Page 30 of Vitamin Sea
If Jack had ditched her and gone back to his resort it would sting. But she also knew she could deal with it. After all, if she could make it through a devastating heartbreak and have the courage to venture out into the ocean two days after nearly drowning, she could handle being stood up.
She was pulled from her thoughts when the MC walked on stage and took the microphone from a gray-haired lady.
“Let’s have a round of applause for Senora Bridges,” the MC said, clapping as best as he could with one hand. Chloe joined in the applause with the rest of the audience. “Gracias Senora Bridges!”
The lady returned to her seat and the MC continued.
“Up next, we have a very special performance,” the MC said playfully. “A last-minute entry from a Senor Jack Fraser!”
Chloe gasped as the audience burst into applause again and the MC went behind the curtains. The giant spotlight was trained on the empty stage and there was silence as the crowd waited for the next act.
Jack had signed up for the talent show? Her Jack? He was seriously going up on stage?
Suddenly, Jack’s voice, amplified by the microphone, came from somewhere behind the curtain.
“Testing, testing,” he paused. “Can everyone hear me?” The crowd responded with a muttered “yes” and Jack continued.
“Alright,” he said lightly. “I’d like to dedicate this performance to the beautiful and captivating Chloe Ryder. Chloe,” he continued, “this one’s for you.”
The crowd let out a collective “oooooh” and a deep blush blossomed across Chloe’s face.
The music started up and her jaw dropped open. He wasn’t. Jack absolutely was not doing this. Was he?
The opening bars of Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” started playing and Chloe burst into a fit of laughter.
Jack, still hidden behind the curtain, sang the opening line then flung it open and strutted on stage in a mock sexy walk. Chloe nearly fell off her barstool. Blue, red, and yellow lights came to life and bathed Jack in a disco of colour—it almost looked like a professional pop performance.
“I’m too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt,” Jack crooned while playing to the audience. They whooped, cheered, and catcalled, with their support growing louder as Jack undid the buttons on his shirt with one hand.
Chloe could not believe what she was seeing. Jack, with the swagger of a Bachelorette contestant, was fully committing to the bit—stripping on stage in front of sixty or so strangers without any hint of self-consciousness or shame.
“I’m too sexy for your party,” he sang while he waved his shirt around his head before casting it off into the crowd.
The audience roared and she heard someone yell, “Take it off!” Chloe was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
As the chorus started, Jack strutted around the stage, swiveling his hips in an exaggerated manner as he belted out the lyrics. God, she wished she had her phone right now to record this. Lala would be so pissed to have missed it.
“I’m too sexy for my car, too sexy for my car,” Jack sang seductively.
Out of nowhere, a bright-blue feather boa sailed onto the stage from the audience and Jack picked it up and put it around his bare shoulders. He gave it a shimmy and then twirled one end dramatically in his hand.
Mercifully, he kept the rest of his clothes on, and Chloe, between laughs, joined in the chorus of cheers.
On the final verse, the lights went up and the audience gave him a standing ovation.
Tears of laughter streamed down Chloe’s face, and Jack, with a large smile on his face, caught her eye and took a theatrical bow.
A short woman walked up to the stage and Jack handed her the boa before he jumped off and headed towards Chloe. It took a minute for him to work his way back due to the number of people trying to chat with him, and him trying to find his shirt.
“I cannot believe you did that!” Chloe squealed with laughter as he eased onto the bar stool beside her.
Jack, with his shirt back on and buttoned up, shot her a grin. “Ah, I figured I’d have some fun and liven things up a bit.”
“That was hilarious.” Her eyes twinkled. “I would never have the guts to get up there in front of a group of people and sing like that.”
Jack grabbed his beer and leaned back in his chair, totally at ease.
“It’s nothing really. If you can’t laugh at yourself, how can you laugh at anybody else?”
He had a point.
“You’ll miss out on so many things if you let feelings of self-consciousness get in the way. You are funny, beautiful, totally fun company, you have a kick-ass career, and you’re smart. You are the last person who should be feeling self-conscious about anything.”
He clinked his glass against hers and maintained eye contact.
Inside, Chloe felt a tug deep in her stomach.
It wasn’t butterflies this time, nor was it flip-flops.
It was impossible lightness and a heavy dose of adrenaline.
A feeling of electricity; it felt like something invisible was tethering them together and Chloe didn’t want to look away.
“Refresh your drinks?” The bartender’s voice cut through them and their gaze broke apart.
Chloe smiled and shook her head while Jack ordered another. When the bartender left there was an awkward silence and Chloe wondered if, like her, he was grappling with the electricity she had felt between them moments before.
She broke the silence first.
“I have to admit, I was starting to get worried about you,” she said lightly. “I thought maybe you had gotten lost or hurt or something. It crossed my mind at one point that maybe you’d ditched me . . .,” she trailed off. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
Jack chuckled.
“Trust me, the last thing I want to do right now is ditch you,” he said sincerely.
They parted ways a short time later in Costa Morpho’s lobby. There was laughter on their lips, a glint in their eyes, and before Jack left, he gave her a deep, heated kiss. It was exactly what she had hoped for and better than she could have anticipated.
Before Jack got into his Uber, he cupped his hand around her face.
“Thank you, Ms. Ryder,” he said in mock formality, “for the unbelievable day.” The smile on his face reached his eyes. “Seriously, Chloe. Thank you. It was one of the best days I’ve had in a while.”
Chloe beamed back at him.
“Thank you for coming and for being such a good sport. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get the picture of you shirtless and gyrating on stage with a feather boa out of my head,” she teased before giving him a hug goodbye. “I really enjoyed myself too.”
“Listen,” Jack said, “I know it’s last minute, but would you be game for going to Coco Beach tomorrow?” he asked. “I keep hearing that it’s a cute little beach town and I thought we could check it out.”
“I would love to,” she replied immediately. There was nothing more she wanted than to spend another day with Jack.