Kai taps his ringed knuckles on the rocks glass in front of him. After a long day at work, he's already downed two glasses of whiskey and a tequila shot. He's usually not the type to let work get to him so badly, but he's also not the type to get caught making mistakes. He's frustrated, but his nerves are always calmed when he watches her sing.
An olive-skinned, dark-haired singer is just finishing up her set, leaving the audience with a crooning of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good." It fits her, Kai thinks. She's got the whole vixen look down to a T, but that's not who he comes here to see.
Katherine struts off stage, heading into the dressing room, making sure to sway her hips as she walks. Her red dress had killed out there, clinging to her hips as she moved on stage. Men and women alike clamored at the bar to order a drink for the lady in red. Kai doesn't move from his spot.
"Your admirer's out there," she says, waltzing towards her friend.
"He's not my admirer!"
Bonnie's double-checking her makeup before she heads out to the stage. Katherine places a hefty glass of wine in front of her to calm her nerves. Bonnie is always antsy before performances, but she's got an impressive set for the night. And she'd gone all out for it. Per Katherine's suggestion, she was channeling full Ali Rose from Burlesque, donning an olive off-the-shoulder hip-hugging dress and putting her natural curls up into a loose bun.
Kat wasn't wrong about her patron. The guy wasn't out there constantly, but when he was, he couldn't take his eyes off of Bonnie. Such undivided attention should've made her nervous, but it emboldened her, really made her want to put on a show. Sure, she'd had her callers, there was always a pushy guy wanting to get in contact with the singers. But this man looked at her like she hung the moon, the stars, and everything in between.
She'd been given a primetime spot on a Friday, so she was pulling out all the stops. She quickly downed her glass of pinot grigio and looked herself in the mirror one last time.
"You look amazing, now get out there! Matt can only entertain them with his shitty piano for so long."
Katherine was always flirting with the bartender turned makeshift pianist. He would escape from serving drunk patrons to show off his minor piano skills while Enzo took breaks from accompanying the singers.
Enzo slipped back onto the bench as Bonnie walked onto the stage. Her steps were deliberate, eyes on the crowd as she walked towards the microphone. Her small frame always fooled everyone - they expected a timid walk and tone out of the girl but as she strutted across the stage she commanded attention. All eyes were on her.
Kai watched her enter the stage, in awe of how so much confidence could some out of such a petite body. He always took note of her walk - her steps were deliberate, not loose and sultry like many of the other singers. Her floor-length gown was stunning. A slit ran up to her mid thigh and a bronze leg peeped out as she ran her hands up the stand.
"How's everyone doing tonight?" She asks with a velvety voice as Enzo plays the beginning chords of her first song. She pretends she's focusing on looking above the crowd, but her eye catches the man with steel blue eyes that always seems to be watching her when he's here. She wonders if he even sees the other women that grace the stage. She starts her song while trying to keep her eyes off of him.
You don't know, babe, when you hold me and kiss me slowly it's the sweetest thing.
It's a jazzy rendition of a song he recognizes. She's always got surprises in her sets. Kai feels like he's floating on a cloud when she starts to sing. He's hit with these daydreams when she sings - visions of domesticity with a woman he's never even spoken to. Sometimes he imagines them in different realities; each song brings a new world. In this one, they're high school sweethearts lying in bed together on a Sunday morning as they sprinkle barely-there kisses over one another.
Kai would've closed his eyes and fully embraced the daydream if he wasn't so afraid of missing her. He never saw her outside of the lounge, so he made sure to drink in all of her details. She always lightly caressed her microphone as she sang, like it was the most delicate thing in the world. Kai imagines the girl touching him like that, her light fingers ghosting over his face and chest.
If you love me, won't you say something?
He's attempted to speak to her before, but his hopes never come to fruition. She's never sitting at the bar after her sets like the other singers usually do. But, this time, maybe the final lines of the song are a sign. There's no harm in talking to a pretty girl. Except he thinks this one might actually ruin his whole damn life, and he'd let her.
The rest of her set doesn't really have a theme. Bonnie realized in her adolescent years that she didn't have any limits on her taste in music, so she lets that shine through in her performances. She sang whatever she wanted to - Beyoncé, Patsy Cline, Etta James, Tina Turner, she did it all. Her repertoire was unpredictable. What really frustrates Kai is how fast it all seems to go. She's up there singing for almost an hour, but it feels like only thirty seconds have passed.
She ends her routine with a classic - Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools." She's having fun, bouncing around and moving the microphone with her. The man that's always watching her is smiling from ear to ear, and it makes her smile, too.
She hurries off stage so that she can pat off all the sweat her body's collected under the scorching spotlights. Bonnie wishes she could say the same for the man in the crowd - while she's drowned in lighting, her audience gets to enjoy dimmed light fixtures, and she tries her best not to squint her eyes and wrinkle her forehead while she tries to get a good look at her biggest fan. She greets the next performer while she psychs herself up in the mirror. The last smile she received from her admirer sent chills through her spine. She made the decision then to take a seat at the bar rather than jetting out of the club.
She opts to keep the dress on rather than changing into her jeans. It may be a little hard to breathe in, but it made her feel beyond sexy. She'd have to be a fool to pretend the man wasn't gazing at her the way he was, and seeing him up close would probably have her shaking in her stilettos. She wasn't going to face him in a measly t-shirt.
A part of her doesn't know what she's doing, honestly. She's got a strict rule about fraternizing with customers, though many a listener have tried. You're just staying for Caroline's set, don't be stupid.
When she walks out, she doesn't spot him at his table, and she tries to ignore the disappointment that washes over her at the thought of him leaving so quickly. She walks towards Matt for some free drinks, and plops down on a barstool as Matt starts pouring shots for the both of them.
"That was great, Bon!"
"Thanks, Matty," she beams. She feels eyes on her as she clinks her glass with her friend's and lets tequila slide down her throat. There he is.
She looks up to face the bartender and orders a negroni while pretending to ignore the eyes that feel like tiny machetes in her mile-high cheekbones. Fuck it, she decides, as she turns to face the stranger head-on. Caroline starts the lines of a Doris Day song that she can't quite remember the name of, her brain filling up with distracting thoughts of menacing blue eyes.
He fixes his mouth to say "hi" right when she does, and it's a much cuter first interaction than their previous charged-up glances would imply. She laughs at their mishap and Kai can swear he feels his own pupils dilating.
As nervous as he was, he's quick to strike up conversation with her. He's dumbstruck at first, having to ask her to repeat herself when she asks for his name. She shares hers afterwards - Bonnie. He's heard it before, from staff members, but hearing it from her own sweet voice does things to him. It strikes him even further when she continues with nice to meet you, Kai. His name coming out of her mouth feels like heaven. He tries not to go slack-jawed as he shakes her tiny hand. Luckily, he falls into a rapport with her after that, and it's like he's talking to someone he's known his whole life. Her warm green eyes are inviting, and he's already talking about himself more than he would normally care to.
He soon learns that singing isn't her first career choice, and she's in school for biomedical engineering, just crooning tunes a few days a week for fun and a little extra cash. She's sweet, in this no-bullshit way - she seems to see right through him. Kai can tell he can't use his usual machinations with her; fake cheesy smirks and sneaky winks wouldn't be enough here.
He's still suave and tempting, though, and it's clearly having an effect on the woman. He takes a few chances to brush her knee with his fingertips, watching her suck in a breath quickly. However, she's playing the game too, and it drives him crazy when she reaches over to squeeze his bicep.
They've leaned in closer throughout the night, and Matt has to clear his throat to let them know the lounge is closing. Even with her darker skin tone, Kai can tell a light blush dusts across Bonnie's cheeks as she realizes she's been too swept up in his company. He offers to walk her to her car, and he's not subtle when he lets his arm slide around her lower back. She's still the one guiding them towards the car, though, and Kai thinks that if he ever gets to have her, he'll have to drag her away kicking and screaming to be able to take control.
They're standing at her car when, before she can open the door, he grasps her waist with firm hands, turning her to face him, and looks directly into her eyes. She's completely doe-eyed, losing her self-control for a second. He's leaning in towards her, and places his lips on hers. He's quick to melt into her, her supple lips feeling even softer than he'd anticipated. Kai hopes his legs won't give out.
Bonnie lets her hands drift up to his chest, thinking about kneading them in his hair when she steadies herself.
"We can't do this," she says as he directs a kiss down her neck, "I barely know you."
He's quiet for a moment as he runs his hands up and down her back, reaching down with his right hand to squeeze her supple ass while he bites down and sucks just below her jaw. That earns him a stifled groan from the smaller woman. "Well," he pants, "I have three sisters and four brothers." He's working his way down to her collarbones now, fingers dipping below the neckline of her dress and threatening to pull the top of the strapless ensemble down. "That enough information for you?"
Holy shit, "that's a lot of siblings and - no. " She's silent for a moment, toying with the idea of letting him slip a brown nipple into his mouth. She feels the unmistakable hardening of his dick and- focus, Bonnie. "What's Kai short for?"
Kai tries hard not to roll his eyes, choosing to bite down and suck on the top of her breast instead. He wants to be buried in her so badly, he thinks he might die if it doesn't happen soon. But he learns quickly that he'll have to be patient with Bonnie in more ways than one. She likes to tease and taunt and wait and he's willing to learn to like it too, but that doesn't mean he won't leave a mark on her in the meantime. She interrupts his thoughts by giving his chest a hefty shove.
He chuckles. "Kai is short for Malachai . "
"Well, Malachai , I don't sleep with club customers." She's impressed by her own ability to look right into his eyes. He's so goddamned intimidating.
He places his hand on the roof of the car, leaning towards her and boldly staring right into her eyes. It scares her, how unwilling he is to remove his attention from her. He half-smiles before saying "okay," and before she knows it, he's surrendering and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Okay , so he listens to her. Good to know. He's still hovering above her when she snaps out of her thoughts and she has to really force herself to get into her car.
"When can I see you next?" His voice is lower than it was before, and she wills away the dampening feeling it brings to her lower half.
"I'm on stage on Wednesdays and Fridays, sometimes Sundays." She smiles before closing the door lightly, hoping her answer left her with the upper-hand. Well, shit, that hadn't gone how she wanted it to. She was all riled up now and knew exactly where to go to exert her energy. She took a deep breath and sped off to her destination.