And Then There Was Us (And The There Was 2)

We both had baggage, and she had responsibilities, priorities, so starting anything romantic probably wasn’t even on her radar.

She’s the only thing on my radar.

And wanting her wasn’t just about sex—that was up there, though… really fucking high up there. I also wanted to be her companion. I wanted to be her partner. I wanted to be her equal.

I want to be her forever.

I pushed away from the sink and stripped off my clothes, turned on the shower, and kept that shit ice-cold. I wanted to jerk one off, to ease the pressure in my cock and balls, but that almost seemed… wrong.

So here I was, letting the water slap at my body like little cold daggers, the temperature doing nothing to ease my arousal, and thinking about how I’d already fallen for Korrie.

I’ve already fallen in love with her, and now I have to make her mine.

7

Korrie

One week later

After another week working at Lyrics, I’d gone from part-time to damn near working every night. And that was perfect for me, exactly what I wanted and needed.

With asking Bishop for a couple more shifts, Pyper and Regan needing me to cover a few of their nights in the next few weeks, and the incredible tips I made, things were looking up where finances were concerned. I’d have a little bit saved for my father’s meds, and as long as my hours kept up like this and my tips were this steady, I was even looking into possibly hiring someone to be with him a night or two during the week while I worked so he wasn’t alone.

I closed out the last customer, and Regan led them out—all the while the trio singing slurred versions of ’80s hits—before she locked up. I sat at the bar and started going through my paperwork while Regan and Pyper cleaned up their areas. There was light jazz playing overhead, and I let a smile filter across my face as I remembered the singer who’d come in tonight.

I learned that Adele had known Bishop for a while and performed at Lyrics many times. She’d been here with Oliver, who was either her boyfriend or husband, and I only knew that because the man couldn’t take his eyes off her—or his hands, for that matter.

I started going over receipts, making sure everything added up, not realizing I was humming a song Adele had sung before closing until I felt gazes on me and heard myself.

I lifted my head and noticed that everyone was staring at me. Pyper, Regan, and Bishop all had their eyes locked right on mine. Pyper had a stunned expression on her face, Regan wore a wholly satisfied smile, and Bishop’s expression… I couldn’t quite gauge.

This heat surrounded me all of a sudden, wondering how loud I’d actually been humming, or maybe I hadn’t been humming at all? Maybe I’d been full-out singing and hadn’t even realized.

Oh God.

It’s not like it didn’t happen on occasion when I was focused on something. My father always called me out on singing out loud without knowing it in the most loving way, telling me to continue because it was the nicest background noise he’d ever heard. But singing in front of my dad was one thing. Doing it in front of my coworkers and boss… a whole other ballpark.

“Sorry,” I muttered and turned away quickly, letting the heavy curtain of my curls obscure part of my face.

“Bishop,” Pyper interjected. “You need to let Korrie sing at the club some nights.”

“Yeah,” Regan was the one to say now. “Her voice is just as good as Adele’s. She has that sultry note, a husky tone. Korrie would be perfect for the club.”

I looked up then, feeling my eyes widen that my voice had been compared to Adele’s. She sang so beautifully, had real soul in the way she weaved words together. It was as if she felt every single word.

I started shaking my head. “N-no. I was just humming along.”

Regan started to chuckle. “You weren’t just humming, Korrie. You were all-out singing, and it was incredible.”

I felt my pulse jackknife in my chest. Bishop still had yet to say anything, but I felt his stare on me.

“Okay, well enough with putting Korrie on the spot. I’m going to head out before the temperature drops even more.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Regan murmured as she started shoving old receipts into a folder. “They said it’s gonna be even colder tonight. I can’t wait until this cold front passes and spring can push its way through.”

A few minutes passed, and the two women said their goodbyes to Bishop and me before heading off to the back room to grab their stuff. I heard their voices trail off before silencing as they left out the rear door.

Then it was just Bishop and me, and I looked up at him, seeing his focus still on me.