Page 51 of Are You Going to Love Me

“Eden Sage,” he said plainly. “You here. Your voice is smooth, and you seem to know what you talkin’ about.”

“Nope,” Eden said, swaying her head. “You already got me here, and I am not going in that booth.”

Maximus stood up and held his hands out. A softness over his face eased her protesting. As Eden placed the palms of her hands in his, he gently pulled her to her feet. “I think your no lowkey means yes.”

Eden rolled her eyes and removed her hands from his. She stomped into the booth and sat down. Maximus entered and grabbed the headphones. “You know my services aren’t free.”

Before he donned her ears with the headphones, he let a grin cross his lips, showing his teeth. “How you want payment?”

Eden’s cheeks flushed as the headphones were placed on her head. Playfully pushing him away, she fought a giggle. “Oh, get away from me. You get on my nerves. I tell you no, and somehow you get yes.”

“Sounds like some Trae Way magic to me.”

“Anyway, get Gary in here so I can record this and go home where I’m supposed to be.”

Gary came back in and played the track back. The break between, I got some shit on my chest and when Maximus began rapping was filled with Eden’s melodic voice. “Trae Way.”

Gary played it back in the headphones per Maximus’ instructions. He watched as Eden bobbed her head and picked up a pencil, scribbling some notes on the notepad on the stand in front of her.

By the time the song ended, she waved him in.

“Yo, you got real notes,” he said, shocked by Eden’s overall level of care.

“I take all of my jobs seriously. You want a hit or not?”

Again, Maximus minded his mouth and listened thoroughly to her notes. Trading spots, Eden sat in the corner of the booth, headphones on, listening to him go over the record until each note was checked off and the overall product was flawless. Eden assisted him through three more songs before Maximus hung up his headphones for the night.

“You hungry?” he asked, taking in how damn beautiful she was. Eden had kicked off her sneakers, taken his hoodie, letting the scent settled in the fabric entrance her senses, and made herself comfortable over the last few hours.

Eden yawned. “Ever had Midnight Munchies?”

“Is it any good?”

“Yeah, it’s like a food hall. Asian, Caribbean, Italian, a few fusion spots, too. There’s this place with some bomb cupcakes. It’s a smoker's dream.”

“You got jokes. Come on, we’ll grab something, and I'll take you home.”

“Being that you got me out of my house far after my bedtime,” she joked. Eden pulled herself together and roamed out of the studio ahead of him. Studio A had traffic in and out of it, music, weed smoke, and women pouring out of it. As theywalked past, Maximus pulled her close, keeping her shielded as they exited the building.

Midnight Munchies was a three-minute drive from Midtown Studios.

“What you feeling?” Eden asked over her shoulder.

“Might hit up the Asian spot.”

“You’ve got to stop trying to be me,” she sassed, heading in that direction. She ordered her food, and Maximus followed. As she attempted to pay for their late-night/early morning meal, Maximus handed the cashier money over her head.

“I told you your money ain’t no good over here. And I feel like you’re going to send me a hefty invoice for that studio shit.”

“Oh, twenty dollars is going to put a dent in that bill,” Eden spoke, as she rolled her eyes, earning a very soft, very subtle tap to her waist.

“All that eye rollin’ gon’ have you in some shit I might not let you out of,” he muttered.

Eden’s eyes doubled in size before carnal thoughts of him doing exactly that flooded her mind. Her recovery? Deflection. “I don’t like you. And yes, I'm sending you an invoice.”

“There’s ways to prove that statement wrong but we’re in public and I won’t have you caught on someone’s stupid ass camera like that.”

“Someone’s been on the blogs,” Eden hummed, welcoming the shift of conversation. She took their number from the counter and found a table where he could see the exits.

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