In the Life

by Will Blue

  "Yeah, of course."

  "Oh, are we being a little conceited about it?" He joked.

  "Naw, just agreeing with the facts." We both laughed. He paused before speaking again.

  "Hey, can you do me a favor? A big favor? What are you doing right now?"

  "Umm, just got up. Why?"

  "I am about to go into the studio with Black Thought."

  "Black Thought from the Roots? Oh, that should be really good."

  "Well, I hope so, but the favor is that I want you to come in and join us. You always writing stuff in that journal you keep and what not. Maybe some of that can translate into song."

  "I don't know."

  "Come on. You let me read that story that you had wrote a while back. I know you have a creative mind. You have already inspired me once. This seems like a no brainer. Maybe I will win the Grammy this time."

  I gave the idea some thought and decided why not. I told him that I had to get dressed but I would be there soon. I promised to meet him at the studio in an hour.

  Our collaboration in the studio that day turned into multiple sessions. Before you know it, we had done five songs together. I absolutely loved them all. It was great to have this creative outlet too. I mean, it is one thing to write stories and what not for them only to be read by close friends, but this might be heard by millions of people! It could be huge!

  Whenever I would go to the studio, I would have to lie to Morris about where I was going. I know that I would have to tell him eventually, especially if these songs make Breion's album, but I didn't want to do it then. I mean, I would have to tell Morris that since going to California, I have kept in touch with Breion. Hell, I am not even sure if he knew that I knew Breion. Even if I left out our sexual relationship, he would assume something was up with us. Wouldn't you find it suspicious if your boyfriend kept his friendship with a R&B soul man a secret? Things are going too good for us to complicate things. I would explain everything… in time.

  Chapter 22

  "So what about if I tell him that you hooked up with him?" I was outside the studio trying to brainstorm over the phone with Curtis. I had to find an answer to this Breion issue. And by Breion issue, I mean the one in which I tell Morris that I know him well enough to be a songwriter on his album.

  "How is that lie gonna work? Morris will then say something to Jay about it and get me in trouble. Plus, Jay knows who I talk to and Breion Grey is not one of those people."

  "Shit," I exclaimed. It had taken me all night to think of that one. My mind tried to quickly think of another excuse.

  "How about I entered a songwriting contest and…"

  "Tre," Curtis said cutting me off. Obviously, he knew that the excuse I was brewing up in my head was lame at best. "Just tell him the truth… or at least some of it. Yall became cool on the set and exchanged numbers. Why lie more than you have to? You are already going to hell for the ones that you have already told."

  "Ha ha. Funny, but no. I can think of something." I looked at the time on my brand new watch that Morris had bought me. Breion and the producer were probably wondering where I was at. "Yo Cee, I gotta go and be musical. I will call you when we are done here."

  "Alright, but before you go, here is a song idea. What about one about a cheating boyfriend who is playing games with decent folk’s hearts, huh? Yeah? What about that for a melody?" I rolled my eyes and let out a loud sigh. This Negro!

  "Look, like I said, I will call you later. Bye." I hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

  I walked back into the building and started going through the maze of hallways to get back to Breion. On my way, someone bumped into me coming out of a restroom.

  "Oh my bad," the guy said as he regained his posture. I looked over at him and he was so thuggishly handsome. He was a dark skinned brotha standing at like 6'3, very muscular, cornrows freshly braided in a complex design, a thin beard shaping around full juicy lips, and a goatee that looked like he had been growing it out. When he opened his mouth to speak again, I was expecting to see grills, but instead I saw exquisitely perfect white teeth. He definitely had that Colgate smile.

  "Yo son, that was my bad. You cool?"

  "Yeah, I am good. It wasn't a problem. Thanks." The dude started smiling and I got weak a little.

  "Son, you must not be from around these here parts." He said while laughing and imitating a southern accent. Obviously, he had picked up mine.

  "You right about that one, but you are so wrong for trying to talk like me." I already knew he must have been a New York dude. He had that whole vibe about him.

  "Well, what are you doing here, Lil' Whoadie?" Oh, he got jokes!

  "In the studio, writing for my boy Breion's album. I am Tre, by the way." I extended my hand to him.

  "Cool, cool. Breion got that truth to his music. Aight. Well, I am Kareem, but the whole world will soon know me by Xcell." His name rang a bell in my mind.

  "Wait, Xcell? Weren't you rapping on that T-Pain song? That was my jam!"

  "Yeah," he admitted. I have done a couple guest spots and a lot of mix tapes, but I am here recording my album trying to be legit on my own, ya heard?" I nodded my understanding and then he began to smile brightly.

  "What?"

  "How about I steal Breion's secret weapon for a minute. He got enough heat." He ushered me to his studio room where I saw the infamous Nari Parker behind the boards. He had produced hits for everybody and their mamas. I knew that Xcell's record label was definitely investing some money in him to get Nari.

  "Yo Nari, I found us somebody to help us on them choruses. This is Tre." Nari got up to greet me and I damn near began to drool on myself. In all the pictures I had seen of Nari, I had always commented on how creamy and perfect that his caramel skin looked, but in person, I could see that it was positively flawless. There was no airbrushing with those pictures.

  "What's good, yo," he said casually in his deep baritone voice. I meekly said hey back. They began to play the track over and it was so fucking hot! It was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It had ‘hit' written all over it. I started to vibe with them on the choruses. As the track played in the background, I sang some words that were coming to me.

  "I don't wanna be, never ever gonna be, never ever gonna be caught, caught, caught up in your game. I am so tired of you and all the things you do. Cause it will get you caught, caught, caught up in your game," I sang. Both Xcell and Nari looked at me strangely. I began to feel insecure about my lyrics. I looked back at them with large, apologetic eyes.

  "It was the first thing that came to my mind," I tried to explain. Nari began to shake his head.

  "No… do that again, yo." I sang it again while trying to remember my exact words. Both of them started to smile at the end.

  "Yo, you can sing!" Xcell said excitedly. I shook my head with the quickness.

  “I mean, I sang in my college choir, but I am no singer.”

  "No, you really can, son." Nari looked at me and then back at the recording booth. "How bout you do that again, but this time on record. We can write out a vamp for you to do afterwards. This shit is gonna be hot!"

  As much as I tried to protest, I finally got convinced in doing it. I got the chorus recorded after a half an hour of singing it over and over trying to get the best take. Singing in the booth in front of Nari and Xcell didn’t come easy for me at all. I was more nervous than Flavor Flav at a dentist’s office! I didn’t think I could do it. But after we did the vamp and I laid down a couple of adlibs, Nari and Xcell seemed real pleased.

  Nari got all my information and set up a meeting of some kind for the following week. He wouldn't tell me what the meeting was going to be about, but he assured me that it would be life changing.

  Chapter 23

  "You okay?" I asked Morris before we went inside to Xcell's album release party.

  He had been acting a bit off the whole day and I don't know why. It couldn't be because of the whole Breion thing. We had been discussed
that. Of course, I left out certain incriminating details. I had no choice when Nari came into the mix of things. I agreed to record a few songs with him. Maybe I could shop the tracks out to other artists. I had no desire to become the next Usher or Chris Brown. I was fine being the one behind the scenes. However, it had not stopped Nari from pushing me to do more.

  I looked back at Morris and he forced a smile on his face. He kissed me once no one was looking and his smile became more genuine.

  "I am ready, baby. This is your night."

  Once we entered, I could hear the song I recorded with Xcell playing. ‘Caught Up' had been released as his first single and it was steadily climbing up the charts. I just knew it would crack the Hot 100 top ten any week now. It had been number 15 for the past two weeks. It was number 3 on the R&B charts and number 2 on the Rap chart. I am very happy about the success of the single. Even the accompanying video was doing well. People were beginning to recognize me on the street which both excited and scared me at the same time.

  The first face that I recognized once entering was Nari's. He came up to me with a huge grin on his face.

  "Hey superstar!"

  "What's good, dude?" I said as his arms wrapped around me for a hug.

  "Everything is good now that you are here. People have been asking me where you were. Some really good people want to meet you."

  "For real?"

  "Yeah, they want to meet the leading man of Extraordi-Nari Records. Come on man over here." I could feel Morris giving me a gentle nudge. I guess he was feeling a bit neglected. I took that as a queue to bring him into the conversation.

  "Oh Nari, you remember my homeboy, Morris." They shook hands.

  "Yeah, of course. Man, when is your next movie? I worked with Lailiana the other day and she spoke highly of you and your skills." I looked back at Morris. I admit that I did not like the sounds of Lailiana speaking of any ‘skills' Morris might have. But with Nari, she would obviously be talking about acting skills.

  "Well, I have a few projects that are developing. Hopefully, you will see me on the big screen again sometime next year."

  "That's great, man. I can't wait for it." Nari looked back at me expectantly. I guess the small talk was at an end.

  "Morris, I will be right back. Go and mingle. Network and do all that good stuff."

  "But baby," Morris said in a voice that only I could hear. "I don't want to. Where you going?"

  "I will be back," I assured him. I followed Nari and met some great people like he said. He ushered me from person to person. I met several artists and producers who expressed their interest in working with me. Nari assured each of them that they would hear from us in the future.

  Afterwards, I began to look for Morris, but I couldn't find him. He must have taken my advice and started to do that networking thing. Nari came up to me with two drinks in his hand. He handed me one of them.

  "So are you enjoying yourself?"

  "Most definitely." I took a taste of the drink and it was good. I took another big gulp.

  "Let me talk to you for a minute somewhere more quiet."

  "Huh? Whats going on?"

  "Just let me holla at you for a minute." We went over towards the restrooms which were kinda in the cut. I finished my drink before we got there and I was already feeling it going through me. I made a mental note to use that bathroom after the talk.

  "What's good?"

  "You are, baby. You know that I have been having my eye on you, right?"

  "Uh…" I didn't know what to say. I had not seen this coming. I didn't even realize that Nari had been checking me like that. I knew that I had to respond, but I did not know what to say. "Nari, I got…"

  "Let me guess. You have a man, right? Morris? Or is it Breion? Or is it both?"

  “I don't know what you are talking about."

  "Sure you don't." I was dumbfounded. Had I been that obvious with Morris and Breion or was he just guessing all of this? Nari got closer to me and I got feel his body begin to press into mine. "So are you happy with them?"

  "I am very happy." I began to back away, but with every step I took, Nari would take one closer. Soon, I found myself with my back against the wall with nowhere to go.

  "I think I can make you happier." And with that said he kissed me. I wanted to resist it, but I didn't. I gathered the strength to push him off of me, but it wasn't a strong push. It was more like a forceful tap.

  "I shouldn't be doing that." I said as I watched him lick his lips. I hoped he didn't do that again because it looked too sexy.

  "Damn, your lips are so soft."

  "Thanks," I responded not knowing what else to say at the time. As I stood there, a figure came into view behind Nari. I looked over his shoulder to see Breion standing there. I had forgotten that he said he was coming to the party. I guess that Breion had seen the whole incident because he was looking mad as hell.

  "What's wrong?" Nari must have felt me tense up. He looked behind him and saw Breion.

  "Oh."

  "Hey Breion." I tried to say casually, but I knew that I had been caught. This was a very awkward moment. But it was about to get worse. Morris rounded the corner with a drink in his hand. He gave Breion a head nod and walked up to me. I noticed Nari and Breion exchanging looks and then looking at Morris.

  "Tre, I have been looking for you everywhere." I looked between the three of them and each of them had their eyes on me. Their stares were making me break out into a sweat.

  "I have to go to pee," I said as I ducked into the bathroom leaving them alone in the hallway. Oh, where was Curtis when I needed him? When I went back out, only Morris was left standing there. I was relieved to see that. His smile let me know nothing popped off while I was away.

  "You ready to go yet, baby?" I nodded my head and we left. I didn't even stop to tell anyone bye.

  Chapter 24

  I felt like I had been singing this damn song for a week. I looked up at Nari with a desperate look on my face. I slid the headphones off my right ear and spoke to him through the microphone. I had enough of being in the recording booth.

  "Can we take a break here?" Nari cut the music and motioned for me to come out the booth.

  "What's wrong? Not feeling it?" Nari rose from his chair and walked over to me. "I thought by recording in my home studio we could get a new kind of energy in the air. You know, spark some creativity."

  "Yeah, I know. And I must admit that you have a great studio. I mean, I swear it seems like only last week that I saw it on MTV Cribs, but I am just tired. Well, not like sleepy tired, but… you know." Nari nodded his understanding. Then, as if a brilliant thought had just come to his head, he threw up a finger and ran back to the boards.

  "I got something that I want you to hear." With the flip and turn of a few buttons, a soft, sensual instrumental groove filled the room. It was a piano driven tune which was both jazzy and hip at the same time.

  "What's this?"

  "Something I did the other day." He walked back over to me and stood next to me. "Bet you didn't know I could play the sax, huh?" I began to sway to the music. Nari stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around me. He started to move side to side right along with me. His body felt so warm against mine. I could feel Nari's dick grow hard against my ass. I knew that this moment should end. Nothing good could come of this.

  "Is the piano you too?"

  "Of course." Nari pressed himself up against me a little more. Instinctively, I arched my butt into him.

  "So, do you like it?" I could feel his breath on my neck. His cologne smelt so good. I closed my eyes and began to enjoy it all.

  "Yeah. It sounds like a great track."

  "You know I wasn't talking about a track."

  His dick was fully erect and throbbing. He slid his hands around to my butt and gave it a squeeze. I turned around and our lips met. As we kissed, he slid his hands up under my underwear to touch my bare ass.

  He started to back me up towards the boards. I feel back into a
chair. The cushion felt cold against my exposed ass. He slid my pants and underwear completely off and then began to suck my dick. He was doing a damn good job too. I marveled as he went up and down on it leaving my dick shiny from his saliva. I caressed his head as he continued. He looked up at me and the look in his eyes made me melt. They were so full of lust and desire.

  Nari instructed me to stand up. Once again, I stood with my ass against his hard dick. He started to grind on me while kissing the back of my neck. His hands were firmly on my hips. Nari's hold kept me in place as he began to grind harder. His right hand ventured up my back and he pushed it down until I was bent over. Now his dick was hitting right against my spot.

  "No," I moaned out. "Get a condom."