Chapter 1

"Could you please hurry up! We're ready to go and you're still painting your face in the mirror!" I yelled from the couch in the hotel room. "We'd actually like to get into the club!"

"I'm coming now!" Tracy responded from the bathroom. Two minutes passed before she'd actually came out.

The three of us, Tracy, Naomi, and I, were headed to a club called My Studio. It was our last night in Los Angeles and we wanted to leave with a big bang. I chose this particular club because I heard my celebrity crush, Chris Brown, often frequented the venue when he was in town. I wanted to go back home to Oakland and say that I partied somewhere he did.

Tracy waltzed out in her black and gold strapless foil dress, fitting snugly against her slim, newly tanned frame. Her blond tresses were pinned on the sides, allowing her huge curls to fall down her back.

Naomi donned a pink shimmer bandage cut out dress that seemed to make her caramel skin glow. The tallest out of the three, her braids piled on the top of her head in a chignon seemed to give her even more height.

The slightly shy one in the group, I felt a little overdressed compared to them in my purple pleated flutter sleeve dress. I loved the one long sleeve and the draped back. Not wanting to spend so much time on my hair, I just added a few loose curls to my straightened hair and tucked one side behind my hair.

Arriving to the club via cab service, we were amazed once we finally got inside. The gold, marble, and black setting looked like a video shoot. Walking around looking like the tourists we were, we admired the photos of models, the extravagant chandeliers, and the grand piano that sat in the Library room. There was also a casting couch and a stage. The waitresses, looking like models their selves dressed in silk gowns that revealed lingerie beneath, flanked the VIP areas, servicing the elite. The entire setting made me feel like this was a place where my dreams could come true.

Tired of looking around, Naomi grabbed Tracy and I by the arm and led us towards the bar. Looking like a model herself, she was immediately tended to. Being the lightweight in the trio, I opted for a Baybreeze while the girls both ordered patron margaritas.

"You have to have a shot with us, Ella! This is our last night here!" Naomi yelled over the music.

"Yes!" Tracy agreed. "Three vodka shots," she told the waiter as he sat our drinks in front of us.

"What! I don't get say?" I rebutted.

"No!" They both shouted back.

The clear liquid felt hot and acidic as it traveled down my throat, causing me to scrunch my face. I immediately sipped my drink to get the taste out of my mouth. "That shot got me hot already. Now I'm wishing I'd dressed like you two," I said, feeling the heat spread through my chest.

"Excuse you! You try being five-nine for a day!" Naomi said in mocked anger.

"Yeah, because being five-four is so awesome," I replied with an eye roll.

"While you two fight, I'm taking my five-six self on the dance floor… See ya!" Tracy announced before walking off. Naomi and I followed suit.

The music was blasting at obnoxious levels, vibrating through the soles of my heels. With the shot and mixed drink in my system, I felt like I owned the dance floor. Only separating with my girls to dance with a few guys, we jumped, threw our hands in the air, and sang along to our favorite jams. By one-thirty in the morning I was ready to take a break.

Just as we were about to go find somewhere to sit, the music lowered and the DJ yelled, "We got Chris Brown in the house! Make some noise!"

I momentarily froze until the shrieks of females brought me back to the moment. I turned and saw him, making his way towards the DJ booth with his entourage and security. Dressed in denim shorts, a white tank, and a yellow belt with a matching hat, he looked befitting for the summer season. The DJ cut the previous track and began to play one of Chris's old feature jams, "Get Like Me". He danced along from the booth, shouting words out from David Banner's rap through the microphone he was given.

Not even knowing if my friends were behind me or not, I somehow made my way to the front of the swooning females – still in awe of us being at the same club. As his part was approaching, he walked around the front of the DJ booth, a bodyguard following close behind.

"The name you know of

A little bit of change now your boy done blown up

And I'm doing things that gets exposed

Stuntin' ain't a thing to me

And it's obvious, it's plain to see"

And then he stepped in front of me…

"That you gon' make us both

Get into some things that'll scare grown folks"

He thrust his pelvis forward and I could feel his nether regions against my stomach.

"Shit – they might even say you should leave me alone

Don't be scared

You need to get like me"

He sang to me, only inches from touching my face.

Stuntin' is a habit, just gotta have it

Shawty keep throwin' that thing at me

I'm gonna bag it

Don't you see the carrots - A real Jessica Rabbit

Can't no other boy do the things you like"

He's singing to me! Standing directly in front of me with his hand around my waist... I'm looking up into his eyes…

Stunned.

"He ain't your type, to change your life

But if you did your homework

Girl, I'm pretty sure you know what I got

Drop tops, and you know Jones and Banner gonna roll

Let me stop"

Then he walked away as he continued on with the song… I could've died at that moment and been happy with my life. My brain was screaming, "Chris Brown just sang to you! Chris Brown had his body on you!" but the rest of me was still floating through another galaxy. I felt the faint touch and heard the distant screams of Naomi and Tracy at my side screaming in excitement before I finally came back to Earth. Once the song was over, Chris and his entourage made their way to one of the VIP booths and I stepped out on the patio in hopes that the open air would help me find my mental equilibrium.

"Chris Brown!" Tracy shouted at me, still jumping with excitement. "I can't believe that just happened! How did you even get to the front so fast!"

"I don't know… I was just determined to get a closer look at him… Oh my freaking gosh! I felt his body against mine! If I was thirteen instead of twenty-five, I'd not wash for three days!"

"Then I'm glad you're twenty-five…I'm so jealous right now! Time for another round, ladies!" Naomi shouted, dancing her way back inside and towards the bar.

Filled with another drink, we were back out on the dance floor sweating it out when a gentleman in jeans and a basketball jersey grabbed my arm to get my attention.

"Chris wants to talk to you," he shouted over the music. He nodded towards the VIP booth. Following his movement, I looked right into Chris's eyes. He was watching me with a hand under his chin. Putting me into further shock, he raised the same hand and gestured with two fingers for me to come and join him.

Without waiting for my response, Jersey guy grabbed me gently by the hand and signaled for my friends to follow us. I turned back as we walked through the crowd to look at them and they could barely contain their selves. Three feet away from my celebrity crush, Jersey man let my hand go as Chris stood, meeting me halfway of the short distance.

"How you doin'?" he asked, holding his hand out. I placed my hand out, prepared to shake his but he held on to it and backed up towards where he was sitting, forcing me to follow him. He sat, not letting go of my hand until I followed suit. Tracy and Naomi sat on the side of me. "So what's everyone's name?" he leaned in and asked me. Feeling his breath against my ear and the side of my neck made my eyes flutter.

"I'm Ella," I blurted out too quickly. "These are my best friends, Tracy and Naomi."

"Nice to meet you ladies," he said, offering his hand for them to shake. "Help yourselves to anything." He gestured towards the table at the many bottles of liquor, including two magnum bottles of Ace Of Spades.

"Thank you!" Tracy said before leaning forward to fix herself a drink.

"Do you like champagne?" Chris asked, focusing his attention back to me.

"I do." Soon as the reply left my lips, he was signaling one of the waitresses to pour two glasses. I didn't mean I wanted a glass but I didn't want to tell him. "Thank you," I said to the waitress when she handed me a glass.

"Cheers!" Chris yelled with a huge, boyish smile, making my own lips turn up in the contagion. Everyone in the room held up their glasses and followed suit.

The champagne was delicious. It slid easily down my throat, hitting all my taste buds on the way and leaving a hint of sweetness in my mouth. I couldn't compare it to any other champagnes I've drank.

"I apologize if I interrupted your partying. You looked like you were having a good time out there. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes," he leaned in and said with a pretend apologetic look on his face, making me laugh.

"It's alright. I've been partying for almost a week," I told him.

"Celebrating something?"

"Yes, actually… My twenty-fifth birthday was three days ago."

"What! Yo, it's her birthday week!" he turned and said to his entourage before turning back to me and starting in on the "Happy Birthday" song, the entourage following along.

All of a sudden, others nearby began singing, causing a spiraling effect. The music was cut off and I could hear almost the whole club... Not one to enjoy the limelight, I attempted to cover my face in embarrassment but Chris grabbed my wrists and stood, forcing me to go along with him. Out of thin air it seemed, Chris was given a microphone and recited the last line into it, causing my name to be heard to the entire club.

As the club clapped and hooted, I waved and mouthed a "thank you", shaking with shock at the occurrence.

"Happy birthday, beautiful!" Chris shouted in my ear, putting an arm around my neck and pulling me close against him. The feeling of dying happy approached again.

As the music started again, we sat back down – him now sitting closer than before with his arm still around me.

"Thank you so much," I was finally able to say. "I can't believe that just happened!"

"You're welcome. Don't get no big head about it… Well bigger…" He joked, surveying my head.

"I do not have a big head!"I gasped, lightly slapping his knee.

"I'm just playing with you… It's perfect…" He gave another one-hundred watt smile, leaving me with nothing to do but smile back at him.

As the conversation transgressed, the nerves went away and the two of us were talking as if we'd known each other for years prior to this magical night. I didn't even notice Naomi and Tracy's departure to the rest room. Or that a third of the club goers had left…

"Oh, shoot! What time is it!" I blurted out.

"Almost three-thirty," Chris told me, checking his diamond encrusted watch, a quizzical look on his face.

"We were supposed to leave a half hour ago. We have to get back to the hotel and pack."

"This is your last night here?" he asked. I thought I might've been imagining the disappointment in his voice.

"Yes. Our flight leaves at nine in the morning." I don't know why I felt like I was breaking bad news to him. "We have to get back to the hotel," I repeated.

"Where y'all staying at?"

"The Palomar..."

"Oh, okay. Y'all drove?"

"Took a cab…"

"Do y'all need a ride?"

"Oh, no! You've already been beyond generous tonight," I said standing up. Tracy walked over when she saw me stand and signaled for Naomi to come over. Chris stood and stared down at me. "Thank you so much for tonight. You have made my birthday one I'll never forget and won't ever be able to top. I can't even express my gratitude. This night was a dream."

After grabbing my purse from the couch and facing Chris again to say goodbye, he took off his watch and handed it to me. I stared down at the heavily studded watch, then back up to him with a bewildered expression. I looked at the watch again and back at him, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Hold on to it for me," he said. "If you got it, I know we'll see each other again." He tucked an unruly strand of hair behind my ear then leaned down and kissed my jaw line. As he settled back, he laughed at the expression on my face. "You have a safe flight, Ella. See you soon."

Still slightly lost, I say goodbye to everyone in the section and make my way out of the club. Naomi flagged down a cab and we headed back to the hotel, talking over each other about the night's sudden spin of events.