Welcome to chapter six of Bump and Grind. If you’d like to listen, rather than read, CLICK HERE.

Malcolm greeted me with what I call his “Joan Crawford” face; eyes wide, brows raised, mouth open in a silent scream. I immediately started laughing.

“Get in here and tell us everything!” 

For the second time that evening, someone grabbed my chair and pulled me through a doorway.

“What, you don’t like our furniture?” Sam asked, kissing me on both cheeks and shoving a glass of red wine into my hand.

“It was for the audition,” I said. Their place smelled like heaven. 

Samantha had Darnell strapped to her and he was fast asleep. I’d started to think of him as an extra appendage. 

“Did you blow their minds?” she asked.

I parked myself on my usual stool at the kitchen island. 

“Actually, first they blew mine,” I said.

Welcome to chapter five of Bump and Grind. If you’d like to listen, rather than read, CLICK HERE.

The ceiling in the subterranean rehearsal hall was surprisingly high. At one end of the room thick ribbons of silk dangled next to a large hoop rigged for aerial acrobatics. A table was set up along the mirrors, where Bruce and Eureykah sat with a stack of notes before them. A lone cameraman from the E-Network had set up a tripod off to the side of the table. There was a sunken lounge and a small kitchenette at the opposite end. It was here that a group of women waited, curled up like a pile of cats. These women were without a doubt the ones who’d invaded my dream.

Welcome to chapter four of Bump and Grind. If you’d like to listen, rather than read, CLICK HERE.

I’m in some kind of hammam, judging by the hanging lanterns and ornate mosaic work. I shed my clothing and step into the warm water. 

A woman with perfect brown skin and the regal bearing of a queen stretches out on her belly, trailing her hand in the steaming bath. 

Another woman, pale and curvy with a fire engine red bob, slips out of a beaded robe and crouches to dip her feet in the pool.

Welcome to chapter three of Bump and Grind. If you’d like to listen, rather than read, CLICK HERE.

My nearest and dearest gathered at my best friend Samantha’s condo to watch the E Prime Time special, where my win would be announced to the nation. Sam had the biggest TV I’d ever seen, and her place was much better suited to hosting than mine, even though it wasn’t a large crowd. 

Other than Samantha, my best friend since college, the guest list included Malcolm and their new baby Darnell, and my mother, who had insisted she make the drive into the city. 

Welcome to chapter two of Bump and Grind. If you’d like to listen, rather than read, CLICK HERE.

Bruce Thompson was a dashing combo of silver-streaked brown locks and still-boyish good looks. A tsunami of queasiness swept me away. Our celebrity guest had arrived.

His warm gaze dissolved into a look of amazement. I recalled in painstaking detail the first time I’d laid eyes on him, at my first big audition after graduating.