Genevieve's POV
We arrive quicker than I thought. I never realized he lived so close. I've found that every few minutes of driving in Minnesota you end up in a different city. Paisley Park is bigger than I imagined. A large series of geometric white buildings. We walk into one building and follow a security guard to the correct room. He opens the door a behind it is practically a concert hall. Several tables and couches on either side of a dance floor, each wall holding a bar, and all in front of a stage where Prince and The Revolution were performing. I follow Apollonia for a while, greeting anyone we see from on set. They congratulate her on her new role and tell me how good it is to see me again.
"So, tell me about you being the lead girl." I inquire as she leads me over to the bar. She orders two drinks and the bartender immediately turns around to make them.
"I'll be doing all the stuff Mayte did but they're gonna take out all the belly dancing and replace it with something else."
"Tyson making y'all some new dances?"
"I'm not sure how their gonna do it. We just got the news today. I'm a little nervous about being the lead girl in a band. I've never been much of a singer."
"Neither was Mayte. At least they trust your voice enough to let you get in the studio."
"That's true." She thanks the bartender and pays for the drinks sliding one in my direction. We take a few sips each and I smile feeling the familiar warmth in my throat.
The band finished their set and we all begin to clap and cheer as they walk off the stage. By now, Apollonia and I have migrated to a couch near the bar. It felt like the better environment for chatting happily like old friends.
"Ooo, G, don't look now but Andre and Miko are total checking you out over there." I subtly tuck a piece of my hair behind my ear while I take a scan of the room. I spot the two men smiling and gesturing my way. I smile back softly and look back at Apollonia like I never even saw them. "You're really good at that." She chuckles.
"I'm not a prude just a virgin. Besides, it's a good skill to have. I haven't bought myself a drink in 3 years!"
Prince's POV
I walk off the stage and am greeted by friends and colleagues alike. They congratulate me on my work and ask me how the movie is going. I give them all the same answer as I work my way through the crowd.
When I finally catch up with some of the guys I find half of them standing in one place. They pull me into their huddle and start to fill me in.
"Aye, man. This is gonna be a great party."
"It's a lot of honeys in the room. Everybody take their pick." Dez exclaims getting a laugh out of everybody.
"I got dibs on the girl over there with Apollonia." Miko says gesturing with his head to one of the couches.
"Who is that?" Bobby asks squinting in their direction.
"I don't know but with a body like that she's bout to be my new girlfriend."
"You couldn't get a girl like that if you made her up!" Someone else calls out but I'm too busy trying to decipher the mystery girl. I take a look that way and before I can get a better look both women start heading our direction. "Oh shit here she come y'all."
"Hey, Apollonia." Andre smiles. "You gonna introduce us to your friend?"
She laughs heartily before gesturing beside her.
"Y'all remember Genevieve." The girl pushes the hair out of her face tucking a few strands behind each ear.
"Hello gentlemen." She coos sweetly. She turns her head and I see those glowing amber eyes. The eyes that have pursued me in my dreams at night. Eyes I'll never forget. "My god, close your mouthes. You all act like you've never seen a pretty lady at party." We all mumble some excuse and I watch something in her shine. As if our confusion delights her. We make eye contact across the group. She smiles when she sees me. The others have begun to talk about something else but I can't focus on anything but her. She gestures to a couch behind her and we both slip away without anyone noticing.
"Hey, Genevieve. Long time, no see." I smirk missing the way her name tasted in my mouth.
"Hi, Prince." She smiles playing in her hair.
"So what's all this about?" I ask taking a lock of her hair and twirling it around my finger.
"I wanted to trying something new. I've been wearing it straight for work lately thought I'd curl it for the party."
"It looks great. Where are you working now?"
"Early shifts at the Denny's. I'm a waitress."
"How's that been?" Im a little saddened to hear she's a waitress now. I can't imagine her waiting tables after seeing her dance the way she did.
"Pay is alright. It keeps my bills paid. I work a lot of doubles." She hiccups between her words I can see the embarrassment in her smile. "You'll have to excuse me. I don't usually do this but, it's my first day off in weeks."
"Don't what? Flirt?"
"I...was gonna say get drunk."she chuckles.
"So you're usually a flirt?" I ask smugly.
"Depends on the guy." She winks.
"You're nothing like that girl I met on set."
"Can you really say you knew her?"
"I'm not sure but, I'd like to get to know her." She pauses for a moment and smiles at me.
"I'd like that too."
"Let me get you a drink."
"I've already had a drink and 3 shots. I should probably slow down."
"Well shit, let me catch up with you then. I'll be right back." I stand up from the couch and make my way to the nearest bar grabbing a drink and a water.
"Thanks for stealing my dream girl." Miko says walking up to me. He points at my drink and signals the bartender to make him one.
"Miko, you wouldn't even know what to do with a girl like that!"
"Oh and you do? Your last three girlfriends all looked the same."
"You're just mad she chose me." He laughs and puts his hands up.
"The better man won but don't let her get away cuz I'm next."
"In your dreams, man." He grabs his drink from the bartender and pats my back before heading back to the crowd. I watch as several women flock in his direction and laugh. Miko's always been a ladies' man. He'll forget all about Genevieve in a week. I make my way back over to her and hand her the water.
"Thank you." She takes a big sip and holds the cup in her lap. "So what's with the party?"
"It's a bit of a celebration." I take sip of my drink knowing I'll need the liquid courage to get through this conversation.
"What're you celebrating?"
"My pending divorce." Her face immediately falls into one of concern.
"Oh no. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. We haven't been happy in a long time."
"Are you happier now?"
"I'm getting there."
"That's what's important." I nod before taking another sip.
"I've got a bit of a proposition for you." She looks up with curious eyes. "Tyson's also off the movie. He came to work cracked out and Albert fired him on the spot." She gasps nearly choking on her water. "We have to reshoot all of the performances. With Mayte out of the picture the whole belly dance thing doesn't work. So, we need a new choreographer."
"And they want me to do it?"
"What can I say? I write a mean reference."
"Oh my god, Prince! Thank you!" She shouts jumping into my arms. She pulls me into a hug wrapping her arms around my neck. I gently place mine around her waist and she pulls me closer. "You have no idea what this means to me."
"We'll have all the paper work drawn up first thing in the morning."
"Wait, how does your divorce impact the band?"
"Well, she was technically a member of The Revolution. She was our dancer but that spots open too. You interested?"
"What would I have to do?"
"Rehearse and perform with us. Travel the world."
"We should probably talk about this more when I'm sober." She giggles.
"We can talk whenever you want, babe." She blushes softly behind her coffee colored skin. I just realized we've still got our arms wrapped around each other. She doesn't seem to mind and honestly I don't either. It feels good to hold a woman again.
"Right now, I think you owe me a drink."
"Alright, I'll be right back." She releases me from her touch and I release her from mine. I order two drinks and tell them to bring it over to the couch. Perks of being the host. I return to the couch and we keep talking like I never left.
"Have you been working on any new music lately?"
"I'm always working on new music."
"Lucky."
"You could be working on music too."
"I can't. I told you my guitar strings are broken."
"That's an easy fix. I'll take you by the guitar shop tomorrow after you sign your contracts." She takes a sip of her drink and I watch the excitement growing in her face.
"Finally a good run and coke!"
"I went out and bought that rum you like. I couldn't stop thinking about it after I came over, among other things." She rolls her eyes unfazed. I smirk admiring her resistance.
"Of course you couldn't. It's a damn good drink."
"Cheers." I hold out my glass. She holds out hers gently touching its rim to mine. The clink barely audible over the music.
"Cheers. Wait to what?"
"To new beginnings."
"To new beginnings.
Andre walks over to me and places an arm on my shoulder.
"Hey, man. People are asking for an encore." I nod and stand up then, turn back to Genevieve.
"What do you say, Genevieve?" I hold out my hand hoping she'll say yes.
"What? Me?"
"Come on! On the job training." She thinks for a moment and shrugs before downing the last of her drink and grabbing my hand and her purse. We all walk to the stage, and she tosses her purse to Apollonia on the way up the steps. A few of the members smile realizing she's going to join us. We do a quick huddle behind the stage and agree on performing a few of the songs we didn't do from our last album. We decide on 1999 and Little Red Corvette. Normally I'd end with 1999 but people seem to like Corvette so I'll finish with what the people like for once.
I turn to Genevieve and realize she's taller than me for some reason. I look down at her feet and see a 6 inch stiletto where her typical jazz shoe normally is.
"You sure you wanna dance in those?"
"I can dance in anything. If it gets too bad I'll come out of them like Patti Labelle." She gives me a wink before we head on the stage. People pick up their instruments and we do a quick sound check before hopping into the music.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. I only want you to have some fun." I speak into my mic enjoying the distortion coming out of the microphones. The band and I do our usual steps. I watch as Genevieve falls in line immediately picking up on the simple choreography. After the first chorus, she begins to follow her instincts. She incorporates turns and more complex sequences into our established dance always landing in sync with the rest of us. Her musical timing is impeccable. I know she's probably heard these songs but she's never been to one of our shows. She catches every change in the songs. Every new beat and bass thump gets its own move.
The song finishes and we set up for Little Red Corvette. I pick up another guitar and allow myself to get reacquainted. I turn and face the band giving them my seal of approval. I turn to Genevieve and remind her to take a deep breath.
"You're doing great." I call to her over the sounds of the party. "Let loose on this next one, okay?"
"You sure?"
"I wanna see what you've got."
She smiles and begins stretching lightly. I smirk and give her a wink before facing the crowd again. I give everyone the signal and Little Red Corvette starts. I watch as she settles into the song. Rolling her head around as I sing allowing her hair and hips to move freely. As the song picks up so do her movements. Her gentle rocking and hair flips become fan kicks and gyrations as we head into the climax of the song. She perfectly hits every beat. I'm in awe of her. She's in rare form tonight. From the far side of the stage she makes eye contact with. Smirking, I face her as the words fall from my mouth and she takes sauntered steps towards me.
"A body like yours oughta be in jail. Cause it's on the verge of being obscene." By this time she's practically next me. "Move over baby", she pushes away from me, "give me the keys." She pauses for a moment and makes a motion for me to step back. I do so carefully, trying to anticipate her next move. "I'm gonna try and tame your little red love machine." Next thing I know she's in front of me, upside down and I'm looking through the space between her legs. A series of aerials and flips deposits her at the other end of the stage. I let out a screech and watch as she leaps into the air again. This time posing in the air before twirling back towards me. I close my eyes for a moment, feeling overwhelmed by her stage presence. I focus on the song, gripping my guitar in my hand. I allow myself to go on auto pilot for the moment. I need a chance to gather myself. Even with my eyes closed I can feel her. I can see her. Her eyes, her curves, her smile. I feel a great tension growing inside me. I can feel it in my shoulders and in my legs. I rock restlessly to the music trying to release it before I open my eyes. When I finally do I search for her. A scream wells up in my throat as I examine every inch of her. I let it out before starting the bridge.
"Girl, you've got an ass like I've never seen." She stands beside me rolling her hips to the beat. I reach out touching her hips and ass softly. Her body molds to my touch. I feel her ass gripping my hand back as I hold it. I close my eyes to finish the song. Knowing I'll never be able to focus with her in clear view. I feel her move away and the sounds of her movements fade into the background. As soon as the chorus wraps I give the signal to end the song.
The applause is deafening as we make our way off the stage. I follow the crowd over to the bar unable to break away as they swarm us. Several shots are poured and people line up to grab one. I grab mine and step back scanning the crowd for that pair of amber eyes. I shrug, unable to find her, and decide to just take my shot.
"Man's been separated for two days and he's already grabbin' ass on stage!" Miko laughs as the rest of the guys surround me.
"Man, shut up! I was just singing the damn song!"
"Nah, cousin. Seemed a little personal to me!" Jerome chimes in putting his arms around us.
"How'd it feel man? You gotta let us know?"
"It was soft. That's that homegrown ass. None of that silicone shit." They both nod before being grabbed by someone else. Before long I find Genevieve sitting with Apollonia, letting people approach them. They seem to be having separate conversations, each woman smiling happily at whoever they were speaking to. I wait in the queue of people, eager to feel her presence again. Once it's my turn I step up and smile awkwardly. She immediately stands to greet me and grabs my hand leading me away from the crowd. In an empty corner of the room, blocked by a speaker and away from wandering eyes, I pull her close to me. At this point, we're both beyond tipsy. Somehow me more than her despite her drinking more.
"You we're incredible. I'll never understand how you land those tricks in time."
"I'm a bit of gymnast too. I took a few classes to help me with balance early on. I loved it so much I begged my mother to let me stay."
"Is there anything you can't do." My hand grazes her ass. I rub it softly unable to deny that I missed this feeling in my hand.
"I can't ride a bike or play the piano."
"I can teach you. Neither of those is hard."
"That's easy for you to say, music comes easy to you."
"It doesn't come easy to you?"
"Rhythm does but music doesn't."
"What's the difference?"
"I can find the beat in anything. If there's a repeating rhythm anywhere I can feel it. Percussion instruments are my favorite because they are the foundation of most rhythms. Learning to play the harp and the violin was hard. They are harmonies and I'm used to playing the melody."
"But you learned."
"I had good teachers." Her eyes look into mine for the first time in a while. She's spent most of the conversation playing with the ruffle on my shirt. Under her gaze, I'm acutely aware of her hand on my chest.
"Do you think I'll be a good teacher?"
"We'll see." She smirks.
"We will." I lean against the stacked speaker bending my knee to support myself and she inches closer to me. I wrap both my arms around her waist. I keep her firmly in my arms as if she'll blow away in the wind if I let her go. My friends have always told me I'm a flirt, especially, when I'm drunk and maybe they're right. I'm sure anyone who saw us right now would think Mayte was right but,the truth is, as much as I love women, I could never cheat on my wife. No matter how unhappy I was in the relationship. I'm a man with needs and wants but, I couldn't hurt someone that way. I know I've done worse outside of marriage but that commitment means a lot to me. It just stings knowing Mayte could, would, and did. I've always been happier with a woman on my arms and even now I think I could be but, somehow this feels different. I don't just want to have sex with Genevieve and I also don't just want to keep her as a trophy either. I don't know what I want really but, I don't think finding a new girlfriend or a one night stand will offer the clarity it normally does.
We talk like this for a while about everything and nothing. Music, art, planets and stars, whatever comes to mind.
"Hey, I think your party is over." She chuckles. I peek around the corner and see the staff gathering the chairs. Not only is the party over but they're cleaning up. I wonder what time it is. I hold her hand, leading her through another door and down a hallway. Once we make it to the elevator, I hit the up button and wait for the doors to open.
"Where are we going?" She asks as they open. I pull her inside the elevator earning stomps of frustration from her.
"I'm taking you upstairs."
"Well no shit we're going upstairs! I wanna know why we're going upstairs." Her anger is cute to me. She could probably kick my ass but I'd never tell her that. Once the door opens, I bring her down the hallway and open the door to my room. She sits in a chair in the corner and I walk straight to my dresser. Digging through drawers I find some old band tees. I grab one that seems large enough and toss it to her.
"Here, put this on."
"What for?"
"Do you want to sleep in your catsuit?" Her eyes roll around in her head blankly and she carefully gets out of the chair to change.
"You can't watch." She whispers, covering herself with the T-shirt. I walk into my closet and close the door behind me to allow her some privacy. I remove my jacket, shirt pants, and shoes and slip on the pajamas I grabbed from the drawer. I peek outside and see her standing in front of the bed. I smile seeing her swimming in the fabric. It's still kinda short but she's covered. That's when I notice she's still wearing her shoes.
"Why'd you put your shoes back on?"
"I couldn't take them off!" She whines flopping on the bed. I stumble out of the closet and over to her sitting beside her on the bed.
"Can I help?" She looks over at me and nods before sitting her feet in my lap. I chuckle noticing the zipper on the sides of her shoes. I unzip each one and pull them off her feet before tossing them to the side. She wiggles her toes and smiles. "Better?"
"Thank you."
"No problem." I'll be honest I hadn't planned on her staying in this room with me but she's already laying down. My bed is big enough for both of us but I wouldn't want to overstep. "Do you want to sleep in here? I can give you another room if you want."
"If I sleep here where will you go?"
"That's up to you too."
"I don't want to kick you out of your bed. Let's just stay here, no more walking." With that we both climb into the bed.
"You sure this is okay?"
"I'm too drunk to care." Before long, she's fast asleep and snoring lightly. Her chest rises and falls gently with each breath. Not wanting to disturb her I rollover and shut my eyes. It feels good to have a woman in my bed even if we are just sleeping.