Zay glanced over at Love instantly, who met his gaze. She watched him for a moment, then dropped her eyes and continued to smooth out the sheets on the bed that sat in the middle of the set. The expression she gave him was hard, like a guard went up. He felt his stomach drop as he thought about what thoughts must have been racing in her mind.
He grabbed Amora gently by the wrist. “We need to talk. Now.”
He led her out of the room and into a nearby storage room. Deuce raised an eyebrow as they passed him. “Ain’t this someLove & Hip-Hopshit,” he muttered, sipping from his bottle of water. “I knew today was gon’ be messy.”
When they reached the room, Zay opened the door first, allowed Amora to walk inside before he followed, and shut the door behind them. The buzzing lights above flickered faintly.
“Amora, what the hell are you doing?”
She shrugged, still holding her phone. “I figured I’d pop up, get some behind-the-scenes content. My fans love when I show real stuff.”
“Put the damn phone down.”
She looked at him confused at first but then rolled her eyes and ended the stream.
Zay sighed. “You don’t just show up to my job like this. Especially not streaming. This is a professional set, not your vlog.”
“Oh, please,” she snapped. “You knew what this was when you met me.”
“I also told you we weren’t together,” he shot back. “You keep showing up like we’re a thing. We’re not.”
Her expression faltered. “So you really just gon’ play me like that? After all the times I have been there for you?”
“I’m not playing you. I’m being honest. All the times you have been there for me? You came here for clout. That’s disrespectful. Don’t do that shit again.”
She stared at him for a moment with tears in her eyes. They stood in silence for a while before she wiped her eyes and scoffed.
“Don’t worry about it. You gon’ miss this,” she muttered. She brushed her shoulder into his and walked out of the room.
Zay stood in the doorway for a moment, jaw tight, and tried to shake the irritation from his shoulders. When he finally stepped back onto set, the mood had shifted. People were working, but the ease from earlier had dimmed.
His eyes scanned for Love and paused when he found her. She was across the other side of the room now, focused on a set design board, talking with a lighting tech. Her body language was stiffer than before.
He walked up slowly, with a million thoughts racing inside his head. When he reached her, she still had her back toward him, speaking to the lighting tech. She didn’t turn right away, and after a few moments, he tapped her shoulder.
“Hey.”
Love turned around slowly and looked at him, her expression blank. “Hey.”
“I didn’t know what that was about. I didn’t invite her here.”
Love nodded, but it wasn’t one of agreement. It was one of protection.
“It’s cool,” she said flatly. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”
“Nah!” he exclaimed. “That ain’t my girl. She just someone I had kicked it with before.”
“Lower your voice.” Love hissed as she glanced around. The cast and crew all were working, but she couldn’t help but feel as if they were watching the interaction between them two. “I said it’s cool. It’s no problem.”
Zay hated the way she shut down. He recognized this from before, the way she’d always pull herself inward and armor up instead of being honest about how she felt.
He wanted to say more, explain himself and apologize even. But instead, he watched her as she quickly walked away.
For the first time all day, she didn’t feel like Princess anymore.
She felt like Love. Grown and guarded.
A woman who’d learned not to let the same hand burn her twice.
