“Are you telling on yourself?” He stopped in front of Samari and reached for Jomie who scrunched her tiny face and leaned away from him, snuggling into Samari’s chest.
“That’s what’s up, lil bit. You passed the test.” He brushed a finger down her nose and walked to the soundboard and sat.
“Did you wash your hands?” Samari arched a brow his way and he turned his back to the soundboard and nodded.
“Why are you worried about my hands?” He grinned and she deadpanned Dom, whose smile expanded.
“My hands weren’t involved. Just her mouth and my?—”
“Hey, please be mindful that my baby is right here,” Sheree warned and he laughed.
“My hands are clean, Mari.”
“Now what did you mean by she passed the test?” Sheree asked after Jomie wiggled, trying to get out of Samari’s hold. She put Jomie down and let the toddler stumble around.
“Any baby too comfortable with men other than their father is suspect as hell. That means their mother isn’t shit. Your little shorty didn’t want to fuck with me.”
“I’m not cheating on my husband.”
Dom nodded.
“That’s good ’cause that means your girl won’t be on any hoe shit with Sao. You know how that goes.”
“So you’re trying to say if I’m a hoe she’s a hoe?” Sheree asked, dropping her hands to her hips.
Dom shrugged, offering a dimpled grin. “That’s typically how it works.”
“So then that means that your boy is a hoe because clearly…” Samari glanced at the room Dom had been in and he laughed but shook his head.
“Nah, different rules. That doesn’t apply. Sao isn’t built like that and I’m not a hoe. I’m a single man who appreciates variety, but when I find my one, I’ll be committed like a muthafucker.” His eyes swept Sheree. “Could have been you but somebody found you first.”
“Thank fucking goodness,” she mumbled, making him laugh and Samari smile.
“Aight, so are we recording or what?”
She nodded, and when Jomie stumbled to her godmother and crashed against her legs, Samari lifted her, brought their faces close for a kiss, then placed her back on unsteady feet.
“I’m excited. This will be my first time ever seeing you do this.” Sheree beamed. She had been with Samari during the entire process of her career but only through details Samari provided. Not once had she been blessed enough to tag along to the studio, a photoshoot or any interviews. Sheree was proud of her girl. Her family was the love of her life but her marriage and daughter got in the way of Sheree being there for Samari the way she wanted.
Two hours later, Samari had recorded three new tracks and sat between Dom and Sheree who held Jomie in her lap. The toddler had sticky fingers from the fruit puff snacks Sheree handed over midway through the session to keep the toddler still so Sheree could be fully immersed in Samari’s session.
“You want to release an album or an EP?” Dom asked, bobbing his head to the track he was mixing. When Samari didn’t respond right away, he paused and let the track play before he turned his chair to face her and leaned back, folding his arms behind his head.
The minute she knew he was waiting for her response, she glanced at Sheree who was struggling to type a message to her husband to let him know she would be on her way soon while keeping the phone from the reach of her daughter’s sticky fingers.
“Don’t look at me. He’s talking to you. As much as I love your voice and fully support this venture, I don’t know a damn thing about how this works.”
Samari grinned and turned to Dom. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
“You need to. We’re spending money. It’s time to make some.”
Her brows pinched and he shook his head. “I’m not on you about what we’ve spent. You didn’t ask us to do any of this, so that’s not the point. Regardless of whether you asked or not,being in the studio is time and money spent. In order for us to get a return on that, we need you to drop something. I’m not saying you owe any of us anything, there’s no debt on your end, but I’m pretty sure you have bills just like the rest of us. We’re trying to put money in your pocket, so EP or album?”
Before she could answer, her mood instantly shifted when the reason why she was being posed with the question came walking through the door. His eyes went right to Samari and didn’t let up until he leaned over her chair and delivered a kiss. Right after, he pulled Samari to her feet, took her spot, and brought her into his lap.
“What’s good, fam. When did you get back?” Dom asked.
“Just now.” Asao kept the conversation vague. He had no problem sharing where he’d spent his day with Samari but wanted to do so in private. Dom was aware of the three-hour drive Asao had made to see his pops. Samari knew that Leedren was doing time, but her girl wasn’t privy to those details and he wasn’t prepared to share them.
