"That ain't your hair!" As Prince gawked towards me, he yelled out loud like some church preacher from my childhood. Now, I bought this new hair piece as my own birthday gift not that long ago. Short yet still curly, I wanted something different. Even Momma smirked at home during our little celebration together, but we laughed over tiny slices of her world-famous cake. I'd never forget her
This time, I snuck up to find Prince backstage once more. His "Purple Rain" tour was still in full-swing and even a movie reached theaters. His protegee, a woman then nicknamed Apollonia, casted as his love interest. I'd seen the film recently.
"Hush. I bought it. Come here." I opened both arms to hug Prince and he soon welcomed my embrace. We still kept in touch, but once again found ourselves still acting distant in one way or another. I was never the type of person who begged for attention, even if someone like Prince or even Michael still knew that I existed.
"I'm just playing. Your hair looks good." Prince offered the trademark of his low chuckle while pulling away from our hug. This odd yet exciting mixture of his sweat, perfume and cologne wafted to my nose as I continued standing near him now.
"Thank you. Now, where's my favorite drummer?" I winked towards Prince, teasing in one way or another. He soon realized that I had joked about Sheila E, even though I'd admired Prince for quite some time at that point in my own life.
"Shelia's not here. Ditched me for parties downtown." Prince veiled my slight jab towards him by chuckling once more. We had that odd point of awkward silence as he sat on the couch. Bodyguards stood outside in the hall, checking parameters.
"Okay, then. That was a great show, but now what? I'm sure that you didn't just want me to see another performance." I offered the truth and soon addressed our elephant in the confining room. There was no other choice. I knew so much better.
"I flipped through channels in my hotel room the other night and saw you on camera with Michael Jackson." When Prince finally cleared his throat, everything made sense to me, but many unanswered questions still jumbled in my own mind.
"Is something wrong with that? I really hope that you're not the jealous type." I stood ground, planning to leave if Prince wanted to start drama. We were too old for bullshit. I crossed my arms, but listened. I still knew about his feelings for me.
"No. I'm not jealous. Mike's great. I'm curious about you and him. Did he ask about your work?" Prince stopped sulking for once and woke himself back up to answer my question. I sat alongside, still acting the friend that I'd always been to him.
"Believe it or not, I don't know if Michael ever sat down to hear my music, but I told him about 777-9311." I told Prince what happened when I spoke to Michael in that footage. Jackson toured with his brothers to promote the new "Victory" album.
"Oh, okay. Just know that he's not like me." Prince must've referred to Michael's religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. I knew all about it based on what Jackson told me in the past. We were friends, but Prince would mostly likely figure out my connection with Michael on his own. Of course, I wouldn't tell him everything then.
"Of course not." I said, still making eye contact. Silence fell between us in this area once more. No bodyguards. No bandmates. It was just me and one of my favorite musicians. We still knew better than to ruin that kind of respect for each other.
"Don't leave yet. Before we said goodbye, Prince had one last surprise for me. I didn't know what to think until someone else entered this room with the biggest smile plastered on her face. I grinned like some little girl who'd found Santa Claus.
Denise "Vanity" Matthews had returned.
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"Hey, girl. I'm gonna cry! It's so good to see you again." We both rambled on and on while trying to catch up with each other. I soon noticed that Prince had once again acted like some third wheel in the back corner of this room, waiting for us.
Prince wedged himself between us before Denise and I could talk his ear off again. After we all took pictures together, even some bodyguards showed up to escort our guest out the room. I didn't know what to think until looking at the clock tapered on one wall. It was late once more. I snapped out of the happy trance and woke up.
____
"Sorry about what happened with Denise earlier, but I gotta get out of here soon. There's another show tomorrow night." Prince told me in the parking lot. We had once again stood alone here. Bodyguards still needed to give the green light so Prince could return to his hotel room. I understood. Fans were still crazy then.
"Okay. See you later. My ride's here." I spoke up as my own limousine pulled up, but asked for Prince to call me when he came back to the hotel. We still thought of this routine after a while. Anything could've happened, especially with celebrities.
Prince opened my back door from habit. I laughed, soon rolling both eyes. Even the limo driver folded both arms to tease my long-time friend. We all chuckled together, but I'd always appreciate those kind gestures time and time again.
"Talk to you later, Angel." Prince beamed his own rare smile and flirted with me right before my driver closed the door.
