Chapter 4 #2
“Girl! You fucked that stage up! I hope you left a lil bit for Glo!”
I laughed as I hugged her. “Thank you, Maj!”
When I went back to my dressing room, I was so hype!
Tonight was an amazing show. I couldn’t lie and pretend thoughts of Graham didn’t float through my mind during that last song.
Jesus. That man had converted me into a feen in less than an hour.
As I sat in my chair, doing my best to calm down, I patted my face dry with a towel.
When I was done, Maj was standing there with my bottle of water.
Sunday’s flight was going to be long as fuck going back to Houston if that man ignored me.
I had to admit that it slightly bothered me the way he left.
That shit was my fault though. I could see his demeanor shift when I said we didn’t have a lot of time.
Something about him seemed darker . . . colder at that moment, until we kissed.
My body heated to unseen, dangerous levels when he returned my kiss. I thought I was gonna drown his ass.
Kimaji went to the door and allowed personnel from the arena inside with food and drinks.
I went to the bathroom to shower. I was so damn hot I knew I would have to take a cold shower.
I couldn’t seem to stop sweating. My adrenaline was on overload.
Not only was the show fire, but I knew Noah had witnessed every minute of it.
I only had one more album to fulfill my contract with my label, if their asses didn’t drop me before then.
When I came out, Kimaji had my Calypso drink and a plate of lemon pepper wings ready for me.
I was starving. I could never eat before a show.
During lunch, I picked over my food. Not only was my stomach in knots about the show, but Graham was penetrating all my mental defenses.
His dick was way too good to forget about. I needed a nap like yesterday.
Just as I demolished the last wing, there was a knock on the door.
I knew it was Noah and his small entourage.
My stomach was in knots all over again. Maj gave me an excited smile as her eyebrows lifted.
I giggled as she went to the door. Sure enough, he walked in with Sonya, his brother, and a few security personnel. Sharee and Exodus weren’t with them.
“That show was fire!” RJ said, his voice booming like the baseline of my last song.
I just knew I was blushing. My face was hot as fuck, and my light-bright ass couldn’t hide that shit if I tried. “Thank you.”
“He right. Your label sleeping on a fucking star. Quick question. Which female rapper, besides yourself, is your favorite?” Noah asked.
I was silent for a second, then said, “Let me see if you can guess.”
He smiled slightly. “So something is telling me that it ain’t any of these fairly new acts. Your voice and style of rap sort of reminds me of Trina.”
I smiled big. “She’s my absolute favorite.”
“Damn, I’m good,” he said, then chuckled. “So what’s your schedule like? I want us to sit and chop it up privately once you’re rested. This isn’t the best place to talk business.”
I smiled. “I don’t have much going on. It was a miracle I got this. Nobody gives a fuck about me over there.”
He nodded. “I gathered that. Don’t worry. It’s because you wasn’t meant to be over there. You were supposed to be at YKMN.”
GloRilla’s “TGIF” blared, and I couldn’t help but stand up and dance. That was my shit. Sonya joined Kimaji and me as Noah slowly shook his head.
“Sorry. I had to do my dance. That’s my shit. Plus, I ain’t got no nigga and no nigga ain’t got me.”
He chuckled. “It’s cool. Keep this shit tight.
Don’t tell nobody about what we talking about, or your label ain’t gon’ wanna let you go.
I don’t do drama or industry bullshit. I protect my peace as much as possible, and those muthafuckas don’t like that shit.
I can see your mind looked to be on a loop pattern about why Sonya came in here with us, but she helps with artist development, mainly styling.
Being that you have somewhat of an early 2000’s flare, I felt like she would be perfect. ”
“Thank you so much. On the flight over, I was racking my brain with how I would discreetly ask Sharee and Exodus about signing with you. This has got to be one of the best days of my life.”
“I got’chu, shorty. All my artists go through extensive classes about the industry and finances.
I want y’all to be smart with what God blessed you with.
The classes are to inform you about industry shit.
I won’t try to get over on you, but whenever you enter into contracts with anybody, you’ll have that knowledge in your arsenal. You feel me?”
“Absolutely. Thank you again.”
He nodded. “We’ll talk soon. Give Sonya your contact information.”
She smiled and saved my info in her phone, then they left. I turned to Maj, and she was crying. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I approached her cautiously.
“I’m just so happy for you, Arlie. You deserve this.
It’s been a long time coming. Although we’re still in our mid-twenties, you been rapping since like fifth grade.
This deal you’re in now was simply a stepping-stone to get you to where you should be.
I’m so glad you didn’t give up after that first album. ”
I hugged her. “Thank you, girl. You know giving up ain’t even my style. I’m gon’ hustle and grind hard to get what I want. I’m gonna be successful one way or another. I can’t wait to get out this fucking contract.”
She laughed, and I hugged her again. “Thank you for being here for me, Maj. You’re a friend from heaven. I promise, you will always be taken care of because of how hard you rock with me.”
She kissed my cheek and began cleaning up our mess.
No matter where we went, she always cleaned up after us.
She said she refused for us to be called ratchet, dirty bitches.
I could only laugh at her silly ass, but I was beyond grateful for her at the same time.
Whether my manager was with me or not, as long as I had Kimaji, I was fine.
As excited as I was about my conversation with Noah, my lips would be tighter than a straight man’s ass in prison.
Kimaji would be the only one that knew, and I would surely swear her to secrecy before we left this arena.
I was hoping a blessing would meet me here, but I thought it would be because I was performing before GloRilla.
I had no idea it would be by way of an airline steward that I thought was just a good fuck.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, feeling thankful that I was being hot in the ass, as my mama would say. Everything happened for a reason, and me throwing the pussy at Graham had worked in my favor.