love happy • chris evans (bwwm)

• six •

"HAPPY JUNETEENTH!"

"Could you like not scream? Thanks." Phoenix rolled her eyes at her cousin Gwen, who was standing next to her father at the grill.

"What a fucking bitch." Julie mumbled under her breath as Phoenix sat on the outdoor bench, in between Ghost and Dodger.

Juneteenth is a holiday that Phoenix's family had been celebrating for as long as she could remember. She didn't grow up celebrating the 4th of July as her people were still slaves for another 89 years when the rest of the nation gained their "independence"; but on June 19th every year, her family would always have a huge party and bbq to celebrate the day slavery was abolished in the United States. It was usually one of Phoenix's favorite days of the year because she loved when her family all got together and just enjoyed one another's company. Plus, her dad would always make sure to grill her some faux 'meat' that usually composed of black bean burgers and vegan hot dogs. However, today she just wasn't in the mood to celebrate. As a matter of fact, she regretted volunteering hers and Chris's new house for her family's Juneteenth festivities this year.

After the situation with Tom yesterday, Chris went straight back to Boston. Because he was so upset with his fiancée, he sent her a text when he landed asking her to give him at least 24 hours to process everything; the last thing he ever wanted to do was yell at her, regardless of his anger.

As much as she wanted to chase after him and make things right, Phoenix respected his wishes and gave him the space he needed. She felt absolutely terrible about crossing the boundaries and wanted nothing more than for Chris to know how sorry she was. In over 2 years of knowing him, she had never seen him so furious.

"This is very beautiful!" Cynthia exclaimed after opening the black box Chris gifted Phoenix almost 24 full hours ago. Inside was a necklace necklace with a 'C' on the left side and a 'P' on the right with a heart shaped diamond separating the two.

"Yeah..." Phoenix replied in a monotoned voice.

Cynthia closed the black box she was previously holding and sat it on the table behind from her as Phoenix stroked Ghost's fur with one hand and Dodger's with the other. "All you can do is give him the time and space he needs to get over this."

"We didn't even kiss!" Phoenix sighed. "We were just a little close... I mean, I acknowledge that boundaries were crossed but at he end of the day, nothing sexual was going on."

"Would you have kissed him if Chris didn't show up?"

"No." She answered without a doubt. "I love Chris. I wouldn't do that to him."

"Even though nothing sexual was going on, there was some intimacy there." Cynthia spoke. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with an intimate platonic friendship but when you start doing things you wouldn't do with your other friends, that's where the problem lies."

"I guess."

"This will all blow over and sooner rather than later, you and Chris will be discussing other things."

"Like what?"

"Children!"

Phoenix stopped petting Ghost and Dodger to look up at her mom, who was sitting across from her. "No."

"You do realize it's something you NEED to talk about before the wedding, right?" Cynthia questioned. "How many times do you and Chris normally consummate?"

"Usually everyday except when he's working." She answered honestly. Because she was raised in such an open and lenient household, she had no problems being so upfront and frank with her mother. She honestly felt like she could tell her mother anything, without being judged. There was no one on the planet that Phoenix trusted more than Cynthia.