Isabel lost count of the number of beers she drank, and by the time Crowley was being pulled off the stage by management, vowing he was only taking a break, she was feeling no pain.
“Can you believe that guy graduated? He’s such a moron,” Owen commented.
“I can’t believe all of us have graduated,” Damon said.
A small voice in Isabel’s head whispered something to her beer-soaked brain. She had graduated.
Graduated. There was so much meaning in that single word. For the last four years, she had kept her vow to her mother. No singing. No music. The promise had been fulfilled, and now she was free of the obligation. Had she done the right thing? Isabel didn’t know if she should be happy or sad.
She glanced at the smiling faces that surrounded her and decided to focus on the happy. She would deal with any sad thoughts another time. Tonight was a night to celebrate with her friends.
After several more people tried to win over the crowd, Lexi announced she was going to take a turn onstage. She slaughtered an old Taylor Swift song. Then Owen and the others started nagging Isabel to give it a try.
“All of us have humiliated ourselves on that stage, and this is our last night together,” Owen reminded.
“You should give it a go,” Damon insisted.
They waited for her to decline, just as she had every other time any of them had asked.
Isabel set her beer on the table. “Okay. I’ll take a turn.”
All of them looked stunned for a brief second. Then they laughed. They obviously didn’t believe her until she stood up, swayed a bit, got her balance, and headed to the stage.
“You’re bluffing,” Lexi shouted as Isabel zigzagged her way around the crowd.
She put her hand on the wall to steady herself as she climbed the four steps to the stage. Her heart was pounding, and she wasn’t at all sure she was going to have the courage to perform. Finally, reaching the center of the stage, she turned to the three musicians and asked to borrow a guitar, telling them she would like to sing a song she’d written. The guitar player handed his to her. After she’d played several chords, the Trio picked up the melody.
“We’ve got this,” they assured her. “You sing. We’ll catch up.”
Nodding, she handed the guitar back. Then she walked to the microphone, waited while the drummer adjusted it for her height, took a deep breath, wiped her hands down the sides of her dress, and began to sing. Her voice was soft and low. Few people could hear her due to the noisy crowd packed into the room, but that didn’t matter. She wanted to sing. She closed her eyes and let the music that had been inside her for the last four years soar. She sang one of her favorites, a bluesy tune with a sensual beat. It wasn’t a quiet love song couples could slow-dance to, but a powerful lusty song that made you want to move. With each chord her voice became stronger and more seductive. At the end of the second chorus she noticed the crowd was getting quiet. She opened her eyes. Most had stopped their chatter and were staring up at her. They looked spellbound. Some were beginning to sway to the music. By the time the song ended, a hush had fallen on the whole crowd, and all eyes were on her.
For Isabel the silence seemed to last a full minute, and then the crowd suddenly erupted into cheers.
The sound was deafening. Bewildered and feeling a bit dizzy, she couldn’t understand what was happening. She turned to the Trio and didn’t know what to think, for all three were standing and clapping and cheering. Her head spinning now, she slowly walked down to the dance floor, where the crowd swamped her, tugging and pulling to get her attention.
Damon met her in the middle of the dance floor and got her back to their friends by arm-blocking the way. By the time she scooted into the booth, her adrenaline was fading, her hands were shaking, and she was feeling limp.
Everyone seemed to be gawking at her as though she’d just grown another couple of heads.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter?” Owen asked with a good bit of incredulity. “Are you kidding? Did you know you could sing?”
“Of course she knew,” Lexi argued. “How could she not know?”
“Isabel, you brought the house down,” JoAnn said as though she were announcing the most astonishing news.
Isabel shook her head, but that only made the dizziness come back. Everything was being obscured by the fog that enveloped her. She remembered the crowd screaming but believed her friends were exaggerating.
Damon seemed the most thunderstruck of all of them. He was frowning at her like someone who had never seen her before and couldn’t quite decide who or what she was.