Page 8 of Perfect Rhythm

SHADE

“So, are you going to tell me who made the mistake of leaving you stranded out here like this?” I asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice as my eyes swept over Nyx.

She was wearing a dress that barely covered her thighs, ending where her boots took over. She looked good. Too damn good to be standing outside alone.

I needed a name. I needed to know who I was going to put hands on.

“I’d rather not,” she replied. “It’s been a long night, and all I want to do is get home.”

“Speaking of getting you home, where is that exactly?”

“Oh...right...I guess you do need to know that, huh?”

“Yeah, unless you’re trying to hang out in the backseat of my Range all night,” I said with a shrug. “Not that I’d mind.”

She rolled her eyes, hiding a smirk as she scooted forward to whisper her address to my driver.

I chuckled. “You really didn’t have to do that. My photographic memory is sharp as hell, and I never forget the good shit.” I licked my lips slowly, making it known that I hadn’t forgotten our time on the dance floor. Every look. Every touch. Every moment still lived rent-free in my head.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she leaned back against the seat, her eyes trained on me.

“Are you cold?” I asked. “Hey, Trace, crank up the heat.”

“I got you,” he said from the passenger seat.

“Sorry, I guess standing outside still has me a little cold.”

“No need to apologize. I just want to make sure you’re good.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, but I could tell it was forced.

“I didn’t expect to see you out tonight.” I looked ahead as Antone finally pulled off. “I thought you would’ve been at home trying to catch up on rest after the tour.”

“Trust me, I wanted to, but my boyfriend begged me to come out, and?—”

Bingo. She walked right into it. I didn’t expect it to be that easy.

Her eyes narrowed as the realization hit. “You tricked me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just making small talk.”

“Small talk my ass,” she shot back.

And a pretty ass it is.

Clearing my throat, I got back to the questions I needed answers to. “So, he was the reason you were standing outside?”

“Didn’t I say I didn’t want to talk about it?”

“Yeah, but I do.”

“Why?” She asked, lifting her shoulders.

“Because I’m trying to decide if I’m about to break a niggas jaw tonight.”

She burst into laughter, which was a pleasant surprise.

“Wow, so you’re really ready to hurt someone on my behalf?”

I gave her a nod. “Without a doubt. Just tell me where I can find him. I’ll even send you a video once I’m done.”

She dropped her head back, a dramatic sigh escaping her lips. “Don’t even mention video. That’s how I got into this mess in the first place.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. That little dance I did for you at the nightclub caused me way more of a headache than I’d planned.”

“Really?” I tilted my head. “So, are you trying to say that this is my fault?”

“Maybe.” She turned to face me. “You had one job. All you had to do was sit in the chair and enjoy a good lap dance. You didn’t have to make facial expressions like you wanted to fuck the shit out of me.”

“But I do want to fuck the shit out of you,” I blurted.

Her mouth dropped, and I could tell she wasn’t expecting me to be so blunt. But it was the truth.

“Shade—”

I lifted my hand. “Before you say anything, let me be clear. I don’t just want to fuck you.

That just so happens to be the topic of discussion right now.

I actually want to spend some time with you and get to know you outside of our careers.

Fucking you would just be a bonus.” I shrugged.

“A really nice bonus, might I add, but a bonus nonetheless.”

Still, her mouth remained open, her eyes wandering over me, waiting to see if I was going to retract what I was saying.

But I meant every word.

I smirked. “Speechless, I see.”

“Um, yeah. I just wasn’t expecting you to say that,” she leaned forward. “You do remember the part where I mentioned I had a boyfriend, right?”

“Yeah, I remember. Eli, right?”

“Right.”

“Honestly, I figured by now that would’ve been over.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, if I saw my woman dance on another man the way you danced on me at that club, I would’ve assumed she was interested in fucking him. Which would mean it was time to call it quits.”

She sucked her teeth. “First off, it was just a performance. Second, he can’t say too much. It was his stupid ass antics that forced me to grind on your dick in the first place.”

“What did he do?”

She shook her head. “Can we just change the subject?”

“Sure. But before we do, I just want to say that you’re one hell of a performer.”

“Thank you.”

“I also want to say that your little performance left something memorable behind.”

She gave me a puzzled look. “What are you talking about?”

I leaned in close, my voice dropping. “Let’s just say I could tell how wet you were, and my pants didn’t dry quickly.”

Her hand slammed against her mouth. “What?”

“I’m just saying, in all the shows we’ve done together and the number of times you’ve rotated those hips while in my lap, never have you left anything behind. But this time, you did, and I have zero complaints about it.”

“You’re lying.”

“Nah, I’m not. So, whatever he did must’ve been pretty damn fucked up to make you go that hard.”

“He keeps playing in my face with this acting shit,” she blurted. “I don’t know if you saw it or not, but he was recently caught at some restaurant with Nimah Watts. They work together.”

“Oh, yeah.” I nodded. “I mean, I haven’t seen the video, but I’ve heard of them working together.”

“Right. Well, they were holding hands and shit, which isn’t something I’m cool with. So, since he wanted to pretend like he was oblivious to the things that we’ve discussed, I decided to do a little acting of my own. Unfortunately, he didn’t like it.”

“I see.”

“You know,” she said, frustration dancing in her eyes, “I just feel like it’s a fucked up double standard.

The nightclub situation isn’t the first time he’s felt some type of way about me as a performer.

While we were on tour, this idiot would send me messages of clips he’d seen online from the show.

He always made it a point to let me know that I needed to tone it down.

Oh, and before that, he gave me a hard time about music videos I was in, telling me that I was doing too much.

Even though I was doing all of the same shit when we met.

But none of it seemed to be a problem then.

” Her hands fell into her lap. “It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Our definition of being supportive isn’t the same, and honestly, I’m sick of it. ”

“So dump him.”

“What?”

“You heard me...dump him. There’s no point in wasting your time with someone who doesn’t understand you and what you do.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It actually is. I don’t believe in holding on to shit that doesn’t make me happy. Life’s too short for that.”

“Yeah, but I don’t believe in just jumping ship when things get hard. Relationships have their challenges. Some things you should try to work through.”

“I mean, yeah, that’s true. But why keep trying with someone that you don’t want to be with?”

She stared at me, caught off guard. “Who said I didn’t want to be with him? Those words never left my mouth.”

“They didn’t have to. I’m just telling you what I know, and I’m usually right.”

We pulled in front of her apartment building, a modern high-rise with mirrored windows.

I nodded in admiration. Nice.

“Well, you’re wrong. I do want to be with Eli.”

“Hmm...okay. I’ll guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.”

“I guess so.”

She placed her hand on the door to open it, and I quickly stopped her, my hand resting on her thigh. “Don’t.”

I hopped out and walked around to her side.

“Wow, well, aren’t you just a gentleman?” she said as she scooted out of the car.

“Always.”

She stood in front of me and lifted her gaze. “Thanks again for the ride. I’ve got it from here.”

“Yeah, I bet you do. But I’m going to walk you to your door.”

“No, you’re not. I’m not letting you in my building.”

I smirked. “Really? I thought we were better than that.”

“We are, but having you outside of my building is enough. The last thing I need is someone trying to get a quick payoff to leak footage of you walking me inside and up to my apartment. That’s going to make an already stressful situation worse, and I’m sure you don’t want that.”

“Not at all.”

“Good. So, let’s focus on making me happy tonight?”

“Are you saying that me walking you to your door won’t make you happy?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Alright.” I lifted my hands and took a step back. “Say no more. You’re free to go.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Just as she was about to move past me, I grabbed her hand. “But do me a favor.”

She lowered her gaze, her eyes focused on how effortlessly our fingers intertwined.

“Um…yeah,” she muttered.

“Call me the second you’re inside.”

“Okay, I’ll text you.”

She stepped forward, and I yanked her back.

“I said, call me.”

“O...okay,” she whispered, her eyes glued to mine. She stared like she had something more to say. Something I wanted to hear. But whatever it was, she swallowed it down and glanced away. “You’re not always right, you know?”

I let a slow grin spread across my face. “Oh, trust me, I am. Just wait and see.”