I felt my stomach sink and swallowed nervously.

Thad and Annie started things off. Everyone had to choose a throwback song, and Thad chose a sultry Sade’ song, “Nothing Can Come Between Us.”

As he pretended to croon, “what we have is strong and tender … so hold on … in the middle of the madness … when the time is running out and you’re left alone … all I want is you to know that It’s strong still… can’t pull us apart … nothing can come between us….”

The couples in the big group were each nuzzling into each other or else smiling into each other’s eyes as he pretended to sing soulfully. I eased my chair from between Michael and Katy, and pulled it to sit next to Harley, whispering, “Don’t worry, I suck at this.”

“It’s about faith, it’s about trust, yeah, yeah,” Thad continued to sing, and knelt in front of Annie, holding her hand against his heart.

Harley was still fidgeting nervously, I could tell. “But you have to admit, this is a good song about us, too, right?” I whispered.

She looked at me and gave me one of those smiles that turned my world upside-down. “So is this song #1?”

“Maybe 1A,” I answered with my own smile. Harley’s eyes glazed over momentarily.

Rachel pulled a chair behind us and leaned her head between us. “If you two aren’t getting it on, you should. The chemistry between you gals is hot. Everyone can feel it, especially now that people have some alcohol in their systems, and they’re letting their inhibitions go. We all just want to see what primo heat looks like up close, you know what I mean? …”

We both looked at her with frowns and surreptitiously shifted our chairs away from each other.

We clapped lustily as Thad ended his song. Annie stood after giving him a long kiss. “Hey!” Jim said, in a protesting voice. “You’re not supposed to do that until the audience …”

“Aw, shut up, Jim. We’re getting married in a few days, anyway …” as people laughed.

Annie launched into her selection, “How will I know?”

It could have been a contest-ending performance, but she hadn’t sang to it in as heartfelt a manner as Thad had done, so the cheers as she ended weren’t as loud. Harley and I hooted and hollered as loudly as we could, though. Michael and Katy looked at us with smirks in their faces as they clapped tepidly.