Page 93 of Beautiful Noise
“I don’t give a fuck about the image. It’s only ever been about the music. I love my pops more than anything, and because of him, I delivered some of my best work. If the world can’t fuck with that, then they can’t fuck with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m very fucking sure. I wasn’t intentionally hiding that the album was about him. I never told anyone because I never had to. They assumed and I let them. It was easier.”
“But you said it last night.”
“Because I didn’t want there to be any confusion about that time in my life. I can’t change the past and honestly I wouldn’t.” I glared and he grinned, gripping my neck, bringing my mouth to us. “That comment doesn’t have shit to do with another woman, Ri. I only mean that the things I’ve been through prepared me to be the man who’s capable of loving you and isgoingto love you.”
He kissed me and pulled back. “You know she was lying, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you?” His stare was serious and his tone matched.
“Yes, I do. I just don’t understand why she would feel like it’s about her. You don’t do relationships.”
“I never lied to you, Ri. I fucked up a while ago when I broke my own rules. She came around and I let her. Most of what is out there was staged. She showed up just in time to be in the pictures. Her team reached out to mine to get us at the same table while we shared a meal. We fucked, at hotels, in bathrooms, in the back of cars after events. That’s all it ever was. In her eyes, that meant something, but it didn’t to me.”
“Oh…” I wasn’t sure why that bothered me so much but it did.
“It really didn’t mean shit and she knows that. She also knowsStoned Heartwasn’t about her. She’s told that lie a few times before but always behind closed doors. The whispers were always out there but I never confirmed or denied it to the world. I damn sure clarified with her though that she had nothing to do withStoned Heart. Not one fucking lyric was inspired by her. She knows, even if she didn’t know it was about my father. She only said that shit to get under your skin.”
“Thank you for being honest.” He brushed his mouth over mine.
“You’ll always get that from me. That’s my word.” I nodded because I believed him. “We’re good?”
“We’re better than good.” I looped my arms around his neck and brought him closer. “You wrote a song for me, thank you.”
“One of many but you already know that.” He kissed me softly. “Thank you for the inspiration.” A smile tugged at his lips. “I wasthinkingyou might be open to inspiring a different type of vibe.” He pushed his hand between my thighs and I rolled my hips when I felt his fingers make contact.
“IthinkI’m open to the idea.”
He smiled sinfully slowly. “Good, because I wasn’t giving you a choice.”
EPILOGUE
Six months and some change…
“Ladies and gentlemen, Eccentric…”
With both hands clasping the mic, I dropped my chin and closed my eyes before I lifted my head and offered a smile that had the crowd going even more wild than they had been when the entertainment host of Rise and Shine America said my name.
They wanted me to perform three songs, but I only agreed to one. “Whole”, the debut single from my new albumLove Changes.
Every lyric, every note, every fucking part of this work was inspired by the woman who changed me. The woman I loved.
I stepped away from the mic and crossed the studio to reach the staged area that held two chairs separated by a glass table. The space was set up in a luxurious and modern style that offered comfort and class so the host, Robbi Drew, could dig into my personal life without making the inquisition feel so intrusive.
She was good; known for peeling back layers, breaking down walls, and plucking secrets from those tight-lipped and reclusive celebrities who refused to share theirreallives with the world.Robbi was hopeful I would be her next victim but she was sadly mistaken.
I didn’t hide my life with Kori. We were often photographed, caught on video in intimate situations, dinners, shopping, travel, but neither of us openly confirmed anything about our lives. The blogs and media outlets crafted their own narratives more than we preferred. Neither of us cared about the positive or negative storylines that surfaced because we knew what we were.
I had been linked to a secret relationship with Shalay after she showed up at a studio where I was recording a hook with an artist she was involved with. One of many lies they narrated. They caught video of us arrivingseparatelyand pieced together a story about me creeping with Shalay behind my lady’s back. Kori and I laughed about it because Leijah was recording at the same studio that night and Kori was there with her. She was who I was there to see.
A few weeks later it was rumored that Kori left me after being caught on camera outside my crib in a heated exchange on the phone. Right after, she aggressively removed bags from the house, threw them in the back of a car, and tossed up a middle finger at the door before she slid into the backseat of a waiting car and drove away.
In reality, she had been about to miss a flight to meet me in LA where I had a private performance. She was arguing with the security company who was supposed to be fixing an issue with the system before she left. They didn’t show, so she’d cursed them out and flicked a bird at the door because she couldn’t get the system to function. You could make things be whatever you wanted. The media was paid to make simple shit complicated.