122. Tough Act to Follow 🍩

Not long after hitting the snooze button on my alarm, a smile appeared on my face. "A.B.," I whispered to myself.

"Unh-unh! What you in here dreaming about?"

I opened my eyes to see Monica smiling at me. Then, she crawled in my bed.

I whined as I picked up my phone and looked at the time - 6:31 a.m.

She chuckled, "Cousin, I have a favor to ask you."

I closed my eyes. "What is it?"

"Okay so... You told me that A.B. bought you a house not too far from here, right? I was wondering if..."

She waited so long to finish her sentence that I dozed off.

Monica shook me.

I quickly sat up. "Oh, my gosh. What time is it?" I asked her.

"You didn't hear me?"

I grabbed my phone, again. It was now 6:36 a.m.

"I just spoke about three paragraphs long, and you didn't hear any of it?" Monica asked me.

"Woman, you cut into my sleep-after-alarm-goes-off time." I pushed the cover off my body before getting out of bed.

Monica asked, "Can I move into to your house until E buys us one?"

I nearly tripped over the purple rug on my floor. Why wasn't it lying flat? I bent over to straighten it out. Then, I looked at my cousin. "No, ma'am. It's my house from my future, soon-to-be man. I haven't even moved in it, yet. Can I enjoy my house first?"

Monica hopped out the bed. "I'm moving to L.A., but I am not temporarily moving in this house. And I don't want to live in an apartment staying on floor 100. Do you know how much stuff I have to buy? Moving would be a nightmare. I figured E can pay you rent money for letting me stay at your house."

I glanced at my cousin. "Actually, that's a great idea. We can move in together and be roommates."

"Really?" She asked me.

I nodded my head. "I'm gonna have a busy schedule in the coming weeks, but if you can get my things moved, too, I'll lower the rent."

"How much?" She folded her arms.

"I have a house with a pool. You'll have your own room, bathroom, and walk-in closet," I continued, "Three grand."

"Per month?" She inquired.

I narrowed my eyes at Monica. "You know Zeke has the money."

"Fifteen hundred," she offered.

"Oh, no! Not in this L.A. market. Twenty-eight hundred."

Monica huffed, "Two thousand."

I shook my head. "You're gonna be there by yourself most of the time. Twenty-seven fifty."

"Jamie, c'mon!" Monica pleaded.

"Okay. Twenty-five hundred."

"Twenty-one hundred," she countered.

"Monica, you're man is paying. Help me out. I got parents to feed."

She chuckled, "Twenty-two fifty..."

I exhaled as I thought about it. "First month two thousand and each month up to six months is twenty-three hundred. After six months to a year, twenty-six hundred--"

"Deal!" She shouted.

I snickered, "Deal."

We shook hands.

"I'm proud of you, cousin," Monica told me. "You've turned into a legit business person. You better negotiate!"

Before going to the bathroom, I told her, "You better move my stuff, and don't take anything like you did the last time my stuff was moved!"

Monica left my room as if our conversation had ended. That girl is something else.

Again, time took precedence. Over the course of three weeks: The Sugarcoated Concert movie was filmed, Monica moved her and my things into my house, and Rochelle as my lawyer worked hard on my case against RiSe Records. The results were in my favor.

The label did not fight it due to the terms and agreements listed in my contract. They will only represent me as their artist for three months after my album is released. I won't lie. I was scared, because I was only thinking about finances, but A.B., Deonte, Zeke, Mr. and Mrs. Rivers, and my parents comforted me with support even though I never mentioned how I was truly feeling.

The days kept passing as I rehearsed for singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl on February 12th. I tried to focus on that to keep my nerves at bay as my album release date approached on February 10th. From several interviews to performances on shows like SNL and The View, I seemed to get more naps in than 8 consecutive hours of sleep. It was brutal, but my team kept me going. As much as they wanted me to go on tour, they knew with my contract ending, it wouldn't happen. When I could get some alone time, I prayed and read the Bible.

On February 8th, Wednesday night, my album release private party for the Jaebirds happened. There were so many people in the building that I lost count. I started with signing merch from posters to T-shirts and taking photos with fans. Next, everyone gathered in the theater to watch the pre-screening of my concert movie that would be available to watch on Hulu the next day. Then, everyone was guided to a room with several tables and buffet-style food to eat. While I and my panel - Hannah my social media person, Kenneth my choreographer; and Ed Paolo my cinematographer for the concert movie - took the stage to answer any questions for thirty minutes. I absolutely adored my fans. No one asked any disrespectful or tasteless questions.

Afterwards, we got food to eat and went backstage to prepare for the last part of this amazing event - listening to my album.

Artist: Jae A.B.

Title: Sugarcoat

Year: 2023

Tracks: 1. Suga / 2. Home / 3. Again feat. Larry / 4. Choose feat. Aja Frost / 5. Mystery / 6. All (extended) feat. Deonte Way / 7. Heartbreaker / 8. Forever / 9. Rose (a poem) / 10. Easy / 11. One / 12. Dreams / 13. Shalom

With the hashtags #sugarcoatalbum and #jaeabmusic, my fans took to their social media to go live, play snippets of my music, and share their opinions. With a room full of people, I was told that their reach was at least 3 million. After an amazing album release party, Hulu presents Jae A.B.'s The Sugarcoated Concert movie was advertised non-stop.

On Thursday morning, I was informed that it already had a million views. It was projected to be Hulu's most successful and highest rated original show on their platform. Per my team, if it had gone to the movie theaters, it would've been a box office hit. Even with hearing all that, I still didn't feel at ease. So, I prayed and read the Bible.

Finally, the big day was here - my album was out! Monica and I asked Maximo to drive us around L.A. while Monica put her social media savvy skills to work. She posted her review of my album on her YouTube channel earlier this morning, and it was now trending. We spent the whole day looking up reactions and reviews of my album as well as getting pampered at the spa. Going to the spa has become one our things to do whenever we hang out. I was just so happy that I could cry, but that I did not do. I was having way too much fun being entertained by my cousin. I know I'll never forget this moment of my life.

For the entire month of February, my album was number one. My new song "Again" featuring Larry reached number one. A week later, Larry released his first single featuring me. It immediately put my song at the number two spot. Larry became an overnight sensation in a matter of days. How crazy is it that two people from East Grove - employees at Music Bravos made it to Hollywood? All because Larry saw a post on Facebook about auditioning for a reality talent show. Can I truly say that I have no regrets?

By March, all of the world knew that I sued RiSe Records. I was asked about it and decided to keep it confidential. In a couple months, I'd no longer have nor want their representation. Freedom was nigh. Unfortunately, with T'Keyna Brown's mom suing Ricky Santana, it was hard to dodge questions about Ricky, RiSe Records, and my relationship with Aja Frost. People wanted to know if we were friends or enemies. That was the easiest question to answer.

"We're label mates. We're artists. We do our job, and we try to live our lives the best way we know how. I have no ill-feelings towards her. I'm just focused on me," I replied.

And that was the truth. The more I read the Bible, the more clear my vision became about myself, the world, and God. Even the things I would've once sided with the world on, no longer seemed valid or right. Life is a blessing, and I appreciate it the more I read about how much God loves His creation. My God, I refuse to go back to who I was before knowing Him. He is way too powerful, faithful, and unwavering for me to act like I don't need His love to make it out here. He is real!

As for the month of April, A.B.'s birthday was coming up and I was running out of time on what to get him. Monica and Zeke were planning for their wedding in May. She was also packing up her things. Boxes were all over my house. Time continued to remind me that one day we would be someone's memory if at all. I could only smile, because I still appreciated everything.

Deonte reunited with his old group members. Paparazzi caught them after their reunion, and people talked about The CRU getting back together. I asked Deonte about it, and he said they didn't talk about that. The following week, Deonte told me the new boy band AOI reached out to him and his group, because they wanted to do a song together. In my eyes, that's like Backstreet Boys and Boys II Men doing a song together. That's like N'Sync and New Edition getting together. That's like BTS and B2K getting together. All I'm saying is that I support it. They're in the studio and expecting to release music this summer.

Forgot that Zeke's show The Power House was already back on TV and the competition was even better. I was rooting for two people. The first person is an 18-year-old singer named Jamie Bell. She sang my song in her audition. The second person is a 34-year-old singer named T. Rodriguez. The man had a crazy falsetto. I couldn't wait for finale night. Overall, the show is definitely going to get a third season.

Other things included: A.B. getting my pool fixed and the backyard's landscape, my parents started investing in the stock market with lots of success, and Mr. Zell Rivers helped me shop a few songs that I wrote to another artist at Unlimited Records. Funny enough, Unlimited reached out and offered me a record deal. I politely declined without hesitation.

On April 22nd, Saturday night, I surprised A.B. at his Airbnb. I filled up the entire patio with birthday balloons. I was glad that I didn't have to make more than two trips to the car. I also had two small cartons of milk with donuts on the table. I was glad that the patio light was off so that he couldn't see what I was doing. I know he heard me when I bumped into the sliding glass door. It was dark, and I know I felt something crawling on me. When I finished decorating, I called him on my phone.

A.B. answered, "Ja--"

I began to sing, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"

He turned on the patio light and slid the glass door open. "Jamie, what is all of this?"

I continued to sing, "Happy birthday dear Mr. handsome, fine, and sexy Jace 'A.B.' Bravos! Happy birthday to you! Wooo!" I cheered as I picked up the box of donuts.

A.B. hung up his phone as he walked over to me. "Thank you, Jamie. I knew I kept hearing something back here."

"Did you think I was gonna forget your birthday?" I asked him.

A.B. gave me a hug. "You text me this morning. That was enough for me."

I giggled. "I had to make you think I wasn't gonna give you anything. This is for you."

A.B. smiled as he took the box of donuts. Although it was a variety of donuts, each one had a word or two written on them. In all, it read: Happy Birthday, AB! Let's go to Yellow Sand Beach!

"Did Monica tell you...?" A.B. pointed at the donuts.

"Tell me what?"

A.B. shook his head, "I was asking Monica about some ideas I had. I told her how I've been wanting to take you back to Yellow Sand Beach."

We smiled at one another.

"Hmm. Great minds do think alike," I joked. "But I can't believe she hasn't said anything to me. Well, she doesn't have time to unless it's about her wedding."

A.B. picked up a donut and took a bite. After chewing, he said, "Thank you, Jamie. You really surprised me. And yes, I'll go to Yellow Sand Beach with you."

I clapped my hands. "Are you free towards the end of May?"

"I can be free for anything you want," he told me.

I nodded my head. "Good. Since Monica's wedding is in a couple weeks, and then I'll be free from RiSe Records, I'm gonna need a nice get-a-way."

"That sounds like a plan."

Before I could say another word, I realized that A.B. had already ate three donuts. "Sir, are you hungry?"

He lightly laughed, "I guess I am. I was taking a nap, but I ended up sleeping until five-something... I'm glad their wedding is in East Grove. Our city could use the tourism."

"So true," I agreed. "Have you and Zeke finished your property?" I asked him as I picked up a donut to eat.

A.B. nodded his head. "We're going to do a grand opening next weekend. The mayor is supposed to do a ribbon cutting."

"Congratulations," I told him.

A.B. inquired, "Thanks. So, how do you feel about being an independent artist?"

I sighed, "I've had a lot of time to think about it, and to be honest, I can't wait to be free. My album is doing great, I've already won numerous awards for it, and I'm okay with leaving it at that. To be honest, I'm ready to retire the wig and sunglasses."

"You're ready to be Jamie, again?" He asked me.

"I'm ready for a new chapter." I wrapped my arms around his waist before looking up at him.

A.B.'s brows merged, "What's this? Am I allowed to touch you now?"

I smiled, "Only because it's your birthday."

A.B. put the box of donuts on the table. He gently cupped my face in his hands. When I saw his lips, I closed my eyes as my heartbeat increased. I haven't kissed this man since my birthday, and I just know he's gonna devour me.

Unfortunately, all I got was a kiss on the forehead and a very tight hug. I mean, I'm not complaining. It's his birthday. I just wish I would've taken advantage when it was my birthday. You know what? I need to change the subject.

A.B. pulled out two chairs from the table. We sat across from one another as we ate more donuts. Don't count our calories. Besides, there were only 10 of them, because you know A.B. is a 10. 😉

"Any updates from home?" I asked him.

He replied, "Yeah. My uncle has fully recovered. No more therapy. Good thing is he gets to enjoy being owner instead of daily manager at Music Bravos"

"Look at God! That's wonderful. I can't wait to see Mr. Dave."

"My aunt is really excited about that."

"I bet." I grabbed another donut.

A.B. said, "She asked about you. I told her you and I would visit them soon."

I pointed at A.B., "That we will. How's your mom doing?"

A.B. answered, "Other than having your album on repeat, she wants to see you again."

"We have to visit her, A.B."

"She's coming to Zeke and Monica's wedding."

"Good!" I exclaimed.

Then, there was one donut left. It was covered with cereals. I immediately thought about the first time we ate donuts together. We were sitting right here. A.B. was not interested in eating the cereal covered donut, but after one bite, he liked it.

I glanced at him as he picked it up and bit into it. Then, he looked at the empty box. "Yeah, I'm hungry."

We both laughed.

"Let's go get some real food to eat," I suggested.

"Or we can order and get it delivered," he suggested.

I snapped my fingers. "Even better."

While waiting for the pizza and hot wings, A.B. and I got on the subject of our faith and how much of a blessing it is to have a birthday, because many people don't make it to see 30.

"I'm 32 years old today," A.B. whispered.

"You say that like you're old. We were just talking about how much of a blessing it is to be our ages," I reminded him.

A.B. looked over at me. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be alive at my age. The reality is the more birthdays I get to see, the older I'll be. Times are changing. Soon, we'll be like the old people asking how do you work this or that?"

I smiled, "I don't mind growing old with you." So what I'm flirting! Have you seen the man? He only got finer, the less I saw him, in a matter or months. He even grew a beard.

"God willing," A.B. stared at me. "Can I ask you a question?"

I nodded my head.

"Why do you like me? Honestly?"

At first, I thought why would he ask me that? He can't be serious, but then I remembered when he finally told me why he couldn't be in a relationship. Now, it's time to reassure him.

"A.B., you are an amazing man. Since the first time we met, you've occupied my mind whether it was something you said or did. You've always left a beautiful, lasting impression on me. And I doubt you were ever trying to. You were just being who you are. Because of you, I learned the truth about my faith. I now can't sleep without either reading the Bible, hearing a sermon or reciting a bible verse. I thank God for our friendship.

"Now, I didn't start liking you more than a friend until we left Yellow Sand Beach. I learned a lot about you there. You're story should've given me clues on how things would go moving forward, but I was more concerned about my career as a singer." I stood up. "There's not many men who are honest about their flaws. So many would've agreed to being in a relationship with me, and it probably would've ended before it could begin. Thank you for shielding me in that way. You have a lot of great qualities from your work ethic to your treatment of others. You have such a giving heart, and you have the number one record for being the most patient person I know."

A.B. chuckled.

I walked over to him. "I want you to know that I like you not for the things you give me, and you've given me A LOT, but... I like you, because you are the man I didn't know I was missing in my life. Without you, this journey would not have been what it is. You've heard people say this to other people, but when I say it, I really mean it. A.B., you are truly one of a kind."

He stood to his feet. "Thank you," he told me. He took my hands and kissed them. "I hope we can continue this journey together."

"Me, too."