KENNEDY

A frustrated groan escapes my lips as I struggle with the straps of my heels. After a few more seconds I am finally able to tie them off. I straighten up and face the mirror, a smile gracing my lips as I admire myself. I look good in blue a spaghetti strap gown with a thigh high slit, gold chunky heels, a gold necklace and my hair falling over my shoulders and back in shiny red curls. I am definitely ready for the event tonight, at least I'm dressed the part.

One of the few good things my mom taught me while being her overbearing self is how to dress for the occasion. Most especially when it comes to formal wear. Before my rebellious phase, my parents used to drag me to as many events as they could until I started acting out and they stopped. But for the first time in years I will be attending one of said events although this time I am going for Astrid and not my parents so I will be on my best behavior. Her boss, the Governor, is announcing his re-run for office at a charity auction and Astrid asked me to be her plus one. She has been so nice to me helping me with adjusting to Pine View and helping me maneuver our parents so I couldn't say no to her.

I start packing up my clutch with everything I might need for tonight and that's when I come across a familiar tie. I smile as I pick it up and bring it up to my nose. Isaiah must have left it here when he came over on Sunday. Spending time with him is always amazing but Sunday was special because we were intimate. It was the first time for the both of us and even though I have nothing to compare it to, it was better than I imagined. Isaiah is as generous and attentive in bed as he is in life. He made me feel safe, cherished and loved the whole time and I would like to think I did the same for him.

Just thinking about him is making me miss him and I contemplate texting him but I dismiss it since he's at work. I put the tie away, grab my clutch, a blue shawl matching my dress before leaving my room ready for the night ahead.

"You look beautiful miss." Glynn compliments as he helps me down the last step.

"Thank you Glynn. Tonight I am dressed to impress." I grin twirling around for him to see.

"And impress you shall." He replies holding his hand out for me.

He leads me out of the house and ushers me into the back seat of the BMW parked out front. I hate driving in heels plus I don't want to wrinkle my dress so Glynn was graceful enough to offer me a ride to the charity event where Astrid is waiting for me.

The ride into the city is smooth and my thoughts are occupied with everything that has happened since the semester began and all that is to come. My parents agreed to fund the Cairo trip for the whole school which I am very glad about. My relationship with Isaiah is going on strong and work at Frosty Dream couldn't be better.

Now all that is left is meeting Isaiah's family during Cairo's birthday. I am nervous about that but from all the stories he has told me about his family they seem nice so I hope they will be accepting of me. I just have to think of a kick ass present for Cairo so I can win him over. That will be easy enough since Isaiah has already told me of what he loves plus the theme of the birthday party is already giving me ideas. All I can hope for is that the introduction goes better than how it went down when Isaiah met my parents. There will be a redo of that but first let me meet his family.

"We're here." Glynn announces and I look up to see us in the car line headed up to the entrance of the luxurious hotel whose ball room has been rented out for tonight's event.

"Thank you Glynn." I express undoing my seatbelt.

"My pleasure miss. What time do you want me to pick you up?" He asks.

"I think I'll spend the night at Astrid's so I will see you tomorrow when she drops me off." I answer.

"Okay miss. Have a good night."

"I plan to." I declare with a smile.

I unlock the door and get out of the car joining the stream of guests walking into the hotel. The event is already underway but I know I am not late since there are other people arriving. My eyes immediately seek out Astrid from the sea of designer dresses and suits. She doesn't stick out like me with my red hair so she is a little bit harder to spot. I retrieve my phone to call her but I stop when I hear my name being called out from the crowd a moment before Astrid appears.

"Kenny!"

"Astrid!"

She stretches her hands out for a hug and I fall into her arms in relief. In as much as socializing in such gatherings is familiar, it's been a while so I need to be eased back into it.

"You look gorgeous." Astrid compliments holding me at arm's length when we pull apart.

"So do you!" I reply admiring her gold off shoulder dress with a sweetheart neckline and a similar slit to mine.

She looks amazing and her gold dress is making her blue eyes pop. One wouldn't think we are sisters due to the contrast in our skin tone and hair but we have the same eyes so that's our link to each other and to our mom who we get them from.

"Thank you for coming." Astrid smiles hugging me again.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it. So whose ass do we start kissing first?" I ask her.

We laugh because we both know how true my statement is. I am here to make Astrid look good to her bosses and that includes a lot of ass kissing. But I came prepared because there is no room to let Astrid down tonight.

"Game face on. Are you ready?" Astrid inquires.

I link my arm with hers and nod. "I was born ready."

That statement couldn't be truer because being born a Foster meant I was born for events such as this.

It comes with the name.

Astrid spots her first mark and leads the way. Over the next one hour we mingle, make nice, meet a lot of money makers and obviously all the politicians in attendance. There are a few familiar faces and we get recognized a lot because of our parent's influence. Of course we are asked about their whereabouts and we do not lie. They are in LA for business. Of course Astrid invited them to come and support her tonight but they made some lame excuse. She was just being polite since it's not like their absence is affecting her much. Astrid actually wants to make a name for herself away from the Foster influence and after what I have seen tonight she is doing an amazing job at it.

"I just saw Senator Carter, come let me introduce you. You are going to love her." Astrid declares when I find her again after a quick bathroom break.

"Lead the way."

We weave through a sea of guests and have to wait a few more minutes for her to end her conversation with a few other people. When she is done Astrid takes the chance and the senator is the one who speaks first.

"Astrid, darling. I was wondering when I would run into you." Senator Carter exclaims.

She is a beautiful black woman with a kind face but also seems like the kind to effortlessly run the State. I've never met or seen her before but I have heard great things so it's an honor to meet her.

"Good evening Senator Carter." Astrid responds.

"Astrid please, it's Rebecca. And who might this be?" She asks referring to me.

"Sen... sorry, Rebecca, I would like you to meet my baby sister Kennedy. Kennedy this is Senator Rebecca Carter, a dear friend and my mentor." Astrid introduces.

We shake hands and her grips is gentle but firm just like I expected. "It's so nice to meet you Kennedy."

"The pleasure is all mine." I reply with a smooth smile.

The senator is younger than I expected and really gorgeous. Her eyes and smile remind me of a certain someone but I dismiss it as my brain playing tricks on me.

"It's so nice that you accompanied your sister tonight." She commends.

"I couldn't let her down. She is useless without me." I tease making both ladies laugh.

"You must be bored though seeing as most people here are twice your age and all talk is political." She sympathizes.

"I am used to it." I assure her.

"Of course but I know my son isn't. This is not his crowd and yet I dragged him here tonight. He's actually your age and around here somewhere. Ah! There he is." She says looking at someone in the crowd of guests in front of us.

"... Khalil." Rebecca calls out.

Khalil?

For a moment I think it's all a coincidence until I distinguish the familiar mop of dark curls that I've become obsessed with over the last couple of months. His tall frame is in a dark suit and I'd recognize those shoulders anywhere having drawn them multiple times. What seals the deal for me is when I look down and see the personalized sneakers I gifted him for Christmas. He finally turns around and Isaiah's familiar face comes into focus.

Isaiah is the Senators son?

What the actual fuck? I am in shock as a million questions run through my mind. How could he hide something so big from me? Sure I wasn't forthcoming with him at the beginning of our relationship but I thought we didn't have any more secrets between us.

Rebecca waves him over and he is smiling widely as he approaches us until he sees me and Astrid standing next to his mom. His face falls because he knows I've caught him in possibly the biggest lie since our relationship began.

"Khalil I would like you to meet Astrid, she was on my campaign team when I ran and her sister Kennedy." Rebecca introduces with pride in her voice as she places a loving arm around him.

Now that they are standing next to each other, it's easy to spot the similarities between them. They are definitely mother and son but Rebecca had him young because she could easily pass as his big sister.

"We are familiar with each other." Astrid informs Rebecca looking between the both of us trying to understand the situation.

"You are?" Rebecca asks looking confused.

"Yes we are." I affirm then turn to Isaiah. "Iz."

"Berry." I grit out unable to keep the anger from my voice.

"Berry? Kennedy? Now I know why your name sounded familiar. You are his girlfriend?" Rebecca exclaims with a big smile on her face.

At least he told her about me which makes this less awkward but he did not tell me about her and that hurts more than I would like to admit.

"Yes ma'am." I nod composing myself and forcing a smile on my face.

Rebecca does not need to know that her son, who can barely make eye contact with me hid such a huge thing from me. We will talk about this later when it's just the two of us but for now I have to play nice because I am meeting my boyfriend's mother for the first time.

"Well now it's an even bigger pleasure to meet you. I've been looking forward to this moment for a while but this one over here was determined to hide you from us for a little while longer." Rebecca declares.

So he has been hiding me from them? Why did he invite me to Cairo's birthday then? Is he ashamed of me? Of us?

"It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. Isaiah talks about you all the time." I respond.

Isaiah does talk about his mom a lot but in vague details now that I think about it. I've never pushed him because I know his history but now that I think about it, he has always held back on talking about his life at home with me.

"I wish I could say the same about you but I know enough. You are as beautiful as he said you were." Rebecca compliments.

"Thank you." I blush resisting the urge to hide my face with my hair.

"And I would love nothing but to stay and talk but I've got a lot of hands to shake tonight. You will be coming to Cairo's birthday party right? Khalil said he invited you." She asks.

I almost say that I will not be there from all the anger but I don't want to ruin the mood so I nod and smile. "Yes I will be there."

"Perfect, I will see you then. For now, allow me to steal Isaiah for a moment but I will send him back to you knowing that you kids will want to spend some time together tonight." Rebecca excuses herself.

"Of course, it was a pleasure meeting you tonight Senator Carter." I reply.

"Call me Rebecca please and likewise. I will see you at the party."

"Yes ma'am." I answer refusing to address her by her first name because for some reason it sounds disrespectful.

She leaves with Isaiah in tow who keeps looking back at me until the crowd of guests gets too thick for him to see through. I sigh out loud not knowing I was holding my breath.

"So from that awkward meeting I assume you didn't know Isaiah is the Senators son?" Astrid asks when it's just the two of us.

I shake my head. "No I didn't know. Did you? I mean you worked with her?"

"I knew she had two sons but I didn't know that one of them is Isaiah." She explains and I believe her.

If Astrid had known she would not have hidden it from me. I feel so stupid for not connecting the dots. But the prominent feeling is anger towards Isaiah for keeping this from me. Why could he not trust me with the truth when I have told him everything. It's not even that big a deal.

"I'm sure he had his reasons for not telling you." Astrid consoles.

"Really, like what?" I retort.

"I don't know Kenny but you will never know unless you talk to him." She advices.

Talk to him?!

We have been dating for almost two months and best friends for longer, having had multiple heart to heart talks but he never told me this. Right before we had sex he proclaimed how proud he is of the openness in our relationship. How vulnerable we are with each other and the fact that there are no walls or secrets between us. Was all that just one huge lie? What more is he hiding from me?

"Hey stop that!" Astrid scolds when she sees me lost in thought. "Do not assume anything until you have talked to him."

"Do I have to?" I pout not ready to have such a heavy conversation.

Tonight was all about having fun with my sister. I actually thought that Isaiah was working tonight but he is here, with his mom. The senator!

"Yes. And besides you don't have any other choice so think fast because he is coming this way." Astrid says looking over my shoulder.

"What?" I choke out.

She turns me around in time to see Isaiah headed for us. He still takes my breath away from how handsome he is which I'll admit even though I am mad at him. He looks sorry which he should be but that does not erase the hurt that his lies have caused.

"Hi Astrid." He greets when he approaches us.

"Isaiah, looking dashing tonight." She replies with her usual Foster charm.

"Thank you and you look lovely." He replies.

"Why thank you." She gushes.

I glare at her and her smile drops. "I will leave you two to it. Kenny come find me when you're done." She says and before I can protest she disappears into the crowd.

I turn to Isaiah and for a moment we stand there awkwardly not saying anything to each other. It feels like the first time we met all over again which it shouldn't since we are dating now and have literally seen each other naked. My stubborn self refuses to speak first because I feel wronged so I wait until he does.

"May I have this dance?" He asks holding his hand out.

He wants to dance? Really? Right now?

"I don't know ..." I mumble.

"Please?" He pleads.

I know we need to talk and if he wants to do it in the middle of the dance floor then so be it. My hand slides into his and it's familiar and warm. He leads me to the dance floor and I put my arms around his shoulders while his goes to my waist. There is an obvious distance between us that should not be there. But with the close proximity Isaiah smells so good and his scent has always been one of my weaknesses.

He is a good dancer so we sway effortlessly on the dance floor neither of us saying anything. This is so different from the first time we danced together at Wesley's birthday in so many ways. Now we are dating and he knows all there is to know about me yet after tonight I feel like I don't know who he is anymore. He still looks like the same Isaiah but who hid such a huge secret from me.

The silence gets to me so against my better judgement I speak first. "What are you doing here? I thought you were working tonight?"

He looks surprised that I have chosen to speak first because we both know how stubborn I am.

"Cairo had a parent-teacher conference tonight so dad, Parker, couldn't be mom's date so I stepped in." He explains.

"Your mom the Senator?" I retort all my anger resurfacing.

"Yes." He nods with a defeated sigh.

He does not get to look so forlorn. I am the one wronged here.

"So, when we're you planning on telling me that your mom is the senator? Scratch that, why didn't you tell me that your mom is a senator?" I demand unable to keep the question from bubbling out.

"It never came up in a conversation." He replies and I feel as if he has hit me.

"Seriously that's your excuse, that it never came up." I grit out.

Of all the deep conversations we have had over the past few months he couldn't have found an opening to slide this in.

"Why are you mad at me?" He asks as if I have no right to be offended.

"Because you kept such a huge secret from me." I retort my face getting hot from anger which means I've turned pink.

My fair skin always manages to betray me.

"Whoa there, calm down Berry. It was never a secret. Everyone knows." Isaiah informs me as if that is supposed to make me feel better.

It actually makes me feel worse. I always assumed that Isaiah needed to work so much because he came from a middle or lower class family. I mean sure there are questions like why he is always in designer shoes, could afford a fancy car but he works so I assumed he always got those for himself. And besides his car is not that expensive and he could be making payments on it. Never did I once assume that he is like me. Royalty.

I know it makes me sound prejudice but I thought we had a princess and the pauper love story. Not that Isaiah is a pauper but now that I know the truth it's more of a princess and a prince love story.

"Everyone but me." I bite out.

"Yes." He nods with another sad sigh.

"I can't believe this. I let you in. I allowed you into my world and you couldn't return the favor." I attack dropping my hands from his shoulders.

My voice has risen an octave so I drop it recalling that we are in public. I cannot embarrass Astrid by acting out and having a fight with my boyfriend in the middle of the dance floor.

"Berry it's not like that." Isaiah defends.

"Then how is it?" I demand.

"I... " He trails off at a loss for words.

He reaches for me but I step back unable to continue with this conversation.

"Berry please let me explain." He pleads.

"Save it, I'm done here. I'm going home." I say.

"Berry wait." He calls out.

"Goodbye Isaiah." I say just before disappearing into the crowd.

A tear escapes my eye and I swipe it away as I look through the crowd trying to find Astrid. Through blurry eyes I find her talking to one of her co-workers. She sees me before I get to her and is alarmed by the tears on my face. She excuses herself and approaches me.

"Kenny, what happened?" She asks.

My voice is all clogged up from emotion so all I manage is a croak as more tears fall. Astrid pulls me in for a hug and hold me as I cry.

"I hate seeing you like this and wish we could talk but I can't leave yet." She apologizes.

"It's okay. Glynn will pick me up." I reply.

"Okay call him and I'll come over as soon as the party wraps up and we will talk about this." She says.

I nod and retrieve my phone to call Glynn. He says he will be here in ten minutes so Astrid stays with me until he does.

When he arrives age walks me outside . I catch a glimpse of Isaiah talking to his mom as I walk out of the ballroom and he looks as sad as I do. We will get to talk more but not tonight. Tonight I want to go home, curl into my bed and cry myself to sleep.

And that is exactly what I do.