Page 4 of Call and Response

Like butter.

The first time I heard him on that raunchy ass song with Kyir, something had stirred in my spirit and my panties, but when I thought about his solo music, I couldn’t quite say the same.

Mostly because I couldn’t actually remember any of it.

I knew itexisted,which was confirmed by a quick search of his name on the internet. No solo album, but he had a few things out on streaming services. None of it had the plays I would expect from someone who was pretty fresh off a major feature.

Making sure my earbuds were connected, I hit play on a couple of the songs. The beats were good, Noble’s voice was great, but the music itself was…meh.

Which was kinda the worst thing your art could be.

Just…meh.

Not enough of anything to garner a strong reaction.

Damn.

Curiosity about the contrast took me to the still-available music fromThe Cure,all of which was older than Noble’s solo work, but was trending higher.

Muchhigher.

Damn.

Even though the music was older, it felt fresh—great production, great vocals, and perfectly toxic lyrics and arrangements that would be at home on the chartstoday.

The difference was stark.

Especially when a quick glance at the details showed Noble was the songwriter of note on alotof the music.

I pushed out a sigh.

“I think I know why you’re ‘off’ music,” I muttered to myself as I glanced around the room, trying to spot him again.

If I had to guess, that lack of solo success had probably killed his confidence. And the reception of the song with Kyir… that was a double-edged sword. Yes, it was great people loved the song, but what did it mean that people only went hard for the music when there was someone else on the track?

Shit.

I could only imagine the hell happening in his head.

And couldn’t help wondering if there was anything I could do.

Notthat I needed to be fixing things for somebody else when I could barely help my damn self right now.

At first I shook my head, but then… I sat straight up.

What if I could do both?

Help himandhelp myself?

When I spotted him coming from the back, I hopped up from my seat, making a beeline straight for him.

“Hey, what are you doing tonight?” I asked and his eyes went wide.

“Huh?”

“What are you doing tonight?” I repeated.

A little smirk spread over his mouth, hitting merightin the panties. “I’m flattered,” he said. “But I’m not really dating or anything right now.”

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