I've been in this makeup chair for an hour and I haven't even put on my clothes yet. My plan was to take a shower and take a nap for about two hours since I was going to be up all night. But Hannah, who has been fully dressed since she got here, made me get in the makeup chair.

She is so excited to see this movie, she's been talking about it forever. Hannah is the type of person who likes to see something before everybody else and then brag that she saw it before everybody. I guess it's a director thing, I don't know.

I looked over at Naomi who was running around my clothing mannequin like a madman matching accessories to my outfit. I told her to keep it simple, but no matter what she always gets frantic when she's working. Naomi's brand new compared to the rest of my crew, so I guess shes trying to make a good impression. She's straight out of fashion school and i'm her first job. I've been trying to go easy on her, I don't want my hectic work schedule to scare her away from the celebrity stylist world because she is quite talented.

"Hurry up!" Hannah clapped her hands vigorously, rushing Gigi as she was finishing up adding purple glitter to my lips. "We have to get there to actually see the movie" .

"Calm down crazy. What are you trying to do get there before they roll out the red carpet?" Gigi started to slowly trace my lips with concealer. "Besides somebody's makeup has to look right on the red carpet." Naomi started cracking up.

"Damn the shade."

Hannah on the other hand was sitting down across the room, unamused, about to tap a hole in my brand new Birch flooring with her foot. It was honestly shooting my nerves. She was working on her anger problem. It was either tap or snap with her. It wasn't the most tolerable thing to deal with but it was progress, and it was way better than having to bail her out of jail.

When Gigi finished, I turned back to the mirror and looked at myself. I looked amazing, especially when my makeup was done. I look good without makeup but I love the way I look with makeup. I have never one to have low self confidence. My mama always taught me that I was beautiful and I should always feel like it. But sometimes I feel like that's the only thing people see from me, they don't see what's one the inside and it's not like they care to anyway, as long as i'm singing. It's all about image, my manager told me when I was 13 to "protect your brand at all time". I remember that day, I was about to do my first TV interview. My mom told me to be myself but before I went on Veronica pull me aside and whispered those 5 words. They still echo in my head until this day.

As I primped my hair, which was teased and brushed out to maximum and borderline uncomfortable volume, I let out a deep sigh. I'm really confused about a lot of things, and by things I mean Prince and Michael. Michael left yesterday to continue touring and I didn't see him off, when I came home the other, super late thanks to Prince, I had a ton of missed call from him.

However, I never bothered to call him back. I'm still a little mad about the Diana thing and quite frankly our entire relationship is starting to confuse to me.

Sometimes he's all in and sometimes he's not. Sometimes it's his career and sometimes it's me. Sometimes I think he straight up just doesn't get it. Everyone around him just tells him yes so he doesn't understand when something is wrong. I always find myself wondering, in the back of my mind, if we're right for each other. And it's crazy to say but I only feel like that when I'm with Prince. I never feel like I'm cheating on Michael when I'm with Prince. I mean as much and he cuddles and kisses on me, I never see it as a bad thing. The craziest part about it is I like it.

I still think Susan was going to say Prince loved me, truly. She put truly in front of it. Truly loved me. Wow, that's something serious to say considering the fact that he's dating that pop tart, but I can't say anything I'm dating Michael. Besides Prince has never been the most open book. He has his cute moments I'll admit, but all I get is cute moments. He'll never tell me how he feels. He couldn't tell me he loved me then and he sure as hell wouldn't tell me now.

But for some reason I feel some unexplainable closeness with Prince. I love Michael with all my heart I do, but with Prince it's something different. I love him but on another level. It's something indescribable. When I lay with him, I feel safe. I feel like nothing and no one can hurt me. I felt goosebumps just thinking of his warm embrace, his muscles wrapped around me. Him pulling my body close to his, as if he was protecting me from the world. And that kiss, that kiss he planted in my temple. Always put me in a daze, I could feel the adoration he felt for me in that one gesture. He watched over me like I was some sort prized jewel. Even after all we've been through.

When I'm with Michael it feels like that's how its supposed to be. I think Michael loves me because the public likes us together. I make him look good and he makes me look good. Two of music's top protégés together, what a power couple. The headlines love us. It's great publicity. We were together all the time at the beginning of my career because we were signed to the same label. We ended up being co-star in The Wiz. We went to the Oscars together. We went on tour together. It wasn't a relationship thing, our publicists thought it would be great to have me and the boys to be close. Me and Michael just became good friends at that time. It somehow blossomed into something else as I got older. He just always seemed like that person. If I was gonna be with anybody I was for sure it was gonna be him. But no matter what, he's always put his career before everything. I can't blame him when you sacrifice and work hard for something all your life. It's hard to push it aside, especially for someone who wasn't there the entire time.

"JAS!!" Hannah screamed, breaking me from my thoughts. I hated when she did that. I leaned my head on my hand slowly.

"What Hannah." I sighed, clearly irritated.

"Prince is on the phone." I looked over at Naomi, who was holding the phone out to me. "Sorry girl" I pardoned myself and took the phone from her. I pressed the phone to my ear and heard him talking to someone else over

"No......I'm not carrying that...because what the hell would I look like carrying a cat...mysterious my ass get out" I put my hand over my mouth trying to control my laughter, a few chuckles still got out.

"Hello?" Prince called into the phone.

"Hey Prince"

"Hey Jas."

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"Nothing, Susan is just being weird..." He sighed. "....this is why I dress myself Susan....oh don't you get that lil' attitude with me....." This was hilarious to listen to. I had my hand over my mouth trying to not crack up again.

"I swear that woman makes me wanna-" He took a deep breathe. "So I was wondering did you want to ride with me tonight?" I can hear my publicist, Michael, and Veronica yelling at me now.

Are you crazy?

Why show up with him?

Do you care about your image?

What about the album sales?

"Are you sure? I mean the media can really turn this whole thing around. What are we going to say when we get there."

"Gas prices are high?"

"Prince!"

"What?!? Jasmyn, despite everything no one can dictate who you are to other people."

"That's literally the exact job of the press." I reminded him.

"You can't live your life for other people, if you do you'll never have any fun, dig?"

"Dig" I mocked him and signaled to Naomi to hand me my iced soy latte.

"Don't drink it." Prince said through the phone.

"What?" I paused while I was about to wrap my mouth around the straw.

"If I know anything about you, it's your unhealthy coffee intake. If your drinking anything right now. It's coffee."

"What kind?"

"Lemme guess a soy latte?"

"Size...?"

"Grande."

"What abou-"

"Coconut Soy Milk Creamer."

"Oh you know me so well." I beamed through the phone, I however drunk it anyway. What was he gonna do? Come through the phone and take it. Plus my drink is healthy, and vegan. Give me a break. I've been a vegetarian since I was 13. If I wanna inhale a gallon of coffee I will dammit.

"So, 8:00?"

"8:00." I repeated and hung up. I took a deep breathe, settling my nerves.

"You ready yet?" I walked over to where Naomi was.

"Yeah wait..." She pulled a piece of lint off my fur coat then straightened the fur. "Now.."

"Ok" I chuckled. I stood their looking at them waiting for them to leave. But they weren't getting the point. I cleared my throat and looked around at them sitting around.

"You need something" Hannah looked up from the TV.

"Privacy would be nice."

"Girl you ain't got nothing I ain't seen before." Hannah said,

"Yeah we're all girls here.." Gigi chimed in. I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Get out.." They all grumbled and got up. Mumbling as they out the room.

I smiled and went to get dressed.

I was pretty satisfied with the way I looked tonight. I looked like a Prince girl for sure.

"How do I look y'all.." I asked, sashaying down the stairs.

"Stunning" I heard a deep voice say, drawing out the word. I looked up and saw that Prince was there sitting on my couch, Naomi and Gigi sitting on either side of him and they were fully engaged in him but he was looking at me.

"Well, look at us dressed alike." He laughed and walked up to me. "You look beautiful dressed in my colors."

"Your colors? Honey I think your forgetting something. I made it pop like pink champagne in the purple rain when I was 13" The girls went 'ooo' and he proceeded to suck his teeth at me.

"I spoil you ya' know." I rolled my eyes and walked outside. He had a glistening black limo parked outside. It had purple detailing, Prince's request I'm assuming.

"Prince your obsession with this color is unhealthy."

"It's nice isn't it." he said as he smiled to himself.  The limo driver, shook his head as he opened the door for us. I peered inside and I saw a few of his bodyguards. I hesitated for a minute but I felt my ass brush against Prince's crotch so I went ahead and got in.

The ride was ridiculously fun. We all talked shit to each other the entire time. It wasn't enough room for my feet considering all the guys had long legs, so Prince let me toss my legs over his lap and he kept his hands on my legs the entire ride. The boys had their own talk but me and Prince talked about music most of the ride, some new work he was working on for a side project, and he asked me about my album and if I needed any help.

All the conversations stopped and all our heads shot to the windows. The streets were lined with fans. Everyone waving Prince & The Revolution posters. I looked up at Prince and he looked shocked in the eyes. When it comes to Prince his eyes will tell you everything, never his face.

We stepped out of the car and the bodyguards guided us down the carpet. I blew a couple of kisses into the crowd naturally. Prince however was just nervously twirling a rose in his hand as he walked down the carpet, he looked pretty nonchalant though.

All the reporters we're screaming at us to take a picture, for us to smile at them. We haven't even gotten half way down yet. The first part of the carpet is always full of reporters, the 2nd half is always fans. When we got to the 2nd half the host decided to announce us.

"Ladies and gentleman, the odd couple of the night the star of Purple Rain. His royal badness Prince and our very own Princess of pop, Jasmyn."  The camera flashes were damn near blinding, so I put my hand over my eye, but I made sure to SWN the entire time. That's how I remember what to do on the red carpet. Smile, because it makes you look nice. Wave, to the crowd and to the reporters. And finally Nod, that one is kind of self explanatory. I'm a talker but you can't tell who's tabloid reporters and who's not anymore.

I felt a pull at my arm and I was forced away from Prince. I looked up and realized it was none other than Veronica and Hannah.

"You, need to be interviewed right now." Veronica whispered in my ear and then shoved me in the direction of the reporter. I wasn't in the damn mood to talk to the reporters, I don't mind talking to fans at all. So I went over towards them and laughed, took pictures, and signed autographs.

"Jasmyn!!" The host yelled over the microphone and the crowd screamed. I waved and went back to what I was doing. "Come on Jasmyn you have to say something." I was trying to avoid this but the crowd started chanting so I just went up there. I shook his hand.

"So Jasmyn are you a Prince fan?"

"I am a huge Prince fan, nobody can sing like Prince, nobody can dance like Prince. He's and original in every aspect and he's shaking things up. He's really a breathe of fresh air."

"Seems like you admire him a lot."

"What's not to admire? He's talented beyond his years and he's dedicated to perfecting his craft. I appreciate his musicality, and his showmanship."

"You speak so highly of him are you guys close?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. I looked past him in the direction of Hannah and Veronica. But they weren't looking, so I decided to say fuck it and say what I want.

"We're good friends, I have a lot of love for him. He deserves the world plus some." I looked up again and saw Hannah waving frantically for me to come over, the movie was about to start I'm guessing. He said something but I didn't hear him. I ran off the riser the host screamed after me saying that we didn't finish. I didn't care though.

We walked inside the theater, greeting people and such. A bunch of people you wouldn't expect to be Prince fans were there. Pewee Herman? Who would've known.

Anyway, we walked in the theater and found our seats. We sat in the middle of the row, I was next to Prince, of course. He had Susannah on other side of him. Hannah was next to me, followed by Veronica.

"Hey" he whispered in my ear, he had a smile on his face.

"Hey" I whispered back. He looked so excited but nervous at the same time. I assured him everything was gonna be fine. We talked through most of the previews anyway. When the movie finally started he and I were both out of popcorn.

I wish I had brought tissues before because it was an emotional movie. He had completely brought our time together back in 1982 to life. Of course he didn't do it down to a T but he got most of it correct. We cracked up the entire time, other people didn't laugh at some of the things we laughed at. It's because they weren't there. Our laughing started to simmer down as 'The Kid" sat down at the piano and started to play the piano after he caught ol' Apollonia with Morris. I hadn't heard the song before actually, but I hadn't actually listened to the entire Purple Rain album. I had it, no doubt but I am an extremely busy woman. I don't have much free time. If I do it's spent song writing, maybe i'm with my staff in a meeting discussing my next move, something pertaining to music.

Anyway, the song started out as a slow falsetto ballad, with Prince's piano and a crazy organ-sounding synthesizer providing an almost hypnotic background instrumental.

Baby, baby, baby
What's it gonna be
Baby, baby, baby
Is it him or is it me?
Don't make me waste my time
Don't make me lose my mind baby

Out the corner of my eye, I could see Prince looking at me out the corner of his eye. S I turned back to the screen quick

Baby, baby, baby
Can't u stay with me tonight
Oh baby, baby, baby
Don't my kisses please u right
U were so hard 2 find
The beautiful ones, they hurt u everytime

By this time I felt a hand start to wrap around mine. I knew it was Prince but I looked down for confirmation and sure enough it was.

Paint a perfect picture
Bring 2 life a vision in one's mind
The beautiful ones
Always smash the picture
Always everytime

If I told u baby
That I was in love with u
Oh baby, baby, baby
If we got married
Would that be cool?

U make me so confused
The beautiful ones
U always seem 2 lose

I wasn't even looking at the screen anymore. Prince and I had locked eyes as the song had gradually built in volume and intensity, and by this part of the song, Prince is screaming out "Do you want him, or do you want me? 'Cause I want you."

Said I want u
Tell me, babe
Do u want me?
I gotta know, I gotta know
Do u want me?
Baby, baby, baby
Listen 2 me

I may not know where I'm going babe

I said I may not know what I need

One thing, one thing's 4 certain baby
I know what I want, yeah

And if it please u baby
Please u, baby
I'm begging down on my knees
I want u
Yes I do
Baby, baby, baby, baby
I want you

Yes I do

The song comes to a quiet close, Prince's keyboards and a drum serving as the closing instrumentation. Ultimately, as the song ends and "The Kids" lies, on the floor of the stage, obviously tired because he just belted his lung out. The camera shot to Apollonia who was in tears. So was I, and I was trying to blot my eyes so I wouldn't ruin my makeup that took Gigi forever to apply. The crowd did a mini applause after the song. Prince took his lace gloves off his hands and wiped my eyes with one of them, he had a slight smile plastered on his face. He did something a little unexpected and leaned in close to me and kissed me, slow. I even kissed back was the craziest part. Then just like that he turned back and faced forward. I sat there looking stupid, about everything that had just taken place.

I tried to keep watching the movie, but I couldn't focus. When the movie ended he looked over at me with that smug smirk on his face, then he turned and left with Susannah. When I tell you jealous wasn't even the word for what I was feeling.

I didn't even tell Hannah what happened. I didn't wanna hear it right now. So instead I kept it all to myself. We left for the after party and I decided to ride with Hannah and Veronica, I honestly don't know how to approach Prince after what happened. So I just tried to avoid the entire situation. We stopped by my place and got Naomi, who was glued to the TV watching Golden Girls, then we headed back out.

The party was hot, probably the hottest party of the year and it was only June. The music was hot, the people there were hotter. It was a happening party. The dance floor was packed. I had taken off my thick ass fur jacket, so I could finally get some air becuase I'm sure if I had kept it on I would've died of heat stroke. Anyway I was dancing with Hannah, doing our usual. Bumping and grinding to any song we could, which at this point was erotic city. Loved this song. I felt a pull on my arm and I was ripped away from Hannah and crash landed into someone's chest. It was none other than Prince's. He had his arms wrapped around my waist and had me pulled close.

"Hi."

"Hi." I replied with my eyebrow raised. Then his lips crashed into mine again, he pulled away before I had time to react though.

"Stop doing that."

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Kissing me out of nowhere." I placed my hand on his chest trying to put a little bit of room between us. "What if someone sees?"

"I'll kiss them too." he said innocently as he leaned in again. I placed my hand in front of his face before he could kiss me again.

"I have a boyfriend Prince."

"I know and I have a girlfriend." Then he leaned it again, "But I don't see either of them anywhere." He placed a quick peck on my lips and pulled me to the middle of the floor and we danced for what felt like forever. He left the floor to go sit down with Susannah because she kept calling him but I stayed. Only because I was forced to. Morris had damn near pulled my arm out the socket trying to get me back on the floor. But he was a great dancer no doubt.

By now It was late. I had danced myself half to death with Morris and Jerome. Apollonia is sweet but she talked me half to death in the bathroom. Hannah was drunk off her ass. Thankfully Naomi came along to the afterparty and is keeping her eye on her. The "handpicked from the best" MTV host for this event, literally keeps following me around with that microphone. I don't know how many times he can ask how I'm doing and how many times I can tell him fine. Thank God for Prince's ford tough bodyguards who won't let him through to us.

I was sitting with Prince in a booth. It was reserved for me, Prince, and our entourages. However, since everyone was out on the dance floor. It was just Prince and I. I was dog tired, so I leaned my head on his shoulder. I had my legs crossed, I was still ladylike at all times.

He reached down and pulled my legs up into his lap and wrapped on of his arms around my waist and the other slinked around my legs. I looked up at him, all he did was smile and kiss me right on the eyelid.

"Come on baby lets creep I'm tired of this action." I tilted my head up at him and shot him a look.

"Prince, this is your party." I reminded him.

"And? this place is kind of dead." He said looking around and examining the place. I had no clue what he was talking about because the place was bumping, still.

Then it hit me. Did he just call me baby? Did he just realize he called me baby. I left with him though and we rode around the strip for a while and somehow we ended up at Sunset Sound. We ran around like little kids, hopping from instrument to instrument, singing a little of each of our favorite song. My favorite was when he grabbed the electric guitar and started ripping out the solo to Bambi so I could sing it. I told him earlier that it was my favorite song of his. It's what inspired my song Dangerous Woman.

I couldn't play the guitar but he could so I watched him play a few strings on the acoustic. He looked so in his element, and it was nice to see him like that so I stayed silent and watched him. "I wrote a song back in February. I called it 'Pop Life'. I don't remember much of the lyrics but.." then his voice trailed off and after a few minutes of him just playing the guitar he started to sing.

What's the matter with your life
Is the poverty bringing U down?
Is the mailman jerking U 'round?
Did he put your million dollar check
In someone else's box?

Tell me, what's the matter with your world
Was it a boy when U wanted a girl?
Don't U know straight hair ain't got no curl
Life it ain't real funky
Unless it's got that pop
Dig it

I gave him a little clap. "Yay!" I sounded like a little kid, I know because I heard my voice get higher.

"Thank you thank you." He said bowing at me.

I got up and looked around a piano. Sure enough there was one, I sat at it and whipped my notebook out my jacket. I kept this notebook with me always. I have one for every single album i've written up until this point.

"Ok don't judge me, but I have this song and it's called Vanishing and yeah I would like you to hear it. okay? ok." He laughed at me a little. Then I took a deep breathe and started playing. Rocking back and forth waiting for my que.

If I could recapture

All of the memories

And bring them to life

Surely I would

Hear the distant laughter
Wasn't it you and me
Surviving the night
You're fading out of my sight
Swiftly

You're vanishing
Drifting away
You're vanishing ooooo.

I was so enraptured
No sensibility

To open my eyes

I misunderstood

Now you're fading faster
It's suddenly hard to see
You're taking the light
Letting the shadows inside
Swiftly

You're vanishing
Drifting away
You're vanishing ooooo

You're vanishing
Drifting away

Then I went for it, belted just for the hell of it. I blew Prince away I could tell by his facial expression.

Reaching out into the distance
Searching for spirits of the past
Just a trace of your existence to graaaaaaaaaaaaaaasp
And if somehow I could recapture
All of the memories
And bring them to life
Lord knows I would

But now you're fading faster
Getting so hard to see
Taking the light
Letting the darkness inside

Then I stopped singing, because that's how far I had gotten in the song. I looked at Prince and he looked shocked.

"I'm pretty sure I'm gonna repeat the chorus right there. I started working on another song." I started flipping through my notebook. I had a ton of songs written in here. Some finished some not. I had a ton of ideas in my head and my track of though skipped on a dime.

"I didn't know you played the piano." he finally spoke up.

"Yeah I do. I'm self taught actually. I mean I had a few lessons but they never did any good. They were to conforming, to linear you know." I shrugged, running my hands across the keys. "I guess I play off of feeling rather than play off a sheet of music. I mean nobody really cares that I play the piano though. I've produced so much of my own work, I was producing at 13. But as long as i'm singing they could care less what I'm singing."

He looked at me a bit perplexed. "Jasmyn, everyone appreciates artistry. Maybe not as soon as we would like but eventually they will. I mean look at me now, eventually someone will appreciate the art behind Darling Nikki. But in order for them to appreciate it I have to deal with the wrath of the soccer mom club." I cracked up laughing.

"I mean did they not hear "Sister" "Dirty Mind" "Jack U Off" but this, this song Jasmyn pissed off the Barbara's of white suburban middle class America." I fell off the bench crying I was laughing so hard. "They act like them fucking didn't get them little Tommy and Susy." I started laughing even harder, my laugh is something interesting when I start laughing hard. It's awful let me tell you. He looked down at me trying to fight off a laugh of his own.

"Hey Jas?"

"Yeah." I sputtered out. Taking deep breathing trying to calm myself down.

"Their premiering the movie at Westwood tonight right?"

"According to MTV." I sat up off the floor, my ears were still burning from my laugh attack. He nodded his head and then a smile creeped across his face.

"Oh no...What are you thinking?"

"Nothing.."

We ended up sneaking into the Westwood Theater Purple Rain premiere. We were dressed up like a couple of nerds. We looked awful, except my cat wing was fierce. We sat there and drank soda and ate popcorn. Prince kept adlibbing jokes outloud. People were enjoying them as much as the movie, but they didn't know it was Prince. Which was the best part.