Page 23 of Perfect Rhythm

SHADE

I lounged in the backseat, eyes glued to my phone. Lucky for me, Brookia always went live during her classes. I’d screen-recorded the whole thing. Not for the choreography. Just for Nyx. Every damn second of her.

“Hey, boss, you need a paper towel?” I heard Trace say from the front seat.

“Huh?”

“I said, do you need a paper towel? You’re drooling again.” He laughed and turned his eyes back to the front.

“Fuck you,” I said, dryly.

I glanced at Antone behind the wheel. He didn’t look back, but the smirk playing on his lips was clear in the rearview mirror.

“Yo, don’t encourage him,” I called out. “I’m good.”

“Yeah, okay. So good that you have us waiting on your assistant to come back with the list of shit you told her to grab for Nyx.”

I shrugged. “What? I just want to grab a few things to make sure she’s comfortable.”

“Mmhmm.”

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed.

It was my brother.

“Hey, what’s up, O?” I shouted as I put him on speaker.

“Nothing much. What you up to?”

“Shit, nothing. Just at the store grabbing a few things.”

“At the store? Like...the grocery store?”

“Something like that.”

“Since when you do your own grocery shopping?”

“First off, I’m not grocery shopping. I’m just grabbing a few snacks and shit. Second, I’m not exactly in the store. I’m just?—”

“Oh, say no more,” he interrupted with a chuckle. “You’re waiting in the car while your cute little assistant completes your list, huh?” He laughed again, then cut it short to say, “Speaking of your assistant?—”

“Don’t even go there,” I told him. “Now, what’s up? There’s only one reason you would be calling me this late. Let me guess, Jassi called you to tell on me about earlier, huh?”

“Yeah, she did, and she was pissed.”

“That’s fine. Long as her ass is safe and away from Enzo’s fucked up ass.”

“Wait, she was with Enzo? She didn’t say that?”

“Well, she wasn’t exactly with him. They were just in the same space. But he was staring at her like the fucking pervert that he is, so you know I had to cut that shit short.”

“No doubt. I hope you put his bitch ass in check too.”

“You already know.”

Ocean was the only one that knew why I really didn’t fuck with Enzo, and as a result, he didn’t get down with him either.

Although my brother wasn’t in the music industry, being the owner of two clubs that damn near every celebrity frequented, he was well aware of the bullshit that went down after dark.

“Well, that explains why Jassi was so pissed. She said you embarrassed her in front of all her friends.”

“What friends? She just got here. She barely knows any of these people. If anything, I just scared off the snakes that were probably sitting back thinking of ways to take advantage of her.”

“You know she doesn’t see it that way.”

“Yeah, I know. But she'd better get with the program. I’m not letting up when it comes to that fool,” I said. “Anyway, so what’s good? When are you coming back to the city to check on the club? It’s about that time, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. I’ll be there in a few days.”

“Cool. Let me know when you get in. We’ll link up.”

“Always.”

I ended the call, then looked toward the store. Ashari was headed my way, toting several bags.

“Thanks,” I said, once she made it to the window. “I know it was last minute, and you were already off for the evening. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

Antone grabbed the bags from her hand and placed them in the backseat next to me.

“No, it’s fine. I was just sitting up watching documentaries, bored out of my mind. You got anything else you need me to do? The massage therapist should be at your place in about an hour.”

I shook my head. “Nah, I think that’s it. But if I think of anything, I’ll be sure to hit you up.”

“Please do,” she said with a soft smile before walking back to her car.

I watched her drive off, then I checked the bags.

Ashari didn’t miss things, so I knew I really didn’t need to.

But I still couldn’t resist the urge to double check.

Especially when it came to the cereal. I knew how important that one little item was.

Granted, I didn’t see the hype of the overdose on cinnamon, but I’d seen the way Nyx’s eyes lit up on the road whenever she got her hands on some.

I didn’t want to miss the chance of her having that moment while alone with me.

I tilted my head back, my thoughts drifting to the night ahead…

just me and Nyx. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted it since she was still tied to Eli’s bum ass.

But that would change soon enough. For now, I was cool with just having her in my space and helping her relax.

Something I felt like she hadn’t truly done since she’d been back.

When I looked back at my phone, there was a new alert from Brookia’s page, showing that she was going live again.

I tapped the alert, eager to see how the routine had shaped up after a few run-throughs. Hopefully, Nyx’s group wasn’t at the bottom of the lineup.

Lifting my phone, I searched for Nyx in the excited sea of dancers. But there was no sign of her.

Maybe she went to the bathroom .

My eyes zeroed in on the studio window. Nyx was outside, and from the way her head was moving, she wasn’t happy. And she wasn’t alone.

I bolted upright and slammed my hand against Antone’s seat. “Let’s go! And don’t stop for shit. Not even a red light.”