𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥.

36: would it be okay?

For the past fifteen minutes, Stevie has been pacing back and forth, rehearsing her poem.

To say she's nervous is definitely an understatement. If it wasn't a guarantee that Rod would be able to make it to her performance, she might've went insane.

"Okay, Nikki Giovanni, you ready?," Tyler walks into her room, fiddling with the cuffs on her black button-down.

Stevie scoffs at the name. "Don't give me that much credit. You think Nikki got this nervous, before her performances?"

"Duh. Everybody's susceptible to being nervous. You're gonna kill it, alright?"

"Okay. How do I look?"

"Like, you wanna end up pregnant, by the end of the night." Stevie rolls her eyes.

"What??, you asked." Tyler defends.

"Yes. Cause, a simple 'you look good' wouldn't have sufficed."

"Well, that was my way of saying it. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go, before I hide under my bed."

Rod heads backstage, finding Stevie knocking back a shot of Brandy. As she fixes her skirt, he slides up behind her, waving the pink roses in her line of sight.

"For you, beautiful." The gasp she lets out makes him laugh. She turns around and throws her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, baby! And, thank God, you're here. I've been going absolutely crazy for the last hour!"

"I thought you said you weren't nervous?," he sits the flowers on the table and rubs her shoulders.

"Well, I wasn't!, until I realized that I'd be speaking in front of a bunch of strangers and now I'm terrified. What if I mess up? What if they don't like it, you know? What if I vomit on stage, like I did when I was younger??"

"Hey, look at me.," he cups her chin, her wandering orbs lining up with his., "you're gonna go out there and do amazing. You're not gonna mess up. It's normal to be nervous. It's your first time. You've got this. Your poetry is phenomenal. Anybody would be a fool to dislike it."

"You really mean that?" She asks.

"Every word." A playful pout graces her lips as she kisses him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, can I get something off my chest, right quick?" Her freshly waxed, left brow raises.

"What?"

"You look so fucking good, vie.," he steps away from her, watching her do a 360 spin. From her bouncy curls, to her red velvet turtleneck, to her leather miniskirt hugging her figure, to her slender legs in her stilettos.

"Mm.. whatever you want, you can have it."

"Shut up!," she laughs as he pulls her back to him.

"I'm serious."

"Anything, huh?"

"Mhm., my car, my crib, money... last name, kids.." their lips naturally reunite in heat, squashing her nerves and almost making her forget about her whereabouts.

"Rod," her hands slide up his chest.

"Hm?,"

"It's almost time for me to go on.," she mumbles, giggling at his relentless pecks.

"Aight., you still nervous?"

"No, but I've gotta redo my lipstick, now." She shakes her head, wiping it off his mouth.