Moving On - 36. Chapter 36 - More Therapy

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

More Therapy

We sat on the edge of the bed for several minutes; I was leaning back against Noah's bare chest and his arms held me tightly in our contented embrace. We were both hoping it would last an eternity, but it wasn't long before there was a small but vigorous knock on the door. We hadn't even moved before Zach burst in.

"See, I knocked, Daddy. What are you doing? I'm booooooooooored," he said jumping on my lap.

"Good job, Zachy. Next time, wait for one of us to tell you to come in, though, ok?"

"You got it, Daddio," he responded. "What?" he asked when Noah and I began laughing.

"It's nothing, little buddy. Sometimes, you're just too adorable for words,"

"Oh, I already knew that," he said, looking up at me with a grin. I responded by giving him a big, wet raspberry on his cheek and wrapped my arms around the boy.

We tried to stay like that forever, as Noah and I had planned, but within a minute Zach was squirming too much. Like all good things, it came to an end, but not before Noah squeezed me and kissed my neck one last time. I watched in dismay as he covered his torso with a shirt.

We offered for Tom to join us for shopping, but he'd had enough of the mall. He wished us luck as we headed out the door. Before long, we pulled up at Lenox Square.

The three of us had a fun time wandering around the mall, and I made sure to hit up a few of the upscale stores for gifts; an Armani shirt for Dad, a Louis Vuitton clutch for Mom, and Coach bag for Emma. I struggled to find something for Ethan, since his style was definitely more surfer-chic. Noah was the one who found a neat leather wristband that was perfect at Diesel.

Being something of a label-queen myself, I bought several things for me as well. Noah got a pair of Diesel jeans and an Armani shirt, but he did most of his shopping in the anchor stores. We had Zach try on a few things in the boutique stores, but as great as the hundred-forty-dollar pair of Diesel Kids jeans looked on him, he'd outgrow them in a month if he didn't rip them in a week. I could teach him about fashion after puberty. For now, he just needed clothes that fit, and plenty of them.

Like usual on my shopping binges, I regretted being a cheapskate and not paying the ten bucks to valet the car, since we could've just dropped bags off at the stand while we shopped; instead, Noah and I struggled to carry everything while still having a free hand to keep Zach in tow. Yes, I know, I'll drop over a hundred dollars on jeans, but I won't shell out a few bucks to valet.

We got lunch in the food court. Once we were finished, I suggested we head over to Phipps Plaza, which elicited a groan from Noah.

"Haven't you had enough shopping, baby? I'm tired; I wanna go home," he whined.

"We won't be shopping; it'll be fun. You know, you're worse than Zach when it comes to whining."

"Yeah, Daddy," Zach chimed in.

"Am not," Noah said, just to be contrary.

"Are too," both Zach I replied. All three of us laughed at our little exchange.

"Alright, fine, y'all win. Where are we going, anyway?"

"I remember reading about a thing Lego opened; I guess it's supposed to be like a small Legoland. It'll be fun."

It was fun, mostly watching Zach though. I had figured it would be geared towards both children and Lego fans, but other than a fantastic replica of Atlanta made out of tiny blocks, there wasn't really anything that interested Noah or me. Zach had a ball riding the couple of rides they had and playing on the jungle gym, which I guess is all that mattered. Considering the cost of admission, we'd have been better going back to Chuck E. Cheese.

When we returned home, I washed our new purchases and did some work. Noah claimed he was getting the feel for his new programs, but I was pretty sure he was surfing vacation web pages to try to figure out where we were going. He was thinking way too hard about it, and I was enjoying every moment of it.

–  –  –  *  *  *  –  –  –

Nana had invited us all over for dinner, but we declined for all of us except Zach. Tom agreed to scrounge up something on his own, so Noah and I dropped Zach off. Zach barely said goodbye to us before racing inside to play with César and Julio. We chatted briefly with Nana, Maria, Carlos, and Jason. We made sure Nana had our cell numbers in case Zach started to act up, and promised to check in on him, which we hadn't done when we left him with Sarah and Tom. Finally, we gave Jason the address of the coffee shop and told the three what time to meet us before taking our leave.

I took Noah out for a romantic dinner, just the two of us. I loved Zach, but there was nothing I liked more than the chance to spend some quality time with my man, even if we were fully clothed. While waiting on the check, I gave Nana a call, and she put Zach on the phone. He seemed more irritated that we were interrupting his play time than anything. Nana assured me he was behaving, and told us not to bother checking in again; she'd call if anything came up.

When we got back home, Noah didn't even try to join me as I took a quick shower. I was torn between being appreciative, and wanting him to jump my bones. If the night worked out like I hoped, the tone would be set for Noah to finally give me what I'd been craving. I sang my song a few times in the shower; I was going to make a fool out of myself, but hopefully I'd get points for the attempt.

I took my time to perfect my hair, and when I came out, Noah grumbled something about me hogging the bathroom. I just gave his tight ass a firm squeeze and kissed his cheek. Any frustration melted from his face and his eyes sparkled as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I don't tell you 'I love you' enough," he said, after kissing my lips gently.

"You can always say it again, but I know you do; you don't have to say anything."

"Yes, I do. For a long time, I thought Zach was the best thing that would ever happen to me. I was stuck in place, unwilling to do anything to improve my life for fear of losing time with him. Then you came into my life. As a result of knowing you, Zach now lives with me, and I'm finally working towards something. You, Scott Hudgins, are far and away the best thing that ever happened to me. I could shout my undying love for you for the rest of eternity and still not say it enough."

I tried to respond but the words were caught in my throat. All I could do was kiss him gently and hold him tightly, my eyes wet with tears. That was possibly the sweetest thing anyone ever said to me, and for once, I was speechless.

"Enough of this sappy shit," he said with a grin after another kiss. "I need to shower or we'll be late. At least it won't take me twenty minutes to get ready like some people," he added, poking me in the side.

Technically, he was right, but I tried to argue that eighteen minutes was close enough to invalidate his claim. After a tickle-fight that ended in a draw, we agreed to disagree while fixing our hair. Tom was not amused by our antics, and yelled a few times from the living room for us hurry up.

We left for the coffee shop about ten minutes later than we had planned. Noah kept making little passive-aggressive comments; I let the first several slide, knowing how much he liked to arrive a few minutes early to places, but he was getting on my nerves. Finally, I put my hand on his leg and squeezed gently.

"Look, I'm sorry for my role in making us late, but you're not blameless in this either. We both got caught up in the moment and goofed around too long. We're going to a gay coffee house for gay karaoke. It's ok for us to be on gay time. We're fashionably late," I said gently.

Noah let out a sigh. "I know, and you're right, it's not that big of a deal, but I always get nervous if I'm running late for something, like I might miss out on some of the fun, or something. I'll try to work on that, if you try to start getting ready a bit earlier," he said with a wink.

"You can't rush perfection."

"I do every time you start to primp," he responded.

I squeezed his thigh again, and left my hand there while I parked. I wasn't about to tell him that part of me liked being the reason we were late; Steve would never start getting ready until it was the time we wanted to leave, only to turn around and blame our tardiness on me fussing with my hair.

The three others were not out front when we arrived. I pulled out my phone to call Jason and noticed he had sent me a text. They had gone ahead and gotten a large table for us inside. Noah, Tom, and I walked in, and found Carlos, Maria and Jason at a table for eight in the corner of the room.

"Sorry we're late; I was busy making myself purty," I said, figuring taking full blame would make Noah feel better. I was wrong.

"No, it was my fault. I gave Scott crap for taking so long, but I spent just as much time as he did."

"All I know is I kept telling both of them to hurry up," Tom said.

"It's all good, fellas," Jason said with a laugh. "We've only been here about five minutes. I figured we might as well try to get a table where we can all fit and grab some drinks. It also gave the three of us a chance to get a head start on choosing our songs."

By the time us newcomers got our drinks, Will showed up. He looked a little out of place as he walked up to the table.

"Hey guys," he said.

"Glad you could join us, Will. This is Carlos, Maria, and Jason," I said, being hospitable for once, and making introductions.

I shook Will's hand, and Noah stood to give his friend a quick hug. Will took a seat next to Noah, which was conveniently also next to Jason. As Noah sat, he shot daggers out of his eyes to me.

"I thought you agreed not to play matchmaker," he whispered.

"What? All I did was invite your best friend to join us," I said innocently.

"Uh huh, sure," he responded, lightly punching my arm before wrapping an arm around me and pulling me in to rest against his body.

We sat and watched several performances. I noticed that between songs, Will only talked to Noah, and Jason was talking with Maria and Carlos. Like last time, Tom was engrossed in the song book, which meant I was just sitting there in silence, taking it all in.

Suze was called up on stage. I was surprised I hadn't seen her making her rounds, but since we we're tucked in the corner, I guessed she hadn't noticed us. She gave a stunning rendition of Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart", once again demonstrating that she was the queen of karaoke. As she was walking off the stage, I waved to her. When she saw me, her face lit up, and with a hop in her step she hurried over to our table.

"Well lookie here at what the cat done dragged in. If it ain't my favorite boys. How are y'all doing? I'm so plum-tickled to see y'all!"

We introduced her to the newcomers in our group, and she was quick to welcome them as if she owned the place.

"You were amazing, as always," Noah told her.

"What, that old thing? Honey, that's just my warm-up. You ain't seen nothing yet! I got me a little surprise planned for my baby doll. What are y'all planning to try to upstage me with tonight?"

Neither Noah nor I would tell her what we had planned. Will hadn't decided yet; he said something about the music hadn't spoken to him yet.

"I'm thinking about Mr. Lonely, by Bobby Vinton, but I'm not sure yet," Tom said.

"Oh, Honey, lemme guess, did that woman last time break your heart?"

Tom nodded in response. I was a bit surprised that he went on to give some of the basics of their breakup.

"I know you know you can pick a better song than that! Our duet last time blew the socks off some of the regulars, if only because I let your cute self talk me into singing something outside my usual repertoire, let alone a guy's part. I do declare I let you white boys walk all over me! Now how about you, my fine milk-chocolate brotha? Whatchu gonna serenade me with tonight?"

While I had been slightly dumbstruck by Suze's larger-than-life persona when I first met her, Jason seemed completely at ease as he told her his choice.

"You're just as brave as the white boys, waltzing in and trying to upstage me with some Vandross. I guess I'll just have to step up my game and show y'all how a real diva does it." With a laugh, she sauntered away from our table and continued to make her rounds.

"Who was that?" Jason asked after she was gone.

"That was Suze. She's here every week. She struts around like she owns the place, but she's one of the kindest and sweetest people you'll ever meet," Will said.

"She likes the idea of riling people up and trying to get them to compete with her. She feeds off the energy and loves when people give it their all," Noah added.

"On the job, I've met lots of large personalities, but their usually hurling obscenities at me while I shove them in a squad car. It's a bit different when they're being nice," Jason said.

"Amen to that," Maria added. "I do miss that we don't get as much of that as detectives. I always enjoyed putting people in their place!"

"And I was always there to make sure you didn't enjoy it too much."

We didn't get to chat for much longer, as Maria and Carlos were called up. They performed Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe". She was incredible; as for Carlos... I'll just leave it at he enjoyed himself. It was cute, and you could feel the love between the two, even if Carlos couldn't find the pitch if his life depended on it. They received a smattering of polite applause from the crowd, while our table stood and cheered them loudly.

After they were finished, Jason was called up next. He did a stunning rendition of the Burt Bacharach classic, "A House is not a Home". He almost sounded exactly like Luther Vandross, but stylistically, he performed it more similar to the original performance by Dionne Warwick, with far fewer riffs and runs than in Luther Vandross's version. Several times while he was singing, I had to wipe tears from my eyes; the song expressed how both of us felt in the aftermath of tragedy we shared but experienced alone. Jason's voice cracked a few times while singing, which just made it more impactful.

[See Link in End Note]

When he finished, everyone at our table was on their feet immediately. No one else gave him a standing ovation, but there was enthusiastic applause and more than a few catcalls. I was pleasantly surprised that Will was the first to embrace the man when he returned to the table. As others took their turn giving him a congratulatory hug, Will ran up to the DJ booth to submit his song, with Noah not far behind. I was going to wait until later in the evening to go. If it worked out the way I hoped it would, Noah and I would be making a hasty exit as soon as I was finished.

I noticed Will and Jason talking quietly, but with Noah between us, I wasn't able to eavesdrop. We continued to watch the other performances and talk amongst ourselves between songs, but Jason and Will seemed like they were in their own little universe. The singer that amused me the most was this skinny little twink in his early twenties, who sang Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe". He took advantage of the wireless mic, running amongst the crowd passing out napkins with his number scrawled on them. His standards must have been ridiculously high, though; he gave Jason a napkin without hesitation and practically threw a handful of them at Noah, but he looked me over carefully before handing one to Will and leaving our table. As soon as he left, Noah crimpled the napkins up. I grabbed one and smoothed it out.

"We should call him," I told Noah as he looked at me, confusion in his eyes.

"I don't want to share you. Besides, he was only interested in me," Noah teased.

"Naw, he just knew he couldn't handle me. Besides, I only want him to come over so we can tie him down and force feed him a few hamburgers. That boy could stand to gain a few pounds. Maybe I can I just give him my extra?"

Noah laughed, but I wasn't entirely certain if it was with me or at me. "He was skinny, but I think you're smoking hot just the way you are. That muscle-worshiping queen has nothing on you, babe."

"Whatever, I'll be hotter once the gym equipment gets here. Then you won't be able to keep your grubby mitts off me," I muttered.

"If you get any hotter, I may never let you leave the bed."

"That better be a promise."

The glimmer of his golden eyes assured me it was.

About thirty minutes later, Will was called to the stage. Before the music started, he said into the mic, "I'd like to dedicate this song to my new friend, Jason, and to anyone else who feels alone when they find themselves facing demons. Even when times seem darkest, there is always someone who is there for you."

As the music started, I instantly recognized the Simon and Garfunkel classic, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". I knew Will was a regular, but he didn't sing last time I was here. Unlike most covers of the song, he stayed close to the original and avoided the gospel feel the song often has. His voice wasn't quite as pure and clear as Art Garfunkel's, but it was easily one of the best renditions I'd ever heard – certainly the best during karaoke.

[See Link in End Note]

Will's voice was strong as he built to the powerful finish, and I saw Jason wipe his eyes a few times. I was pretty sure I'd been relatively successful at playing matchmaker without resorting to meddling, which was reinforced when Jason embraced Will tightly and subtly kissed his cheek when Will returned to the table. Even I gave Will a gentle congratulatory hug, which took him by surprise.

Noah was called up to follow Will, and I was a bit nervous for him, but he looked completely at ease. He picked up the microphone and grabbed the stool from the side of the stage.

"This is for the love of my life. Scott, can you join me on the stage?"

Nervously, I rose from my seat and joined him. As nervous as I was, I had a feeling that whatever was planned would be less embarrassing for me than what I had planned for him. He had me sit on the stool, facing the side of the stage while he stood facing me.

Once he had us positioned, he continued, "I told you earlier today that I could shout your praises nonstop and never tell you enough that I love you. I meant every word; in front of this audience, I wanted to tell you exactly how I feel about you. Hit it, Miranda."

As piano riffs wafted from the speakers, I couldn't immediately place the song. As he began to sing, I recognized it, but it wasn't until he hit the chorus that I realized it was "Songbird" from Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album. I wasn't familiar with the words, which made it that much easier to hang on every word that came out in Noah's rich, sultry tenor. It was so beautiful, and tears were streaming down my face. When he sang the bridge, I had to cover my mouth with my hands to keep from letting out a sob of joy.

[See Link in End Note]

The moment he finished singing, I was off the stool, my arms wrapped tightly around my boyfriend as I smothered his face with kisses. It was only after I was kissing him passionately that I became aware of the applause and catcalls around us. Embarrassed of my wonton display of affection, I broke the kiss and blushed.

"Don't be embarrassed," Noah whispered in my ear, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I take it you liked my song?"

All I could due to respond was nod enthusiastically. Hand in hand, we walked back to the table, where everyone lavished Noah with the praise he deserved. When we sat back down, I wasted no time, sitting sideways in the chair so I could lean back against my man. Noah wrapped his arms around my chest and held me in a firm embrace.

Glancing around the table, I felt a little bad for Tom. Carlos and Maria and Noah and I were clearly paired off, showing affection to our significant others, and Jason and Will were sitting awfully close to each other to not be interested, while Tom was obviously by himself. He didn't seem bothered by it, and the four of us tried our best to keep him engaged in the conversation – Will and Jason were too lost in themselves to contribute.

A few singers after Noah, the DJ, Miranda, called for Solice, Suze's partner to the stage.

"For five years, our wonderful benefactor has graciously allowed us to hold a weekly karaoke night in her cafe. In all these years, she has never missed an event, taking in all the wonderful talent the city has to offer. Not once in this time has she taken the stage. Tonight is no exception." Miranda kept talking for a minute or so, but it was clear that she was vamping. Finally she said "Ok, I give up waiting for the signal. Suze, where are you?!"

"I'm hiding behind the counter, doll; you were supposed to introduce me!" Suze's disembodied voice exclaimed through the speakers.

"Oh right, sorry! Without further ado, Suze, with a very special performance for Solice!"

With a grand flourish, Suze stood from behind the counter. She had changed into a gaudy sequined gown fit for a diva.

"Most y'all know Solice as my partner who sits silently in the corner while I hog the spotlight. Y'all ain't aware she started karaoke night when we first started dating because I wanted to go out, but a barista called off and she needed to cover. She gave me this stage, and has been content to watch me shine. Baby girl, you are one of the greatest things to ever happen to this old girl, and you deserve every second you've given me."

Starting acapella, Suze began to sing "Wind Beneath My Wings", made famous by Bette Midler, as she made her way to the stage. She and Miranda had clearly worked hard orchestrating this, as the music that slowly faded in to support her was far better quality than a standard karaoke track. As the song finished, the music transitioned, and Suze immediately began singing Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me".

When she finished singing, she dropped down on one knee more gracefully than I would've thought possible, given her ample frame.

"I told you years ago that I ain't the marrying type. Been there, done that, and I weren't going there again. You done so much for me and made me the happiest belle of the ball. You treat me like the queen I am, and it's about damn time I did the same for you. Solice Collins, will you marry me?"

The entire room was silent for a moment, before erupting in cheers when Solice said yes and embraced her partner. Noah squeezed me a little tighter, and I was in heaven. Miranda announced there would be a short break before karaoke resumed.

We continued to chat, honored to have witnessed Suze's proposal. The talk was all wedding related, and we were enjoying it, until Maria asked Noah and me a question.

"So when are the wedding bells in your future?"

Noah and I looked at each other in shock, neither sure how to answer at first.

"I don't know about that; maybe one day in the future. We've only been together for three weeks, after all," I said.

"I agree; maybe one day. Scott's been through a lot, and I'm not about to push for anything so soon in our relationship," Noah added, cautiously. I could read between the lines, and I knew he was saying he was ready. Maybe that should have surprised me, but it didn't. I could see myself committing to Noah, but he was right; I definitely wasn't ready for that step.

"Really, only three weeks? You two act like you've been together for ages," Carlos said.

"Well, I met him at the gym a couple weeks before, but we didn't really admit our feelings to each until karaoke three weeks ago. It's been a whirlwind since then; so much has gone on in this brief time, it's unbelievable."

Just as it looked like Miranda was about to start karaoke up again, Suze came dashing to our table.

"Congratulations," I said.

"Yeah, yeah, stuff it. I ain't got time for small talk right now. I just needed to tell you the spit is about to hit the fan in a big way. You remember that pretty little thing all over honey, here, last time y'all came?"

How could we forget Sarah? We all just stared at Suze, waiting for her to get to the point.

"Apparently she's here with a new beau, and she just asked me to sing the same song you sang to her."

"What did you say?" Tom asked, bewildered. Pain filled his eyes.

"Child, are you out of your ever-loving mind? I told her there ain't no way in hell that I'm doing that to one of my boys. I wanted to warn you, but I gots to admit, I love me some good drama. I don't think she saw you, and Miranda came up with a right good ole plan. You down for putting that witch in her place, honey?"

"Of course."

"Ok then, here's what we gonna do," Suze said, outlining the details. I was shocked Tom agreed to it.

"Just keep a low profile for now. Me and Miranda will do the rest."

She walked away moments before Miranda announced the next singer. We took the opportunity to catch the four who hadn't been with us last time up to speed. After three singers, Miranda called Sarah to the stage.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she added.

"This is for my baby. I just wanted to show you how important you are to me," Sarah gushed into the microphone, before glaring at Suze, who was standing off to the side of the stage, before adding, "I hope this works ok; it's supposed to be a duet, but I'm gonna do my best."

To Sarah's credit, it wasn't a horrible performance, but we were shocked by the gall she had. As soon as she had finished, before most of the audience even had time to start clapping, Suze took the stage, a microphone already in her hand.

"Alrighty, that was a pretty song, but I've heard it done better. Hell, woman, I sang it better. Then again, I sang it to help out a sweet boy who was smitten by you. Of course, I know a gold-digging ho when I see one!"

Sarah was speechless, unsure how to respond to public confrontation.

"Now my apologies to whoever is next; you'll get your turn in a hot second. First, it's only fair that sweet Tommy gets a chance to tell you how he really feels. Get your sweet tushie up here, and let's show her how it's done!"

Showing much more confident than he probably felt, Tom almost swaggered as he walked to the stage. Sarah looked shocked to see him, but Tom didn't even acknowledge her.

"Now why don't you get your new boytoy up here to join you, girl? This song is as much for him as it is for you. Oh, and you don't need this anymore," Suze added, snatching the microphone out of Sarah's hands and giving it to Tom. Solice walked onto the stage, a second stool in one hand and a mic in the other.

"As a special bonus," Suze said, addressing the crowd, "I've managed to convince my dear sweet fiancé – ooh how I loves me the sound of that – to perform with us. Now she's just a backup singer like me for this; Tommy-boy here is the star of this number. Boytoy, where are you? We're waiting on you. I'll come and getcha if I have to!"

Sarah embarrassedly gestured toward someone, who slowly came on stage. I was shocked. Chris was a good looking guy, and Tom was easily a nine – granted I was married to his twin, so I'm hardly impartial – but this guy was lucky if he was a five. He wasn't bad looking, but he was definitely very plain.

"Alright honey, you ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to get. Let's just do this before I chicken out," Tom said into his mic. The smile on his face betrayed his words, though; he was definitely ready to dish out a little revenge.

Without further prompting, Miranda played the track before dashing onto the stage, microphone in hand, and stood next to Solice. I was definitely impressed that the only time Tom faltered while singing Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You" was the first time he had to say 'fuck'. For a man who I've only heard curse a few times, it didn't slip off his tongue easily. I had half-expected him to stick with the radio version of the song, but there's something lost when singing 'forget you'.

Miranda, Solice, and Suze singing background was a great little touch, since they just served to further embarrass Sarah and the guy she had dragged into this mess. I almost felt bad for her, but she definitely deserved to be put in her place. When the song came to the bridge, where Cee Lo gets whiny, Tom dropped the lyrics and instead detailed to the crowd how Sarah had continuously insisted he buy her nice things and complained when he wouldn't buy her a Porsche, even though they'd only been together a brief time. Just before he finished his rant, the guy with Sarah got up and stormed out of the shop. Sarah had tears streaming down her face, and she ran after him as soon as Tom was done.

[See Link in End Note]

Tom was beaming when he returned to our table.

"Damn, I feel good!" he exclaimed as we all high-fived him and congratulated him.

I decided the time was right to go ahead and submit my song, knowing there would probably be quite a few people before me. Maria went up with me and turned in a submission of her own. When we returned to the table, we continued to chat as a group, Tom actively participating. He seemed like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Jason and Will were more involved in the group's conversation as well, although I noticed they were holding hands under the table.

After a couple singers had performed, Suze once again made her way to our table, this time with Solice in tow.

"So I take it the reason you act like you own the place is because you're sleeping with the owner?" I teased Suze.

"Oh, Shug, trust, I do much more than just sleep with the owner, if you catch my drift," she responded with a wink, earning a smack on the arm from Solice.

"It's nice to meet you," I told the owner. "Honestly, had Suze not mentioned it when she proposed, I never would've known. Congrats, by the way."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Solice responded. "I prefer hiding in the woodwork, but I loved your performance the other week; very few people can out-diva my Suzanne. All y'all were great tonight, by the way. What are you going to sing?"

Like when Suze asked earlier, I refused to answer; even the song's title gave away my intentions. Instead, I simply said, "Let's just say I'm going for a Latin flair tonight."

"Ooh, muy caliente," Maria said.

"That one I got," I told Noah before he translated it for me, which caused all of us who were at Nana's the previous night to laugh.

Suze and Solice stuck around for a number, and we all chatted before they continued to make their rounds. Eventually, Maria was called up for her solo performance. She chose Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie", and I was impressed at just how well her hips told the truth. She wasn't a big woman by any means, but she was definitely curvy. She was easily one of the most beautiful women I'd ever met, but it was a very natural beauty, and she had the figure to go with it. Even if it did nothing for me as a gay man, she wiggled her hips as she sang with a level of eroticism I could appreciate. I hoped I would match her eroticism with my performance. Her vocals matched her dancing ability, and it was a great performance to watch, just not a great one to have to follow.

She finished to rousing applause, and was embraced by everyone at our table.

I whispered in her ear while hugging her, "You know I have to follow that, right?"

"Oh, I know. I heard about your last performance, and I wanted to make sure you stepped up your game," she teased.

She sat on Carlos's lap as I made my way to the stage. Taking the microphone from Miranda, I pulled the stool out from the corner.

"Alright, Noah, time for me to turn the tables and put you on the hot seat. C'mon up and have a seat!"

The crowd cheered as Noah nervously made his way to the stage.

"Please just play along babe," I whispered in his ear before saying into the mic, "You know I love you, and I could've chosen a song to tell you how I feel, but you did a better job of doing that than I ever could. Instead, I'm going to tell you what I really want. Miranda, let 'er rip!"

As the strong dance beat filled the room, I straddled Noah's lap, and slowly began to grind seductively. Noah's eyes bulged, and he whispered, "Please, Scott, I'm going commando. You're about to give the audience more of a show than you intend to."

Of course his whisper was picked up by the mic, which led to the room being filled with catcalls.

"That just makes this even better," I said into the mic as I winked at my boyfriend before grinding a little harder. "Let's give 'em a show they won't forget," and immediately began to sing "Tonight (I'm Fucking You)" by Enrique Iglesias. Just before hitting chorus, I climbed off his lap, and pulled him to his feet, grinding our hips together as I announced to everyone in attendance exactly what I planned on doing to Noah once we left the café.

I could feel his straining erection pressing against me, and it was only making me hotter. As I began the second verse, I turned around and began gyrating back against Noah, who was getting into the act and doing his best to dance erotically for me. His nerves were affecting his rhythm, but that didn't really matter. From his moves, I could tell he clearly knew what he was doing, and I almost faltered a few times on the lyrics. As I hit the second chorus, he was running one hand up my shirt while the other rubbed my crotch.

There was a reason I chose to wear a jockstrap; it was uncomfortable as hell, but at least my arousal wasn't as noticeable to the crowd as his. As I began a barely-passable version of Ludacris' rap, I turned around and roughly spun Noah so that I was grinding into his ass. When I hit Ludacris's transition back to the chorus, I pushed Noah down by his neck so he was bent over, holding himself up on stool. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, grinding lewdly against his firm ass as I returned to the chorus one final time.

[See Link in End Note]