There was a slight hint of a smirk on her face when she pushed her way out of my hold, tossing over her shoulder, “We should… probably get back to the party. I’m sure people are looking for us.”
“Well is it possible that we can pick this up a little later? Back on Choreographer Lane?” I asked as I worked on the buttons of my shirt that had come undone somewhere down the line. But instead of giving me a definitive answer, Amerie only winked at me before turning to unlock the door and leave.
I shook my head, feeling sensitive all over as I finished getting dressed. Then I waited five extra minutes, putting enough buffer time in between my exit and Amerie’s before leaving the bathroom, only to find Blaise with his foot propped on the wall, leaning against the space next to the door.
“Old habits die hard, huh?” he asked as he pushed himself up, shaking his head in disbelief like a disappointed parent.
Still, I tried to sound nonchalant as I explained, “I mean… it’s her birthday and...”
He cut me off, putting a hand to my chest to stop my stride when he stated sternly, “Don’t fuck this up, Knox.”
While I knew his intentions, I couldn’t help but knock his hand away when I defended, “Man, it’s not even my doing. She’s the one who wanted me to meet her in there. She’s the one who… nevermind.”
Again, he shook his head. “I don’t need the details. Just… be careful, alright?”
“You need to be tellin’ her that,” I reminded him as we slipped back into the party room, my eyes immediately landing on Amerie as she chatted it up with… Liam?
A million thoughts ran through my head at the sight. But since I knew jumping to conclusions wouldn’t end well, I instead tried to focus on Blaise as he replied, “I will. But I’m gonna tell you first.”
I barely heard the end of his sentence, my eyes trained on Amerie as ol’ boy Liam whispered something in her ear that made her flinch. Even from afar, I recognized her offended reaction to whatever he had said before she ditched him for the rest of the partygoers. And while I should’ve been ready to fade his lame ass for coming at her regardless of what he actually said, I was too focused watching Amerie as she looked around the crowd until she locked eyes with me.
I raised my eyebrows as if to ask, “Everything alright?” And the smile she gave in response let me know, if nothing else, things were better than alright between the two of us. In fact, it was enough for me to feel confident telling Blaise, “I’m followin’ her lead, bruh. And if this is the path she wants to take us down, well… I guess I’m down for the ride.”
Amerie
I was buzzing - literally buzzing - as I strolled into the studio with my camera crew in tow, ready to put Zalayah through the best rehearsal session of her life. And even if it wasn’t actually the best of her life, it still wouldn’t kill my vibe because… life was good. I was happily a year older after celebrating with my closest people. My phone was ringing off the hook with opportunity after opportunity thanks to the additional buzz from my performance at the awards show with Liam regardless of how much of an asswipe he was. And then there was Knox.
Knox’s whole existence in my life had become even more complicated. I didn’t know what we were doing, didn’t know what any of it meant. But that also didn’t stop me from continuously putting in orders for his skills like some sort of feen. And boy did he fulfill my request every time, each rendezvous better than the last as if he was deliberately trying to keep me hooked, as if he was trying to set a new high score, as if he was trying to prove the point that I was always exactly where I belonged in the moments we shared.
But instead of focusing on sorting through the fog of details, I focused on my client as she strolled into the studio a few minutes after me, grinning at whatever she was looking at on her phone.
“Amerieeeee, why didn’t you tell me you and Knox Riley were a thing?” she asked as she sat her bag down next to the mirror, casually kicking off her shoes while I struggled to keep my face neutral.
I mean, it was one thing for someone like Blaise to comment. Even Malia since she and Blaise shared the same bed. But how in the world would Zalayah have information about Knox and I?
Since I didn’t have reasonable answer, I attempted to play it off when I replied, “Uh… because we’re not? We’re just filming the show together.” Even going as far as nodding my head towards the camera crew that was surely picking up the whole conversation.
Still, Zalayah brushed me off, plopping down onto the floor where I was stretching out when she said, “Girl bye. Have you seen that video from your birthday party that you neglected to invite me to?”
“First of all, it was a surprise party meaning I wasn’t in charge of the guest list. Second of all, what video?” I asked, cringing inside as I thought about the possibilities. And I was just sure Zalayah was ready to put me out of my misery when she handed me her phone, tapping the screen to press play on the clip that someone had uploaded to Instagram of Knox giving me a lap dance.
While I probably should’ve been freaking out considering the whole world had access to what I considered a pretty intimate moment, I couldn’t help but smile, even when Zalayah said, “Listen. I don’t know what you did to that man, but I’m gonna need you to teach me your ways, sis. And while you’re at it, you can also teach me that chair dance from that performance you did with Liam. That shit was hot, boo. Like, I’m pretty sure I was a lesbian for a split second. I might’ve even given you my phone number backstage.”
I bursted with laughter, shaking my head as I popped up from the ground before extending a hand to her and asking, “Why weren’t you at the show anyway?”
Once she was standing upright, she only shrugged as she answered, “I’ve been attending those events since middle school. They’re old news to me now. Plus, I’m trying to focus more on my craft these days. Focus on the music.”
“Well I’m sure you’ll be up for the big awards next year with this new album you’ve been working on,” I told her as I headed to the sound system, ready to cue up the potential singles from it she had sent me just a few days prior.
But my hand was only hovering over the play button when she replied, “Actually, we… scrapped the whole thing.”
“What? You’re kidding me, right?” I asked, instantly annoyed in my mind since I had already come up with a rough cut of the choreography I planned to teach her.
But my annoyance somewhat turned to empathy when Zalayah whined, “It just wasn’t me, Amerie. They keep trying to put me back in the popstar box and I’m beyond that. I want something different which means I have to find a sound that actually fits me instead of letting the execs tell me what I can and cannot sing about. You know they wouldn’t even let me say nigga on a track? Like, hello? I’m black as fuck. I say nigga every day. Why can’t I sing it too?”
I shook my head, chuckling with my hands on my hips as I asked, “Why wouldn’t they let you say it, Z?”
“Something about how the little white girls who have been following me since I was a teenager won’t appreciate it. But I’m like, fuck them. So what if they get fake offended? They don’t have to come to my shows. They don’t have to buy my albums. It really isn’t for them to begin with,” she explained with a roll of her eyes as if she had reheated the anger from the original conversation.
And while I understood where she was coming from, I also wanted to remind her, “They do make up a large part of your audience though, Z. Don’t you worry about missing out on that market?”
Again, she shrugged. “They’ll be replaced with the people who used to write me off for being too Top 40 pop. Mark my word. But anyway, back to you and fine ass Knox.”
My face scrunched as I repeated, “Fine ass Knox? Isn’t he a little too old for you to be checkin’ for him?”
With a wave of her hand, Zalayah insisted, “Fine is fine. I don’t care how old you are. And considering the way he was grinding in that video…”
“Nu uh. You’re like a lit
tle, little sister to me meaning I am not interested in hearing about your sex life,” I told her regardless of the fact that she was technically beyond the age of a legal adult.
Truth be told, she had experienced more in her years than most adults which surely matured her a lot faster than normal. But that didn’t mean I had to actually give her the leverage when she groaned, “Ugh. You sound just like the execs at the label. And I was just sure my mom was gonna pass out when I told her I wanted my album to sound like a modern day The Velvet Rope.”
“The Velvet Rope? What do you know about that album? Were you even born when that came out?” I asked teasingly, knowing the album was timeless regardless of when Zalayah actually got the chance to hear and understand it.
And of course Zalayah stood her ground when she shouted, “Yes, I was born!”
“So you were, what? A few months old?”
She immediately shook her head as she replied, “Doesn’t matter. That album was everything and then some. And not just the songs, but the tour too. Oh, and you can’t forget the whole backstory. The time period in Janet’s life and how she transformed all of her pain into… nevermind. You ready to dance?”
While I had picked up on a few of the hints Zalayah had dropped in regards to her deeper connection to that particular album, since she obviously wasn’t interested in talking about it, I agreed, “Yeah. Let’s dance.”
But I hadn’t even made it to the sound system when I heard her whisper, “Speaking of the damn devil.” Before picking up her voice to give an enthusiastic, “Heyyyy Mr. Riley.”
Knox’s little chuckle warmed my skin from afar as he replied, “Come on, Zalayah. You ain’t gotta age me like that.”
“Trust me. I have no problem with your age,” she replied, her voice obviously hinting at some sort of attraction that I had to break up as soon as possible.
“So! What are you doing by here? Tryna steal my choreography?” I asked teasingly as I approached them, peeking over to Zalayah to dismiss her.
But she only took a single step back meaning she heard every word of Knox’s innuendo-filled reply. “Nah, I’d rather get somethin’ else from you.”
“Cameras,” I reminded him with a smile.
Though I was hardly surprised when he replied with a short, “Don’t care.”
What used to make me panic and worry only made me laugh as I brushed a hand against his chest and told him, “You’re crazy.”
“About you,” he added as he caught my hand to give it a little kiss, making me blush instantly.
“Get a room! Or don’t. I don’t mind watching,” Zalayah said nearby, reminding us we had much more than just the audience who might watch us on television later. And that was enough for Knox to create a little space between us when he finally mentioned what had prompted his visit to begin with.
“Shep wants us to do dinner tonight,” he tossed out casually, shoving his hands in his pockets as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Shep wants us to do dinner? Or you want us to do dinner?” I challenged with a smirk, the question flying a little too easily off of my tongue as if I was prepared from him to say only Shep.
But I was grateful that he saved me from the embarrassment when he answered, “Both. But I came to personally invite you. You know, on my gentleman shit.”
“Well, we were supposed to be rehearsing until…”
I didn’t even get to finish my excuse when Zalayah jumped in to say, “She’ll be there! Say, 7 o’clock?”
“That’ll work,” Knox replied with another one of his little chuckles before turning back to me to say, “I’ll see you then, babe.”
“See ya.”
“Yeah, see ya,” Zalayah added with a dainty little wave, watching his every step until he hit the door when she practically collapsed on top of me and groaned, “Jesus. To be a fly on the wall when you two are going at it.”
“Girl, be quiet. We don’t... go at it,” I insisted as I pulled away from her, making my way back to the sound system and hoping the conversation would end with my denial.
Of course it didn’t. Though I still wasn’t expecting it to go as far as Zalayah asking, “Oh, so he just dishes it out and you take it like a champ? Because there are definitely some bodily fluids being exchanged between the two of you.”
Now it was me groaning as I told her, “Ugh, don’t make it sound like that.”
She shrugged, finding her place in front of the mirror as she replied, “Just stating the facts. Which, while we’re at it, I should probably take this opportunity to also ask, does he fuck as good as he dances?”
“Zalayah! That is… none of your business,” I attempted to whisper, though there was hardly any use considering my mic had been on since I showed up to the studio with the camera crew.
Not only had they captured the audio, but also the same visual Zalayah saw with her own eyes when she explained, “He kind of made it my business when he started undressing you with his eyes during what’s supposed to be our private dance rehearsal so…”
“Anyway. Can we get to it? Or are you too deep in my business to function?” I asked with a roll of my eyes, though I pretty much knew the answer to my question once I saw the way Zalayah pepped up in response.
“Is that really an option? Cause I certainly have more questions.”
“Shoot. Clear the air. What is it that you want to know?” I asked as I put a hand over the tiny microphone attachment, muffling whatever audio it would possibly pickup to ensure it wouldn’t come back to haunt me later.
And I was glad I had acted fast considering the first question out of Zalayah’s mouth was, “Are you two having relations?”
While my mind automatically went to the exact kind of “relations” we were having, I still tried to keep my face neutral as I shrugged and answered, “Maybe. But it doesn’t matter. Because it’s just… relations.”
Mentally keeping things in that category was crucial if I expected to save my myself from falling completely into the same trap I had been in before. Though there was really no escaping the confusion since it wasn’t like our involvement was limited to just the bedroom. We were neighbors, we shared meals together frequently enough, we supported each other’s endeavors, not to mention it was all being captured for public viewing meaning we were spending extra, extra time together for the sake of the show. And regardless of how anti-couple I claimed I wanted it to look, I certainly wasn’t helping the cause.
“Amerie, you’re a terrible liar. I mean, the way you just looked at him. The way he looked at you…” she trailed, her eyes practically twinkling as they drifted off to space.
But I had no problem bringing her back down to earth so that I could ask, “Looked at me? How did he look at me?”
Her starry-eyed look remained as she gushed, “Like you were the best thing that ever happened to him; the best thing since sliced bread. Like he was… in love with you.”
“Oh God, no,” I thought to myself before asking, “Well, shit. How did I look at him?”
This time, she released a little sigh, taking a moment before answering in a softened tone, “Like you were a little afraid. But you couldn’t help yourself. Which… can’t really blame you there. Knox is fine, but I also know his track record when it comes to women.”
“How do you even know all of this?” I asked, my heart pounding as I considered the possibilities.
I mean, even though she was younger than us, as far as the industry was concerned, we were all still on the same playing field. And Zalayah didn’t exactly ease my anxiety when she replied, “When I’m not touring, or recording, or dancing, I’m studying. For my degree in psychology.”
“No, not that. How do you know his track record? What did you hear?”
She waved her hand nonchalantly as she replied, “Nothing you don’t already know considering the way he’s obviously blowing your back out now. But I guess a few of my background dancers thought a few good dick downs equated to an actual relationship, and we
all know that’s far from realistic.”
“Right. Completely unrealistic,” I agreed as if those weren’t the exact thoughts I was currently battling with; almost the exact confusion that had gotten me embarrassed before. And since there was no way I was going down that path with Zalayah of all people, I decided to change the subject when I added, “But uh… I didn’t know you were in school.”
“Yeah. It looks a lot different with my lifestyle since I’m not on an actual campus. But what I’ve learned so far has been super beneficial, especially when it comes to holding my own in the boardroom. Reading right through the bullshit day after day and the execs don’t even realize it,” she replied with a proud snap of her fingers.
While I was grateful that she had actually taken the bait, I was also proud to hear she was holding her own as I told her, “Well I can always appreciate that. Now let’s get to work before you really pick up too much.”
Again, she waved her hand as she headed towards the mirror. “Oh, I’ve already done my preliminary evaluation of the two of you. But I’ll let you figure out the rest on your own. Maybe even at that little dinner he invited you to. You know, on his gentleman shit.”
“See. Your little ass is too nosy,” I replied with a little chuckle as I made my way towards the sound system.
Still, from behind me, I heard her insist, “Don’t even worry about it, Amerie. I mean, I’ll sing at the wedding free of charge.”
I laughed again, pressing play as I repeated, “Wedding? Now you’re really out of your damn mind.”
“Yeah, you say that now. Just make sure I don’t get snubbed for the invitation like I did with the birthday party.”
&
I wasn’t exactly sure when the nerves decided to show up, but there was no ignoring how sweaty my palm felt when I balled it into a fist so that I could knock on Knox’s door. Then I stepped back, peeking off the porch at the neighborhood that had slowly but surely began to feel like home until the sound of the door opening brought my attention back to… damn, why does he always have to look so good?
An Encore for Love Page 16