Page 50 of Verse Two
Ididdo this. Well,wedid. For the last few months, Brick and I had been working hard to execute every part of our vision. While I had been wrapping my head around running my own business and launching my first client successfully, Brick had been going hard with his music. He had been basically living in the studio, and his first single was released only a month ago. It was a hit, just as I expected it would be. HavingLimitless Recordsbehind us did wonders for the song’s visibility, but his talent was undeniable, and everyone loved it. The goal was to create buzz around his name before this hometown concert.
The rollout had been successful because the culture was impressed by Brick and wanted more. They were about to get that tonight. It was the night before Brick’s birthday, and the whole city had shown up. Not just Jai either. I had run into people from Terry that Brick and I had grown up with. Everyone was excited that Brick was finally making music for himself, which was even more confirmation that this was his calling. I was beyond proud of him.
“I hear you, Wilde.”
“Good. Now go ahead and do your thing. Marcellus just texted me, so I’m about to go find him,” she said, unable to hide her blush. I chuckled but nodded. They had been flirting ever since they met in Paris. Because they lived so far away, nothing had really come from it, but Brick told me that Marc really liked my girl and was going to start applying pressure in his pursuit of her. He was a great guy, and Wilder deserved the best, so I wasn’t mad at it at all.
She disappeared into the crowd while I stood near the side of the stage with my clipboard and headset snug over my fresh knotless braids. As I scanned the setlist for the millionth time, I heard Brick’s voice behind me.
“Doll.”
I turned and couldn’t help but smile. Dressed in an expensive black T-shirt, nice jeans, and a simple gold chain, he looked damn god. He also wore a black baseball cap, likely because he was trying not to be noticed.
“You should be in your trailer. No one is supposed to see you yet,” I said, fussing as I adjusted his mic cord.
He kissed his teeth. “I was looking for you,” he said, kissing my neck.
I closed my eyes and leaned into him. “You ready?”
He exhaled. “Hell yeah. I got you here wit’ me, so I know I’ma be straight.”
I bit my bottom lip to tame my smile, because my cheeks were starting to ache. My cheeks were always hurting around this man.
“You’re gonna kill it.” Lifting on my toes, I kissed his lips softly. “Now, take your ass backstage. You go on in ten minutes.”
“Aight, boss,” he said with a smirk. After giving me one more lingering kiss, he headed backstage. I was glad that he was so relaxed, because I was a bundle of nerves. Not because I didn’t have faith in his ability to perform, but because I needed everything on my end to flow well.
I was very intentional when hiring our team for this event, from the stage designers to everyone on the tech crew. I felt good about the work we put in, but I was anxious to see everything come together.
After a few minutes had passed, the lights dimmed, and the emcee for the event came onto the stage to announce Brixton. Before he could even get Brick’s name out of his mouth, the crowd was going crazy, which made him laugh.
“Aight, I can see that y’all are ready for me to get outta the way, so without further ado, Brixton Ellis, ladies and gentlemen.”
With that, Brick walked out. Once he was at the mic, he looked out over the crowd, before his eyes found me. He gave me a wink, wrapping his fingers around the mic.
“Chaney,” he said, his voice steady. “It feels good to be home.”
The cheers grew louder.
The band that was behind him kicked in, and the first beat dropped. He was debuting new music but in a soulful way. He was intent on having a live band instead of playing instrumentals for the concert, because he said he wanted the crowd to feel what he felt when he created each song.
Brick had been a writer all his life, but this part was new for him. In the last few months, he had been getting to know himself as an artist, and he quickly learned that he had a knack for production. He had so many great ideas in his head and had hired a band to come into the studio to help him build them out. The album he had been working on was different than anything I had ever heard in rap, and I couldn’t wait for people to hear it.
He performed five unreleased songs, each of them telling a piece of his story—which was the vision for his first album. I observed the crowd as they swayed, danced, and enjoyed my fiancé’s music. So many people in the crowd were rapping the words to the chorus by the second hook, while others were watching him intently, catching every word he spoke.
He engaged with the crowd in between each song, and they were absolutely loving him. By the time the final song faded, it was midnight, officially Brick’s birthday. Right on cue, fireworks began, and the emcee graced the stage again and began singing “Happy Birthday.” The crowd quickly joined in, and Brick laughed, shaking his head. The moment was beyond beautiful.
His eyes found me again, and he held his hand out, prompting my eyes to widen immediately.
I know he doesn’t think I’m about to get on that stage.
I shook my head, and he began heading toward me, and I rolled my eyes before climbing the stairs to the stage. We met at the top of the stairs, and I slipped my hand in his as he led me to the middle of the stage. The fireworks were still exploding, the band was still playing, and the crowd hadn’t settled down yet.
Wrapping his arms around me, he kissed my lips, and the cheering got even louder. I blushed.
“Happy birthday, baby.”
“This ’bout the best one I’ve ever had. I can’t lie.”
