Tatiana's POV
All morning, starting from 4:30 in the morning, I was greeted by familiar faces of the backup dancers, band, and the rest of the crew. It got tiring, and I knew this was going to be a long, long day.
She was looking forward to catching up with Sheryl, Greg, and Ricky later on in the evening.
But that would be at least 12 hours later.
And then there was Michael.
I had flashbacks of our most passionate and steamy moments from our past every time I laid eyes on him this morning. It just wouldn't stop, so I figure I'll have to deal with it for the rest of the tour.
This might just be hell.
"Okay, so..." He murmurs as he approaches me, a stack of papers in his hands. "I got you copies of all the songs on the set list, all the notes and everything. They're in order, so don't mess it up." He explains, handing them over to me.
"And you need to have these down by Thursday. I mean it needs to be completely, one hundred percent memorized. Because you won't have these with you when we perform, and since you're the only female backup singer for certain numbers and duets, it really does make a difference if you mess up." He instructs, giving me a hard ass stare.
This wasn't Michael, my man. This was Michael, the boss, the star, the performer.
I try to focus my attention on anything else other than the deep stare he's giving me. Is he even trying?
"No pressure." I whisper looking down, from his intense brown eyes.
"Well you should catch up pretty quickly, considering you've had this memorized before. And you knew it all perfectly." He reasons. "You had it down once, you can do it again. It shouldn't be hard at all."
"Well, alright..." I mumble, flipping through the pages, pretending to actually look through them.
"Michael!" A deep, somewhat raspy voice calls out from somewhere near.
I look up seeing a short, hefty figure running toward Michael.
Frank.
I couldn't help but feel angry at Frank too for firing me. He may have been following Michael's orders, but his demeanor and the way he treated me.....still pissed me off.
I bite down on my cheek, not exactly thrilled to see him.
Frank doesn't notice me or my presence...his attention is on Michael.
"Just wait until he sees me..." I think to myself as I look down at my papers smirking.
Hey, kid," Frank pants now that he's finally in Michael's presence. "So, about the meeting later—"
And that's when he shifts his head and all of a sudden, I was in his line of vision.
"Tati?" Frank breathes, almost breathlessly. It was obvious he was shocked and stunned by my presence.
"Frank." I retort in a boring, unentertained tone of voice.
I see Michael rub his bottom lip slowly, looking down at the ground.
"I wasn't... expecting you here."
I remain silent for the moment, but my eyes give him the elevator look, which spoke for me.
The famous "resting bitch" face if you say....
"Frank," Michael cuts in, clearing his throat. "Tatiana is joining us back on the tour."
"Oh, is that right?" Frank raises his eyebrows. "Well, welcome back. It's good to see you again."
"Thank you." I mumble.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, thanks for asking."
"Alright, that's... that's good. Uhm...I like the new look..." Frank nods gesturing to my hair awkwardly with his cigar, still trying to take in the fact that I am back on the BAD tour, or even in his presence. "Michael, I'll catch on with you later." And with that, awkwardly, he walks away.
I continue giving him the Kanye face watching him walk away.
"I don't like him." I say flatly as I look back down flipping through the papers.
"Why not?" Michael asks.
"Because I don't." I shrug before walking away leaving Michael standing alone.
Michael's POV
"I hear your voice now; you are my choice now, the love you bring..." Tati sings softly as she enters out of her wing and into center stage, to meet me. "Heaven's in my heart, at your call I hear harps, and angels sing..."
And feel my body suddenly relax at the sound of her voice, as my mind suddenly drifts off.
**FLASHBACK**
Recording 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You,' 1987
"I just wanna lay next to you for a while
You look so beautiful tonight...
Your eyes are so lovely
Your mouth is so sweet
A lot of people misunderstand me
That's because they don't know me at all
I just wanna touch you
And hold you
I need you,
God I need you
I love you so much..."
I read out softly and seductively, never looking away from her eyes as I get prepared to sing my next part.
"Each time the wind blows, I hear your voice so... I call your name." I sing in the microphone staring at her.
Little did she know I was singing about her...
**FLASHBACK OVER**
And it's later on in the song when I actually start to touch her the way I always did when they performed their song together.
"You know how I feel, I won't stop until..." A hand sliding down her thigh, "I hear your voice saying I do..."
"I dooo..." She coos, trying to get her mind off his touch. "This thing can't go wrong..."
"This feeling's so strong..."
This would be my only excuse to touch her the way I once did, because when I'm on stage I don't really control what I do. I let the music take over my body.
And I had to admit to myself...it felt complete to perform with the love of my life.
And when the song is over the entire crew applauds, claps, whistles—something they never do, and something they weren't supposed to do since after "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "She's Out of My Life" starts right after. It showed that they too enjoyed having Tati back, and would love to make her feel more at home.
She blushes lightly as she fiddles with the mic.
"You did great..." I tell Tatiana. "You already had amazing vocals, but your voice is even stronger..."
She smiles and tucks in the back of her David Bowie shirt, in her high waist jeans.
"Keep it up." I tell her.
"Thank you." She smiles smirking lightly. "Not bad yourself..." she says as she walks away.
I smile to myself looking down, chuckling.
I have everything I could want now....except one thing.
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AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYE BABES! <3 <3 <3 Sorry I've been awhile! Have a joyous week and you're gonna get a bomb valentine's day update!
Xoxox,
moonwalkergal