“No… you’ve been in my world for months now. It’s only right, I meet you in yours,” Meadow said even though her heart was racing out of her chest. What she was feeling was more than fear. She knew this was like an introduction of her to the world even if Zaire didn’t say that. She wasn’t naive. She’d seen enough famous couples go through this phase that she knew loving him, this was inevitable.
The SUV slowed to a crawl, black tinted windows reflecting the flashing lights up ahead. Voices swelled. Movement blurred. Meadow’s heart climbed straight into her throat.
She’d never seen anything like it in person.
Flashes cracked through the darkness like tiny lightning bolts. People with cameras jogged alongside the car. Security guards stretched their arms wide, forming a human wall.
Meadow blinked fast. “Zaire…this is a lot.”
“I know, baby.” His hand found hers instantly. “You don’t gotta do nothin’ but breathe.”
Her chest tightened when the SUV eased to a stop in front of the private entrance.
Zaire studied her face with recognition. “I promise I got you,” he assured her. “You ain’t walkin’ into nothing alone.”
The driver got out lightly jogging to her side of the car.
The moment he opened the back door, sound flooded in.
“ZAIREEEE! Zaire, over here!”
“Big win yesterday! How you feelin’?!”
“Cooks, look this way!”
“Is this your girlfriend?!”
Meadow sat frozen.
Zaire didn’t.
He stepped out first, taller than every flash, broader than every lens, cool as he ever was in Juniper Falls. He had his diamond grill in and she almost didn’t let him leave the house looking like that. His tattoos showed. His vibe alone pushed the crowd back a half-step because regardless of the money and fame, he was still a Crescent baby that never played about his respect and the industry knew it.
Security flanked him instantly, but he raised a hand like he didn’t need them yet.
He turned back toward the SUV and extended his hand. “C’mon, Marai.”
Her fingers slipped into his palm, and he helped her out gently, slow and careful, not because she was helpless, but because she mattered.
The first flash hit her eyes so bright she flinched.
Zaire slid his hand to her waist without looking down. “I’m right here.”
A reporter shouted, “Zaire! Talk to us about the win! How you feeling, man?”
Zaire looked dead into the camera with a smirk, dripping confidence and big Crip energy.
“I feel blessed…I feel Black, and I feel like the league gon’ have to get used to seein’ me in first place, cuh.”
The crowd erupted with laughter, hype, and more questions.
The glare of the flash surrounded them going off like dominoes falling.
Another voice shot out, “Is this your lady? The world wants to know!”
Meadow felt her stomach drop - fear, butterflies, disbelief, all twisted together. She stared straight ahead, but Zaire turned toward her first, his eyes scanning her face, checking if she wanted him to answer.
She swallowed.
