Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Fifty

    Seeing that Mia needed more time to collect herself, Drake lifted the microphone to his mouth again. "I felt that verse so much, I want Future the Prince to rewind that track. Play it back. I'm going to give you the verse again. Let's go!" He turned back to the audience.

    Bri pinched Mia's arm.

    "Ow!" Mia rubbed her arm.

    "Bitch, you better get out there. Don't leave him hanging."

    Mia shook her head. She stared down at her microphone and flipped the switch on. She closed her eyes and this time when her cue was up, she started singing into the mic. Her voice started out soft at first. Her timidity very quickly fell away as she concentrated on the words she was singing and the emotions that had inspired them. The audience cheered and whistled. As she sang, she opened her eyes and stepped out onto the stage, holding the mic in both hands.

    Drake grinned at her, raised his mic to his mouth, and chimed in with her singing on the last word of each line. He walked over to her. She turned and faced him. They sang to each other, and together they brought the house down. As the music to the song faded out, the stage lights went dark.

    The audience went wild.

    Mia stared at Drake, looking apologetic.

    He shook his head. "You did great," he told her, his words nearly getting swallowed up in the cheering from the crowd. "You did great and that was a hell of an entrance. Better than what I had planned." He wrapped her up in a bear hug and kissed the top of her head.

    "I was so scared," she said into his t-shirt.

    He pulled back and looked down at her. He tilted his head to the side and brushed some of her curls back from her face. If he'd stared for another second, he would have gotten lost in her eyes. But something in him clicked, reminded him that he was standing on a stage in front of an energetic audience. He kept one arm around her as he turned to face the audience. "Mia Thomas, everyone!" he shouted into the mic. "Show her some love!"

                                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Freaked out beyond belief," Mia said, seated at the bar next to Bri.

    Bri blew out air between her lips. "You were amazing," she said. "I like the fact that you started singing off stage. It made your entrance more dramatic."

    Mia used the straw to stir her drink. She angled a gaze over her shoulder, looking for Drake or anyone from his crew. He and his boys were near the DJ booth. Drake stood in the booth, standing behind a laptop computer with a pair of headphones haphazardly placed on top of his head. He'd left one ear uncovered so he could hear whatever it was Future the Prince was shouting at him.

    "Not to mention the fact that you two were adorable up there, together," Bri said before hurriedly sipping her non-alcoholic drink.

    Mia narrowed her eyes at her. "Thank you, Bri."

    Bri laughed. "What? I can't give a compliment?"

    "Are you ladies enjoying yourself?"

    Both girls turned and their eyes slowly lifted up the entire length of a tall, muscled man with skin the color of dark chocolate. He was bald and wore a nice, black button-down shirt over dark jeans.

    Bri stared at him hard. "Aren't you Trevor Riley?"

    The smile that formed on his lips was charming, revealing a set of sparkling white teeth. "Guilty as charged."

    Mia frowned. "Who?"

    "Oakland Raiders," Bri murmured in awe.

    "Football?" Mia asked.

    He laughed. "Yes, football," he confirmed, looking Mia up and down. "Can I...holler at you for a minute?"

    She looked surprised. "Umm..." She glanced over towards the DJ booth. Drake's attention was on the laptop and turntable set up in front of him. A million different thoughts ran through her head at once. Did she even find this Trevor guy attractive? Yes. Would Drake care if she talked to him? After all, whatever they had going on was causal. He probably wouldn't even care, right? But what if he did? She chewed on her bottom lip in thought. "Yeah, sure," she said finally, sliding off her seat and trailing behind him as he weaved through the crowd of dancers and drinkers.

    Bri's phone rang. She withdrew her phone from her jeans pocket and rolled her eyes. She answered the call and lifted the phone to her ear. "Shawn, I love you, but I can't talk right now. Shit is about to get real." She ended the call and stared in the direction Mia and Trevor were walking.