My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter Nineteen

"So, y'all knew about this?" I ask my parents, grabbing a slice of pizza.

"Yeah, Dev was the one who told us to play along." My mama nods her head.

"Which we have to talk about some rules." My dad points at me. "Why y'all didn't tell us that y'all are dating."

"Well, it's not official yet." Fergie announces. "We're just seeing where things go. It's going good so far."

"Oh." My dad nods his head. "We still have to set some rules."

"I agree." My mama says.

"I agree, too." Devin throws his hand in the air.

"Shut up, Dev." I chuckle. "So, what if I was to go in the kitchen? Y'all just knew I wasn't leaving my room, huh?"

"We were just gonna tell you that your mom was mopping the kitchen." Fergie shrugs his shoulders.

"Oh." I nod my head. "It's cute. I like it."

"About those rules." My dad says. "Fergie, no more spending the night on the couch. You have to stay in Devin's room or you can't come over at all. Doors open at all times. Don't let me catch you in her room after hours."

Those rules seem pretty fair. It's not like Fergie isn't allowed to come over anymore; he just has to follow a few set of rules now. He and Dev are still best friends, and it wouldn't be fair to Devin to ban him from staying over. Not to mention that Fergie has been a long time friend to the point that we consider him family. My dad can be just as overprotective as my brother, if not more. The men in my family don't play games when it comes to the women; they will do anything for us.

"Yes, sir." Fergie nods his head.

My parents grab a few slices of pizza and sit down at the table. Devin is too occupied on his phone to grab a bite of anything. Fergie and I are still standing by the counter and he has this charming, yet salacious look in his eye. The way he stares at me makes my heart skip a beat. I can't explain how he has this affect on me with just a mere look, but I don't mind it. And then it dawns on me just how lucky I am that my crush likes me back. This could have went a completely different way, but I'm grateful that he feels the same as I do. He smiles at me, in such a lovingly way, that I almost jump on him and kiss him. I know a kiss isn't a big deal, but it is when we haven't kissed yet. I don't want to make the first move because we're not official yet.

"Did you plan on going to homecoming at first?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I was just gonna go with Tamara and Ethan." I nod my head and smile at him. "Now I don't have to."

"I'm glad you're going with me." He reaches over and grabs my hand. "It'll be fun."

"Me too." I smile.

"I just want you alone, right now." He whispers, rubbing his thumb along the back of my hand. "We haven't had time to just talk. We're always being interrupted."

"Wanna go outside and talk on the back porch?" I ask.

"Yeah," he smiles, "that'd be great."

"Hey y'all, we gone go outside and sit on the porch." I announce to my family.

They don't pay any attention to me in particular; they are too engrossed in their cellphones to notice what I'm saying.

"Let me go grab a jacket real quick." I hold up a finger at him.

"No need to." He takes off his jacket and hands it to me. "You can have mine."

We go out onto the back porch and sit on the bench against the brick wall. Fergie immediately wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to his person. It's a bit chilly outside, but I have all the warmth I need right beside me. He takes his free hand and interlaces our fingers.