Karaoke Double Date

 

Ashleigh showed up at my door like she owned the place, already dressed in tight jeans and a strappy top like she’d just walked off a reality show. “You’re coming with me,” she said, pushing past me. “Karaoke night. Double date. And no, I’m not dragging any of my friends if your guy turns out to be awful. That’s your job, princess.”

Before I could even protest, she was already flipping through my closet.

“Where’s that little silver skirt? You know, the one that makes your legs look ten miles long?”

She found it. Of course she did.

Twenty minutes later, I was in that ridiculous sparkly mini, and my cropped black turtleneck. I did my makeup quick but decent—winged liner, red gloss, the usual. Ashleigh just nodded, satisfied. “Perfect. You’ll look amazing on stage.”

I was about to argue that I wasn’t singing, but we both knew that was a lie.

The bar was already packed. Ashleigh’s guy—Liam—was charming in a too-much-cologne, opens-doors kind of way. Mine? His name was Carter. He spent ten minutes talking about his Spotify playlists and tried to order for me. I don’t think he even noticed I wasn’t smiling.

He kept calling me “Kay,” like we were already on nickname terms, and when he laughed at his own jokes, he’d touch my arm. Every time it happened, I had to resist the urge to pull away.

I was halfway through pretending to be fascinated by the fact that he “almost” studied abroad when Ashleigh dragged me toward the tiny karaoke stage.

“They have Levitating,” she said with a wicked smile.

I had to sing high, breathy, girly—not just to hit the notes, but to stay in character. The crowd clapped along, which at least made it easier to hide my bad singing. I could see the shimmer of my skirt in the stage lights every time I moved.

It was humiliating. And weirdly kind of fun.

Afterward, Carter said I had a “cute little voice.” Ashleigh just grinned and said, “Told you you’d slay.”

I’m still not sure if she meant the singing… or the outfit. Either way, I was the one stuck with the annoying guy and glitter on my thighs.