Steph shook her head, crossed to the dining area, and stared. Dave was standing next to a karaoke machine, a microphone set up in front of him, wearing a green Shrek T-shirt. And ogre ears. The man owned ogre ears?
Omigod. He had a ukulele.
His face lit up when he saw her. Some of the regulars turned to smile at her to see how she was taking it.
She forced a smile as she approached Dave. Jaz and Amber stayed behind at the bar. Or maybe they left. She wished she could too.
“What are you doing?” she ground out.
He hit a button and the music blasted out. Dave launched into an enthusiastic rendition of Smashmouth's “I'm a Believer” from Shrek.
He belted out the lyrics while strumming the ukulele. The clash of notes was jarring.
She backed up. The next line of the song rang out too close to the mike, and a screeching feedback rang through the room. Dave kept going, the ogre ears bouncing in time.
Steph sank into a chair and simply gawked. He was terrible. Completely off-key. He windmilled one arm before a dramatic ukulele strum and danced what could best be described as jumping jacks. Combined with the green shirt and ears, a vision of a leprechaun came to mind. A hysterical laugh bubbled up inside her.
The ogre ears tipped precariously forward, jutting out like horns over his glasses. He kept singing.
She bit her lip. Don't laugh. He's really trying. Heat crept up her neck as more people wandered over from the bar to watch. Why, Dave? Why? And, Barry, I’m going to kill you.
~ ~ ~
Dave could feel the crowd getting behind him now, clapping in time to the music. He shoved the ogre ears back in place. He couldn't read Steph's expression from here, but he had to keep going. This song was meant to say what was in his heart. And if he wanted to stand a chance against Griffin, he had to go big. He could rock ’n’ roll too. The karaoke had been Barry’s idea, but when Dave had found his favorite song from the Shrek soundtrack on the playlist, he knew he had to go all out in costume. Plus he already had the ogre ears, T-shirt, and ukulele.
He put the ukulele down so he could really move. The swim! He held his nose and wiggled down in a dive. He knew all the old dances from his grandmother. Finally it came in handy!
He leaped up and pounded his heart, pointing to Steph. Yes, I do believe. In us!
She slid further down in her chair.
The mashed potato! “I love you, Steph!”
He lost the beat as his eyes locked with a woman who appeared to be glaring at him. Was that his sister? He’d mentioned his plan to wow Steph at Garner’s, but he never imagined Christina would take the hour-plus train ride out from Brooklyn to see it. He tried to jump back in with the lyrics. Something was off. The song blared on. He bounced up and down a few times, stuttering over the words. The clapping trailed off.
He grabbed the ukulele. Mad strumming! Finally he recognized the chorus again. I'm cooking now!
Run and slide on his knees! The other way! Would this song never end? Sweat ran down his face. He wasn't sure if Steph was getting his message.
Jump up and down. He returned to the mike. “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Dave gave it his all.
The mike screeched, and he pulled it off the stand, leaving the ukulele behind as he recognized the last notes. Big finish. Run and slide on his knees right to Steph's feet. “I believe in us,” he told her in a husky voice.
A few people clapped. “Thank you,” he said in the mike.
Steph grabbed his arm and stared. “Did you get a tattoo?”
The mike picked up her voice, and it rang out through the restaurant. A few people giggled. He shut off the mike. His ears burned as he glanced down at the heart now emblazoned on his bicep. It was a dumb idea. He could never pull off a badass tattoo.
“One of my students does fake tattoos,” he admitted. “It was supposed to be symbolic. I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve like Shrek does for Fiona.”
At Steph's horrified expression, he added, “Except you're more like the princess version of Fiona than the ogre version.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. He wasn’t sure if she thought he was crazy or if she didn't believe his sincerity. He reached for another way to convince her of his intentions. “Steph, together we could be a prime number, indivisible except only by ourselves, though I don't think that would happen. I think we have a future—”