"This is Denise." Believe it or not, Prince led me towards an extremely gorgeous woman without drama. We weren't immature like others and didn't fight in public. People like us all knew so much better and of course, chaos would be left at home.
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Once again, there was another flashy award show and Prince crossed paths with me once more backstage. That one greeting changed everything. Even while looking back now , I'd remember this moment for the rest of my life. We didn't realize what happened, but honestly, Prince hadn't introduced me to justanyone back then.
I'd met the woman who would become "Vanity" herself.
My biggest grin surfaced without hesitation as I reached out to shake hands with Denise. All the while, she hugged me instead, acting like a sister that I'd never even had before. There was honestly no better feeling in the world in this space.
"Hello." Denise rocked our embrace, beaming with energy that almost rivaled morning coffee. She was so refreshing and undeniably beautiful. As expected, feverish shutterbugs snapped another round of photos for the press. We all smiled.
Once the paparazzi left all of us alone, Prince cornered himself to give Denise and I space. I honestly couldn't stop smiling for the first time in quite a while as my new friend sat down with me and talked. I actually could listen to her speak for hours.
By the time Prince allowed himself to chime in, it was particularly midnight. All three of us bypassed the after-parties downtown. Denise headed home for the sake of modeling gig, but told me that Prince wanted to help with a singing career. There was only a matter of time before she was right and Vanity 6 formed later on.
"She's adorable and so pretty. Thanks for introducing us. " I told Prince as soon as Denise's limo pulled away from the parking lot. There was no room for me to stay bitter about someone I met that evening. As I've said, Denise was our breath of fresh air who made it into this cutthroat industry. No matter where beauty stood.
"No problem." Prince said right back. Wind breezed around us both in one way or another. I'd gotten used to our silence and didn't feel awkward. He was always shy like this, contrary to popular belief. I still knew so much better than to judge him.
"Thanks for everything. Good night, Skip." I'd learned his childhood nicknames during one of our many phone calls. Just when I planned to enter my own limousine and left for the night, Prince said good night, but then called out again soon after.
"Angel?" Prince shortened my name, but started to blush out of nowhere. He hadn't used that expression in quite some time, at least not around me. As I clicked my uncomfortable heels towards him, pebbles skirted the asphalt of this parking lot.
"Yeah?" I faced Prince with blinking, waiting for him to say something. Anything. I'd stood in this black dress with matching pantyhose, all the way down to my heels. Dark make-up aged me a little bit and feathered curls swooped to my shoulders. Yet, the look felt as if I'd left Prom. There was an amatuer move from wardrobe.
Closing any space between us near that limousine, Prince reached out to hold my hand and kissed my cheek, soon opening the back door for me to enter. Not even seconds after I slipped myself into the darkness of this vehicle, he peeked through.
"Just call me when you get home, okay?" Prince lowered his signature speaking voice once more and gently offered words. I nodded soon after, grinning just so that he could stop glancing towards me with this puzzled expression on his face.
"I will. Good night." I said. To be honest, Prince seemed anxious. Yet, I promised to call him back while safe at home. Once that door closed, my driver rolled his window and chatted with Prince more. Snippets involved safety, which was sweet.
___
As promised, I called Prince to say that I returned home safely later than night. If it were any other evening, I would've chugged my near cup of night-owl coffee and headed over to the studio. Yet, for the first time in a while, I actually didn't create.
"What are you doing?" I questioned, envisioning Prince shacked up with his guitar or drum machine. He hadn't lost his routine, even with all the success that piled up for him more and more these days. I knew much better than to expect mediocrity.
"I really wish you were in here because I've been working on something amazing, Angel." Prince beamed with his own form of energy. I could only imagine what kind of masterpiece swirled in his brilliant mind right now. He even started to laugh.
"Just send me the tape when you're done." I smiled back, even though we couldn't see each other. Joyful thoughts reached my own mind as I imagined what Prince could have created in the studio. Whatever it was must've been an incredible thing.
Just days later, I finally found out what Prince had made. This early version of a song for "The Time" blessed my eardrums. In turn, Prince asked me one question that I'd always remember for the rest of my life. To this day, I still pinched myself.
"Angel, will you play something for me on that record?" Prince timbered his voice, whispering as he'd revealed the greatest secret of all time to someone like me. If some ways, looking back now, I soon realized that he had. I almost didn't believe, but never turned that opportunity down. Only rare psychos would reject him then.
Fun fact: the iconic electric guitar solo on "777-9311" belonged to me.
It wasn't long before official royalties from Prince soon filled my own bank account, especially after Morris and his crew released that single. I never even asked for money from my friend after we worked together, but Prince wouldn't budge.
"Thank you so much." I told him one night at the studio. We were alone without his band, who'd already dipped for the night. Workaholics like me, Prince, and even Michael back then, could hang on longer, even if our own bodies wanted to give up.
"Unlike some folks, I'm not letting you hustle for nothing, even if we know each other." Prince spoke up to reveal his idea after we sat down and talked about the record overall. He was right. There were some acts in this cutthroat business who'd earned chum change for the most work. He wasn't stupid at all and neither was I.
"I really appreciate it." I offered another smile, but yawned soon after. It was far too late for anyone else to be up then. Yet, here we were, chatting and yawning like some exhausted yet happy kids. It still took everything in me not to drift off now.
"You're welcome." Prince told me, still sitting on the couch with me. I stood up and wanted to leave his side before we could both act awkward and fall asleep. Yet, he noticed and cleared his throat. My head whipped around to face him as if on cue.
"Did you say something?" I question, turning to him out of respect. There was no other choice, no matter how late it was or how exhausted we both were that night. Again, I knew so much better than to disrespect anyone, especially someone I'd admired for such a long time. Another round of silence fell between us both.
"Please stay here." Prince whispered, offering a voice that I hadn't heard before. It was much softer than usual, hinting at something that I noticed. He wanted me to stay. Turning back around, I sat back down on the sofa and acknowledged him.
"Let's get one thing straight: I'm no virgin, but are you using me?" I went for the jugular and didn't even care if we started arguing all night. It was now or never. Of course, I refused to stand in history as his famous groupie, especially back then.
"No. If that were the case, I think that we would've already slept together. I really do like you." Prince told me straight up. For the first time in quite some time, at least near me, he was vulnerable. I felt surprised by his answer and silence fell.
"Even if you have true feelings for me, what about everyone else? What about Denise?" I addressed our elephant in the room. Again, there was no other choice as we sat down together and tried to understand what Prince had explained to me.
