Page 63 of This Side of Beautiful

Janae smiled wickedly. “Mmm… I hope you have a lot of rooms. I love the way you feel inside me.”

I kissed her nipple. “Yep, my brownstone is four levels.”

“Then I don’t want to wait either.”

I should’ve realized that my decision to ignore the schedule wouldn’t go over well with Cedrick. One of the reasons we worked well together was that we both believed in making and keeping routines.

Once the tour bus stopped to unload us, everyone gathered their belongings. We had cars that would take us to our various destinations. The cameramen filmed us as we stepped off the bus to record our various emotions and feelings about being in New York. For The Hollow Bones, it was home. For Janae, it was an extended stay in a beautiful city. Del had also told us to be open to any opportunity and to always be ready. With that in mind, Janae had asked her glam squad to remain in New York for the full stretch of our stay. Originally, they had planned to rejoin us the night before our first show, but now, they were here for the long haul.

As Janae packed on the bus, I pulled Cedrick to the side. “I need to push the schedule back a day. We can get together earlier than we planned tomorrow if you think that’ll work. Or we can chill today and hit the studio late for an all-nighter.”

He pulled his bag from underneath the bus. “What? We need to work on Janae’s song, and we have rehearsals and our own songs to record.” He placed his duffel bag down. “We still have promotional stops while we’re here. These days will fly by like that, and we won’t be back in the city until after L.A.”

“I know.” I ran my hands over my head and realized I’d forgotten to wear my hat. “Come on, Ced, I’ve never asked to alter our schedule. Give me a break.”

“So why are you now? Is something wrong? Are your parents okay?” His concerned eyes became annoyed when I didn’t answer. He turned his back on me. “You can fuck her later. We have work to do. You can have your version ofLove & Hip Hopon your own time.”

“Don’t do that.” My blood started to boil. “Don’t make fun of us.”

He sucked his teeth and waved his hand. “I’m not changing the schedule for that bullshit.”

Incensed that he could be so dismissive of her and me, I pushed him against the bus. Though Cedrick was stunned, his hands became fists, and he swung and missed. Brian jumped between us. “Hey… hey… we’re in public. People see us. The cameras are on. Calm the hell down. Now.”

I immediately dropped my fists. I didn’t want to fight my best friend. “I never alter the schedule or ask to take a break. Never. All I want is today. Just a day. That’s all I’m asking. We can still meet tonight if you want. I just want to go home. My idea. My decision. Not Janae’s, before you start blaming her.”

My breathing became shallow as Brian looked at me with worried eyes. I turned to him. “I want to push the schedule back a day. That’s all.”

He frowned as Charles, who’d grabbed his bag from under the bus, shrugged helplessly.

“You have never changed the schedule. Never. I warned you she was trouble,” Cedrick spat.

“What trouble has she caused? In fact, she’s brought nothing but good attention to us. When it’s convenient for you, you can change the schedule, and I go along without any argument. When I say I want to change, it’s a fucking big deal.”

“Really? This is theonlytime? You missed out on a meeting with Del to go with Janae to her event in Atlanta,” Cedrick replied.

“Onemeeting. But later that night, I was at the club I didn’t want to go to and stayed longer than I wanted for the group.” I shook my head. “I don’t have to explain myself. Fifteen years of going along with the group, and you tripping on one day. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The guys stared at me, and I backed away.

I hopped back on the bus. “Janae, let’s go now.”

She was stuffing a bag with some of her clothes. “I know I should’ve packed up last night…”

“Leave it. We can get it later or arrange for someone to bring our stuff to my house. I just want to go.”

She finally looked at me, and her eyes widened. “Okay.”

Frankie and Jeri were silent as she quickly searched for and found her purse and phone. She hugged them both, and I reached for my guitar and her hand as we exited the bus. The guys silently watched Janae and me head to the curb like they were holding their breath, uncertain of what might come next.

“I don’t know what happened, but I’m sorry.” Janae pressed her head into my shoulder, her arms wrapped around my waist as we walked to one of the cars waiting to take us home.

“Don’t ever apologize to me about any choice I make,” I muttered as I tried to ignore the curious gazes and photographers snapping pics. I refused to look back at the guys as the car slid into morning traffic.

Why did Cedrick have to make such a bigdeal of my taking a day off?I gripped Janae’s hand tight throughout the silent, tense ride through the city. He’d wrecked my good mood. I could feel her questioning gaze, but I wasn’t ready to tell her what’d happened because it really was silly. I worked hard all the time, and I deserved a break.

I fumed. If I thought about all the times I’d been left alone at the studio working on music because they had women or family obligations, it would be absolutely laughable that any of them would dare be mad at me for changing the schedule for once.

We pulled into my neighborhood and then parked in front of my brownstone. I was proud of my home, especially because I had my own garage in a city where those were a luxury.

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