A/N: Sorry I took so long, I was having writers block for a while. But thank you for all your Norminah karaoke song suggestions for this chapter. There were tons of great songs and def some of my all-time favorites, but I had to go with a song that lyrically fits into the story. Shoutout to messyot5 (IG) for the suggestion!
Tap that VOTE and leggo!
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**Norminah is gonna do two-person karaoke, which has player 1 & player 2 solo divisions and harmonies. So, for this song Normani's gonna sing the boy's part and Dinah's gonna do the girl's part.
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Normani's POV
"You gotta sing at least one song before you leave!" Funaki said.
"I told you, Naki, I can't sing," I replied exasperatedly.
It was our last night in California, and Dinah's family was on me about singing a karaoke song, which was something that I'd been refusing to do since the beginning of break. Could I hold a tune? Sure. Years of humming tunes during dance practice and planning sessions had taught me some things. But I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of a family of trained vocalists.
The entire Hansen household sang and harmonized beautifully, but my favorite was Dinah's voice. I had no idea my dance partner was such a talented singer. She'd never showed off her vocal skills at NYU. But my God could she sing. I was pleasantly shocked when I heard her sing for the first time during family karaoke nights, which were a regular occurrence at the Hansen household.
"Come on, Mani! It's just karaoke. It's not like you're auditioning for X-Factor," Regina piped up in her usual sassy tone.
"We won't judge you. Promise," Milika urged.
"Yeah. We never judge our drunk uncles when they're screaming into the mic and we know you're better than that," Dinah's sister, Kamila, said.
"I dunno..." I said hesitantly.
"What if I did it with you?" Dinah asked, suddenly placing her hand on top of my folded hands on my lap. I looked at Dinah in surprise as my hands grazed my crotch area, but it seemed like she hadn't even noticed where our hands were placed.
Ever since I'd realized that I was falling in love with my dance partner, I'd been avoiding looking into her eyes or getting too close to her. Because every time I did, the practical side of me set off alarms of caution. But it was nearly impossible to avoid Dinah when she was constantly with me during the day and slept cuddled with me in the same bed at night. So as the remaining days passed, my practical alarms had gradually become weaker. And now as I gazed directly into Dinah's eyes, the alarms were practically non-existent.
"Come on, Mani. Sing with me," Dinah said in the soft voice that she normally used to convince me to loosen up, while looking deep into my eyes and stroking my hand with her thumb.
"Okay..." I said without realizing what I was agreeing to.
As everyone broke into cheers, Dinah took my hand and led me to the song book. She was busy flipping through the book, exclaiming excitedly at her favorite songs as she saw their names, but my attention was on the way she was still clutching my hand. There was something intimate about the way our fingers were intertwined. It felt...nice. Soothing.
"Frek, there's too many good ones. You pick, ManManz," Dinah said with a gentle nudge, breaking me out of my lovestruck daze.
Willing my blush to go away, I quickly turned my attention to the book. I knew she had a boyfriend. I knew my feelings for her weren't practical. But still, I couldn't help but pick a love song for us to sing. And for the first time in my life, I purposefully turned the practical side of my brain off and immersed myself into the moment.
[Normani: You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down
You, you enchant me even when you're not around] ----- I sang the first line shyly, unable to stop myself from blushing at the accuracy of the lyrics. Dinah had indeed lifted my heart up when I was feeling down. Like when I was freaking out about being partnered with her and she'd hugged me and bought me a Caramel Frappuccino. Like the time I'd cried to her about not getting promoted and she'd made me feel better by teaching me how to booty pop. And the time I was feeling sad about spending the holidays alone and she'd brought me home with her. My heart fluttering happily, I slowly raised my eyes to look at Dinah as I sang the second line. Dinah squeezed my hand reassuringly as if knowing that I was still nervous about singing, and sang her part with a soft smile, looking deep into my eyes and once again, knocking down my boundaries.
[Dinah: If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down
Normani: I'm latching on, babe, now I know what I have found] ----- As I held her gaze, I felt my nerves ebbing, and with my lines, I told her how I was feeling without actually telling her.
[Both: I feel we're close enough
Normani: Could I lock in your love?
Both: I feel we're close enough
Normani: Could I lock in your love?] ----- Our voices blended together in perfect harmony as if we were meant to sing together forever. I felt warm tingles spreading through my body and wondered if she had them too.
[Dinah: Now I've got you in my space
I won't let go of you
Got you shackled in my embrace
I'm latching on to you] ----- Dinah closed her eyes to sing her part. The warm tingles turned into hundreds of butterflies fluttering through my stomach as I watched her sing and internally fawned over the way she filled every word with passion. The way she slightly contorted her face to express the lyrics. The way she opened her mouth the perfect amount to make her voice sound full and rounded. The way her tongue formed a little dent in the middle when she threw her voice. God! I was going crazy noticing every detail about the girl I loved. My dance partner had indeed shackled me with her love.
And...I wasn't complaining one bit.
[Normani: I'm so en-captured, got me wrapped up in your touch
Feel so enamored, hold me tight within your clutch
Both: How do you do it? You got me losing every breath
Dinah: What did you give me to make my heart beat out my chest?] ----- As we sang, I couldn't help but think about the little things she did that I found endearing. Like, when we went to the movie theater, she'd always sit with her legs crisscrossed in the seat, which I thought was the cutest thing in the world for some reason. Then there was the way she'd link arms with me during romantic scenes. The way her eyes would crinkle up in the corners when she laughed at the comedic moments. Even in the darkness of the theater she'd try to cover up her laugh with her hand. I wished she stopped doing that, because I couldn't get enough of her laughter, especially when she laughed at something I'd done or said without meaning to be funny. Every movie we went to, I was always so busy sneaking glances at Dinah that I didn't even remember what we watched.
[Both: I feel we're close enough
Normani: Could I lock in your love?
Both: I feel we're close enough
Normani: Could I lock in your love?] ----- And it wasn't just her movie-going habits either. It was the way she interacted with her parents. The way she cared for her puppies. The way she messed around with her siblings. The way she smirked at herself every time she passed a mirror. The way she goofed off during our dance practices and got me to goof off with her. The way she got me to loosen up and live life doing the things I normally wouldn't have done: go into two movies at the price of one, eat ice cream with corn, jump fully clothed into a pool, cuddle the entire night without caring about personal space, taking more than 10 minutes in the shower, going to sleep without a plan for the next day, singing in front of people...
[Both: Now I've got you in my space
Dinah: I won't let go of you
Both: Got you shackled in my embrace
Dinah: I'm latching on to you] ----- ....except, it didn't feel like there was anyone else in the world except for us. And our intertwined fingers. And harmonizing voice. And the warm feeling spreading through my soul.
[Both: Now I've got you in my space
Dinah: I won't let go of you
Both: Got you shackled in my embrace
Dinah: I'm latching on to you] ----- It was just me and her. Time standing still as we lived in the moment. For the first time in my life, I didn't have a shred of apprehension about the future. I wouldn't make another plan ever again, if only she was guaranteed to be in my future. Because a future with Dinah Jane would surely be a good one.
I was in love and I let myself latch onto this feeling. Without thinking practically. Without considering the consequences. Without budgeting in the risk of heart break. Without having a plan...
And suddenly, life was simple.
I was just a girl in love and nothing else mattered, except for the girl who'd taught me how to laugh.
How to live.
How to love.
[Normani: I'm latching on to you]
A/N: I based the feelings in this chapter on someone who I used to like. I legit felt like a creep noticing all these random, subtle things about her. But I couldn't help it. I was just a girl in love. But not anymore. #foreshadow (kinda, not really) This story is more fluffy than drama-heavy, I promise.
PS: Thanks again messyot5 (IG) for the song suggestion! Every time I imagined Norminah singing Boyce Avenue's acoustic version, it made my heart all fuzzy. I would dedicate this chapter to you, but I dunno your Wattpad username lol.