Chapter 3 A Whirlwind of Unexpected Attention #2
“Yeah, it’s cool, but you know I don’t need to work,” she giggles.
“The house is paid off, and my parents pay the other bills anyway, remember? I was only working because I was bored. I’d much rather spend my free time with my best friend, helping her live out her dream.
I can be your social media manager! You have enough followers to monetize your content now.
Why not lean into that? This is your chance to take control of your future. Let me help you, okay?”
I wanted to argue with her, but something inside told me this could work out.
So, instead of ignoring that feeling, I decided to give in to it and agreed with her.
She squealed once more and pulled me over to the car.
I was taking a leap of faith, but for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t that scared, especially because I knew I had someone in my corner who was genuinely rooting for me.
August 16th, 2025
It’s been about four days since I started taking the social media posting seriously.
Thanks to Ginger’s unmatched video editing and social media management skills, all my content looked so good.
My newfound fanbase was eating it up and supporting me like never before.
It felt surreal to have this many people looking forward to my art, but I knew that I deserved it.
I was feeling happy about my decision until Myra showed up out of the blue, demanding to know why I’d quit my job.
I wasn’t even sure how she found out, but when I told her I was actually fired, she went off, telling me how irresponsible I was.
Even after I’d explained what went down, she still blamed me for not doing all I could to keep my job.
“I swear, it’s like looking after a child!” She’d shouted as I sat there on the couch. “You had a good-paying job, and you messed it all up so that you could shake your ass on Instagram? Be so for real, Raine!”
“How many times do I have to tell you that it’s so much more than that?” I spoke up. “This is what I love, Myra. Why can’t you see that dancing makes me happy? Why are you always judging me instead of listening to what I have to say?”
“Because all you want to do is waste your life chasing some dream-”
“Just because I don’t want to live a life like you doesn’t make my dreams any less important!
” I yelled, cutting her off. My voice was shaky, and I hated that, but I kept going.
“Why the fuck would I want to work at some stuffy ass office job and marry a man I don’t love just for the sake of being married?
That sounds fucking miserable, and I refuse to settle for that just because you chose to! ”
The room went so still that I thought time had stopped.
She stared at me as her eyes glossed over, and I suddenly regretted opening my mouth.
I’d never seen my sister get emotional or even teary-eyed before, so I was anxious as hell.
I didn’t want her to hate me, so I quickly apologized, but she waved me off.
She dried her eyes, and the intense, judging look was back once again.
“For your information, you selfish brat, I love my life,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It's practical and predictable, and I know that my children and I will always be well taken care of. I love my husband just as much as he loves me, flaws and all. He’s a damn good man and father! So, excuse me for wanting the same for you. I’ve been worried about you since you came into this world because your head has always been so up in the clouds, thanks to Mama.
Raine, I love you, but if you want to screw up your life, be my guest, because I’m tired of stressing over you. ”
“Myra, I appreciate you, but I am an adult,” I replied calmly.
“You have been treating me like a child, like your child, since I was 14. Not to mention the fact that you were only ever around occasionally before then.” She didn’t say anything as she averted my eyes.
“When I needed you to be a big sister, you were never there, yet you just popped back into my life once I became a teen, trying to dictate my every move. Well, I’m not that kid anymore, and as you said, I am 29 years old.
I’m old enough to know how not to screw up my life without you standing over my shoulder with a disapproving scowl every step of the way. ”
“You know what? You’re right,” she said, grabbing her purse from the coffee table.
She walked toward the front door, and I got up to follow behind her.
Before she exited, she turned back to say one last thing.
“I’m sorry for overstepping, but I’m genuinely only looking out for you, Raine.
I don’t want you to get hurt because you realize down the line that your dreams should sometimes stay just that. ”
And with that, she exited the house, and I was left standing there, more dumbfounded than ever.
I hadn’t expected her to apologize, so I was caught off guard.
I haven’t talked to her since, so I still wasn’t sure what to make of it all.
I could feel in my heart that there was some deeper reason why she treated me the way she did, but that was for future me to figure out.
I sighed, shaking the memory from my head as I continued to get dressed for the day.
I was heading down to the community center to volunteer for the back-to-school fundraiser concert.
I still wasn’t sure who would be the headliner performer, but I knew for a fact that they had to be a big name, since they were pulling out all the stops for the stage setup.
I’d seen it yesterday when I stopped by, and it was beautiful.
“You ready to head out, bestie?” Ginger called from down the hall.
“Yeah, just let me put on some shoes,” I called back before slipping into some comfy non-slip shoes.
I would be working backstage during the concert as a runner. It wouldn’t be my first time, but something about this time felt different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I had a feeling that today was going to be a good day.
It only took us about 10 minutes to arrive at the center, and we were instantly put to work.
Ginger assisted with the wardrobe as I went from room to room to check on the performers.
After delivering snacks, water, and even some painkillers, it was about time for the opening act to go on.
I was bummed that I would miss the performance because I had one more artist to tend to, but it would be recorded, so I could always rewatch it.
As I made it to the last dressing room, the air seemed to shift.
Outside the door were two muscular men dressed in black, whom I assumed were the bodyguards.
That was when I realized that this must have been where the headlining artist was.
Their identity was kept a secret until it was their time to go on stage, so I felt privileged to be the only one who knew who they were beforehand.
“Hold it,” one of the men said as I approached. He looked down at me. “What can I help you with?”
“Oh, uh,” I say, holding up my badge. “I’m the designated runner for the artists, and I’m just coming to see if they need anything.”
“Name,” the man asked.
“Raine Williams.”
They shared a look, and I could see their eyebrows lift in what seemed to be recognition. Before I could ask them about it, they smiled at me and motioned for me to go in. I was so confused as I thanked them and entered the dressing room. What was that all about?
As I crossed the threshold, I was hit by the glorious smell of something sweet.
I looked around and noticed a candle burning.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I shuffled over to see if I could find the name of the scent.
It smelled like fresh peaches and honey.
I needed something like this for my room.
“Uh, may I help you?”
I jumped, startled as I quickly turned around, only to freeze in place as my eyes took in the gorgeous woman that was Dawn Anderson.
She was wearing nothing but a sports bra and jean shorts as she worked on tying her mass of curls into a bun.
My eyes traveled along her muscular arms and toned body.
Her thighs were thick as if she’d spent most of her life playing volleyball or some other sport that required thighs so thick that they were mouthwatering.
Everything about her was beautiful, and I was mesmerized.
How could someone be this hot?
“Eyes up here, Raine.”
I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of her saying my name. Her voice was so velvety, yet sweet, that it made my fingers tingle. She stared at me with a smug expression as I mentally kicked myself for ogling her like this. How unprofessional of me.
“Oh, uh, I-I’m sorry,” I quickly reply, backing into the table. It shook, and a few water bottles fell over, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. “I didn’t mean to stare.”
“I don’t mind,” she chuckled as she stepped closer towards me.
She leaned into my space and placed her hands on either side of me on the table.
Her lips were so close to mine that I feared they’d actually touch if I said anything.
She must’ve thought the same because she smiled deviously before moving to the side to blow out the candle.
I could feel my heart pounding against my chest as she took a step back.
“You must really like me since you danced to my song.”
“H-Huh?” I managed to say, slowly getting drawn in by her deep brown eyes. I gasped as something clicked. “Wait, uh, did you stop by the community center last week?”
“And become completely mesmerized by the way you moved?” She smirked. “Yes, yes, I did. You’re very talented, by the way.”
“Thank you,” I squeaked out.
“Not sure if you noticed or not, but I'm kind of a fan,” she says, stepping away from me finally. She grabbed a shirt from the nearby couch and pulled it on.
“You’re a fan of me?” I ask, shocked. I felt like I was malfunctioning.
“Hell, yeah, gorgeous,” she smiles. “The way you dance is so captivating that I may have binged all of your videos in one sitting. You got skills for real. Do you dance professionally?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I mean, it’s a dream of mine, but up until a few days ago, I was just your average office worker. I do teach dance classes on the side, though.”
“Well, you could definitely hold your own with the best of them,” she nodded. She continued to stare at me like she was trying to commit every inch of my body to memory. I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t getting me a little hot and bothered. “Have you ever done any auditions?”
“Oh, uh, a few, but they didn’t work out,” I admitted.
I was suddenly hit by a wave of less-than-happy memories of all the times I’d gotten sabotaged by jealous friends in the past whenever I got auditions.
I stopped going on them altogether because the trauma would always come back up.
I knew that I had to break free of that if I ever wanted to pursue this career path, but it was hard.
“Hey, cutie, where’d you go?” Dawn asked softly, pulling me back to the present.
I glanced at her, and she smiled softly.
She pulled out her phone and handed it to me.
I looked up at her, confused. “I’m holding auditions soon to pick dancers for my upcoming tour, and I’d love it if you could come help me do so. ”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I chuckle nervously. “You want me to help you choose dancers for your tour?” She nods. “Wouldn’t I have to audition too?”
“Now, why would the head dancer need to audition?” She smiles. “That’s if you want to be, of course. No pressure.”
My first instinct was to ask her a million questions, the main one being “why me?” But I could hear Ginger in the back of my head telling me not to sell myself short.
This was the opportunity that I’d been waiting for, and I’d be a fool to pass it up.
So, I took my second leap of faith this week and followed my heart like I’d always been scared to do.
“I’d love to,” I told her, and her smile only brightened. I took her phone, saved my number, then handed it back.
“Amazing,” she said, staring down at my contact info. “My manager will be in touch soon with the contract, and then we can have a meeting and go from there. How does that sound?”
“It sounds so surreal, but I’m all in,” I nod as someone knocks on the door, signaling that it’s time for her to go on.
“Perfect,” she smiles. “I can’t wait to work with you. I have a feeling that we’re going to be really good friends.”
She winked before exiting the room, leaving me alone with a million emotions to sort through.
Was I really about to go on tour with one of the hottest R&B artists and be in charge of her choreography?
That one video had changed my life, and I’m so glad that I let Ginger talk me into doing it. I owed her big time.