The crowd thinned around her, drawn in by the gravity of her isolation. She closed her eyes. In the darkness behind her lids, she wasn’t in a sweaty warehouse. She was on a beach at sunset, the sand cool under her feet, the ocean breathing in time with the track. She was in a Lagos club, the air thick with cologne and joy. She was in a New York loft, rain sliding down the windows.

The instrumental swelled. The bass dropped a little deeper, the synth a little richer. This was the part where Shenseea would fire off a boast, where WizKid would co-sign with a lilting melody. But without the words, Taya had to sing with her spine. Shenseea - Work Me Out Ft. WizKid Instrumental

Devon started toward her, a clumsy apology already forming on his lips. The crowd thinned around her, drawn in by