Larry's Cougar Ch. 03

She hopped off the stage and made her way back to the table. Harry cuddled into her neck when she sat back down.

"Brilliant," he said softly. "And damn sexy too."

"Harry, get off Tanalei. She's supposed to be your mother," Andi grumbled. "Start whenever." With a sigh, he leaned away and took a sip of his Coke.

"You need to say 'Action!'" Louis said.

"Action!"

Harry took another sip of his drink and glanced over at Tanalei. She was looking through the songbook. "Have you made you choice yet, Courtney?"

"Yes." She quickly wrote down the song and number then held her arm up. The waitress soon came by to get it. The first singer was finishing up.

"What was it?" Zayn asked.

She turned to him. "A song that I think kicks ass."

"What is it?" Liam inquired as he took a sip of his drink.

"Here's to Us by Halestorm. What about you two?"

"I've got it!" Louis shouted. "This one, Caleb, would be perfect for you." Niall started laughing.

Liam smiled at Louis' antics. "I Want to Live by Josh Gracin."

"Smile by Uncle Kracker," Zayn said.

She turned to Harry. "Josh? What song did you pick?"

He smiled at her. "Lady Antibellum's Hello World."

"I'm doing Valerie and Caleb's gonna sing Stereo Hearts," Louis said. The guys cracked up laughing.

"Next up is . . . Courtney Landry! Give up for Courtney!" the DJ boomed out.

"That's me," she said, biting her lip. She made her way to the stage. "Hey. Um. Here we go." She kept her eyes on the monitor and took a deep breath. The song began immediately. By the time the chorus began, she was able to look up. All five guys had their mouth open. Gail let out a sharp whistle and clapped. Anna yelled out. She smiled at her nieces.

When the song finished, the crowd roared. She groaned when Andi spoke in her ear. "Folks, I know you're aware that sometimes a scene has to be done over. Well, this is one of those times. Bear with us. You might get sick of the song after we're done." She started the song again.

"Lines, boys," Andi told them.

"Isn't she good?" Gail said, leaning down and putting her head on Harry's shoulder.

"She can sing," Harry said.

"Uh. It's pitchy," Zayn countered.

"Nobody's perfect," Niall offered. "Doesn't karaoke mean 'tone deaf'?"

Their party, scattered throughout the bar, clapped and rose to their feet at the end of the song. Tanalei made her way back to their table. Harry pulled her into a hug.

"That was good, Mum." She glanced up at him. "What?" he asked as he sat back down.

"You called me 'Mom'."

He ducked his head down. "I meant Courtney." Awkward silence began to build up.

"So," Louis said, banging on the table. "Who wants another drink?" He raised his hand.

Soon it was Harry's turn to sing. He did justice to the song. By the second chorus, she was tearing up.

"He's great," she said softly.

"You weren't so bad yourself," Liam complemented.

"He looks like his father up there." She wiped at her tears and smiled. "He loved to sing." She felt Gail's arms come around her shoulders.

When the song ended, the bar stood and clapped. Not many had a dry eye. Tanalei put her fingers in her mouth and whistled like Gail did. Harry rejoined the group. She cupped his face with her hands and kissed his forehead.

"Sweetie, that was awesome."

"Thanks," he said, looking down.

Liam was the last one to go. He got up on the stage and fiddled with the microphone, as if he were nervous. "Hello. I'm gonna sing I Want to Live by Josh Gracin. I know, an Englishman singing country. Well, the radio does play it over there." He began singing. Like the others of the group, he had the bar entranced. At the end of the song, he walked off stage but turned right back around. "That was the last song of the evening, ladies and gentlemen. Production and the boys and I hope you had a great time singing and watching. We actually have a treat for you. If you don't like our music, well, that's your opinion. But this is a song we are going to dedicate to a good friend of ours. Boys."

Zayn, Harry, Louis and Niall joined him on the stage, Niall carrying a guitar. Once they got themselves situated, Zayn called out to her.

"Tanalei, can you come up here please?"

She looked at her nieces then at the girlfriends. Sophia and Perrie shooed her up there; Eleanor just looked bored. When she reached the stage, she hissed, "What are you doing?"

"This is a song called Little Things." Niall began strumming on the guitar and Zayn began singing, his forehead on hers. After his verse, he handed her off to Liam, who held her to his side. Louis wrapped an arm around her with her facing the audience. Nearly everyone had a lighter out. She giggled. Louis laid his head on her shoulder. On Harry's verse, he pulled her close to him. From chest to thighs, they touched. He spun her to a seat next to Niall. Tears were streaming down her face as the song drew to a close. They gathered around her, giving her a group hug.

She wiped her face then grabbed a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, One Direction. I hope y'all enjoyed yourselves tonight. Have a safe trip home." She quickly made her way to her family.

"Oh my God. Lei!" Gail was jumping up and down. Sophia and Perrie joined them.

"Lucky girl," Perrie said. "Having them sing just to you."

She frowned. "Don't Zayn and Liam sing to y'all?"

"Yeah," Sophia answered. "But not that song."

"Louis sang it to me."

Perrie rolled her eyes. "That's nice, Eleanor."

"Ladies, and sir," Preston said as he came up to them. "I'm going to take you back to the house. It's gonna be another hour to get out of wardrobe and makeup."

Tanalei hugged her nieces. "Go back. I have to change and get these damn contacts out. I'll see you in the mornin'." She waved them off. She had just pulled off her dress when the bathroom door opened.

"Tanalei?"

"Harry?" She opened the stall door. "What're you doin' in here?"

He joined her in the stall and locked the door. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a kiss. She soon felt brick against her back. Ripping her mouth away from his, she panted.

"Our first time is not gonna be in the ladies' restroom like some random hook-up."

"I know." He kissed along her jaw and down her neck. "You looked so sexy in that dress, and then you sang." He thrust his pelvis against her. "I'm about to explode."

A knock on the door caused them to freeze. The door opened and Liam called out, "Tanalei, we're just waiting on you and trying to find Harry."

"We'll be out in a minute," she told him.

"Good. I'll tell Robert not to search the boot of the cars for Harry then."

*&*&*