He nodded. “We’ll talk soon. Give Sonya your contact information.”
She smiled and saved my info in her phone, then they left. I turned to Maj, and she was crying. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I approached her cautiously.
“I’m just so happy for you, Arlie. You deserve this. It’s been a long time coming. Although we’re still in our mid-twenties, you been rapping since like fifth grade. This deal you’re in now wassimply a stepping-stone to get you to where you should be. I’m so glad you didn’t give up after that first album.”
I hugged her. “Thank you, girl. You know giving up ain’t even my style. I’m gon’ hustle and grind hard to get what I want. I’m gonna be successful one way or another. I can’t wait to get out this fucking contract.”
She laughed, and I hugged her again. “Thank you for being here for me, Maj. You’re a friend from heaven. I promise, you will always be taken care of because of how hard you rock with me.”
She kissed my cheek and began cleaning up our mess. No matter where we went, she always cleaned up after us. She said she refused for us to be called ratchet, dirty bitches. I could only laugh at her silly ass, but I was beyond grateful for her at the same time. Whether my manager was with me or not, as long as I had Kimaji, I was fine.
As excited as I was about my conversation with Noah, my lips would be tighter than a straight man’s ass in prison. Kimaji would be the only one that knew, and I would surely swear her to secrecy before we left this arena. I was hoping a blessing would meet me here, but I thought it would be because I was performing before GloRilla. I had no idea it would be by way of an airline steward that I thought was just a good fuck.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, feeling thankful that I was being hot in the ass, as my mama would say. Everything happened for a reason, and me throwing the pussy at Graham had worked in my favor.
“I wishwe had more time in Miami. This body could have used some sun.”
I glanced at Gabriella’s fine ass. She was a stewardess that floated between flights. She’d gotten on in LA to assist us on the flight to Miami. Now she was just hitching a ride back to LA. I wanted to test her waters so bad, and I believed she knew that shit. It was hard for me to hide my attraction at times. When I was in awe, I stared, bit my bottom lip, or licked them. It was a natural reaction when I saw something I liked or desired.
“Well, as you can see, the sun needsme.”
She scanned me from head to toe, then met my gaze. “Mm-hmm. Lucky ass.”
I licked my lips as she squeezed by me, sliding her ass against my crotch. I almost smacked her on it. She was gon’ make me give her some salsa she ain’t never had. She turned back to look at me after she passed and winked. I slowly shook my head andbegged my dick to stay at ease. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on my job and how much I loved it. I continued getting shit ready for different cabins, then came across SOLA’s . . . Arlie’s.
I swallowed hard and decided I would text her friend, Kimaji. What she had to say about how she knew me had been bothering me since I left Arlie’s room. She wouldn’t have made a big deal about it had she only known me from being around somebody I used to fuck with. I was just hoping she wasn’t related to somebody my mama had put behind bars or that my dad had killed.
He’d killed an FBI agent to protect my mama and killed a cop to protect my aunt. Those were the ones I knew about. However, that was years ago, but people didn’t give a fuck how much time had passed when it came to shit like that. Someone’s life had been taken, and sometimes, they would spend their entire lives trying to avenge that shit, regardless of how wrong the person that got killed was. The FBI agent had raped my mama and was gonna kill her because she had uncovered some evil shit he was a part of that had directly affected Uncle Shawn.
My dad walked up on it when he went looking for her. She was taking too long to get to the apartment from the parking lot. I hoped he blew his head off. He deserved to die for that shit. My dad said my mama had nightmares about that shit for months. She still tried the case he was trying to get her to drop and put a lot of powerful people behind bars. That trial was what blew her up and caused her career to take off.
I pulled my phone from my pocket after I set Arlie’s Hot Cheetos on the small table and put her blanket in the chair. Closing my eyes, I thought about all the ways this shit could go. Instead of texting, I put my phone back in my pocket. She would be back on the flight within the next hour. If she was adamant about putting me up on game, she would say something onthe flight. Hopefully, her approach wouldn’t throw me off. Otherwise, I would pull all the way out.
I continued getting other cabins ready and by the time I was done, it was time to board. As I made my way to the front, I winked at Gabriella. If I could find a way, she was gon’ get fucked when we got to Houston. I had a day off after this flight, and I was beyond grateful. I’d been working for ten days straight. I needed a reprieve to spend time with my people and rest. I didn’t sleep well in other places. I constantly woke up during the night.
I supposed with the bullshit I witnessed growing up, people always doing foul shit to my family, it was hard for me to sleep in places I was unfamiliar with on the first night. Most times, I only stayed in these places one night. Sleeping on flights was a huge no-no. I needed to be available whenever the passenger needed me. For long flights, they allowed time for us to sleep, but I rarely did.
When the first passenger walked on, she smiled and nodded politely at everyone, and her gaze landed on mine. She was beautiful. Most of the women, no matter the age or the race, they got on this flight well put together. I never saw anyone getting on wearing a bonnet, not even on the long or early flights. Every now and then, I saw them wearing one on long flights when they wanted to sleep, but they never boarded that way.
As she walked past me, I returned her smile. “You don’t remember me, do you, Graham?”
My eyebrows lifted. “No, ma’am, I don’t. I apologize. Please remind me.”
“I’m Noah’s daughter, Noelle.”
“Oh! What’s up? It’s good to see you.”
She gave me a one-armed hug. We weren’t around each other a lot, since I was older than her, but she used to come around with her dad at times. I was glad my thoughts didn’t go to the gutter when I looked at her. She was definitely off-limits.
“It’s good to see you too,” she said as she walked to her cabin.
She wasn’t on my list of passengers. I would have surely recognized her name, Noelle Charles. She was only in her mid-twenties. She was also an amazing singer, just like her father. She already had two platinum albums. It was crazy that I didn’t recognize her. I supposed it was because she was all made up. I usually saw her barefaced and comfortable.
When I turned my attention back to those boarding, my eyes met Arlie’s. She gave me a slight smile as I welcomed her and her friend aboard.
“How was the show?” I asked after my welcome spiel.
“It was good. Thanks.”
