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“This is your third time complimenting me. I’m beginning to believe you have Alzheimer’s or something.” She giggled, with her cute ass.

“Hell, I might. There are always a thousand things for me to remember, and I can barely keep up. Brandi just got on me about following the schedule they have set for me. At this point, I needed a stunt double or something because there’s too much on my plate.” I admitted.

I loved my life, but the more popular I became, the busier my schedule was. As someone who preferred quiet and solitude, my career forced me out of my comfort zone. My fans meant everything to me, but it was still an adjustment to have so many people wanting to hug me and take pictures with me. Sometimes I became overstimulated, but I pushed through because, without them, I wouldn’t be living my dreams.

As someone who grew up with nothing, it was a blessing to make the kind of money I did and have the freedom to do what I loved as a career. As much as I loved tattooing, nothing compared to performing my music to thousands of screaming fans and knowing they loved and understood my art.

“Earth to Solly. Where the heck did you go just now?”

I must have zoned out for a moment because Honesty was standing in front of me, waving her hand in my face. Instead of replying right away, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into me. She froze, checking our surroundings for a moment before she finally returned the hug.

“Why are you acting so scary, silly girl?” I smirked at the innocent look in her eyes.

“Because what if somebody catches a picture of me picking a wedgie or digging in my nose? I’m not gonna be getting laughed at by a few hundred people, Solly. The whole world would be laughing at me,” Honesty whined.

“Why would you be digging in your ass or your nose in public, Honey Bee? You don’t even do shit like that on a regular day, so what are you even talking about?” I chuckled at her overthinking. I guess it was better for it to be her than me.

“You’re not taking my concerns seriously. I’m a reflection of you, so if I do something embarrassing, they’ll judge you too.”

“Naw, they won’t. If anything, they’ll say I need to find a woman who doesn’t dig in her ass in public. The headlines would be crazy as hell too. I would have no choice but to dump you because the publicity would be too damaging to my career. I’m already on thin ice.” I teased her.

“It’s not funny,” she hissed while pushing my shoulder.

“My bad. I was trying to put a smile on your face. I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this. You act as if we’ve never spent time together.”

“Yeah, but those times were different. We’re usually with family when we go to large outings, and you haven’t been to the fair in years,” she huffed.

“To be fair, I stopped going to the fair because there were too many people. Plus, you always wanted to come with a bunch of your annoying friends, and I didn’t want to be bothered. Hell, I still don’t,” I admitted.

Honesty had been a popular girl forever, and with that came a lot of people who wanted to hang out with her for clout or the opportunities that came with being connected to someone like her and her family. The Grahams were basically a part of the Elite in our city. Everyone knew who they were and that they were well off.

Honesty was one of the friendliest in the group. She loved being around people, but she often lacked discernment in who she let close. She wanted to see the good in everyone, and it wasn’t until the incident in college that she finally realized how dangerous it was to give people too much access to you.

“I can’t believe you. It’s been years, and you still don’t like very many of my friends. I’m starting to think you might be the problem.”

“Yeah, right. It’s not that I never liked any of them; I just know everyone around you doesn’t necessarily have your best interest at heart. I know you like to believe all your friends are around with genuine intentions, but I've lived long enough to know that won’t always be the case. You’re valuable, whether you realize how much, and anything of value has to be protected and carried a certain way.”

“You’re so poetic. I see why your fans love you so much. That was really smooth.” Honesty locked her hands with mine as we made it to the Lemonade line.

When I glanced down at her, I could only smile, because she fell right into our normal flow within minutes.

“You want a regular?” I asked as we got to the front of the line.

“Let’s get the large, so we can share it. Plus, you get free refills when you get the big one.”

I chuckled, then handed my money over to the woman at the stand. When she handed me the large drink, I took a sip and passed it over. Honesty acted as if she had won the lottery or something as she did her little happy dance.

“You are ridiculous. The lemonade is good, but it ain't all that.” I scoffed, grabbing her free hand as we kept walking.

“Lies you tell. The fair has some of the best lemonade of all time. Country Time could never.” She rolled her eyes playfully.

“Whatever. Where do you want to go next?”

Our families were scattered everywhere, but whenever I looked up, I would see a member of the Grahams. My sisters, along with my niece and nephew, were walking around with Messiah and his personal guards. Being around their family so much, I often forgot some of them were celebrities because, at home, they were regular people.

When Messiah wasn’t playing basketball, you could find him on the grill in the backyard, talking shit with his Moses 3000 sandals on. They were all humble and down to earth, and that was one thing I learned to love about them.

“I want to get an Italian sausage and a turkey leg. I heard they had some kind of peach cobbler wings this year and some candied bacon I absolutely have to try. Then you know I have to get some ribs, cotton candy and an elephant ear.”