Page 69 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

And it ruined me.

Yeah, I thought, thinking over Darren’s answer to my question. If I were being honest, I hadn’t believed it either.

Jitter Cam 09-D’Vaughn

I have no idea where y’all found these DJs but this was an interesting task. That first guy apparently doesn’t listen to the lyrics of any song at all because why would he think that some of those songs were appropriate?

DJ High-Fee though? She was amazing! She started off her set on the right foot and stayed there until the end. I almost asked her to keep going, but Darren insisted that we hear all three of them. She’s my choice though.

Um...can we talk about Ray turning his horny up to level ten when he met my brother?! I did not have that happening on my insta-wedding bingo card! And Darren was so kind about it! He just laughed it off and remained cool. Actually, this just reminded me that I need to go pop up at his house later because I haven’t had a chance to hang out with him good since the show has started. We’ve always been really close, and I want to make sure that he knows that hasn’t changed. He was fine today, but still. That’s my Bubba and I miss him.

This was fun, but it sucks that we’re doing all of this work for nothing. I mean, even if we make it to the wedding, we won’t get to experience this part. If we win, that’s it. That’s the end. Who do I have to talk to to request that we still get to have a reception? That’s the real question. I mean, The Majestic had some mouthwatering meal options. It’s pretty evil to make us pick out six full courses and not let us get to eat them. I’m gonna start a campaign to petition for the reception. Did y’all hear DJ High-Fee? I want to dance to her set while eating chicken cordon bleu and sipping champagne.

Kevin! I need to talk to you!

Chapter Twelve

D’Vaughn

Flower Child

It was no surprise to anyone that the two people who agreed to go with Kris and I to choose the flowers were our mothers. So far, the only task they’d passed on was selecting the DJ. Kayla insisted that she wouldn’t be any help because she had no idea what music we liked these days, and I think Mama only bowed out because of how Darren perked up when I started talking about it at Sunday dinner. I’d always planned to bring him along, but I guess Mama hadn’t known that and wanted to push his involvement.

The florist was on the north side of town, closer to Kris’s hometown than any of the other places we’d been visiting thus far, so Mama and I decided to carpool. When we arrived, Kayla was already there and inside looking at arrangements. We met Kris on the sidewalk in front of the storefront and she led us inside.

“D’Vaughn, hi!” greeted the bubbly florist whose green apron was embroidered with Jae in the top right corner. “Welcome to Blissful Blooms!”

Her exuberance was contagious, and I suddenly felt a little excited about the evening’s task.

“Thank you!”

“I’ve been chatting with Kris and Mrs. Zavala here while my assistant finishes pulling all of your pieces together. Why don’t you all follow me to the back and we can take a look?”

Jae led us to a room that was filled with several colorful groupings of flowers. There was an empty table in the center of the room and a counter that ran the length of the room. The table was surrounded by chairs, and the walls held several images of wedding paraphernalia like dresses, venues, tuxedos, and hairstyles. Under each photo was an arrangement.

“Please, have a seat,” she instructed, waiting for us to do so before bringing the first arrangement to the table.

Mama gasped. “Oh my. These are beautiful!”

“I agree. Que hermosa!” Kayla exclaimed, lifting the arrangement with both hands as if it were a newborn whose neck still needed to be supported.

It was a mixture of blue roses, baby’s breath, lilies, and white daisies. Jae then brought a tray containing a couple of each flower from the arrangement over to the table and began explaining their significance. Kris plucked a lily from the tray and brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply. As she exhaled, she caught my eye and smiled. Before I knew it, she was standing in front of me, tucking the stem behind my ear, arranging the flower so that it sat perfectly alongside my twistout. Taking a step back, she cupped my chin and nodded.

“Beautiful as always.”

“Aww!”

Heat engulfed me as Mama, Kayla, and Jae all turned their eyes on us. Kris always knew the right thing to say, and do, when we were within earshot of an audience. It made perfect sense that she was so successful as a content creator on social media. Everything always seemed authentic, even when—especially when—it wasn’t. This moment was definitely for the cameras. I understood that. But the look in her eyes and the words falling from her lips were so reminiscent of that night at my apartment that my brain felt a little cloudy. I didn’t want to second-guess her, but I wondered how I was supposed to know when she was “on” and when she wasn’t if there was no real difference between the two.

As I thought too hard about things that I had no control over, things that didn’t matter at that moment, Kris leaned in and kissed my neck.

“Kris,” I halfheartedly scolded, cherishing her closeness but annoyed with myself for the directions my thoughts had gone. “We’re supposed to be picking arrangements for the wedding. You’re holding up the process.”

“It’s not my fault that you distract me from work. What am I supposed to do? Ignore you?”

Biting back a pleased grin, I opened my mouth to suggest that she do exactly that, but she immediately shook her head, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Ain’t happening, so you might as well toss that thought right out of the window.”