Prince grabs my hand and starts fiddling with my rings, a telltale sign he’s overstimulated. He’s only here off the strength of me and YT, and when I simper at him, he winks at me.
We step away from the guys. “You wanna leave? I’ll come with.”
He shakes his head. “I’m straight. I got my ear plugs if it gets to be too much. You just worry about ya mans.”
I lock eyes with YC, who cuts his to Brandon, letting me know he means business. I pray for discernment as I drag Prince over to them. Sahara sticks her nose up at me, before hearts fills her eyes when she notices Prince.
I figured she’d be like that, the colorstruck bitch she is.
“Baby, this is Sahara and her friend Isis. Sahara is Shotta’s girl,” Brandon cheerfully says. Sahara and the bitch smirk at me like I’m supposed to give a fuck.
“And who is this?” her friend says, walking her hands on Prince’s chest.
Long ass nails catch my eye as YT steps into my space. She grips the girl’s hand so hard she whimpers, eyes wide in shock.
YT just grins, baring her teeth. “Touch my brother again and they’ll be cleaning your guts up off the floor for the rest of the year,” she hisses.
I grab Brandon and pull him toward our seats before YC or Reem can come, and make his dumb ass sit down.
“What’s wrong–”
“Look, Brandon. I told you we come from two different worlds. You fanned out right now and my friends, my siblings… they’re real protective of me. And Shotta’s girlfriend don’t fuck with me nor my baby. Don’t be in her fucking face.”
Brandon’s face hardens for a second before smoothing out. “I told you about that cursing, honey.”
This nigga.
Dal comes to her seat next to me and pulls me into a conversation with Brina, saving myself from having to explain to this nigga he don’t run me. Soon, everyone is at their seats, and Shad’s DJ takes the stage.
I’ve been to one of Shad’s concerts, back when he was still only Shotta to me. The nigga can put on a show, and his fansare diehard. Even though I can’t stand him, the energy pulsing through the venue keeps a smile on my face, and when the lights go black, I’m on my feet screaming with everyone else.
The bass from Shad’s “No Love” drops and the crowd somehow gets louder. I look over to Prince, breathing a sigh of relief when I see his ear plugs are secured.
As soon as I focus back on the stage, Shaddy walks out, and my breath stalls.
His ass is even finer than he was a few hours ago.
Dark green short sleeve dickie shirt with the matching straight leg work pants. His shirt is unbuttoned, showing his signature bulletproof vest. Blinged out diamond chains sparkle down his neck, one with a birch tree, the other a pendant with Sean, his late best friend, connected to it. Down one of his pant legs,FD4Lis spray painted in white, and a birch tree is spray painted on the back of his shirt. Gold rimmed Cartier frames that are definitely prescription, because his ass is blind as a bat.
And somehow, the nigga was able to get an edge up, making his plaits look even more fire.
This nigga got one chuck taylor clad food on top of the speaker as he aggressively raps his lyrics to the crowd. The hand not holding the mic? Is throwing up all the different hand signs that represent his gang.
The crowd raps on with him, through the first verse, chorus, and second verse. The music cuts out after the chorus, and the crowd–including all the girls and me–scream at the top of our lungs. The guys throw up their Birch sign, and Shaddy basks in it all, showing all thirty-two.
“How y’all fucking doing, Kenton?!” he says into the mic.
It’s pandemonium in The Atrium.
“Heard y’all been looking for a nigga? Well, shit, let’s get to it then. Drop that shit.”
I’m rapping every song he does. Peanuthead gets Dal and I on camera acting like it’s our concert. He goes through the rest of his album, and then some other singles and features he has, too.
Autumn and I cheer Wyn on when she skips out onto the stage to perform her song Shad is featured on. Wyn hasn’t performed since before her accident, and I would say the crowd goes up, but it’s been nonstop cheers for the last hour. Sahara and her friend look stank as hell when the song’s over, and Wyn and Shad hug. She comes to our side of the stage, hops off, and lets the security carry her over the barricade into our section.
She and Autumn hug first, with them swinging side to side. They’re far away from us, but it looks like she’s congratulating her sister, who blushes at the praise. I glance behind Autumn, at Rico, who’s smirking at Wyn. But when she locks eyes with him, it falls, and his eyes do that weird thing they do like he’s dead, like he wasn’t just smiling at her. Wyn wiggles out of Autumn’s arms to go through the section, with me last.
She beams at me. “I gave you three months. It’s a hot girl fall!” she whispers in my ear. When she releases me I wink at her, and she returns it before disappearing behind me.
