“I came in here to grab these.” I held the pillows up. “Send my princess out here once you get done.”
“Who told you that you could take the pillows off my bed?”
“I told myself.” I shrugged. “Who gon’ beat my ass?”
“I feel bad for the next woman who ends up with you. You’re insufferable.” Lyric huffed as she finished brushing Noodle’s hair then let her go. I balanced the pillows in one arm so I could grab my princess.
“No, you won’t. You know firsthand what kind of nigga she’s gonna get.” I winked.
She rolled her eyes and gave me the middle finger. “Get out of my room. You’ve got your princess. Now get to steppin’!”
“Noodle, you see how your momma is acting? She’s jealous because your hair is longer than hers, and she has a bald spot.” Baby girl laughed, then kissed my cheek.
“Wow, Symphonee. The switch up is crazy. We were just in here talking about how musty your daddy is, and now that he’s here, he’s your favorite person.”
“Mommy, I did not say that. Daddy smells good.” Noodle frowned with her arms crossed.
“Yeah, right. Don’t lie on me or my baby. My name and musty don’t even go in the same sentence. You can take a whiff now if you want to. I made sure to wash my balls twice just for you,” I teased her.
“Yeah, whatever. I hope you shook your clothes out before you brought your ass in here. I don’t want to wake up and my daughter and I are covered in bedbug bites.” Lyric’s petty ass started scratching her arm.
“You don’t have anything to worry about. She didn’t have enough clothes on for there to be any bugs. I appreciate your concern, though, lil’ mama.”
“I really can’t stand you. Get out!” She tried to hit me with a pillow, but I dodged it and ran out of the room.
Noodle and I got comfortable on our bed, and I pulled out the movie snacks. We watched this movie calledFlushed Away, and we laughed the whole time. My baby girl’s laughter brought an unexplainable joy to my troubled soul. In the streets, I was the quiet nigga who didn’t play about my business, but to her, I was daddy. Nothing more, nothing less.
When I glanced to my left, I was surprised when Lyric crawled into the bed with us. Noodle was so engrossed with the movie that she paid her no mind.
I would usually give her a hard time, but I could tell there was something on her mind. We all watched movies, laughed, and enjoyed our time together. Eventually, we all fell asleep, and when I woke up to use the bathroom, both of them were fast asleep on my chest. I smirked because they both slept with their mouths and eyes slightly open. I used to tease Lyric about it when we were younger because it looked scary as hell.
As I lay there, I wondered what the future held for us. Lyric and I had a lot of shit to work through, but I couldn’t bringmyself to believe we would never be together again. She was connected to me on a spiritual level, and I don’t think I would ever truly stop loving her. She taught me how to love, but the problem was that she only taught me to love her and no one else.
“Okay, Lyric. I need you to walk into the club and head to the bar. The men are gonna grab your hand to try to get your attention, but you’re gonna curve all of them and take a seat at the bar. You’ll look into the camera, and then that’s when YN Leechie will come and start rapping his verse,” the director called out.
I nodded in understanding, trying to get my nerves under control. This was my third music video, and I still got nervous when it was time to get in front of the camera.
Once the music started, I got into character. When they gave me the signal, I stepped into the room and whipped my hair over my shoulder. One thing I loved about these video shoots was the free hair, makeup, and designer wardrobe. It was like playing dress up as an adult, and it excited me. I looked like the bad bitch I was, and I made sure to show it on camera. YN Leechie was a rapper under Mendeecees’s camp who was born and raised in New Orleans.
He was an up-and-coming artist, but I had no doubts he was going to do big things in the industry. His sound was unique, andyou could hear a little Nola twang when he rapped. Mendeecees put me on to his music, and I fucked with it from the very first track. He was young, talented, and hungry—all the ingredients for a superstar.
“Alright. In the next scene, the two of you are going to bump into each other on the dance floor. Lyric, I want you to turn around and face him. Look at him as if you are completely infatuated with him as he does his next verse.” The director gave out a few more instructions, but I was no longer nervous. YN Leechie was a funny guy, and he made me laugh in between takes.
We shot a few more scenes until the director called it a wrap. Since we were ahead of schedule, we were able to get the rest of the scenes completed.
“Good looking out, RiRi. I appreciate you coming through for ya boy.” YN Leechie thanked me, wrapping his big arms around me.
He smelled so good, I took a big whiff, and I heard him chuckle. He was a heavyset man with rich, brown skin and tattoos littering his body. He was a handsome man with alluring brown eyes, deep dimples, and his hair was in locs in a bun. When he smiled, you could see his gold grill, and I knew without a doubt he was giving some poor girl the blues.
“It’s no problem. I had a lot of fun on set, and this song is a hit. I know you’re gonna have so much success.”
“Thank you, lil’ baby. I want everything to be perfect, and you doing this video is about to take things up a notch. You’re one of the baddest women I’ve ever seen, and I’m not cappin’. I used to think we had the prettiest women down South, but the North has some real pressure out here.” YN Leechie rubbed his hands together as I blushed.
“Aye, back up a little bit, bro. You and my little shorty are a little too close for my liking.” Mendeecees interrupted us, moving me behind him.
“Aww, come on, bro. You already know I’m not on that type of time. I was just thankin’ my homie for coming out and doing her thang. No need to grab ya nuts, lil’ one. I don’t want no smoke witchu, ya heard me?”
“Yeah, I hear you. I also know how you get down. Sneaky-ass nigga.”
