She laughed, and he released one hand while pulling her out of the studio with the other.
“Yo, Demi, we weren’t done, man! We still got time left in the session.”
“You work for me; time’s up with my lady. I need her,” he replied without looking back.
He was known for pulling Bird out of her sessions at a whim. Sometimes for impromptu dates, sometimes to deliver gifts, sometimes for lunch because she worked too hard and too long without eating. When Demi wanted to see Charlie, nothing and nobody could distract him.
“You get to have her every night, man; I just need her for a few hours,” the guy protested.
“Can a man live without air for a few hours?” Demi asked, stopping at the door and turning to the engineer with the most serious expression on his face.
“Nigga, you ain’t gon’ die without her!” The guy wisecracked, laughing and shaking his head because he had never seen love so consuming before.
“Need her so bad that I’ll never test the theory, bruh. Air in my lungs is common sense. Charlie and Demi,” he said, pausing as Charlie giggled at her producer’s bafflement. She stood on tiptoes to kiss Demi’s full lips.
“Common sense,” she said, finishing his sentence.
“Say, man,” Demi stated, flooding with a wanting for her as she deepened their kiss.
His face in the nook of her neck as he wrapped strong arms around her petite waist. “I’m lost in this shit with you,” he grumbled against her collarbone.
“It’s okay; I know the way,” she said.
All the man watching could do was admire the connection because he had never experienced it himself. It was like watching the whitecaps of ocean waves crash against one another at sea or like the colors in the sky going from blue to fiery orange with a purple frame. It was just mystical and beautiful and he couldn’t help but wonder how moments of time like that existed. God was an amazing architect.
“We out this bitch,” Demi stated.
Charlie waved and then let him lead her to the lobby.
DJ sat scrolling through his iPad, lounging lazily on the oversized couch.
“You ready, my boi?” Demi asked.
“Finally!” DJ exclaimed, an overexaggertion of his wait, making him display a fake annoyance with his father. Demi knew he was only perturbed because Charlie was now beside him.
“Relax, man,” Demi chuckled. “We got the whole weekend, chump. You see Charlie? You better learn the game. When yousee a pretty girl, you speak. Got to make the pretty girls feel seen. That’s how you get ‘em.”
“Hi,” DJ offered.
“Hey, DJ!” Charlie said, smiling. “I’m excited to get to spend some time with you this weekend. It’s your rules. We can do anything you want. You have any ideas in mind?”
Demi squeezed her hand discreetly, encouraging her and thanking her all in one motion.
“Anything?” DJ asked, a stubborn half-smile appearing. It warmed her because it was an identical smile to his father’s.
“Anything,” Charlie confirmed. “Starting with a stop at GameStop. That cool with you?”
“Yeah, that’s straight,” DJ answered.
“That’s straight, huh?” Demi asked, releasing Charlie to put his son in a headlock. “Boi, you ain’t cool, talking about that’s straight.”
Demi dragged DJ to the car as they play fought the entire way. Charlie took a long, deep breath.
I can do this. He’s just a kid.
Lauren had seen a lot of men wear a lot of suits in her line of work but never had she ever seen a man hang one like the man she was staring at. Nyair wore a light grey fitted suit that had to be sewn specifically for him. No jacket was necessary. He donned a matching grey vest that fit his chest like a bulletproof vest. His white Oxford was rolled at the sleeves, and he pulled at the necktie like he couldn’t wait to get out of his formal clothes.
He was the most unexpected servant of God she had ever seen. When he preached, women fantasized about pure sin, and she could tell he had a way with the women of his congregation just by the way the Bible study crowd lined upafterward to say their goodbyes. He was charming. His smile, hypnotizing. His presence, consuming. She wasn’t sure what he was saying, but the ladies found him hilarious because they couldn’t stop smiling and giggling. She played the back, not wanting to interrupt, but when he noticed her, he wrapped up his interactions and made his way up the church aisle.
