“Micah. With an H.”
With an H? What am I doing? He chuckled again. He reached up and rubbed his chin with the edge of his hand, brushing over his stubble. He was so freaking sexy.
“Are you nervous?” he asked. Of course I was. He was Saxon-freaking-Waite. “About singing,” he added, breaking out that sexy grin again.
Oh. Am I nervous about that. I swallowed hard and nodded. I was nervous enough before I knew he was here. Now? Hell, I had no idea how I was going to get through this.
“Just go up there and do your thing. If it helps, block everyone else out and sing to me. Pretend it’s just me and you.” His blue eyes twinkled as his fingers fiddled with his half empty glass. “Pretend I’m naked, if that helps.”
“I can do that,” I breathed. Singing to Saxon Waite? Wasn’t that every girl’s dream? “The singing to you part, not thinking about you naked,” I clarified, realizing how it had sounded.
“Too bad,” he chuckled. “You’re missing out there. So, Micah with an H: tell me about yourself. Are you a city girl, born and bred?”
“I’ve been here for three years. Since I finished high school,” I added.
Why did I feel shy all of a sudden? Talking about my past was not something I felt comfortable about, but I could usually handle it well enough until I was able to divert the direction of the conversation. This guy, though…he made me feel so damn young. His confidence and assertiveness made me realize just how young and insecure I really was.
Maybe it was because I was nervous about performing—or maybe it was because it had been a while since I’d found myself so attracted to a guy. Hell, maybe it was just the fact that he was Saxon Waite. It didn’t matter; none of it did.
I just had to get away from this guy.
I stood up and backed away from the bar, throwing a ten-dollar bill down on the counter.
“I better get up there,” I mumbled.
He nodded, a smirk creeping across his mouth. I was flustered and he knew it—and he probably thought he was the cause. And he would be right.
“Okay, Micah with an H. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
I groaned inwardly.
Saxon Waite and his damn sexy smile.
***
I stood by the edge of the stage watching the last few songs while trying to calm my nerves. Stop shaking. I wiped my sweaty palms down the sides of my dress and took a deep breath. Knowing Saxon was there, watching me, made me even more nervous. How the hell was I going to sing, knowing he was out there? What if I fucked this up? What if this went worse than yesterday?
“You’re on in five.”
I nodded at Liam as he brushed past me. Was he always so rude? Harry walked over to me, wearing his trademark grin, which instantly made me relax.
“You’re up,” he said, handing me a mic. I was shaking so badly it almost tumbled out of my hands. So much for my five minutes. He laughed and touched my shoulder. “You need to chill. You can do this—just show us the girl we saw yesterday, okay?”
The problem was they had seen two versions of me yesterday, and I wasn’t sure which one was going to come out tonight. I was either going to crash and burn or I was going to rock the hell out of this—and I hoped it was the latter.
I walked out onto the stage and was greeted by a round of cheers and a few wolf whistles. My heart pounded in my chest. This was by far the most terrifying experience of my life.
Then I saw him.
In the middle of the crowd, leaning against the wall, that sexy grin on his face as his eyes zeroed in on mine. Just like that, my nerves began to dissipate. How did he do that? Seeing him should have made me more nervous, but there was something so calming about knowing he was there. Behind me, Harry began to count us down. As the beat of his guitar began to fill my head, I closed my eyes and began to sing, ignoring the thudding in my chest that I was sure was being broadcasted to the whole bar.
“It was over long ago,
the shadows were lurking in the corners,
all our doubts hidden in a secret place,
came out to play with our emotions,