You me angel without the two wings

"Look up for me. Now close them. Okay, you can open your eyes now sweetheart."

I followed the directions of the makeup artist in front of me. Her soft voice was the one element that got me through this entire process.

It's not like I've never gotten my makeup, hair, or nails done before. These were all things that I enjoyed on their own. But experiencing them all at once?

Honestly, I hated it.

Almost as if I was a Barbie doll, my neck and head were being pulled and pushed from one direction to the other, all in the name of beauty. From the hairstylist hairspraying and playing in my hair to the left of me, the nail tech curing the gel polish on my fingertips to my right, and then the makeup artist who bobbed and weaved between them to get her job done - I was annoyed and completely over it.

My lips parted a bit to allow her to swipe the glittery nude gloss on my lips and my eyes glued themselves on the person that I was doing this all for.

He was only a mere few feet away, sitting in a production chair similar to mine. Though he wasn't crowded by a mass of beauty professionals trying to make him up.

No, all he needed was a haircut and an outfit and he was good to go.

I could almost roll my eyes over the thought of societal beauty standards for women, but that would have made the picture Dave was trying to take of me look awkward.

As he slid the phone from his pocket and took photos, I tried to pose and make it look like I was enjoying myself. He smiled at the first one, then proceeded to take a bunch more while I tried to mouth the word "stop".

When he finally did, he pushed the phone down in the front pocket of his bomber jacket, allowing a lacy hint of black material to peek through from it.

Is that?

I know that ain't what I think it is.

I wiggled in the chair a bit, feeling the soft cotton fabric of my black ribbed leggings rub against my bare ass.

It is!

The lacy fabric trying to escape the confines of Dave's pocket represented the scant evidence of what we were able to sneakily accomplish in the backseat of the car before this shoot.

Earlier when I started gushing about how proud I was that he was selected to be GQ's Man of the Year, all he had to say was "Thank you Laya" and we could've come up to the magazine's studio.

Instead, he smiled then said some smooth-ass shit that hit me in my core. Then all of a sudden, we didn't leave the car until thirty minutes later after the windows were all fogged up and my underwear was nowhere to be found.

I can't believe he talked me into that shit.

Actually, I can't believe that I didn't notice that I wasn't wearing panties.

Before I knew it, I wasn't being pulled and prodded anymore and the makeup artist wheeled a big mirror in front of me.

My hair was arranged in a half-up half-down style that framed my bronzed face. My lips were shiny and pouty and my cheeks made me look like I was blushing even though I wasn't. The fact that I had a tan from being on the yacht for the past month and a half made the look even better.

"Ms. Daniels we're ready for you in wardrobe." I peeled my vain eyes from the mirror and acknowledged the young set manager across the room.

Looking at her with an iPad in hand brought back the memory of when I took over Dave's last GQ shoot. It was about two years ago or so, I stepped in for the absent set manager. That was also the day after Dave and I first kissed.

My my my...look where we are now.

The kiss that was initially said to be a mistake turned into a full fledged relationship with kids later.

I'd like to think that I'm still the same girl. But realistically, I'd changed so much.

Being a mom made me less timid and more confident, learning that healing was an endless journey made me more balanced; and being in love...

...made me love life more.

Talk about a full-circle moment.

The change was present in my eyes too. I guess I could thank the One Love for That. Me, Dave and the girls spent nearly two months aboard that yacht. We were supposed to leave in early December but the girls loved it so much and both Dave and I needed a vacation, so we decided to stay.

I hope it's a memory we never forget.

I got up and adjusted the beige waffle robe on my shoulders and stopped right in front of Dave.

"Damn." He sounded breathless like he was truly in awe of what was in front of him.

As he should be.

"You look nice too." Immediately, I blushed then tucked my lower lip between my teeth.

"Only nice?" He arched one of his eyebrows and reached out to grasp my hand.

I chuckled lowly then asked, "What do you want me to say?" I used my other hand to slowly stroke his chin.

"I don't know. Be creative." He challenged me.

This time I got a bit more serious, hooded my eyes, and stepped between his legs. With my lips mere centimeters from his ears I kept my voice low so that only he would hear.

"You look fine as fuck, baby. So fine..." I placed my hands on his shoulders and stepped further into his space. "...that we might have to sneak downstairs to the car to sweat out that line up later on."

I pulled away from him slowly, relishing the way he had to adjust himself in the chair.

"I'm gonna need these back." I gently tugged my underwear from his pocket, balled it safely into my hand, and walked into the wardrobe room.

Leaving him there with a mischievous smirk lingering on his lips.

About thirty minutes later, I was fully dressed and ready for the YouTube interview that was a part of Dave's cover spread.

"Thank you for doing this for me." He gently squeezed my hand as we stood at the set's entrance.

Dave knew how nervous I got in front of cameras and bright lights. Even when I had to do interviews and press for the hotel, I usually hired a PR rep to take my place. But I would never let my stage fright ruin this opportunity for him. He deserved every single one of those accolades, especially after how hard he's been working over the past year.

So when I saw his face light up at the news, and when he told me that they wanted both of us for the shoot and interview, I knew that I would have to suck it up.

Because it wasn't my moment, it was his.

"Anytime." I looked directly into his eyes.

He bent down to deliver a small kiss on my lips, and I used my thumb to remove the excess lip gloss from his.

"You nervous?"

"Nahh" I lied while rocking on my heels.

"Don't be nervous. The PR team and Eva already vetted the questions. Just have fun, mama."

He made this sound so easy.

I repeated the phrase "Just have fun" over and over again in my head while the set assistant hooked a microphone onto the back of my shirt.

She went over what we'd be doing and some of my nervousness eased away.

Essentially, it was supposed to be a fun couple's quiz rather than an intimidating interview. All we had to do was take turns asking each other the questions on the cue cards they'd given us, then determine if the other's response was appropriate or not.

"Alright quiet on set!" Someone screamed from the back.

I forced an extremely artificial smile and prepared myself for what I'd have to say next.

"East and Allaya, take one. Action!"

"Yo, what's good everybody!?" Dave looked directly into the camera's dark lens and smiled charmingly. "I'm Dave East and this is the one and the only love of my life, Allaya Daniels..."

He already had me wanting to blush my ass off.

"And we're playing 30 questions with GQ. You ready babe?" I turned to Dave.

He sunk down in his chair and smirked at me, "Always."

I almost rolled my eyes, he was such a natural at this.

"Alright we'll see." I laughed. This just might be kinda fun.

I shuffled the cards in my hands and read the first one.

"Who's my celebrity crush?" I crossed my legs and raised my brow.

I knew he'd probably get this wrong, because this was something I never mentioned to him.

"Me." He said confidently - so confidently, that I busted out laughing.

"You sound real sure of that answer," I said in between laughs.

"I am. I know you." He smirked again then playfully narrowed his eyes. "Who you crushin' on besides me??"

I looked at the camera and back at him to respond. "My celebrity crush is actually Lenny Kravitz." I held the cards over my mouth to hide my wide smile.

"Who??" His leaned forward to ask. It was too funny seeing him act this way in public. His response was a mix of playful jealousy and curiosity.

"I honestly don't even know who that nigga is." He admitted, causing everyone on set to laugh. "I mean like...what he got that I don't??"

This time I joined in on the laughter and tried to answer. "I don't know. It's just something about him. He's always been so smooth, so effortlessly sexy. Ever since I was a teenager and I saw a video of him performing...I was obsessed." I looked over to the camera.

"He was the first rockstar I ever fell in love with. But he ain't got nothing on you." I blew Dave a kiss then secretly winked in the direction of everyone on set.

It seemed like within the first few minutes that we started we already had a growing audience surrounding us.

"Nah see, this nigga at least twenty years older than you." Dave already had an image of him up on his phone. "This who you choose over me?"

Now he was being dramatic.

I couldn't help but to laugh even more. I quickly used my fingertip to dab the corner of my eye before I ruined my makeup.

"You know what...your turn." I shook my head.

"If I wasn't a rapper, what would I be?" Dave asked.

"Easy...you'd be a basketball player in the NBA AND your team of choice would either be the Knicks or the Lakers." I patted myself on the back because I knew I'd gotten it right.

"Damn who wrote this shit? Why she got all the easy questions??" Dave laughed.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game baby." I stick my tongue out at him and flipped over my next card.

"What is my ideal date night?"

This time he thought before he spoke, then rubbed his hands together like he had the perfect answer. "I'd say anywhere..as long as there is good food, good music, and good vibes...issa good time for Lay."

I smiled. "That's right. I'm not picky when it comes to dates as long as I get to spend time with you."

"So I get a point right? Who's keeping score?" Dave asked the crew around us.

I'd never seen Dave this sociable before. But what should I have expected? He was an amazing entertainer.

"Allaya, what was your most memorable date with Dave?" A crew member asked. I'd almost forgotten that they would be asking us questions too in order to keep the game running smoothly.

"Hmm, I'd have to say about three weeks ago when we were stranded out at sea."

"Wait you were stranded at sea??" One of the cameramen asked from behind his camera.

Dave chuckled then looked over at me. "Yeah...something like that."

"Let me explain...we spent the last six weeks on a yacht in the middle of the Caribbean. The first week we were alone." I blushed and looked at Dave, reminiscing on everything we did on that trip. "Then our family came aboard to spend Thanksgiving with us. After that, it was just us and our kids visiting a bunch of Caribbean islands for Christmas and New Years."

"Okayyy soft life! It's giving luxury!" Someone shouted from somewhere behind causing me to chuckle.

"It was, I think the only reason we left was because we had this photoshoot and interview.

We were hardly stranded considering the crew onboard. But some days, they would have time off and it would only be us on the boat. During that time...someone..." I glanced at Dave with humor in my eyes. "...learned how to fish and one night he made fish tacos with all the fixings including homemade guacamole and salsa."

"How was the food??" The director asked.

"Surprisingly really good. Not as amazing as my own cooking but still pretty amazing." I gave Dave his props.

Dave rolled his eyes playfully at me. "You know imma chef Lay."

"Whatever!" I stuck my tongue out at him. "It's your turn now." I pointed at his cards.

"Ok, what's my favorite nickname that you call me?"

"Shit this one is hard because I call you a lot of things." I exclaimed. "I know it ain't babe because you lowkey hate it when I call you that."

"That's cause you call everyone and they daddy babe. I'm special so I deserve a special nickname." He argued humorously.

He wasn't lying. I could meet a person one minute and in the next I would innocently give them the pet name.

"I got it! You like it when I call you my love."

Dave's growing smile was evidence that I got the question right.

Ha! I'm too good at this shit.

I did a little happy dance in my seat and turned to my next card.

"On a lazy day, what's my favorite thing to do?"

"Me." He replied with the quickness. Laughter erupted from the director, along with everyone else on set. Their eyes turned to me to see what I'd say next.

I fanned the cards over my face to hide my own laughter and embassment.

"I'm playing...I'm playing. I'd say watching cartoons in bed." He responded to me then looked at the camera. "She's basically a big ass kid."

"Shut up." I giggled.

"Is he right Allaya?" The director asked.

"Yeah he actually is. I love old cartoons and when I just wanna relax I usually watch them in bed or on the couch." I answered him and turned to Dave. "And don't act like you don't be there watching them with me. This is the only man I know that puts cereal in a huge mixing bowl and brings two spoons so we could share it. And I'm the big ass kid?"

That one had Dave rolling. He knew better than to come for me.

"Alright alright I'm not gon' confirm or deny that last part." He laughed.

"You already did."

"Aye, don't worry about that but I got you with this next one." He organized his cards.

"How many tattoos do I have?"

"Shit...have y'all seen this man shirtless? How am I supposed to know?"

"You've seen me shirtless plenty of times. You mean to tell me you ain't count 'em??" He chuckled.

Now he was tryna tease me.

"Sir...you know I haven't. But I'll guess and say that you have around forty?" I answered hesitantly.

"I ain't even gon' hold you baby...ion even know how much I got."

"See! That's a point for me." I exclaimed. I'd always been a bit competitive, Dave was gonna learn that I hardly ever lost.

"Which of East's tattoos is your favorite Allaya?" A man with a blonde buzz cut wearing a blazer and no shirt asked.

"Well besides our matching ones, I'd have to say his tattoo of Benjamin Franklin on his chest." I tried to hold in my laugh but couldn't. "Honestly it's my favorite because it's funny to look at. I mean when I first saw it, I thought Kairi drew it." I burst into a fit of giggles at the look on Dave's face.

"Man, you hell for that Laya." Dave joined in on the joke. "You gon' make me cover this shit up."

"I'm sorry." I said between laughs. "But his face looks so freakin' distorted."

"Aye ask the next question." He pouted, pretending like I hurt his feelings.

"It's the drama for me." I giggled one last time.

"What your favorite body part of mine? Now keep it PG-13" I warned him.

"I always keep it PG. You the dirty one. Remember what you put in my pocket earlier?" I nearly jumped up to prevent him from saying another word.

"Hey! I said keep it PG" I teased as he gave me a wicked smirk.

"Alright alright. I'd say that your eyes are my favorite. Cause they always make it seem like you're smiling even when you're not."

"Awww, that's so sweet."

"And your hands...cause the things you can do with them joints...whewwww"

"Yoooo" I smacked him on his arm as he and the entire room grinned.

"Were her eyes the first thing that you noticed about her when you met?" The director asked.

I already knew his answer to this, so I responded before he could. "No they weren't. Don't even ask him that."

"Damn you reading minds now mama?" Dave joked.

"No but I know how nasty yours is." A smile encompassed my mouth. "If I could, I'd throw my shoe at you. Let's move on before I come over there."

"You can if you want to."

"Stop." I giggled once again.

I wish I could say that Dave was only putting on for the camera. But this is who he is naturally...at least with me. He always laughed, smiled, and joked. Dave is also a huge romantic, the man can flirt all day, everyday. It was this side of him that I fell in love with first.

"How long does it take me to do my makeup?"

I already knew this nigga was coming with some more B.S.

"Forever. At least 2 hours and that's a lifetime to me."

"I mean you're not wrong about the timing. But it takes time to look this good." I flaunted my shoulders.

"Who's my favorite rap group?" He asked his next question.

"I bomb atomically, Socrates' philosophies and hypotheses. Can't define how I be dropping these mockeries. Lyrically perform armed robbery" I began to recite the lyrics to one of Dave's favorite songs. "Wu-tang baby!"

His already present smile widened. "Yeah she got it"

"What was my first ever job?" I asked.

"You were a front desk receptionist at your grandparent's hotel in high school."

"Yes you remembered!" I turned to the camera to offer more of an explanation. "Every summer I'd stay with my grandparents and work in their hotel. It was the most boring job ever but I enjoyed spending time with them.

"And now you own your own hotel?" A girl with a curly fro and pink glasses asked.

"I do, it's called The Grove in Turks and Caicos."

"And she's the best at that shit too! Ain't nobody could ever "baby mama" her. My baby got her own! If anything I'm Allaya Daniels' baby daddy." Dave added.

He was always doing that, mentioning my name and my business in rooms whether I was present or not. Dave elevated me in every way he could. For that, I loved him even more.