Just Say Yes by Elizabeth Hayley Page A

pick a bar where you can contract gonorrhea from the bowls of pretzels they put on the table?”
    Quinn dropped the pretzel she’d been holding before it had a chance to touch her lips. “Really, Laur? You had to go there?”
    Lauren shrugged. “The truth hurts.” She looked around until her eyes settled on two women at the end of the bar who looked like they hadn’t changed their hairstyles since 1985. One of them leaned in to give the wifebeater-clad gentleman beside her a drunken, wet kiss. “Perhaps the more pressing question is how did you even know this place was here?”
    â€œWell, since we’re speaking honestly, the
truth
is that Tim picked this place.” She didn’t want to know how he knew it existed, but she had some idea. And a cursory glance at Scott told her he was thinking the same thing. Years ago, Tim had probably been well acquainted with seedy establishments such as this. “My guess is that he wanted to make sure I didn’t run into any familiar faces. Not that it’ll make much of a difference. The idea of singing in front of strangers is equally terrifying.”
    â€œYou’ll be fine,” Lauren assured her. “These people don’t strike me as the judgmental type. If you want, I’ll sing with you.”
    Scott chuckled through his gulp of beer.
    Lauren shot Scott a challenging stare. “What? You don’t think I will?”
    â€œNever said that. I
know
you will. That’s why I laughed.”
    Lauren rolled her eyes and let out a huff of what Quinn immediately recognized as feigned annoyance. The playful banter was as much a part of Scott and Lauren’s relationship as the fantastic sex Lauren loved to brag about. “You’ll see how good we are. Come on, Quinn.”
    â€œUm . . . I don’t think it counts unless I sing on my own.” Though Quinn did think it was important that she get the full karaoke experience—no matter how painful—the real reason she wanted to wait to sing was because she knew Tim hadn’t arrived. He’d want to be there to silently cheer her on. And even more important,
she
wanted that.
Everything we do, we do together,
she thought to herself. “Plus, I want to watch a few people first, and they’re just getting started.
You
can go up, though, if you want.”
    â€œOkay. I’ll show you how easy it is. We used to go all the time when I was away at school.”
    Scott put an arm around Lauren’s shoulder and squeezed her so close that she pressed against his side. “Go show ’em how it’s done, Lo.”
    Lauren gave Scott a kiss on the cheek and headed up to talk to the girl who was in charge of the karaoke machine. Lauren didn’t even bother flipping through the binder of song choices before leaning in to tell the girl her request. Quinn mentally noted the appropriateness of the current performer’s choice to sing “Zombie” because her stained T-shirt and smeared eye makeup actually made her look like one. But Quinn kept her comment to herself.
    As soon as
The Walking Dead
extra finished her last note, Lauren made her way onto the stage and positioned herself in front of the microphone, shifting it down a bit so it was a little lower. From the first beat, there was no mistaking Lauren’s song selection. Quinn knew the song well. She and the girls had spent nearly the entire summer before seventh grade perfecting the choreography to the dance routine they’d made up. And to this day, whenever Quinn heard Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” she couldn’t help but move to the rhythm as she remembered performing the dance in the late-summer heat for Lauren’s parents and older brother, Cooper.
    Lauren swayed subtly to the beat of the song’s intro. But once she sang the first line, she immediately let loose, looking out into the crowd comfortably. Though she had never