Somewhere Only We Know(60)

“How dare you,” I said with Lucky’s mannerism.

She laughed, throwing her head back. “Well, if you were jealous of every fan…”

I frowned. It was true. There were thousands of dudes (and dudettes) who were probably obsessed with Lucky. Who memorized every angle of her face and body. Who imagined kissing her the way I had kissed her earlier today.

“Good luck to your future boyfriend,” I muttered. I regretted it the second I said it. The word “boyfriend” clunked down between us, like an anvil. I cleared my throat. “Let’s cut this line.”

She protested. “No! I don’t want to make a scene.”

“It won’t be a scene.” I wove through the crowd with Lucky’s hand in mine. When we got to the front of the line, I assessed the bouncer. He looked like he could crush me with one of his meaty fists. But he was fairly young, and seemed stressed out as he tried to keep the line in check.

I pulled out my phone and talked loudly into it. “Jesus Christ, Garrett! Where are you?” Lucky looked at me with wide eyes. I kept talking. “I’m at the club, but I don’t see you anywhere. I don’t have time for this. The meeting was supposed to happen now.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear, feigning irritation, and barked at the bouncer, “Hey, is Sylvia in?”

He looked at me in confusion as two girls in short skirts passed him. “What? Who?”

“Sylvia!” I snapped. “I have a meeting with her and my freaking agent isn’t here yet.”

The bouncer frowned. “I don’t know who that is, sir.”

At “sir,” Lucky giggled. I threw her a warning glance. She composed her features into a serious face. A serious face that looked bored.

“Ugh. Why are we even out here?” she asked in an agitated, lazy drawl. She got the rich-party-kid thing down. I raised my eyebrows. Good job.

“Bro, can you let us in already? This is getting ridiculous! Sylvia’s gonna lose her mind!” I raised my voice. Lucky sighed heavily next to me, crossing her arms and tapping her feet.

Trying to wrangle a group of drunk dudes, the bouncer shook his head. “I can’t—”

But Lucky walked up to him and put her hand on his arm. “Sylvia will thank you later.” She smiled, using the full wattage of Lucky star power on him. He looked physically stunned for a second before waving us in.

When we slipped into the dark entrance, I pulled Lucky toward me. “You’re good.”

Her arms wrapped around my neck and she grinned at me, her eyes bright behind her glasses. “That was fun. Do you do this often?”

I didn’t answer, reveling in the feel of her body so close to mine, her hands resting on the bare skin of my neck. The energy between us was buzzing and I was about to kiss her again when she jerked her head around and said, “Do you hear that?”

“Wh-what?” I stammered, my hands dropping from her waist.

She tilted her head. “Music.”

I heard it then, tinny and echoing from a hallway to our left.

“‘Total eclipse of the heart’!”

We looked at each other at the same time. “A karaoke bar,” I said with a laugh. “I forgot they have that here. The actual club is downstairs.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, let’s not squander this rare opportunity.”

“For what?” I asked.

A mischievous expression crossed her face—the same one that had been coming and going all day. And then she pulled me down the hall.





CHAPTER FORTY-NINE


LUCKY


It was an American-style karaoke bar, not one with separate rooms like in Korea. Small groups of people seated in booths and scattered tables crowded the space. Colorful lights were strung everywhere and there was a small stage where a middle-aged Asian man in a panama hat was belting out the rest of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

He was both terrible and good, and when he finished, everyone applauded thunderously. The man blew a kiss into the audience before traipsing down the steps back to his table, where a group of people high-fived him.

Something stirred in me.

“Are you sure you want to be here?” Jack asked, shifting his weight next to me uneasily as we hovered at the entrance.

When we walked in here, I thought it would be fun to watch people sing. But being around people singing again brought a rush of emotions.

I want to make people feel how I felt when I listened to their music.

You can’t help what you want.

There’s a life that is quality and there’s a life that is … empty.

Is it possible to have both? Freedom and this career?

Did what I want from music, from the K-pop industry, change?

I need to hold out for a bit longer, and things could change.

It all clicked into place. I wanted to capture that feeling again. The love I had for singing. For performing.

And I couldn’t wait around for the perfect moment for change. Life was short.

This day was almost over for me.

“Yes, I want to be here. And I want to sing.”

“What!” Jack whispered loudly. “You can’t.”

“Yes, I can.” It was time to stop hiding.

I headed to the “DJ,” who was set up in the corner by the stage.