6. Drix #3
Rome: Beautiful ring & beautiful woman. Good job.
I liked it then exited the thread.
While Myome had been spending time at my place, we’d agreed I’d spend a little time at her spot too.
She missed being in her place and we weren’t really a couple for her to even be moving into my shit for real, especially for optics.
I agreed to stagger a few of the nights with her but I wasn’t looking forward to it.
I didn’t have an issue with her house but that shit was pretty far from the studio I preferred to use.
I got food and sat in a booth by myself while I knocked it down. Then, I ran into a few stores and got duplicates of all the shit I’d need at Myome’s spot as well as spare clothes.
Afterwards, I ran errands, hit the gym, had an online meeting with a brand trying to get me to collab on a commercial, then headed home. I downed water, collapsed onto my couch, kicked my feet up, and let my head fall backward.
I was asleep in what felt like seconds and woke up several hours later. I peed, brushed my teeth, and headed back to the studio, grabbing food and smoking a J on the way.
I ate and worked on an instrumental that had been in my head for a good piece of the day, trying to make it into something usable. I was still in the zone when Trapp showed up on time with an entourage of mothafuckas with him.
“What’s up?” He walked straight toward me and offered his hand.
“What’s up?” I nudged my head once.
His head fell forward and he chuckled.
“That’s how you feel?”
“Man, we working together for the money. This ain’t no mothafuckin’ friendship. It’s a transaction. Get in the booth.”
“Yeah, alright.” He turned and did just that.
I started his instrumental and sat back in my seat, bobbing my head to the beat as he started rapping.
I saw my phone light up in my periphery and grabbed it when Trapp messed up and announced he needed a moment to rework his verse. It was a text from Myome.
I grabbed my phone at the same time Niecy plopped her ass into the seat beside me. I hadn’t even realized she was in the room.
“Well, look who it is,” she said simply.
I didn’t acknowledge that statement. We weren’t about to act like we just ran into each other unexpectedly. She knew who her brother was working with and she’d shown up because of that. What the fuck did we need to fake the funk for?
I glanced at Myome’s text.
Yo: Do you want me to pick something up for you to eat after the studio?
Me: Nah. I can feed myself.
A call from her popped up almost immediately.
“Why you always got to be so damn smart?” Myome skipped any kind of greeting.
“Just born that way I guess,” I deadpanned.
She giggled. “Yeah, whatever. So, smartass, do you want food at my place or not?”
“Man, if you want to have food there I’m not gon’ complain. If you don’t, I’m not going to starve.”
“But what do you want?” She stressed the word.
“What are you getting?”
“I was thinking about cooking something, but if you’re not going to eat any, I’m not going to cook a full meal just for myself.”
“Well, cook it. I’ll try it out, but if that shit is garbage, I’m gon’ tell you.”
“I’d expect nothing less. How’s the studio going?”
“Don’t wait up for me.”
“Yikes.” Myome whistled. “Well, good luck.”
“Thanks.” I looked up at Trapp’s ass while he stuttered over a line and cut the instrumental. I punched him in at the beginning of the verse and watched as he tried to catch the beat. “I’ll fuck with you later though.”
“Berlin!” Myome said loudly and I paused.
“What’s up?”
“I’m thinking about posting you.”
“And? I’ve already done the shit twice. We ain’t a fucking secret, Myome.”
“Yeah, well, I just wanted to check the temperature,” she admitted.
“We good.” I held my hand up to Trapp who was in the booth talking. “Go with your move.”
“Alright. Bye,” she said quickly.
“Bye.” I hung up, tossed my phone back on the soundboard, and leaned into my mic. “You gon’ catch the fucking beat sometime tonight?”
“Fuck you. You punched me in too early.”
“Yeah, a’ight, bitch. Where you want me to drop you in?”
“Right after that first chorus.”
“Bet. Stay on beat this time.”
He waved me off and I saved his first recording before I set him up for his redo and started it.
“So, was that wifey?” Niecy asked after just sitting beside me in silence for a minute.
“You already know the answer to that.” I leaned back in my seat, my eyes still focused on Trapp.
“So, you’re not going to deny it?”
“That I talk on the phone with my wife? Nah.”
“So you’re really married to that bitch?”
“I hope that made you feel better because that was your one freebie.” I spoke to her while I adjusted Trapp’s settings.
“The next time you call my wife a bitch, I’m gon’ slap yo’ brother and tell Myome you talking shit.
We both know you can’t beat her ass, so I’d watch yo’ mouth before you get hit if I were you. ”
“Can you just…” Niecy paused. “Can we just talk?”
“You talking, ain’t you?” I added a horn beneath Trapp’s beat.
“Okay.” She exhaled. “Look, I just want you to know that I, uhm, I don’t think we would be able to work past this.”
“A’ight.”
Niecy set her hand on my leg and I glanced at her briefly before shaking my head and continuing to work.
“You married this woman, Drix. You’re publicly claiming her and got her some big ass ring even though you broke up with me because you felt like I was taking advantage of you and your money.” She scoffed. “It’s a bad look and I just can’t have you making me look crazy.”
“Niecy, get the fuck out my ear with that stupid shit,” I said calmly.
“You not my bitch. You haven’t been my bitch in a long time.
You’ll never be my bitch again. Shit. I don’t even know what the fuck you talking about.
” I turned slightly, put my foot on her chair, and kicked that shit away from me.
She squeaked as she moved but I didn’t bother looking in her direction.
“So, you’re just done with me?”
I didn’t dignify that with a response. She sniffled a few minutes later then got up and left.
I felt like Trapp and I worked better after she left. When we finished, I made sure his payment cleared, sent him his file, and headed out.
It was after one in the morning but that wasn’t too crazy honestly. I headed straight to Myome’s spot and let myself in since she’d told me where her spare key was in case she was asleep.
Her spot wasn’t the biggest but she had a guest room with a small bathroom right outside of the doorway.
I got my shit settled and took a quick shower then made my way to the kitchen.
She’d been true to her word and left a plate labeled with my name in the fridge.
It was green beans, mashed potatoes, and smothered pork chops that looked amazing.
I popped the whole thing in the microwave then ate in just the light of the stove.
Afterwards, I brushed my teeth and collapsed into bed.
I lay on my back thinking about the events of the day, thankful that the only person I had on my schedule tomorrow was Rome.
Slowly sleep took me but I jerked awake with the feeling of my face burning and sat up so quickly in bed I hadn’t even registered what was going on for real.
I blinked several times before I realized Myome was standing in front of me looking fine as hell in biker shorts and a cropped shirt.
“Take me get an annulment right fucking now!” she yelled.
“Man, what the fuck are you talking about, Yo?”
“You’re going to sit there and tell me I better not embarrass you when you’re the one out here just doing anything? Nigga, you’re embarrassing.”
“Ay, you ain’t got to scream to be heard, Myome.” I paused for a beat while I realized what had happened. “Did you slap me?”
“Clean out of your sleep,” Myome said proudly, crossing her arms and rolling her neck.
My eyebrows fiddled together. I scoffed and tossed the blanket off me to climb to my feet. Her little ass shrank in front of me when I closed the space between us and glared down at her.
“You out yo’ mothafuckin’ mind?” I asked and Myome glared back but now that I saw her up close, the crack was evident. It was obvious she was on the brink of tears. Something was wrong and her anger wasn’t shit but her acting out so she didn’t have to be vulnerable. “The fuck wrong with you, Yo?”
“Check your phone.”
I kept my eyes on her. “I ain’t asking my phone or nobody else for that matter. I’m asking you.”
“Well you and Niecy being hugged up in the studio last night is going pretty viral and I’m being called a stupid bitch at least what?
Two hundred times a minute? I had to turn off my comments and tags and blog sites are blowing up my fucking email, Berlin!
I should have known when you didn’t give me a straight answer about this respect shit going both ways but fuck.
” She sniffed and her shoulders dropped.
I reached for her shoulders and my body tensed when she punched me in my stomach so hard I felt her ring dig into my skin.
I clenched my jaw and got ready to yoke Myome up but she must have seen the change in me because she slapped my ass again then did the dash.
I grabbed my phone and threw it full force. She screamed and froze while it hit the bedroom wall, making a small hole.
“What the fuck, Berlin?” She spun around.
“I wasn’t about to chase you,” I said simply and closed the distance between us while she was still in shock. “Come here.”
I grabbed her before she could make another dash, yanking her in by her arms, spinning her around and putting her in a light headlock. I jerked her back into my body and she tensed.
“You know I’m not fucking with Niecy.”
“No, Berlin. I don’t know that, because when I met you, you were very much fucking with Niecy and there’s photo evidence of y’all in the studio together looking all cozy with her hand in your fucking lap.”
“Her hand was on my knee, not in my lap.”
Myome huffed and stomped on my foot. I let go of her neck and pushed her toward her bed. She landed with a soft thud and glared up at me.
“Either way, this arrangement isn’t beneficial for me anymore. Being called dumb isn’t the brand I want for myself.” She shrugged. “This was a stupid idea and I’m done with it now.”
I scoffed and nodded at that.
“Alright, Myome.”
“Alright.” She exhaled, hopped up, and headed toward the door. I heard her sniff as she walked out of the room and I couldn’t lie, that shit hit a hundred times harder coming from her instead of Niecy.
Niecy.
She and Trapp were both going to have to see me.