“Of course I do. If I’m staying away from boys then you’re singing karaoke,” she said, almost yelling to be heard over the loud music.
When Jess asked Billy the bellboy where we should go if we wanted to really do Bourbon Street for our first night, he suggested the Cat’s Meow. As soon as Jess found out it was a karaoke bar she ran over to sign us up. I hadn’t actually expected us to stay long enough to get to our turn, and I was starting to regret cutting myself off from the alcohol. Singing karaoke sober sounded horrendous.
“I need a drink.”
She laughed. “It’s usually me who says that.”
We were halfway to the bar when I heard our names called. I froze. It looked like I was singing sober.
This time it was Jess’s turn to tug me along.
The first bars of Girls Just Want to Have Fun started right as we reached the stage. Jess began to belt it out, and reluctantly I joined in. I reassured myself that everyone in the bar was intoxicated, and I didn’t know any of them. By the second verse I started getting into it. There are plenty of things I’m good at but singing isn’t one of them. I knew the screaming and catcalls that filled the bar had nothing to do with our voices, but I decided to go with it. Running a hand through my hair, I moved my hips to the music and went all out. It actually felt pretty good once I forgot about the audience and just let go.
Met with applause, we made exaggerated curtseys before stepping down as the music faded out. Any adrenaline I felt during the song quickly disappeared.
“AHH! I love New Orleans!” Jess screamed as we headed away from the stage.
I smiled to myself, not willing to admit out loud that I kind of enjoyed it too.
“You look like you could use this.” I was startled by a seductively smooth voice, as I felt something cold pushed into my palm.
I glanced up. Intense gray-blue eyes stared back at me, as I recognized the guy from the hotel. Surprised to see him again, I merely nodded before bringing the shot to my lips.
“What was that?” I spat out while the liquor continued to burn my throat.
“A jaeger shot.” He laughed lightly. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah. I can’t believe I did that.” I peered over my shoulder at the stage where another group was starting their rendition of Time of my Life.
“It really wasn’t so bad. It was more entertaining than if Cyndi Lauper performed it herself.” Raking his eyes from my toes back up to my face, he spent an annoying amount of time studying my legs. Long legs were nice, but not when they attracted the wrong type of attention. Normally I would call a guy on mentally undressing me, but I was too busy taking my own inventory. Finished, I glanced around for Jess but couldn’t see her in the crowd.
“So, thanks for the shot, but I need to find my friend.”
“Hey, you can’t run off on me again.” He didn’t say it like a question, more like a demand and it annoyed me. “Besides, your friend appears to be unavailable.”
I followed his gaze and noticed Jess flirting with Dave again. “Run off on you again? That implies we have run into each other before.” I tried for coy; I wasn’t going to let this guy unnerve me. Sure, he had the most amazing set of eyes I had ever seen, but I wasn’t interested.
“I saw you at the Crescent City Hotel this afternoon, but you took off before I could say hello.” He leaned in closer to me, trying to be heard over the loud music.
“Oh, I didn’t notice you.”
He smiled, ignoring my comment. “You here for vacation?”
“I’m here for work actually, at the hotel.”
“Are you around for the whole summer then?”
I allowed myself to really look at him. My earlier estimate of his height was dead on; he was much taller than my 5 feet 9 inches.
I finally answered. “Yeah, I’m here until I start school in the fall.”
“All right, so where are you going to school?”
“Princeton.” I braced myself for his response.
“Nice,” he said in a way that suggested he wasn’t impressed.
“You in school?”
“Yeah, I’m going to be a senior at Tulane.”
“Oh, so you live here?”
“Born and raised,” he said proudly.
“I didn’t think locals hung out at places like this.”
“We don’t usually, but they’re great spots to meet girls from out of town.”
I shook my head. “Ah, so you’re one of them.”
“One of who?”
“The type to prey on innocent tourists.”
“Innocent tourists? You make me sound like the big bad wolf.”
“And you’re not?” I questioned.
“Only if you’re Red Riding Hood,” he said flirtatiously.
“Wow, that’s original.” I caught myself staring at his eyes again and decided it was time to end the conversation. “Well, nice talking to you.”
“Hey, I didn’t even get your name yet.”
“Allie.”
“Is that short for Allison?”
“Yes, but no one calls me Allison.” I cursed myself. Why couldn’t I just walk away from this guy? I briefly regretted my decision to swear off men because if I hadn’t this one would be exactly my type: tall, strong, and confident. He was exactly the kind to avoid.
“I’m Levi,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Is that short for something?”
I accepted his handshake and he held it a moment longer than necessary. “Leviathan. But you can call me whatever you like,” he said suggestively.
“Well, nice to meet you.” I started to walk away and ran right into Jess.
“Wow, it’s hotel bar guy,” she said way too loudly. She was evidently drunker than I realized.
“So you did notice me,” Levi said almost in a whisper, so close to my ear that I could feel his breath on my neck. I said nothing, not willing to give his ego anymore ammo. I couldn’t help but notice how good he smelled, but not like cologne, it was probably his aftershave.
“So, does that mean you changed your mind?” Jess leaned into me drunkenly.
“Changed her mind? About what?” Levi asked looking at me questioningly. I silently prayed that for the first time ever Jess could keep her mouth shut.
“Allie’s sworn off men, or so she claims,” Jess said, taking a long drink from a beer.
“Is that so?” Levi asked with a glimmer of humor in his eyes.