88. The Last Ride 🏇

The 2022 Holiday Parade starts at 10 a.m. Originally, Deonte, a few other artists, and myself were to perform indoors. This morning, during setup, the stage caught fire. Now, the indoor artists have to perform outside. I was okay with it until they said we have to perform on top of floats.

Yeah. Just about everything that could go wrong popped up in my head. Even the incident where the Barney balloon ripped. I was trying not to think negative, but I'd never performed on a moving platform before.

My makeup artist just finished my makeup. My hairstylist quickly fixed my bangs before putting a red sequin hat on my head.

"Jae, you got this. We'll see you outside."

"Thank y'all." I waved at them as they left my dressing room.

I looked in the mirror and adjusted my sunglasses. They were black and severely tinted. I knew I should've brought a backup. How am I going to see where I'm walking?

There was a knock on my door. "Come in!" I picked up my phone to see the time. The parade just started. My performance is at 11:45 a.m.

The door opened and Deonte Way walked in, wearing a smile.

I turned around. "I thought you were the stage manager or somebody."

He closed the door. "And I thought you'd be happy to see me."

I stood up. "I am happy to see you."

We embraced one another.

"Wait. Are you nervous?" He asked me.

Of all things, I asked, "What if I fall?"

Deonte replied, "We're gonna be on the same float, and you don't even have to move around. When you perform, I'll be your model. When I perform, you can be my model."

"So, just stand there like this?" I put one hand on my hip and waved with the other.

"Now you look like a pageant winner. Okay. Don't be a model. Be the hype man." He took my hand on his hand. "The ride is twenty minutes. Our performances are ten minutes together. Don't overthink it. If we mess up - so what? Keep going. Get involved with the crowd. Act like... act like it's a concert."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Good?"

"I'm good."

He released my hand. "Besides, people gonna pay more attention to what you're wearing. You look cute in your western holiday costume. " He pinched the sleeve of my white fringed jacket.

"Cute?" I spun around. My attire was a red sequin western hat, white fringe jacket, a short red flared skirt, and red sequin boots. Before I could finish my turn, I bumped into a rack of clothes.

Deonte grabbed me before I could fall. "Be careful."

Once I had my balance, I nodded my head. That was so embarrassing. "It's these dang glasses. They're so dark." I started to take them off, but I remembered he's never seen me without them.

"I have some in my dressing room, but they're white."

I grabbed Deonte's arm. "I don't care what color they are. Can I please wear them?"

"Of course. I'll be right back." He left my dressing room.

I paced the floor as I thought about how I would perform on top of a float. Not to mention, I haven't seen what the float looks like. If it's small, I'm gonna ask for a chair. Can you sit on a float?

There were a couple knocks on the door.

"Deonte, I know it's you!"

The door opened and a man wearing headsets said, "Hi, Jae A.B. You'll be taken outside 30 minutes earlier. Someone will be back to guide you."

"Ok. Thank you. Oh, do you know the size of the float?" I asked him.

"No, but you'll be on there with 3 more artists." He left before I could respond.

If four people were going to be on one float, that's definitely a big float. That means I have to be on it longer. I sat down on the small sofa, ready to give up.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in!"

Deonte walked in. He lightly laughed when he saw me lying on the sofa. "You heard about the float?"

"Yessssss," I whined. "This is cruel punishment."

"Come here."

I got up and stood in front of him.

"Here's my sunglasses." He presented them in his hand as if they were fragile.

"Thank you so much." I quickly grabbed them and walked over to the vanity mirror.

"I'm not looking," Deonte told me.

I looked at him through the mirror to see his back. I took off the black shades and put on the white ones that Deonte gave me. It was like being able to see in the dark. In the mirror, the tint appeared dark, but the tint was light from my vision. They were very comfortable, too. I looked at the letters on the temple area of the sunglasses. My eyes grew in amazement. "These are yours?"

Deonte turned around.

I walked over to him and pointed at his name on the sunglasses.

"Yes. Can you wear them? How do they feel? Are they comfortable?" He asked me.

I smiled at him. "They are perfect. Do you have your own eyewear brand?"

"No. They were a gift from the daughter of one of those eyewear companies."

I arched my brow. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Deonte  chuckled, "No. She's barely 18. She said she's a big fan."

"Aww, that's so cute," I giggled.

We ended up talking about his crazy fans from his boy band days. Even though those fans were crazy, I think he would consider me just as crazy. I mean, maybe not. Didn't everybody hang up posters of their favorite boy band and talk to them?

"I hope you never have a group of girls hiding in your hotel room after having to wait two hours for the police to get fans away from the entrance and exit of the hotel. That was after our last night on tour," Deonte explained, "We were so tired that we slept in the next day."

"If anybody would've told me when I was kid that I would be hearing Deonte Way talk about being a member of The CRU, I would not believe them." I don't think he understands how incredible this moment is for me.

Deonte asked, "Did you ever go to any of our shows?"

"I wish! I watched y'all on TV and collected your posters. My cousin had your CDs and would let me borrow them. Oh, the memories... Me and my cousin crushed hard over y'all, and we were so sad when y'all broke-up. When y'all went solo, my cousin chose Jiles as her husband, Trenton as boyfriend, and you as her one n--" This always happens when I get excited. I cleared my throat.

Deonte laughed, "And how old were y'all?"

"Like 12 or 13 years old," I told him.

"Girls are something else."

I added, "Girls mature faster than boys."

"So, how did you rank me?" He asked me.

Jamie, think fast. "Sir, you are something else. I clearly said my cousin came up with that husband/boyfriend thing." I looked the other way in hopes that he would be satisfied with that answer.

"I think you had me as you hus--"

Someone knocked on the door.

Deonte opened it. We were called to go outside to get on our float. In a large empty parking lot, our float awaited us. The platform was about 3 feet off  the ground. It wasn't a big float, but I was glad that the stage was directly in the center and nowhere near the edge. A woman directed us on where we should stand. Like the other crew member mentioned, there were four of us: Deonte, his acoustic guitarist, my flamenco guitarist, and me. I'm so glad Deonte and I were the only ones to perform. This should be a quick float ride.

After checking our mics and the sound of the instruments, the engine was started and the hidden driver drove at a snail's pace onto the blocked road where the parade was located. I had only wished I could sit down. Why did I forget to ask for a chair?

"I know it seems like this is going to take a long time, but it'll be over soon."

I looked at Deonte and nodded my head.

He added, "I can't believe I'm about to perform with Jae A.B."

I playfully rolled my eyes. "Stop it."

He smiled at me. "Let's have fun."

Finally, we could see the crowd of people on both sides of the street. Soon, my guitarist began to play and I put on a show, singing my song "Easy."

I guess our guitar players were practicing, because as mine was finishing up, Deonte's guitar player overlapped him. For a few seconds they played together before my guitarist stopped.

I applauded them as Deonte began to sing his song "You're All."

Thankfully, I could see the road block ahead. We were almost done.

Deonte looked at me. "Jae, you're all, you're all, you're all I need."

"Deonte, you're all, you're all, you're all I see."

He took my hand in his. "Please, baby! Let me get a taste of your love."

His falsetto surprised me. We did not rehearse that. So, I added, "Ask me, again..."

"Jae, can I get a taste of your love..."

"I'm all yours..."

We sang in unison, "And some..." We immediately hugged one another.

"That was amazing. You did great!" Deonte told me.

"Where did that high note come from?" I inquired.

He answered, "I was in the moment."

We separated and waved to the crowd and the cameras. Finally, we'd reached the barricade. The crew came towards us, helping us off the float.

As the crew removed our mics, Deonte asked, "You got any plans for the rest of the day?"

I crossed my arms. "Do not play, Deonte Way. I want what you owe me."

"I was hoping you would forget," he joked.

My mouth dropped opened.

Deonte laughed when he saw my face. "Your face! Jae, you are one in a million. I've been laughing all day, because of you."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't change the subject. I will cook you."

After going back to our dressing rooms and changing out of our performance clothes, we met up in the hall way.

"I text my sister to have a to-go plate ready of whatever she made today," Deonte informed me.

"Perfect," I said.

"Have your driver follow me to my place."

We left the building and got in our separate cars.

Maximo asked, "After we leave his house, is there anywhere else you want to go?"

"No. This is your last day, Maximo. As much as I want you to stay, you need to spend this time with your family."

Maximo smiled, "Jamie, you have made my year. It's been an incredible experience. I will miss you and Second Sister."

"Maximo, you are not allowed to talk to me as if you're never coming back. I'm going to see you on January 2nd."

He stated, "You most certainly will."