It was Sunday evening, already past six in the evening when Ethan Grey was fully dressed for his second date with Scarlett. This time around, it was he who anticipated what she had underneath her sleeves. She had not yet disclosed the venue for the date, not until an hour to the stated time, when she finally texted him the location.
He was dressed in a black straight-leg pants, with a white textured knit sweater and a taupe button up overshirt with large front pockets, all paired with sparkling white sneakers.
Once he was fully dressed, he set out for the restaurant. At first, he quitched at the venue she chose. He had never heard of the place, just as she had not heard of Délices de la Table from the first date. Still, he proceeded.
Soon enough, he arrived at the restaurant. From across the street, he sighted her. She was dressed in a stylish, matching beige knit set that included a form fitting, strapless midi dress and a long, chunky cable-knit cardigan. She paired the dress with high heeled beige boots which reached just below her knees.
Soon, her rattling eyes fell on him from where she stood. Her straightened face brightened up immediately at the sight of him. She jumped and waved excitedly at him, gesturing for him to come over.
He waved at her too, but with a calm demeanor. He watched her excitingly jumping, and he giggled softly. He stood back with a deep exhale. She was breathtaking even from a distance. He looked across the road before he crossed over to where she was standing.
"Hi," he greeted.
"Hi," she replied, "You're a bit late," she chuckled.
"I'm sorry. I just... haven't heard of this place," Ethan responded as he glanced around.
He couldn't help but notice how busy the street was— how people moved with so much haste along the pedestrian walkway as though they each chased after something. The loud horns from the cars that drove past them, or the heavily blasted music that emerged from the closed doors of the restaurant they stood in front of— he had never found himself in such a setting as that moment.
Before he could utter a word, Scarlett grabbed him by the hand.
"Come on. The show's about to start," Scarlett said.
His eyebrows twitched. Just before he could process her words, she pulled him behind her, pushing through the doors where they both stepped into the room.
As he stepped into the room, he reached for his ears by default with a squeezed face, blocking them away from the whirring sound made from the microphones. The sound faded off, and Scarlett took him to the table where she had reserved for both of them.
The room was buzzing with indistinct low chatters, and soft clinks of glasses. A small stage was set up near the front, with a microphone, a monitor, and a tall stool. A few people glanced at the stage, with their eyes beaming with curiosity— and most of them, anxiety.
"Karaoke?" Ethan whispered with arched eyebrows. He could tell from the machine that hummed in standby mode, the remote resting on the tall stool, and the sudden quiet that enveloped the room.
"Where did you even find this place?" He looked at Scarlett by the side as he asked.
The other was more than excited. It was evident in the beaming smile seated on her face, and her slight hyperactive movement on the chair that showed her enthusiasm for the start of the session.
"It's highly rated on the Internet," she turned to him and responded. Her smile vanished for a second as she answered, and then returned as she looked towards the stage.
"Check, check... Okay, we're live," the host fiddled with the microphone.
"Alright, party people! Karaoke starts in two minutes. Who's brave enough to go first?" The host spoke, his voice reverberating in the room.
"Only if there's Beyoncé," a random man from the crowd joked loudly.
The entire room burst into a belly round of laughter. Without hesitation, the man stood from his chair and walked towards the machine, grabbing the microphone from the stool.
He was tall, slender, with white skin and short hair which he tied into a man bun, going through his phone as he searched for a song. In less than a minute, the prelude of Beyonce's "All night" was played from the machine.
"Ughh.... Wrong choice," Ethan groaned in a very low tone as soon as he recognized the tune of the song. He gulped down his drink from his bottle as he listened to the man sing.
"Sweet love... All night longggggg..." The man sang with an airy tone.
Ethan listened with squinted eyes, and a squeezed face. He was constantly twirling on the chair, as though he felt a pain in his stomach which only he could define.
"What's wrong?" Scarlett noticed.
"This song is hurting my ears," Ethan replied.
His rhythm was off, constantly drifting off pitch with flat notes at regular intervals, in comparison to the head and chest voice mix used by the original singer. Ethan Grey was exhausted from listening, inwardly pleading for an end to the song.
"You think you can do better than him?" Scarlett asked.
He froze on the chair for a second. The words resounded in his ears as he turned slowly but dramatically towards her.
"I don't think. I know I can," he answered with sass in his tone.
As he dropped the words, the man with the microphone ended his session. Ethan's struggles were over— he embraced his relief.
Both Ethan and Scarlett looked towards the stage. They both had the same thoughts in mind. And even without uttering another word, Ethan sprang from his chair, and walked towards the stage.
After searching through his phone for a minute, the prelude of Adele's "Rolling in the deep" began playing from the machine. He started off the song at the exact timing and key, with an energetic baritone voice that caused the rest of the room to gaw in shock— Scarlett included.
His runs were clean, and his tempo was perfect. Soon, there were sounds of rhythmic clapping that resonated with the song.
"We could've had it all.... Rolling in the deep...." The crowd joined in the chorus, with almost a great percentage of them already on their feet, and their hands thrown in the air.
In a few minutes, Ethan ended the song with a sustained note which he blended softly with a vocal run. Immediately, the crowd cheered for him, clapping and shouting.
"Thank you," Ethan said with the microphone as he took a bow. His gesture was mostly targeted at Scarlett, the woman who had dared him to sing. He dropped the microphone, and headed back to his seat.
"I didn't know you could sing so well," Scarlett said with a smile. Her lips were curved downwards, struggling to feel impressed. But her words and her burning cheeks gave her out.
"Well, there are a lot of things you didn't know about me," he shrugged his shoulder as he answered, giggling with her as they both sat down. A lady this time had walked up to the karaoke machine. She was hoping to do just what he had done, or even better, and Ethan was expectant.