Great One

by Nayla Matthew

  “We’re all waiting,” she states, walking over and grabbing the bowl of popcorn. “Can’t this wait?”

  “We’re coming,” I say, pushing her towards the door. We all go back downstairs and finish movie night, in the end Bo drives Demetra home, and Laila sleeps over.

  “So, do you think tomorrow is going to be the night?” she asks, jumping into bed with me. Her breath smells like fresh mint.

  “You mean sex?”

  “Of course, I mean sex, you’ve done everything else under the moon,” she says.

  “I think, it will be,”

  “Are you excited?” she says, poking me in the side.

  “As excited as I’ll ever be,” I admit.

  ++

  “You look beautiful,” Braum says when he opens the door, he pulls me into the house sweeping me off my feet. He shuts the door with his foot carrying me into the kitchen. “I thought we’d start the night with some dinner,” he says, setting me down on the counter.

  “Sound delicious, what’s on the menu?” I ask, turning on the counter and seeing plates already set up.

  “Your favorite, Shrimp casserole” he says, before kissing my cheek. “But I was thinking, we can just skip to dessert,” he whispers, kissing behind my ear. “You certainly look delicious,” chills run through my body.

  “Wouldn’t want to waste your hard work,” I say, pushing him away. He walks around the counter handing me my plate, and a fork. “Thank you, my love,” I say.

  “No thank you, I love you baby,” he says, kissing me on the cheek.

  “I love you too,” we eat dinner on the counter, before Braum carries me up to his bedroom. He had candles lit waiting for us, the room smelled like roses and his cologne. The bed was made for the first time in forever, and rose petals were spread everywhere. “It’s beautiful,” he wraps his arms around my waist, kissing the back of my neck.

  “Perfect just like you,” he says, before spinning around. “I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you babe,” he starts.

  “No, I want to do this,” I press our lips together, hungry for more. “I want you,” I whisper. He lifts me up carrying me to the bed, dropping me down. He helps me get undressed, his fingers leaving fire down my body. “Braum,” I whisper, as he pulls my legs apart, his face in the crook of my neck.

  “Ready?” he whispers.

  “Yes,”

  We made love all night long. I never thought I would love someone as much as I loved him. When we were together, it was like everything was molded together, like we were one person. I never saw anything but him, I couldn’t see anything but him.

  It was just me and Braum. Braum and Me. “I shouldn’t have missed your performance,” Braum says, as we lie in bed together. His fingers rubbing circles around my back. “I knew how important that was for you,”

  “There’ll be others,” I say, lifting my head and looking down at him. “I know how important this internship was for you,” I whisper.

  “Nothing is more important then you Deya,” he whispers, I lean down pecking his lips.

  “Ditto,” I smile. The next morning, we’re woken to the sound of loud knocking coming from his front door. We both get dressed, greeting my mother and older sister at the front door.

  “You said you’d be at Laila’s” my mother says, crossing her arms. I look over at my sister, who gives me an apologetic shrug. My mom grabs my wrist pulling me out of the house. “We have one rule Adeya! One Rule!”

  “Ma!” I shout, she drags me into the house.

  “Did you too have sex?” she asks.

  “Ma,” I say, she crosses her arms.

  “Did you two have sex?” she asks again.

  “Yes,” I admit, she leans against the front door pinching the bridge of her nose.

  “You’re going to send me to an early grave girl,” she whispers. “Were you two safe?” she asks.

  “Of course, we were mom! I’m not an idiot!” A knock on the door pulls us away from our argument, my mother opens the door and Braum waits on the other side holding my things. My mom snatches my things away.

  “You used a condom right Abraham?” she says.

  “Yes ma’am,” Braum’s face begins to turn red, as he stares at me. I just mouth sorry, praying she leaves him be.

  “Does your parents know you were only with my daughter?”

  “Mom,” I plead.

  “No ma’am,” Braum says.

  “Now I trust you boy, and trust has to be earned, this will never happen again understand?” she says.

  “Yes ma’am,” he says, my mom closes the door handing me my things.

  “Room now,” she demands, I don’t waste time running up to my room. When I close the door, I drop my things on my bed running to my window and pulling it open.

  “I had a really great time,” I shout out at Braum, who was crossing the street to his house. He turns around looking over at me, a big smile on his face.

  “Me too!” he shouts back.

  “I love you,”

  “I love you too,” he blows air kisses, before returning to his house.

  Chapter Three

  “Hello? Earth to Adeya!” my mom says, waving her hands in front of my face. I look up from my notepad, my view just my disgruntled mother.

  “Sorry? What?”

  “Were you even paying attention to me?” she asks.

  “Mom, you know I have that meeting with those record executives, I have to make sure everything is perfect” I say.

  “You’re going to run yourself ragged young lady, all you’re doing is working! When was the last time you hung out with Laila or Braum?” she asks.

  “They understand,” I say, she pushes out of her seat grabbing my notebook from the table.

  “I don’t like that you’re working so hard,” she says, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at her. “You have nothing to worry about, if they have any brains, they’ll love you,” she says.

  “Thanks ma,”

  “Now it’s Saturday, go hang out with your friends!” she says, I push myself out of my seat. Going upstairs and getting dressed, Braum was busy with Bo, so I head towards Laila’s house. Finding her hanging in her backyard with Geo, who was helping her mother garden.

  “Hello Adeya!” Laila’s mom says.

  “Hi Mrs. Warren,”

  “Are you finally taking a break?” Laila says excitedly, jumping out of the hammock and meeting me across the lawn. “Geo and I were just about to go to the water hole!”

  “My mom said I was going to run myself ragged,” I say.

  “I believe her,” Laila says, before pulling me into a hug. “We’re leaving whenever G is done with my mom,” Laila says, pulling me inside. “Do you need something to wear?”

  “That would be helpful,” I say, we go upstairs to her room and she lends me some of her swim wear. I was thankful we were about the same size, minus the fact that Laila had the chest of a 14-year-old. By the time we were finished getting dressed and put our sunscreen on, Geo was ready, and we were hitting the road. The water hole is the only place in town beside the public swimming pool that teens could go. Usually though, the public pool is flooded with security, adults, and children who always getting in the way, so naturally the watering hole was more for the teenagers. No one really bothered us when we were there, and we were far enough away from civilization that we hardly got any noise complaints. Now that we were getting closer to summer, everyone in my grade usually spent their weekends here. For the last three weeks however, I’ve been locked away in my room prepared for my meeting with record label executives, from one of the top labels in L.A. They saw my award-winning song, on the competition’s website, and set up a meeting. Ever since then, the only thing my mind has been focused on was impressing them.

  “Look at Rebecca, does she know that she doesn’t need to shop at the pre-teen section anymore,” Laila says, when we roll up to the water hole. I can see Rebecca Williams walking around in the skimpiest outfit,
her boobs practically crawling from her shirt. “Does she have any shame?”

  “Obviously not,” I reply, we all get out. Geo immediately enveloped by his friends leaving Laila and I to find a good spot to sit at and look at the water. I immediately spot Bo hanging around with some of his friends from Soccer. I leave Laila to make up our blankets, walking over to him. “Hey Bo,” I say, he looks over at me like he’s seen a ghost.

  “Hey D, what’s up,” he says.

  “Where’s Braum? He said you two were hanging out today,” I say.

  “He did?” he says. “I haven’t talked to him all day,” Bo says, before giving me a sheepish grin. “He did say he had something to do with his brothers though, maybe you got it mixed up,” he says, I nod to myself.

  “Maybe,” I say, before turning and walking back over to my blanket.

  “Everything okay?” Laila asks.

  “I think Braum lied to me about what he was doing today,” I say.

  “Why would he do that?” she asks, I shrug falling on the blanket and grabbing my phone attempting to call him, and only receiving his voicemail. I drop it, figure I did get confused, Geo joins us pulling Laila out to the water, leaving me to watch our things. I lay out on the blanket basking in the sun. I soon join Laila and Geo in the water splashing and playing around. Then the sun begins to set, and everyone starts packing up to go home. “Deya are you okay? You don’t look so good,”

  “What? Oh, I just haven’t eaten anything all day,” I admit, before leaning against the nearest tree.

  “Are you okay?” she asks again, but before I can answer everything goes dark.

  When I wake up, I’m in a hospital bed. Laila and my mom are talking, and it looks like my mother is crying.

  “You’re awake!” she shouts, running to my side. “I knew you were working too hard!” she says, caressing my face.

  “I just,”

  “Weren’t eating,” she says, before pulling away and leaving the room. Laila joins my side.

  “You scared the shit out of me,” she whispers. “I thought G was going to faint too,” she says, the door to the room opens again and the doctor walks in followed by my mother.

  “Good evening Ms. Waterson, I’m glad to see your awake and well,” she says, before stopping at the base of my bed. “Now you’re all good, we can get you checked out in less than an hour I will like to say that you can’t continue to go without food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner,”

  “I understand,” I say.

  “Especially since you are pregnant, you have to think of your baby,” silence fills the room, my mom looks at me like I had already given birth.

  “Excuse me?” I say, the doctor looks at me before reading the rude.

  “You weren’t aware you were pregnant?” she says, before sucking in a breath. “Sorry, you’re almost 3 weeks, I can set up an ultrasound if you’d like,”

  “Uh…Yes, yes please,” I whisper, she nods leaving the room. Leaving me in the silence of my mother and Laila. I was pregnant, I was in that percental of people who got pregnant after their first time. I thought I was safe, I’m on birth control and Braum wore a condom. A nurse returns with the ultrasound machine and my mother cries the entire time. When everything is finished, my mom drives Laila home and my mom and I don’t speak the entire ride home. “I’m sorry,”

  “It’s okay,” she says, resting her head on the wheel. “It’s going to be okay,”

  “What should I do?” I ask.

  “That’s really up to you my love,” she says, looking over at me. “That’s all up to you,” she grabs my hand, squeezing it. “But whatever you do choose, know that I’m right behind you 100%,”

  “Thank you, mama,” I say, leaning in and allowing her to hug me. “Please don’t tell dad, not yet,” I say pulling away wiping my eyes. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, and I want to tell Braum first,”

  “Alright,” she says, we pull away and sit in the car together in complete silence for another half hour. When we go inside, we find my sister and dad eating pizza in the living room, watching re-runs of old football games together.

  “Is everything alright?” my dad asks.

  “Just a heat stroke, I just need to drink more water,” I lie, giving a reassuring nod to my mother before going to my room for the night. In the morning I force myself to eat breakfast, even though I only want to throw everything up. Today was the big audition with the record executives. On top of that, I had to drop the pregnancy bombshell on Braum, and I just didn’t know how he was going to take it.

  “Good luck sweetie!” my dad says, giving me one last supportive hug before sending me on my way. Laila and Geo waiting for me outside.

  “How are you feeling,” Laila asks, when I climb into the car.

  “Like I’m going to throw up,” I say, resting my back against the seat and closing my eyes. “Everything is spinning,”

  “You’re going to be great!” Geo says. “They’re going to love you,”

  “That isn’t the only thing she’s worried about,” Laila says, I open my eyes and she’s looking at her through the rearview mirror. “Have you talked to him at all?”

  “No, I don’t know what to say without sound like somethings wrong,” I say, before squeezing my eyes shut again. “I don’t know what to do guys…”

  “Focus on the audition, this is everything to you! Everything else will fall into place,” Geo says.

  “I agree,” Laila says. We arrive to the studio, and Geo and Laila have to wait in the garage. I walk through the lobby.

  “Hello, I have an appointment with Jacob Dawson,” I say.

  “Name?” the receptionist asks.

  “Adeya Waterson,” I say, she nods before calling someone.

  “Ms. Waterson is waiting in the lobby,” she hangs up the phone before pointing me to chairs in the corner. I walk over taking a seat, soon the door opens, and a girl walks out talking on a phone, she stops in front of me.

  “Adeya?” she asks.

  “Yes, Hello,” I say.

  “Hi, I’m Jacob Dawson’s personal assistant Zahara,” she says, I stand taking her hand. “We’ll be working together closely, Mr. Dawson is a busy boy, so he gives me all the new and up and coming artist,”

  “Am I not meeting Mr. Dawson?” I ask.

  “No, we’re meeting with Henry the recording manager so we can get started on your first single,” she says, before heading towards the elevator. I quickly follow her.

  “First single? I’m already getting a single?” I say.

  “Oh, you weren’t told?” we step onto the elevator. “Jacob loved you, he’s finalizing the papers now but until we can get you all signed, he wants to start producing a singer so we can start promoting you!”

  “Oh my god, thank you!” I say.

  “Don’t thank me honey, you’re the talent,”

  We make it to the 9th floor, where I walk into a studio for the first time. While Zahara talks to Henry, the sound engineer, I immediately call Laila.

  “How is everything?” Laila asks.

  “I’m producing a song! They’re signing me!” I whisper, jumping from one foot to the other.

  “Oh my god what!” Laila screams. “You’re joking?!” I show the studio I’m standing in before the door opens and I’m forced to shove my phone back into my pocket.

  “Are you ready to record?” Zahara asks. “We’re going to record, Your Song, and see how everything is,”

  “Sounds great,” I say, I walk over to the headsets, pulling them on.

  “You can start whenever you’re ready,” I hear Zahara say, and before I know it, my instrumental is playing in my eat sets. My dreams were coming alive in front of my very eyes, I was recording my first song ever. I was no longer the girl posting on my Instagram and trying out for every talent competition that existed. I was recording an actual song with an actual label, and I was going to produce. “Beautiful! I loved it, we’re going to try one more time and then we’ll wrap,”
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  “Sounds good,” We run it one more time, before we finish. I pull off the headset and join Zahara in the lounge area.

  “You sounded amazing girl!” she says. “I’m going to send everything over to the head office and see where we’re going from there,”

  “Wow, I just really can’t believe this is happening,” I say. “It’s so surreal,”

  “Well believe it baby, you’re on the highway to fame!” Zahara says nudging me.