Fireworks 3 and 4

Chapter One

    Standing at the side of the stage, waiting for her baby to go on and perform. Nothing new. All routine by now. Mia Thomas was an entertainer in her own right, currently working on her debut album. However, she promptly pressed the Pause button on her work so that she could support Aubrey Drake Graham, a rapper who was close to the peak of his career.

    You would think that a rapper on the verge of his career peak would be able to relax a little bit, she thought, eyeing the hype crowd facing the stage. You would think that he could just let his work speak for itself, instead of succumbing to something like this.

    "Something like what?" you may ask.

    She stood beside the stage, holding her cell phone up to her mouth and watching dancers file onto a darkened stage.

    Some of the audience members towards the front of the crowd must have spied the dancers too, because eager shrieks filled the stadium.

    Why did I agree to this? Mia wondered and suddenly she was filled with worry. Why did he agree to this? There was only one answer to that question and still she mulled, trying to search for another answer.

    An synth-heavy dance beat came from strategically placed speakers throughout the arena. The beat echoed upon itself, and a female voice crooned into the microphone. The lights on the stage were still turned down, but gradually brightened to a beautiful, pink hue. A tall, long-legged woman with a light complexion and a dark, shoulder-length bob stepped onto the stage and moved across it while vocalizing. Her frame was encased in a sleeveless, glittering black pantsuit with fringe hanging off of it. The pantsuit left very little to the imagination, so her toned, lithe body was showcased to the captive audience.

    The female performer broke out into a grin while singing, and started to dance to the music with subtle moves.

    Mia glanced towards the audience, gauging their reaction. The crowd was going wild. If they like this, they're going to flip their shit in a minute, she thought, struggling to keep her nerves calm throughout Rihanna's first two verses and the hook, in which she sang about putting in work.

    Then it came...the familiar, deep, melodic voice that still had the ability to make Mia's knees weak.

    "Yeah...okay...yooooou need to get done, done, done, done..."

    The crowd started screaming at deafening decibels at the sight of a velvet and leather-sporting Drake walking out onto the stage. A spotlight honed in on him, causing his light complexion to glow beneath the illumination. He continued singing while walking up to Rihanna. His beautifully-sculpted face was all grins as he approached her.

    She smiled flirtatiously back at him.

    Mia felt her chest growing tight at the sight of them interacting onstage together. She clenched her hands together in front of her chest while watching them.

    Chubbs walked up to her, snacking on a piece of chicken. There's no telling where the chicken had actually come from; he found it in the most unexpected places. He narrowed his eyes at Drake and Rihanna while chewing.

    "They perform well together," Mia said, trying to sound cheerful. Positive. Like her heart wasn't breaking into a hundred tiny little pieces.

    Chubbs knew better. He always knew better. A man of few words in most situations, especially in public, but when he spoke, he tended to make it count. Tall, brown-skinned and with a goatee groomed by God Himself, Chubbs studied Mia closely. "You forget that I'm fluent in Female-speak," he said. "And in Female-speak, 'They perform well together' isn't even a statement. It's a question: 'Do they perform better together than he and I perform?'"

    She lowered her eyes, then turned to Rihanna and Drake. Currently, Rihanna was bouncing her ass against Drake's dick. Sure, clothes were preventing their skin from actually coming into contact, but that didn't stop Drake from displaying intense facial expressions. He even brought a hand up and clutched his chest, as if he couldn't handle the ass being thrown at him. Unable to watch the performance anymore, Mia turned her back to the performance.

    "The answer is 'No,' by the way," Chubbs said quietly after finishing his chicken.

    She looked up at him.

    "You and him onstage are a lot more electric than him and her onstage," Chubbs went on. "And I'm not just saying that to be nice to you. You miss the subtlety of his movements onstage. Look again."

    She shook her head slowly. "I don't need to see it."

    Chubbs grabbed her by the shoulders and gently steered her around to the stage. "The ass-bouncing was the only contact. Look now."

    Rihanna was still dancing in front of Drake, but there were now several inches between the two of them. Those inches of distance would be tough for the audience to see; to the audience, it still looked like they were grinding. Rihanna would dance for a bit, then Drake would back away and move up towards the audience. Then he would back up and dance with Rihanna again. Towards the end of the song, Rihanna turned to face him and wrapped an arm around his waist while leaning into him. He cupped the back of her head in his hand and brought her head to rest on his chest.

    "You forget how Aubrey Drake Graham first became well-known," Chubbs said from his spot beside her. "You've got doubts running through your head. Doubts and insecurities. Wondering if he loved her more than he loves you. Worried that he would consider being with her again. But you're the woman that he loves. Didn't he have a conversation with you?"

    "Yes," Mia said, nodding. Although that conversation had only been a few months ago, it felt so distant. The lip-biting that he was doing, and the affection he was showing another woman had the power to erase any soothing, calming words he'd told her previously.

    "He looks convincing up there," Chubbs said. "But if there's anything that you remember and hold onto, it's that as phenomenal of a rapper, singer, and songwriter he is, those skills pale in comparison to his acting abilities."