Page 36 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

D’Niesha’s mouth fell open in shock. “Oh snap!” she whispered. “That’s true.”

I bit back a laugh as D’Vaughn sat the plate onto the counter and came over to us, her hips swaying with every step. “No, Niesha. Ignore her.”

“How can I ignore her when you skipped denial and went straight to scolding? You basically just confirmed it.”

Fisting her hands at her hips, D’Vaughn pinned her baby sister with a firm stare. “I never said she was lying. I said ignore her. She knows better than to discuss our private time in public—” she rolled her neck to meet my gaze “—but I guess she’s acting out since she’s finally getting to meet the family. Is that it, babe?”

Laughing, I licked my lips. D’Vaughn wasn’t just leaning into her role, she had full-fledged jumped in with both feet. This was a bona fide performance and I loved it.

“You know I love to get under your skin, preciosa.”

I punctuated that with a wink and pursed my lips at her, which only served to make her narrow her eyes in response.

“You think you’re so freakin’ cute, don’t you?”

“Nah, baby. You think I’m cute.”

She smiled then. It was soft, small, and somehow I recognized that it was not quite a part of the game we were playing. Shaking her head, she dragged her gaze from the top of my head, running the length of my body before returning to my face without bringing her eyes to mine.

“Actually, cute doesn’t do you justice. I think you’re absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous.”

The room fell silent as I stared at her in surprise. D’Vaughn shifted her weight from one foot to the other, as though she was embarrassed by what she’d said, and then she turned around and snatched the plate off of the counter before stepping back up to the stove. I moved before thinking, taking determined steps until I was at her side. She didn’t look up at me, not even when I gently tugged the plate out of her hand and once again settled it on the counter. It wasn’t until I slid my arm around her waist and tilted her chin toward me that she finally lifted her eyes to meet mine.

She hadn’t meant to admit that. The flush on her cheeks and slightly lowered brows made that clear. Regardless, I was glad she’d allowed herself to let that slip. All traces of our game had fallen away as I stared down at her, face somber and insistent.

“Kris, I—”

“Whatever you see in me,” I interrupted, not giving her an opportunity to explain away what she’d admitted since I had no desire to hear her retract that, or to try and turn it into something else, “know that it’s only a fraction of what I see when I look at you.”

“Kris.”

There was a marked difference in the way my name sounded when it fell from her lips this time, and the distinction is what had me forgetting that her sister stood a few feet behind us, or that we were standing in her deeply religious mother’s kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. It was the way she sighed my name as if it were a prayer she uttered before climbing into bed at night that made me press my lips to hers, in an initially soft embrace that quickly turned more insistent the moment that she slipped her tongue into my mouth. It happened so fast, and suddenly a soft moan bubbled up from between us, but I had no idea of its origin, only that I wanted to hear it again and was ready and willing to make that happen when a sound that was a cross between a squeak and a hiccup made us tear our lips away from one another.

We both turned to find D’Niesha not so silently crying with her hand slapped over her mouth. When she noticed us watching her, she shook her head quickly and waved a hand.

“Don’t mind me,” she choked, yanking a paper towel from the roll that was mounted under the top cabinets.

D’Vaughn stepped around me and went to her sister. “Niesha, what’s wrong?”

D’Niesha shook her head again and blew her nose loudly. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong.” She gestured toward me. “That was beautiful, and it just hit me that I’ve never seen you like this before. I’ve never seen you have flirty banter with someone—with anyone—let alone someone you’re in a relationship with. I just—we’ve missed so much of your life, and it breaks my heart.” Her tears started up again; this time her shoulders were shaking as she buried her face in her hands. In that position, she looked so similar to how D’Vaughn had looked hours earlier at the church that my chest got tight.

“Don’t cry, sissy,” D’Vaughn pleaded. “I’m so sorry.”

Snapping her neck up, D’Niesha’s face was scrunched into a frown as she stared at her sister. “No! Don’t you dare apologize for this! You didn’t feel safe sharing your whole self with us and that’s not your fault. I can’t speak for Mama or Darren, but I have to take responsibility for that. I know we’re a few years apart, but I thought we were close growing up. I wish I knew why you didn’t think you could talk to me.”

“I don’t know why, Niesha. I thought you might tell Mama or Daddy, and I didn’t want that. I guess I was just being a coward.”

My face hardened and I took a step toward them. “Don’t you ever let me hear you say some shit like that again.”

D’Vaughn spun around, her mouth agape. “Kris!” she whisper-yelled. “You cannot be cussin’ in my mama’s house!”

“Lo siento,” I immediately said, still pinning her with my gaze, “but I meant what I said. Protecting yourself isn’t cowardice. If you’re around people who are notorious for being homophobic, you have to do what you have to do.”

“Kris is right.” We all turned to see Darren standing at the entrance of the kitchen.

D’Niesha nodded, touching D’Vaughn’s arm to get her attention. “Even as a kid, you knew there was a possibility that you wouldn’t be accepted. I’m not mad at you for that. I’m actually angry about the situation. You having to be alone with that knowledge of who you were at such a young age just infuriates me.”

Twisting her lips to the side, D’Vaughn shrugged. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I wasn’t completely alone. Cinta’s parents knew.”