Page 38 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

—Kevin

Book venues for the ceremony and reception

Secure a caterer for reception

Chapter Six

Kris

A Setup

The hard part was over and the game was on. The three-by-five index card that was delivered first thing Sunday morning gave us our first tasks—outside of breaking the news to our families—and Kevin had already told us that we had to get right on it. To D’Vaughn’s dismay, the show had already preselected the three venues that we were to choose from. Of course, we had to let our families believe that we found these places on our own, which was sure to be a large part of this week’s conflict.

“It’s going to be a fight,” D’Vaughn told me as we stood outside of the first location, waiting for our respective parents to arrive. Felix stood fifteen feet away with his camera in tow, and D’Vaughn and I were both mic’d. “Mama is going to want us to get married at Abundant Salvation.”

“Nah,” I countered. “It won’t be a fight at all. This isn’t her wedding and she isn’t paying for it.” Twisting my neck, I met her gaze. “So, we’ll let her know that, while we appreciate her input, the ultimate decision will be ours.”

The way one of her eyebrows rose as she pursed her lips said she absolutely didn’t believe that would work.

“That sounds good coming out of your mouth, but we’ll see how it goes in real life.”

I chuckled and fanned a hand out in a wide arch in front of me. “Is this not real life?”

Grinning, she shook her head as she turned to face the parking lot. Ms. Miller’s champagne-colored Chevy Malibu had pulled into a spot a few feet away from where we stood on the sidewalk. I tried not to let latent anger from Sunday get the best of me.

“Absolutely not. In fact it’s—”

Casting a glance over at her mother’s car, I stepped closer to D’Vaughn, getting into her personal space and extending my neck so that I was speaking directly into her ear.

“For the next few weeks, this is real life, preciosa. You gotta remember that and act accordingly, aight?” I needed her to be in this like I was in this, and if she was constantly reminding herself that this was “for television” that wouldn’t happen. She might not have come on the show for the same reason as me, but she wouldn’t even be able to acknowledge that the potential was there if she didn’t relax some.

As if processing what I’d said, she nodded slowly.

I started to pull away, but the slamming of car doors said that her mother was now within eyesight, if not yet close enough to hear what we were saying. Although I could now hear the sound of Ms. Miller’s voice, I had no idea what she was saying, so instead of immediately pulling away from D’Vaughn, I leaned in closer and nuzzled her neck. She immediately stiffened, and in response, I placed one hand on her lower back and the other on her belly to keep her from stepping away from me.

“It’s okay,” I murmured in a soothing voice, “they know you’re gay, remember? They know we’re engaged. It’s okay.”

A shuddering breath went through her, and she visibly relaxed in my hold, giving me a single nod before tilting her head to the side as if to give me more access to her neck. The movement made me smile. I understood that this was hard for her. She’d gone her entire life concealing this part of herself from her family, and the instinct to hide or play off my affection in front of them wouldn’t just disappear because everyone now knew the truth. Having her back meant that I didn’t penalize her for that. Instead of punishing her, I would help her work through it; I would do as she asked and push her when it was evident that she wanted to run. I would prop her up and keep her from falling.

Maybe D’Vaughn had known exactly how this would play out and was more calculated than I had given her credit for, because unlike an organically acquired fiancée, my feelings were less likely to get hurt by her pulling away from me. I’d been anticipating this from day one, so to me, it was just a part of the show. As if it was simply another task that Kevin had given us that had to be completed in the face of our loved ones. Thinking of it that way made it easy to move past her hang-ups and be outwardly affectionate with her.

Lifting my chin, I captured her earlobe between my lips and tugged playfully, keeping the pressure light. She shrieked and jumped out of my embrace as if it had been a rabid dog that had latched onto her. With her hand to her ear, she gave me a wide-eyed look.

“Did you just bite me?”

Shaking my head, I took a step toward her. “Nah. It was a love bite. Nothing too serious.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m failing to see how that’s different from what I said.”

Grinning, I shoved my hands into the pockets of my khakis and shrugged. “What you want me to say, my love?”

Ms. Miller and D’Niesha walked over to us and I turned to give them both a one-armed hug before shooting D’Vaughn a grin. “You shouldn’t taste so good.”

D’Vaughn’s mouth fell open, and I fought not to laugh at the shocked expression on her face. D’Niesha held her hand up.

“Um, if y’all needed a minute, you could’ve just let us know and we would’ve waited in the car.” Her little quip was enough to shake D’Vaughn out of her stupor.

“Hush, Niesha,” she scolded as she bumped her sister out of the way with her hip before wrapping her arms around her mother in a tight embrace and giving the older woman a loving kiss on the cheek. “I promise that it’s not what it sounded like, Mama,” she hurriedly explained. “Kris just bit me on the ear is all.”