Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game(60)

“No, I don’t think so,” I replied and started walking on.

“Oh come on, Noah. You’re too talented not to give it a shot,” she called.

What Maddie didn’t know is that I’d seen that sign before. I’d probably walked past it tons of times and thought about going in. But in the end, I was too much of a chicken shit to do it. It was one thing to play at Mom’s reception when I’d practiced until the callouses on my hands gave testament to how I’d perfected the song. Just like I had no issues playing around my group of friends.

Strangers was another thing all together.

When I turned around, Maddie was smiling at me. “Come on, Noah.”

“Fine,” I huffed before I stalked back to her. “Don’t say I told you so when you’re embarrassed to be seen with me after my performance!”

“I seriously doubt that,” she said, as she opened the coffee house door for me.

It was dark inside except for the tiny stage, which was bathed in glowing light. Great, I couldn’t see the people heckling me, but at least they’d be able to see me.

Maddie jumped on the waitress the minute she came over to take our order. “How do you participate in the Open Mic night?”

The waitress glanced at her watch. “We’re only doing a couple more numbers. It turns over to karaoke at ten.”

Maddie nodded. “Well, my friend here is really talented, and he’d like to perform.”

The waitress sized me up and down. I flashed a toothy grin and said, “What’s up?”

She stared at me like I was a moron. “Looks like you’re short a guitar,” she mused.

“Yeah, I wasn’t really expecting to do this tonight.”

“All right, you can borrow Jimmy’s. You’re up in five minutes.”

Maddie clapped her hands together. “Thank you so much!”

When the waitress left, I shot Maddie an exasperated look. “Seriously, you don’t have to be so excited about me making a fool out of myself.”

“I’ve never seen you act so unsure of yourself before.” She shook her head. “Stop beating yourself up. You’ll be awesome, and I know it.” She then grinned slyly at me. “And deep down inside, you know it too!”

“Whatever,” I grumbled. For the millionth time.

The performer on stage finished to a round of applause. Jimmy, the manager, took the stage, and I fought my gag reflex. He motioned me forward, and I took a huge gulp before rising out of my chair and making the pilgrimage across the stage. I stood at the edge of the stairs waiting on his cue.

“For our next performance, we’d like to welcome,” Jimmy paused and put his hand over the Mic. “What’s your name again, kid?”

“Noah. Noah Sullivan,” I called.

Jimmy nodded. “We’d like to welcome Noah Sullivan to the stage.”

The coffeehouse erupted in applause. It looked even more packed from the stage. I clung to Jimmy’s guitar as I strode across the stage. I eased down on the stool and tried calming myself. I mean, I don’t know what I was being such a pu**y about. I’d sung at a funeral in front of hundreds of people. I’d be a total dipshit if I couldn’t handle a measly crowd of fifty.

I adjusted the microphone. As I stared out into the crowd, I cleared my throat. “Um, I’d like to do a song by one of my favorite bands, Lifehouse.” I caught Maddie’s gaze. “I’ve had a lot going on in my life lately, and it kinda sums it up for me. So here’s Storm.”

My fingers began strumming the familiar chords. “How long have been in this storm? So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form,” I sang clearly. Closing my eyes, I then focused in on the lyrics. I couldn’t help thinking how much the song meant to me because of Maddie. She had caught me when I’d fallen and saved me from the epic storm of grief just like the lyrics said. I wasn’t drowning in sadness anymore. Instead I was drowning in her—her smile, her beauty, her giving heart and beautiful spirit.

But in the back of my mind was crippling fear. As soon as I told her about Jake, I was going to lose her. The thought alone was almost too hard to bear. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually happen. I already cared too much, and she wasn’t even mine.

When I finished the last chords, I opened my eyes. I’d done it. I’d actually survived an Open Mic night. The clapping started slowly at first and then it exploded all around me. My head jerked up, and I stared in amazement out at the audience—some of them even got to their feet.

Jimmy met me on stage. “Hey man, that was awesome. What would you think about singing here sometimes?”

My heart thudded in my chest. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you’ve got some pipes for real, and I’ve never seen the audience connect with someone like they did with you.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said. My cheeks were starting to hurt from grinning.

Jimmy pulled the microphone to his lips. “Let’s give one more round of applause for Noah Sullivan. Check back with us ladies and gentleman because you’re gonna see Noah playing here regularly.”

Before I could get back to the table, Maddie met me in the aisle. She practically lunged at me, throwing her arms around my neck and pressing against me. “Oh my gosh, you were so awesome!” she shrieked. As she pulled away, she kissed me on the cheek. “You’re my hero!”