Chapter 11

“THE PARTY DON”T start til I walk in…”

The whole bar joined in on the chorus Abby was belting out on the karaoke stage. The group was crowded into a private room somehow big enough for thirty people and a bar in the middle of Philly. Hailey sat at a hi-top table with Gage, singing along with the rest of the bar while eating a plate of sushi and nursing a Dirty Shirley.

She turned to Gage, who was already three beers deep with a judgmental look on his face. “You having fun?”

He shifted in his seat to face her before changing his resting dick face to a grin. “Sure, babe. Just preparing for my turn on the stage. Prepare to get your panties wet.”

“Wow, that’s … quite the promise. What song did you pick?” Hailey used to enjoy Gage’s crude humor, but now it was starting to grate on her. Maybe because their sex life wasn’t doing much for her anymore. But, at least he seemed to be enjoying it.

“It’s a surprise, but it will be hella sexy so you better watch out.” Gage winked at her and she smiled back at him, trying to push away the impending sense of doom.

“Consider myself warned. The first song I chose is a banger so you should get your dancing feet ready,” Hailey said with a wide smile. She was excited for her pick because it would be so much fun to perform it. It wouldn’t be sexy, but the birthday girl would get a kick out of it, and that’s what was important.

Abby finished her Ke$ha number and everyone gave her a raucous applause. She gave a bow before heading off the stage and Avery took her place. He gave a sweep of the bar until his eyes landed on Hailey and Gage. He gave her a mischievous grin like he had something up his sleeve.

When the opening guitar notes of Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” blasted out of the speakers, Hailey started cracking up. Avery started singing along and Hailey flashed back to their high school talent show and Avery completely owning the stage. Now, he was just missing his wolf costume, but the grin on his face could only be described as wolfish.

“What a lame song choice. This was the best he could do?” Gage sneered as he watched Avery tear up the stage. Hailey refused to acknowledge her pulse speeding up.

“It’s a classic! We’ll just see how much better your choice is,” Hailey managed to say before turning her attention to the last rainbow roll on her plate. She wasn’t interested in whatever look Gage was giving her at the moment and she gave herself a little mental pat on the back for ignoring his jealousy.

Avery continued to rock the stage like he owned it and Hailey sang along with him. She went to take a sip of her drink before she realized it was empty.

She pointed at Gage’s almost-empty beer bottle. “Want another? I’ll grab us refills from the bar.”

“Yeah, thanks. Need it to get through the rest of this night.”

He really was miserable. Gage was the kind of guy that never really made an effort with Hailey’s friends and would hardly ever come out with them. In the past, she would be so excited that he’d finally be out with her and her friends, but now it just felt like he was in the way. If it looked like a red flag, and talked like a red flag…

Hailey ignored his comment and walked up to the bar as Avery was finishing up his song. She cheered loudly for him along with the rest of their friends and he made his way over to where she was now standing at the bar. He took a quick glance toward Gage before closing the distance between them, reaching Hailey’s outstretched hand for a high-five.

“I can’t believe you brought back that performance! It was awesome as ever. I kind of miss the dog costume though. You really got robbed at that talent show.”

Avery’s cheeks turned pink before he sidled up next to Hailey, waiting for the bartender to make her way to both of them.

“Since you were so scarred by it I thought I’d help you face your fears. Anything else I can do to help you through this trying time?” Hailey cracked up at Avery’s silliness and tried not to think about how he remembered their conversation from at least a week ago. He should teach other men classes on listening skills.

“I think this liquid courage will help, once the bartender notices us, that is.”

“I don’t mind waiting when the company is good,” he said as he turned to her with a smirk.

“Aww you flatter me! You’re just sucking up so I vote for you at the end of the night,” Hailey said before sticking out her tongue at Avery.

Abby was incredibly intense about karaoke and was giving out prizes at the end of the night for everyone’s favorite performances. It was her birthday, but she liked to make sure everyone was into the activity and having a blast. It’s why Hailey and her got along so well; they were both always worried about making sure everyone else was having a good time. The only difference was their reasons why.

Abby had anxiety and drove herself nuts over other people’s wellbeing, kind of like how Hailey’s depression made her feel like she had to make sure everyone around her was happy. Oof, no wonder they were always tired.

“Is it working?” Avery chuckled.

“Only time will tell, my friend,” Hailey said as she noticed Avery tense for a moment. It was gone just as quickly as she heard a song she hadn’t heard in forever take over the speakers.

“Oh, God, who the heck is doing this song?” She turned to the stage and paled when she saw Gage holding the microphone and staring at her from the stage.

“This one’s for Hailey, to celebrate her favorite position,” he said into the mic before jumping into the Bloodhound Gang’s “Bad Touch.”

“Fuck me,” Hailey said while gaping at the stage.

“Jesus Christ,” Avery added under his breath while running a hand through his hair.

Hailey could feel her face getting redder and in a bit of a panic shouted, “That’s not my favorite!” but it was too late. Nobody but Avery could hear her over the song blasting throughout the room that suddenly felt like it was getting smaller.

As Gage reached the chorus, he pointed at Hailey while singing, “You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.” She turned back to the bar and muttered under her breath so only Avery could hear, “Okay, where’s that liquor we were waiting on?”

Luckily, the bartender chose that time to reach her and Avery and they each put in their drink orders.

When the bartender handed Hailey her and Gage’s drinks, her hands shook before she grabbed them.

Avery nudged her arm with his elbow. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, great. I love it when everyone in a room simultaneously pictures my sex life. It’s great, wish it happened more often,” she deadpanned despite feeling flustered.

“I know you hate it. You’ve always been private about that, despite all your dirty jokes. It’s like you hide behind them to protect yourself, to keep your private life private, which makes sense. I totally respect it. If it makes you feel any better, no one in this room takes anything Gage says at face value. We’re all on Team Hailey Bills.”

“Well, thanks. It’s just nobody’s business. And I hate that Gage thinks I’d respond positively to that. It’s like he doesn’t know me at all. Fuck, he doesn’t even notice that I don’t enjoy that position with him. Or hardly any of them anymore. Sorry, that was too much information.”

Avery let out a deep breath next to Hailey. “You can always share anything with me, Hailey. I’d never share it with anyone else.”

“Thanks.” She offered him a small smile. “I’d never share you with anyone else either.”

Avery turned to her with his eyebrows raised, “Oh yeah? Want me all to yourself?” He was beaming now.

“Oh my God, I meant share your private life with anyone—oh, shut up!” Hailey swatted at Avery’s shoulder and they both started laughing.

Gage finished his song and made his way off the stage toward the two of them.

Hailey held up Gage’s beer for him and he ignored it for a moment, his hands going around her right to her ass before pressing a hard kiss to her mouth. She yelped as she was caught off guard and focused on not spilling his beer over herself.

When he pulled away, he had a big smile on his face, “So, what did you think? Your panties wet for me now, babe?”

Avery started coughing next to them and Hailey didn’t dare look in his direction, instead focusing on the mortification she was feeling.

“Oh look at that, it’s my turn to sing!” Hailey rushed over to the stage and grabbed the microphone from the stand. Peering over at where she left Gage and Avery standing together, she saw Gage turn and say something to Avery, but Avery’s attention stayed on Hailey.

Okay, time to focus.

“Happy birthday, Abby! This one’s for you!”

Once the music started, everyone in the room started laughing, except Gage of course. If he was expecting something sexy, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

Hailey wasn’t much of a showman, but she channeled every musical she’d ever seen to bring the house down before trying to answer the existential question: “What Does the Fox Say?”

She strutted the stage, gesturing toward people in the crowd and acting like her life depended on this performance. When she got to the chorus, everyone belted “What the fox say?” with her before she jumped into the lines of gibberish that guessed at a fox’s noise.

Hailey kept stealing peeks at Avery and Gage and was surprised to see they were still chatting. Avery had a warm smile on his face while Gage’s was forced. What the hell could they be talking about? After Gage’s performance, it couldn’t be anything good.

Trying to ignore that, she finished her song to cheers and shouts. Mission accomplished.

Instead of heading back to the men currently taking up too much real estate in her head, she made a beeline for Abby and wrapped her in a hug.

“Happy birthday!” she shouted as she squeezed Abby tightly and tried to find a bit of comfort in the hug before having to face Gage again.

“Hailey, that performance was epic! I would pay to see that in concert!” Abby stepped back from the hug but kept her hands on Hailey’s shoulders.

“Ha! No, that was just for you, Abby. Are you enjoying your birthday?”

“Of course, I am! You’re here! You always make everything more fun!

Hailey melted inside at Abby’s words. She felt like it was her purpose in life to make others feel good, even if she couldn’t do it for herself. Now, if she could only have that same amount of fun and enjoyment with her boyfriend. Perhaps it was a lost cause after all.