Black Ice

iii

three | ishaan

"Woooo!" Autumn was nearly the loudest person cheering, and in a room with Tiffany James, that was saying something.

I took my bow alongside Cris and Tony, ending our final full rehearsal.

With friends and family being invited to see the end result of our hard work, I already had a slew of ideas on how to enhance the show even more.

I'll dwell on that later though, especially since we'll have a whole tour's worth of shows to rework our set and try different things.

Shit, by the time we get back to New York, the show we just put on won't even compare to what we have then.

By then, the tour will be wrapping up, and we'll be gearing up for award show season.

I was anxious— restless just thinking about it all, especially since there was a chance that my baby would be born around the same time.

With the future swirling around my head, I reminded myself to stay present in the moment.

And at this moment, Autumn was skipping over to me and throwing her arms around my neck.

"That was amazing!" her five-month sized belly put a dent in me as she pecked my lips over and over.

"You just sayin' that," I joked with a grin.

"No really! The flow of the set, the energy! Whew! You better hope this baby is outta me by the time y'all perform in New York because if this is the show you're putting on, my water'll probably break."

I laughed just as my attention was called for. My name was tossed and soon after, so was a towel.

It was a one-handed catch as Autumn raved on, watching me wipe my sweat.

"Not to mention how good you look," she pulled me even closer.

I tried not to smile too hard since there were other people around, but seeing how caught up everyone else was with their own guests, I leaned into the expression. 

"You know I had to come correct, wit'chu comin' to see me today," I said while tugging at my own fashion, Walker Wear.

"You always come correct," she took it upon herself to disarm me and wipe my sweat for me.

She took her precious time in doing so too, a mischievous glint in her eyes making itself known as she dragged the softness along my skin.

I knew that look from anywhere, and I glanced around to ensure that our secret language wasn't being found out by bystanders.

"You gotta chill," I told her softly, already knowing where her mind was.

"I can't help it. I got all these hormones raging through me," she whispered. "And you know seeing you perform puts me through the ringer."

"The ringer? How?"

"I'm just so proud of you, and you're just up there all passionate and fulfilling your dreams... and sweatin'."

I chuckled while taking the towel back and placing it over my head like an athlete that'd just been benched.

"Thank you for inviting me, by the way. I know how sacred the artistic space can be," she was hugging me by my midsection now.

"Ain't no thang, sweet thang," I dotted her cheek with kiss after kiss after kiss while my arms locked around her shoulders.

"Y'all did a good job, for real. People won't be ready for how you're gonna blow them away," she assured.