"Tootie, I'm finna be in my session, Ima call you later aight?" Khi yawned as he reached Kelvin's office. He and Kari were flying home tomorrow for his parents anniversary and he had things he wanted to talk to him about before they left.

"Okay," she smiled, separating her hair. She was having a wash day today, and he wanted to help. "Stop frowning, I am just parting my hair, Mekhi," she chuckled.

"Ain't nobody pouting, giraffe neck," he curled his lip up.

"See this why I be fucking you up, Tito Jackson. Watch who you talking to with them damn Jheri curls on your head," she snapped back, making him have to hold his hand over his mouth to keep his laughter down. "Bye, annoying," she smirked.

"Bye, mean ass," he chuckled and they ended their call.

He knocked on the door to Kelvin's office, and he was called in. Their sessions were only ad frequent as Khi needed them to be now, and today was one of those days.

"Hey," Khi smiled, taking his seat as usual.

"Hey, Khi," Kelvin turned to face him from his computer. "How you feeling today?"

"I'm good," he nodded. "Kinda tired, football wearing me out," he chuckled. "Thanks for seeing me,"

"No problem, I had some time today, it sounded important," he said. "You wanna start? Just let me know what's going on," he said.

"Okay," Khi nodded again. "Well, when I told my parents everything, my mom, she suggested we press charges," he sighed. "I'm going home tomorrow and I know she's probably gonna ask me about it, and I don't know what to to tell her,"

"Well...what do you wanna do?" Kelvin sat forward a bit.

"I-I'm not sure yet," he replied. "It's like I've moved past the want of something...very bad to happen to her. But I still want her to be punished for what she did. Seeing her walking around campus, it makes my blood boil and it makes me want to—anyway. I want her to be punished, I really do," he began.

"But?" the older man quirked an eyebrow up. "What's holding you back?"

"The whole idea of going to court and having someone try to pick my story apart. The thought of hearing questions that would purposely make it seem like I'm lying or trying to frame her for something. Just the thought of a prosecutor telling me that men or boys can't be raped and trying to like...downplay my experience makes me very angry," he said. "And the idea of being triggered for as long as they can have me on that stand is-is scary," he admitted. Kelvin nodded along as he spoke, completely understanding what Khi was saying.

"And then—as much as I love her for it, Sakari is liable to get put up there and picked apart for what she did to that girl. It was brutal, honestly. I don't want that for her or her family—and for my family to have to sit there and watch it all, and then there be a fifty-fifty chance nothing even happens to her? I don't know," he sighed.

"So you feel like there's more risk than reward?" he asked Khi.

"Yeah. I don't mean to be unrealistic but like even on tv men rarely get taken seriously by people. And then you got all these women who don't even get believed! The mental exhaustion isn't worth it," he sighed.

"Is there another but?" Kelvin asked.

"Yeah," he sighed loudly. "I don't want my mom to be disappointed in my choice. She can say she'll do whatever I wanna do but I know what she wants. Well, what she wants isn't a good decision but her alternative is this. I understand she wants the best for me and she wants me to be like vindicated and all that but-but I don't know if I can do it,"

"Then you don't do it," Kelvin said simply. "The point of the case wouldn't be for your mother or anyone else in your family to feel a sense of vindication, that's for you. And if you feel like you can't mentally handle a court case against her, then don't purse it. Your mental stability isn't worth it," he explained.

"I just don't...I don't want her walking around like she didn't hurt me. I hate that I have to see her at all and when football starts again I'll see her constantly," he ran his hands down her face.

"Have you considered going straight to the Dean? It'll be a little bit of a long process simply because the school doesn't take things like this lightly, but it's an option" Kelvin suggested.

"You think it'll work?" Khi looked up from his hands.

"I've seen people get taken out of class and sent straight to their dorms to pack and leave for things like this. If you wanna try, I think it'll work out. Of course I'll be there, but they may ask both of your families to be there too, are you okay with that?" he asked.

"Um...I think so," he nodded.

"If it's uncomfortable for you, I'll tell her family what she did," he commented, seeing the uncertainty in Khi's face. "We'll talk more about it if you really wanna go this route,"

Khi sat silently for a moment, thinking if this is really what he wanted to do. He didn't care about Amber and what happened to her, he was just nervous for it all going wrong. But if he sincerely didn't wanna go to court for it—this was his best bet.

"I-I wanna do it," he nodded.

"Okay," Kelvin nodded with a small smile, proud of how far Khi had come in these last months. "Talk to your parents and then we'll proceed from there. We have a little time left, tell me what's been going on," he changed the subject, and by the smile that crossed Khi's face he could tell he was about to start talking about Sakari.

"Baby I'm home!" Khi called dramatically, walking into his dorm, the sight making him laugh a little.

Sakari and Aja were cuddled under a blanket, actually asleep, as Traveon gave him the stalest face imaginable.

"Uh...what do we have here?" Khi laughed, dropping his bookbag.

"Kari was half sleep when me and Aja came back. Aja ass just got in the bed with her and told me she'd be waiting on me to shower so we could go out to eat. She fell asleep," he said, maintaining his face while Khi laughed at him.

"I mean she was probably tired, they look like some lil kids knocked the fuck out. You want me to wake Kari up?" he asked.

"Nah, Ima get Aja," he chuckled. "I just needed to get dressed. Baby, wake up," he said a little louder, walking over to Khi's bed and shaking her shoulder a little.

"No," she mumbled, moving closer to Sakari, who was heavily asleep.

"Baby. This not my bed, and Khi home," he said, and Khi watched in amusement as he eyes cracked open. "He wanna lay down too," he chuckled.

"Sorry, Khi," she mumbled, sitting up, causing Sakari to stir. "She looked comfy,"

Khi told her not to worry about it, laughing. He was certainly used to Sakari napping in his bed with people who were not him. Back at home, sometimes he'd come home from practice in high school and there she was with Semaja, Siarah or Shiloh—interchangeably. His parents always directed them to his room instead of the guest rooms and he just let them be.

A few minutes later, Aja and Trae were telling him goodbye, and to have a safe trip in the morning. Once they were gone, he stripped from his clothes and went to shower, hoping she'd be up by the time he came back.

She wasn't.

"What the hell you do today? Damn," he chuckled, looking her over. Her body was completely under his covers, and she lay on her stomach, mouth open on the pillow, one hand under her head while one of her legs was hiked up, adjusting to Aja being gone.

He assumed she abandoned the thought of washing her hair today, the silk scarf tied tightly around her head letting him know her hair was slicked down.

She groaned a little in her sleep as he sat on the bed, deciding if he wanted to sleep too or put his headphones on and turn on the playstation, but he could just hear her fussing—and he'd rather not invoke her wrath right now.

"Move over, Mama," he mumbled to her, peeling the covers back, nudging her leg.

"Khi move," she grumbled, turning away from him.

"This is my damn bed," he fussed, sliding in behind her. He yawned after a second and she turned back around, eyes open a little. "Hi," he chuckled.

"Hi," she sniffed, wiping her eye. "When you get here?" she asked, scooting to his side, and he let her under his arm.

"What? I been here. You just told me move," he pointed out.

"I did?" she mumbled, still half asleep, she probably wouldn't even remember this conversation tomorrow, but he humored her anyway.

"Mhm. You calling my name out in your sleep, you must have missed your man, huh?" he asked as she made herself comfortable. It took her a few positions before she was ready to go right back to sleep, but he knew it was coming.

"I miss you all the time," she yawned. He knew then she definitely wasn't gonna remember this. Mushy Kari was a rare occurrence, he was usually the one being 'gross' as she liked to call it. "Did you miss me?"

"You already know I did," he kissed her head and he saw her smile a little. Talking to her while she was half asleep was so fun to him. It was like drunk Kari without the refusals to actually go to sleep. "Go head back to sleep, Tutu," he laughed as she started mumbling anything that cane to her head.

"Okay. Kiss," she demanded softly.

"Use your manners," he chuckled and she pouted.

"Please kiss?" she asked and he leaned down to give her exactly that. "Thanks," she grinned a little bit.

"You're welcome," he kissed her forehead and rubbed his hand up and down her back as she used the comfort of his embrace and his warmth to lull her back into a peaceful rest. He knew he'd be right behind her.

"Hey old man!" Kari cheesed as she saw her father waiting on the two at the airport.

"Hey baby," he chuckled as she attacked him in a hug. "Hey Khi,"

"Hello my good man," he smiled, dapping him up, and Shemar simply shook his head, taking them to the car, as they updated him on school and things of the sort.

Once they got home, Kari happily skipped to her car, giving it a dramatic hug, making the guys laugh at her. They walked slower behind her, and Khi could tell he wanted to say something to him.

"You aight?" Khi asked, furrowing his eyebrows up.

"I uh...I just wanted to tell you. I love you, kid. I'm proud of you. I'on say it often because you're annoying," he teased and Khi bursted into laughter. "But, I do,"

Khi figured this was gonna happen. A few weeks after talking to his parents, he told Kari she was free to tell hers—he knew they may have also been wondering why he hadn't been himself and why he was so distant. He didn't wanna go through seeing her mom cry too so he just said if she was comfortable she could tell them. This was his family too, after all.

"Thank you, Unc. I love you too, I appreciate that, I really do," he smiled a little. "I'm glad I got y'all," he said, approaching their door. It truly wouldn't be a home visit if everyone wasn't in one house.

Before he could even fully step in, Siarah was at his feet, hugging his legs. "Poppop!" she squealed as he lifted her up. "You're back already!"

"I know! I missed you, baby. I had to come back and see you," he kissed her cheek and she gave him one back. "You saw Tootie?" he wondered.

"She said she had to poop," she shrugged casually and he nearly started crying laughing. "Your mama is here," she pointed upstairs toward her parents room.

"Yeah? Is my dad here too?" she wondered and she shook her head.

"Uncle Dre said he had to get Auntie a gift," she informed him, and he laughed yet again because his father probably forgot to pick the gift up—he knew he ordered it a while ago, but was procrastinating on getting it. Now their anniversary and party was tomorrow and he was rushing around.

He let Siarah down and jogged up to Tamika and Shemar's room—knocking repeatedly till they both yelled at him to stop and open the door. "What y'all ain't miss me or something?" he raised his eyes suspiciously.

"Hey Pop!" Tamika cheesed and his mother stood up to give him a kiss. Before they could really talk, they heard Kari fussing at Siarah.

"You can't just be telling people my business, Siarah," she said as they walked through the house together.

"You was just in the bathroom, Tootie," she said, nonchalantly. "Boys poop too,"

"Si—yes I know babe," she chuckled. "But what I do in the bathroom is private," she explained.

"Then why you be on the phone with him when—"

"Okay! Your speaking privileges are suspended. Where's Semaja," she rushed off and Khi did his best to not laugh at her.

"Look at me," Khi said to Kari as they sat at a table at his parents anniversary party the next day. "Ooh get into the face," he gassed like her friends would, and she laughed.

"Thank you, Bubba. You look handsome, I like this," she popped his suit collar. "You having fun?" she wondered.

It'd been going on for a while now, the dancing had started, and Khi was already tired, he literally was just relaxing along with his girlfriend. They had both been dancing with their families and Khi's different family members.

Sakari wanted more salmon and some sides before people started making to-go plates, and it was all gone, so she snuck off and managed to get a very good amount of food from the buffet, enough for her to sneak and eat in the middle of the night.

"Of course. I see you are, hungry ass," he laughed, as she ate some more cake.

"Have you had this damn cake? It's delicious. I only had two pieces," she chuckled. It was Tiramisu cake and half a piece of German Chocolate.

"No, not yet. Lemme get some," he pointed at her chocolate slice. She raised her eyebrows and looked between him and the cake, he could see her seriously weighing her options and he sucked his teeth at her. "Ima get some, stay here,"

"I'm kidding!" she laughed, cutting him a piece. "Here, big baby, open," she held the fork out towards him and he leaned forward taking it gladly. "Good?"

"Hell yeah!" he replied, mouth still full. "Now I really need some, hold on," he quickly stood up and cut in front of his little cousin while he wasn't paying attention to grab a slice, making the boy start to complain while Khi practically ran away.

Once he got back to the table, Sakari was dying laughing.

"You ain't shit!" she laughed and he shrugged, gliding his fork through and holding it out to her, repaying her for her piece, and she carefully took it, so she wouldn't mess her lipgloss up. "Thank you," she danced happily.

"You're welcome," he chuckled, as they ate together. Semaja joined them eventually and the three of them sat, talking about whatever was happening around them—like his aunt currently dancing on her husband, much to his dismay.

"She is damn near sixty, she better stop 'for that hip tell her sit her ass down," he said, and Semaja cracked up laughing. This was their favorite part of family functions—being mean to their own family.

"You better leave her alone, Ms. Helen getting her freak on," Kari snickered as he fake gagged. "That's gon be yo' mama and daddy in what? Twenty something years,"

"I'll be damned," he scoffed. "They already too much for me now,"

They continued their talking, until a song came on that put a smile on Khi's face. Semaja's as well—because she enjoyed watching Khi make her sister blush until she was acting shy. It was enjoyable to make fun of her for later.

"Come dance," he held his hand out to her as the beat started to drop.

My love, do you ever dream of
Candy coated raindrops?
You're the same, my candy rain

They both loved this song from when they were young. It was always played in their houses, and at all functions, so they just deemed it their favorite song. Khi now said it was her song. If he could put some of his feelings into words, these would be ones he'd choose.

"Come on! Before we miss the good part," he smirked and she blushed, taking his hand and letting her lead him to the floor, near where their parents were. Everyone was already dancing, so nobody was really looking at them, except their parents.

My love, did you ever dream
That it could be so right?
I never thought that I would find
All that I need in life
All I want, all I need now, I know
I know I found it in you, I found it in you
'Cause you are—

They sang together, Khi holding one of her hands as they both enjoyed the song as the chorus came back in, prompting him to turn her around, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his head in her shoulder. He swayed her side to side along to the beat as she giggled, singing along with him to the song, although his singing was much more dramatic.

He was happy—truly. Everyone could see it on his face and in the way he smiled when he looked at her. This was who he was meant to be with, there were no doubts in in anyone's minds—especially not his.

"Look! They're in love and all grown up and stuff," Tamika nudged her best friend as they watched the two dance together without a care in the world. "I really knew this was gonna happen. Shemar a hater," she giggled.

"I know! If only I knew she liked him sooner, I would have ran all them lil girls off," she shook her head, making Meeka laugh.

"Tam you ain't shit," she pushed her a little bit.

"What you think