There were thousands of people in the audience, yet I could still feel Kannon’s eyes on me from the side of the stage where he stood. I knew I had to limit the amount of time I spent on my feet. He’d promised to snatch me up if I stood for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Knowing him, he was probably counting.
“Have you ever had a feeling so deep in your soul that you couldn’t get it out even if you tried?” I asked, causing them to go wild before I launched into my hit single “Feel Something.”
My execution of the song was flawless, no thanks to the sudden bout of nausea I felt. My discomfort could have been due to the corset the stylists squeezed me into backstage. Kannon kept a close eye, making sure that his expensive sneakers were part of the wardrobe change.
To close my set, I was singing “Tie Me Down.” It was one of the songs I’d negotiated to add to the album after I returned. I’d had someone to select the guys that my dancers and I would be using for our performance. So, on their cue, my girls stood from their chairs, and the guys all walked out on stage and sat down. I stayed in place as my partner got in position, standing in front of me.
“You know what you’re doing when you’re doing what you’re doing to me,” I sang, looking up at him.
Slowly, I stood as I continued to sing. He turned while watching me circle him until my back was to the audience and his back was to the chair. I grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down into the chair and leaned forward to sing directly in his face. My dancers turned around first and sat in their partners laps, and I turned around to face the audience before I swiveled my hips as I walked around and stood behind him.
Once I was behind him, I ran my hands down his chest. That made the crowd go wild. A firm hand on my shoulder almost made me jump out of my skin. I looked back in time to see the look on Kannon’s face as he nudged me to the side and yanked ol’ boy out of the chair by his jacket. Whoever he was took the hint and got the hell out of the way as Kannon moved around and plopped down in the chair. His facial expression was unreadable as he stared up at me.
The audience must have thought Kannon’s intrusion was part of the show because they were eating it up. I picked up on my cue and started back singing as I walked around and placedmy leg on his lap. Fire danced in his dark eyes as he looked up at me.
As I straddled him, he pushed my empty hand behind my back and reached up to grab my neck. In the midst of it all, I kept singing like there wasn’t a mad man right in front of me.
“’Cause even when you tie me down, you make me feel secure.”
Kannon tightened his grip on my throat as he pulled me closer to him. Pressing his lips to my ear, he growled, “Mine.”
Why was I blushing down at this deranged man who’d inserted himself into my set like it was nothing? I was grateful for my headset because the crowd was going wild behind me. Clearly, they loved to see Kannon’s shenanigans.
I couldn’t bite back my smile as I continued to sing the song that I’d written for him after I left. Even though his face was expressionless, I knew he knew it was his song. He made that clear. As I backed up, he helped me to stand. When I turned my attention back to the crowd, Kannon pressed his lips into my ear.
“Don’t get none of these niggas fucked up, Carteay,” he said before strolling off the stage as if he had done nothing wrong.
Obviously, my mic picked up what Kannon said because the crowd reacted to his words before I did. When I say the crowd went bananas, they went bananas!
“Y’all give it up for one of my best friends in the world, my rock through all the unsteadiness in my life, and my personal knight in black sweats, Kannon!” I said before bowing.
When the curtain closed, Kannon rushed back over and picked me up. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re crazy. You know that?” I asked him.
“Crazy about you,” he replied, kissing my cheek.
“I guess.” I could still feel the huge smile on my face lifting my cheeks as he took me backstage. “This was fun, but I’m ready to go.”
“Good. I’m ready to get you out of here,” Kannon said, pivoting for the exit.
I kept my arms around his neck as he opened the door and pushed us out.
“I can walk from here.”
“OK,” he said, never missing a step until he slid me in the back seat of the car and got in beside me.
“Why did you put me down? We’re in the car now.”
He chuckled softly. “That’s why I put you down.”
“Well, I changed my mind now.”
I moved to get in his lap, and he held his arm up to block me. “Chill, C. I gotta keep my head straight. I can’t start thinking with this muthafucka down here. He gon’ make me nut up about that good ass pussy. I’m moving with my head and my heart right now, and I’m still feeling real homicidal.”
I shook my head. “Kannon, you wouldn’t.”
He kissed the side of my face. “We need to start your lessons again, Carrie. I have plenty of time to make you deadly now.”
