Ethan Wong, an ex-prodigy violinist, thinks it's not meant to be.
After his latest mental breakdown at his last violin competition, where he placed tenth out of ten contestants, he's not sure why his music professor appointed him the soloist for th...
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"Obviously, the ten-minute version," Ethan said, pointing to the sheet of paper. "I know you'll wanna sing"Love Story" and "Enchanted" too."
His words filled my ears, but I could only focus on his hand in mine. I truthfully couldn't figure out if my warm cheeks were from the alcohol or Ethan. "What?"
He laughed, scrunching his nose as the bar lights twinkled in his eyes. No one had noticed our intertwined hands and his playful smirk rendered me speechless. He never lost his cunning ways.
"You should put "Back To December" on there," he said, leaning his head in my direction. "That's one of my favorites."
Shuffling through the songs, I remembered him blasting in my car, I asked, "Not "Haunted"? With the epic violin backing?"
"That's a close second." Ethan pursed his lips before adding, ""Back to December" hits differently now."
Before I could mentally rehearse the lyrics in my head, he released my hand, reaching up and squeezing my arm. "Come on," he said. "Let's put the requests in. The queue's probably already flooded."
I nodded, scribbling down a bunch of her songs. Ethan handed the slip of paper to the staff, who swiftly punched in the songs on a tablet. Our seats remained open, so I ordered another cocktail before sitting with Ethan, who ordered a shot of soju.
Eric turned to us, most likely trying to ignore Kenji's silly bantering. The rest of our infielders stood with drinks in their hands, never straying far from us at the bar. A few of our other players had grabbed a table, ordering appetizers to share, especially among the younger players who couldn't drink yet.
"Shouldn't you take it easy on the alcohol, Cam?" Eric pointed at my shoulder. "You took the pain medicine not too long ago."
I shrugged, clanking my shot glass to his beer. "It's fine. It's not a concussion, and it was a small dose, according to Lacy."
Kenji leaned forward, not convinced either. "I'll ask for a pitcher of water for you."
Between him and Ethan, there was no doubt they'd ensure I didn't have an embarrassing hangover. The same couldn't be said for Felipe; Marco and Daniel encouraged his drinking habits, sliding a flight of shots his way.
Felipe downed the first one like he was dying of thirst, groaning as he slumped on the barstool. He turned to Ethan, his eyes struggling to focus. "How did you two even meet?"
Kenji tilted his head. "Right, no offense, but you two don't seem like a likely friendship."
I rolled my eyes. "I liked hearing him play."
Felipe blinked. "He played baseball?"
Ethan shook his head. "Violin," he clarified, adding, "Cameron liked to watch me play."
