[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 602 & 603. (Patreon)

Chapter 602: Well, shit. It’s karaoke night.

Honestly, that stuff in the afternoon at the river left us all with a bad taste in our mouths. Lingering annoyance, mostly, and my own personal wish that I could’ve handled the situation better. Problem was that I didn’t know what that ‘better’ looked like. Should I have been more aggressive? Should I have outright told the guy to fuck off? I didn’t know.

I wasn’t the only one still thinking about it, either. After we went back to the cabin to shower, Diana sat with me on the sofa and clung to me without saying a word. I guess Frey took my curiosity of what she was thinking and decided to give me the answer.

{I have to get better at pushing them away. I don’t want to worry him. What else could I have done, though?}

Right? She was pretty damn clear about it. Honestly, I didn’t believe that type of people existed in the first place, but I guess I was wrong.

Mila came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and drying her hair with a towel. Noelle was getting ready to go in next, but before that, “Hey, I was thinking. Why don’t we hit the bar tonight? Oliver will start working at one soon, so it’ll be a good chance for him to see things in action. Also, I need a drink.”

“Same,” Grace agreed.

“Same,” Diana said, nodding.

I glanced at Alice, Noelle and Sarah. They smiled.

“Well, we’re going to the bar tonight.”

“Gonna have to change, then,” Sarah said, sighing and looking down at her legs. “Can’t go there wearing dolphin shorts…”

We all had to get changed into something a bit more presentable, this time meaning shirts, jeans, light sweaters, stuff like that. We went to the bar in the main building after having dinner, at about 9:00 pm. Then, when we got there, we found a small blackboard at the entrance with a message written in colored chalk that froze my bones.

-Saturday Happy Hour! 2x1 on selected drinks from 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm! Karaoke night with open mic! Everyone’s invited to join!-

“Hey! Karaoke night!” Mila beamed.

“I’m an awful singer and you know that, Mila,” Alice said.

“I’m down, but I’m not going in alone,” Sarah said.

Grace turned to Noelle. “Can you sing?”

“Um… A little?” Noelle said bashfully.

“Don’t listen to her lies,” Alice said. “I’ve heard her sign before. She’s good!”

“I’ll consider singing after I’m three cups in, not before,” Diana said.

The girls went in before I did, and to be honest, I didn’t know what to think about the fact that they didn’t ask me or tried to convince me to sing.

We went into the bar and found ourselves a large table. This one wasn’t at all like the one at Pleasure Lake Hotel. That one was small, with only chairs at the counter and a few tables. This one was bigger, brighter, more like a restaurant.

I looked around as we sat down, looking for familiar faces and finding none, much to my relief. Mr. Carlos and his family could be here, which could be a little awkward but nothing terrible. Didn’t see the guy from the afternoon, either, which was a much bigger relief.

“The happy hour starts in 20 minutes,” Grace said, frowning as she looked at the menu on her phone, having scanned it on the code on the table.

“The menu isn’t very varied,” Diana said. “Big selection of beers and wines, but not many cocktails.”

“They don’t have mudslides…” Noelle lamented.

“Or grasshoppers,” I joined her.

“I’ll just have a beer,” Sarah said. “Someone here has to be the man of the table.”

“Thanks, I’ll leave that to you,” I told her, not falling for the taunt.

“Why don’t you try an Irish Coffee, dear? Whiskey, coffee, brown-sugar syrup and cream. I think you’ll like it,” Diana suggested.

“Do you think Maria could get away with serving that at the coffee shop?” Alice asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ve seen other coffee shops serve it, but they could just have a liquor license. Maria definitely doesn’t.”

“And since at least 70% of her clients are high school students, it’s probably not worth the effort and money to get one,” Grace said.

“I’ll have a Mojito,” Mila said. “I’m craving something a bit sour.”

“I think I’ll just go with wine,” Noelle said.

“I’ll join you there. Should we buy a bottle, then?” Alice asked.

“You know, I think I’ll have a beer, too. It’s been a while,” Grace said.

“And what will you have?” I asked Diana.

“I’m thinking,” she said, furrowing her brow. “I had a Martini yesterday, so today… An Old Fashioned. Did you know that the Old Fashioned is one of the earliest drinks to be known as a cocktail? It dates back to the early 1800’s, and the stories about it are all over the place, but the name comes from cocktail culture growing a lot by the mid 1800’s, so people started calling this simpler, older cocktail an ‘Old Fashioned.’

I swallowed hard, feeling a bit nervous. “Is that the kind of stuff you need to know as a bartender or it’s just trivia?”

“A bit of both but mostly the former. I’ve told you before that cocktail culture can get a bit snobbish, so some customers like to test their bartenders. But knowing the history of the drinks you’re making serves as proof that you know what you’re doing, so I’m gonna have you study a lot.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A waiter came to take our order and came back some 10 minutes later with all our drinks. Little by little, the bar began to fill up. People came in different groups or as couples, but it was good that we arrived when we did because all the tables got taken.

“Looks like karaoke night is pretty popular,” Mila said.

I took a sip of my Irish Coffee and ended up really liking it. Yeah, wasn’t that sweet, but the familiar taste of coffee was enhanced with the light punch that the whiskey gave it.

The same waiter came over to our table again and gave us a leaflet. “If you want to participate in the karaoke, scan the code here, enter the webpage and select a song with your name. We’ll call your name before the song starts and you can go over to the stage.”

He pointed to a corner of the bar that had the mic, speakers, a screen in front of the mic and another against the wall, lit by the projector. He left after that and went to give a leaflet to another table.

“Okay, so what are we singing?” Mila asked.

I felt my stomach turn from nerves.

************

Chapter 603: One more step.

It was an awful feeling, you know? The people at the bar with us went on stage and took their turns singing their hearts out. Some were pretty good, some were pretty bad, but… everyone seemed to be having fun. And then it was Mila and Alice’s turn.

We watched them go on stage while laughing among themselves, giggling shyly as they realized they’d be singing in front of about 40 people. Nevertheless, they did. Their song started, they held the microphone together and sang. They sang well, too. No shame, just pure fun. Helped that their song was pretty upbeat. Some people sang along with them while others kept to themselves and kept chatting with their groups.

Those who cared, listened. Those who didn’t care continued doing their own thing. This was set to be karaoke night from the get go, so people singing was something you just had to accept.

Mila and Alice returned, laughing heartily as they sat down with us again.

“I can’t believe we did that! Ahaha!” Alice said.

“I’ve never sang in front of so many people before!” Mila added. “How did we do?”

Noelle and I gave them a thumbs up. “You were amazing,” the redhead told them.

“You got people to sing along with you. You were a big hit,” I told them.

“Should we queue another song?” Alice asked.

“I don’t know. It was fun but my hands are shaking, hahaha!”

“Will you sing, Diana?” Grace asked her. “You’re already 3 cups in.”

Diana drank the last of her third Old Fashioned and set down the glass. “I said I’d consider it after three cups. Now that I’ve had them, I’ve decided I’m too shy to sing in front of this many people, so no, I’m not singing.”

“Boo!”

“Boo!”

Alice and Mila booed her with thumbs down.

“Yeah, I’m not going, either,” Grace said. “I can’t carry a tune to save my life.”

“Well, Noelle and I are singing after three more songs, so look forward to that,” Sarah said, raising her beer in toast.

“W-Wait, are we!?” Noelle asked, shocked.

“Yeah. I queued the song to your name,” the blonde told her.

“Sarah!”

“Come on, you go live in front of 100 people or more, don’t you? And don’t worry, it’s a song you like.”

“W-Which one?” After hearing the song Sarah picked, Noelle reluctantly agreed. “Alright, fine! But at least ask me next time!”

As they talked, I began to stare at my phone’s black screen, gripping it tightly. I was so deep in thought that Diana caught me off-guard with a quick kiss on my neck.

“W-What?”

“What are you thinking about?” she asked me.

I chuckled. “Can’t you tell?”

“I think I have an idea, but I’m not sure. Besides, I want to hear it from you.”

“...” I sighed. “It looks like fun. Singing there, with people listening and joining in. It’s… tempting to go in there, but…”

“But…?”

“I don’t know. My taste in music doesn’t seem to fit here. Besides, I’ve never practiced singing, so I’m not confident. I’d be more confident getting in there with an ocarina than singing.”

“What happened to the Oliver that asked 5 girls to prom at the school cafeteria?” Mila asked me with a smirk. “Done that before?”

“...” I groaned and shook my head. “The atmosphere here is nice. I don’t want to ruin it.”

“Hey, don’t worry. That could be us in just a few minutes,” Sarah told me.

The girls all laughed, but I couldn’t. What Sarah said, even as a joke, was… enlightening. Yeah, I know it’s pretty obvious, but sometimes things just CLICK.

Everyone singing is putting themselves at risk of being the ones who are bad. Hell, some already sang and it was a little painful. What was it that I told Fernanda the other day? Even if it goes wrong, it’s not the end of the world and most people here won’t even care. Better follow my own advice, then.

I browsed through the available songs and hit gold with one. Old, but mainstream enough to at least get a few people interested. Right up my alley, too. In fact, I almost wanted to have my guitar with me. I could even play it. I queued it.

Sarah and Noelle stepped on stage and sang together. Noelle was visibly nervous, but people began to whistle in encouragement. Also, Alice was right. Noelle did sing really well. Like, shockingly well. People were clapping when they were done and the whistling had become cheering.

“See that? We killed it!” Sarah said.

“That was 80% Noelle and you know it,” Grace told her.

“Are you contractually obligated to sing well as a V-Tuber?” I asked her teasingly.

Noelle was blushing hard, but she laughed. “I really hope they don’t make me sing…”

“And what are you gonna sing, Oliver?” Sarah asked me.

“You’ll see.” I let out a heavy sigh. “Can’t believe I’m really gonna do it.”

“Come on, you’ll do great,” Mila told me.

“Okay, but if I botch it I want you to boo me,” I said.

“Sure.”

They wouldn’t. Knew it in my bones.

Song after song, my turn finally came. By that point I had two Irish Coffees in me and one soda, so… Yeah, tipsy but not inebriated enough to not feel the nerves.

I stood on stage, seeing over 40 people in the bar. Some were talking, ignoring me. Some looked on with casual curiosity. It made me remember the talent show, made me remember what I wanted to do with my performances.

…

The song started with some of the most iconic guitar strumming in history. It was quickly followed by the drums, and I already saw some ears perking up and heads turning. It gave me the last push I needed.

I grabbed the mic. “Hey now, I wanna see the old heads raising their hands! Where are you!?”

“WOOOOOO!!!”

Like seven other dudes cheered, all from different tables and older than me by at least 10 years. Other people laughed, others grinned. I kept my eyes on all of them, looking them in the eyes. Don’t fucking back down, Oliver.

I sang. I sang from the bottom of my heart and the pit of my stomach. Slow and soft at first, then letting it drop when the chorus came in. And I wasn’t alone there. The dudes that cheered all joined in.

“With the lights out, it’s less dangerous! Here we are now, entertain us! I feel stupid, and contagious! Here we are now, entertain us! A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido! YEAH!”

It wasn’t professional singing by any means. I felt my voice almost crack a few times, had to catch my breath mid sentence and even tripped over the lyrics once. But even so, I left it all on the stage. And… I think people noticed.

There was applause. Louder cheering from the dudes who liked the song. I felt my chest swelling.

“Thank you everybody! Have a wonderful night!”

The cheering and applause got louder with that. I think people just appreciated being addressed. That was good to remember.

It was just a song sung during karaoke, but for me… I felt like I was one step closer to the kind of showman I wanted to be. I’m still very glad I took that step.