5. Dindi
A VERY SHORT TIME EARLIER…
“Bitch, so you out there getting Greek dick now!”
Melody was so dramatic! I called her as soon as I got into my room. This was not something that I could hold.
I laughed. “Shut up. Let’s not talk about Greek dick.” I gave her a side-eye for knowing.
When she came to visit after I gave her an abridged version of what happened to me, I noticed the little show of flirtation between her and Poseidon. One thing that my auntie, Melody’s mother, taught both of us was to be comfortable in our sexuality. I knew that I wanted to fuck Zeus the first day that he stepped foot into my hospital room. I knew that I would fuck him the day that we sat in my room for three hours talking and I didn’t want him to leave. He was such a caring and funny person. At the same time, I could tell that if he needed to, he would nut the hell up.
“I’m talking about your Greek dick, not mine. From what you just told me, you own yours. I’m just on a borrowing program right now. Dindi, you’re in a relationship!”
When she pointed that out, it was like the first time that it really sunk in. Today wasn’t the first time that Zeus said something about me and him being together. I just took it with a grain of salt. I knew it was real during that second session in the shower. Being the girlfriend of Zeus Basil was not such a bad thing to be.
“Yeah, I guess I am. Do you think his family will, like, not agree with us being together?” I wasn’t sure why I was so worried about that. Yeah, they were all cool, sweet, caring, and nice. It was one thing to be all of that to the disabled girl who you were assisting. It was another to be all of that to your son or brother’s disabled girlfriend.
All of Melody’s cheerfulness left her facial expression. “Bitch, don’t make me curse your ass out. That man’s people loved you before there was a you and him. Stop playing with me and yourself.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I didn’t want to discuss that anymore. “So, I composed a new piece. Wanna hear it?”
Her cheerfulness was back. “Oh, that means you must be home alone. Fuck yeah, I want to hear it.”
I picked up the tripod that held my phone and my musical composition book to take with me out to the grand piano. The first time I played it was when Melody was here. Mr. and Mrs. Basil were out at dinner. She wanted to play it, too, so we did. It was then that we found not only did it sound astonishing, but it also had light effects when played.
I set up the camera so she could see both me playing as well as my sheet music, then took my boot off. When I played instruments, I either sat on the floor or didn’t wear shoes. It allowed me to feel the beats. When I composed beats and songs, I did them with my cochlear off. I didn’t listen to it until I did what I considered the final cut. By that time, Melody had already heard it and given her feedback.
Once I had everything set up, I took a final look at my phone screen. “Are you ready?” After she nodded her conformation, I took a deep breath. “Alright, I’m going off now.”
I turned off my implant, put my finger on the key, feet on the pedals, and closed my eyes. From the first note played, I felt it in my soul. This was where my heart lived. This was the loud silence that God gave me to relish in. The feeling of the notes flowing through my body was orgasmic.
I didn’t remember much about my mother, but I was told that she was the reason for my initial love of music. Auntie Kadence told me that she had music surrounding me since I was born. She would put a speaker under the mattress of my crib so that I could feel the beat of whatever song played. I had seen pictures of the music room that was in the house that my parents had. I loved that my auntie picked up right where my mother left off. I would always owe my success to God, my mom, and auntie. Harmony Kadence was my life.
When I hit the last note, I felt like it was my first time that I took a breath. I turned my body toward my phone. Melody wore this funny expression that made me tilt my head. I asked her if she liked it with my hands. She smiled, nodded, then told me to turn around with her hands.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I slowly turned my body around with my eyes closed. Once my body faced the door, I kept my eyes closed. Before I could open them, I felt lips press against mine. My eyes slowly opened to my beautiful man, Zeus. My man. When I pulled back from the kiss, his hand cuffed the back of my neck to pull me in deeper.
There was a tap on my shoulder. I pulled back to see Hestia standing there with a hand on her hip. When she signed for us to be nasty somewhere else and to turn my cochlear on because she wanted me to hear her curse me out, I giggled. I took the time to turn it on.
“Oh, so you got tons of secrets. You’re out here playing like a prodigy, and we’ve just been informed that you’re Madam Prez. You better start talking, ma’am.” Hestia’s hand returned back to her hip.
“Dindi, call me back when you can, cuz. Love you,” Melody said through my phone before I heard the disconnect sound. Leave it to her to leave me to the wolves.
Zeus fussed at me about my boot for a second. It wasn’t until he helped me up that I saw the rest of his siblings gawking at me like I had two heads. Great! This wasn’t what I thought would happen today.
“How about we go to the living room and have a story time like you females like to say,” Hades said with his arm out toward the living room to usher us there. He was certainly the jester of the family.
We all moved to the living room and took seats. Once we were comfortable, they all just looked at me. This would be the first time that Hades and Poseidon heard my voice. “Well, I guess I should tell you all that I can play the piano. Um, not just the piano. I play a plethora of instruments because it’s kind of what I do for a living.”
I saw Zeus’s head tilt to the side from the corner of my eye. “What exactly do you do for a living, baby?” He leaned over and put his lips to my ear, then whispered, “I’m gonna dig in that pussy later with your talented, sexy ass.”
“I’m a songwriter and music producer. If you’ve ever heard of Harmony Kadence Productions, that’s me. Well, it’s me and Melody.” I sat there silently to see if anyone would say or ask anything.
Hades lifted his finger. “Excuse me. Is Kadence spelled with a ‘k’ or a ‘ c ’?” After I confirmed that it was with a ‘ k, ’ he told us all to hold on, please, as he tapped on the screen of his phone. “So, you’re not just a songwriter, music producer. You’re a successful one.”
“I’ve been blessed in what I do. My auntie Kadence, Melody’s mother, took me in after my mother died. She was a songwriter, the same as my mother. I guess it’s in our blood.”
Hades’s face contorted. “So, you call twelve Grammy Awards, five All-American Music Awards, and a boatload of other awards blessed?
I listened as he read my accolades, people that I’d worked with, beats that I’d made, and songs that I’d written to everyone. It all sounded very impressive. I was blessed to be able to do what I did.
“So, how do you like hear the music if your implant is off?” Hera asked.
Her curiosity made me smile. “I can feel the beat of the instruments. I have a music room at my house with all of my instruments. One day, I’ll show you.”
“Shit, I want to see too. Make sure I’m there,” Hades insisted. “This is cool as fuck, sis! My sis-in-law is a famous music producer.”
I held my hand up. “Wait, people don’t know I’m me. The artists that I work with sign NDAs to not reveal my identity or the fact that I’m hearing impaired.. I never accept any of my awards in person. The industry has me labeled as a mysterious recluse.”
“Why though, baby? You’re amazing,” Zeus complimented with his hand on my thigh.
I shrugged. “People can be mean. As tolerant as the world is now, there are still enough assholes out there to do damage. It’s always just been me, my auntie, and my cousin. Now, it’s just me and my cousin. Me behind the curtains is a way of protecting us.”
Poseidon scooted forward in his seat. “I don’t know if you heard, but you’re Madam Prez. You got a whole army behind not just you, but Melody too. Whenever you want to step out there, you can. We got you.”
An idea popped into my head. “My music studio in Charlotte is opening very soon. Melody wanted to do a grand opening, but I told her no. Maybe I could?—”
“Fuck yeah! You’re going to have a grand opening that’s going to bring the city out. Call Mel and tell her to bring her ass here to plan. She can stay at Poseidon’s house.” Hades smirked in his brother’s direction.
Poseidon gave his brother his middle finger. “How about you mind the business that pays you. That business is not what my dick does.”
“Hey, I can hear you! Ew!” I used my finger to turn off my implant before I told them to carry on.
I saw them all laugh at me. I did not want to think about Melody and Poseidon having sex. She may not have, but he certainly just confirmed that they fucked. At least in my mind, he did.
Zeus grabbed my chin to turn my face to him. He kissed my lips sultrily. His amorous gaze at me when he pulled away made me warm inside. Coming out to the world would be a new chapter in my life. I was ready for it.
Hades made me call Melody to let her know that the grand opening was on. She was excited beyond belief. She opted that she would fly to work from my townhouse until the event. I didn’t miss the small smile that sat on Poseidon’s face when she said that. I would make sure I had extra disinfectants for the counters in the house. I knew how my cousin got down.
A SHORT TIME LATER…
“Zeus, baby, I can’t take it,” I whined.
His head was between my legs. His tongue did magic tricks on my clit and asshole. The attention to detail that he gave when it came to satisfying me was beyond what I’d ever experienced. It wasn’t just a sexual thing. The conversations that we had stimulated every part of me. There were times that we would just sit in silence with him lying between my legs with his arms around my waist. He would fall asleep in that position sometimes.
He knew that there were times that I liked silence, and he respected that. Zeus was very touchy, feely. I loved that affection because it made me comfortable to stay within my true clingy nature. His parents were very happy when we gave them the news about us exploring a relationship. They also were surprised and impressed by my musical ability. Now Mrs. Laverne would call me just to hear me play. I looked forward to every request.
“Yes, you can. Give me another one, and I’ll let up.” He went back to his feast after he spoke.
He knew what to do to get me there. The finger in the ass did it every time. My body shivered at the feeling of my soul leaving my body willingly. My baby had to put a plastic mattress protector under his sheets. After I was drained, he patted my ass. “Good girl. Let’s get cleaned up so you can get to the studio.”
Clean up was code for ‘I’m going to fuck the common sense out of you in the shower, then clean your body.’ “Let’s go clean up.”
Two hours later, we were at the studio with Melody. Now that everything was completed and I spent most of my time on the Basil compound, I worked from here. If Zeus wasn’t busy, he would be with me in the studio. The front door of the studio stayed locked after official business hours, which was four in the afternoon. A buzzer was used to trigger lights throughout the building to alert me if someone was at the front door before or after business hours. The hours for the receptionist that I hired was six to six. She was a local college student who was studying sound engineering, so I decided to also take her on as a mentee.
Arms wrapped around me from behind. The feeling of Zeus’s kiss caused me to turn around to offer my lips. When I was in the studio, I was in lip reading mode unless I was listening to the final cut of a song. When Melody sang, I also listened because her voice was angelic. I would never miss a chance to hear her sing.
“I’m about to go handle something. I’ll meet you at home, okay?” After I nodded, he smacked my ass. “Jin, don’t knock on the fucking door when you get there. Use the damn code we programmed for you.”
His house had somehow become home a couple of weeks ago. I slept at my townhouse a few times, but one night of hearing Melody have loud sex was enough for me. I went to the lake house on my downtime with Melody and sometimes the Basil clan. He kissed me one more time, then left.
Melody came into my sight. “You know that boy loves you?” She had this giddy smile.
I used my hands to tell her that I didn’t think that was the case. In my mind it was too soon for all of that love talk.
I wanted to tell her something. I knew that she would be pissed off, so I signed it quickly before I turned back to the soundboard. A few seconds later, I felt her hand behind my ear, then I heard her voice. Her rude ass was known to turn my cochlear on when she was mad.
“You did the fuck what, Dindi? I know you didn’t just tell me what I think you did.” She was seething.
I huffed before I turned around. “Yes, I sent an email to my father and invited him to my grand opening. I found the email to his business, so I kinda been emailing him. He hasn’t responded to any of them though.”
Her eyes enlarged. “Did you think that his bitch ass would? He abandoned your ass. Why the fuck would he all of a sudden care about you? Make it make sense.”
“Melody, he didn’t abandon me. My mother wanted Auntie to raise me, so that is what happened. You act like he didn’t technically support me. He sent me three thousand dollars a month from when I was three years old until I was eighteen. A man that didn’t care wouldn’t do that. Melody, he contributed over five hundred thousand dollars into the trust that I got access to.”
The trust had much more in it then that when I gained access because it was a money market type of account. It was my auntie who chose not to use the money. That was not his fault.
Melody just stood there. When a tear fell from one of her eyes, I felt horrible. “Guilt, Dindi, guilt. He did the shit out of guilt. What the fuck? Was my mother’s love not enough for you? This man’s wife almost killed you for Christ’s sake.” She threw her hands up. “I don’t want to deal with this.
“I have a lot more to finalize before the event. If you choose to put yourself out there to be hurt like I know he’s going to do, then that’s on your stupid ass. It’s above me now.”
She turned her back on me, grabbed her things from the couch, then stormed out of the studio. Her words hurt like hell. I sat down in the seat that was closest to me. The tears fell from my eyes freely. It wasn’t that my auntie’s love wasn’t enough. There was a difference between maternal love and paternal love. I never went to father-daughter dances or those stupid pancake breakfasts, because I didn’t have a father. When I had recitals, there was no father sitting in the audience to watch me with admiration.
As much as I hated it, Melody was more than likely right. If he hadn’t answered me by now, what made me think that he would come to my damn grand opening. The first time that I emailed him was two weeks after I was injured. I’d sent an email a week since then. I knew that they were being read because I put a read receipt on them. I was setting myself up for hurt, and I knew that. I couldn’t just not try though.
LOUD SILENCE MUSIC STUDIO GRAND OPENING…
The day had finally come, and I wished that I could say that I was excited. I was anxious with a side of stress. My and Melody’s relationship was strained, and I hated that. Now when we talked, it was all business, and that hurt my feelings. Zeus walked in on me crying about it, which forced me to tell him what I did. He was not happy at all about it either because of what Jennifer had done. He also didn’t understand why I invited him.
“Baby, you are beautiful.”
Zeus stood behind me where I stood looking in the mirror. I wore a very cute body-con dress with my lower back out. The showstopper was my heels though. My Kate Strass heels were the choice for the night. I had to practice walking in these again because of my broken ankle. Every day, I wore them for hours to get used to them again.
“When I make love to you tonight, make sure you keep those on,” he said after he pointed down at my heels.
My man in his designer five-piece suit was the sexiest sight that I’d ever seen. I was so turned on that I found myself on my knees earlier to show my appreciation. My gaze went up to him. “I’ll be sure to do that.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “Are you ready for this?”
Was I? The amount of press that RSVP’d alone was intimidating. They were chomping at the bit to see who the infamous Harmony Kadence was. In all the years that I’d been in the industry, I had managed to keep my true identity shielded. Clients would be there as well as the entire full force of the Mount Olympus Riders. Members from the New York chapter, including Zeus’s grandfather, Uranus, made the trip down to support me. Hades’s company was our security for the night.
“Yeah, let’s get this over with so that I can get home and go to bed.”
I pivoted on my heels to walk past him, but his arm stopped me from moving forward. My eyes went down to his arm before it went to his face. “That’s what I won’t allow you to do, Jin.” He turned toward me, then pulled me into his arms. “I don’t care what you got going on in that pretty, big head of yours. This is your night, and you are going to walk in that awesomeness that is you. Remember, you are representing your mother and auntie with this shit.
“That mural drawing of them that you have on the entry wall says as much. Please don’t make me take you into your studio during this event to fuck the sense back into you because you’re tripping right now. Talking about let’s get this over with.” He smacked my ass harder than normal. “Let’s fucking go.”
I rubbed my ass with my hands. He reached his hand out for mine. Once my hand was in his, he guided me outside of his house. When we crossed the threshold of the front door, I gasped. There were so many reasons to gasp. The suicide door luxury vehicle was to die for. I didn’t expect it at all.
What took the cake was the Mount O Riders in front of the car as well as behind. There were so many of them. Poseidon led the riders as their vice president. From what I could see, they all wore dark denim jeans and polo shirts with their club vest. “All of this for me?”
“The fuck you thought. It’s the universe for Madam Prez. Don’t forget that shit.” He walked past the car out to the center of his driveway. In a loud voice, he chanted, “O ólympos psilá (Olympus high)!”
In unison, everyone responded. “ópou katoikoún oi theoí (Where the gods reside)!”
I learned that was the club’s slogan. With a smile, he helped me into the car. Let’s do this. Time to put on a show.
My mouth dropped when we pulled into the parking lot of the strip where my studio was. All the businesses were closed. It was a good thing, too, because this event took up the entire strip parking lot. Melody had the foresight to use many of them for different things that we needed for tonight, including but not limited to catering, decorations, valet, and branded items for our goodie bags.
There was a red carpet that led to the entrance of the building, and paparazzi lined it to take pictures of the celebrity guests. Reporters were also there asking for interviews from celebrities in attendance. Zeus leaned over, grabbed my chin, then pulled my lips to his to kiss. “Let’s show the world who my baby is.”
The driver came around and opened the door. Zeus stepped out in all his sexiness. He straightened his suit before he reached his hand out. I took a deep breath and said a quick prayer before I put my hand in his. When my foot hit the carpet, the flashes from the cameras became more intense. I saw the sign language interpreter that Melody hired. Tonight would be the night that the world found out that I was deaf.
Zeus and I posed for pictures before we walked down the red carpet. A reporter from a syndicated network who we promised to give the first interview to called us over. My interpreter, Gracie, who happened to be a member of the Mount O Riders, gave me a warm smile. She looked absolutely radiant.
“Harmony Kadence, you look absolutely beautiful tonight,” Mandy, the reporter, complimented. “What made you decide to reveal yourself now to the public?”
She followed my eyes because they were not on her. When she saw my interpreter, the shock on her face was comical. I had my cochlear on, but I chose not to speak tonight. I signed my answer to Gracie. “I felt that it was time that the world saw the face behind the songs and beats.”
Mandy nodded. “I see that you have a sign language interpreter. Should I conclude that you are hearing impaired?” Stupid ass question. No, I do this shit for fun.
“Yes, I am. I was born deaf.” Gracie gave her my answer to her question.
Mandy’s smile was big and bright. She knew that this interview was a gold mine. “Wow! That makes you even more of a wonder woman. Your songs and beats have dominated the industry for many years. To know that you accomplished all that while being hearing impaired is a true inspiration.” She turned her attention to my man. “May I ask your name and who you are to Miss Harmony Kadence?”
He gave his award-winning smile that showed off his bottom diamond encrusted open-faced grill. When he lifted his hands and began signing, my chest contracted. My eyes bounced between Gracie, who gave me a wink, Mandy, and the man who I officially was in love with.
“My name is Zeus Basil. Miss Harmony Kadence is the love of my life and my forever more.” My heart swooned to his signed words.
Mandy’s head ticked to the side. “Ok, Miss Harmony Kadence. Mr. Basil, are you also hearing impaired?”
This time, he answered verbally. “No, I am not.”
When we met, he did not know American Sign Language. He didn’t realize what it meant to me that he took the time to learn. He had to have been learning for a while because he did not falter.
She asked us a few more questions before we moved along the line to take more pictures and give more interviews. Every time he answered with ASL, my pussy got wet. It looked like I was going to pull him into my studio and let him fuck me into a stupor at some point tonight anyway.
When we made it inside of the building, I asked him when he learned how to sign, with my hands. After he told me that he had been taking lessons from Gracie since the week after he met me, I stood on the tips of my toes to close the gap between us, to lasciviously kiss him. The few members of the press who were granted passes to enter the building had a field day taking pictures.
The rest of the night was absolutely magical. We were able to announce that in the last quarter of the year, I planned to start a mentoring program partnering with local high schools for students who were interested in sound engineering. Other producers agreed to join the program and mentor students as well.
Although the night was magical, I couldn’t lie. I was disappointed to not see my father. Like Melody said, he wouldn’t come. Also like she said, my heart would be broken.
SOME TIME LATER…
Business had never been better when it came to both my studio being booked to capacity and clients asking for beats and songs. It was like now that the world knew who I was and that I was hearing impaired, they wanted to have a stamp of my excellence on their album. Trust me, I didn’t mind either.
It was almost eleven at night. I was in the studio working on something. I was in the zone and was determined to finish this project tonight. Zeus hated it when I was in the studio late without him. He had business to take care of. I was sure that he would be on his way soon enough. My man didn’t play about me at all. I loved that for me.
Like he felt me thinking about him, my phone lit up with a video call from my baby. I turned my hearing on. “Hey, baby.”
“What’s up, love. Me and Hades are headed your way now. Have you eaten since the last time that I saw you?” His eyes narrowed.
I had a bad habit of letting the day get away from me and forgetting to eat. It was something that Melody got on me about all the time. It wasn’t an intentional thing. I tended to get into a zone, and once that happened, I blocked everything out. “I had some cube cheese and pepperoni.”
“Jin, you know I’m going to get in your ass when I get there. I told you about this shit.” His tone was stern. Little did he know, that shit turned me on. Reprimand me, you big dick Greek god. “I’m going to bring you something to eat.”
I told him that I wanted Cook-Out. He rolled his eyes, but I knew he was going to walk through that door with my grilled chicken sandwich, cheddar style, and Cheerwine float. He had the code to get into the building, but he still always pressed the buzzer to let me know that he was here. We spoke for a few more minutes before we got off the call. I went back to the silence of my mind to get back to work.
I wasn’t sure how long I was working when I felt someone behind me. I must have really been in the zone not to see the light flash to let me know my baby was here. I smiled before I turned around but was met with something that I least expected—a punch to the face.