Patrick wandered toward the stage, shuffling into place next to some head-bopping observers. A group of tipsy twenty-somethings giggled at a table nearby, and Patrick looked nervously at them before directing his attention back to the stage. Sasha strutted toward that side of the stage, finishing the line with a wink and a shimmy.

Damn, this girl’s good. He stood, transfixed, for a few more measures.

Suddenly, he realized how stupid he felt. What the hell. Patrick wasn’t one to get goofy over girls, even ones with ridiculously amazing voices. Honestly, he was starting to feel like an obsessed teenager. Patrick adjusted his hat, shaking his head. He turned back to the bar, only to feel a finger poking at the small of his back and two large hands resting on his shoulders. He struggled to face his assailants, shrugging his shoulders repeatedly.

“Stop it, Travis, fuck,” he said, wrenching free from the bear grip.

Travis lifted his hands and his eyebrows, an innocent look on his face. Jon giggled as he continued to poke Patrick in various places. When Patrick turned to glare at him, Jon just grinned wider.

Patrick sighed. “What, fuckers?”

“Dude,” Travis said. “Come on.” He sidled up to Patrick, leaning down to whisper in his ear. “She’s damn hot.”

Jon touched Patrick’s shoulder. “That’s not even the point, man,” he said. “How often do you get the chance to meet a girl like that?” He gave Patrick a dorky thumbs-up and gestured toward the stage.

“Jon.” Patrick looked him straight in the face. “I feel like one of those teenage girls who try to jump the barrier. Get it?”

Travis shuddered.

Jon crinkled his nose. “Patrick. Gross. Just be a man and ask her if she wants to have a drink, yeah? Stay cool, be you.”

When did Jon Walker become a motivational speaker? Patrick looked at him suspiciously through his glasses, finally rolling his eyes and shrugging before settling into the nearest vacant chair.

While they had been talking, Sasha had finished the song, surrendering the microphone to an overweight forty-something woman who was warbling her way through a Johnny Cash song. Patrick scanned the room, looking for Sasha. When he spotted her near the bar, he took a breath of resolve.

Travis slammed a shot of something, Patrick hadn’t been keeping track, and clapped him on the shoulder. Jon grinned, saying,”good luck” as Patrick walked away.

He came up behind her as she was ordering a rum and Coke. “Let me get that for you,” he said, smiling.

Damn. That was so original and completely not sleazy.

She turned to him, brown hair settling in waves behind her. She raised an eyebrow and gave him a slight smile. “Okay,” she said, appraising the short, behatted man who stood before her. “But then I get to pay for your drink.”

“Done.” Patrick grinned at her.