The week passed in a blur, the time-consuming efforts of work making me forget what day it was. The weekend passed in the same fashion, and it was Sunday before I knew it.

Jeremiah asked if I wanted to hang out today, as my days were usually filled with work. However, I had to decline because today was the day I was going to let my family know what was up with my relationship status.

Michael had already unintentionally found out. He had found himself at my place the Friday after the night at the club, a bottle of Hennessy in hand ready for the drinking. He was disappointed when he found out that I had plans to go to Green Lake with my boyfriend.

Darius had his suspicions as well after his run-in with Jeremiah at my place a little while back. Since then, he had been texting me nonstop to see if the mystery man who had come to take me out on my date was my boyfriend.

As I walked the familiar streets to my family home, I found myself growing nervous at the thought of telling my parents. The cool air whipping my face was doing nothing to cease the sweat that was catching in my eyebrow.

My parents had always supported me in everything that I had ever done. I assume they will in anything that I ever will. Still, their initial reaction to Jeremiah wasn't exactly a positive one.

After the first event I had gone to, I told them all about it and who I had on my arm, their reactions falling between disappointed and scared. They had deemed that they already didn't trust Jeremiah, even though they had never met him. The two of them had concluded that, since he was able to work his way into these high-end events, he had to be lying to me about the state of his employment.

I shut them down, and ever since, there has been the faintest hint of tension.

I opened up the front gate and took the climb up to the house. Even from the bottom of the driveway, the house still nowhere near my sight, I was able to smell whatever it was that my parents were cooking.

As I grew closer, I deciphered the aroma as a mixture of garlic, corn, shrimp, and crabs. At the smell of the seafood boil, my nerves dissipated and there was an added skip to my step. If there's one thing my parents could always get right, it was whatever meal they decided to throw on the table.

"I smell a seafood boil," I sang as I made my presence known. Without being asked, I grabbed a stack of plates and began setting them on the table.

"What's wrong with you?" Michael was seated at the island in the kitchen, doing nothing, as per usual.

"Can I not be excited for a seafood boil, little gremlin?"

"Tiara, we all know why you're especially happy lately."

I quirked a single eyebrow as I took the stool next to him, daring him to say anything inappropriate.

"It could have something to do with the new di-"

"Outta pocket!" I interrupted. "Outta pocket, outta pocket, outta pocket." I got up from my place at the island and ventured over to my parents, but not before giving Michael a quick thump on the back of the head.

"Tiara, I swear if you just messed up my hair..."

"Don't worry. Your waves won't be drowning today." I smiled sweetly at him, which earned me a scowl.

"How are you today, Mama?" I pecked her on the cheek as I moved to stand next to her. I watched as she grabbed the cover to the pot off the white marble countertop.

"I'm tired of your brother hanging around here every day like he doesn't have his own home to go to." She decided to complain instead of answer the question.

"I see you're freeloading again, baby brother." I pivoted on my toe and found a seat at the island once again. "Are you not a grown-ass man with a girlfriend and a child?"

"Is it a crime to want to spend time with my family?" A hand found his heart as he feigned offense.

"Is that three-year-old daughter of yours not your family?"

His features morphed into a glare as he took a moment to answer, "Touché."

"How is my niece, anyways?" I was handed a stack of forks, and I ventured towards the table to put them down. "I feel like I haven't seen Simone in ages."

"She's doing good," he responded with a small sigh. "Potty training is finally over, but now she won't stop asking 'why.'"

"'Why?'"

"Everything is 'why.' I tell her I'm going out and to be nice to mommy, and she just has to know why I'm going out. And after that why I have to hang out with my friends. And why my friends want to go out instead of stay inside." Another sigh found its way out of my brother.

"Sounds adorable to me."

Two of my kid brothers came downstairs and joined Michael and me at the island. I placed hands on both Jevon and Donte's heads, their gazes simultaneously looking up to see what new weight was added.

"You wanna take her for a week, then? I'm sure Simone would love to spend seven straight days with Auntie Tiara."

"One, I can't believe you got her calling me that dumbass name." I glowered and was greeted with a chuckle. "Two, Auntie Kiara is just for presents and occasional quality time. At the end of the day, that's your baby girl."

"Seems like soon enough you'll have one of your own, what with that bo-"

"You never know when to stop talking." I thumped him on the head for the second time as I interrupted.

"With what?" Jevon piped up. He looked over both of us as he took a sip of water from his glass.

"Mind your business." I stepped to the fridge and grabbed a can of some alcoholic seltzer, removing myself from the situation.

"Kiara's got a boyfriend," Michael spilled.

"You do?" Donte asked, now interested in the conversation.

"Darius makes sense now. I thought he was just talking outta his ass before," Jevon spoke.

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's been talking all this saying that you got a new man." Another sip of water. "But you know how he just talks, so me and Tray just told him to pipe down."

"You're telling me Trayvion's got his little suspicions now too?"

"Nah. He's been busy with his little girlfriend lately, so he kinda just shrugged it off."

I puffed out my cheeks and closed my eyes, a heavy sigh leaving me shortly afterward.

I should've known that Darius couldn't keep his mouth shut and that the news would shortly trickle down the family chain. While I thought that I had a piece of my life to myself away from my family, my little brother had been spreading the news around like wildfire.

"Do Mama and Pops know?"

"If they knew, you know they would have said something by now," Michael said. "I would've had to pull all the pieces of you from next week by now."

I nodded, a small breath of relief flowing smoothly, as I knew he was right. My brothers finding out via one loud-mouthed Darius was something that I was okay with. But, if that's the way my parents would have found out, I'd have to beat his ass.

"Good thing the plan is to tell them tonight."

My siblings and I helped dish out the meal our parents had prepared for us before digging in. It was quiet at the start of our supper, but I couldn't help but catch the stares of my brothers as they waited for me to speak up.

My phone vibrated on the table. I set my fork down, checking the notification. Underneath the green message notification read "Shining Siblings," the genius name Michael had come up with for our sibling group chat.

My eyes flittered over the message that Donte had sent, the eye emoji staring back at me. I rolled my eyes and quickly typed out a text telling him to mind his business before setting my phone back down on the table.

"Anything important, Kiara?" my mom asked. She casually looked up at me as she ripped the tail off of her shrimp.

"No, it was-"

"Actually," Jevon cut in before I could finish. My eyes set on him and narrowed into slits. An innocent smile found its way from his lips to my eyes as he continued on. "Kiara has good news to tell everyone. Ain't that right, Ki?"

A taut smile stretched my lips. "Thanks, Von, for the intro." My parents looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to spill the good news. "Mama, Pops." I took a beat to take a breath and settled my hands on my lap. "You remember that man I told you about? The one who took me to a couple events?" I watched both my parents set their food down and place their elbows on the table, hands joining into a fist, chins resting atop them. "Yeah, he's my boyfriend now. I figured I should tell you before loud-mouthed Darius spilled."

"Hey, I'm not in this," Darius denied, hands flying into the air.

"Cleary, Darius wasn't loud-mouthed enough." Mama pursed her lips, head turning towards Pops for a moment. "If he was, I would've marched to your lil apartment days ago."

"Mama-"

"Your father and I been told you about how all those people in that industry move. And yet you're over here, gallivanting around with a man who is just like them."

"Mama, Jeremiah's not-"

"Kiara, I am not finished."

"Ma, if I may," Michael voiced before she could continue to berate me. "I know Tiara has never made the smartest choices because I mean..."

Of course he had to be obnoxious, even now.

"But never in my life would I let her get with a man who had the potential to ever do what those business people did to the company and us. This is my sister we're talking about, and I would never let any man hurt her."

"You ever met this man, Michael?" My father spoke for the first time. There was an accusatory undertone to his question, and with that, I knew that he knew that Michael had never met him.

"No, but-"

"Then, I'm going to need you to sit this one out and let your mother finish speaking, son."

"Michael hasn't met Jeremiah yet," I said before my mother could continue. "But him, Jeremiah, Adrienne, Ricardo, and I are all going out to dinner on Friday night. Isn't that right, my dearest brother?" I discreetly slid my phone from the table and pulled it into my lap, typing out a message to my brother letting him know that if he doesn't back me, I'm going to beat his ass.

"Exactly," he corroborated. "If I would've been able to finish, y'all would have heard me say that myself. We're going to Six Seven."

After we finished up the rest of what became a tense dinner, I whisked away all the dishes, speedily cleaned them, and dragged Michael out the mansion door with a quick goodbye to my parents and siblings. "Why the hell would you say we're going to Six Seven?" I hissed.

"Ah, yes. You're welcome, darling sister, for having your back in that situation. What could you do to repay me?" He had a hand cupping his ear. "Paying for my dinner at Six Seven on Friday? Oh, that's too kind of you to ask."

"Shut up, idiot. Adrienne and Ricardo can't afford Six Seven! Neither can Jeremiah!" I threw my head back and let out a sigh. "And I'll be damned if I'm paying for everybody's food."

"Chill. I'll pick up the tab for you, Ri, and Ricky. All you have to worry about is Jeremiah and me."

Michael walked me back to my apartment, where he noticed a sleek black Jaguar sitting on the curb. A very familiar Jaguar, at that. I nudged my brother with my elbow and he glared, soon after catching the look on my face that was telling him to say nothing.

Jeremiah stepped out of the car, a white smile on his face, it subsiding gently as he noticed my brother next to me. "Hey, Baby. Who's this?"

"Hey, Boo." I placed my hands on his chest and rose up on my toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. "Jeremiah, this is my brother Michael. Michael, this is Jeremiah."

I could tell Michael was gathering his opinions of Jeremiah now based solely on what he was wearing. Jeremiah was clad in a simple outfit that you would see any black man on the street wearing. He had on a plain white tee, a crisp red flannel draped over it. A pair of faded gray jeans decorated his legs, a plain white pair of white Yeezy's on his feet.

"Nice to meet you, man." Michael nodded his head towards him and held out his hand, Jeremiah readily responding and dapping him up.

"Same to you."

"So, J," I took a deep breath and blew air through my nose before continuing. "You, me, my brother, Adrienne, and her boyfriend are all going out to dinner on Friday."

"Sounds like you're telling, not asking." Jeremiah quirked an eyebrow.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but my parents were weird, and I blurted out that all of us were going to dinner." I paused. "Dinner at Six Seven. Does seven work for you?"

"Yeah, that's cool. But, Baby, I'm gonna have to talk to you about something inside first."

"Of course." I fished my keys from my bag and handed them to Jeremiah. "I'll meet you inside in a second, okay?" He nodded and gave me a light peck on the cheek. He took the keys from my hand and nodded a quick goodbye to Michael before heading off to my place.

"So far, it's been a good impression," Michael praised.

"That's because I saw you eyeing his shoes the whole time he was standing here."

"Okay, I was. But listen, Kiara, I don't even have those shoes yet. Those are the newest Yeezy's." I scrunched my face, asking what his point was. "Yeezy's are almost three-hundred at release. If he's unemployed, how he afford those shoes?"

"I don't know, Michael. And I'm not about to ask because that's rude." He shrugged his shoulders, knowing I was deading the situation for now. "Can you make the reservation, please? I gotta go talk to Jeremiah about whatever, okay?"

"Don't worry, Tiara. I got this. Reservation at Six Seven for seven. See you Friday."

I nodded and hugged him before heading into the house to probably talk about how Jeremiah is going to afford this dinner.