8:24 pm
Los Angeles, CA
Deija
"Okay, wait push your boobs together...use your hands...yeah, just like that, okay, hold it!"
I did as told, pushing my boobs together as I shot a seductive look into the camera. I resisted a smile, watching as Jas snapped photos from different angles, a concentrated expression on her face.
"Got it." Jas snapped a final picture with a smile. Handing my phone over to me, we began to walk off set, towards the dressing rooms. "He might just hop on a flight to LA after he see's those."
I smirked, looking up from my phone, "You think?"
Jas laughed, "You sneaky bitch. You plottin'!"
"I'm not!" I chuckled, scrolling through the pictures and hearting my favorite ones. "I'm just reminding him of what he got at home."
"You mean the home he's currently hundreds of miles away from?" Jas raised a brow. "Yeah, you plottin'."
"Call it what you want." I chuckled.
Opening Cam and I's text thread, I selected my favorite pictures and typed out a small message before I hit send.
Me: [3 attachments]
Me: me and the girls just wanted to wish you good luck tonight 🍒😘
Almost instantly, I watched the text bubbles pop up and disappear, and before I could make another move, my phone lit up with a face time call from him.
"Look." I showed Jas the call with a smirk. "Seem's like my plan worked exactly how it was supposed to."
"Bye, Deija." She pushed me with a laugh as I stopped outside of my dressing room. "I'll be back over in ten to get you."
"All I need." I said, before pushing through the door as I answered Cam's call.
"What the fuck you got on?" Cam immediately asked once his face popped up on the screen.
I jerked my head back, "Hello to you too motherfucker."
He chuckled, "Nah cause who picked out that fit? Jas? Imma beat her ass."
I placed my phone against the lit up mirror as I took a seat at my vanity chair. "What's wrong with it?" I scrunched my brows, knowingly.
"What's wrong with it?" He looked at me as if I was crazy. "Your titties are bout to fall out of your shirt, Deij." He shook his head. "Matter of fact, that shit not even a shirt. I don't know what the fuck that is."
"The girls just wanted to say hey."
"Well they need to say goodbye." He scoffed.
I laughed, "You're the funniest person alive."
"I ain't joking."
"I know." I chuckled. "You really don't like it? I thought I looked cute."
"Baby, you look more than cute. You look sexy as hell. Muh'fuckin delectable."
"Delectable, nigga really?" I threw my head back in laughter. "Spell delectable."
He squinted his eyes, "You think you so fuckin' funny."
"I am." I cheesed.
He shook his head, "You lucky you cute."
"I thought I was delectable?" I pouted.
"Nah, I can't spell it so you just cute now." He said, making me laugh. I watched as he stood up from his bed and placed his phone on the tv stand. "How's the shoot going?"
"Great." I let a breath of air out, almost in relief.
Today, was the day of our video shoot for "Show For You's" official music video. We'd been on set since 8 am, putting final touches on the choreography and practicing scenes, since Namiko decided she wanted the video to have a skit in the beginning.
"It's undoubtedly the most stressful thing I've ever done in my life," I laughed a little, knowing I was on the verge of a mental breakdown last night trying to pull the choreography all together. "But I'm having so much fun. This feels right. Like this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing."
He shot me a genuine and caring smile, "I'm glad. You deserve it."
"Thank you."
"When does the video come out?"
"I think Jas said in two weeks." I said. "Where will you be in two weeks?"
"Uh, Dallas, I believe." He answered.
"Hm."
He looked up at the camera, "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Hm." He repeated, my earlier sound. "That didn't sound like a good hm."
"It wasn't." I shrugged. "I just wish you could be here, that's all."
I know it was selfish and unrealistic of me to want Cam to physically be with me on all of my big days. And though, it's just a 4 minute music video being posted on YouTube, it's a really special day for me, and I just wish I could spend it with him.
"I wish I could be there too. More than anything." His voice softened. "You want me to book you a flight to Dallas?"
"Maybe." I mumbled, making him chuckle.
"Well just let me know and I'll have it done."
"I will. How long before the game starts?" I asked him as I sat up in my chair, deciding to touch up my makeup a little.
"About an hour." He said. "I'm actually about to leave soon."
I nodded, "Make 25 points tonight and I'll give you the sloppiest head you've ever gotten when I see you."
"Deija," He shot me a look. "Don't play with me before a game."
"I'm not." I laughed. "It's a bet."
"And if I don't make 25 points?" He raised a brow.
I rolled my lips in my mouth, "Then you gotta give me the D."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"You seri-"
"Deija!" Jas' voice cut Cam off mid-sentence, following three hard knocks on my door. "We bout' to finish the last scene out and wrap this up. Let's get it!"
"Coming!" I called back, before looking at the screen where Cam was staring at me with the most serious expression causing me to laugh. "What you look like that for?"
"You was foreal?" He asked, referring to my reward from this bet.
"Dead ass." I replied.
He shook his head, as if he wasn't hearing me correctly, "You sure?"
I laughed at his dramatics, "We'll talk about it later. I gotta go."
"Yeah, aight, we'll talk about it later." He said. "Have fun tonight."
"I will and have a good game. Don't try to lose on purpose." I warned.
He put his hands up, "I can't make any promises."
"Bye." I rolled my eyes. "I love you."
"I love you more."
The phone beeped as the call disconnected, causing me to sigh a little at the absence of his voice. I just miss him so much. Checking my appearance in the mirror one last time, I blew myself a kiss, before hopping down from the chair and making my way back to set to finish this music video.
*********
"You want that?" I pointed towards the small portion of Jas' steak and potatoes that was left on her plate.
She looked at me sideways, "Bitch you already finished your plate, now you want mine too? How you not full?"
I shrugged with a laugh, "I'm a big bitch at heart."
"Clearly." She shook her head, scooting her plate towards me. "Here, I'm done anyways."
"I love you so much." I blew her a kiss, before digging into the plate.
We had wrapped up the music video about an hour and half ago. Namiko wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate her first official music video, and invited some of the team to come. It wasn't many people, just her bestfriends, the videographer, her stylist, Jas, and I.
As I finished up the last of the potatoes left, Namiko, who sat across from me, hit her fork against her champagne glass causing a loud ding to sound around the table. All of our attention drew to her as she stood from her seat, looking around the table with a smile.
"I know ya'll are probably tired and ready to go home and succumb to this food coma," She laughed along with us all, because we all had scraped our plates. "But, I wanted to give a quick toast to myself for making it this far."
"For those who really know me, y'all know it has not been easy. Making it in this industry is not for the weak. There's been plenty of times I cried myself to sleep thinking I would never make it, doubting myself and my abilities because I wasn't making way fast enough. But then this bitch," she looked over at Jas, with the most sincere smile on her face. "entered my life and changed it for the better. She picked me up off the ground, dusted me off, and taught me how to fly. Some of y'all might not know this but I was living in a small studio apartment in Ohio when Jas wanted to start working with me. I barely had enough money to pay my rent so I damn sure ain't have any money to come live in LA."
"I told her that and y'all know what she said?" She asked hypothetically, tears beginning to brim her eyes as she got emotional. "She told me to go find the cheapest mother fuckin' flight I could find and get to LA by the next week and she'd handle the rest. So I did. I packed my bags, caught a one way flight to LA with only one suitcase and a book bag and no where to stay and Jas took me in. She let me live with her for six months until I could move out on my own, she booked me studio time, connected me with big time artists, got me vocal lessons, taught me the importance of my artistry."
"Jas, is the reason I'm where I am today. So I just want to thank you from the bottom of my fucking heart for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself." She nodded her head, finally letting a tear slip from her eye. "You changed my life for the better and I can never repay you enough for everything you've done for me. Much love."
The table broke out in hoots and claps as Jas stood from her seat and engulfed Namiko in a hug. They both shed a few tears, that made my heart warm, cause you could tell the connection the two of them had was something special. It reminded me of Cam and I in a way. Jas was Namiko's savior like Cam was mine.
"I'm so proud of you. You're becoming everything I knew you could be." Jas told her, swiping away a few of her tears. They hugged once more, before Namiko took her seat and Jas grabbed her own glass of champagne, raising it to the sky. "I'd also like to make a toast."
"Oop oh okay, give it to em' Jas!" James, one of their mutual friends and once of the dancers who starred in the video called out, making us all chuckle.
"Shut up." Jas laughed at him, before her eyes landed on mine. "I know most of you met Deija for the first time today, but I'm sure from just the work y'all saw her out in today, y'all know she's a star."
"I know that's right!" Another friend called out, making me laugh.
"She single-handedly choreographed every dance for the entire music video and taught those dances to all of the dancer's in just one week." Those words caused everyone to break out into claps, making my cheeks warm. "She busted out her feature for this song in just one day in the studio with Namiko and has proven to me time and time again that this is exactly what she's supposed to be doing with her life."
"So I'd be an absolute idiot if I stood up here and didn't ask you to do me the honor of joinin my team of artists and allow me to manage your career and show you and Namiko, together, how to become the legends y'all are meant to be."
The table erupted in more applause and kahoots, looking at me excitedly awaiting my response to her proposal.
But I was stuck.
I looked at her, "This isn't a funny joke."
She laughed, "I'm not joking."
"I will beat your ass if you're playin' with me Jas. I don't care whose cousin your are." I warned her, feeling my emotions begin to rise. "You foreal?"
"I got the contract right here." She pulled a slip of paper from her back pocket, unfolding it and handing it over to me. "We can sign a more official one later, but there's our agreement all written out for you to sign. If you want it."
I scanned the lines of the paper, still looking for signs of a prank. But I didn't see one. She was for real.
"Do you want it?" She asked, looking unsure of my reaction.
Placing the paper down, I stood from my chair, walking over to where she was standing and pulling her into a tight hug.
"Of course I want it." I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. My voice cracked a little as I asked her, "Are you sure you want to manage me?"
She laughed in my ear, "Yes, I'm sure Deij."
I couldn't hold it any longer and as I closed my eyes the tears finally fell down my cheeks.
"Thank you." I said to her. It was simple, but it was enough. She understood, there was nothing more I could say that would convey how I felt in this moment. So thank you, was enough.
**********
"This is so beautiful." I told Bella and Tiana as I looked at the scenery around us.
We decided to have a girls day and take a trip to a local winery in LA we'd heard about. Bella has been the only one of us to go to a winery, so we thought why not try it out? And I'm so glad we did.
It was a beautiful scenery with bright green grass and dozens of white orchids wrapped around archways that led to the wine farm. We'd already taken a tour of the farm and currently were seated at one of their outdoor seating areas doing wine tastings.
"It really is." Bella agreed, sipping on her white wine. "I think this is the best winery I've been to in LA."
"I love it here." Tiana said. "I feel so grown woman like."
"No, for real. I feel all sophisticated and shit." I chuckled.
Our wine steward walked over to our table, pouring us each a glass of our next wine to taste.
"This one's my favorite." I sipped on it some more. It was much sweeter than the others and the flavor was much more prominent than the other red wine's we tasted for far.
"Yeah, this one's good." Bella agreed.
"So how's the apprenticeship going?" I looked at Tiana.
Her face instantly lit up, "It's going really good actually. I got to do my first solo tattoo the other day."
"No way. Let us see!"
Tiana pulled out her phone, scrolling for a moment before flipping the screen so we could see.
It was a simple tattoo, of the word 'Angel' in cursive writing across a wrist.
"It's small as fuck, I know, but it was my real first time tattooing someone." She explained.
"It looks really good though." Bella told her. "It's very neat and precise. A lot of people mess up tattoos like that."
"What she said. I think it looks great boo."
"Thank you guys." She smiled, locking her phone and sitting back in her chair. "How about you guys? Deij, how did the music video go?"
"It was amazing." I nodded, with a smile. "I can't wait for you guys to see it."
"I can't wait either! I heard somethin' about a stripper pole and got too excited." Tiana chuckled. "When does it come out."
"The 22nd." I told them. "Oh and I forgot to tell you guys, I have a manager now."
Bella almost spit out her wine, "Wait what?!"
"Yeah, you gone have to run that one back."
"Well after we wrapped the video the other day, Jas asked to manage me. I agreed of course, she's amazing, but we officially signed the contract yesterday." I told them.
"Tee, that's amazing." Bella said with a pout. "I'm going to start crying, I'm so happy for you."
"Please don't. If you start crying, imma cry, and I've already cried enough." I laughed. "I swear on my life, I've never cried this much in one month."
"It's well-deserved." Tiana smiled. "And therapy? How's that going?"
"Good." I nodded. "I've been making some breakthrough's, but honestly life has been so good recently it's kind of been blocking out all the bad stuff."
"Yeah, I bet life is treating you good. I seen that Rollie on your wrist." Bella nodded her head to the rose gold diamond encrusted watch Cam and bought for me for Christmas.
I shook my head, "I told him it was too much, but he wouldn't take it back."
"Because that wasn't too much for him." Tiana said. "I don't know when you're going to understand you're dating a millionaire."
"It's hard to think of him that way when every-time i look at him I see a 16 year old drawing a dick with hairy ball's on Aiden's face." I laughed. "He's still a broke kid from the hood in my mind."
"Well he's not anymore. Baby, got that NBA money now." Bella shook her head. "Take advantage of it. If I could have a NBA hubby like y'all, I swear I'd give that man a run for his money."
"I mean, you have one but you be playin'." Tiana told her, referring to Cam and Aiden's teammate Jayceon, who Bella has had a thing with on and off.
She threw her head back, "He's about to get cut off, to be honest."
"Why?" I scrunched my brows. "I like Jayceon for you. He's cool as fuck and he likes you."
"That's the problem. He likes me too much." Bella complained. "I told him from the beginning this was strictly dickly."
"Bitch." Tiana burst out into laughter. "You're such a whore."
"As I should be! I don't want to commit." She shook her head before pointing between the two of us. "You two might be the luckiest bitches I know, because outside of your two men their's not much left for the rest of us. And I refuse to give my heart up to someone for this to crush it again, I just can't. I got too much going for myself."
Tiana and I made eye contact with one another, sending silent messages only the two of us understood.
I rolled my lips in my mouth, "Do you think you feel that way because of Miguel?"
Miguel, like Cam and Aiden was Bella's high school sweetheart. They broke up first semester of college because Miguel felt like he didn't want either of them to struggle with dating long distance and such a pivotal point in their lives when they were supposed to be young and having fun.
Their senior year, he transferred to a school in California and wanted to link up with her. They started dating again after that and lasted about a year before they broke up, for reason's Bella has yet to tell any of us. I knew it had to be bad since she continued to keep it a secret all of these years.
Eventually we all moved on but Bella had a changed a little. She threw herself into work and she became a party girl, going out all the time, meeting guys, sleeping with them and moving onto the next. At first, we thought she was just having fun but now I'm starting to think it's a little bit deeper than that. And maybe it all comes back to the reason her and Miguel broke up in the first place.
She winced, as if hearing his name physically pained her. It was small, but I noticed it.
She shook her head, "No. I'm just not in a space where I'm ready for a relationship." She shrugged.
Like me, Tiana didn't believe her but she nodded anyway, "That's valid. You're young, there's no reason for you to be tied down."
"Exactly."
"We'll what about you, Bella?" Tiana changed the topic. "Didn't you just get back from a trip?"
"Bali." She nodded.
"Bali?" I raised a brow. "Who flew you out there?"
"Victoria's Secret, actually." She shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
"I'm sorry, did you just say Victoria's Secret?" Tiana sputtered, looking at her with wide eyes. "Why you actin' like that's nothing?"
"Because, they offered me a job, but I don't know if I want to take it."
I crossed my legs, turning my body to completely face her. "Um, please explain. Because I'm no model, but I feel like if Victoria's Secret herself flys you out to Bali and asks you to do a job, you take that job."
"I mean don't get me wrong, becoming a Victoria's Secret angel is a dream for every model. I grew up watching their shows religiously. I even convinced my mom to let me dress up as an angel every year for Halloween." She laughed.
"I remember that." Tiana spoke. "It was your dream to become an angel since forever. So, what's the hold up?"
"Because, I'm older now and the Victoria's Secret Angels just aren't the fantasy I saw when I was ten." She sighed, the stress splayed across her face showing me that this had been weighing on her for a minute now. "They represent so many things I stand against today. They're transphobic, they support this stigma that bone skinny is the beauty standard, their "plus" size models wear a size 7, I mean I could go on and on." She waved her hands around manically. "I just feel like what kind of person does that make me if work for the people that go against everything I support."
I leaned back in my chair, smacking my lips, "Well damn."
"Exactly. And the payout I'd get from it?" She blew air from her mouth, whilst shaking her head. "Let's just say, I could buy a house."
"Damn B." Tiana chuckled. "You really in a sticky situation huh?"
She slapped her hands over her face as she fake cried, "Please help me."
I chuckled, "Well how I look at it you already have chosen what you want to do. It's just something holding you back."
"Like what?"
"The pay check." Tiana answered, already reading my mind.
"The paycheck." I repeated. "So really the only question you have to ask yourself is, is the money really worth your soul?"
She took a deep breath, sitting back in her seat. "I guess I don't really need a house right now."
"You don't." I chuckled. "Tiana got a whole child and a millionaire baby daddy and her ass still don't have a house."
"Hey! The wedding gotta come first." She said defensively.
"You right about that one." Bella chuckled, downing the rest of her wine. "I just know you gone do your big one."
"Girl, you already know. My baby daddy bout' to drop a bag on my dress alone." She chuckled. "But, speaking of the wedding."
She sat up in her chair, placing her wine glass on the table in front of us. Her eyes traveled behind us, causing us both to turn in our seats to see what she was looking at. When we did, we watched two stewardess' walking towards our table with boxes in their hands.
"Tiana, what did you do?" Bella raised a brow, as the stewardess' handed us both a baby pink box that was wrapped in a silver glitter bow.
"I got you guy's a gift." She cheesed, looking more excited for the gifts than we were. "Go ahead and open it."
Doing as told, we pulled the silver bow a loose, flipping the top to the box open. I immediately gasped, looking over at Bella who had the same shocked expression in her face.
Written across the top of the box in silver ink was 'Will You Be My Bridesmaid?'.
"Tiana!" I called out to her, my eyes re-reading the words. "You're gonna make me cry. I said no crying!"
"You guys didn't even look at the rest of it." She chuckled.
Inside of the box was a small white card that sat on top of a silver tumbler that read 'Bridesmaid' in silver glitter, a silver satin robe with 'Sister of the Bride' scrawled in cursive across the back also in silver glitter, and a small jewelry box that contained a stunning clustered tennis necklace and bracelet to match.
"Tee." Bella looked up her unbelievably. "You did your damn thing with this one."
"Y'all like it?" She pouted.
"How could we not?" I raised a brow. "This shit is beautiful."
"I'm so glad you guys like it, I was nervous." Tiana chuckled, letting out a sigh in relief. "And your answers? Will you guy's be my bridesmaids?"
"Bitch you didn't even have to ask." I told her. "That was a given."
"Honestly, you didn't really have a choice. We were gone be your bridesmaids whether you asked us or not." Bella shrugged.
Tiana laughed, opening her arms for us to hug her. Both Bella and I stood up, rushing to her for a group hug.
"I love you bitches." She said, sniffling a little.
"We love you too." Bella smiled.
"It's a shame," I pulled back from the hug, looking at both of them with a grin. "We bout' to be lookin' so damn fine at this wedding."
Bella and Tiana busted out into laughter. Tiana wiping the few tears that slipped from her eyes before saying,
"I know that's right!"
this was a long one! but i think y'all deserved it.
i know this update took a lil min but bare with me yall. im movin back into college in three days so there might be a little delay. but imma try to update as much as I can for y'all!
as always comment and let me know your thoughts and please don't forget to vote!
xoxo,
ttchanell💞