Focus On The Music

ELEVEN

Shantel was on her way over to Asia and Sean's new place. She had a few gifts for the their babygirl; Chanel. Chanel had just turned two years old.
Pulling up to their house, Shantel climbed out of her car and grabbed two gift bags from the backseat.
"Telly. Wussup girl. Long time no see. How you been?" Sean opened the door and hugged her.
"Good" she smiled.
"You look amazing"
"Thank you"
"Dro is in the living room holding Chanel....just so you know" Sean stepped out the way and let Shantel in. She kicked her sandals off and walked into the living room to see Dro sitting on the couch holding Chanel and speaking to her in a baby voice. He was so damn cute when he was with kids. Dro turned to look at Shantel.
"How you been, beautiful?" He smiled.
"Feels great being back home" Shantel smiled and sat the bags down before walking into the kitchen to wash her hands. She walked in to see Asia pumping at the table.
"Hey girl. Look at you!" Asia smiled and shut her breast pump off to get up and hug her best friend.
"No, look at you. You cute" Shantel hugged her.
"Cute and tired" Asia yawned and grabbed the bottle of breast milk from the table and put it into the fridge.
"I feel that"
"I know you brought my niece with you" Asia put her hands on her hips.
"Actually....she's with Erik right now. Sorry"
"How's he handling two kids?"
"Pretty good. He's an amazing dad, I'll give him that"
"Sean said y'all are back to talking...."
"When it comes to Noelle, we talk. If it's not about her, we don't speak"
"And you're okay with that?"
"I really am. It's best for our relationship. Drop offs go good and if he needs me to come over to help with her or Ej, I'll help but that's it. We haven't had sex since....since tour days. I'm happy with where I'm at right now. I put music out without him. I have my own place without him. I'm good. Me and Noelle are good"
"I'm proud of you girl. What about Dro?"
"Obviously he was devastated when he found out Noelle wasn't his but we worked through it. He's amazing with Noelle and Erik is cool with Dro being around. Not that he has a choice considering...." Shantel held out her left hand and showed Asia her ring.
"SHANTEL?!" She gasped.
"Yup"
"When did this happen?" Asia was amazed at the beautiful ring on her best friends hand.
"A few weeks ago before he went back home. We went out to dinner and he asked me"
"Wow! Congratulations!" They hugged. "Does Erik know?"
"Yea. He didn't have much to say. Per usual"
"Typical bitter Erik. I'm so happy for y'all. Dro really loves you"
"I know....I feel bad for everything but we fixed it in therapy. Together and separately"
"That's really good. I fucking missed you. You need to move closer to us and not three hours away"
"I know but I have to stay close to Erik for now"
"Are you and Dro planning on moving in together anytime soon?"
"We don't want to rush into that yet. We just got engaged, we want to see how the next year goes"
"Okay, that's smart. I'm so proud of you Shantel"
******

"How you doing Coachella babes??!!!!" Shantel yelled into the mic. She was performing at Coachella this year. As she sang her biggest hits, Dro stood in the crowd with a group of friends cheering her on. Erik stood off to the side of the stage holding Noelle who was wearing noise blocking headphones over her ears.
"You see mommy up there?" Erik kissed the side of her head. He rocked her as he swayed to the music and sang along. Shantel looked over and seen them. She waved Erik on stage to join her and he handed Noelle over to the nanny before walking over to join her. The crowd cheered seeing him up there. They performed Eriks song; Body Language before walking off stage.
"You looked great up there" Erik complimented her.
"Thanks, you too"
Erik reached in and pulled Shantel into a hug. It was a much needed hug. He had been avoiding Shantel because he was still hurt. Shantel wrapped her arms around him and they stood there.
"I love you Shantel. Thank you for everything. Thank you for giving me Noelle. I love that little girl so fucking much. She's lucky to have such a beautiful mom. I didn't say it before but I'm proud of everything you accomplished on your own. Congratulations on your engagement. Me and Dro will always be boys, that won't ever change. He really does love you and if he makes you happy, then I'm cool with him being in Noelle's life. He's already good with Ej. I wish y'all the best" Erik kissed her forehead.
"Thank you Erik. I love you too"