Chapter Nineteen
Rhythm I ’d been having the time of my life in the VIP section with Channing. When he asked me to come two weeks ago, I was hesitant. I liked him, but I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. Since the night I called him, we’d spoken every day. We’d had a few lunch dates too. He’d brought his grandmother to her last two appointments, and I could honestly say, I enjoyed his company.
He’d taken heed to my advice about taking her out in public and accommodating her. Watching him care for her was softening my heart toward him. He’d told me she had a few irritable moments and moments of forgetfulness. He also admitted that he’d been feeling more confident in caring for her since he’d been doing more research on her condition himself. I was proud of him for that.
I could admit when I first showed up, I was nervous as hell. I prayed I could get into the VIP before Raheem or any of his flunkies saw me. Nique refused to come with me. At first, she thought I was going to appease Raheem. The girl damn near cursed me out. When she learned that I was going because Channing requested to spend time with me, her petty side kicked in.
“Bitch, how are you going to see your new nigga at your old nigga’s event?” she asked, cackling.
“First of all, he’s not my new nigga.”
“Not yet. If you don’t come home tonight, I know where you are.”
She told me to have fun and that she didn’t want to see me sucking face with him in a room with just the three of us all night. Granted, we had been sucking face, but we’d also been dancing and getting to know each other for the last hour.
We talked about our childhoods and our careers. I discovered that before he was a producer, he’d actually tried his hand at rapping. When he pulled up this old ass music video from when he was sixteen that was clearly shot on a cell phone, I fell out laughing.
“Wait, wait! Rewind it back!”
“Hell no. You already laughing too damn hard.”
I tried to grab the phone from him, but he held it just out of reach.
“Come on, Channing. Just one more playback.”
He kissed his teeth as he handed me the phone. I watched the playback in literal tears because while he sounded okay, the video was terrible.
“You have to send me that!” I declared.
He playfully shoved me as he snatched the phone. “I’m not sending you shit. You seem like you would show it to my grams at her next session.”
“Wait, has she seen this?”
“Yes, and we don’t need to relive that.”
“I’m sure she would get a kick out of it.”
“She would never let me live it down as long as she can remember it. She laughed as bad as you did when she saw it. Then she showed it to my mama, and they both laughed.”
“Awww, baby! Were your feelings hurt.”
He grinned. “Baby? I like that. Don’t go spoiling me with affection.” He leaned over and pecked my lips. “To answer your question, yes, my feelings were hurt. I realized in that moment, I was more of a behind the scenes type of person versus an in front of the camera person.”
“That’s okay. The spotlight isn’t for everyone. That was one of my issues with Raheem. He wanted me to be glued to his side at events or shows or whatnot. Make no mistake; I was always a very supportive girlfriend. I just didn’t want to be in front of the camera. I’m not a celebrity. I have no desire to have the media combing through every inch of my life or people saying I’m a gold digger and shit. I wanted to be private, but not a secret.”
“I get that. The media is filled with vultures. Most of the time, they tell half ass truths or spin the narrative to fit some messy ass agenda. People know me, but they don’t know my business, and that’s the way I like it.”
I smiled. I liked that about him. He understood the need to not have everything so public. Some things should be reserved for you and your partner only. I knew a lot of people would ask me why date a celebrity if I didn’t want to be in the public eye. In my opinion, celebrities were regular ass people, just with more money than the average Joe.
I wouldn’t treat them any differently just because they had money. Shit, it wasn’t my money.
After taking the last sip of my drink, I stood from my seat.
“I think I had a little too much to drink. I have to pee.”
“I can walk you to the bathroom.”
“I’m okay. I promise. I’ll be right back.”
He didn’t listen. Instead, he opened the door and motioned for security. A big, burly man appeared at the door.
“Aye, escort her to the bathroom. She better make it back without a hair outta place.”
The man nodded as he motioned for me to come out. As I walked past Channing, he gently gripped my arm, causing me to stop. Cupping my chin, he kissed my lips.
“Don’t be too long, okay?”
I blushed as I nodded. He released me, and I grabbed ahold of the big man’s arm. He led me down the hall and downstairs to the main floor where the bathrooms were located. The club was much more packed than when I initially arrived. Raheem still hadn’t gotten here, and I could hear the anxious comments of people waiting for him to arrive.
I headed into the bathroom to relieve myself. All those drinks were slowly sneaking up on me. Once I was done, I flushed the toilet and left the stall to wash my hands. The bathroom was surprisingly empty, but not for long. The door opened, and I looked up. A frown found its way to my face as that bitch walked in.
Fucking Imani.
When she saw me, she smirked.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was invited, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Just tell me… why are you doing this to yourself?”
I didn’t respond right away. Instead, I grabbed some paper towels and dried my hands. She stood with her arms crossed as she waited for an answer. Tossing the wet towels in the trash, I turned to her.
“Please… tell me what I’m doing.”
“Chasing after a nigga that clearly wants to be elsewhere.”
“Let me guess, elsewhere is with you?”
She smirked. “Elsewhere has been with me.”
“Really? Because every chance I give that man to be in my face, that’s where he is. Now, I don’t know what he’s telling you, but it’s been me he’s begging to come home. That doesn’t sound like he wants to be elsewhere to me. I gave that nigga to you, and he’s still trying to come back. I guess your pussy ain’t enough to keep him, sis.”
I brushed past her to walk out of the bathroom, but she grabbed me. I spun around and did what I’d been dying to do every time she gave me that shit eating smirk. I decked that bitch right in her mouth since she wanted to do all that fucking talking.
Her head snapped back, and she stumbled. When she regained her balance, I saw that I had busted her lip. Blood ripped from the wound as she grabbed paper towels to catch it.
“You fucking bitch!” she screamed.
“I got your bitch! Don’t ever put your muthafucking hands on me, ho. You thought I was one of those pussy ass bitches. Let that be a lesson to you. Just because I don’t do drama doesn’t mean I won’t bat you in yo’ shit. You earned that one. Don’t let it happen again.”
I left the bathroom, leaving her to tend to her busted lip. Security was waiting for me outside. Grabbing ahold of his arm, I allowed him to lead me back toward the stairs that led to the VIP section. Just as we passed the stage, I felt a tug on my arm.
“You came!” I heard over the music.
I looked back to see Raheem smiling at me. He tried to pull me into a hug, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“Don’t touch me.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the DJ called the attention of the crowd.
“All right, all right, all right! I know y’all have been waiting, and the man of the hour is finally here. Give it up for Prince Cole!”
The crowd went wild. Raheem looked back at me.
“Can you just give me a minute?”
I crossed my arms. “No.”
“Baby, please.”
“Don’t you have fans waiting, Raheem?”
He looked back at the stage, then at me. The next thing I knew, he was pulling me on stage with him. My first instinct was to fight him off, but I had a brand to uphold. I couldn’t be plastered all over the internet acting a fool in here. Reluctantly, I allowed him to pull me on stage, but inside, I was fuming.
“How y’all doing tonight!” Raheem yelled into the microphone.
The crowd went wild with cheers. I looked around the club full of people and immediately wished I’d stayed my ass home. My eyes drifted to the second floor and found Channing standing at the balcony with a frown on his face. My face flushed with discomfort, and the moment it did, he started making his way toward the stairs.
“Thank y’all for coming out to celebrate this album release with me. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m proud to say this is my best work yet. There are a few people I want to thank for making this album possible. First, I have to thank the Most High. Without Him, I wouldn’t be here. Second, shout out to my mother, standing up there in the VIP section. Y’all show my mama some love.”
The spotlight drifted to Ms. Cole who stood with a smile on her face. She blew Raheem a kiss and waved at the crowd.
“Without her, I wouldn’t be the man I am today. Shout out to my manager, Malcom Essex and my team of engineers and producers. Big shout out the homie Channing Watson. He’s somewhere in here. My mans really came through with his legendary skills to produce what I think is my greatest album. Thank you to my fans. Y’all have been loyal and really fucking with me since I hit the scene ten years ago.”
He looked at me and squeezed my hand. I looked around for Channing and found him having a heated conversation with ol’ dude that escorted me to the bathroom. Imani appeared at the steps with a deep frown on her face.
Raheem cupped my chin and turned my face back to his.
“Last but not least, I wanna thank this woman right here. She’s put up with a lot of my shit, and she deserves to be recognized. For all the late- night sessions she stayed up for, the homecooked meals, the love I’m welcomed home with after a hard day’s work, the support she’s given… background and foreground… she deserves the world, and I’m gonna give it to her.”
He leaned in and kissed my cheek. I wanted to spit in his face. How dare he do this here and now!
He kissed my hand and said, “I know I haven’t been the best boyfriend lately, and I want my apology to be as loud as my disrespect.”
Many of the women in the crowd awed at his declaration. The Rhythm from a few months ago might have bought this act, but this Rhythm was disgusted with him. I wanted so badly to embarrass us both, but I kept my composure and plastered a fake smile on my face.
“You’re fucking pushing it,” I said through my teeth as I dug my nails into his hand.
He winced as he turned back to the crowd. “How about we get this party started? DJ, drop my shit!”
The DJ dropped the intro to the album as Raheem led me offstage, brushing right past Imani. She didn’t like that too much because the next thing we knew, she was grabbing the mic from his hand and storming on stage. The DJ cut the music as she yelled over it.
“I have something to say!”
I snatched away from Raheem as he turned his attention to her with a wide-eyed expression. Channing grabbed my hand and pulled me into the sea of people.
“Let’s go,” he commanded.
I didn’t protest. Raheem was so busy trying to get Imani’s attention that he didn’t even notice me walking away.
“While Prince Cole here was giving his thank yous, I think he forgot one,” Imani said. “I certainly remember being the one to introduce you to Channing. I was in the studio with you all those long nights. I absolutely remember all the nights you spent in my bed after said studio sessions.”
I stopped in my tracks and looked back to find Raheem on stage, wrestling the mic from her. He finally got it from her hands, and they started arguing right there on stage. It went on for a minute or so. The DJ tried to distract the crowd by playing Raheem’s music, but everybody was tuned into the disaster on stage.
Imani hauled off and slapped him before storming off stage. I couldn’t even say that I felt any type of way about her confession at this point. I think in my heart, I knew the truth all along, but I made excuses for it. That ended tonight. Tonight and this little display was the fucking benediction for real this time.
I turned back to Channing. “Please get me the fuck outta here.”
He nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me through the crowd toward the exit. There was nothing else to see here.