Fireworks 3 and 4

Fireworks: Forever Chapter Four

    "And a toast to this beautiful, talented, incredible woman standing by my side," Aubrey Drake Graham shouted, raising his glass. "A toast to you, my baby Mia, for wrapping up your first tour!"

    Mia Thomas rose up on her toes and kissed him on the lips.

    Everyone around them screamed in heartfelt celebration. Chubbs raised his glass and even offered one of his rarely-given but beautifully-crafted smiles.

    Drake's eyes were filled with adoration. "You killed this tour, baby." He turned and looked at everyone gathered around them in the VIP section of the West Hollywood club. "She didn't even need me. I got on stage and it was like people couldn't wait for me to get off. They were there for her. And...she has been such a strong performer, throughout this entire tour."

    "Eh..." Mia rubbed the back of her neck. "I've had my share of trips, wardrobe malfunctions, and the rest."

    "Even Beyonce has those," Drake reminded her. "Statistically, fuck-ups are going to happen. What we do is too collaborative for them not to. There's too many hands in the pot and a few of those hands are going to fuck up. Hell, sometimes the fuck-up is me. It's all in how you handle it, and you handled it like you've been touring for decades. You did what had to be done and this tour can be considered a fucking success."

    Mia awkwardly curtsied, then hid a giggle behind her hand. 

    "Drinks are covered, so order what you want," Drake called out to everyone in their party. "Enjoy!" Then he turned and wrapped his arms around her. "They can enjoy this event, and then I'm going to enjoy you once we get back home."

    "I'm on board with this itinerary," Mia murmured, cuddling up to him.

    He kissed the top of her head. "Is it just me or did the time fly? It feels like just yesterday, your tour started."

    "It feels like that for you because you weren't headlining," she joked.

    He laughed. "Time crawled for you, huh?"

    "Tour life is challenging," she confessed. "Having to pick up and heading to new cities was...a lot. It's crazy to think that you've done this at least every other year of your career."

    All he could do was give a modest shrug. "In the beginning, it was because I thought I had to, to hold my spot at the top. Then it just became...routine. Normal for me. If I wasn't dropping an album or touring, it felt like I was being lazy. That's not something you'll have to emulate. Your spot in the industry is set and no one is taking it from you."

    "That's not a pace I think I could even honestly maintain," she told him. "I'm more the drop-an-album-once-every-three-years kind of artist."

    "Three years is respectable," he said.

    Her purse vibrated.

    Craning his neck, he didn't even try to hide the fact that he was trying to see the screen of her phone. "Oliver? Can you ask him why he's calling you instead of partying here, with us?"

    "I don't even know if I'll be able to hear him," she muttered, hitting the Speakerphone button. "Hey Oliver."

    "Shit, I forgot you guys are at the club tonight," Oliver said. "Sorry."

    "No apologies necessary. What's up?"

    "Just reminding you about your meeting with the label on Thursday."

    "How could I forget?" Other than wrapping up her tour, it was all she could think about. "They haven't given you any specific reason for the meeting?"