No More Games

10

By the time the show started, my energy was beyond the roof. I was ready to give my fans what they came to see me do. What they love to see me do.

Like all my shows, I performed all my hits and put all of 110 percent of my energy into each song. Being on stage has always been a safe haven for me. That's where I feel like I'm less judged and more loved. The stage is where the majority of my happiness lies.

Right after the show, I made my way backstage and met with some fans for meet & greets then went straight to my dressing room to get ready to go back to the mansion.

"That was amazing, Mike!"
"Yeah, you killed it out there." My hairstylist and wardrobe stylist said excitedly as I walked into my dressing room.

"I appreciate it." I grabbed my phone from my safe and sat on the couch.

I unlocked my phone and saw so many missed calls and text messages. A lot of them from Sasha and a few text messages from Shad and Trevor.

I asked Karen and Michael Bush if they could leave the room and give me some privacy so I can call Sasha back. Once they left, I dialed her number back, even though I didn't want to.

Sasha: "Hey!"

The excitement in her voice caught me off guard. "Hey, girl! What's going on?"

Sasha: "Babe, she's awake! She woke up!"

"Wait... Lauren woke up?" I sat up in excitement. "When?"

Sasha: "Like 3 hours ago. She woke up coughing up blood but she's stable as of right now."

I felt so much relief even though I had faith that Lauren would wake up eventually. "Thank goodness." I breathed. "That's amazing news, baby. That's why you guys were blowing up my phone?" I laughed.

Sasha: "I'm sorry, baby. I was just so excited and got carried away in the moment, I completely forgot that you were doing a show. When I couldn't reach you, I told my brothers to call or text you to see if you'd respond."

We both laughed.

"It's ok though. I wish I could see her. Is she up now?" I asked.

Sasha: "Yeah, the doctors are about to take her to get some X-rays done. I'll be sure to FaceTime you when she's ready to talk."

"Oh—"

Sasha: "Oh my goodness, I almost forgot to ask about your show and how it went! How was it?"

"It was amazing." I smiled, "I wish you were here to see it. The energy was through the roof."

Sasha: "I wish I was there too, baby. I just don't know when or if I'll be able to go back to Europe right now. I need to take care of Lauren until she's better."

As soon as she said that, I remembered that I was meeting with Elise tonight. She told me she'd be at the concert tonight so I made arrangements for her to get tickets and come backstage. I made my manager Frank take care of it but I'm not sure if he did or not.

"It's ok, babe. Take all the time you need— Hey, I've got some meet & greets to do so I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" I lied.

Sasha: "No problem, babe. I love you."

"Love you," I said before hanging up.

Almost as soon as I hung up the phone, I got a knock on my door. When I opened, it was my manager Frank. He had a Cuban cigar in his mouth as usual and his black shades on.

"What a show, kid!" He patted my back. "You kicked ass out there."

"Thanks, Frank." I smiled with pride. I love when I get such good feedback about my concerts. It really juices up my confidence.

After some small talk about my next show and some other appearances I had to do, I stopped him and asked about Elise. "Have you seen Elise?"

"Yeah, yeah! She actually just left." He said with his cigar between his teeth. "Man, it's been a while since I've seen—"

"Woah, what do you mean she just left? We were supposed to—"

He grabbed my arm, pulled me to the side and looked around. "Relax, kid." He softened his voice. "She told me you suggested for her to go to the house with you after the show tonight but I thought it would be the dumbest thing for you guys to be seen leaving together so I made one of the bodyguards take her over there." I sighed in relief and he noticed the huge smile on my face. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you two but I'm staying out of your women mess this time. I just don't want any of this mess to go public due to your dumb decisions. We both can't look bad here."

"You're the man, Frank." I smiled widely. "Let me shower and put on some fresh clothes. I don't want to go over there smelling like musk."

Frank smiled and shook his head then left me to go get ready in my dressing room.

I showered, put on my red dress shirt and black slacks and sprayed on my favorite cologne. I put on my red fedora and made my way out with my team and we were on our way.

I don't know if I'm excited or nervous about seeing Elise. Maybe it's a mixture of both.

Regardless, I wanted to make sure that tonight was a night that I made most of. Besides, you only live once right?