Saturday. 2:34 PM.
I leaned over, grabbing a piece of pizza from the box that was placed strategically in the middle of the bed. He got pepperoni and sausage; my favorite. As I took a bite of the triangular piece of heaven, I leaned back in my previous position, snuggling up beside him. He rested his arm on my shoulder again as I lazily placed my legs over his. My eyes were locked on the TV hanging on the wall; we were watching The Godfather - the original. No sequel shit.
"This is my favorite part," he whispered, squeezing my arm gently.
I knew the scene well; the older man sleeping in his golden sheets awoke slowly to find himself covered with blood. Panicking, he begins to search all over for the source of the blood, moving his golden sheets off his legs to expose the source of it - the head of his prized horse.
I heard Kells begin to chuckle beside me. I rolled my eyes, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie. I took another bite of my pizza as he froze, staring at me. "What the fuck..?" he asked slowly.
"You're ruining the movie," I accused, taking another bite.
"Your chewing, all up in my ear, is ruining the movie. You don't see me complaining 'bout it."
I couldn't help but laugh. Quickly spotting a weak moment, he took it upon himself to snatch the piece of pizza away from me and began to take a few bites of it until I began to fuss; he then ate the whole thing.
I stared at him, mouth gaping open slightly, completely appalled. "That was so rude I could cry."
"Where the tears at, killer?" he challenged.
A grin spread across my face; I couldn't even be mad at him if I tried. Instead, I leaned over to place a kiss on his lips. I definitely caught him by surprise, but he welcomed it quickly, his hand racing up the back of my neck to deepen the kiss.
And just like that, there was a knock on his bedroom door. I pulled away, sighing. He did the same, glancing over at the door. "What's good?" he shouted.
"Why isn't Niykee answering her goddamn phone?" Lauren shouted back.
I groaned, rolling my eyes. I sat up, leaping over his legs to the foot of the bed. I ran my fingers through my damp hair as I opened the bedroom door. "You rang?" I asked, leaning against the door frame.
She folded her arm across her chest. I could hear Slim downstairs; he had the radio playing in the kitchen. "What's wrong with your phone?" she asked. "I've been texting you for the past half hour. Your mom called me because she couldn't get a hold of you either."
"I turned it off," I told her. "I didn't want to see any more shit. When did she call you?"
"Not that long ago. She said she texted you a few times and you never responded. I think she saw the pictures."
I nodded, sighing. "I'll give her a call."
She peered around me, taking a quick peek at Kells, who was laying on the bed still. Since the movie was still paused, he had turned his attention to his phone in order to give us some privacy. "What are you guys doing?" she asked quietly.
I gestured to the TV. "Watching The Godfather," I answered. "Eating pizza, making out - there's a lot of different things happening in here."
She chuckled, rolling her eyes. "So earlier went well then?"
She was referring to after she had left the bathroom this morning - after my little meltdown.
"There's something I've realized," I started. "There's going to be times where this is going to get hard for me. I'm not used to having eyes on me - I'm not used to being criticized for what I want."
I stood up slowly from the tub, water dripping from my naked body. If it were possible, his eyebrows would've skyrocketed off his forehead. "But I want you, so I'm not going to give a fuck what anyone - our fans, social media, stupid ass gossip sites - have to say about it. Now with that being said," I placed my hands on my hips, smirking. "You gonna come get me or what?"
"Jesus, Niykee," he groaned, running both his hands through his hair. He attempted to look away but he couldn't. "Shouldn't we talk about this - I mean, I'm all for this," he said gesturing to my body. "Believe me, I'm all for it." He cleared his throat as if to remind himself to stay on track. "But you seemed pretty upset earlier and..."
I stepped out of the bathtub and made my way over to him. Water continued to bead down my skin with every step I took. He stared for a couple of seconds until he blinked a few times as if it would clear his mind of the dirty thoughts he was thinking. "Niykee..." he breathed. I was now standing in front of him. "Niykee... Come on..."
My hands traced up his arms, pausing at his chest. I bit my lip, looking up at him. His blue eyes were studying my every move and I couldn't resist standing on my tiptoes, connecting our lips. He reacted exactly how I wanted him to; he pushed me up against the wall, his hands roaming down from my neck to my waist. His lips not once leaving my body as we got lost in each other.
After, we did end up talking about it; we agreed that we weren't going to confirm nor deny our relationship to the public. We were still lowkey - as lowkey as someone like us could be - and we didn't want anything jeopardizing our potential future together.
We even spoke about exclusivity, as weird as that sounds. I thought we weren't ready, although I expressed to him that I did want it eventually - with him. He responded with agreeing to take it as slow as I wanted; he didn't want to scare me away. Lauren was right; he didn't have any bad intentions.
I cleared my throat. "Yeah, everything went perfectly," I smiled. "I'll tell you about it later," I whispered to her. She nodded, giving me a small smile.
"When were you going to hit the studio?" she asked. "Remember Slim finished mastering all those songs for you. I'm so excited to listen to them," she grinned.
"Probably after the movie," I chuckled and then nodded. "I know - I am too. Finally, we have some real progress to show for."
She nodded. "Just let me know when you're done - and don't forget to call you mom, Niyk."
"Don't worry, I got this," I said. I gave her a small wave as she turned on her heel and walked down the staircase. I closed the bedroom door behind me, smiling over at Kells.
He glanced over at me expectantly and leaned toward the box in the middle of the bed. He grabbed a piece of pizza and offered it to me. I smiled as I walked over to him.
"Peace offering?" He smiled.
I chuckled lightly and shrugged, taking the pizza from him. "I guess I can make an exception for you."
I climbed back into bed, smiling uncontrollably. His facial expression mimicked mine.
"Listen, I've been thinking," he started. I got comfortable beside him, looking at him expectantly; I noticed how bright his eyes were and how carefree his mood was; it made me happy. "This whole not seeing you for a month thing is gonna drag big time. I got to hit LA for a couple of days during the press tour; if I don't got a place in Cali by that time, would it be cool if I just crashed with you?"
I nodded a lot quicker than I thought I would've.
"You can say no," he said quickly as I continued to nod. "I won't take it personally. I can just book a hotel and -"
I leaned toward him crashing our lips together. "You talk way too much," I said as I pulled away.
He rolled his eyes but smiled. "You sure?" He asked. "I ain't trying to invade your space."
I nodded again. "Yes, I'm sure. Stay with me."
He smiled, nodding. "Cool," he pulled me toward him so I was sitting in his lap. "You tryna finish this movie now or..." He placed a kiss on my neck and then my collarbone. "We can do some other stuff," he offered, his hands running through my hair as he kissed my skin again.
I bit my lip. "I wanna hit the studio soon," I reminded him.
"I haven't forgotten," he said, his fingers grazing along my shoulder, dragging down my tank top strap. "We got plenty of time, Niykee."
I took a bite out of the pizza he had given me, shrugging. "Pizza first," I smiled.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised," he grinned, laughing.
My eyes searched for my phone that was still sitting on the bedside table from when I had turned it off this morning. My eyes darted back to him as I reached for it. "And I gotta call my mom real quick," I added.
"Go for it," he smiled. "Don't pay any mind to social media."
I rolled my eyes. "Does that mean there's more?"
He shrugged. "It means don't pay any attention to social media."
I sighed loudly, turning on the device in my hand. I stood up from the bed, gesturing toward his door. "I'll be back. You can start the movie without me if I take too long."
He nodded as I walked out of his room. I headed down toward his living room, walking past the bathroom and closet doors. The phone came to life in my hands, the bright screen hurting my eyes. As notifications began to flood my screen, I took a deep breath, walking into the large room.
I wasn't ready to go back to reality yet.
Ignoring the notifications the best I could, I dialed the memorized number and waited patiently as it rang in my ear. I strolled around the room, my finger grazing along the titles of books he had on his shelf. My eyes continued to search the room; photographs on the opposite wall caught my eye. Just as I was walking over to them, the ringing in my right ear stopped and was replaced by my mother's thick accent.
"Niykee!" She shouted on the other line, which made me jump slightly. "Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get in contact with you since this morning."
I sighed quietly. "I'm sorry, mom, I've -"
"Cheyene called me this morning, freaking out because you were on TMZ. What is TMZ, Niykee? And why were you on it?" She began to interrogate; poor ma was so oblivious to this life she didn't even know what TMZ was.
"Cheyene called you?" I repeated, avoiding her questions, my eyebrows raised. Last time I had heard from him, he was still traveling in Europe with friends. All I knew was that he was going to be back home in Chicago at the end of August, nothing more. We hadn't spoken since I had originally moved out to New York and that's was a little over six months ago.
"Yes!" She cleared her throat. "Honey, you aren't in any trouble, right?"
I began to chuckle. "God no, mom - are you okay?"
"Yes, but honey, Cheyene sounded worried, so you know me," she sighed loudly. I then heard Blocka barking in the background. "He said he was going to call you when he had a chance."
I nodded. "Alright," I said. My eyes followed each photograph on the wall as I spoke. I studied the scenery, the people - their faces, their clothes - until my mother sighed again. "I'm fine, mom, you have nothing to worry about. Did Lauren email you the tickets?"
"Yeah, she did, honey, thank you. I can't wait to see you girls."
I smiled. "Can't wait to see you too," I said. "I'm gonna get going now. I'm going to hit the studio soon. I'll give you a call tomorrow before we head to the airport, okay?"
"Of course," she said. "But honey, before you go - are you having fun? I want to hear about your weekend!"
I smiled; I wasn't going to go into extravagant detail with her - I didn't want her to worry. So instead, I kept my response short and sweet. "I'm enjoying myself," I smirked.
"You better not end up pregnant before I get to meet him," she joked. I cringed slightly at her words; the thought of my mother meeting Colson had never crossed my mind, not once.
I faked a quick laugh. "Like I said, mom, nothing to worry about." I ran my hands through my hair. "Listen, if my phone happens to be off, just hit up Lauren, okay? Don't go into full-blown panic mode again."
She chuckled on the other end. "Okay, okay. I know how you like to concentrate on your music. Love you, tiger."
"Love you more," I smiled. "Talk to you tomorrow." And with that, we both ended the call.
I sighed loudly, closing my eyes, leaning against the wall. I felt my phone vibrate in my palm a few times before I eventually opened my eyes; notifications continued to pop up on my screen causing my stomach to grow weak.
Just as I was about to turn it back off, I recognized a name in particular that caught my attention. Cheyene.
hey niyk. know it's been a while but saw u on tmz and thought i'd check up on u. i really hope you aren't with that guy. pls just hit me when u can and we'll talk. - C
~
6:27 PM.
Slim sat in front of the soundboard, alongside his laptop. Lauren and I sat behind him on one of the long lounge couches in the room. It was dark in the room beside red lights under the equipment and some that accented the walls; it was a complete vibe. Despite how small the room looked, it was extremely cozy and relaxing.
Kells sat behind Slim, smoking a joint, rummaging through his own notebook. I had my notebook and iPad in my lap; I was currently going through some newly written songs, trying to figure out which one to record.
I had told Lauren about a song on the plane that I had been working on - loosely based on her relationship with Slim; she more-so inspired the idea of the song, but of course, I made it my own. She dug the idea and had wanted to read some of the lyrics on the plane, but I eventually fell asleep so she never did. I was leaning toward recording that song now, but I was also a bit against it.
The song, although not necessarily written about myself, did have some truths in it; my feelings had inspired it too.
Bottom line: I wasn't trying to scare him away by writing a song that was semi-kinda-sorta about him, while also coincidentally about LP and Slim. It was a weird concept that only made sense in my head.
"Alright, so I finished mastering a few songs," Slim began, glancing back at me. He gave Lauren a quick wink before continuing. He looked down at his notepad, which was on his lap. "So far there's Villa, Rain Dog, Sober, Champagne, Say Yeah, and Lullaby that's been mastered and ready for the album," he shared, reading off his notepad.
He glanced back up at me finally, but I wasn't paying attention. Instead, I was looking down at the iPad, reading through the lyrics I had written already, and adding more as my mind began to wander to the events of this weekend so far.
But way back in my mind was Cheyene's text. I didn't respond to him, but instead, shut off my phone shortly afterward. I didn't know what he had to say, and half of me didn't care. I knew Kells had an extensive reputation, especially when it came to women, but I felt this was different. Call me an idiot, but I was willing to keep his past in the past.
I heard someone clear their throat suddenly. I glanced up, eyebrows raised. Everyone, besides Lauren, was staring at me, waiting for any type of signal I had been listening.
My lips turned to a flat line. "That's great!" I tried to save myself. "There's one song, in particular, I need mastered before we leave this weekend," I shared.
Slim began to nod and Kells continued to smoke his joint; he rolled his chair closer to Slim. "You two can work on it together, if you want," I smiled.
They both nodded, turning their attention to the soundboard once I had handed Kells the USB drive. I leaned back in my seat, nudging Lauren.
She glanced up from her phone, eyebrows raised. I handed her the iPad and pointed to the screen. "This is the song. I just finished it."
She smiled, placing her phone in her lap. I could see the screen from where I sat; it was a picture of Kells and me from when the boys had picked us up from the airport. I felt a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watched the screen go black.
It was a few seconds before Lauren passed me back the tablet. "Niykee!" She exclaimed. The boys looked over at us, surprised to hear her voice. "This is amazing. You gotta record it now."
I bit my bottom lip, reading through the lyrics to myself once again.
"Whatcha got there?" I heard his deep voice ask. The sound of his chair rolling toward us was next. I glanced up and before I could react, he had taken the iPad from me and began to read.
"Wait, it's not -," I tried, but it was no use.
Slim began to read over his friend's shoulder silently. I quickly glanced over at Lauren, narrowing my eyes. She gave me an apologetic look which I responded with rolling my eyes.
I wasn't ready for them to read it. I wasn't ready for the response I'd get from him. Here I go over thinking shit. Goddamnit, Niykee.
I turned back to the boys, who were still reading. "Lauren inspired it," I shared quickly so no assumptions were made right away.
"Among other things," Lauren muttered.
Slim chuckled as Kells cleared his throat, finally glancing up at me. "So Lauren inspired this, huh?" He asked, a smirk slowly forming on his lips.
I rolled my eyes, grabbing the tablet back from him. "The relationship inspired it," I concluded, hoping he couldn't read my face.
He clicked his tongue, nodding. "Alright, killer, show us what you got then." He gestured toward the dark booth.
I glanced over to the booth then back at the boys. "Right now?" I asked. "Aren't you two going to master I'm Ready first?"
"I want you to record this first," he said, folding his arms across his chest, leaning back in his chair.
"I need to figure out what I want first," I said. "I may want some guitar throughout followed by a mellow beat during the chorus, but," I shrugged. "I'm not sure yet."
Slim began to nod as Kells stood up from his swivel chair and headed toward the corner of the room. He grabbed his guitar case and returned back to his seat. I watched how he silently opened the case, displaying the beautiful red guitar he now held in his hand.
"Holy shit," I breathed. "It's beautiful," I said glancing up at him.
His blue eyes met mine and a grin formed on his lips. "Ain't she?" He placed the case on the ground and gestured toward the booth. "You ready to go in now?" He asked.
"You're coming in with me?" I asked, eyebrows raised.
He nodded, standing up from his chair. "Let's go, killer."
I pouted slightly as he grabbed my hand, pulling me into the booth with him. Reluctantly, I went with him. It was quiet as I walked to the corner of the room where a wooden stool and a metal stand stood in front of a microphone. I sat down on the stool, placing my iPad on the stand and watched as he dragged another stool into the room.
I tried to think about what I wanted for the song; it hadn't fully crossed my mind yet since I had just finished writing it. It was usually a process that I dealt with alone. It felt weird to be doing this alongside someone else.
Yeah, he had helped with multiple other songs, but when I say the vibe was different - it was different.
I watched as he sat down in front of the other microphone in the room, clearing his throat. He had is guitar pick in between his teeth as he adjusted the placement of the guitar in his lap, then the microphone. Finally, his blue eyes glanced up at me and he gave me an encouraging smile as he took the pick out of his mouth.
His smile made my heart skip a few beats. I sighed quietly, trying to calm my breathing. The vibe was completely different and now I knew why.
"What are you feeling for the chords?" he asked me as his fingers grazed along the strings.
I leaned back, glancing over at the room where we had left Slim and Lauren. If this was going to happen, I didn't want an audience - no offense to LP and Slim.
"Would it be possible if I could just sing it real quick? Like acapella? I just want to get a feel of how I want the vocals to go."
He began to nod, glancing over at the door leading to the lounge. He cranked his neck a bit before moving it ever so subtly. I furrowed my eyebrows together; it was as if he had read my mind. After a few seconds, I heard muffled voices, then a door shutting.
A smile played on my lips as he turned back to me. "The floor is yours, Heaton," he said.