Aeipathy ➳ Normani ✓

prologue

P R O L O G U E
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The city of New York always became alive in the nighttime, a marvel to behold as the entire city was sparkling in bright lights. New York was the city that never slept and it was there in Manhattan, in the Meatpacking District that Keith Ikande met her.

X O

It was a Friday night and the party was in full swing. Music blasted from the high-quality sound system and drinks flowed like water. Keith was sipping on an alcoholic drink -- the name of which he couldn't remember -- a concoction of many other drinks that the busty barmaid had insisted that he and his best friend tried.

Karibu was quick to down his first glass and was now on his third while Keith nursed his first. Keith would rather have been anywhere else but there in that moment but he was attending the birthday party of Karibu's annoying girlfriend who Karibu had begged him to accompany him to.

Keith was never one to turn his best friend down and so, he had reluctantly obliged, knowing that he would have a miserable time. Karibu had promised to repay him and Keith would hold him to that -- because any time spent in the company of Alexis was energy-draining.

Alexis was yet to make her grand entrance even though the party had started a good thirty minutes ago. She'd always loved to be the centre of attention and how she'd managed to charm a man as down-to-earth and humble as Karibu was a mystery to Keith. But as long as Karibu was happy, then it didn't really matter.

They were currently seated at the VVIP section, a section reserved for Alexis and her entourage of friends, Karibu (and Keith by default, Alexis wasn't really fond of him either.) The party was at a popular night club that had been booked out for the occasion. Alexis had an impressive guest list of seven-hundred people and had managed to book some popular artists to perform at the function. The girl's parents had money and she wasn't afraid to flaunt that fact.

Keith had just ordered a glass of champagne - his second drink for the night when Alexis made her grand entrance to the club. She perched on the shoulders of two buff Latino men, dressed in a pastel pink party dress adorned with sparkly tassels and silver stilettos.

Her dark skin looked radiant under the bright lighting of the club and the silver crown on her head sparkled in the light. She paraded around the ground floor for the entire duration of a four-minute song.

Karibu watched his girlfriend with mild amusement from the first-floor gallery VVIP section while Keith watched in disbelief at the girl's antics. The song ended and everyone applauded furiously while Alexis smiled saccharine-ly. She welcomed everyone, invited them to enjoy the free drinks and entertainment. Her entourage of girlfriends, all dressed in matching dresses and shoes that went along with Alexis' party theme, led her upstairs to the VVIP section.

It wasn't long before Alexis spotted her beloved beau and squealed annoyingly, running towards Karibu. Once she reached him she kissed his cheek -- not wanting to ruin her lipstick -- and perched on his lap.

"You made it!" She squealed.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Princess," Karibu replied.

Keith nearly rolled his eyes at how whipped his friend sounded.

"I see you brought Keith," Alexis said, a fake smile adorning her features as she turned her head to look at Keith.

"Happy twenty-first birthday, Alexis," Keith said politely.

"Thanks." She said back politely and was quick to return her attention to her boyfriend. She ordered drinks for the VVIP section once the first entertainer made it onto the stage.

Keith wasn't familiar with current pop artists but everyone seemed to enjoy the so-called Dua Lipa and her song New Rules. It was an upbeat, catchy kind of song but it wasn't Keith's kind of music.

Dua Lipa performed her one song and once she was done, she sang another song, Be The One. Alexis had had a couple of drinks in her system then and freely danced to the song with her tipsy friends shouting the lyrics over the din of the club.

The last artist was one Keith was unfamiliar with, but the crowd seemed to be especially hyped for her. He heard one of Alexis' minions drunkenly scream "Oh my god Lexi you got thee  SZA, as in Solana Rowe, to perform at your birthday party?!"

"Of course." Alexis had said back. SZA was a short brown-skinned girl with a mane of curly hair and  Keith took a moment to appreciate her appearance. Although she wasn't his type, he appreciated her petite stature, small waist and lean legs. SZA was dressed in a sparkly white two-piece set consisting of a tube top and high-waisted silk pants with a slit in one leg.  Her backup dancers wore black mini-dresses of the same cut. SZA addressed the crowd first and wished Alexis a happy birthday before starting with her platinum-single Love Galore.

It was a sensual song and SZA's husky, angelic voice did wonders to the quality of the performance. It was then that Alexis had dragged Karibu out of his seat and proceeded to gyrate against him while the song went on. With his friend gone, Keith focused on the performance and his eyes fell on one of the backup dancers who was currently swaying her hips diligently on SZA's immediate right side. He watched as she danced with a sultry smile and moved gracefully.

She was absolutely beautiful.

Her skin was dark and glistening with sweat and her smile was large and gorgeous. Her eyes sparkled and her body...

Her body was sculpted by gods -- he believed. He took the time to appreciate her toned thighs, flat stomach and perky, rounded chest. She did the hottest thing when she moved from the back and stood next to SZA, following the choreography by swaying her hips and doing a few slow-motion winds with her hips that matched SZA's. When the trumpet solo began, she went down in a perfect middle split. When the song ended, she stood upright and had her one leg wrapped around the African-American pop star, smiling into the crowd while her chest heaved heavily.

The song ended and SZA and her dancers left the stage. Keith couldn't keep his eyes off of the exceptional backup dancer who had stolen the show for him. He hadn't been able to focus on anyone else during that performance, not even the actual star.

He made himself a promise then -- the night would not come to an end before he spoke to her, because quite frankly, his mind was already haunted by her.

Here you have the updated chapter 1 of Aeipathy. I changed she-who-will-not-be-named, to SZA because BlackGirlMagic ever ends.