Love the Second Time Around Novel

Chapter 44 Let Us Sing Together
“I suppose you could say that. We’ve just completed the shooting for the show, so I brought everyone over to relax for a bit,” the
man replied in his usual gentle, soothing voice.
On top of that, his current outfit looked a lot better than the one he had on at Flash the other day.
He looked so handsome that I found myself captivated in a matter of seconds.
“Did you come here with your friends?” Nicholas asked.
“Yeah, but I wandered a little too far away, and now I can’t find my way back...” I explained awkwardly. This is so embarrassing! I
mean, losing my way in a karaoke bar? Come on, I’m an adult for goodness’ sake!
Had I bumped into Dominic instead, he would’ve teased me so much — I would’ve never heard the end of it. While Nicholas did
none of that, what he said next surprised me greatly.
“In that case, how about you come to join me for a bit? We’ll go look for your private room later.”
Me? Join Nicholas? He said he came over after filming the show, so... Does that mean I will get to meet a few other stars too?
Oh my god! This sounds so exciting... But wouldn’t it be awkward for a random stranger like me to just show up?
“Um... Are you sure it’s appropriate to have me over like this?” I asked nervously.
At my timid question, Nicholas broke into a hearty chuckle. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s just a hangout session between colleagues,
after all. Come on, let’s go!”
With that being said, I decided to join him.
There were a lot more people inside his private room than I had expected.
There were over twenty people, and they were also surprised to see Nicholas return with a random stranger.
The awkward tension left me so dumbfounded that I forgot to greet them; I simply stood next to Nicholas in silence.
Fortunately for me, the man was quick to react to the situation. He introduced me to the others, giving me a cue to greet them all.
He then sat me down on the couch and handed me a glass of fruit juice.

I had noticed a few familiar faces in the group earlier. They were the ones with the cameras at Flash the other day, including the
guy wearing a hat.
“That show you mentioned... Does it have anything to do with you pretending to be an old man?” I asked out of curiosity without
giving it much thought.
“Yeah, we should be releasing the promotional video in a few days. You can check it out then.”
I nodded profusely. “With you in it? Of course I will!”
Given how nice Nicholas is, it was only natural that I support his shows in whatever way I could. Besides, all the movies and TV
shows he had been involved in throughout the past few years were amazing.
When I saw a few of his colleagues calling out to Nicholes, I excused myself; I didn’t want to take up any more of his time.
I then borrowed his phone and gave Shannon a call to inquire about the name of our private room.
“You guys have fun, okay? I’m going to join my friends now,” I said goodbye to Nicholas while returning his phone.
“Maybe I should walk you to your private room instead. There are a lot of them here, and navigating the corridors can be a little
tricky. You might not bump into me again if you get lost a second time.”
Hearing those words coming from him made me feel a lot worse about myself. He must think I’m really stupid...
“It’s fine! Now that I know the name of the private room, I can just ask any of the staff here for directions if I can’t find it. Besides,
you’ve got a lot of people waiting for you here. You shouldn’t leave.”
I knew I had a terrible sense of direction, but I wasn’t dumb enough to not ask for directions. I didn’t want to trouble Nicholas any
further, but he insisted and dragged me out of the room after excusing himself.
He let go of my hand after walking for a bit, and that was when I realized I had held hands with him.
Oh my god! I can’t believe I held hands with Nicholas! How embarrassing! I bet his fans would try to cut my hand off, bid for it,
and have it mounted on their wall at home if they found out! Heck, even I feel tempted to not wash my hand for a week... Should
I worship it like a sacred relic?
With Nicholas leading the way, the two of us were able to arrive at my private room fairly quickly. I thanked him profusely as we
stood outside the room door.

“Don’t mention it. Besides, we’re friends, aren’t we? There’s no need to be so formal with me!” Nicholas said with a warm smile
on his face.
Hearing him call me a friend got me feeling so excited that I blurted out the following words, “Would you like to come in for a bit?”
Damn it! Am I behaving a little out of place here? What if he’s only saying that out of courtesy? I mean... It isn’t very appropriate
for a nobody like me to hang out with a superstar like him...
Nicholas surprised me once again by accepting my invitation.
Since Shannon was in the room, I decided to give her a surprise and asked him to wait outside for a bit, a request which he
gladly obliged to.
I then entered the room and took the microphone over from James before clearing my throat with the volume at its maximum.
That instantly drew the attention of everyone inside the room, and they all looked at me eagerly with the exception of Dominic,
who had a hostile frown on his face.
“Allow me to introduce a mystery guest! Please, put your hands together! Keep your eyes peeled, Shannon!”
Before any of them could react, I quickly opened the door and led Nicholas into the room.
While the guys didn’t show much of a response, Shannon screamed in excitement and ran up to the man. Her eyes seemed to
be glistening.
“We meet again, Nicholas! Do you remember me? I’m Shannon Harper! We met back at Flash the other day!”
I could only facepalm myself helplessly from the sidelines as I watched the awkward situation unfold before me.
“Yes, I remember you. You’re Liliana’s editor, aren’t you? It’s nice to see you again.”
He was greeting her normally, but that sent Shannon into another fit of excited giggles.
I hurriedly dragged Nicholas over toward the guys and got them all introduced. I figured they had gotten used to being around big
shots like him as they were rather calm in comparison and greeted him politely.
Dominic, however, maintained his cold attitude and rudely ignored Nicholas’ greeting and handshake.

Annoyed by Dominic’s behavior, I dragged Nicholas toward the chair across the room and took a seat next to him.
I had left the private room earlier because I didn’t want to do a duet with Dominic, but James brought it up again the moment I
sat down.
For goodness’ sake, James! Why won’t you let it rest already? I shot him a fierce glare, mentally cursing him.
At that moment, the music began playing in the background, and I realized it was the song called Perfect.
Since it was impossible to avoid singing this time, I figured I would do it with Nicholas instead.
“Shall we sing this one together?” I asked, shoving the other microphone into the man’s hand.