The adventures of Jodeci

Fallin'

"...they just let me do what I do on the do"- Devanté

1995

The music was thrusting from the speaker as y/n grabbed a white towel and threw it across her shoulder, she could smell spritz flying across the room and no-lye relaxer containers being opened. Her big cousin Keisha had recently done a grand opening for her shop named K hair designz''. She came a long way from being the girl who had hot combs in her parent's basement. She could hook up anyone in town.it was especially a humongous achievement that she got her license so that she could have the shop at one hottest mall's in charlotte NC. she kept it funky, fresh, and modern. She had zebra-printed couches and black leathered salon chairs with vanity mirrors that lit up.

She also had every teen magazine including the jet magazine that was stacked at the desk anytime clientele came to visit. y/n grabbed a magazine and handed it to a customer and then she went to the inventory room to get the right shampoo. y/n worked for Keisha as a favor. She needed more hands but she couldn't just trust anyone with her baby. There were always critics putting stores in the newspaper talking about whether they were satisfied or not. The telephone started ringing and Keisha started telling everyone to quiet down as she answered. "K hair designs, who am I speaking to?... uh huh well we can't put you in for that day because- okay Saturday at 9 should be cool." she finished.

y/n was lathering shampoo on her client's head massaging and scratching the surface. When she was about to finish she looked up to see Kiesha asking her to go get her some snacks from the food court. "And bring my change back ya hear." y/n nodded and slightly rolled her eyes. What was she a d*** servant? She had to be careful because there was a large crowd at the mall than normal. Apparently, the huge r&b group Jodeci had come to sign CDs for fans in their hometown. She was going to stop by Anne's kitchen to get her a cinnamon pretzel but she got distracted when she saw the tattoo and piercings sign hanging over a door with transparent glass. It was next to the shoe department. A smart market

strategy on their part. She walked in fixing her black pleated leather jacket. y/n was wearing a short-sleeved white turtle neck underneath that was tucked into her leather pants with ankle boots and a platform. Her hair was shiny black with a swooped bang and a mid ponytail that was flat ironed to perfection she paired it with gold hoops and a gold chain. She had lip liner and lip gloss. She was fly. When she walked in she grabbed the attention of one of the workers who was currently drawing a design. She looked at his name tag as he approached her. "Jack, right?" "yes, how can I help you is there anything you're looking for?" he eagerly asked. She chuckled a little. Jack was kind of cute if you went for the Leo DiCaprio kind of guy. "I'm really supposed to be grabbing a snack for my boss/cousin but right now I'm killing time. She informed him. "Oh okay well just let me know when you're interested- I uh mean in the work that we do." he staggered. Truthfully it wasn't ink y/n was interested in. she really had a thing for piercings, she was looking for cartilage piercing it would be her third if she went through with it. She also thought about getting a nose piercing but she didn't wanna hear her parents making a big deal out of it. Even though she was 22 she was living by their rules and was stacking her paper so she could move to her own place in charlotte.' Okay enough y/n.' She couldn't play around too much she started to think about why she left the shop in the first place. She started to walk and told jack she was going to come back another time. She opened the door and sauntered but it wasn't too long before she accidentally jolted into something. She didn't think to turn around as she said, "My fault, I'm sorry."

"It's all good sweetheart" a deep voice replied in a distance. His voice was familiar. Not like she heard it in everyday life but on the radio and award shows every now and then. She turned around and was staring at a chest but had to look up. He stood a couple of inches past 6 feet. His hair was slightly platted into braids and he had a fade. He wore a black leather jacket with a black tee and black leathered pants with doc martens. His skin was dipped in caramel, his lips were moisturized with Carmax and right above it was fine shaped facial hair that complimented his face. He had crisp jawline structure that could kill. He Wore thinly framed shades and grinned at her. Y/n awkwardly stood there as he started to walk in the door. He was used to young women reacting this way. And he would be feeling himself sometimes, but he was very much the epitome of attractiveness. "what's up? I'm Devanté ." he greeted. Of course, he was Devanté . She had to act carefully, she could either act like he wasn't a big deal and say what's up or she could fangirl at this moment. "I know who you are." she smiled. She took out her hand and he grabbed it and shook it in return. His hand was massive and their hand shook lingered for a bit before y/n carefully pulled it away. He chuckled a little. "They open?" he asked pointing towards the sign. "Yeah their open, I just was trying to kill time," she replied. She couldn't see his eyes but they were roaming over her entire frame behind shades. "Word? Whatcha thinking about getting?" she couldn't believe he was interested in her normal daily activity. First of all, what was Devanté doing casually roaming around the mall while he had a whole meet and greet upstairs? And didn't he have bodyguards somewhere? "I was looking to get a third piercing. But I mean I'm not gonna through with it and I kind of want a nose piercing but I don't know,you know?"

"Yeah I get that, you'd be fly with a nose ring though. I mean not that you aren't fly already ." he corrected himself. "You have somewhere to be don't you? My bad I'm just holding you up," he said. "No, no, you're good." y/n answered shyly. She lied, she definitely promised to bring her cousin Keisha snacks. But what was more important was making a connection with the bad boy of R&B himself. He didn't really seem bad though. He was just smooth. When he walked into the tattoo and piercing shop he glided almost like he didn't have anywhere to be. As y/n walked behind him she got a whiff of his expensive cologne. He looked at the charts for tattoos. But he was very picky about what he wanted. "Excuse me, but won't your bandmates be looking for you?" Y/n asked curiously. "I mean, yeah but they kind of just let me do what I do on the do. They know I'm most likely at a tattoo shop or a music one messing with some instruments." he shrugged. Jack came from the back and acquired how he could help Devante. Devante said he didn't have time to sit and actually get tatted but he wanted him to draw out what he wanted so he could take it back to his artist in LA. he was trying to complete a sleeve. He told her once he started he got addicted. He pulled off his jacket to show y/n some tats on his arm and what they meant to him. When the artist finished sketching what Devante described, Devante thanked him and handed him a handsome tip. Jack looked at the money and his eyebrows raised. Although Devante paid no attention to it. "Come on." he tilted his head to the side and got y/n attention. She was confused. Did Devante just turn her into a groupie? He was pretty and he knew it because he literally just demanded, not ask her to walk with him. But instead of fighting it she walked with him.

They took a stroll past the stores and started sniffing the scent that came from the food court. "Mmm," he moaned. Caught off guard y/n asked, "you want to get something to eat?" y/n offered. "You paying?" he joked. y/n looked at him and sucked her teeth. He caught her reaction and started laughing/ y/n went to Annie's kitchen as she originally planned. And he tagged along. she ordered a cinnamon pretzel and a regular with added salt and cheese. When she was about to grab the cash that her cousin gave her Devante stopped her. And offered his card to the cashier. "Devante, you don't have to do that," she said embarrassed. He then ignored her. What is it with this man and money? Before he could fully turn around a young girl about 16 ran into him. "Woah baby." his arms was spread out wide and he hugged her. It was times like these where he thought he should've stuck with the group.
"You're devante swing! Can you sign my CD. We came for the meet and greet and we didn't see you but they said you was coming."
The girl exclaimed.
Yea, well a nigga gotta eat somewhere." With y/n standing near him the fan girl looked interested and smirked. She handed her CD and a sharpie to Devante while he signed it. "Is she your girlfriend?"
He grabbed y/n and pulled her to his side gently. "She fly ain't she?" he responded. Choking on spit y/n started to cough. The fan girl rolled her eyes.
After that the fan girl grabbed her CD and caught up with the group she was supposed to be getting with.
Y/n started fidgeting with her clothes and patting her hair down causing Devanté to gaze at her. "I need a me a perm." He speculated.
"Haha you mean a relaxer." Yeah whatever." He said.
"All you need is a good shampoo and a touch up on your roots and you should fine.
Why do you relax your anyways?"
"Cause, I'm a real nigga, you know what I'm saying. I like stuff to look luxurious, you know?"
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Authors note: sorry for any mistakes. But I'm really feeling this Devanté. 😭part 2 coming up soon.