Daddy Lessons (Nicki Minaj x Beyoncé)

Chapter 6

I had no good ideas of what to do on the day I had off, so for the first time I'd decided to hang out by the pool and talk to Sasha about going out somewhere beyond the territory lines later. The cement was hot as I padded barefoot out to the pool and set down the two towels I had brought from inside. My bikini was white, and pretty revealing, but I wanted to tan at least a small bit before I left for tonight (hopefully- I'd have to ask after I showered).  That didn't matter, though, because I was laying out by the pool quickly next to Rihanna. Sasha wasn't too far away, delved deep into a game of croquet or something of the sort. 

Music was playing from a radio nearby, but I didn't recognize the song. Simone had jumped from the diving board, elegantly diving in without much of a splash. There was some applause from the girls on the other side of the pool, the three under a cabana and each holding up a sign, two saying "7" and one saying "6". 

Upon realizing what they were doing, I had smiled slightly and laughed. Rihanna had looked over at me, pushing her sunglasses that had been falling previously up her nose. "We don't have to be adults, you know," she told me, "we're all just a bunch of women high on estrogen anyways. You should see the pillow fights."

I turned my head to look at her.

"C'mon, I wanna show you something," she said, getting up and leaving her sunglasses on the chair. I did the same, however didn't have quite a few tattoos that were otherwise hidden. I followed her to the edge of the pool, but didn't even get the chance to open my mouth before she'd shoved me in. Plunging in, I sunk to the bottom before pushing myself back to the surface and blinking away the water. 

"Hey! That was rude!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry." She so obviously wasn't, I just furrowed my eyebrows and held out my hand expectantly for her to take and help pull me out. As soon as she'd grabbed it, however, I pulled her in as well.  

Grinning, I looked at her as she resurfaced and pushed her hair back, spitting out water. 

"You're rude!" Rihanna exclaimed, shoving water at me and backing up. 

I dove under, swimming towards her until I could yank her by her legs down underwater. There was a burst of air from her as she wrapped her legs around my torso and yanked back my head. Though getting her off was a struggle, I went back up to the top to get air before she could pull me back down. Rihanna came up to get air too, but stopped mid lunge for me and gripped to the side of the pool to keep herself afloat.

Following her gaze, I looked at a woman I hadn't seen before talking with Sasha. "Who's that?" I asked quietly, confused.

"That's Demi...she thinks that she can hang out with cute little pop punk boys and get away with it. Everyone knows she's a hardcore lesbian." 

"Pop punk boys?"

"Yeah, grossness. They have a band and everything- they were on the radio a little bit ago, actually. Not with a gang or anything right now, but they used to be."

I shook my head, still a little confused on the whole matter. "But why's Demi important?"

"She only comes 'round for one thing...to challenge us."

"Challenge us to what?"

Rihanna looked at me for a moment before swimming with me to the shallow end and getting out of the pool. "Tonight, they'll probably have a battle of the bands. The first night is in LA, then if you're really good you keep going for ten nights until you get to New York City."

I followed her out, sitting back on my towel (I'd been sure to bring a large one so it would cover the whole lounge chair). "And...what is the battle of the bands?"

"You get up solo or with a band and you sing. What the fuck else?"

"Yeah, no shit, but is it a specific genre, or what?"

"There's rap/hip hop, rock, pop, and country. Taylor always goes out for country and makes it to New York because she cheats. Sasha always does pop, and for rock we usually get Gwen to pull together a band. Can you play anything?" Rihanna looked over at me as she put her sunglasses on.

"No..."

"I'm sensing a but. But what?"

"I can rap."

Rihanna looked at me, giving me a once over. "I guess we'll see. Bring your own audio, you're gonna need it if you're gonna need it." She got up, signaling for me to stay put as she approached Sasha and Demi. Rihanna whispered to Sasha for a quick minute, getting a nod before she returned to me. "She knows."

"Well, I thought I was going to go out tonight, looks like I am after all."

"We usually leave at six-"

"Then I need to go take a shower," I said, getting up and wrapping my extra towel around myself and picking up the can I'd grabbed before I'd left her there. I could feel her eyes digging into my back, but I needed to practice and shower and get ready. 

The shower was the first thing I did, but after that I had gotten my hair all done. I was considering dying it, but right now I didn't even take a straightener to it. It was naturally slightly curly, so when I let it be and even fluffed it up, it didn't look too bad. I quickly did my makeup before rushing into my room to get dressed and download my music tracks onto an iPod and check it all over.

"Nicki, we're leaving in five minutes," Rihanna said after poking her head inside. I was pulling on my shoes by the time she came back and stood in the doorway. Looking her over, she was wearing a suit and tie that complimented her well. "I'm gonna be going tonight too."

"Nice," I said, slipping the iPod into my bag and following her out and down the stairs. "Which car are we taking-?"

"None of our cars, Sasha splurged a bit for tonight."

Though I didn't understand at the time, when we'd gotten out front I did. There was a limo waiting for us.