Zachary? I thought his name was Blade. I thought to myself as I watched him shake her hand. I fought the urge to pull her away from the one who had wanted her hunted down and stalked like prey.

"It's nice to meet you too. Thank you for inviting us to dinner." She smiled, unaware of who he was. How could I have agreed to this? I thought to myself realizing that this probably isn't too good of an idea after all.

"You're most welcome. He took her hand and then placed it in the crook of his arm. "To the dining room everyone." We followed him up the two steps, past the stairs and into the cream colored dining room. Blade sat her down in the chair next to him, then he sat down at the head. He told Jovani to sit next to Devin and for Bear to sit across from Devin. I took my seat next to Bear, wishing I was next to Devin so I could hold her hand. She looked quite nervous. The staff came in with shiny silver platters, on top of them sat plates with white covers. They set our plates down in front of us and then lifted off the cover in unison. Underneath the covering was a salad.

"So, how do you and Jovani know each other?" Bear asked.

"We-we um we work at the same restaurant, we're both waitresses." Devin stutterd out

"I see. Didn't someone die there?" He asked, taking a bite of his salad. Both the girls' faces paled. I stomped on his foot. But many years of practice had taught him not to react. The only thing I got from was a glare.

"You don't need to answer. That was very insensitive of him." I said before they could answer.

"Yes, it was. Now please boys, no more scary questions. I didn't ask you here to fight." Blade replied his voice cutting through the awkward silence.

"Yes sir." We both replied in unison

(*)-Bear

I loved getting under his skin. It just shows how deep in love he is with my dad's project. That isn't going to end well in the end once she finds out who he is. And I get to say things and Devin doesn't understand so I can taunt him as much as I want. If she questions him after, he will have a hard time explaining. I grinned a little at this thought. I even had to be careful with Jovani. Can't have her knowing I'm a drug lord or someone powerful. She might not want to be with me after, or she will use her unborn child against me. But I plan to break up with her as soon as she gives birth. I don't want to be tied down with it or her. I turned my attention towards my dad who had cleared his throat and taken a sip of water.

(*)-Zachary

"Your performance was beautiful Devin." I told her. She looked up at me in surprise.

"Oh! Thank you! I did not know that you had attended."

"Of course. When Thomas mentioned you had a gig, it only seemed right to come." She blushed.

"Well, I sure hope you enjoyed it. It would have been much better if it was actually during Christmas."

"Well, we won't dwell on that." I smiled at her and then turned towards Dante, "Bring in the second course."

"Yes master." He replied. His Spanish accent is thick. He spoke some commands and they all filed out.

"Your house is very lovely Mr. Zachary." Jovani said with a smile.

"Thank you. I think it is too. If you don't mind me saying so. And please, call me Zach." I smiled at her as I raised my glass to her.

"Of course, Zach." Her face glowed with happiness.

"Have you lived here long?" Devin asked me next. It threw off guard. I glanced at Bear, but he just turned away.

" We moved a lot when he was younger, but when he turned five, I figured it was time to settle down."

"I see." She smiled and glanced down. The next course came, I've never been more grateful to see the food coming so that I could try to avoid these questions.

(Thomas)

The staff came in and the wonderful aroma of steak hit my nose. They lifted the lids, there along with the steak was mashed potatoes, and gravy with a side of green beans. The girl's steak had been cut for them. But us men had gotten knives. Then some more staff came and poured red wine into our glasses. It was weird for me to eat with an audience, the staff lined against the back wall and would remain there throughout the whole meal. We talked very little as we ate, I could see that the not talking was making Devin uncomfortable. Before I could strike up a conversation,

Mr. Blade, your other guest has arrived." A man with gelled back black hair said.

"Show them in." Blade said while standing. I turned to the archway and a fat lady in a glittery gold dress was ushered in

"Darling! I'm so sorry I'm late." She spoke loudly in a british accent.

"Sasha, darling! I'm so glad you could come!" Zachary exclaims as he stands and kisses her on the cheek. He motions for us to stand "My boys Bear and Thomas. And their girlfriends, Jovani and Devin." Bear and I walked over and kissed her on the cheek, she ignored the girls and sat down. As soon as we did, Devin opened her mouth.

(*)-Devin

"So Zachary, how long have you known Thomas?" Since Thomas wouldn't tell me anything, I decided to go right to the source. He set his fork down and chewed his meat thoughtfully.

"Let's see, I've known Thomas since he was fourteen years old.

"I didn't know that darling, I thought you had just reconnected with him." Sasha replies sipping her drink. I watched Zachs left eye twitch.

"I only said that because it's true, as soon as he was old enough, he left. But now we're back together." He replied with a cool smile.

"Oh. So then, do you consider him your son?" I asked taking a sip of wine. The smallest hint of shock crossed over his features before

"Well, yes and no. But mostly no. He's just someone I know."

"I see." I replied looking at Thomas. Hurt flashed across his face.

"Are they going to be staying here?" Sasha asked rudely. Zachary choked on his drink at this statement

"No dear, they have their own homes."

"Good." She answered smugly. I decided that I did not like her very much. We finished our meal, making light conversation. After the meal, we retired into the living, the men talked about politics, I zoned out, a little bit later, Jovani brought me out of my zoning.

"It's so good to see you again." I turned towards her

"You as well. How have you been?"

"I've been alright. Hard at times when you have something kicking around in your belly." She smiled slightly.

"I'm sure it would be." I reply.

"Have you heard anything from Mr. Stevenson or the cops?" She asked fiddling with her dress

"No, I haven't. Have you?"

" Nope. Do you think we will?"

"I don't know. I feel like we would have heard by now. You know?" I reply shrugging my shoulders

"Yeah. Your right." We lapsed into silence, listening to the gentleman talk. I needed a breath of fresh air for I suddenly felt very light headed. I excused myself and walked out to the balcony. Right into a cloud of smoke. I gagged slightly, Sasha was enjoying a cigarette.

"Sorry, too much for you?" She asks, her voice slightly husky. I smile a little

"Just a touch"

"Sorry." She snuffs it out.

"It's okay. So um how long have you known Zach?"

"Just a little bit now. He is truly a wonderful man." She giggles hysterically and then lifts a bottle to her lips. She's intoxicated. I quickly take exit and headed inside, she really creeped me out. I took my place beside Jovani again

"So, how long have you known Bear?" I ask her

"Not long. What about you and Thomas."

"Mmm I've known him for awhile now. Honestly I don't really know."

"Wow, I wish my relationship was like that."

"It's not?"

"No, I barely hear from or see Bear and he's always so secretive." She said sadly.

"That's very interesting." I mused out loud unintentionally

"Why?"

"Huh? Oh, uh nothing. Sorry." We talked about other things, like how her and Imani had stayed connected during this time of unemployment, and that they had gone out for lunch and baby clothes shopping. She told me that she felt bad for not contacting me, I had told her it was okay and that I've been really busy. Soon it was very late, Thomas and I said our adus and headed for home.

(*Thomas)

"So how come you don't think of him as your dad?" She asked me while fiddling with her dress. I un-tied my tie and stuck it in the cup holder. My Rolex gleamed under the lights on the highway.

"Uh I don't consider him my father because even after all these years, I don't know much about him, and he can never replace my biological father."

" So then why do you call Bear your brother?

"It's not a choice." I snap.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to pry." She says it so softly I almost miss it. I needed to chill! She was just asking. I mean I haven't told her much about me. Mostly because I couldn't think up a fake story off the top of my head. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"I'm sorry." I whisper.

"Its okay" she whispers back. The rest of the way is silent. Even when I park in the garage, we hold hands and walk silently to the elevator. The music in the elevator breaking up the awkward silence. We change into pajamas and crawl into bed. All the guilt I'm wearing is too heavy it pushes me down into a fit-full night of sleep.