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"KIM! KIM!" Brandon yelled once he closed the door to his apartment.
"In here!" Her southern accent was deep and her tone of voice was a little high.
Brandon had just gotten back visiting his family in California, and all he wanted to do was sit back and relax in his home.
He rolled his suitcase to the living room where he saw his girlfriend of almost a year, soon to be wife, Kimberly, flipping through bridal magazines.
Kimberly had been one of the athletic trainers for the Houston Rockets and the two had clicked almost immediately, sparking a relationship.
"Hey, how was California?" Kimberly watched him amble over to her and leaned up for a kiss.
"It was good. Same old, same old." Brandon replied then plopped down on the couch next to her.
His eyes drifted over to where Kimberly was shifting through a new magazine, "We don't even have a date or a location yet. Isn't the dress the last thing to worry about?"
"It's called multitasking, babe." Kimberly said without looking back at him.
Brandon snorted a little then shook his head, deciding not to touch that subject for today, "Did it come yet?"
"Did what come?" Kimberly's tone was absentminded as she circled a wedding veil with a sharpie.
"The invitation for the five year celebration of life. Kylah told me she sent them out last week." Brandon replied.
"The mail should be on the counter, near the fridge. I haven't opened any of it yet, I was so busy doing this." Kimberly looked up at him then back down at the bridal magazine.
Brandon stood up and walked to the kitchen, narrowly avoiding busting his ankle on the suitcase near the entrance of the room.
Sure enough, the white envelope was where Kimberly said it would be, still untouched and waiting for Brandon.
Already knowing what it would say, Brandon ripped the envelope open with no ceremony then used a magnet to stick it to the fridge, "You still wanna go with me right?"
"Yeah, babe. I would love to meet all your college friends." Kimberly giggled.
"I was only in for one year," Brandon reminded her as he opened the door to the fridge.
He moved aside leftover Chinese food, green grapes and a pack of bacon in an effort to try to find something actually edible, "And you've met everyone already."
"What about your ex?" Kimberly asked, surprising Brandon and causing him to bump his knee on the lower freezer section.
"Ow!" Brandon exclaimed.
"What?"
"Hit my funny bone." He grumbled.
"For someone who's job is supposed to be an athlete, you sure are extremely clumsy." Kimberly commented then flipped her blonde hair, "The girl before me. She's probably gonna be there too."
Brandon narrowed his eyes and analyzed her words, trying to find any hints of jealousy or insecurity in the word usage or in her tone.
Unable to find any, Brandon cleared his throat a little, "Yeah, most likely not. She's a hotshot law student now."
Kimberly shrugged, "If you say so. Hey, do any of your friends have kids? Maybe we could get one of them to be the flower girl or the ring bearer."
"None of my friends have kids but I'm sure that we can find someone." Brandon finally closed the fridge door then paused.
"Um, I'll be right back." Brandon said as he made his way to their bedroom.
"Alright!" Kimberly called back, her attention now completely back on the magazines on the glass coffee table in front of her.
As soon as he had closed the door to the room, Brandon whipped out his phone and dialed Kylah's number.
She answered on the second ring, her tone pleasant, "Hello?"
"Hey, um... I have a question about the memorial thing." Brandon sat on the corner of his bed, the black and white duvet contrasting with his crimson Houston Rockets jogger.
"Okay..." Kylah trailed off, her tone off a little.
"Who exactly did you invite?"
Kylah was silent for a moment, "Why does it matter?"
"I'm just curious." Brandon improvised.
Kylah was silent again, "Yes, Sunday is coming. She accepted a couple of days ago. Is that gonna change the fact that you're coming or what?"
"No, no, no. Of course not," Brandon replied, "I wouldn't not come. I was just curious, that's all."
"Right. Well, if that's it..." She trailed off once more.
"Is she bringing anyone?" Brandon blurted.
"B.J, I don't know. She didn't say and I didn't ask. Why are you asking?" Kylah's tone was irritated.
"I wasn't sure if we could bring guests," Brandon lied.
"It says it right on the card. You and her, bro... The exact same. I wonder how y'all were dating and not twins, sometimes." Kylah's voice was more noticeably aggravated now.
"What does that mean?" Brandon asked, not liking the attitude that his younger cousin was delivering.
"It means that both of you need to get the fuck over yourselves and remember that this isn't about either of you in the slightest. It's about remembering and honoring someone who was a best friend at one point, to the both of us. Don't come if you're gonna spend all night on her or Kim or yourself." She let out a little huff.
"Alright?" Kylah demanded.
Brandon blinked a couple of times at the uncharacteristic rude tone of voice.
"Okay. Yeah, okay." Brandon mumbled.
Kylah let out another huff then proceeded to hang up leaving Brandon a little ashamed.
