With Chris Brown‘s court date coming up in a couple of weeks where he will face charges that he assaulted ex-girlfriend Rihanna on February 8 of this year, it looks like Rihanna is moving forward with a possible new romantic interest. Ri Ri has been spotted in the company of a Canadian rapper named Aubrey Drake Graham for the past few weeks and just last night was spied canoodling with the man once again in NYC … adding fuel to the speculation that she has, indeed, coupled up with Graham:

On the day it was announced that Rihanna would be forced to testify against ex-boyfriend Chris Brown at a June 22 hearing into his assault case, the “Umbrella” singer hit the town with friends – including Aubrey “Drake” Graham, the Canadian rapper to whom she’s recently been linked. The pair were spotted smooching on May 18 at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge in Manhattan. On Wednesday night, Rihanna and Graham (who goes by the name Drake) laughed and chatted at a bash for the Black Eyed Peas’ Target deluxe version of their album, The E.N.D., held at the N.Y.C. nightspot The Griffin. Rihanna – looking stunning in a light grey sweater dress and large hoop earrings – arrived at The Griffin shortly after 11:30 p.m. and stayed nearly two hours. Drake left a bit earlier – only to wait outside the club’s front doors. Both he and Rihanna drove off at the same time, in separate vehicles. While in the club, a happy-looking Rihanna, 21, appeared to be enjoying herself, holding court in a banquette to the left of the stage, where will.i.am DJ-ed the party – and gave an affectionate shout-out to Rihanna when she entered the club. Besides mingling with fellow guest Wilmer Valderrama, Rihanna also walked hand-in-hand up to the DJ booth with Fergie.

Aww … while it’s entirely possible that Rihanna is merely taking comfort in the care and attention from Drake Graham, it’s nice to hear that she is doing well after what she allegedly went thru with Chris. I imagine it must be very difficult to open one’s self up to another person romantically after being assaulted (a fact that cannot be denied) so if she really is coupling up with this new guy, he must be taking good care of her. I am very relieved that the case against Chris Brown is moving forward. If he is truly innocent, then he will have the chance to prove so in a court of law. If he is guilty of his crimes, I hope he is punished to the full extent of the law. As for Rihanna … I just hope she is happy. If this guy makes her happy, then I’m all for their new found relationship.

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