My Favorite Souvenir

by Ward, Penelope

  “Oh. Thank you.” She gripped my bicep, and together we strolled two blocks. I had no idea where we were going, but Maddie seemed to. Following her adventurous lead, I didn’t ask.

  She stopped in front of a local bar. “This is it.”

  The place had been around for years and was kind of a shithole. I was surprised she didn’t want to go somewhere fancier with the way she was dressed.

  “I think they only have a bar menu, burgers and stuff. There’s a steak house on the next block, if you want something nicer.”

  She smiled. “Nope. What I want is right here. You got to pick the last two adventures. Tonight it’s mine.”

  I chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

  Inside, a waitress told us to sit anywhere we wanted, so we grabbed a booth. I looked around. It had probably been eight years since I’d been here, but the place hadn’t changed a bit. It was dark, with wood-paneled walls and a concrete floor. Music played overhead from what sounded like a pretty decent sound system for such a crappy bar, and there was a small stage in one corner where two guys were working to set up equipment.

  “Did you want to come listen to music or something? I can’t imagine you picked this place for the food.”

  “I did come for the music.”

  I nodded. That made a little more sense. Though I hadn’t noticed a sign in the window about a band. “Who’s playing tonight?”

  Maddie smiled. “You. It’s karaoke night. The sign outside said it starts in ten minutes.”

  I hated to be a buzz kill when Maddie had been so up for anything whenever I directed our adventures, but there was no way I was singing.

  “I’m sorry, Mads. I appreciate that you wanted to come here for me. But I just can’t.” Skiing was one thing, but getting up on that stage without Zoe was another thing all together. It’s where she belonged.

  “Okay. But I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to.”

  “I didn’t realize you could sing.”

  She grinned. “I can’t.”

  I drank a beer, and Maddie had a glass of wine, which I noticed she downed pretty damn fast. When she was done, she stood. “I’m going to go sign up. Any special requests?”

  I lifted my arms to the top of the booth and spread them out. “Surprise me.”

  She said she couldn’t sing, but I assumed she was exaggerating. Who signs up for karaoke unless they can at least carry a tune? At least while sober. Although when she returned to the booth and ordered a wine and a shot, I realized her goal might be to get drunk before they called her name.

  “Do you do karaoke often?” I asked.

  She sucked back the shot and made a face like she’d sniffed a dead fish before slamming the glass down on the table. “I’ve never done it before.”

  My brows shot up. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. I’ve never sung in public before. Well, unless you count my first apartment. I lived in a studio that had thin walls. Apparently my shower wall was next to the neighbor’s bedroom. I used to sing in the shower at night. Sometimes I’d even rock the shampoo bottle microphone when I got really into it. Then one day my sweet, elderly neighbor knocked on my door. Mrs. Eckel handed me a pie and smiled politely before she told me her dog cried every time he heard me singing. She asked if I could refrain from crooning in the bathroom from then on.”

  I chuckled. “You’re full of shit. That didn’t really happen.”

  Her finger traced a cross over her chest. “Swear to God.” She motioned for the waitress and ordered another shot.

  “Umm... You’re sucking back vodka like it’s water. How often do you do shots?”

  “As often as I sing karaoke.”

  Shit.

  Luckily the guy running the karaoke called her name before the third shot arrived at the table. “Next up is Madeline Ophelia Hooker. She’ll be singing a song by CeeLo Green—the original, not the PG-version they play on the radio.”

  Maddie stood and smoothed down her dress. “Oh my God. I can’t believe I’m doing this. How do I look?”

  “Honestly, hot as fuck. No one is even going to notice if you can’t sing for shit. Though, there’s still time to back out, if you don’t want to go through with it. I appreciate what you were trying to do whether you get up there or not.”

  Maddie leaned down and kissed my cheek. But instead of pulling away after, her mouth moved to my ear. “You know how you got undressed in front of me earlier?” Her hot breath tickled my ear.

  “Yeah.”

  “If you join me, I’ll return the favor at some point before we part ways.”

  I blew out a deep, ragged breath. God, this woman was as unpredictable as she was gorgeous. But not even that could get me up in front of that microphone.

  “Break a leg, beautiful.”

  I watched as Maddie strutted to the stage. That dress really looked phenomenal on her ass. I was pretty sure my head rocked back and forth in unison with the sway of her hips as she walked. The waitress brought the shot Maddie had ordered to our table just as she got up on stage. I took it from her hand before she had a chance to set it down and immediately sucked it back. “I’m gonna need another one of these, please.”

  The karaoke host came over the sound system. “This was an interesting song choice, Madeline. Is there anyone you want to dedicate this song to?”

  Maddie cleared her throat and tilted the microphone to her mouth. “Yes. To my ex-fiancé, and all the other asshole men of the world.”

  The host chuckled. “Alright then. Here we go.”

  The music started to play, and I immediately recognized which CeeLo song she’d picked. “Fuck You,” though most radio stations called it “Forget You” and bleeped out half the lyrics.

  Maddie started to sing, and Jesus, she really hadn’t been lying. Some people had a bad tone, some people couldn’t hold a tune, and others just had no rhythm when they sang. Poor Mads was afflicted with all three.

  It was bad.

  So, so freaking bad.

  At first the bar was quiet. I think most people were probably stunned at how such a horrible sound could come out of such a gorgeous woman. But eventually, the bar snapped out of it and people started to grumble. A few assholes even booed and heckled her. Maddie looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere.

  Fuck.

  I raked a hand through my hair.

  Fuck me.

  The booing from the crowd grew louder, but Maddie kept going, trying to push through it.

  I couldn’t let her stand there and make a fool of herself.

  I growled fuck and slid out of the booth, marching toward the stage. She’d been there with me every step of the way, and I couldn’t let her do this alone.

  I stopped at the karaoke host’s station and asked the guy to do me a favor and put on a different song. There were two microphones on the stage. I followed the cord of one and yanked the plug out of the wall. Just as the host turned off CeeLo, I told Maddie to slide over to the mic that was no longer on.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  “Growing some balls. Now move over a mic before the next song starts.”

  Chapter 7

  * * *

  Hazel

  I couldn’t stop staring at Milo.

  He had the most amazing voice. It was raspy and deep, and the moment he started to sing, it felt like he’d wrapped it around me like a warm blanket. He sang Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” which was a duet, though he didn’t need anyone to sing with him at all.

  I stood at the microphone for a long time just watching him, in awe of how effortless his singing sounded and how comfortable he was standing there. When he got to the chorus, he looked over and smiled at me and pointed to my mic. I joined him, though luckily no one could hear.

  When the song ended, we got a standing ovation. Well, let’s be real. Milo got a standing ovation. He waved to the crowd and offered me his hand as he stepped off the stage. Our eyes locked.

  “Thank yo
u for saving my ass,” I said.

  “No, Mads. Thank you for saving mine.”

  • • •

  I woke up with a huge smile on my face the morning after Milo’s performance.

  My mood only got better as we checked out of the hotel in Steamboat and packed into our rental car, headed to the next leg of our adventure.

  “Where are we going now, Mr. Hooker?”

  “You know the answer to that question.”

  “Wherever the wind takes us?”

  He pointed at me. “Bingo.”

  “Does the wind have any inkling of where it wants to push us?” I chuckled.

  He put his seatbelt on. “The wind was thinking maybe we could slowly make our way southeast and then up north, eventually. I assume you want to end up in Connecticut when this is all over.”

  The thought of going back to reality made me a little uneasy, even if it was a little ways away.

  “That sounds perfect. The Southeast is one part of the country I’m pretty unfamiliar with. I’d love to see Texas…New Orleans.”

  We hit the open road, and seven hours later, we found ourselves in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

  What a beautiful place. The mountainous terrain, the architecture. There was a peacefulness here that was instantly welcoming.

  I rolled down the window to breathe in the clean air. “I used to sing that song ‘Do You Know the Way to Santa Fe’,” I told Milo.

  “I believe it’s San Jose.” He glanced over at me. “Do you know the way to San Jose…”

  “Same difference.” I winked. “By the way, did I give you PTSD just now when I mentioned my singing?”

  Milo grinned. “Maybe a little.”

  I bounced in my seat. “I am not leaving this place without some funky cowboy boots. Can we go shopping tomorrow?”

  “Sure. We should actually get a souvenir from every place we stop.”

  “Well, crap.” I pouted. “We didn’t get anything from Steamboat.”

  He winked. “We did, actually.”

  “What?”

  “I got my balls back. I’d lost them, and now I have them again.”

  I slapped his leg. “Well, that’s true.”

  “Actually, I did pick something up,” he said. “A souvenir.”

  I perked up. “Really?”

  “Yeah.” He took it out of his pocket and handed it to me.

  It was a little Snoopy pin that said Steamboat on it. Snoopy wore a hat, sweater, and skis.

  “This is adorable. Where did you get it?”

  “I actually found it. When I said I picked something up, I meant off the ground. It looks vintage, doesn’t it?”

  Rubbing my finger over it, I said, “It’s precious. Can I keep it?”

  “Of course.”

  I happily pinned Snoopy to my jacket.

  We finally arrived at our destination, a beautiful hotel and spa that had a stunning view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The sun was just starting to set, and the scenery here was a stunning sight to behold.

  After we checked in, as we were walking to the elevators, we noticed the hotel workers setting up some type of event in one of the function rooms. The décor was especially flamboyant, with bright yellow linens, and it sparked my curiosity.

  “I wonder what’s happening in there.”

  “Maybe a wedding,” Milo said.

  “Could be. But did you see all that yellow? And the giant disco ball they were putting up? Also, there weren’t any flowers. I feel like it might be something else.”

  Milo’s expression spelled trouble.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Feel like getting dressed up tonight and crashing it?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Sure.” He shrugged. “Why not. It will give us a good chance to put our recently acquired imposter skills to use.”

  “So, the Hookers are going to a party, and we don’t even know what it’s for?”

  “Does it really matter? Have any of the destinations we’ve hit mattered? It’s the experience, the thrill of the unknown. It’s never the destination.”

  He had a point. Crashing some mystery party sounded kind of fun.

  “You’re so right.” I nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  Milo and I checked into our respective rooms and vowed to meet up in an hour after we’d showered and gotten dressed. He’d once again insisted on paying for the hotel rooms, but I told him he’d better let me cover the rooms in the next city, or at least the cost of my own room. As a high school music teacher, he likely didn’t have an endless stream of funds. He wasn’t even currently working.

  As I let the warm water pour down on me in the shower, I couldn’t help thinking about our time in Steamboat, and his confession about Zoe and her tragic accident. It broke my heart to think about it, and it explained so much. He’d lost his partner and soulmate. That was far worse than what I’d been through. It certainly put everything with Brady into perspective. I could move on or choose to forgive Brady. I had choices. But Milo had been forced to part with his love. He’d had no choice in the matter, and it was terribly sad. I wiped my tears and exited the shower.

  Selecting one of the sexiest dresses I’d brought with me, I got myself all dolled up for our mystery party. Were we about to crash a wedding? A corporate party? A bar mitzvah? Who knew? Either way, the Hookers were ready to turn on the charm.

  I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress I’d chosen was black sequined, strapless, and short. I wore the same sexy, strappy heels I’d worn out to karaoke and decided to leave my hair down.

  Once dressed, I felt antsy, so I went to knock on Milo’s door.

  When he opened, I exhaled upon the sight of his shirtless body. Again. This always seemed to happen. I almost had to wonder if the prick was doing it to me on purpose, waiting to put his shirt on until I had a chance to ogle him. How long does it take a guy to get dressed? He always seemed to be running “late,” and was therefore half-naked when I knocked.

  He gave me a onceover. “You look even more amazing now than you did in the dress back in Steamboat. This one really takes the cake, Maddie. Damn.”

  “Why, thank you. I have it on good authority that I’m attending a party tonight, so I wanted to look my very best.”

  “Well, mission accomplished.” He sighed. “I, on the other hand, am wearing the same shirt from Steamboat, because unfortunately, I don’t have another suitable one.”

  “Well, we’re going shopping tomorrow. We can buy you another dress shirt.”

  “You’re really angling to shop, aren’t you?”

  “Yup. Funky boots, remember? And maybe a nice wool blanket with a southwestern pattern.”

  I noticed his shirt hanging in the closet. “Your shirt’s all wrinkled.”

  “I know. I was gonna iron it.”

  Grabbing the shirt and unfolding the ironing board, I said. “I got it.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  I got to work pressing. The smell of his cologne on the shirt emanated through the steam. I definitely didn’t mind ironing a shirt that smelled like him.

  When I’d managed to get all of the wrinkles out, I held it open behind him as he slipped his arms inside. I then faced him and slowly buttoned it from bottom to top as Milo watched every movement of my hands. It was unintentionally sensual, and I could feel the energy of his stare until I buttoned the very last one.

  Our eyes lingered until he said, “We’d better go. We’ll be late for the...”

  I finished his sentence. “Whatever it is.”

  “Yeah.” He smiled. “Promise me one thing, Maddie.”

  “What?”

  “Whatever we’re getting ourselves into tonight, you’ll stick it out. No running away if things get awkward. We play it till the end—or until we get kicked out.” He laughed.

  I couldn’t believe I was agreeing to this, but I felt myself nodding. “Did you not see my crazy ass get up on th
at stage and belt out a song called ‘Fuck You’ with my terrible voice last night? I’m not the one who needs convincing to do crazy shit.”

  “That’s true. And that’s one of the things I love about you.”

  His word choice sent a shiver down my spine as we headed out the door.

  • • •

  Once downstairs, we entered the packed function room, still completely clueless as to the nature of this event.

  In looking around, I confirmed once again that it definitely wasn’t a wedding, because there were still no flowers in sight. The centerpieces were interesting, though: fresh pineapples.

  A woman standing at what looked like a hostess station near the door asked, “Are you registered?”

  “Yes,” Milo answered.

  “What’s the name?”

  “Milo Hooker.” He turned to me. “And this is my sister, Madeline. Or as I like to call her, Maddie.”

  She pursed her lips as she checked the list. “Hmm. Hooker. I don’t see your names on here.”

  Milo pretended to be outraged. “Well, there must be some kind of mistake then. I registered weeks ago.”

  She seemed frustrated that she wasn’t able to find our information.

  Leaning in she whispered, “Honestly, I don’t think any woman here is going to complain that I let you in. In fact, they might kill me if I let you walk out that door. So, how about I just add your names now?”

  “That sounds excellent.” He smiled. “Thank you.”

  She asked him to confirm the spelling of our names before she said, “It’s rare to see siblings coming to our events together. I have to say, that’s a new one.”

  Hmm…

  Was this a singles mixer?

  “What’s the itinerary for tonight?” Milo asked her.

  “Well, we have a cash bar. And everyone is ready to mingle. Should you decide you’ve made a match, we have a certain number of rooms blocked upstairs. You’ll come to me, and I can provide you with a key. If you decide to use one of our rooms, you’ll just need to provide a credit card to claim it. They’re on a first-come, first-served basis.”

  She handed us each a badge to clip onto our clothing. They had a single pineapple on them.