"Okay Tricia, your turn," Katie announced. "You gotta get "solo" sometime!" Tricia's three previous rolls had been "sing-a-long", and she'd never sung loudly.
"You guys don't want to hear me sing," Tricia protested, shaking the dice.
"You always say that," Rich pointed out. "I don't think I've ever heard you by yourself."
A chorus of "me either"s went around the room. Katie smiled, "I have. C'mon Trish, roll already."
The cube of white plastic skipped across the floor, landing by Nick's foot. He made a show of examining it before announcing, "Two."
"Whoo!" Mary cheered, diving for Tricia's CD case. "Okay, what'd we choose for her?"
"Oh boy," Tricia groaned, leaning back and examining the ceiling. "What torture are you going to..."
"Backstreet Boys," Ingrid announced firmly. The room broke out in laughter, Nick joined in after a moment's hesitation.
"You want me to handle five part harmony?" she demanded. "Who am I, Mary?"
Mary stuck out her tongue and waved the CD case at her - a Shape of My Heart single. "Sure we do," She removed the CD and placed it in the player. "C'mon, stand up."
"Can I at least get some backup help, if any of you closet fans remember the chorus?" she pleaded, getting to her feet. She didn't meet Nick's eye.
"We'll help out if we can," Katie assured her as the CD started.
"Well, here goes." She closed her eyes and joined in with Brian.
As the music was turned down and her voice steadied, Nick began to wonder what she considered a good singing voice. Tricia's voice was raw, and low for a female's, but clear and strong. She matched Brian easily, then reached a little higher for the chorus, still solo. She couldn't quite match A.J.'s baritone for the second verse, but it was close, and her version of his vocal acrobatics showed she'd sung this more than once. Nick found himself backing her up softly on the next chorus.
Tricia's eyes snapped open and she fixed him with a mischevious grin. The bridge was his, was she going to make him take it? He opened his mouth, but she beat him to the punch.
Knowing the notes were too high for her, she picked a lower starting point and sang with spirit. Nick answered her triumphant grin, giving her points for spunk, and joined in with the end. She picked A.J's part, so he stuck to his own familiar part and watched her for "back off" cues. Instead, she nodded slightly and let his voice soar before coming in under him for the final notes.
"See?" Mary declared, "That did not suck."
Tricia laughed. "Thanks ever so much, Mary."
"No, it was good!" Rich protested.
"I know the song," she explained, shrugging. "You know I don't have an ear for... anything. It took a lot of practice."
"She's self-conscious because she's a tenor," Katie, who was a soprano, cut in.
"Whatever."
"Nice pipes, Nick." Ingrid mentioned.
"Are those really the parts, or were you just... oh I'm dumb." Katie groaned.
"What?" Ingrid pressed. Tricia was biting her lip but her eyes danced at him.
"Nick... Carter." This didn't register with everyone so Katie pushed on. "From the Backstreet Boys."
Busted.