' 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗔 𝗦𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 ' › D. SWING

Let's Go Through The Motions.

"We're about to start shooting in five minutes! Ladies, finish up and get out there!", I could hear the director call out as he poked his head into the large dressing room. There were beautiful black women of all shades getting dolled up and ready for the music video, yet here I was, a woman with an average look who somehow snagged a gig as a video model. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't ugly or anything—whatever ugly means these days—but I wasn't as gorgeous as the women around me. Their skin glistened from the cocoa butter and naturals oils that escaped from their pores, their hair in fros, curls, coils, and some even relaxed or weaved. They were all beautiful in their own unique way which made me a bit self-conscious about my own appearance. I normally just backup danced in videos, never playing a main role or being directly in front of the camera but my manager had insisted that this was something I 'wouldn't want to miss out on'. I mean, sure I was a huge Jodeci fan, I loved their work. But hanging around them without fainting or being shy wasn't something I thought I would be able to pull off too easily.

With my baby hairs styled and gelled down, I had my hair in three small twists in the center while half of it was pulled into a high ponytail and rest left out, falling midway down my back. It's deep auburn red tone was what made me stand out from the rest of the women around me. My hoops were silver and large, my nose with two silver piercings—one curved stud and one hoop in my left nostril. I had a few tattoos that were pretty simple, nothing too bizarre and they all had meaning. I wore loose fitting jeans that clung to my small waist, hanging low enough to show the elastic band of my white boxer briefs that read Jodeci in black letters, replicating throughout as the Tommy Hilfiger or Calvin Klein brands would have. I had them customized along with a Jodeci choker to match. I also wore a black bandeau that revealed the print of my pierced nipples and some black combat boots with a maroon shade of lipstick, deciding to keep my makeup simple.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror before walking out of the dressing room and heading outside to the set. The video was being shot at a mansion in LA, and to be honest with you, I was in awe of the place. I had never seen a house so big yet here I was, in my dream house and on the set of a Jodeci video. I couldn't be more happy with the way my day was going.

The sun was down and the moon was shining bright, but so were the large LED lights they had surrounding the pool area. There were loads of women in the Jacuzzi and a bunch more scattered along the patio and around the edge of the pool, kicking their feet in the water and giggling amongst each other. Unsure of where I needed to be, I decided to just walk around and take in the scenery. It was all good vibes. I got a few occasional stares from some of the women I had passed but I ignored it, trying to mentally prepare myself for meeting the guys.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, taking a seat the chairs positioned around the fire pit, leaning back, and propping my forearms on the armrests to relax a little. My eyes scanned the set as more and more people began to come outside, making video look like a real party.

A few people began to scream and cheer as others stopped their conversions, looking over in the direction where the noise was coming from. It was Mr. Dalvin, JoJo, K-Ci, and DeVante walking onto the set, smiling and greeting everyone.

Mr. Dalvin was wearing a yellow windbreaker that had navy blue on the inside of it with no shirt underneath, and yellow swim trunks while K-Ci was shirtless and had on swimming trunks. JoJo had on a black shirt, denim jacket, a black hat, shades, and black jeans. DeVante was wearing a dark denim shirt that buttoned up slightly in the front, had studs along the top of pockets and was tucked into some medium denim jeans with an unbuckled black belt, shades, a silver chain that had their logo carved into a diamond shaped metal piece dangling from it, and a silver watch. Following behind them was a heavyset brown-skinned woman with a short styled cut wearing a navy blue vest and jeans with a white shirt and blue bandanna along with a light-skinned male with curly hair cut into a taper fade who was wearing a deep blue windbreaker with a light blue collar and swim trunks. He looked around excitedly, jumping up and down while his arm was thrown around the woman who looked to be used to his behavior as she just shook her head and kept walking beside him.