Page 21 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

It wasn’t until Ray gasped that I realized what happened. When D’Vaughn had touched me, she’d used her left hand.

The hand that currently held a decently sized engagement ring.

“Damn!” exclaimed Ray as he leaned forward, both of his palms flat on the table. “What the hell have I missed?! How do you have a whole ass fiancée when I didn’t even know you were dating anyone?”

“Yo, chill!” Glancing around, I checked to see if anyone had heard his loud ass over the music.

His mouth fell open. “No one knows? Not even Mami?!”

“Not yet. I’m waiting to tell them after KiKi has her moment.”

“Okay, okay. I get that.” Propping his elbows up on the table, he scooped more food into his mouth and eyed us.

“How long has this been going on? When did y’all meet? When did this—” he gestured at D’Vaughn’s hand that was now hidden under the table “—happen?”

I turned to D’Vaughn. We’d discussed how to answer this question.

“The time doesn’t matter,” I said smoothly, “only that we both realized that we were meant to be together around the same time.” It was simultaneously a sidestep of the question and a play on words. It was so clever that I deserved a pat on the back.

“Oh.” Ray sat back. “So it’s true what they say about lesbians, then? By the second date you’re moving in, and by the third, you’re picking out matching engagement rings?”

D’Vaughn cringed. “Well, I’ve never moved this fast with anyone before so I can’t attest to that.” I shot her a quick glance, unsure if I had imagined the dip in her tone. Did she say that for the benefit of the show, or had she felt that same...whatever it was that I’d felt when she touched my face? It was just a look, but it had also felt like so much more than that.

Ray nodded, as if he understood completely. “Well, she does have the Zavala face. This thing can make many a discerning individual lay their well-placed hesitations to the side.”

“Ray,” I groaned, “shut the fuck up.” The last thing I needed was him intimating that I used my looks to drive women wild.

His grin widened. “Why? Clearly I’m right, or your future wifey wouldn’t be here sporting that jewelry that she’s trying to hide. Unless it was the stud energy.” Narrowing his eyes, he peered at us both. “Hmm, you’ve given me a lot to think about. Maybe I need me a li’l butch to put a ring on my finger.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully before taking another bite.

“Uh...” D’Vaughn aimed an unsure glance from Ray to me, lifting her bottle of soda to her mouth. I could read the question in her eyes like the paper on Sunday morning. Before I could clear things up, Ray reached across the table and patted her arm.

“Oh, I was just joking, love. I’m a bottom-bitch through and through, and while those plasdicks might work for your holes, I need the real thing. I like my meat throbbing or it don’t feel good.”

D’Vaughn immediately began choking on her drink and I patted her back as I laughed at my brother. Ray could be a lot for even the most outrageous of us all. No doubt D’Vaughn was overwhelmed; her brows were already lifted toward the clouds.

“It feels good enough. Ain’t that right, baby?” Turning to D’Vaughn, I ran my nose along her cheek.

“Oh my gosh,” she murmured, dropping the glass bottle onto the table before letting her head fall forward into her hands as she groaned.

Ray gasped in faux shock, eyes widening at D’Vaughn’s obvious embarrassment. “Oh, you’re shy? How in the world did you end up with this attention whore?” Ray jutted his chin in my direction.

Snapping her head up, her brows furrowed in confusion as she swung her gaze from Ray to me, and back to Ray.

“Who’s an attention whore?”

When my baby brother’s mouth fell open and he straightened in his seat, I could tell that this time his shock was genuine.

“You don’t know?” He turned to me. “She doesn’t know?!”

“Uh,” D’Vaughn hesitated, “know what?”

Suddenly, Ray threw his head back and cackled like the fucking Wicked Witch of the West. Rolling my eyes toward the cloudless sky, I prayed for rain.

“No wonder you’re trying to one, two, skip-a-few your way to the altar,” he quipped once his laughter eased up enough for him to talk.

“Shut the fuck up, Raymond!” I sputtered. “She already knows about the social media shit.”

D’Vaughn frowned and gave Ray a weird look. “Oh. Is that what you’re talking about?” She snorted and picked up a taco from her abandoned plate. “Everybody on social media is begging for attention; that’s nothing special.” Shooting me a glance, she winked. “No offense.”