now."
"As long as you're happy," Brian said. I nodded at him.
"So since we've all decided that you can sing, why don't you bless us with another song?" AJ said.
I stood up and headed over to the big book of songs. Browsing through I found one that just seemed to fit Krystal and I right then. I didn't tell them what song it was, but when my turn came up, they all recognized the song. It was "Drowning."
When I finished the song, I leaned over to AJ and whispered in his ear, "She said yes. Are you up for it tonight?" He didn't respond verbally but instead nodded his head.
A while later we left the bar, all heading back to the hotel. It was about one in the morning. I hung back from the group as we reached their floor and told AJ, "Give us about half an hour to get cleaned up, okay?" He nodded and headed to his own room for the time.
"Everything okay?" Krystal asked me.
"Couldn't be better," I lied. I'd tell her later the real reason as to why I wasn't more excited over my show. "Remember how you said earlier you wouldn't mind if AJ came in to watch?"
"Yeah, I think it'll be exciting."
I sighed, "How does tonight sound?"
She was shocked. "Tonight?"
"Yeah," I shrugged, "as in about half an hour from now."
Her eyes widened at the thought. We reached her door and she unlocked it before answering me. "Do we have time for a shower?"
"Yeah," I replied as we both walked over to bathroom.
