The Hot Canary (A Brian Quinn Fanfic)

Part 8: Dream a Little Dream

It took Nova a while to get through the crowd as everyone shifted out into the lobby during the intermission. People kept coming up to her and telling her how much they loved her performance and she didn't have it in her to brush them off and keep walking so she would talk for a minute or two and then wish them a good night. 

There wasn't as many people in the dining area now so once she made it through the doors, she was able to get to the Joker's table in a straight shot.

 As she walked up, she saw them talking among themselves and Joe was the first one to notice her. "SUPER NOVA!" He yelled as he got up to run and wrap his arms around her. He grabbed her so hard that she stumbled back on her feet. "Hey guys! How are you?" She asked as she reciprocated the hug, looking at the remaining Jokers over Joe's shoulder. 

"Good good! Look at you! You're gorgeous! Loved your performance, I didn't know you did all this!" Sal said sweetly as he walked over and gave her a much more gentler hug than Joe did. "Thank you! Yeah, I work here every other weekend, the owner is really cool, he lets me pretty much sing what ever I want, as long as it's nothing new" Nova explained as she blew a feather from her head piece out of her face. 

Q was the only one who hadn't gotten up to greet her, but he still looked at her with interest as she talked. It made Nova feel a little better knowing that this was just as awkward for him as it was for her. 

"Wow that's awesome, we are really loving the show so far, everyone has been great" Murry said, warmly shaking her hand. "Yeah, Mr. Q over here especially liked your dance, didn't you Q?" Joe joked, trying to ease some of the tension that he was picking up from between Nova and Q. 

"Oh that's right! Happy birthday Q!" Nova said, giving Q a friendly smile. He returned her smile and said "Ohh thanks...Yeah...Gotta love Elvis, you looked great too by the way."

He internally cringed at his own words, realizing how much of a jerk he must have sounded like. 

The guys stood behind Nova, looking at Q as if he were a moron and Nova just politely smiled and thanked him, not sure of what else to say. "Hey, uhh...I think they mentioned something about hor d'oeuvres out by the bar, we should go check it out" Joe said, specifically to Murr and Sal, giving them a wink and hoping they would catch on. 

Sal did, but Murr was a little more dense. "That's cool, you guys go ahead, I wanna talk to Nova more about those pictures..." He said as he went to go back to his seat. He took two steps and Joe pulled him back by his arm, dragging him along with Sal, muttering something in Italian. Before Sal walked away, he looked at Q from behind Nova's back and mouthed "Talk to her."

Once the guys were gone, Q stood up abruptly, looking and feeling as nervous as if this were a challenge. It might as well have been. 

"So that's cool, you take pictures, you sing, dance...What else can you do?" He asked her, trying to initiate a conversation. Nova played along. 

"Well, I make a mean cup of coffee in the morning, but other than that, well, that's about all I'm good for" She shrugged. Q chuckled at her response. "So, any other birthday plans?" She asked him. 

"Ohh, nah. I think this is it. What more could a guy ask for than to be around his friends, see some great entertainment....Have a pretty girl dance in his lap....Yup, this is all the birthday I need" He joked. 

Nova laughed and it made him feel less awkward. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had no clue you guys were gonna be here tonight, I hope I didn't embarrass ya too much" She replied. 

"Ohh it's OK, I'm used to being embarrassed....Wait...No...Sorry, that sounded bad...Ahh" Q backtracked, mentally slapping himself, not wanting her to think that he thought of her as embarrassing. Nova tried to stifle back a laugh at his way with words.