Jai kept his mouth padlocked shut, I attempted at prying information from him but with no success. Dinner-lunch was nice and casual, the lights still dancing above our heads like fireflies. But soon it was over and Jai was leading me to the car again. This time I wound the window down so the air would kiss my skin and send shivers down my back. We held hands as he drove us further out of town.
'I thought we could do something awesome for tonight.'
I smiled wth no answer, but he looked perfectly content with the lack of response. The trip took two long hours, though at the same time it seemed to fly by. We passed three towns and my eyes were sliding shut every few seconds.
'Wake up,' a voice whispered tentatively, followed by a hard jab in the side.
I groaned and turned in my seat, but the handbrake jabbed my side and reminded me of the situation. My lids peeled back slowly and I met Jais dancing eyes.
'We're here,' he sung.
A lazy smile grew on my face as his brightened further. I noticed a weight gone from my chest and realized he'd already moved the seatbelt. The breeze still brushed through the window as I stretched and yawned. Then I took in my surroundings. It looked like a small town hall except loud, pulsing music was flowing through the glass doors.
'Where are we?' I asked curiously.
He shushed me with an amused expression and closed his car door to meet me at mine. He took my hand and led me up the hall steps and through the doors. Two bored looking women were staring through a red curtain exchanging sarcastic looks. Jai approached them with me tailing behind.
'Just us two thanks,' he told them firmly.
They shrugged, one held out their hand to accept his money while the other stamped our wrist with a dodgy smiley face.
'Enjoy your night.' the brunettes strained smile ruined the effect.
Behind the curtain was a stage with a gazillion seats before it, and nearly all the seats were full. A pale, blonde girl was tap dancing on the stage. I shot a weirded out look to Jai and he winked back.
'Cool, it's like a talent show, but what was the point of our outfits?'
Without a word he started leading me down between the aisles before veering left and going backstage. Just before we went behind the curtain I tugged on his hand. Jai glanced around to look at me.
'Are we allowed back here?' I stage whispered nervously.
I certainly didn't want to get caught for going somewhere we shouldn't. But Jai nodded and I hesitantly followed him.
'Cool,' I breathed.
Backstage was crazy! There was clowns and pole dancers as well as kids with tubas and ponies and it was just like being backstage to a circus. The pale girl had finished her act and was now pacing nervously in the corner. I tugged on Jais hand again.
'What are we doing here?'
A slightly unhinged, excited glint flickered in his eye and I found myself holding my breath for his next words. 'We're the final act.'
My breath wooshed out and my stomach plummeted out of my butt. 'What?'
Jai repeated himself and I smacked his arm harshly which made him whince.
'Come again?' I growled.
'That's what she said!' he joked immaturely.
'Please tell me you're kidding,' I cried out, gaining some of the fellow performers attention.
Jai grabbbed my hand and kissed it, calming me down slightly. But I wouldn't rule out punching him again. Speaking of punching, his usually straight nose never shaped properly again and was slightly bent. Even in my worst mood, I would see his nose and smile just because I was the one who did it. Wow, I was a bad girlfriend. His hands kept my fist coiled but unable to move, so I didn't bother struggling.
'What exactly are we doing?' I asked, somehow managing to keep my voice steady.
A huge grin lit up his tanned face and his green eyes shone freakishly in excitement. 'You're going to sing, and I'm going to play guitar.'
How did he know one of my biggest fears? My face flushed and my bearings were starting to wobble. A look of concern was on Jai's face and his gorilla hands rested on my shoulders. His mouth was forming words that looked similar to 'calm down', but around me was a strange buzzing noise that made it hard to hear. One of my knees buckled and my breathing was shallow.
'Calm down!' I could hear him again and his voice was panicked.
'I can't be in front of that many people,' I gasped breathlessly.
Jai smiled confidently, glad I was calming down. 'Yes you can. I know you can. Remember you should always face your fears. This is a big step you should take.'
I stepped out of his grip and shot my deadliest look to him. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under. Jai opened his mouth to say something but I turned away and walked straight out of the curtain. I wasn't surprised when his warm hand found mine halfway down the side aisle. Good thing everyone was focused on the current performers, because I was shaking from nerves. This day started fantastic, how did it turn so crumby? And what made him think I would enjoy something like this.
'You can do this,' he whispered, pulling me into a tight embrace.
The words weren't reassuring as I watched the current performer puke her brains out on stage. That'll be me if I'm up there.
'We could at least be dressed better,' I grumbled defeatedly.
Jai held me at arms length and looked hopefully in my eyes. 'Is that a yes?'
I studied him carefully and realized that he wasn't taking this thing seriously, so why should I? Maybe I could just turn a blind eye to the audience and focus on having fun with Jai. But singing was my weak point, I wasn't good at it.
I smiled a small smile. 'What song are we singing?'
His arms were around me again and he laughed into my ear. 'Thank you so much, I swear you'll have fun!'
I repeated the question a little more enthusiastically.
'Party In Your Bedroom by Cash Cash,' he informed me happily.
So that explained how we were dressed, quirky clothes for a quirky song. No one would take us seriously, so it wouldn't matter how foolish we sounded.
'What made you think of this?' I asked curiously, a heavy feeling in my chest.
He scratched the back of his neck and smiled nervously. 'Claire may have told me about the list.'
My jaw dropped and I made a mental memo to smack Claire when I saw her next. Last year I had started a list of things I wanted to do before I died. I know it's silly, but I've always had that feeling that I wouldn't grow old. Morbid, I know, but I couldn't help it. One of the things was performing on a stage in front of an audience. One part of me still wanted to hit Jai hard in the face, but another knew he meant well and just wanted to help me out.
'No point getting mad, she is helping me in a way,' I mumbled, holding Jais hand tightly.
Again he took me backstage and left me for a couple of seconds to hand the DJ guy the instrumental music for the song. That's when I realised Jai didn't even have a guitar. He was going to be playing air guitar. Thinking of how stupid he would look, I was aware he was doing it on purpose to draw attention away from me. We sat backstage, listening to the performances and laughing at a black guy telling black jokes. Some of the acts were good, while others made us wince and block our ears. I wondered what ours would be. An hour later and my leg was bouncing up and down and I had that annoying urge to pee.
'Our final performers aren't locals and will be singing as their act. The guitarist says, and I quote, "we just want to have some fun and rock the joint", put it together for Riley and Jai!'
A smatter of enthusiastic applause filtered through the curtain and Jai placed a hand on the small of my back and pushed me through. The stage lights blinded me, and it took some seconds for my eyes to adjust. By then, a microphone was thrusted in front of me and I gripped the stand to hide my shaking hands. Jai was sitting on a stool on the other side of the stage, arms limply at his side waiting for my cue. What was my cue? The audience was covered in shadow and I was instantly grateful that I couldn't see their watching eyes on me.
'Hello,' I said tentatively into the microphone.
An answering roar from the crowd made me jump and blush. You could tell they were pumped and expecting a crazy performance, I could tell by the way the ones closest to the stage commented on our clothes.
'Come on girly,' one impatient member yelled.
I cleared my throat and glanced at Jai, he nodded with a patient smile. Then made a circling motion with his finger. I knew that was the cue.
'Cause there's a party in your bedroom all night long,' I sang quietly into the microphone.
The crowd erupted though they hardly heard me and the backing beat started up. Jai picking notes on an imaginary guitar, occasionally switching to drums with a goofy smile. I focused on him while my nerves dimmed.
'There's a party in your bedroom all night long There's a party in your bedroom all night long Walking down the street Upstairs all alone
There's a lot of talk about you
'Cuz there's a party in your bedroom all night long
Pretty girl
It's a show
Let it go when you're alone
There's a lot of talk about you
'Cuz there's a party in your bedroom all night long
Pretty girl
It's a show
Let it go when you're alone
Lips sealed tight don't say goodnight
Keepin' hush hush on the scene
No one knows you
Such a mystery
Opposite of fun 'til you turn the power on
Then you come out turning up the heat
One click for a show
Your roof is on fire
You're losing control,'
The beat got bouncier and I jumped up and down, ignoring the loud clapping and cheering, looking at Jai while he made a fool of himself.
'There's a party in your bedroom all night long Dancing with your hands Upstairs all alone
There's a lot of talk about you
'Cuz there's a party in your bedroom all night long
Pretty girl
It's a show
Let it go when you're alone
Lips sealed tight don't say goodnight
Turning strangers into friends
Touch the keys, please
And unlock my heart
You're free to be a freak
Change your picture every week
Show the camera you're a super star
One click for a show
Your roof is on fire
You're losing control.
My lungs were burning and I hardly hit one of the notes, but my limbs felt alive and the noise in front of me spurred me on. Swinging my denim clad hips and fiddling with my gold chain, I danced and sang my heart out. I couldn't even remember being scared, all I could think of was the buzz this gave me.
'There's a party in your bedroom all night long There's a party in your bedroom all night long It's no debate There's a party in your bedroom all night long There's a party in your bedroom all night long
There's a lot of talk about you
'Cuz there's a party in your bedroom all night long
Pretty girl
It's a show
Let it go when you're alone
There's a lot of talk about you
'Cuz there's a party in your bedroom all night long
Pretty girl
It's a show
Let it go when you're alone
Lips sealed tight don't say goodnight
When I think of you
Can't stay on track
'Cuz I can't wait
Can't stay on track
Can't hide the fact
You're all I want
You're all I need
Let's get this party started
Kick it hard just you and me
There's a lot of talk about you
'Cuz there's a party in your bedroom all night long
Pretty girl
It's a show
Let it go when you're alone
There's a lot of talk about you
'Cuz there's a party in your bedroom all night long
Pretty girl
It's a show
Let it go when you're alone
Lips sealed tight don't say goodnight!
I wasn't disapointed when the song ended, because the buzz followed me off stage. I pounced on Jai and curled around him happily.
'Thank you so much, that was amazing.' I breathed in his manly sweat and realized half the stench was probably me.
I pushed the wet hair off my forehead and met Jai's twinkling eyes. 'I told you you could do it,' he said proudly.
So it had been worth it. A fantastic way to end the night, and I took back what I had said about this being the perfect night. I wanted to call it imperfectly perfect. My face pressed against his chest in a childish hug. I looked back up at him, remembering our height difference. I always remembered when we were that close and just looking at each other.
'Best date ever,' I teased with a laugh.
He nodded and sighed, circling his arms around my waist. 'We had a lovely, bogan dinner, a heated fight, made up and did something insane yet totally awesome. I'd say thats the equivilant to a perfect date and we have officially gone through everything a real relationship involves.' He laughed again.
I pulled back a smidge of the curtain and noticed the crowd leaving. We were one of the last performers to leave and I let him lead me through the talking crowd, occasionally getting a 'good job' or 'that was epic' thrown our way. Jai opened the car door politely and made to go around and open his, but I grabbed the hem of his shirt, suddenly tired from the short buzz. I hopped onto the car seat and waited for his attention to turn to me.
'Yeah?' he whispered, comming to stand between my legs, resting his hands on my knees.
I pressed the lightest kiss on his lips, enjoying how gentle and soft he felt. 'Thank you,' I said again.
Jai smiled and his face lit up again, but it was softer and more affectionate. He leant forward and pressed his forehead against mine.
'No problems.'
He brushed his nose aginst mine with a cheeky smile.
'Eskimo kiss,' he teased.
I take it back again, this is definitely a perfect day.