AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d never fallen so fast for anyone. The crowd erupted as TAZ threw her other shoe. She had Brooklyn trying to take off her shoes to throw. Once I ended the song, it was like Nate’s gaze had pinned me to that very spot. Noah approached me and took the mic, then said, “Bruh, come get your woman. Excuse my language, but she tore this the fuck up! Kenya, yo’ ass been holding out on me. That’s okay. I got something for you, girl.”
I closed my eyes and graciously bowed my head as the crowd applauded, giving me a standing ovation. Nate walked over to me and grabbed my hand, backpedaling away from Noah. Suddenly, I heard RJ’s thunderous voice say, “Hell naw. Y’all need to leave with that shit. I can tell this ain’t finna be kid friendly.”
As if his and Noah’s language was kid friendly. Nate slowly shook his head and pulled me to him. He picked me up, cradling me to him like no one else was in the place. The crowd roared as he carried me right out of there. When we got to the foyer, he finally said, “Shit. I’m in awe of you, Kenya. I had no idea you could sing like that.”
“No one knew. Just TAZ and my mama.”
“Well, you better get ready. The world about to know. Is that something you want?”
“I don’t know.”
“I can guarantee it’s already online.”
“Why? Because you put it there?”
“Hell yeah. I had to brag on my baby. I was live. I propped my phone on the table and let it do what it do. At one point, nearly twenty thousand people had hopped on. There was no mistaking who you were, because I said multiple times, ‘my baby killing this shit’ and ‘sing, Kenya’. That was amazing.”
“Thank you, Nate.”
“Were you singing that to me? That ‘I need you here with me’ part? You wanna wake up to me every morning?”
“When possible, yes. Nate, there’s so much I want to share with you.”
He put his finger over my lips. “I have a lot to say to you too, but we gon’ wait until we get to the hotel room. Okay?”
I nodded. At that moment, I knew we wanted to say the same things to each other. I loved Nate, and I knew that he loved me too. I couldn’t wait to hear the words fall from his lips.
When we walked back inside, we nearly ran right into my mama and Brooklyn. They were probably going to the restroom. She hugged me tightly then pulled away and put her hand to my cheek. “That’s my girl. You showed them what I always knew you could do. Damn. You sang the hell out of that song, my girl. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mama.”
I kissed her cheek then bent over to kiss Brooklyn and allowed Nate to lead me back inside. When we walked in, nearly five people approached me all at once. They all chuckled, then allowed one to speak first. He was from Sony Music. They had to be crazy if they thought I would consider signing with anyone other than Noah’s label, You Know My Name.
“No disrespect, sir. I’m with YKMN records.”
“I should have known better. Good luck to you. You have an amazing voice.”
“Thank you.”
When he walked away, the rest of them did as well. Before we could sit, Uncle Storm approached us. “Nate, yo’ ass better be glad I’m married already. A voice like that? I would have snatched her ass up.”
They laughed as he said, “Naw, I’m just kidding. Amazing job, Kenya.”
“Thanks, Uncle Mayor.”
I kissed his cheek as he smiled, and Nate frowned. When he walked away, Nate asked, “Uncle Mayor?”
“Yeah. That’s what Nesha and Yendi called him, so I joined in. I realized they were kissing his ass, and I wanted the clean side of the storm. That dirty side packs all the punch: howling winds and rain. No thank you.”
Nate fell out laughing, causing me to laugh too. I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with this man.
We slowly walkedinto our hotel room for the night. We left the party before it was over. Nate had to get up early, and I knew he needed rest. We also needed time to make love, because there was no way he was going to go to sleep without breaking me off. I had been so busy we hadn’t had a chance to please one another since we’d been in Baltimore.
He laid his jacket over the back of the chair in the room, then turned around to me and slowly slid my dress straps off my shoulders. I purposely wore this dress because it was easy to get out of. It clung to my curves because of the material, but it wasn’t as tight as it looked. As he pulled the dress down my body, he stared into my eyes. “I’ve been waiting all night for this, baby.”
“Me too, Nate. Damn.”
Once my dress fell to the floor, he picked me up, as he always did, and held me in his arms like I was his precious jewel. “I thank God for you every day. Taking a chance and shooting my shot was the best decision I ever made. Besides, if I wouldn’t have, RJ would have thrown the assist.”
