Postgrad Partners

Aftermath of the Not-Date

As the rest of the in-house band was busy packing up their instruments and sharing passing remarks on the last few rehearsals, Tara was sitting against the wall; eyes closed as she lip-synced to their latest cover on her music player. Once the song ended, she opened her eyes to the sight of Tori handing her a water bottle. She took the bottle with a smile and opened it as Tori sat down next to her.

"That went a lot better than I'd hoped," Tori beamed, stretching her legs in front of her, "How are you feeling?"

Tara took a long sip of her water before answering, "A little more light-headed than I thought. I'm used to singing the main parts of songs, you know? So, harmonies—especially the high ones—are a bit of new territory for me."

Tori chuckled, bumping her shoulder against Tara, who laughed in return, "I totally get that. I hope the songs aren't catching you too off guard, though. Any chance they're all on that little player of yours?"

"Mm...a few might not be," Tara scrolled through her list of songs on the tiny screen, "Is that one called 'Some Nights' a recent hit, because that's not here; but a bunch of the oldies like 'Dream a Little Dream' are surprisingly here. Don't worry, though. I'm getting used to the whole 'sight-reading' thing, like you showed me at karaoke."

Tori blushed a little at the mention of karaoke, as did Tara when she noticed the color in her pronounced cheeks. The two looked away from each other and took another long, awkward sip to cool themselves down.

"So..." Tori swallowed, extending the 'o' as she gathered the words, "Do you...want to talk about last night?"

"I do," Tara nodded, twisting the cap back on her bottle, "But not here. Could you give me a ride home—I mean, to the hotel?"

"Me? I thought Ms. West drives you back with her. Didn't you two come here together?"

"Yeah, we did! But she told me at lunch that she was leaving early to spend to pick up Jade. Doesn't she have the day off from the theater today?"

"Oh, right! She does have the day off! That explains why she was passed out on the couch this morning instead of getting ready for work..."

"So..." Tara extended the 'o' just as Tori did, "Can I get a ride from you, or..."

"O-Of course!" Tori quickly got up, "Not a problem at all! In fact, let's go right now!"

Tara got up with her, wrapping her earphones around the player before stowing it in her pocket, "Any chance I could try asking for burgers on the way there?"

Tori chuckled as she held the door open for her, "Do you want to find out?"

Tara's breath hitched as she approached the door, and Tori's hand almost slipped as she realized what she'd just said. One look at each other proved that they were thinking the same exact thing upon hearing that phrase.

The previous night...

"But what about other girls? I mean...do you find me attractive?"

"What about you? Do you find me attractive?

"...Do you want to find out?"

Tara opened her eyes to see Tori handing her a microphone, which she took after a moment of hesitation.

With a smile, Tori picked out a song on the karaoke room's tablet and the speakers started blaring the music right away. The two of them stood up in front of the TV screen preparing the lyrics for a duet arrangement, and Tori confidently held her mic to her lips, ready for the cue.