Feb. 14, 1995
Jalisa's P.O.V.
As I sat up in bed to stretch, I let out a morning yawn. Just as I was about to get out of bed, my dog, Rue, jumped up on the bed to greet me. I noticed something hanging from her collar. It was a dog tag that read "Happy Valentine's Day." It never dawned it was today. I took a shower, dressed, and headed downstairs. When I walked into the dining room, The Artist was finishing breakfast.
"Hey," He greeted me.
"Hey," I greeted him back as I sat at the table.
He handed me a plate of pancakes with heart shapes and strawberries before sitting across from me with his food. When he saw that I was enjoying the pancakes, The Artist told me his cook assisted him create the hearts in them.
We went into one of his studios afterwards. He's been asking if I wanted to record an album ever since he heard me sing my heart out. I thought about it for a while and thought, why not? I've recorded two songs with his assistance since last year, and am now working on a song about my ex-boyfriend. When it was finished, I wanted to hear it for myself.
As I listened to the song, I felt satisfied with the way my emotions were expressed.In the aftermath of Kelvin cheating on me two years ago, I began to write this song. Having discovered that he betrayed me by not only lying to me, but also cheating on me again, I was motivated to finish the song. When The Artist asked what the song's title ought to be, I chose "The Way That I Love You".
"It's about him?" The Artist asked, referring to Kelvin.
"Yeah," I replied with a sigh. "I wrote it after my miscarriage."
"I'm sorry about your baby."
"It's okay. He wasn't worthy of me or our baby."
"Did you like your Valentines gift?" He changed the subject.
"Yeah, it's really sweet. Thank you."
We got back to the recording session for about an hour. After the session, The Artist asked if he could take me out for dinner tonight. I hesitated at first, but eventually accepted.
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Hairstyle & Attire
As The Artist and I approached the elegant restaurant, we were the only two patrons there. Apparently, he rented the place for us to have a private dinner. Before he sat down at the table, he pulled out a chair for me. A waiter came served us red wine and gave us the menus. I noticed The Artist was quiet and anxious. After the waiter brought his food, he didn't touch it.
"Is there something wrong?" I questioned him..
"No, why'd you asked?"
"You've been quiet and anxious since we got here, and you haven't touched your food." I expressed my concern.
"I wanted to see if your liking everything." He replied.
"I'm liking it so far, but it's something else."
"What do you mean?"
"You look as if your worried about something."
He was silent for some time before replying, "I wanted to ask you if we could... start over."
"Start over? As in becoming friends?"
"More than that."
I was left feeling both perplexed and speechless by his words. Despite the fact that he had been taking care of my needs while I was getting over Kelvin, I remained wary of him.
"You don't have to tell me now." He spoke after noticing my demeanor. "I'll give you all the time to think about it."
We talked about other things in order to shift the subject. The Artist discusses his relationship with his father, which reminded me of my own. There were times when I thought about talking to him but couldn't bring myself to do so.
As I looked at him curiously, I asked, "How did you find out Kelvin was with Vanessa?"
"I have my ways of getting dirt on someone that I'm not to fond of even if I don't know them all too well." The Artist replied. "I've been keeping surveillance on him since you started your first gig with us. I couldn't put a time frame on when the affair began, but it seems they've been seeing each other for some time. As for your former friend, Beverly, Kelvin is only with her because of his son."
"Did you dig any dirt on Vanessa by any chance?"
"No, why?"
"Just curious."
We continued conversing over dinner as time goes by.
The Artist stood up, approached me, and asked, "May I have this dance?".
I accepted by giving my hand. We walked over to the dance floor and began swaying to music.