“He told you to meet him here? Why didn’t he pick you up?” She arched her brows in disapproval, and looked at her watch. “He’s late.”

My tongue had slipped and I said too much. I didn’t mean to make Liam look bad. “It’s a long drive and he’s bringing his friends,” I explained, trying to make it seem like it was no big deal.

“We’re sitting on the other side if you want to come join us later. I was passing by to use the restroom and saw you sitting here.”

“Thanks, I’m sure he’ll be here any minute. When he does, I’ll make sure to introduce you to him.”

“You better,” Lexy smiled and left.

Ten more minutes passed as I stared at my watch. Singers entertained me on the stage. They were calming me down from the anger that was building up toward Liam for being so freakin’ late.

How brave that girl was, to sing up there in front of all these strangers. I guess she felt confident since her friend sang with her. Watching them only brought sadness to my heart. My dad and I used to sing together all the time and every time those memories came crashing through, it pained me deeply. I tried to push them away and forget.

Hearing lots of laughter and being curious, I had to peek. Leaning my back against the wall, hoping not to be noticed, I saw Elijah and his friends surrounded by the group of girls that walked in earlier.

“Come on, Elijah. Sing for us. I’ll do anything you ask.” Heather’s tone was flirty and her hand glided on Elijah’s biceps, then over his dragon tattoo.

I could see Lexy rolling her eyes. She was sitting in between Seth and Dean. When Heather’s hand slithered lower on his chest, I had seen enough. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Sure, Elijah was good-looking, but he was not the type of guy I would go out with or would even be attracted to. Knowing I should go back just in case Liam was here, I was about to turn when I flushed with heat big time, hearing Seth call my name.

“Alex, I didn’t know you were coming.”

Having no choice, I strode to their table. “Hi,” I waved. Without thought, my eyes went straight to Elijah. He didn’t even acknowledge me. I thought I saw his lips curl a little, but that was it. Maybe he was annoyed to see his roommate here. Maybe that was the reason I hadn’t seen him as often lately. I could understand. He was used to having a place all to himself, and now he had to see me almost every day. Maybe I needed to find another place, preferably with a girl roommate this time.

“Actually, I’m waiting for Liam. He’ll be here soon,” I said quickly before one of them gave me an invitation to stay.

“You’re Alex, Elijah’s roommate and Liam is your boyfriend,” Heather announced, looking way too happy that I had one.

“He’s really not my boyfriend.” I wanted to stress that to burst her wicked bubble.

“Oh,” she replied, looking slightly baffled.

Not wanting to talk to her any longer, I shifted my attention to Lexy. She rolled her eyes again from Heather’s remark, and then looked at her watch, but she didn’t say a word. I knew why. Liam was almost an hour late.

“Well,” I said, trying to give her a smile, but it wouldn’t come. I was not good at faking it. “I should get going. Liam should be here any minute.”

“Cool,” Seth nodded. “Bring him over.”

I shifted my eyes when I saw Elijah sit up straight. He seemed tense.

“He’s coming with his friends so…anyway…I better go. Bye.” With the last word, I speedily got out of there.

Elijah

Seeing Alex after so many days made my heart thump faster. Not liking the feeling she caused every time I saw her, I tried to ignore her by staying away from our place. The other guys around me sure didn’t have that problem. I cringed seeing them undressing her with their eyes.

I couldn’t blame them though. She wore a tight short sundress that flared out to show her sexy legs. It clung around her br**sts, showing a little bit of cle**age, which the guys were salivating over. And how could anyone resist her sweet voice and the beautiful smile that could make a guy do just about anything for her?

If she asked for a glass of water, the guys would have jumped over the table and each other just to be the first one to hand it to her. She had no idea the effect she had; that was the cutest thing. Trying to stay away wasn’t working. Maybe I needed to get used to her. At that moment, I decided to try a different approach. Perhaps I needed to be around her more to get used to her presence.

Heather seemed jealous of Alex and she should be. If Heather were more like Alex, she and I could be a possibility. Who knew?

I don’t know what got into me. I hadn’t planned to sing, but I wanted to impress Alex, especially since the guy she was seeing was going to be here.

I don’t know why everyone kept saying her boyfriend. There is a big distinction between seeing someone and being a couple. Seeing someone meant that she was open. Not that I was going to ask her out. She was off limits. It was one of the reasons why nobody dared to make a move on her.

Knowing Alex would hear me sing, I nudged Heather to scoot over so I could get out of the booth.

“Woohoo, Elijah is going to sing,” the girls shouted, clapping.

I turned around and gave them a wink, and then a round of whistling resonated through the room. Our group was loud. Everyone in the restaurant could hear us. At this point, I didn’t care. I just wanted Alex to hear me.

I picked up the mic and cleared my throat after punching in the numbers for my song choice. I had the perfect song in mind, Mr. Big, “To Be With You.” When the melody started, my friends were screaming. I didn’t know why, but my heart pounded so fast against my chest. I was nervous. Hell, I was never nervous. Alex made me nervous. Then I got cocky. It was a way to help me calm my nerves. “Here’s to all the ladies in the house,” I said into the mic. More screams exploded again.