"Devontae Tyrell Carter."

"Ooooh." Comes everyone's replies as I march my way into my apartment where everyone is. All eight of them seated on the couches as they watch Stranger Things that's playing on the television. My eyes scan the room until they finally land on the person in particular.

At the mention of his name and the moment my eyes zero in on him, I can see the fear in his eyes and his throat bobbing up and down from swallowing, if I weren't so mad, I would laugh at his reaction, but I remind myself of why I left my shift before my lunch break.

"Devontae, kitchen. Now."

I see the over six foot giant scramble to his feet and follows right behind me. Even though the living room is directly opposite the kitchen with nothing obstructing it due to the open concept, I don't wanna go anywhere where there's nobody else but us. The last time we were in a room together it ended with him quite bluntly admitting his feelings for me with me in his lap and I just froze and said nothing.

I blanked the fuck out. His admission was so raw and untimely that it caught me off guard and I just froze, and God I wish I could turn back time and say what I really felt but because I took too long to respond - Devontae - being the sweet man that he is brushed it off and said it was okay and he didn't expect me to say anything back, he just needed to let it off his chest.

As much as he said he didn't expect me to say anything back the look in his told me that he was disappointed or in the least expected me to say that I feel the same way about him, and I've been kicking myself about it for the past two weeks now.

Sometimes I thank God for him being an athlete because it keeps him so busy that I barely see him, I can't bear looking at him in the face and seeing the saddened look in his eyes every time we do make eye contact and to make matters worse, he still acts the same way he does around me but it's not the same.

When he joins me in the kitchen, he has his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, a switch up from his usual attire of his sweats or basketball kit. "You summoned me?"

I would laugh but as I said before I'm in no laughing mood. "what's this text about?" His eyes dart from the wall to mine, "what text?"

I arch a brow at him, "this text." I take out my phone from my cross-body purse and unlock it, going to my iMessage's and turning the phone around to face him, "this one."

He glances at it once before making eye contact with me, "read it aloud."

"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend for my family barbecue this weekend." He mumbles. I put my hand around my ear to make as if I can't hear him, "I'm sorry I can't hear you, what?" He rolls his eyes at me before, grabbing me by the forearm and tugging me out of the kitchen and opening the front door. He gets out first then I'm dragged out after.

He shuts the door behind me, and I lean against the door, arms folded, "was that really necessary?" As much as I won't admit it, even though the contact if his palm with my arm was before, my skin still tingles like it's still there.

"Look, okay shit I didn't expect this either but I got a call from my mom inviting me to the family barbecue this Saturday to celebrate my sister becoming valedictorian and she's been hoping I'd bring someone with as my date and I could hear the sadness in her voice when I said I was coming alone then I lied saying I would have to check with you first in case you're not working tonight and I - "

I wave my hands in front of him to stop his rant, Devontae looks like he's about to combust, "Whoa, hold up. I'm the one who's supposed to have verbal diarrhoea not you."

"Logorrhoea." It's my turn to pause now, "what?" He shrugs, "another word for verbal diarrhoea." I blink at him, he shrugs again. I shake my head as if to snap out of it, "Tae, this isn't going to work. I can't pretend to date you plus I'm working Saturday."

He immediately turns his attention to me, "you just called me Tae."

I release a deep sigh and look at him, defeated, my hands hanging to the side, "really, from everything I said that's what you heard me say really?" He runs a frustrated hand down his face, "can't you ask for someone to fill in for you?"

"No, I can't. I need that money and whoever is gonna stand in for me will get paid for my shift just because of your need to lie through your teeth."

"Please, Ki. I'll pay you triple what the diner pays you." That makes me raise my brows, "wow, you really are desperate." He rubs the back of his neck, "Kiana, this is my mom. I don't like lying to her I just didn't wanna let her down after the amount of times I have already."

I frown. Shit. I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming on strong, "okay, fine." I can feel the energy bouncing off him when he looks at me with the biggest grin I've ever seen. "Thank you, thank you."

"Don't think you're off the hook, Carter. When we go there, we're a couple but only a pretend one, aight?"

"Mmm mmm." He nods enthusiastically and I narrow my eyes at him, "I better not regret this."

"Pshh, nah. With me around you're always bound to have some fun." He winks at me, and I press my lips into a line to prevent myself from showing any react to the one small gesture. He raises his pinkie for our traditional pinkie swear to seal the deal. "God, I need a drink."

I turn to open the door and I let myself in, on the other side of the door I find our friends, strewn about on the floor trying to act casual but I know that that's far from it. "Were you guys eavesdropping?"

"What? No. Just checking out how it is to sleep pile like in The Croods." Roman answers and the others groan and mumble, trying to untangle their limbs from one another. I feel Devontae's towering over me as he closes the door behind me, "tsk tsk, pitiful."

"Right? As if basically coming here and eating up all the food isn't enough, y'all gotta listen in on private conversations."

"I can sell them on eBay if you want." Devontae says low that only I can hear, and I can't help but snort from laughter. "I gotta go, byeee." I wave at them and the other groan a response while Devontae waves me goodbye.

...

''This was a bad idea.''

''Look, relax. Okay, I'll be there every step of the way. Let's go over our script; '' Devontae tells me for the tenth time.

"We met at school freshman year, but we ended up dating other people until you finally got the courage to ask me out." At that he frowns at me, I let out a spluttering laugh at his expression, "what? that's what you said!" He shakes his head at me and takes something out of his pocket and shoves in my hand.

I open my palm to see a couple hundred dollars wrapped in a bundle, "why are you giving this to me like I'm a drug dealer also why did you give me so much this is more than what you promised me?" He raises and drops his left shoulder, "consider it a generous tip and so help me God, you refuse it." He adds on when he sees me opening my mouth to refute it.

"Oh, and another thing." He drops a small tequila bottle in my hand, "for the nerves. You and I both know you need liquid courage to do risky shit."

I don't know whether to be offended or grateful. "Let's go, mama." He opens his car door and jogs his way over to my side, dressed in an abstract print ruched dress with spaghetti straps and a mid-thigh slit and simple black platform heels. I did a more natural makeup look with lip gloss instead of lipstick. He opens the door for me and reaches out for me to get out. When my heeled soles hit the curb, I take in the house's appearance. Staring at the house in awe, not even blinking 'cause I think I'll miss something. I remember the days of freshman year when Sasha were obsessed with watching WAGS and the life of luxury they live. It's huge, the diligence, the colour scheme...I don't even get the time to stare at the house in appreciation because Devontae laces his fingers through mine and gently tugs me to the door but me feet don't wanna move.

Rooted in place, I shake my head, panic rising in my chest. My chest feels tighter with every breath I take, my vision blurring and my body trembles like a bucket of ice water dumped on my head, "I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this."

"Hey, hey, hey. What's going on? Talk to me." He lets go of my hand and each of his large hands cover my cheeks. I shake my head profusely and I can't hold back the tears that start leaking from my eyes, "oh shit." I hear him say before I can't hear anything except the pounding of my heart in my ears. I close my eyes and try to remember the voice of my mom whenever I get panic attacks, which is until Devontae take his hand and covers it over my chest and makes me do the same.

His fingers clasp my hand that's placed a little to the right of his chest and he takes my free hand to his, I close my eyes and slowly I can hear Devontae's voice seeping through, registering what he's saying. "Don't listen to anything else, just focus on my heart. Can you feel it?"

It beating at a slow and steady pace, slower than my own. I focus on the pace of his and breathe deeply, inhaling from my nose and exhale through my mouth. I repeat these two more times and I finally open my eyes to find Devontae has his forehead resting on mine, he open his eyes and release a deep sigh and says nothing as he wraps his arms around my shoulder and mine go around his waist. The smell of his cologne permeates my nostrils relaxing me a bit more.

He's the first to pull from our embrace and wipes under my eyes with his thumbs, "you aight?" I open my mouth to say something, but no words come out, it feels as if a large rock lodged in my throat and all I can manage to say is strangled sobs and resort to just raising my shoulders up and down in a shrug.

Devontae simply nods, wrapping an arm around me again, "I got you, aight?" I nod against him, and he sighs once more placing his lips on forehead. "You ready?" I plaster on a fake smile, and he takes my hand in his as we walk to the front door, "you can still make a break for it, ya know?"

"I think that's a bit too late for that now, you just paid me. Handsomely too." I force out with a crack in my voice at the end of my sentence, and that makes Devontae laugh, "you're making me sound like I paid you to service me."

"Funny." I reply drily and he snickers before opening the wooden doors and letting me in first, and the first thing I see when I enter the Carter family home is the large kitchen area with a huge island that's got platters of food lined up and someone who I assume is the personal chef doing the final changes on the dishes.

If the house looked grand on the outside it's nothing compared to the inside, with a spiral staircase, the huge open concept of the living room, and the kitchen. There are tasteful, small ornate decorations that scream that feminine touch. The ceiling is extremely high with large windows to see the driveway. The living room consists of cream coloured couches and the sound of soft 90's R&B is playing throughout the house. Devontae guides me further into the house with his hand on lower back, "Momma!" He yells into the house.

His mom then appears in the kitchen who's eyes dart between me, and her son and her face immediately lights up at the sight. Ms Carter, a beautiful, brown-skinned woman, who could pass for thirty; her skin is so youthful and flawless. Her body is in decent shape for somebody who had four children, with a toned upper body and full hips. I can't help but feel even more intimidated by this gorgeous woman.

She engulfs Devontae into a hug, swaying from side to side and I can't help but smile at the sight; he wasn't lying when he said really loves his mom, something I'll tease him for later. They pull back, Devontae having his arm over his mom's shoulder as they both turn to me who has been standing there silently.

"Ma, this is Kiana, Kiana this is my mom.''

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Carter." I stick out my hand for her to shake. Ms Carter glances at my hand with an arched brow and I want to die from embarrassment until suddenly Ms Carter throws her arms around me into a large hug. Shook at her actions, I stand with my hands to my sides as I try to process it all and when I do, I wrap her arms around her.

"It's so nice to meet you, baby. Devontae has told me a lot about you." Ms Carter beams at me. My brows raise in surprise as I look at Devontae who's standing behind his mom. "Oh, has he now?" I arch a brow at him. He runs his hand down his face at his mom's lack of filter, "where's everybody else?"

"In the backyard. Can you tell your father to hurry up with the burgers, please? We ain't gonna wait all day." She yells at our retreating forms as he grabs my hand and takes me to the sliding door separating the living and kitchen from the outside. In the large backyard is who I presume to be his father and his brothers. The similarities in their eyes and nose as well their height.

Their dad, who's manning the grill finally turns around and hangs back when I'm introduced to Devontae's older brothers; DeAngelo and Deandre. "So, you're the girl that my brother been talking about?" Deandre says.

"Damn it. Ma!" Devontae stomps back into the kitchen to scold his mother for airing his business, his brothers and I snicker. Mr Carter joins the three of us and the laughter quickly dies down when he comes to a stop in front of me.

"So, you're the famous Kiana? To say you're not what I expected." He asks. I don't know what to respond to the condescending comment. I refrain from showing the way I truly feel on my face and instead say, "well, you're not what I expected either." At that Mr Carter's brows raise at my response before Ms Carter gets me from outside to join her in the kitchen.

...

The dinner table at Carter's household is buzzing with conversation and laughter except for one person. Donte Carter has been watching the family event closely or should he say a certain someone closely. The family has become accustomed to his brooding ways; Devontae the other hand just knows that this was only the beginning.

"So, Kiana?" Donte starts, "I've been hearing that you're studying psychology?" I stop and stares at Mr. Carter. This is the first time he's addressing me directly since the whole thing in the back yard. I clear my throat when I realise that he's still waiting for an answer, "oh, yes, I am."

He has a look of indifference on his face as he slices through his steak, "Psychology...doesn't that take quite a while to become a qualified psychologist?"

I don't know what he's getting at. "Yes. It's a 4 year degree, 3 year Masters, 3 years Honours, a board exam then a year internship. I've never seen it as a challenge though. As much it would take quite a while, I honestly enjoy the fact that I'll be helping people as a result."

Donte Carter simply blinks at me, and I briefly let my eyes drift to Devontae who's sitting next to me, flashes me an inconspicuous smile and I bite the inside of my cheek, to not flash him a full one. If Mr Carter wants to play this game, so be it. Donte's brows rise. "So, no backup plan then?"

Devontae glares at his father from across the table, and I see his mom subtly (not exactly) yank on the sleeve of his dress shirt, I however remains unphased. I shake my head, "no, I always had my heart set on psychology that I never thought of doing anything else."

At my answer Mr. Carter's corner of his lip quirks, "so no Plan B? what if the psychology thing doesn't work out?"

I counter back just the sentence leaves his mouth, "It will always work out. I intend on starting my own practice eventually. "

"Your confidence is commendable; I'll give you that. Though in life it's rather preferrable to always have a plan to fall back on, should something not work out." He brings his glass of whiskey up to his lips, watching me intently. If I let him get under my skin, he wins. The top of my left eye twitches in annoyance as I stare at the pompous man from across the table.

"Donte! Enough." Ms Carter scolds him but he doesn't stop.

"Loretta, there's nothing wrong in wanting to find out what someone is planning to do with their life. Clearly this girl doesn't since she's set on doing only one career."

"Dad!" Devontae hisses. DeAngelo simply shakes his head in disappointment and Deandre looks like he's tuned out long ago, staring into space. Destiny's eyes keep on darting between her dad, her mom, her brothers, and me, she's now pushing her food around the plate rather than eating. Probably lost her appetite. Like me.

I push my chair back aggressively against the hardwood floor, the loud screeching sound of the chair draws everyone's attention to me, "I believe I have lost my appetite. No, please everyone stay enjoy your dinner. Don't stop on my unambitious behind." I say, making sure to give Donte Carter one last icy glare leaving the Carter family to eat in awkward silence. I'm about to reach the top of the stairs when I hear heavy footsteps running after me.

"Kiana, wait!" Devontae calls after me, this makes me only walk up the stairs faster, "hold up, can you just wait a second?!" He grabs me by the forearm, "look at me, please." I turn around, yanking my arm from him, "what?"

He jerks his head back like I physically hit him, "what? I know you ain't talking to me." I snort. Almost, "Devontae, your father literally made me feel even smaller than I already was, nothing you say can make feel any better."

"Look, I don't know what crawled up his ass but what he said isn't the truth, you know it isn't. I for one know it isn't." He steps onto another step; he grabs my wrist and brings me into a hug. I try to act tough, but I end up melting in his arms. I release a shaky breath, trying to not cry.

"C'mon, let's go." He says, gently. I reluctantly let him go as he takes me by the hand and opens the door to his room. "Make yourself comfortable." He says, taking off his sneakers and exchanging them for slides, "I'm going to get our stuff from the car. The bathroom is this first door, then my shirts are in the first drawer since I know your ass finna steal one anyway."

A laugh escapes me as he leaves the door, sparing me a small smile before closing the door behind him. I decide to just take a shower, knowing the hot water will calm the tension in my body after such a disaster of a dinner. I take off my clothes and head into the bathroom. Damn, I've only seen bathrooms like this on Architectural Digest, the bathroom has a monochrome colour scheme of white, grey, and black. Not the colours I'd necessarily pick for a bathroom but somehow it works.

There's a huge tub that's big enough to fit more than two people in it, the double vanity with mirrors that have built in lights, that you can adjust the brightness. Then there's the shower. The tiled shower with adjustable shower head and even a bench to sit on. I'm about to turn on the water but I can't because it's an entire range of buttons that I can't figure it. I click on a