Sheila nor any of her entourage liked the idea, but they were paid to do whatever Tika said. Alvin took all of their luggage and things and would take them to her house and meet up at his place later. Tika rode in a car with the rest of her crew, except Sheila. She decided she needed to ride with him back to his place.

"Listen, Federico, I like you, you seem like a cool dude, but I'm not any PA, and Natika is not any superstar. That's my cousin, my blood."

"I know."

"And I will not sit around and let you hurt her."

"I would never."

He didn't get this much inquisition from Tika's father. But Mr. Foster was a fan of his game, so he left it there. He felt it refreshing that Sheila cared enough to give him the third degree. Unwarranted, but he still appreciated it.

"Tika's used to a certain type of guy, and that's her problem. Don't be like those guys."

"I am not."

"Good. But show me, don't tell me."

He nodded his head and continued to drive. He wondered what Tika was doing back in her car. Did he approve of Sheila to question his integrity?

"Tika has a lot on her plate. She loves what she does, and hates this other dark side of it. All she wants to do is perform. Sing and dance. She loves her fans, they are her heart. She does not want to disappoint them. There is that fandom that sometimes gets crazy. They want to approach her, be her, and get into her life. It's rather obsessive in a way, but we can't control how people feel."

"Look at other celebrities, bigger than her. They defend their Pop Idol to the end, even to the detriment of themselves. They will bully others online that do not fall in line with them. They can cancel another artist if that artist has beef with their Pop Idol. They create fandoms that are the worst of the worst."

"Tika has no control over them sometimes. They do as they please. But...now her fans are going in on each other about how she chose to protect her daughter."

All he could do was continue to listen. He was learning a lot about the background of this business.

"Most say she had every right to do what she did. Others are calling her a spoiled Diva saying she should not have exposed her daughter to the media anyway. Keep her hidden away, never post pics of her or put her in the public eye."

"What do you think?" he asked her.

"I will fight to the end for my lil cuz Autumn. She didn't ask to be in all of this. Tika has every right to try and give her a normal life, but we know that's not possible. What she can do is try and give her the best life. Better than hers."

"Tika has a nice life, her parents gave her everything, right? They supported her in everything she wanted to do, even the music business." They talked a lot about the similarities in their upbringings. When he was figuring out what sports he wanted to play, his parents were there encouraging it all.

Like her, he did not grow up with siblings close to his age, so he felt like an only child as well. His siblings were busy with their lives, they rarely came to see him play. Tika's parents listened when she said she did not want to do something, and when she was ready to try something new, they were there to support her. No, her parents were not rich, just regular middle-class working people.

"Uncle Willie and Auntie Sylvia are the best, don't get me wrong. Good people, I love them. But everything was not perfect. They were strict. With what she ate. Who she hung with, even family. With how she acted in public. This...now, what's going on? They are upset at her."

"What for?" Now he did not understand what was going on. What was Tika supposed to do? "I watched the video, Tika did nothing wrong."

"She brought Autumn there, that's what they are saying. They think she should stay home with them. Always."

He did not like how this was sounding. Autumn was Tika's daughter, not theirs. It was her choice to take her daughter with her.

It was good that they were having this talk, now he understood things more clearly. As the boyfriend, he needed to be there for her, that's all he could offer right now.

He made it to his place and Tika's car was not far behind. He gave them access to the parking garage even though that was a no-no. He would deal with whatever consequences that brought.

He met Tika at the car and helped her grab a bag from the trunk.

"Leticia has set up some 'goody girl' tours for me to do," Tika said with an eye roll. He figured Letitia was the curly-fro girl who worked as her social media manager. "All online stuff because I'm too busy to go anywhere."

He stooped down to Autumn. "Want a back ride? Swear I won't drop you."

"Okay."

He helped Autumn wrap her arms around his neck, climb on his back, and wrap her little legs around his waist. They took off and headed to his apartment. He was not expecting anyone to come over, but he was glad his place stayed neat. Nothing was out of order, and no clothes were thrown everywhere.

Also, no food.

He looked to Tika. "If you or anyone is hungry, I have nothing-"

"Already on it. I asked Alvin to stop and bring food. Lots of food. Honey, I ordered you enough food to fill your kitchen because we gotta eat."

He was not going to go in about how strict he was with his eating, because Tika did not need that in her life right now. Neither did Autumn. They could eat whatever they wanted to eat.

Once inside his place, Leticia immediately found a spot at his dining room table, unpacked her bag, and pulled out two laptops, a tablet, and two phones. He was going to let her be. Vincent hung back near the door. He placed Autumn down on the floor in his living room.

"Cool? You have toys here?" Autumn looked around the place.

"Sorry, no."

"What games do you have? Roblox?"

Sheila came over with a tablet and headphones and gave them to Autumn.

"At the Princess' command."

"Wanta play with me?" Autumn scooted back on the couch and he sat with her.

"Sure."

Tika was already sitting with Leticia working on whatever. Sheila pulled out a laptop and the three all went to work while he played with Autumn. After a while, Vincent left the condo and when he came back he was with Alvin and had bags of groceries, plus some sandwiches from a deli. He was thinking about food from JeVonte his nutritionist. He needed to see if he could prepare something Tika would like.

He needed to be more flexible in how he lived. If he was going to date someone like Tika, he needed to loosen up.

"Autumn sweetie, come eat," Tika called out to her.

"No! I have to finish my game."

"Girl! Did that little girl just talk back to me?" Tika walked over and stood in front of them. "It was not a question, it was a task. Go and eat."

"Rico! Can I stay and play with you?"

"No, you should listen to your mom." He took the tablet from her. "We can play another time."

"Sorry Mommy. I didn't mean it." Autumn stood up and hugged her mother. "I am hungry."

He was not hungry, he had already eaten, but he sat at the table while they all ate. Some of the food Alvin brought was apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes. That was fine, he needed to eat more fruit. Then there were a couple of pre-made bagged salads. He did not prefer those, he liked his salads like JeVonte made them, with the things he liked in them. He also saw some things he would never eat himself, like crackers, cookies, and potato chips.

He knew Tika did not eat that way, but he assumed it was for the others.

All the while they ate, they talked about things Tika would do to put the incident behind her. More time with the fans. Going to a good girl routine online. Doing more interviews but keeping it all local. Only travel for necessary performances.

He watched a movie with Autumn till she fell asleep in his arms. Tika came over and picked her up.

"You want me to put her in your room to sleep?"

"I have rooms down here, come on." He led her to one of his extra bedrooms that he never used. It was perfectly made and not touched in the months he lived there. His cleaning person still came to keep the room dusted and perfect.

"Nice," Tika said about the room.

"I haven't given you a tour of my place, have I?"

Tika placed Autumn in the bed and pulled the covers over her. She kissed her forehead and then stared down at her.

"She is my whole world, Rico. I continue to do this because of her."

He loved seeing the love she had for her daughter. Made him wish that little girl was his and Tika's little girl. That they made her together. All he could do was watch.

When Tika finally walked over to him, she stood there and watched him, saying nothing. Then she stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thanks for having us over even if all we're doing is working. Kick us out anytime you need, I know you have a game tomorrow and your ritual-"

"Stop it, you know I want you here."

She started kissing him again and he automatically put his arms around her waist and held her close.

"We better stop," he said between kisses, "Autumn is right over there."

"And she's a hard sleeper, we're fine." Tika slid a hand up his shirt and rubbed his abs. "Or...we can go to your room."

He wanted that so bad. Be in bed with Tika, under covers, having all of her. But he resisted, he pulled away from her kisses but he continued to hold her.

"I want you, so much. Like every day...I crave you. I want to be in you...I want to hold you...I want us connected that way." He rubbed a few fingers over her cheek, then lifted her chin. "You think you can wait a little longer?"

Tika let out a long rough sigh and leaned into him, her arms wrapped around his waist. "Then just hold me forever like this. All night long."

And he did. They left her team downstairs and went to his room upstairs and laid in his bed, above the covers, holding each other.