“Yep,” I replied with a smile.
“You drifted off for a second there.”
“That relaxation will do that to you.” I laughed, playing off the fact that my mind was in a whole other place.
“I figured.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know you already ate and all, but you have any plans after this?”
“I don’t. Do you?” I threw the ball back in his court.
“You wanna slide by the studio wit’ me?”
“The studio?” I repeated.
“Yeah. I have a new artist recording today. I wanna see how the session is going and figured I’d bring you along to get a peek into my world.”
I grinned. “You gon’ let me get in the booth?”
“Shit, if that’s what it takes to get you to come wit’ me, I’ll let you lay a whole track down.”
I laughed genuinely. “Okay. I’d like that. I like seeing people in their element. It’ll tell me a little more about you.”
He cracked a smile. “Let’s get dressed, and I’ll take you to your car. Then, you can follow me there.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
After getting dressed, we walked out front where he left a $100 tip for the masseuses and made an appointment for himself for a later date. On the way to the parking garage, we started up a conversation about his journey in music that began as a child and how his family didn’t see him being where he was today. He expressed that while he didn’t have as much support at home in the beginning, it didn’t stop him from putting himself in different rooms and seizing opportunities whenever they came. And I listened, nodding at things I agreed with and giving him props when he mentioned an accomplishment.
Still, my mind somehow wandered off to Mehki and how we’d gotten to know each other over breakfast. How our banter was never ending and how his admission of his polyamorous lifestyle didn’t steer me away. If anything, I kind of took it as a challenge.
“You drifted off on me again,” Tobias said as we reached the parking garage.
“I did,” I admitted with a light giggle. “Bad habit of mine. I was listening though, I promise.”
“Mhm. You got your ticket?”
Reaching down in my purse, I pulled it out. “Yep.”
“Aight, cool.”
We handed the attendant our tickets, and he requested that they park my car near the booth so that we could pull out at the same time. Once we got our cars, we took the short drive to the studio, which wasn’t too far from the spa. He paid for my valet parking, and we headed inside. In the lobby, Tobias used his fingerprint to get access, and the security in front greeted him with a familiar nod. We stepped onto an elevator and rode it up to the 4thfloor. I hummed the acoustic version of Yung Miami’sSpendDatthat played inside, fighting the urge not to sing the lyrics myself.
“You wanna sing that shit so bad, don’t you?” he pointed out, and I laughed.
“Dance moves and all, but you haven’t earned that side of me yet.”
He nodded, holding the elevator door once it opened on our floor. Stepping off, I followed him around the corner, and there was the studio, covering half the floor. The music couldn’t be heard from the hallway, but from the bobbing heads I could see inside, I concluded that whoever was in the booth was doing their thing.
“Come on,” he said, taking my hand in his without my permission.
It wasn’t in a possessive way. He did it like the action came natural to him. Only it wasn’t. There was no spark, not like when Mehki stood behind me at the club, wrapping his arms around me like second nature. I made note of it and proceeded to walk behind Tobias.
“Wassup, y’all?” he spoke to the room as the person manning the soundboard turned the music down.
There was a total of six people in the room, including us, and then there was the girl in the booth. Everyone spoke back to Tobias, two of the men dapping him up and the females giving light hugs.
“This is Kyiris. Kyiris, this is the team.” He introduced me, still holding my hand.
I pulled it back, using it to wave at the people. “Hey, team.”
