Free At Last by Bianca L. Eugene

how beautiful I was.  All it did was further stroke his ego and help him poke out his chest even more.
    Finally we reached the end of the Red carpet, but not before coming in contact with the self-proclaimed Queen of Scandal, Ms. Cynthia Clemons.  Her mission in life was to get all the dirt and gossip on all celebrities and socialites.
    She was known for her brash and blunt delivery- giving it straight, no chaser.  She’s the kind of person that people loved to hate.
    I knew she was coming for Durran.  As we approached her, I could see her narrowing in on him.  With a mic in hand, she drew near him. “Get this,” She said to her camera man.
    “Well hello there, Mr. Johnson.”  She said extending her hand to shake Durran’s.
    “What up doe, Cindy baby.”  He said turning on the charm.  He moved in and kissed her on the cheek. She damn near fainted.
    “Ohhh, what’s going on?” She asked smiling.
    “Nothing much. Just enjoying the beautiful Vegas weather, baby.  I’m excited about the nominations and I appreciate the support everyone has given me.” He said as he squeezed my hand.
    “You deserve it. Nine nominations is amazing. I’m sure we’ll see you on stage at least once for your work.” Cindy said with a smile before checking out what he was wearing, “And baby I see you’re looking fly as usual.”
    “You know I do what I can. A lil’ Armani never hurts, feel me?” He said flashing his killer smile.
    As Cindy began to laugh, she turned to face me, ready to sink her claws in. “And who is this lovely creature standing next to you?  I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you bring someone to the Red carpet!  Is she a new artist?” She said looking back and forth between the two of us.
    “No, she’s not an artist. This is my close friend who granted me the pleasure of accompanying me this evening.”
    “It’s nice to meet you, Close Friend!  What’s going on honey?  You look wonderful.”
    “Thank you.”  I replied blushing.
    “Oh Durran, she’s gorgeous.  Not only does she have a pretty face, but she’s stacked and has great boobs.  Have you had any work done?”
    “Aw hell naw!”   Durran said laughing while shaking his head.
                  To say I was shocked by that question would be an understatement.  I don’t know why though, I’d heard her say shit like that on the radio all the time.
    “No I haven’t.  This is all me.” I said smiling.
    “D, we gotta get going,” Kendra said sternly. Maybe Cindy went too far for her liking.
    “Alright Cindy, it was good rapping with you. We gotta get ready to go in.”
    “Durran, it’s always a pleasure.”  She said shaking his hand.
    “Same here Cindy.”
    “She is a mess.” I whispered to him as we walked off.
    “Yeah, she comes with the territory.”
    I had a great time at the awards ceremony.  It was so exciting to see all the acts perform.  I had an absolute ball!

The highlight of the evening was Durran winning for Record of the Year with Denso “Give Me a Sign” . He was invited by Denso to accept the award which he obliged.
    “Thank God. Never in a million years did I expect to be on this stage accepting this award. This means the world to me. I want to thank my family, my management, and the people at Universal, my fans, and this man right here.” Denso said pulling Durran towards him, “Durran Johnson is why this record happened. He’s a genius and it has been reflected tonight. Seven awards for this man. I thank him for giving me vision and executive producing my album. This is for Philly.”
    Durran leaned in and smiled, “And the D.”
    Denso began to laugh, “And the D!”
    I stood up and clapped for him as tears ran down my face.
     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    “Did you enjoy yourself ? ” He asked as we sat in the back of the Hummer. This time Kendra rode with us.  I didn’t care much though. I was too proud of him to trip on her presence.
    “Yeah I did.”  I