flips it over and hops off the bench.
âI gotta take this. Be right back.â
âWho is that? Your new chick?â I ask the question before I can stop myself. I sound so jealous right now, and that is not even the case.
Sam rolls his eyes. âNo. Itâs Zac. But what do you care anyway? I heard youâre gonna be booâed up at the Grammys.â
I roll my eyes back at Sam, ease down into my seat, and cross my arms over my chest in a huff. Iâm feeling a mixture of embarrassment and fury. Big D gives me a long, concerned, fatherly gaze.
âBooâed up?â Big D asks. âWith who? You were just with Sam at the American Music Awards. What message do you think it will send to show up with a new guy?â
âThe message that Sam and I are absolutely not an item. Iâm going with DeShawn.â
âModel dude from the video? I bet that was Mystiqueâs idea.â
I nod. âYeah, it was, but I happen to like DeShawn so itâs all good.â
âWatch Mystique,â Big D says. âI feel that she doesnât want you and Sam together for selfish reasons.â
âLike what? What does our relationship or lack thereof have to do with her?â
âYou and Sam are a team. A darn great team. You are nominated for a Grammy on your very first project for Song of the Year. No matter how much Mystique claims to be on your side, you are a threat to her. Donât diss her or cut her loose, but donât ever forget.â
Everyone keeps telling me not to trust Mystique, but the only ones that keep hurting me are the ones close to my heart. Samâs betrayal stings more than Mystiqueâs possible jealousy at our rapid rise to fame. And my cousin Dreya tried to get me dropped from my record deal, yet Iâm in the studio writing hits for her project. It sounds like there are lots of people I shouldnât trust and Mystique is the least of these.
âMe and Sam not being together has nothing to do with Mystique. Heâs a liar, and he played me. Plus, it wouldnât benefit Mystique for us to not be a songwriting team. We wrote a hit record for her too, remember?â
Big D shakes his head wearily. âListen, I donât know for sure if sheâs out to get you. Iâm just saying watch your back.â
âI thought you had my back, Big D? Whatâs up with that?â
He gives me that slow and infectious smile that makes the women forget that he weighs over three hundred pounds. âI always have your back, baby girl. Me and your mama are probably the only ones you can trust.â
Sam comes back into the room and sits down on the keyboard bench. Heâs frowning now, but I canât bring myself to ask why.
âSince you canât seem to get the song right,â Sam says, âwhy donât we work on our Grammy acceptance speech?â
I scrunch my nose into a grimace. I donât know why it didnât occur to me that I would have to walk up and receive the award with Sam. Song of the Year is an award for the songwriter, not the artist, so this is another moment that weâd share.
âIf we win, we should just give our own separate acceptance speeches. You have different people to thank, and I mean we are two separate people.â
Sam nods slowly. âOkay. By the way, Iâm taking my mom to the Grammys.â
âOkay . . .â
âSo who are you going with?â Sam asks, but his question sounds like an accusation or a demand. Heâs straight-up tripping.
I look Big D straight in the eye and ask, âWho does this dude think heâs talking to?â
Big D bursts into laughter. His entire body jiggles when he laughs, and his face lights up too. He loves a good joke, and I know Sam has got to be joking coming at me like that.
Sam now seems irritated by the laughter, and thereâs a reddish undertone to his caramel-colored skin, indicating a bit of embarrassment.
âYou
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