The Ride

Chapter Seventeen

Niko

It was finally opening night. I could feel the good vibes as soon as I had woken up. The crew was already going crazy in our group chat, hyping our boy AG up and feeding off of each other's energy. Tour was always a good time for us.

I laid back in bed with Sportscenter playing in the background as I checked the today's itinerary sent out to everyone by Oliver. With each day we were out on tour, everybody had specific job that needed to be completed in order to help things run as smooth as possible- especially on the day of the show.

AG's show day preparation would start around noon and was filled with pre-show routines and rituals he's maintained since his first time out on the road in 2010.

Man, those were the days.

Because of his schedule, he specifically asked for me to be with Em and Madison for the day and to make sure they got to the show from the hotel safely along with the assistance of her security.

It sounded simple, but I took a great deal of pride and care in looking out for my best friend's wife and daughter. To be honest, the whole break in thing had fucked with me since the night it happened. AG never shifted any blame towards me, but I felt I had let him down in a way by not keeping them safe.

I wanted to give Em her space, so I texted her throughout the day to make sure she was good and didn't need anything. Out of all the girls AG had been with since I've known him, she had to be the least high maintenance. Although she had all these things going for herself and was married to one of the biggest entertainers on the planet, she was very to herself, easy going and chill. One of many things that we all appreciated about her.

Once the day started to wind down, she hit me up to let me know she and Madison would be ready around six. I got myself dressed and ready for the night, tossing back a few shots before heading up to their room .

"Hey!" she smiled, answering the door after a couple knocks, "sorry, I was in the middle of changing her diaper. Come in."

"You good," I stepped inside, grinning at my niece hoisted up on her mother's waist, "hey baby G."

She smiled and leaned out for me. I scooped her up and planted a big kiss on her cheeks.

"I'm almost ready, let me find my purse," Em said as she started searching around the suite.

I noticed that she was dressed in a style different from what she would normally go for, especially for one of her man's shows. A White hoodie underneath a bomber vest of the same color and matching white joggers paired up with some black Dock Marten boots and a beanie. Definitely a lot less fitted, more relaxed and forgiving, but she still had that same cool ass swag and confidence to pull it off.

"Let's see what your mama put you in," I sat down on the couch and help Maddie to stand up in my lap, "oow you cute girl."

Em didn't play when it came to dressing up her kid  for the occasion. This kid had on a pair of Jordan's, black and gold OVO track pants, and a thermal underneath a letterman tour jacket that was an exact duplicate of her fathers. We all knew her fit wouldn't officially be complete without the matching bows to set it off.

We were all surprised when we learned that AG's first little one would be a girl. All of the guys who had kids, including myself, had only boys. She was our first little princess and I'll be damned if she wasn't the perfect mix of her parents. Some days she'd look just like Em and other days she'd be all AG. Either way, she was a beautiful baby that was growing fast as hell right before our eyes.

When Em returned with one of her many Birkin bags in hand, I called up her security to have the car pulled up out front. She buckled Madison securely in her car seat for me so I could carry her on out.