Chapter 5
S upreme
After speaking to a few of the people at the studio, I led Jrue and Jeremiah down the hall, with Eamon on our heels. We got set up in my favorite booth before I walked Jeremiah through the steps to make his first masterpiece. I was probably more excited than him as I walked him through the steps.
Jrue sat on the couch with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were glued to me as she watched me show her brother the ropes.
I knew she was worried about him, but he was in good hands.
There were a lot of vultures in the industry, so I understood her apprehension about letting him get involved in the rap game.
I wanted to take the ease off her mind and let her know that I wouldn’t let anyone steer him wrong. Once I was done showing him how the board worked, I moved back over and joined Jrue on the couch.
“Why are you pouting?” I asked her.
“I’m not pouting.”
“You’re pouting, but it’s fine. You’re adorable. It’s OK to be worried about your baby.”
“I just wish that he was as enthusiastic with his schoolwork as he is about all this rap stuff.”
“I’ll talk to him. OK?”
She nodded her head but didn’t lower her arms. I wanted to help her relax so Jeremiah could enjoy himself. I was sure her sitting behind him brooding had to be uncomfortable, so I pulled her hand and helped her to stand up.
“Hang out for a minute, buddy. I’m about to show Jrue something.”
“What are you showing me? I need to make sure he’s OK.”
“I know you don’t think this half-grown man needs you standing over his shoulder all day. Just walk down the hall with me,” I said, leading her out of the room by holding both her hands.
“Jeremiah, don’t leave this room, and don’t drink or smoke anything anyone tries to give you.”
“Seriously?” I chuckled.
She just shrugged. “You never know.”
“Come on, Choc.”
She tried, but there was no use in her hiding the smile that lit up her face. I kept my grip on her hands as I backed her down the hall to the band room. I had been working on a few tracks that featured a live band. I found myself gravitating toward live music more and more these days.
After guiding her to the couch, I walked over and picked up my favorite guitar next to my own.
I strummed the strings, playing the chords to John Mayer’s “XO” as I sat down next to her.
I loved to play the guitar. The look on Jrue’s face as I serenaded her with the strings made my chest feel like it was on fire.
I was so full I didn’t know what else to do but try to show her how I felt.
“Your love is bright as ever,” I sang, watching closely as her lips parted just slightly. “Even in the shadows. Baby, kiss me before they turn the lights out.”
“You can sing, Ian?”
“Depends on who you ask.”
“I don’t have to ask anyone. I heard you with my own ears. Why have you been hiding this?”
“Who says I’ve been hiding anything?”
“OK, have you ever sang on any of your songs?”
My brows shot up, but a smile lifted one corner of my mouth. “I’m offended that you’ve never listened to my music.”
“I told you that I don’t listen to rap.”
“You keep saying that, but now you know a rapper. Your boyfriend raps. You have a reason to listen to it now.”
“I listened to a few songs.”
“To answer your question, I sang a few hooks. I just don’t try to sing sing, if you know what I mean.”
“That’s exactly what I was talking about.”
“I guess you got a little bit of a point. Come here. Let me show you something,” I said, reaching over and pulling her into my lap.
She melted into me as I positioned her hands on the strings and helped her to play a simple chord. I nuzzled my face into her neck, inhaling her scent as we strummed the guitar’s strings together. I removed my hands from hers, placing them on her thighs while I let her play without me.
“That’s good, baby,” I muttered against her neck.
She laughed softly, making the heat in my chest feel like electricity. “I’m starting to wonder what you can’t do.”
“I can’t get you to trust me,” I stated.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” she asked, shifting her body weight so she was slightly facing me.
“You are. Listen, I have to go to New York in a couple of days for a radio interview. Why don’t you and Jeremiah come with me?”
“To New York?”
“Yeah, just over the weekend. He won’t even have to miss school. Do you have to work?”
“No, I don’t have anything on my calendar for a few weeks.”
“What do you do anyway?”
“I’m an event planner. I planned the party that we met at.”
“No shit? That was my birthday party, Choc. You still haven’t gotten me a gift, by the way.”
“I had no idea that it was your birthday. Why am I just now hearing this?”
“I wasn’t on that shit. I don’t celebrate my birthday.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to get into all that.”
“I do.”
“I just don’t like birthdays.”
“I thought you wanted to get to know each other, or were you just saying that?”
“For my eleventh birthday, more than anything, I wanted a Playstation 3 . I know I worried the hell out of my parents about it. I spent the weekend with my dad, having a ball. He took me and my brother to an arcade and to my favorite pizza spot. My birthday happened to fall on a Monday, though. He dropped me off at school on Monday morning. I kinda expected my mom to bring me cupcakes or something to school, but she didn’t.
“When me and my sister made it home from school on Monday afternoon, we couldn’t get in the house.
After sitting on the front step for a couple hours, Sage went next door and called my dad.
When he couldn’t get in touch with my mom, he took us to his house.
Two days later, he filed a missing person report.
It took a couple of nights for her to call and say it was his turn to take care of me and that she wasn’t coming back.
She had already called Sage’s dad to pick her up; he just never showed up.
I was crushed that she would just up and leave us.
She left on my birthday without even saying bye.
She just threw us away like we were trash.
Since then, I really haven’t had anything to celebrate. ”
“Damn, I’m sorry to hear that, Ian. I apologize for prying. You didn’t have to tell me that.”
“Yes, I did. You’re right. I said I wanted to get to know you.”
I couldn’t read her facial expression as she turned to straddle my lap.
“You said it’s only for the weekend, right? Jeremiah can’t miss school.”
“I promise I’ll have him there bright and early Monday morning.”
“OK. We’ll be there.”
After dropping Jeremiah off poolside, I walked behind Eamon, ushering Jrue to the elevator that led to our room.
Eamon went up ahead of us and made sure all was clear in the room.
I lost count of the number of times that I had walked in one of my hotel rooms to find a woman, or groups of women, ready to do whatever I wanted to do to them.
There were times when I was down for whatever. Today, things were different. I didn’t want Jrue to be ambushed by a naked woman in my bed or a crazed fan trying to get me to sign their titties. Eamon did his best to make sure those incidents were to a minimum.
Jrue had been adamant about how much she hated the spotlight.
I didn’t care for it myself. I didn’t mind an overzealous fan here or there, but the paparazzi were another thing.
With Jrue’s apprehension, I had another reason to keep them out of my face.
We stepped into the elevator and rode to our floor.
I inched closer to Jrue, clutching her hand in mine, hoping to soothe her anxiety as we rose.
“It’s gonna be fun.”
“I know.” She nodded. I wasn’t convinced, but I decided not to push. I could show her better than I could tell her.
“I figured you would want to rot away in the room for the rest of the day.”
“You’re right. I’m exhausted.”
“There are some good restaurants in here. Order as much room service as you want.”
“What about Jeremiah?” she asked as she stepped off the elevator.
“I’ll entertain him.”
“I don’t want him getting in any trouble, Ian.”
“I’m not going to let him get into anything. I want to take him to meet a producer friend of mine and let him get a feel for being in a big studio.”
“Why are you encouraging this, Ian?”
“Because if he’s serious about this, I want to lead him in the right direction.”
“I’m holding you to that. I can’t stand to see him going down the wrong path.”
When we made it to the door, Eamon scanned his card and opened the door to let her in.
“Alright, man,” I said, dapping him up, then leaving him outside of the door.
I was on Jrue’s heels as she walked deeper into the room.
She was like a panther with her deep chocolate skin wrapped in a black tank top jumpsuit.
The watch on her wrist matched perfectly with the earrings I gave her before we came here.
I was already looking for a gold watch so she could switch things up from time to time.
“This room is nice, Ian.”
“Might as well be comfortable.”
“I agree. Where is Jeremiah’s room?”
“It’s next door. Eamon’s room is adjoining.”
She nodded her head, wrapping her arms around herself as she turned away from me and casually strolled over, then plopped down on the bed. I followed suit, walking over and sitting next to her.
“I’m gonna be a good boy, and when I make it back, I’ll treat you like a good girl.”
“You better bring him back the same way you take him out of here, Supreme.”
“I plan to pour into him and have my guy boost his ego a little bit so he will know how talented he is. I’m going to bring him back even better.”
She smiled. “Thank you for this.”