By the time everyone left, Prince finally talked to me one on one. Not that I didn't respect him anymore, but it was time to address our problems. Otherwise, we could've spent the rest of our lives unclear. We definitely still couldn't risk anything.
"Why visit me?" I asked him, smirking for a moment as we chatted alone. He could've been anywhere else in the world tonight. Instead of actually touring on his own to promote "Parade," he was here, backstage with me. Silence then fell between us until he gestured towards another corner of the room and I noticed another vase on the side table. Lilies. These beauties were still my favorite flowers.
"Because I miss you," Prince admitted gently and smiled at me. No arrogance. No badass pretenses. To be honest, I witnessed his most genuine reaction since we first met in the record store. I'd never seen him so vulnerable and he wasn't fake.
"Can you actually stay faithful?" It wasn't long before I offered my question, even as Prince closed space between us. Silence reached the walls here. No one else existed. Of course, we were still alone now, but my heart thumped with confusion.
"Yes. I'll give up the games right now." Prince answered with that low voice. I didn't know whether to stay hypnotized or just walk away from him. His beautiful eyes now stared into my soul once more, as if reminding me that he was in love. This must've been how Momma felt about my father at the start of their relationship.
"Are you just using me for sex or not?" I folded both arms, still walking around my heels from the stage. Even as makeup smeared tonight, I didn't even care. Prince had seen me like this before, with or without performing. He knew what I meant.
"Baby, no. If sex was my plan, we'd never seen each other again." Prince reached out to hold my hand, but I flinched this time. There was no other choice but for me to put my guard up. I woke from that trance and still couldn't be extremely stupid.
"Don't sweettalk me. You've got other women to fool." I now placed both hands on my hips. Just when I planned to walk out of here and leave Prince alone once more, he cleared his throat. As if on cue now, I soon whipped my curls to see him again.
Prince dropped his leather jacket, knelt, and pinched this velvet box between his fingers. I gaped. Both sweat and tears now soaked my face. My heart thumped once more. My breath hitched. Nearly countless questions raced through my mind.
He wanted to propose.
"Nicole, will you marry me?" As he smiled, Prince glanced up to face me with tears in his eyes for once. A lump formed in my throat as I still tried to process what this man just asked me. At least we were still alone here. Security patrolled outside.
It wasn't long before I soon realized that it was now or never. If I kept on playing games with my own conscience, Prince wouldn't ever find my truth. We'd probably stand here in silence until the end of time. Still, I closed my eyes, thinking over.
At that moment, memories flooded. I nearly sobbed while remembering that this man even introduced my sister to The Revolution and Sheila E. And, beyond his everlasting gifts, Prince had even wanted to see me without ever asking for favors.
Other than Momma and my sister, no one else actually cared this much about me.
I opened my eyes.
"Yes."
____
"It's true! His Royal Badness is now officially off the market. Superstar Prince recently proposed to fellow entertainer and longtime friend Nikki Foster. Congrats to this brand-new power couple."
Similar headlines swarmed the media. Momma offered her lecture, but still moved on for my sake. She realized that there was no point arguing that I'd found someone wrong. Despite her own divorce, Mom knew that I wouldn't choose Prince for no reason. If our bond wasn't strong enough, I could've easily rejected him.
Meanwhile, my sister was all in from the get-go. Despite our age gap, she still gave out advice: no player would actually give up their own bullshit unless they'd found the one. Otherwise, fooling around would still mean more than any relationship.
As time moved along, Prince and I fell into the habit of touring or simply working on different ends of the world. We would still meet up in hotel rooms again to spend time alone, especially since he released this brand-new film. Even his brilliant "Parade" album now soundtracked "Under The Cherry Moon." I'd felt so proud.
It wasn't for my own gigs, I would've hopped on the nearest plane to see this movie first. During that official premiere. Press outlets showed that Prince escorted a lucky fan in my place. I wasn't even jealous and then swooned for his adorable gesture.
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In the middle of this tour, Michael showed up out of nowhere. Alone. We shared this friendly hug backstage without crossing boundaries, of course. Even though Prince was still notorious for fooling around, I knew better than to mess up on my own.
"Congratulations." Michael grinned, telling me. His entourage lurked outside in the hallway this evening, so this wouldn't be the longest meet up for us both. Silence fell between us, but at least Jackson wouldn't try to ruin my current happiness.
"Thank you." Welcoming his compliment, I then smiled back. There was still quite a need to keep my distance as we stood in this room. My engagement ring shined under the lighting of this backstage area. Mike had quickly noticed that jewelry.
Before I could say anything else, he waved goodbye to me and just walked out.
