Chapter Two

A man with a protruding belly and a microphone in his hand stepped unto the counter. He had on a shirt which was way too tight for him and a trouser whose waistband wasn't even visible under the shadow of his stomach. He had a very bushy mustache which was evidently unattended to regularly. From the way the room seemed to hush up the moment he stepped on the counter, Juley could tell that he owned the place.

'A good evening to you all,' he greeted cheerfully. 'Well, seems like we got us a full house today. That's quite excellent, because the more the merrier. It's time for our main event for the night, and the reason I know most of you are here. Karaoke night!'

His speech was followed by some hand clapping, hooting and table banging.

He waited for the noise to settle, before he said, ' And as usual, I will be the one starting the show.' This was followed by more cheering and hooting.

'Viv, hit the music,' he commanded and Juley noticed the waitress put in the plug of the machine into a socket.

Immediately the music came on, he started singing along to some old cowboy song. When he got to the chorus, as though on cue, almost everyone sang alone with him and even did a few dance steps. Molly was so lost, all she could do was stare. But she couldn't help but notice that Gary didn't join in the fun. Not like he wasn't enjoying himself, but he didn't join the others in their dance or shout the lyrics along with them. He rather just tapped his feet to the rhythm and danced mostly with his head.

As though he noticed her observing him, he turned to her and asked, 'Don't you sing?'

Juley just shook her head and turned back to her beer. But Gary wasn't ready to leave her alone this time, 'But you could just sing along to the lyrics. It's a very popular song.'

'I-I-I don't know it,' came her stuttered reply.

'What type of music are you into?' he asked, raising his voice slightly since the room had just become more rowdy.

Slightly annoyed, Juley asked, 'What will it take to make you leave me alone? C-c-can't you take a hint?'

Still with his smile plastered on his face, Gary replied, 'I don't think I want to leave you alone. I find you very interesting.'

Stunned, she stammered, 'T-t-that's a lie. I'm n-n-not interesting in the slightest. You're j-j-just saying that.'

"You are, in a very unique way," he said.

Juley sighed and rolled her eyes, "S-s-sounds like what a guy would say."

"I'm being very sincere here. I'm trying to have a genuine conversation with you but you just keep brushing me off. And I'm usually not the persistent type, but something about your unusually big eyes has me glued to the spot."

At the mention of her eyes, Juley blinked a few times, because she knew how large her eyes were and it was something she was incredibly insecure about. She didn't know why he had to bring it up. But somehow, she felt bad because she had been so rude and snobbish towards him even after he sacrificed his seat for her.

So, she decided to say, "I'm really s-s-sorry about that. I just am n-n-not in the right mood. You see, I've received a s-s-series of very disappointing events this evening and they were things I wasn't quite expecting to happen. So naturally, I am j-j-just venting out my frustrations on you. K-k-kind of a transfer of aggression. I'm really sorry.

"You know what? Let's start over." She extended her right hand to him. "I-I-I'm Molly."

Gary took her hand in his and shook it saying, "I'm Gary. Nice to meet you." When she smiled back, he added, "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

And for the first time that evening, Juley laughed.

"Since you're in a bad mood, I think I know just what could lighten you up."

"And w-w-what is that?"

Gary waved at the next person who was singing to the song being played by the karaoke machine and said, "Music, of course."

"N-n-no, p-p-pls don't. I am t-t-the worst singer ever. I'll j-j-just end up embarrassing myself and you."

But she was too late, as Gary was already talking to the bar owner, and even pointed in her direction. She noticed the bar owner nodding, then Gary walked back to her.

" We're up next," he said with a wide grin.

Juley felt like smacking that stupid smile clean off his face, as she pounded his chest lightly. "W-w-whatever did you d-d-do that for?"

He shrugged indifferently, and raised his hands as though in defence. "I'm only trying to put a smile on your face."

"You are s-s-so silly," Juley retorted. "I d-d-don't even know how to sing."

"Well then, you will just join me on stage and I will sing for you." He winked at her.

Juley sighed heavily, "I sh-sh-shouldn' t have given you this chance."

"Well, you're too late now," came his indifferent reply.

At that moment, the person who had been on stage just finished his song and was being applauded on. Instantly, Juley's heart started beating faster, since she was dreading the moment.

Before she could even react, Gary seized her hand and was already taking her to the stage. Oh, no! She couldn't even think of any excuse to give without sounding silly to this complete stranger. How could she tell him she had stage fright and would usually freeze in front of a crowd. Too late, Gary already had a mike in his hands and shoved one into hers. He introduced them, while she just stood there, frozen on the spot, trying to shield her eyes from the light.

The song started, and Juley recognized it. It was Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue. She knew the lyrics quite well, as it had been one of her favourites the year it was released.

Gary's voice was quite good, and he sang smoothly. She couldn't even imagine what she looked like standing up there next to the jovial fellow. She was sure she looked like a backdrop.

When he got to the chorus, he faced her and started singing in her direction, as though he were singing for her. But still, she stayed frozen and kept staring at him.

When the chorus ended, Gary whispered in her ear, "You handle the second verse." She started shaking her head, but he added, "Come on, don't be shy."

The second verse started, but Juley still stood there frozen on the spot. Taking a few breaths, she managed to muster some courage and sing along. Or rather, mutter along. Sensing her nervousness, Gary motioned for the crowd to join in her singing, and this immensely encouraged her. She gave an appreciative nod to Gary, as she continued singing.

Somewhere along the line, she got comfortable enough to even start swaying to the beat, and sing along with Gary, not minding how much his perfect voice contrasted her cracked and deep own. By the time they stopped singing, Juley was feeling very much better than she had been when she stepped on the stage.

"Thank you," she mouthed to Gary, as people applauded at them.

He just smiled at her and gave her hand a slight squeeze.

"Well, that turned out alright," Gary commented as she took her seat.

"I k-k-know right? Actually much better than I ex-ex-expected it to be."

Gary looked at his watch and said, "I had a very pleasant time with you - though you weren't very cooperative at the start. But nonetheless, I enjoyed my time with you. Thing is, it's running quite late and I have an early class tomorrow morning. And I don't feel quite comfortable leaving you here alone. So, can I walk you home? "

" Oh! Ummm... " Juley didn't even know what to say because she somehow didn't like the idea of him leaving her here, but she didn't want to have to tell him that she still hadn't found a place to spend the night. Deciding against the latter, she stood up from her seat.

"I'm guessing that's a yes," Gary said, extending his elbow towards her.

"Duhhh", was her reply as she put her hand in the hook of his elbow.

They walked out together, and it was then that Juley noticed it had stopped raining. The street was still wet and there were signs that it had rained, but that was it.

"Where exactly are you headed to?" Gary asked, looking left and right.

Juley gulped some spit before replying, "Actually, I was ho-ho-hoping you could help me with that. I'm traveling tomorrow so I j-j-just need to find a motel to crash for the night. D-d-do you know of any?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Huh?" Juley looked up at him questioningly.

"Do you think I'll let you spend the night in some random motel? You're coming home with me."

"W-w-what?" She nearly withdrew her hand from his hold but he held on tight. "I d-d-don't think that will be necessary at all."

"Do you think you have much of a say in the matter?" Gary asked her.

From the look in his eyes, Juley knew it would be of no use for her to argue. So she just shrugged and told him, "F-f-first, let me get my bag from where I hid it."